Thomas stared at the door suspiciously. What the hell?
“I said come in.” Artemis’ voice was louder with the door open. She sounded annoyed, which was odd to Thomas. “Was it stuck or something?”
Artemis stood by the kitchen, dressed in a pale-yellow summer dress. Her hair was tied up in a bun using chopsticks from the kitchen. The apartment smelled like a bakery. Cookies, brownies, and small cakes lined the countertops and the warm oven kept the place toasty. Thomas couldn’t help but smile, his mouth salivating for something other than blood for the first time in over 24 hours. Stress baking had been a habit of hers since high school.
Artemis watched him apprehensively. “Thomas?”
“Yeah, er—well, I don’t know what happened.”
An odd shiver ran down his spine as a tiny resistance pressed against him as he crossed the threshold, almost as if he were passing through a membrane. Thomas turned and stared at the doorway in bewilderment.
“Are you sick? You’re really pale,” Artemis said when he didn’t close the door. The annoyance was gone from her voice, replaced by concern. She stepped around him, closing the door, and steered him toward his beanbag. “Sit down. I’ll make some tea. I bought a blend of jasmine, green tea, and some special ginger root that grows near a set of ley lines in China. You know what ley lines are, right? I think I’ve told you. I’ve been reading a book about them.”
Thomas was surprised how relieved he felt to be in Artemis’ place. He felt safe here, secure. Artemis’ place had always felt more comfortable to him than his own. He leaned back into the beanbag, feeling himself relax for the first time since he woke up a vampire.
After a few minutes, Artemis returned from the kitchen bearing a kettle and a couple of teacups. She placed them on a little folding table no taller than a step stool and carefully moved it right next to Thomas’ beanbag. She sat on the floor opposite him and began preparing the tea.
After filling the cups, Artemis frowned at them before standing and going back to the kitchen. When she returned again, she plopped a dollop of honey deliberately into the cup nearest Thomas and stirred.
Thomas accepted the tea from Artemis, grinning at her dissatisfaction.
“More chakra tea?”
“I wish you didn’t have so much of a sweet tooth,” Artemis said grimly. “Then I wouldn’t have to alter your tea.”
“You know I appreciate it.”
“Yeah,” Artemis grinned. “I know.”
Thomas sipped his tea and stared into the contents of his cup. The tea tasted the same as it always had, but it was no longer satisfying. Not in the way blood was.
Tapping the handle of his teacup, Thomas gathered his will to speak, the moonshine in his system amping up his courage.
“Artemis, you’ve run across some strange stuff since you started practicing . . . whatever it is you believe,” Thomas started, still staring into his teacup. “You’ve probably heard some really strange rumors, maybe even met strange people, right?”
Artemis considered this carefully, her eyes narrow as she watched Thomas.
“Well,” she said slowly. “Considering how different our ideas of strange people are from one another, I would say the answer to your question is probably yes.”
“But you’ve accepted them anyway,” Thomas pressed, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. “No matter how weird their stories and beliefs? You always give people a chance.”
Artemis sipped her tea, watching Thomas over the rim of her cup. “I think you’re complimenting me, so thank you.”
After a slight pause. Thomas cleared his throat, gathering his courage. “The thing is, last night I was attacked on my way home from your apartment.”
He’d already told her this, but he didn’t know where else to begin. Artemis waited patiently, but her heartbeat increased. Thomas paused as he listened to her heart. Excitement rushed through him, and he fought against the building desire for her blood.
“You saw my hand, my neck. It wasn’t a normal attack. The man beat me up pretty bad, but he did more than that.”
The sound of Artemis’ heart pounded in Thomas’ ears. It raced as she grew more concerned with every word he spoke. He closed his eyes. How could he break the news? Maybe he shouldn’t tell her. Maybe he could find a way to hide his new condition.
“Tom?” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. It pulled him from his thoughts. No, he didn’t have a choice. He had to tell her.
“The worst of it is the man bit me—”
“Someone bit you?”
Both Thomas and Artemis jumped. Somehow, despite Thomas’ heightened senses, he’d been snuck up on again. He’d been too focused on Artemis. He needed to learn not to focus on more than one thing. Now Sean stood in Artemis’ doorway, a mixture of concern, confusion, and annoyance clear on his face.
Thomas tightened his grip on his tea. He hadn’t wanted to tell Sean, not yet. He needed to gauge Artemis’ reaction first. Needed her on his side. Sean would only laugh and mock him, not believing.
“No, that wasn’t what I was saying,” Thomas backpedaled, but he knew it was too late.
Sean narrowed his eyes. “You said a man bit you.”
Thomas set his tea down. He didn’t trust himself holding it any longer. Instead he clenched his fists and shoved them under his legs. He was trapped—there was no hiding the truth now. He sighed.
“No, I mean, yes. When I was walking home last night.”
Artemis sat a little straighter, wide-eyed and staring at Thomas.
Sean was concerned as well, but unlike his sister who was more inclined to listen, he spoke the first thing that came to mind.
“Like you were mugged or . . .” Sean said, trying to make sense of what Thomas was saying.
“No, he bit me. I mean he beat me up first, but then . . .” Thomas lifted his hand for Sean to see.
Sean crossed the room and squinted at the dark wounds on Thomas’ hand.
“Looks like you were bored at the hospital with a permanent marker to me.”
“There’s a couple on his neck too,” Artemis said, not fooled by Sean’s act for a second.
Thomas adjusted the neckline of his shirt, revealing the bruised puncture marks on his neck.
“Correction,” Sean said, pulling away from Thomas’ neck. “You must have been really bored and had a good mirror. Unless you got a coworker to help out.”
“So he bit you,” Artemis breathed, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. “Then what happened? Did anyone check you out while you were at the hospital?”
“Besides a couple of desperate nurses, am I right?” Sean chuckled.
Artemis gave her brother a withering glare. Thomas coughed uncomfortably. Sean dropped his gaze and shoved his hands into his pockets. His flippant approach to certain situations made talking about serious topics nigh impossible.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“No, something came up before I could ask. Besides, I’m pretty sure what happened to me isn’t something I can get examined anyway.”
“You shouldn’t wait too long,” Artemis said, concern seeping into her voice. “Bites can be pretty nasty. Who knows what sort of diseases he might have been carrying?”
“Um, I’m gonna have to call you back.”
Penny stood in the doorway with her cell phone to her ear like the night before. Thomas couldn’t remember hearing the door open, and he didn’t want to admit he’d been caught unawares twice in one evening. Maybe Sean had left the door open.
After letting herself in, Penny shut the door and sat next to Artemis. As soon as Penny was settled, Artemis leaned her head onto her best friend’s shoulder.
“Someone bit you, huh? I’ve had my fair share of bad dates lately, but you win,” Penny said, deadpan.
Thomas’ face flushed with embarrassment. He knew how his story sounded, and he wasn’t at the strangest part. Now he had two extra listeners when it was hard enough to decide what to say to one. Penny’
s perfume was stronger than normal, and the artificial scent bothered him. Agitated, he scooted further back into the beanbag, away from Penny’s perfume. At least it drowned out Artemis’ more natural scents, which he found hard to ignore as he talked to her.
“Artemis wants to get him to a hospital,” Sean said. “He was mugged last night.”
“I wasn’t mugged,” Thomas said, his voice a little too loud. “I was attacked.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Penny asked.
“No, mugging is for money,” Artemis pointed out. “Being attacked is just violent.”
“Guys, he didn’t mug me.” Thomas said.
He stared at his hands for a few silent moments. He didn’t want to tell Sean and Penny right now. He wanted to test the waters, get someone on his side before he sprang the news on the rest of his friends—if he ever told all of them.
Thomas could come back later, when Artemis was alone. Sean and Penny wouldn’t understand. They couldn’t. He stood up, looking away from his friends. He couldn’t meet Artemis’ eyes right now, not when he planned to walk away from her a second time that day.
“Artemis is right. I should go to the hospital.”
Thomas started walking toward the door, but Sean stepped in front of him and grabbed his arm. His grip seemed light to Thomas, but the new vampire could see the strain in his friend’s fingers. Sean was using all his strength, or close to it. With the increased strength running through his body as a result of being so close to Artemis and wanting her blood, Thomas could easily push Sean aside—and he wanted to. Part of him wanted to throw Sean against the wall, to show that no one could stop him. That he could control all of them, to drain all of their blood. He—
No, he couldn’t think like that. Thomas couldn’t allow himself to entertain the violent and bloodthirsty thoughts that kept coming naturally to him.
“Don’t leave now,” Sean whispered. Thomas bet the others hadn’t heard, but his vampire ears had caught each soft word. “Don’t do it. At least for Artemis.”
Thomas glanced over his shoulder. Artemis watched him with glistening eyes. His focus on Artemis, Thomas could smell her over Penny’s perfume again. He sighed, shrugging off Sean and returning to the beanbag. He would tell Sean and Penny, too, for Artemis’ sake.
“He didn’t mug me.” Thomas paused and searched Artemis’ face. Her eyes still glistened after several short blinks, but her attention encouraged Thomas. If anything, she wouldn’t think he was crazy, or at least that he wasn’t insane. He inhaled and continued. “He drank my blood.”
All three friends gaped at him. He groaned internally. This was why he’d wanted to tell Artemis alone. With Sean and Penny here, he couldn’t talk to her by himself. Couldn’t ask her what her exact beliefs were concerning paganism and the supernatural. Maybe she already believed in vampires, or at least a somewhat similar supernatural being with a different name. Maybe. Hopefully. She’d already confirmed she was more accepting of other people. Accepting the existence of supernatural creatures would make breaking the news to her easier, but now he couldn’t ask, at least not by himself. His last-minute plan was going to hell.
“That isn’t the important part,” he said, his voice louder than he’d meant it to be.
Sean’s face furrowed in confusion, “Wait, you want us to believe someone drank your blood and that’s not the important part?” Sean smiled again. “Priority check for Thomas Spencer.”
“You’re really not helping.” Artemis scowled.
In an attempt to gather his courage, Thomas looked at each of his friends, trying to predict how they would react. They weren’t going to believe him. How could they? He didn’t believe it himself at first. Sean would scoff and tease him. Penny might think he was high—what other logical guess would she have despite his clean track record? Artemis. . . . He regretted not leaving her place earlier.
“Guys, I’m a . . .” Thomas’ voice faltered as his heart raced. He cleared his throat; he had to tell them somehow. “I’m a vampire.”
Footsteps rattled on the metal steps. The door opened, revealing a puzzled Nelson as he saw everyone’s expressions. Thomas couldn’t blame him. They portrayed a mixture of shock, disbelief, disappointment, and concern. Only Artemis only looked worried.
“You . . . think you’re a vampire?” Penny asked slowly, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“Wait, what?” Nelson asked, looking over at Penny then back at Thomas, frowning.
“He says someone tried to drink his blood last night,” Penny said, her voice a little tenser.
“And he thinks he’s a vampire,” Artemis added slowly.
All of his friends stared at him as if he was some sort of lunatic. He’d expected doubt. In fact, he would have been a little disappointed with them if they’d accepted his story immediately, but Thomas had hoped Artemis would have at least tried to believe him. She still might, of course, but he could tell from her expression it might take some time.
“Sounds like you had one hell of a night,” Nelson said, still standing in the doorway.
“I’m not insane.” Thomas had to defend himself. He couldn’t let them leave now without a better explanation. “Will you let me explain what happened?”
They exchanged glances, then one by one they nodded.
“Wait, I’ll get more cups,” Artemis said, leaping to her feet.
While she was busy in the kitchen getting more teacups, Nelson settled in his customary seat. Artemis rushed back, teacups clinking in her hands, and served the rest of the tea before snuggling up to Penny once more.
“Okay, go,” she said, sipping from her own cup.
“It happened near the school after Nelson and I split up,” Thomas began.
◆◆◆
It took half an hour and several cups of tea for Thomas to tell his wild tale. He tried to be as detailed as possible and explained how he’d been attacked and bitten, how he’d woken up in the Red Lightning Pub with Lawrence, and how the sun had stung him.
Penny looked up the Red Lightning Pub on her phone and showed everyone the wide screen marking the pub on a map. Once everyone had seen the location, she started reading some of the reviews, some of which were terrible because people were still allowed to smoke in it and the lighting was awful.
“Look, Thomas,” Penny said. “Even with the pub being real . . . It isn’t that we don’t want to believe you—”
“Your story’s a bit unbelievable,” Nelson finished.
Thomas met each person’s gaze, feeling hopeless. What more could he say? If the sun was out he could have shown them how his skin blistered with unnatural rapidity. He couldn’t wait until morning—they might check him into a psychiatric hospital by then. He needed something else to prove how unnatural he was.
“Artemis.” He beckoned her closer and whispered in her ear. “Do you have a cross or some other religious paraphernalia?”
Artemis frowned and glanced around the room. She lifted a finger, and her expression brightened.
“I have just the thing.”
Penny, Nelson, and Sean watched her curiously as Artemis rifled through various drawers of her dresser. They exchanged blank looks and turned their collective attention onto Thomas. Wanting to wait for Artemis, Thomas avoided their eyes.
“Here we go,” Artemis said and set a small necklace on the little folding table with a soft clink.
Nelson and Sean got up from their chairs and leaned over the table with Penny to inspect it. A little silver cross hung from the delicate chain. Thomas recoiled at the sight of it. But after a few deep breaths, he regained control and was almost able to relax in the beanbag chair.
“So,” Sean asked, still staring at the cross. “What’s this for?”
“I’m gonna touch it.” Thomas scooted forward. He knew touching the cross would burn him, but he also had the blood in his pocket. He would be able to heal quickly, and his friends would be able to witness it.
Sean and Penny stared at him.
“Earlier a church door burned my skin. The cross should do the same.” Thomas tried to smile but found it more difficult than he’d anticipated. “Either way it’ll hurt.”
He reached toward the cross and the others leaned back, matching looks of apprehension adorning all of their faces.
Thomas hesitated, his fingers hovering centimeters from the cross. Every bone in his body screamed at him to withdraw. The curse’s instinctual fear of holy items pulled at him with incredible force. He had to fight it. He’d already decided. Lawrence had assured him he could be a surgeon again. One day he would be able to control his hunger and his new superhuman strength. But he would never be able to replace his friends. This was for them.
Clenching his teeth, Thomas scooped the cross into the palm of his hand, closing his fingers around it. As the cross touched his skin, the others drew in a sharp breath as one.
The effects were immediate.
Thomas hissed in pain as the cross burned against his skin. The sound startled Artemis, who got hastily to her knees and peered at Thomas’ hand. As she reached out to him, Thomas pulled away, shaking his head.
He held the cross for a few seconds more, then opened his hand and let it fall onto the table.
As one, Penny, Nelson, and Sean leaned in next to Artemis for a better look.
The cross was unchanged. It wasn’t tarnished or damaged in any way.
Thomas’ hand couldn’t claim the same.
Taking his hand in hers, palm up, Penny groaned. A perfect match of the cross on the table was burned into Thomas’ hand.
The burn was different than the burn Thomas had received from the sun. In the sun, his skin had blistered and split like a normal sunburn taken to a horrifying new level. The cross, however, had charred his skin like burnt wood.
The sight of his blackened skin made Thomas’ stomach roll and his hunger heightened. He looked away as he wrestled control with his hunger, letting the others take their time observing his wound. Once or twice, someone stroked the burn, and he withheld a painful moan. They couldn’t know how much their gentle prodding hurt him. They needed to witness the burn and accept it was real. Only then could he drink the blood and relieve himself from the pain and building hunger.
Shadows of Colesbrooke Page 7
