by Jen Pretty
“Working hard, I see,” he said snidely.
“Just taking a break to admire the work that’s already been done,” I replied in the same tone.
Mr. Crowden narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything more. He scanned the room and nodded. “Very well, are you ready to go home? The sun will be up in an hour.”
I stood up slowly and dusted my pants. I was looking forward to having breakfast, a hot bath, and heading to bed. My back and various other parts of me hurt from all the recent combat training.
I followed the vampire out the door and climbed into his speedy little car.
“You know, Lark, I’m not as harsh as you think,” he said as he pulled the car away from the curb.
I stifled my laugh as best I could, but he heard it. “Sorry,” I muttered, forcing my face into a serious expression.
He was silent a long time as if I had messed up the talk he was planning to have with me, and now he had nothing to say. Oops.
When we pulled up to the house, I moved to get out, but he stopped me with a cold hand on my arm.
“Call me Vincent, Lark.” He released me and slipped out of the vehicle, unfolding his tall frame and marching into the house before I could reply. Alright then.
In the dining room, I found my team sitting down with their breakfast, so I filled a plate and sat down beside Vlad.
He smiled at me, nudging me with his shoulder. I smiled back and started eating while listening to the conversation already going on between the team.
“I’m not saying that all rogues are bad,” Cedric continued. “Just that the rogues in this city should be exterminated. They cause too many problems for the rest of us.”
“I disagree,” Gabby countered. “I think each case should be looked at separately. Some vampires just want to be left alone and not be part of the community, that doesn’t make them inherently bad. Vampires not breaking the laws should be left in peace.”
“You always say that, but we both know that vampires can’t be left in peace, eventually they decide to start causing problems if they aren’t kept in line. Look at Vernon. He was left alone because everyone thought he was obeying the laws. Now we know the truth,” Cedric said before going back to his food as if that settled the argument.
“Who is Vernon?” I asked.
Vlad turned to me and spoke, “One of the elders, like Vincent.”
“And Vlad,” Cedric interjected happily.
Vlad growled and continued, “Vernon was allowed to move to a small village but ended up going crazy and killing all the humans.”
“Jesus,” I whispered.
Vlad gave me a sad smile. “That’s what happens when we don't live in communities. It’s called the Fall. No vampire has ever returned to sanity once they have Fallen.”
“Is that why we hunt down all the rogues?” I asked.
“And the Fallen, yes. We can’t allow the humans to discover us and mass slaughter is like a flashing light pointed right at vampires.”
I sat back, thinking about his words. If this was true, if the vampires went crazy, I needed to be out there, hunting. Ever since I had read the information about my heritage, I had felt a stronger urge to go out at night. Even with the fear of the monsters in the dark, something was pushing me forward. My brain whispered ‘Durga,’ but I stomped that down.
“Did you catch Vernon?” I asked.
“No, he fell off the radar but now and then we hear about a mass murder in a different country. We fly in, but always too late and he is long gone,” Vlad finished sadly.
“Anyway, no more bedtime stories, we have to get to work, and you have to get to bed. Your new trainer will arrive tonight, and you better be in top form,” Vlad said before he picked up my empty plate, along with his own, and walking them back to the kitchen.
I said my goodbyes and dragged myself back to my room. Food coma here I come. After a shower, I slipped into fleece pyjamas then tucked myself in and fell asleep.
✽✽✽
“Again,” the bossy bastard said from the side of the gym where he had been standing for the last two hours yelling at me.
“Damn it,” I cursed before getting back up and stretching out the kink in my neck. This new trainer was human but didn’t have much better plans for me than my team had. I was on my ass more than anything and definitely not learning how to fight.
I got ready for my next assault, bracing my legs in a wide stance. We had been practicing how to escape from a rear attack, but the attack never came; instead, I heard an ‘oof’ and spun around to find the assistant, also a human, on his back and a very angry vampire, standing over him.
“What the? Mr. Crowden, that wasn’t called for, he’s just doing as he’s told,” I said, looking down at the poor guy on the ground. The air was knocked out of him, and I totally felt for the guy.
“Vincent,” the vampire said, “I asked you to call me Vincent.”
“Fine, Vin-cent,” I drew his name out. “What the fuck?”
“This instructor came highly recommended but doesn’t seem to have any clue how to teach someone to fight. I’ve had enough of this. I will train you from now on. This is too important to trust to these imbeciles.”
The instructor was quite red in the face and looked like he might yell but, thankfully, Vlad ushered him out the door before he could start yelling and get the vampire angrier.
I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t looking forward to spending one on one time fighting the grumpy vampire, but I needed to learn to protect myself.
Vincent took a deep breath and collected himself then turned to me. “We will start tomorrow night. You can take the rest of the night off.”
I waited until his back was turned to do a little happy dance. I hadn’t seen Frankie in days and hadn’t had a night at the bar in longer.
I jogged back to my room and sent a text to Frankie who agreed to pick me up.
I had a quick shower and changed into jeans and a tank top, then hopped back down the stairs and out the front door.
As I strapped my helmet on, I happened to glance back at the mansion and saw the curtains close on Vincent’s third-floor office. Had he been watching me?
“I’m glad you messaged me, Lark,” Frankie said bringing me back from my musing.
I smiled up at him. “I can’t believe I have a night off. Where do you want to go?”
One corner of his lip lifted in a grin. “I know just the place.”
Frankie and I rode out of the city and into the next town. He pulled the bike up to a one-story, board and baton building that looked like an old-fashioned saloon except for the dozens of motorcycles out front instead of horses.
“What is this place?” I asked as I took off my helmet.
“This,” he said proudly. “Is the Crossroads.”
I laughed, “That’s what it says on the back of your jacket.”
“Yes, it’s the name of our coven,” he replied.
I stopped. “Are you sure I should be here? Isn’t this kind of a secret?”
Frankie reached back and grabbed my hand, pulling me forward till he could wrap his arm across my shoulders. “You will be fine. I decide who can come here.” He laughed and walked me through the door.
Inside, as I suspected, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. Most had curious faces, but some seemed less than pleased.
“This is the Durga, anyone who has a problem with her being here, speak now so I can fry your ass,” Frankie said.
“Can you really fry people?” I whispered.
He winked but didn’t answer my question. I let the fact he called me Durga go. It kind of sounded badass.
Most people in the bar chuckled and went back to what they were doing, but a couple of people still looked pissed. I had never seen Frankie this relaxed and care-free before. He was always quiet and broody when we were at Arnie's. Which reminded me...
“What is Arnie?” I asked.
Frankie sputtered a bit on the drink he had just
taken a sip of, then wiped his mouth and laughed again.
“I knew you would pick up on that at some point. He’s a warlock too, but an ancient one. He is probably a couple hundred years old, well into retirement age.
Huh. I had no idea that warlocks lived so long. Arnie looked to be retirement age, so I guessed they just aged slower than humans. I started to wonder how old Frankie was, but he beat me to it.
“I'm thirty-five,” he replied to my unasked question. He looked about twenty, so that confirmed my theory.
The bartender handed me a drink, and we sat quietly for a while. I listened to various conversations between the men and women in the bar. Or I should say witches and warlocks. It seemed this was a place for all things magic because some people were practicing magic in the corner, lighting and extinguishing a candle with their minds or whatever. Some men beside me were discussing the best way to make a vanishing spell.
“Listen, you have to do it this way, or you will blow up the whole block,” one of the men down the bar bellowed to the man next to him.
“Calm down, Len,” Frankie called over to the irate man.
“I’m just trying to keep this fool from killing himself and everyone around him,” Len called back.
Frankie shook his head. “I’ll be right back, Lark,” he said as he slid off his bar stool and crossed to the disagreeing men.
I sighed and took another sip of my drink. When I set my glass down a thin, blond woman sat beside me and looked me up and down.
“So, you’re Frankie's girl?” she asked with a smile.
“Uh, we are friends,” I replied.
She laughed, and the sound tinkled through my eardrums making my teeth hurt.
“So, you aren’t together?” she smiled.
“No.”
“Cindy, are you harassing Lark?” Frankie asked frowning at the woman.
“Not at all,” she smiled standing a setting her hand possessively on Frankie's chest. “I was just getting to know your friend.” She looked down at me like I was an adorable small child.
I snorted at her petting Frankie’s chest like she was a cat in heat, rubbing herself on him.
Frankie disentangled himself from her, sat in his seat beside me and downed his drink. He raised two fingers to the bartender who promptly delivered another drink. When Cindy finally wandered off, he downed his second drink and said, “Let’s dance.”
“Uhm. Ok,” I replied. I had gotten pretty good at dancing in the clubs we had been going too. Not great, but good enough.
It turned out that Frankie was a great dancer. I had never seen him do much more than drink and shoot pool, so it was a complete shock. After a few songs, we both loosened up, and Frankie's hands on my hips tightened, bringing us closer together.
Cindy’s eyes flashed with anger from across the room where she sat with a group of witches before she looked away. Jealousy was not something I had experienced before. Most people didn’t even notice me, much less have a reason to stare daggers at me.
Frankie picked up on my thoughts and looked behind him at Cindy.
“She has been chasing me since we were kids,” he said, leaning in close to me. “Witches can be pretty determined.”
I snorted, and we continued dancing until I was getting tired and sober. At the bar, I had another drink, but Frankie’s limit was apparently two drinks, saying that he had to drive me home at some point and didn’t want to kill me. I appreciated the thought.
After meeting a few other warlocks from the coven who were strangely ‘happy to finally meet me,’ I started to feel like this was a date, and I was the only one who didn’t know. I blocked the thought from my mind as soon as it entered because, if it wasn’t, I didn’t want to embarrass myself around the thought-reading warlock. Frankie led me back out into the night. It had cooled off a lot since we had gone in and I shivered in my tank top.
Frankie took off his leather jacket and slid it over my shoulders. It was huge on me, but heavy and warm. Then he strapped my helmet on my head, pausing for a second and looking at me.
“What is it?” I asked, unsure why he was staring at me so seriously. I thought he was about to say something. Then he turned and put on his own helmet before getting on the bike and holding it up for me to scramble on behind him.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he kicked the engine on and tore out of the parking lot of the clubhouse.
Frankie took turns fast and straights even faster. The rush was incredible and snapped me out of my energy lull. He drove me back to the mansion and through the gates. The only trouble with the motorcycle was that we couldn’t talk, and I was left to wonder what it was he had wanted to tell me in the parking lot.
At the steps to the house, he stood up and let me off but didn’t turn off the motorcycle. I took off my helmet and handed it back to him. He tucked it away and smiled at me once sadly before driving off.
Just as he disappeared out the driveway, I remembered I was wearing his jacket, but it was too late to return it. He was already gone.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It wasn’t quite daybreak, but the house never slept. The vampires were always coming and going. I had no idea what most of them did, though many seemed to have jobs in the community. I knew one was a banker because I had been introduced to him when he set up my new account and credit card. Vincent supplied one to each member of the household to cover expenses and incidentals. I had yet to find a reason to use either. Another was the lawyer who had drafted our agreement. Vincent had offered to get a different lawyer to handle our business, but the contract was so basic even I could understand it. Most of it.
I returned to my room and hung up Frankie’s jacket, so I wouldn’t get it dirty, then remembered those stupid letters still tucked in my laptop.
I took them out, folded them up and stuffed them in my back pocket. Following the halls around the building, I passed a few vampires heading to the dining room for breakfast.
I knocked on the door to Vincent’s office. When there was no sound from inside, I slipped in and shut the door behind me. The office lights were off, and only a trace of light came under the door and through the open window blinds. I circled the desk and pulled the pages out of my pocket before flattening them out on the flat surface. They were crinkled, but I thought if I put them at the bottom of the pile of pages in a desk drawer maybe he wouldn’t notice. I tucked them away, and my eye caught on a pile of letters. I picked it up the stack and tried to get a bit of light on the top sheet from the window.
“Find what you are looking for yet?” He asked, startling me, making me drop the pages to the floor. I bent down to pick them up, scrambling for something to say.
“I was just…” I couldn’t think of anything.
“You were just what? Exchanging the letters you stole from my desk for some new ones?”
I stood up, holding the gathered pages and he was right in front of me. I tried to take a step back, but the desk was behind me.
“I was just…” I really had to get better at lying.
“I know what you were doing. Would you like me to read this out loud for you?” he asked, snatching the pages from my hands.
“No, I’m sorry. I just thought…”
“Yes, you just thought all vampires were like the one who killed your family. You judge us all by the actions of one vampire. As you have always done. As you will continue to do until you finally get your head out of the sand and look around you. Nobody is here to hurt you. We are not your enemy.” He slapped the pages down on the desk and walked out of the room.
I stood in shock for a minute, I had seen him mad and raging before, but this was new. His face hadn’t contorted, eyes weren’t bright red, and teeth weren’t long and scary. This was like he was disappointed. Crap. I was such an ass. I mean, he had threatened me at first, but since then he hadn’t given me any reason not to trust him.
Feeling about two feet tall, I walked back to my room and flopped down on my bed. I had no time to
sulk though. I had missed too many of my yoga classes and had to get going. I changed quickly and met Drake in the foyer.
“I have your vehicle out front for you. I hope you have a good class.” He smiled. I faked a smile back and thanked him.
Shanti led us through various poses, but my mind kept straying to the vampire, and I had trouble keeping my breathing steady. Yoga used to help my life be centered, but now it seemed that my life was just messing up my yoga.
At the end of class, Shanti pulled me aside.
“Are you ok, Lark?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, I’m just distracted. I’ll do better next class,” I replied.
“You know, some things are too big for yoga. Maybe some extra meditation will help you. I’m sure it's stressful opening your own studio.”
I only wished that was my biggest worry right now. I wished I had someone like Shanti to talk to about the vampires and warlocks and drama of my life. She was the closest thing I had ever had to a female friend, but she knew nothing about me or the world I was wrapped up in.
“Thank you. I’ll try that,” I said, and slapped on a fake smile even though I doubted that meditation would help.
When I walked out of the building it was pouring rain and Vincent’s sporty little car was in the space my SUV had been parked in. As I approached, I realized that the man himself was in the driver’s seat. He put the window down a crack.
“What are you doing? Where is my car?” I asked.
“I had Drake take your vehicle home. I would like to speak with you. Get in.” He raised the window, so I couldn’t argue with him. Since it was raining, I didn’t think about it too long. I sighed and opened the door, sliding into the leather seat.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, trying to cut the nervousness that was fogging up my corner of the car.
He didn’t reply right away; instead, he seemed intent on driving his vehicle carefully through the parking lot and out onto the main road.
I sat back and watched the world go by. The city was alive during the day. Commuters drove like maniacs, in and out of traffic and pedestrians with brightly coloured umbrellas hustled to where they had to be. I rarely got to see the world this time of day because I was always so tired and just trying to get home to bed after Yoga. On the rare occasions I did notice the day time world, I was amazed at the vibrant colours and fast movement.
