by Candy Crum
“You’ll be happy to know that Will has successfully made a deal. He won’t be going to jail,” Andrews said as he met me in the driveway.
“That’s great!” I said. “What’s the catch? What does he have to do? I haven’t been allowed to talk to him. I’ve tried calling a few times, but they cut outside contact.”
“He is currently giving up everything he knows. He made a deal that he would do so and that he would continue to do so. They’ve restricted calls for various reasons, but if you ever need to know anything, just ask. He should be free to go in a couple of days. His biggest concern seemed to be helping you.”
“Well, that is probably because he got me killed,” I said. “Twice.”
His eyes widened. “Twice?”
“Well,” I said. “The first time I fully blame on him. The second, at my house the other day, I brought on myself. Anyway, I’m sure all that will come up later.”
“Indeed, it will,” he said. “Right now, I want you to show me that car. Now that I see you, I guess you weren’t lying.”
I laughed. “No, I wasn’t. I really love cars, and I love working on them. Come this way.”
We spent quite a while showing off the car. My dad was quite the chatty little schoolgirl when it came to his car, though Andrews seemed to be enjoying it. He wasn’t all business. He wasn’t anything like I figured a cop would be. Granted, most cops have their “on/off” switch, but his seemed different. It was also possible that was how he worked. It was a lot easier to trust someone and tell them secrets when they acted like they had all the patience in the world and was kind instead of in your face and abrasive. I felt like I could tell him anything, which he expected me to do. I wasn’t exactly sure how that would turn out.
“Are you ready to talk yet?” Andrews asked shortly after dinner.
My parents had gone into the kitchen, taking all the dishes from the dining room with them. Honestly, I think they were trying to abandon me with Officer Badass. I had no idea if he was a badass or not, but I certainly imagined that he was.
“Not really,” I said. “Half that conversation is going to be a little personal and to be completely honest, I don’t even know what to say for it. I don’t have any information on or about myself except what my parents told me. A name. That’s all I have. Tristan. All the stuff about Will, however, I can tell what I know.”
“Just do your best,” he said. “If you need to omit specific unnatural things about yourself, then feel free. However, I hope that you can bring yourself to trust me. You’re not the first otherworldly being I’ve come across, but you are the first that was so kind and so innocent.”
My eyes were wide. He’d met others like me?
I swallowed hard. “Does that mean that you know what I am?”
His eyes narrowed. “No. You really have no idea?”
I sighed, having immediately lost the hope I’d briefly felt. I couldn’t bring myself to answer. Instead, I only shook my head.
“I see,” he said. “Then it sounds like you have a lot of unanswered questions that I can’t answer for you. I’m sorry that I can’t be more help.”
“If you’ve met other ‘otherworldly beings’ such as myself, then what were they?” I asked.
He sighed. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable being the one questioned.
“You have to tell me!” I said. “I’ve been killed twice and walked away both times like nothing happened. I’ve survived open heart surgery, where I was pronounced dead, and a bullet to the head. I accidentally compel people to do what I want, mostly when afraid. I have no idea who or what I am! My parents aren’t sure either. This is terrifying. I have to learn what I am, and how to control it. It’s dangerous for me to wander around with that much power and not learn to control it. I could hurt someone! If you know something, please tell me. Lead me in the right direction.”
His brows furrowed as something resembling sympathy crossed his face.
“This is complicated for me. I told you at the station that I wouldn’t tell anyone anything personal about you. I meant it. I’ve been all over this country and others as well. I’ve met a few. There are people living in secret everywhere, trying to lead normal lives. For me to just talk freely about it or out them is me telling their secret. Even if it is to someone like them.”
“I’m not asking you to out anyone. I just need help,” I said.
“I know that you aren’t asking for me to tell you their secrets, but you’re asking me for help I simply can’t give you. I’m not an expert. I only know what I’m told. Given that I’m human and have had very limited interaction with them, and for good reason, I just don’t have the info that you need. I’ll help you all I can, but you need to give me a few days,” he said.
Frustration. That was all I could muster. There was so much hope floating around and it was just out of my reach. All I needed to do was be a little patient. Not something in my abilities at the time, but I’d have to manage if I wanted to get what I needed. I sighed in defeat. He’d won that round.
“Would you like to go for a drive?” he asked. “You look like you could use some air.”
“I really don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I said without hesitation.
“We can stay here if you like,” he said.
“I’d love to take a drive, walk, or anything away from here. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Just because! Jeez. What’s with all the questions?”
The look he gave me was quite amusing.
“Right. Cop,” I said. “Look. I’ve been experiencing some… side effects. Embarrassing side effects of whatever this is. Whatever I am. Sometimes smells get to me, like the way you smell. I get… hungry. For a lack of better words, anyway.”
“And what keeps my scent from getting to you in here? In closed quarters,” he said.
“This house stinks of cinnamon. I hate the smell of cinnamon. However, I loaded every wax burner in here full of it because I remember what happened the first time I was around you. So, basically, the insides of my nose have been singed to the point that I can’t smell much of anything,” I replied.
He laughed. “Good to know. When you say hungry, do you mean a taste for blood?”
“When I woke up from being shot in the head, we heard sirens. We heard you coming and I was in a very bad way. Will forced me to drink from him. We have no idea what I am, so he thought it would help.”
“Did it?” he asked.
I nodded. “It did. It didn’t taste amazing, though. I assumed that if I was a Vampire or something like that, it would taste like ice water after walking for hours in wretched heat. It tasted more like room temp bottled water on a normal day. Well, not literally, but I think you know what I mean. If I’m a Vampire, then I’m the worst one I’ve ever seen. Not that I’ve seen one. That I know of.”
“No. Vampires have to be turned. They aren’t born. You’re definitely something else,” he said.
“Hey!” I said. “That’s something! That’s one thing to check off the list. My mom said that she had no idea what my biological father was. Only that he said that his kind never raised their children.”
“Now I know why you have so much of your humanity,” he said. “You’re half human. Why don’t you start from the beginning? Tell me everything. Maybe I can put together enough information to go snooping around. Hopefully I can find something for you.”
“Thank you!” I said.
“No problem,” he replied. “But to be clear, everything also includes the truth about Jay, Will, your involvement, and anything else related. We are helping each other. That’s the deal, okay?”
“Deal,” I said.
I did as I was asked and started from the beginning. The would-be paintball trip that never happened, my feelings for Will that led me to be so blind and naïve in the first place, my first death, the things that happened in the hospital, and everything else leading up to that very moment.
I explained my hunger and what that truly was, which he shifted a little in his seat about, and I told him about my mom and biological father, Tristan.
Mom came in and brought us something to drink, but excused herself once again. She was the best. Sometimes too much. Andrews and I talked for a couple of hours. I wasn’t even aware that much time had passed. He really wasn’t too bad. Actually, he was very nice and easy to talk to. It made the time fly by.
He gave me some advice to help me out. The biggest of which was to stay away from severe emotional stress. He told me to take up meditation and find a way to channel my rage and distress, which could make my hunger flare up. He said that in time, and with enough focus, I’d learn how to control myself, my abilities, and my hunger.
That was the advice he gave me because we had no idea what my body needed. It wasn’t blood, but he said he’d get me some blood bags anyway to see if it might help curb cravings. Since it healed me before, it was possible it could have a positive effect. I wasn’t going to complain. Whatever helped.
Also, in a very uncomfortable conversation, he told me to get very acquainted with satisfying myself until we had more information. If sex was what I craved it was possible that I could hurt someone if I didn’t watch it. So, I had to do what I always did, abstain. Awesome. No problem except the constant pain and torture. Regardless, I took his advice to heart. Even if he knew nothing, he still knew more than me and everything he said made perfect sense.
“Just remember to take it easy,” he said as I walked him to the door. “If you can take time off work, I would.”
“I’ve taken all I can,” I said. “I have to go back in a couple of days.”
He nodded. “Then work off that extra energy and keep yourself exhausted. Just make sure to watch your strength. You’ll gain strength very quickly and you don’t want to walk in the gym and out lift a guy that has been working for years. Just use common sense. The twenty-four-hour gym on main street is the one you should consider. It’s a great gym, and you can go during hours when it’s less crowded.”
“I already go to the one on the other end of town,” I said.
“Just trust me. You’ll want to change. This one is much better. Just check it out, okay?” he asked.
“As you wish,” I said. “Less crowded is definitely a good thing. Thank you.”
“Just stay in touch. You have my number if you get into trouble.”
“With Jay?” I asked.
He stood still, looking at me for a moment. “With anything. Shit happens. Just please call me if you feel yourself getting into a bad situation. I’ll do my best to get some information for you.”
The wind lightly blew through the open door and I hated it. My eyes closed as the cinnamon cleared and his scent filled my senses.
Oh hell.
I exhaled, my eyes opening again. He stood there, studying me.
“You need to leave,” I said flatly. “The cinnamon is gone. You smell… amazing.”
If he didn’t leave soon, he’d be in a lot of trouble.
“I’m having a hard time moving,” he said.
“Am I forcing you? Can you tell?” I asked.
Don’t answer me. Just leave. Just leave.
“No,” he said. “I don’t think so. You are just so very beautiful. I pride myself on being professional, but it’s like you’re stripping me down to basic instincts.”
“Damn it,” I said. “That’s sexy.”
“You’re going to have to close your eyes and turn around. Otherwise, I’m not going to be able to leave,” he said. “Just go inside and close the door.”
I kept telling myself, “You can do this. You can do this.”
I stepped back inside, closed my eyes, and shut the door, the stench of cinnamon once again wrapping around me. It was getting very unbearable to repeatedly embarrass myself in front of men because I couldn’t control myself.
After a few moments, I heard his car start and head down the drive. He was gone and I still couldn’t calm down. My parents were MIA and I had to assume they were in bed. I ran to the bathroom and took the coldest shower of my life. Somehow, it didn’t have any effect. I guessed that supernatural arousal was something far worse. At that moment, I hated my new life more than before because I knew that was only the beginning.
Chapter Nine
A couple of days came and went relatively uneventful. Taking Andrews’ advice, I went to the other gym and signed up. My regular gym wasn’t twenty-four hours, so that would be a nice change. The equipment was much nicer as well. My “cravings” had gotten worse, so I decided to start sooner rather than later. I kept myself from ogling the local townsfolk by putting a little Vicks under my nose. It overpowered my senses and kept me sane.
Hot men and women were everywhere and I had no idea what the hell I was doing. It seemed that my very mild amusement with women had turned full-on bi-sexual since my awakening. Instead of simply seeing them as beautiful as I once had, I found myself wanting more. Much more. It was embarrassing, the lack of control I had.
Instead of looking at anyone around me, I focused only on music and the equipment. The vapor rub only slightly curbed the smell of adrenaline in the air. I got on the elliptical and found it easy, minus my lungs burning. Apparently, my legs were stronger than those. I turned up the resistance and fought through the annoying side stitch that I soon acquired.
After wandering around a bit watching others use the equipment, I picked up a few things. Before long I was using the leg press and doing more weight than I imagined I’d be able to. I did my best not to scare the regulars by looking frail and being able to do more than them, but I was curious!
There was a group of guys hanging out by the office area. All of them hot. Disgustingly hot. All of them ripped. They weren’t overly muscular, more like thick fitness models. Perfect. One in particular took notice of me and I wasn’t exactly sure why. Did he think I was hot? Or was it the opposite? Did he think I was hideous and had no place there? It was hard to tell.
The Great Beefcake Mystery had me baffled, so I did my best to keep to myself and not make any eye contact. It was safer for him that way, anyway. I made my way from station to station doing circuits. It was so obvious that I had no idea what I was doing, even less with increased strength. After close to forty-five minutes of wandering around and working out at random, I decided that the whole trip was a bust and that I needed to go home. As I went to the shelf to get my things, I noticed that guy looking at me again, only he was alone by then. Ignoring it, I quickly grabbed my things.
“Hey. Succubus. Do you need someone to show you around?”
I jumped, turning to see him standing right next to me.
“What did you call me?” I asked.
His left brow rose. “Succubus. I called you Succubus. I don’t know your name.”
My eyes widened. It was at that moment that a lot of things clicked in place. I wasn’t “made,” I was born. My “hunger” seemed to revolve around sex and not blood. Andrews wanted me to start at that gym specifically, even though I told him that I already had one that I liked. I knew what a Succubus was. It was a demon that needed sex to survive. A supernatural being, anyway. Maybe not a “demon” necessarily. The question was, did that guy know what he was calling me? Or did he decide to be a dick? Women were sometimes called Succubi as a negative term. Soul suckers, as some men liked to refer to us as.
“Excuse me?” I said. “Why did you call me that? Are you being rude?”
“It’s rude to ask if you need help?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “I mean calling me Succubus.”
He paused, staring down at me. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” I said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an uber-feminist, not that there is anything wrong with it, I suppose. It’s just not for me. But you calling me Succubus… isn’t that like me walking up to you and calling you dick?”
“Holy shit,” he said.
“What?”
&nbs
p; “You really are serious, aren’t you?” he asked.
I looked at him with what must have been an incredibly awkward expression. I needed to know if he knew what I was or if he was just a regular jerk. If he knew, then I just walked into Andrew’s very convenient trap.
“You are a Succubus, yes? Therefore, I called you by what you are. It would be no different if I’d said ‘Hey, brunette’. To go back to your example, it would be no different than you saying ‘Hey, Vampire’, since you don’t know my name, which is Cass, by the way. I am a Vampire, so I wouldn’t be upset if you called me out like that,” he said.
Succubus.
Vampire.
He’s a Vampire.
I’m a… Succubus.
“How do you know?” I asked.
He smiled. “My nose. I can identify anyone. Succubi smell the best, even better than humans. Although, Immortals smell pretty good, too. How do you not know this?”
I stood there, staring at him then. After a few moments of confusion on his face, the expression was replaced by one of enlightenment.
“Oh, my God,” he said. “You didn’t know? How is that possible?”
“Long story. And hey! If that’s what I am, why would you just say it out loud in front of a bunch of random people?”
“Because no one cares. At all.” He looked around. “Oh, my God! She’s a Succubus!” he yelled. “A Succubus, I tell you! And I’m a Vampire!”
I smacked him hard in the arm. It didn’t seem to faze him. More than likely it was because his arms were huge. I nearly broke my hand on it.
He smiled. “See? No one gives a damn. They probably assume we’re being dicks. Before you knew about all this, if I’d called someone in here a Succubus or a Vampire, would you have believed it wholeheartedly? Or would you have rolled your eyes and went on about your business?”
“Valid point,” I said.
I exhaled deeply. There it was. My answer. All my answers for everything. Right in front of me. It was unbelievable to me. How convenient…
“You wouldn’t happen to know a Devon Andrews, would you?” I asked.
