3 Hit the Road Jack

by Christin Lovell

  I glanced around the tiny space once more finding something new each time despite my vamp vision. Everything was neat yet cluttered at the same time. “How long have you lived here?”

  “The last thirty-seven years. It was always a dream of mine to own a houseboat and sail around the world with it. Of course one of these things will set you back three mortgages just for the waterproof belly,” he chuckled, the sarcasm light on his tongue.

  “Where are you from?”

  “Long Island; of course it wasn’t what it is today when I was a lad.”

  “How did you end up here?”

  “You.”

  “You sailed across the Atlantic just for me?” I asked, unable to hold back how stunned I was.

  “Climb down off your high horse young lady. I’ve been this side of the Atlantic for a while, but it was my gramp’s journal that lured me this way; particularly your role.” He chugged a good bit of water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “So where’s the fella?”

  “Back at the hotel,” I replied hesitantly. For a human, he certainly knew an awful lot about me, journal or not, which didn’t settle well given my current circumstances. “I, uh, should probably be getting back to him.”

  He studied me for a good long minute before shrugging. “Suit yourself, but you’ll be back if you do leave now.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because you’re curious. You don’t know what possessed you to come down here and particularly come to my home. You also know that I’m more than meets the eye.”

  “How can you smell me?”

  “I’m what they call a sensitive; always have been. All my senses are heightened like a vamp’s, but my mind is keener. I have the patience to read people, not just smell their fear.”

  “Do emotions really have their own scent?”

  “It’s minimally different; I’ve become attuned. Right now you’re leery of me still despite what I’ve shared; a bit frustrated and worried. I have a pretty good idea why from the journal, but what the hell. What’s going on in your world right now?” He stood, taking his now empty cup to the sink for more water.

  I waited for the serum to rise, for my hair to stand on end or for my gut instinct to lead me away, but alas my body remained tranquil despite my racing mind. He knew so much, but didn’t reveal anything. He hinted and riddled, but didn’t tell or dispel.

  “Why are we meeting? What’s the point of me being here?”

  He nearly fell into the chair, its legs squeaking under the pressure even though he couldn’t have weighed more than one-fifty.

  “There’s a bit of spunk in you after all I guess,” he stated.

  My brows furrowed as I tried to read him. I didn’t understand why I was destined to meet him.

  “Stop analyzing me,” he snapped.

  I blushed slightly. “Sorry.”

  I wrapped my arms around myself as a draft crept in through a few cracks along the walls. “Don’t you have a heater in here?”

  “Used to. It crapped out a long time ago. Usually this time of year I head down towards the equator so I don’t freeze my tail off, but I had an appointment I couldn’t miss.” He looked pointedly at me. He frowned, the lines in his cheeks and feathered lips deepening.

  “What?”

  “You’re nothing like what I thought you’d be.”

  “What did you think I’d be like?”

  “Just different.” I tried not to take offense.

  We sat in amicable silence for a bit. There was something about the man that was keeping me there.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Wilbur Harfinkel.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I offered him a courteous smile.

  Abruptly I felt my phone buzz. I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Kellan.

  “Hello?”

  “Where are you?”

  “The Marina.”

  Silence met me on the other end.

  “I don’t hear the wind. Where at exactly?”

  “Damn he’s good,” Wilbur chuckled to himself.

  “Who are you with?” Kellan spewed.

  “Wilbur,” I stated his name as if he’d know who I was talking about.

  “What happened to don’t trust anyone?” he nearly spit the words in my face through the phone. I sighed. Clearly he was on edge from whatever went down with Kai still.

  “I’ll tell you about it later. Where are you all headed?”

  “Some pub a few blocks down.”

  “I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”

  Again the silence stretched on. He was debating whether or not to insist I leave now; probably even going as far as to consider hunting me down. The only thing stopping him was the fact that it didn’t sound like I was in any danger; which I didn’t believe I was.

  “You’ve got five minutes.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you too.” I closed the phone, seeing a knowing glint in Wilbur’s eyes.

  “Guess the territorial rumors are true.”

  “I guess.” I took a small sip of my water.

  “Well, I guess I’ll wrap this up in one trip. Wouldn’t want a visit from an angry vamp; somehow I think I would notice a difference between them and us.” Us? Why did he say us?

  He walked over to a small drawer in the corner. It stuck on something on the track. With a hard tug it finally passed the obstacle and opened just enough for Wilbur to squeeze his hand in to grab the contents. He pulled out a warn piece of parchment paper. I could tell it’d been handled quite a bit despite its hard to access location. “Here you go little miss.” He handed me the paper.

  I opened it up expecting a letter addressed to me but found merely one sentence in old English script in the center of the page. ‘Don’t save the one you love.’

  It made no sense to me. “Are you sure this is it?” I asked, flipping the paper over, looking for more.

  “I’m sure.” I sighed inwardly. Here I was hoping for a big break, yet all I got was a new puzzle to solve; something else to occupy my mind.

  I looked up at Wilbur and immediately felt guilty. I was being selfish wanting all the answers. He’d sacrificed a lot to get this one line to me, and I was basically turning my nose up to it. Not wanting to leave him on that note I started a new conversation.

  “Where are you heading after this?”

  “Was thinking about Florida.”

  “Sounds warm,” I smiled. I couldn’t stop myself from looking around with a crease in my brow. “Will your boat make it across the Atlantic again you think?”

  He laughed heartily; his muscles finally relaxing. "She might not look like much, but she’s got a lot more in her.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you or, um, her.”

  “Nah. Betsy’s been great. Those fancy new models are tempting, but you make do with what life gives you.”

  His words hit home for me. I had to make do with what life gave me; regardless of how challenging it was. And regardless of how difficult it was at times, there was always someone in the world who had it harder. Looking at Wilbur’s home compared to mine was a prime example.

  I stood, checking the clock on my phone. It’d been six minutes since I hung up with Kellan and I knew that he’d be calling me any second.

  “It was a pleasure to meet you Wilbur. Thanks for the…” I didn’t know what to call the paper he’d given me so I just held it up and shook it a bit. “Thanks for this.”

  “Would you mind humoring an old man before you go?” He slowly got to his feet, making a fuss over using the table as leverage.

  “Sure?”

  “Will you bite me?”

  I knew my eyes shot open as my brows went up. “Excuse me?”

  “I know all that curiosity killed the cat stuff, but do you mind?”

  “You know my bite won’t turn you right?” He nodded eagerly, lifting the sleeve of his weathered jacket before extending his wrist. “Just bite or drink?” I checked.r />
  He considered it for a few seconds before responding. “What the hell? You only live once. Drink,” he winked.

  Before he could blink I secured his wrist under my teeth and bit down. His blood spewed over my tongue; he tasted sweet and warm with a bit of spice. His blood was the most luscious to ever hit my taste buds. Fearing I’d lose control and kill, I released him after only a few seconds. I waited for the serum to rise to heal him, but it didn’t come. I frowned as I watched his wrist heal itself before my eyes without my healing liquid. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat.

  “What are you?”

  “Not what; who.” His dark eyes focused on me, as if willing me to piece together the puzzle.

  I jumped when my phone buzzed. I silenced it. I’d call him before he got here anyways.

  “Who are you?” I took a good step back, needing a bit of space. It seemed like the moment I felt I was on solid ground, the earth quaked again.

  “Good luck Alexa. It was a pleasure making your acquaintance.” His eyes sparkled with mischief.

  “Um, goodbye?” I shook my head slightly still trying to wrap my mind around it all. The nudging inside me told me it was important that I figure it out.

  I turned towards the door, but stopped right before its frame. It was a shot in the dark, especially since his name was nothing close to Maximus Arturo or Sir Staten, but I had to take the chance and check. It wasn’t uncommon for vamps to change their names. “You wouldn’t by chance be the one who predicted all of this would you?”

  A broad grin covered his face, the crow’s feet framing his eyes as they lifted at my question. “Be sure to heed those words.”

  I shook my head, tucking the paper inside my pocket right as my phone went off again. With a quick wave I left ‘Wilbur’ to map out his route to Florida.

  “Hello?” I answered my phone.

  “You shouldn’t have wandered off alone,” Kai stated. I was a bit surprised to hear his voice on the other end of the line.

  “With how pissed you were at me I didn’t think it’d matter to you.”

  “You matter too much to me; that’s why.” The words were ground out between his clenched teeth. At least we could both agree that we were uncomfortable with how we felt about each other.

  “I’m on my way. I’ll see you in a bit.” I hung up, not wanting to draw out the tension. I text the same thing to Kellan and headed back towards the city center.

  Kellan replied with the restaurant’s address.

  Chapter 22

  I walked into the pub, the entire time my mind was consumed by what I’d just encountered. Wilbur wasn’t human; I knew that for sure, but without my nose I didn’t know exactly what he was. He said he hadn’t been bit so that only left a vampeen unless there were other paranormal creatures walking this earth with us that I didn’t know about. It would be exciting to discover other fictional characters weren’t so fictional.

  The pub was exactly what I always pictured a European pub to look like: scuffed wood everywhere, a bar taking up a good portion of the restaurant, TVs showing a rugby match and a futbol game. I walked over to the hard-to-miss group; we were steadily growing in numbers it seemed.

  First thing I noticed was Aunt Claire wearing an outfit nearly identical to mine except her sweater was silver, earrings pearl studs, and her boots adorned a kitten heel. As if sensing my appraisal, she angled herself towards me in her chair on the end. She smiled mischievously. “You like it?”

  “Sure?”

  “It is the best form of flattery they say,” she winked. She knew I wasn’t thrilled to be dressed the same, but it was nice to see her out of a dress; a little strange, but nice.

  I settled in next to Kellan, but Will was the one I needed to speak with. Kellan kissed my cheek the moment I sat down. I bounced my leg earning a raised brow from him.

  After less than five seconds I cracked. “I need to talk to you right now Will. Please,” I quickly added.

  His eyes locked on me in an instant since he wasn’t accustom to outbursts as such from me. I watched him swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the effort, but he didn’t appear to be nervous. “Of course.” He promptly stood up to escort me outside to speak.

  Everyone at the table stared me down, hard glares demanding answers. I didn’t ease up. I grabbed Will’s hand, a low growl erupting from two vamps at the table. I ignored them continuing to drag Will out of the noisy establishment.

  The second we got outside, he adjusted his blazer. He was stalling as if he knew what was coming. “What can I help you with Alexa?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “You already know that don’t you?”

  He cleared his throat. “No, I actually don’t. Perhaps that’s why I’m so disconcerted. For the first time on this mission, I’ve been blindsided. I’m not sure what’s just happened to you,” he frowned.

  I cocked my head waiting for him to meet my eyes. The moment he did I saw the concern within them. He truly didn’t know what was going on. Nerves coiled within me. I licked my teeth praying I hadn’t just gotten a taste of vamp poison. Nothing was happening to me that I felt or saw, but I didn’t know beyond that.

  Brows furrowed as I stared off in the distance beyond Will, I considered my options. I didn’t want my companions worrying any more than they already were. Serum began to rise in my throat as panic threatened to attack.

  “Um, what do or did Maximus and Sir Staten look like?” My voice was barely above a whisper.

  His harsh intake of breath was my only clue that he’d possibly pieced together what I’d encountered. “Maximus was a vampire changed at the tender age of seventeen. He had a Roman’s nose, strong angles on his face; dark brown hair, honey brown eyes nearly identical to yours.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, twisting as fear finally settled into his features.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Um, well, Sir Staten is quite different and far more dangerous. He was a vampeen, but had some medical issues at the time of his transformation that allowed him to continue aging a full fifty years past the typical twenty-five. The technology of his time prohibited correction or even true diagnosis as to the problem. Many believed he would go through life with the abilities and cravings of a vampeen, but die the death of a human. Alas, he lived a full three-hundred and twelve years before his supposed assassination.”

  “Supposed?”

  “His death was never confirmed.” A shiver ran down my spine as goose pimples broke out over my skin despite not being exposed.

  “How is he more dangerous?” I was fighting every urge in my body not to crumple into a tiny ball and crawl into a corner in horror; either that or shake every last drop of information out of Will.

  “He has an excessive amount of paranormal abilities, far beyond what many could possibly conceive. He’s dangerous because no one truly understands the extent of which he’s capable, especially since his death was never confirmed, and it was said that he was quite unpredictable.” Will stopped and stared at me pointedly. “I watched Maximus die; I was his liaison, his constant companion.” Fear rolled down my back. “You met him, didn’t you?”

  I couldn’t respond; I merely shrugged my shoulders. If Sir Staten wanted others to know about our encounter, then he would have included it in his predictions. I felt like I was betraying him in some form by confirming Will’s suspicions.

  I took a deep breath, calling upon my best acting abilities. “No,” I laughed. “But I got you good!”

  Will’s expression turned sour in a split second. He was pissed. I would rather him be angry than to discover the truth though.

  “I just came across a vamp that was a little strange. Didn’t look anything like the two you described though. Thanks for telling me about them though.” He softened a bit. I’m sure he thought the vamp had spooked me for me to jump him the second I arrived. “Let’s go eat,” I smiled.

  He walked ahead of me and opened the door giving me a second to compose myself. Inside I was a mess.
What the heck have you done to me Sir Staten?

  I looked up and found Kellan at the door glaring at me. “What happened?!”

  Oh crap. I guess I accidentally projected that last thought, probably hoping to get it to him wherever the vampeen was by that point.

  “It’s not important.”

  “What did he do to you?”

  “Please don’t push. I can’t… don’t, want to share it right now.”

  ”Clearly. You’re using your will power to block it from me.” He frowned, muscles tense; jaw taut.

  I felt only slightly guilty. I knew in a relationship there weren’t supposed to be any secrets, but until I knew what Sir Staten did to me with his blood, I wasn’t sharing anything.

  He continued to stare at me with appraisal in his eyes. He was deciding whether to let it go for now or push. He must have seen something because he sighed and turned back towards the others. I exhaled not realizing I’d been holding my breath. I closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. I needed to focus. What’d happened couldn’t be changed. I needed to focus on what could be changed, and that was the outcome between us and Jack’s army.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” Aunt Claire chimed as I sat down at the table.

  “They’re worth a bit more today so sorry, but no.” She smiled and nodded taking no offense to my secrets which I was grateful for.

  I turned my attention to Gabi between Kai and Al near the opposite end of the table. As if sensing me she lifted her head right at that moment. “How are you?” She offered me a small smile and shrugged. “I’m here.” She nodded.

  “Muffin sticks! These gufters have gator!” Craig exclaimed officially breaking the tension at the table. I chuckled. He was looking at the paper menu with a look of pure joy, like a child on Christmas day.

  “I take it you like gator?”