42nd & Lex (44 page)

I resist verbally commenting on his daring to leave my
car $90,000 car on the curb just in time for a careless street sweeper. He
dutifully ignores my thoughts. I lick the schmear off my fingers while Lucan goes
through the motions of getting us into the Enclave. I feel a lot better with
some food on my stomach but I am still angry. 

A man who is in all things a doctor—and a vampire—meets
us in the lobby. He is middle-aged distinguished with a graying beard and
little round glasses. He wears a buttoned up vest and a bow tie under his starched
white lab coat. His face doesn’t look exactly friendly and caring like you’d expect
in a doctor, but maybe it’s just the early hour.

“Luke, what’s the emergency?” he asks, using Lucan’s
nickname. “You both look fine to me.”

“Dr. Steinman, this is Abri, my Sodalis. We were just
bound yesterday and there have been some interesting developments.”

“Abri, it’s nice to meet you. I'm sorry I missed the
ceremony, I was assisting with a birth upstate.”

“Nice to meet you too.” I pop the last of my bagel in my
mouth and extend my hand after wiping it on my jeans. “Sorry, I was starving.”

Dr. Steinman and I shake hands and he motions for us to
follow him towards the elevators. We get in and go up this time instead of
down. Lucan has stayed quiet since our introductions. I try to read his
thoughts but all I’m getting is the
Brady Bunch
theme song. 

We step off the elevator and into a normal doctor’s
office type waiting room. “This way,” Dr. Steinman directs. “There’s no one
here on Saturday to check you in.”

We follow him down a narrow hallway into a small lab. He
washes his hands in a sink attached to the wall. Pointing to a cart that holds blood-drawing
supplies, he grumbles, “I'm going to have to stick you myself. No nurse.”

“Okay,” I reply without emotion.

 Dr. Steinman is either not one for words or is
extremely put out at having to come into his office this early on a Saturday.
That makes two of us. I dislike needles and blood drawing, but I figure I’m not
in much of a position to argue given that I’ve willingly allowed myself to be
bled twice in the last twelve hours—and by much less sanitary or conventional
means.

After Dr. Steinman draws my blood, he ushers us into an examination
room to await the results. Lucan paces the floor while I flip through a months
old magazine someone left on the examination table. The paper cover crinkles
and crunches under my butt as I scoot back to get comfortable.

Dr. Steinman returns about twenty minutes later with a
print out and a puzzled look on his face.

“Abri, are you adopted?”

“Ah, no—at least not that I know of. My parents would
have told me by now, I assume. Why?”

“Then is there anyone in your immediate family who’s
adopted?” he asks as he flips through the pages of the report again. “One of
your parents perhaps? Grandparents even?”

“Ah, well, my great-grandmother on my dad’s side was. Her
family died in the Galveston hurricane in 1900 when she was just a few months
old.”

“Did she ever meet anyone from her family, I mean after
the storm?”

“No, they were all lost. She was found on the beach a
few days after the storm. She wouldn’t have known who to look for if she’d
wanted to. No one ever came looking for her either. Why is this important,
Doc?”

“Well,” he begins. “Luke, you might want to stop pacing
and sit down a minute.”

Lucan obeys and plops down on the examination table
beside me. The metal creaks in protest of the force. 

“Abri it would appear your great-grandmother was a vampire,
well at least born of one. She never knew it, I'm assuming. I am
assuming
because if she had known it, chances are you would have too and I wouldn’t be
here at the ass crack of dark thirty on my day off explaining it to you.”

His irritation is not lost on me even though his tone is
light. I choose to ignore it, focusing instead on his diagnosis. “I'm… I’m part
vampire? Vampires can have children?” I stammer out, gripping Lucan’s leg for
support. “How in hell is either one of those things possible?”

“The easy explanation? Sodalis must run in your family.
Your great-great grandparents were Sodali. Specifically, your
great-great-grandmother was a human and your great-great-grandfather was
vampire. Your great-grandmother was born human, I’d guess, and passed on the
vampire genes to your family line. It’s not surprising it’s been dormant until
you. Sometimes the human offspring, such as your great-grandmother, your
grandmother, and your father, never exhibit any vampiric traits. The blood
exchange last night must have kicked it into gear. You’ve probably never had
reason to drink another person’s blood before, right?”

“Right…” I answer reflexively. My mind is trying to
process what the good doctor’s just said.

Lucan looks green beside me. “If that was true for
Abri’s ancestors, then it’s true for us as well, right?”

“Luke, my boy, I'm guessing there are a few things you
didn’t know about finding your soul mate.” Dr. Steinman is laughing hard now. “Here
I thought you knew damn near everything. Long as I’ve known you, I’ve never
seen you this way. Damn boy and you went to medical school.”

“Doc, I’m pretty sure Lucan and I know how babies are
made, medical school or not. But how can vampires have children? I thought the
whole dead thing kinda took that off the table.”  

“That’s what you’d expect. But if a human woman is with a
male vampire it is possible, nearly impossible to avoid if the same parties are
Sodali. The children are either human or vampire, it selects just like eye or
hair color. You never know what you’re going to get. The baby I delivered last
night was vampire. Cute little thing, sharp teeth though,” Dr. Steinman chuckles,
showing us a bandaged pinky finger.

“Mother and baby are doing fine now. Probably on their
way back to northern Canada as we speak. Anyway, even the human babies carry
the vampire gene and can pass some of the traits along. Long story short,
that’s why the blood affected you like it did, Abri. Why it tasted, well, like
vampire blood. I’m sure you would have known sooner if you two hadn’t been
waiting for the ceremony to take a taste.”

Lucan lets out a string of Gaelic curses. “I tasted it
last night too, but I figured it was because you had taken my blood at the same
time. It doesn’t take much to be detectible. But then you told me that you were
hungry afterwards. And then this morning, when I tried to feed, all you could
think about was wanting to do the same.”

I blush. “Well, at least there is a medical explanation
for that and not because you turned me into something. Looks like I was already
turned. I'm sorry for accusing you.”   

Lucan squeezes my hand. “I'm sorry too.”

 “Well, I guess you too have a lot to talk about. I’m
going to head back home if there’s nothing else I can do for you here. Abri,
you’re perfectly healthy according to your labs,” he says putting my chart
away. 

“Thanks, Doc.”

“You’re welcome. It’s a lot to take in at once, but, in
the end, you’ll be fine.”

“Doc, will this blood lust thing continue with me?” I am
comfortable with the notion of Lucan drinking blood, even my blood, but I’m not
sure I’m ready to imbibe myself—in spite of what my genetic mutation is trying
to tell me.

“Good question, dear. I have no idea. Each half-breed is
different. Even the human ones retain some vampire traits, as you’ve learned. I
think it’s safe to experiment and see what happens. I would just caution you
against taking too much from each other at the same time.”

“Because Lucan could accidently turn me?”

“Precisely. Or worse, make you a Halfling. While you’re
safe from being turned by other vampires, Lucan can still turn you. The fact
that you already have some vampire tendencies might make that easier.”

There needs to be a manual for this Sodalis business.
Maybe I’ll write one someday if I ever figure it out. 

Life is beginning to get back to normal, or as normal as
my life will ever be bonded to a vampire. Mark and Sarah moved back into their
apartment and Zaid and Amelia headed to California for a few weeks on an urgent
containment mission. We are still on constant Serge watch, but things are a
little more relaxed now that I am immune from his bite.

The Enclave guard was dismissed after the ceremony
because I wasn’t going to rest until things were back to normal. Between the
security system and my Sodalis bond, I felt I was pretty safe. Lucan wasn’t as
confident but he’s coming around.

 I am taking a few weeks off from work before starting
as General Counsel at the new women’s shelter. Max and Linds are coming with
me. Carson and Jones were a little upset at losing two attorneys and a valuable
paralegal but they just couldn’t compete with the salaries we’d been offered. Lindsey
jumped at the chance to leave because her relationship with Brooks was getting
harder to hide and neither wanted to break up or risk termination. I think Max
can’t bear to let me dive head first into the vampire world alone, this is his
way making sure I don’t get lost.

In the few weeks since our bonding ceremony, Lucan has
warmed up to the idea of me being his primary food source. We are taking it slow,
a sip here and there. I still have blood urges every now and again, but the
fear of becoming a Halfling keeps me from acting on them for the most part.

We both are becoming proficient at the mental earmuffs,
well at least I am. My constant mental chatter makes it easier for me to tune
Lucan out. I stopped worrying what he heard in my head weeks ago, but it is
still unsettling for him to know I can hear his thoughts. I hear him mostly
when I’m falling asleep. He compensates by reading the latest investment
prospectus before bed, which is guaranteed to put me out almost instantly. 

I am enjoying my other pseudo-vampire abilities as well.
My vision has improved so much that I no longer need contacts. I started a
workout routine in Lucan’s home gym and after a week, I was able to run an
eight minute mile. My strength has improved so much that I am currently
benching more than my own body weight.

Lucan’s inner monolog interrupts mine as he walks down
the stairs to the gym. He is thinking about dinner—and not of the liquid
variety, which is strange.

“In here,” I call even though he always knows where I am.

“Mark just called. He and Sarah are going to drop by in
a bit. He says that Sarah has been bugging him for two weeks to call us. She
thinks you’ve had enough alone time with me, no matter what Mark says. They want
to say thank you for everything we’ve done.”

“Awesome. I just need a shower.” I put down the bar with
the two forty-five pound weights on either in and grab my towel. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that I’m surprised you can lift that
much so soon.”

“Oh,” I blush.” I am just trying to see how much I can
lift now that my inner vamp has been activated. I think it’s maxed out here at
two twenty-five, although I did a few reps of two fifty the other day.”

“You could probably pick me up.” His fangs run out a
little.

“Like that idea, do you?” I smile coyly. “Wanna see what
else I can do?”

Before he can answer, I lean up and kiss him on mouth,
my tongue darting inside to lick around his fangs which are a direct line to
his sex drive. He reaches for me, but I am too quick. I use my new speed and
strength to launch away from him and dart up the stairs. He catches up quickly
and pounces on me somewhere near the couch. I pull him down to the cushions and
kiss him again. 

“Holy shit, Abri.” He isn’t winded at all, but there is
exasperation in his voice. I am nowhere near vampire speed, but I can blow the
doors off most humans in a short distance.

“I’m not sure how much of that is Sodalis and how much
is vamp genetics but it’s freakin’ cool.” I’m not winded either, even with
Lucan’s weight on top of me. “Now, are you going to let me shower or not?”

Lucan smiles and flashes to his feet, pulling me with
him. He smacks me lightly on the butt as I head for the bathroom. There are no
more amps unless he wills them and I kind of miss it.   

“I am so glad we will be alone later tonight,” he calls
after me.

I catch a few lusty mental images from him as I strip to
get into the shower. I turn to glance at myself in the mirror and open my mind
so he can see what I’m seeing. He drops what sounds like a glass in the kitchen
and it makes me laugh. 

***

Mark is flopped across the couch with Lucan when I open
the bathroom door again. I didn’t hear them come in over the sound of my
hairdryer. Guess there are some limits to my increased senses. There is a
hockey game on the television and Mark is muttering something about Dallas and
playoffs. Lucan scoffs beside him and goes on about the Rangers taking it all
the way. Sarah is staring at her phone, a bored look on her face.

“Hey guys. How have ya’ll been?”

“Good. Abri, you look amazing. I think that Sodalis
thing is making you look younger.”

“Possibly or maybe it’s just the vampire genes that
kicked in.” We haven’t told anyone about my discovery. Mark and Sarah look
puzzled. “Yeah, apparently my great-great grandparents were Sodali too and my
great-grandma was a vampire-human hybrid. The blood exchange during the
ceremony awakened some latent vampirism in me. That’s why I was so blood hungry
afterwards.”

We spend the next twenty minutes filling them in on me
and my blood cravings, the danger of turning me, and my newfound abilities. Mark
wants to arm wrestle but Lucan is afraid I might actually hurt him, so we
settle on seeing who can bench the most weight. I beat him by ten pounds and
five reps. 

“I’m so happy for you guys,” Sarah says as we settle
back down in the living room. “We wanted to give you guys something as a thank
you for all you’ve done for us. Without you both our marriage would be over and
God knows what would have happened to Mark.” She tears up as she reaches into
her bag.