by Мишель Роуэн
“Get the hell out of here!”
“Wish I could. Long story short, Quinn used to be a vampire hunter. He even tried to kill me a couple of times. Then he got turned into one of us.”
“And you two fell in love.” She sighed. “Oh, my God, that is so romantic.”
“I’m not in love with him,” I said firmly.
“But you two are so cute together. The wedding pictures would be amazing.”
“Not enough of a reason to fall in love, I’m afraid. But there’s something else I have to tell you. Something bad.”
Her breath caught. “What?”
“Peter’s a vampire hunter.”
She gasped. “But he said he was in pest control.”
“Yeah, let’s put it together now, Amy. Pest control. As in killing vampires. They think vamps are evil, but take it from me on this one, we’re not. He’s the bad guy.”
“Do you think he hurt his eye out hunting vampires?” Amy looked so confused that I felt sorry for her. It was usually hard enough for her to follow the plot of The Young and the
Restless, let alone The Fanged and the Fashionable.
“That’s the thing, Amy. I was the one who did that to his eye last week. I had to. He was trying to kill me, and I was just protecting myself. I haven’t seen him again until tonight.
There’s no way he’s going to let me out of here alive. And to top it off, he has no idea that Quinn’s been turned. He just thinks that he’s still one of the boys. Ready to go out later tonight and do some more hunting.”
“Peter tried to kill you.” Her voice was full of disbelief that her shiny new boyfriend would be capable of anything so unsavory.
“Yeah.”
“And you think he’s going to try to kill you again.”
I shrugged. “He’s a vampire hunter. That’s what he does.”
“But you’re my friend.”
“I don’t think he sees things quite that simply, unfortunately.”
“Well, that’s not good.”
“Major understatement. I just can’t believe that out of all the guys in Toronto, you ended up dating him.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” I sighed. “It’s not your fault. Just fate giving me a swift kick in the ass.”
“So, what’s the plan?” she asked.
“Plan?”
“The plan to get you out of here safely.”
“We’ll have to kill Peter,” I said.
Amy gasped and put a hand to her mouth.
“Kidding.” I patted her shoulder and tried not to laugh out loud at her reaction. Maybe I was evil, after all. “Just kidding. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I don’t know how to get out of here. There’s no way he’s going to let me go this time, after what I did to his eye.”
Amy opened her purse and pushed through the contents. “I think I might have an idea.”
There was always a first time for everything.
“What are you looking for?” I said.
“I know I have them in here somewhere. Oh, good, here they are.” She pulled out a bottle of pills.
“Are those sleeping pills?” I suddenly imagined Peter curled up in a corner of the restaurant, dozing away while we safely slipped into the elevator. “Because that would be perfect.”
“No,” she said. “They’re muscle relaxants. For cramps.”
“Sorry to spoil your brilliant plan, but I don’t think it’s Peter’s time of the month.”
She shook her head. “Trust me, they’ll do the trick.”
“So you’re willing to drug your boyfriend to help me out? You are such a good friend.”
She hugged me. “You’d do the same for me.”
Would I? Yeah, sure, why not?
“Peter will be mad at you after this. I don’t want to ruin your relationship.”
She threw the bottle of pills back into her purse. “Forget it. Besides, this makes up my mind for sure that he’s not the one for me. My real Prince Charming would never mess with my best friend. Peter deserves what he gets.”
We went back to the table. Quinn and Peter seemed involved in an intense discussion. They stopped talking as soon as we approached the table.
“Everything okay?” Quinn asked as I sat down.
“Peachy,” I said without looking at him. I was still fuming that he went out hunting last night.
“Good.” He downed the rest of his beer.
“We went ahead and ordered dinner,” Peter said. “Couldn’t wait forever.”
“Speak for yourself,” I said under my breath.
“Quinn and I were talking about what we should do after.” Peter was staring at me intensely. “Amy wanted to go dancing, but I’m thinking about something a little more intimate. I’d like a chance to get to know Sarah a little better.” He said my name like it was a four-letter word. “Maybe even introduce her to a few of my other friends.”
That was so not going to happen. But I smiled at him, anyhow.
“Only if they’re all as incredibly charming as you are.”
The appetizers arrived. Peter had ordered salads all around, and had gotten himself an order of escargot. Amy would grab him and kiss him every so often to distract him as she slipped a tiny blue pill in with the snails. He tossed them back without even flinching. Quinn was too busy staring out the window or down at his refilled glass of beer to notice what was going on. When dinner was served, I picked at it nervously, noticing that Quinn did the same. I wondered if solid food made him throw up, too. I didn’t want to take the chance tonight. I had too many other things to think about. I glanced over to see Amy push a blue pill into Peter’s mashed potatoes. He scooped them into his mouth without a moment’s hesitation. What if Amy’s plan didn’t work? What was I supposed to do then? I attempted to make some kind of vampire telepathy happen between Quinn and myself, trying to get a message to him about a potential escape plan, but it didn’t seem that telepathy was one of my new talents. He was barely even meeting my eyes anymore.
It would have to be something a little more out in the open if I wanted to get his attention. I jabbed him in the hand with my fork.
“Ouch.” He snatched his hand away and finally looked at me.
“What do you think about Peter’s plan?” I asked. “Meeting his friends after dinner. Do you think that sounds like a good idea?”
“They’re my friends, too.”
“And your point is?”
“I don’t have a point.”
“No, you really don’t.” I was so frustrated with him. Had he forgotten that he was a vampire, too? Or was he completely delusional? I’d almost believed it when he’d told me that he couldn’t stop thinking about me. Obviously, he’d meant that he couldn’t stop thinking about ways to piss me off.
I frowned and looked across the table at Peter. He ate his dinner with a vengeance. Hunting vampires must be hungry work. His finesse with the fork and knife didn’t show any sluggishness, no awkwardness that would hint at successful muscle relaxation. Did that mean the pills weren’t working? I didn’t know what to do next. He was going to take me to meet his friends, and Quinn was going to go along with it all, living “la vida denial.”
I wasn’t happy with that plan at all. The waiter came to clear away the plates and took our dessert orders. I ordered a Spanish coffee. I liked things that reminded me of the trip to Mexico. It was like my shiny finish line. If I could just make it till then, everything would be okay. I tried to be patient while I sipped on my after-dinner drink and waited desperately for Quinn to stand up and defend me. To punch Peter’s lights out, or something. Anything would be nice, instead of sitting there acting like he was afraid to make waves.
“Peter, I want to tell you something,” I said suddenly, desperate for a way out of this.
He didn’t look up from his dessert—a multilayered slice of moist chocolate cake.
“What?” he snapped, and I noticed he had a little chocolate icing on his black eye patch.
He pushed his plate away. “What.” It was a statement, not a question this time.
I took a breath. “What I’m going to tell you is going to change everything.”
He cocked his head to one side. “Is that so?”
“Yeah, it’s so.”
“Then spit it out, darlin‘.” He hesitated and looked at Amy. “I mean, Sarah.”
I glanced at Quinn. “It has to stay a secret.”
“You have my word of honor.” He grinned at me. His word of honor was worth less than squat in my books. Squat minus twenty.
I took another deep breath. Here it goes. “Quinn’s a vampire, too.”
“Sarah!” Quinn knocked his water glass over, gaining us the momentary attention of a couple of neighboring tables. The entire restaurant went silent for a split second, but then the noise picked right back up again. He desperately tried to dry the tablecloth with his napkin, and looked at me with astonishment.
“What in the hell did you say?” Peter hissed.
“Vampire. Quinn is one. Just like me. Has been since the weekend. So that means if you’re planning on killing me, you’ll have to make it a two-for-one deal. It’s only fair, after all.”
“I can’t believe you,” Quinn said, and his voice sounded strangled.
“Believe it, buddy boy. I’m not going down alone.”
Peter shook his head slowly with disbelief and then, after a moment, began to laugh.
“You’re funny. But your lies won’t work on me.”
“It’s not a lie,” Amy said. “She’s telling the truth.”
He turned to her. “And let me guess, you’re a vampire, too?”
“I wish!” She pulled her purse up to her lap and zipped it shut. I guess she was finally out of pills. Dammit.
“Quinn,” Peter said, “say something to this bitch.”
“I…” Quinn began. The look on his face was desperate. “I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s not true, is it? It can’t be true.”
“It’s true,” I said and put an arm around Quinn. “That’s why we’re together. Show him your fangs, honey. Yup, we’re vampires. Both of us. Vampire lovers, together for all eternity.”
I kissed Quinn fully on the lips, then turned to smile widely at Peter, fangs and all. I watched Peter’s expression turn from confusion to rage as he stared at his old hunting buddy. He grabbed his steak knife, his one good eye full of fury. “That bitch did this to you. That bitch made you an evil bloodsucker.”
Amy stood up and stomped her foot. “I won’t let you talk about my best friend like that.”
“I’ll talk about her any way I damn well want to,” Peter snarled. “Quinn, I am sorry, I truly am. If you were me, I know you’d want me to do the same thing and end your life. Please don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.”
Quinn was still in shock by what I’d said. I couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty. In one sentence I’d basically screwed his life up beyond repair. But I only did what I had to do. Anything to take attention off myself. Unfortunately, it seemed like it was going to work in reverse. Peter’s attention was now fully on me, his rage multiplied by the thought I’d ruined his friend in such a monstrous way.
“Please don’t tell my father,” Quinn finally said, his voice weak. “I beg you.”
Peter raised an eyebrow at that and clutched the knife tighter. “I will only tell him that you died with honor at the hands of one of these evil creatures. It would be better for everyone that he never knows the truth. Now let’s go.”
He rose to his feet. He was taller than I remembered, must have been at least six foot five.
He was a tall, imposing man, built like a Mack truck, easily able to crush me with his bare hands as any good pest-control career man could do.
He took a step toward us, and his legs crumpled beneath him. He fell in a heap to the floor, regaining the stares of the restaurant patrons. A waiter narrowly missed stepping on him as he went by with a tray full of drinks for a nearby gawking table.
“What the hell?” Peter tried to brace himself against the table, attempting to get up but failing. “What the hell have you done to me?”
Amy let out the breath she’d been holding. “Thank God. I didn’t think the pills were going to work. But I figured twenty of them should probably do something.”
Quinn leaped to his feet, and I grabbed his arm to stop him from getting too close to Peter. “You poisoned him?”
“Don’t worry, they’re only muscle relaxants,” I told him. “But, come to think of it, twenty is quite a lot.” I leaned over toward Peter, who tried to lift the steak knife at me, but it fell uselessly out of his hand. “If you don’t feel very good in ten minutes, I’d ask one of the waiters to call an ambulance, okay? Oh, and thanks for dinner; you’re a sweetheart.”
“Sorry, pooky.” Amy bent down to kiss his cheek. “But I can’t have you trying to kill my friends. It’s just not nice. I think we should probably see other people.”
I grabbed the arm of a passing waiter. “Our friend has had a little too much to drink and he’s saying silly stuff. Just ignore him. He’ll be okay in a minute, I’m sure, but he probably shouldn’t drive.”
“Would he like some coffee?” the waiter offered helpfully.
I nodded. “What a good idea. Yeah, lots of coffee.”
“We’ll take care of him for you,” the waiter said.
“Bye, Peter.” I patted the top of his head. “Thanks again for dinner. It was great meeting you.”
Quinn stood by us in stunned silence. I grabbed the sleeve of his jacket. “Come on,” I said.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Chapter 18
We made it to street level and out into the cold night air before I finally let out the breath I was holding. I suppose I’d almost expected Peter to come after us, even if it meant that he’d have to drag his highly relaxed body behind him like a walrus or a mermaid. Outside the CN Tower, Amy fumbled through her purse to light a cigar, then inhaled deeply on it, resulting in an immediate fit of coughing.
“I didn’t know you smoked,” I said.
“I don’t. This is Peter’s. But it seemed like a good time to start.”
Quinn hadn’t said a word all the way down in the elevator, but I was not going to feel guilty. I wasn’t. Okay, maybe just a little bit.
“Quinn.” I approached him. He’d sat down heavily on a snow-covered bench. “Are you going to be okay?”
He stared off into space. I waved my hand in front of his face. “Anyone in there? Look, I only did what I had to do to get out of there in one piece. He would have found out, anyhow. They all would have, eventually.”
“You’re right.”
“See? I knew it.”
He looked at me with angry, narrowed eyes. “They would have found out. But they would have found out from me. Not from you making it into a big joke.”
I felt anger rising up inside me. “Do you see me laughing? It’s not a joke to me. And you know what else isn’t all that damn funny? You going out last night and killing more vampires, as if none of this means anything to you. That doesn’t make you a hero, Quinn; that makes you a murderer. You’re not exactly gaining my confidence when I hear about stuff like that.”
He shook his head, then suddenly sprang to his feet and was in my face. “I didn’t ask for this, in case you didn’t notice. Every moment of my life now is torture knowing that I’m the same thing that killed my mother.”
“You have to stop dwelling on that.”
“I’ll dwell on it if I damn well want to,” he said through clenched teeth. “I did what I had to do.”
“Yeah, killing vampires. That sounds like something you had to do. Couldn’t you have taken the night off? Would that have been too much to ask?”
“I tried to.” He slumped back down to the bench.
I glanced over at Amy. She was keeping her distance, puffing away on the cigar and pretending that she wasn’t listening. Wise girl.
“What do you mean, you ‘tried to’? Tried not to kill anything for a few hours?”
He sighed and it was a deep, shaky sound. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I needed the blood of a full-strength vampire. I heard you all talking the other night. I understood the rules. When the pain came again, I didn’t know what to do. It was excruciating. I wanted to let it happen. I wanted to let it kill me, but self-preservation kicked in. I wasn’t going back to Thierry. There was no way. But, damn it all to hell, I knew if I wanted to live, then I needed blood. So, I…” His voice trailed off, as if too disgusted with himself to finish the sentence.
“So you went along on the raid to find a vampire who was willing to help you,” I finished for him.
He sighed. “It didn’t actually matter to me if they were willing or not. When Peter and the others were done, there was plenty of blood to be had. I hid until they’d left and did what I had to do.”
I felt the color drain from my face. “After they’d been killed.”
“One of them wasn’t dead yet. But, yeah.” Quinn’s face was tense in the moonlight. “The older the vampire, the less there is left. The young ones stay solid after death; the old ones disintegrate.”
Right, Thierry had mentioned that to me before. So, what Quinn was trying to tell me was that he went along on the raid, not to participate in killing vampires, but to feed from them. Like a macabre McDonald’s drive-thru. I looked at him, expecting to feel revulsion, but instead I felt sorry for him. He’d been all alone in this. He didn’t have any other options. I’d been all alone, too, but at least I’d found Thierry. What would I have done in Quinn’s place?
“I’m sorry,” I finally said. “Nobody should have to go through what you have. And now I’ve outed you.”
He shook his head. “Like you said, they would have found out sooner or later. I was fooling myself if I thought I could pretend nothing has happened to me.”
“So now what?” I felt the overwhelming urge to hug him, to hold him close, and to tell him that everything was going to be okay, but I stopped myself. Mostly because I wasn’t sure that everything was going to be okay. For either of us.
