Blood Candy (10 page)

Medium Dave didn’t appear happy with his
leader’s assessment of vampires. Were-Jew and Felicia departed to
their positions. Candy noticed what looked like a military or law
enforcement grade utility belt around her waist, covered by her
shirt.

A knot grew in her belly as the gravity of the
situation became more apparent: They were about to go meet with
vampires. Rupert found his way into her thoughts again. She didn’t
want to constantly remember his arms around her, his face buried in
her neck. She didn’t want to remember his fangs. She didn’t want to
remember how good it felt.

Melvin pulled out a duffle bag from the back
of the SUV. Jimmy put his arm around Candy’s shoulder and said,
“Let’s head out.”

The narrow city streets came to life with
lights and people as night settled over everything. Though it
wasn’t fully dark, Candy was still nervous. In her freedom after
graduating she had become a night owl, but now she hated what came
out when the sun went down.

They found an empty table at a café in the
bookstore. Time passed by in uncomfortable silence until Jimmy’s
cell phoned buzzed. He flipped it open and read a text message, and
then he put it back on the table. Candy grabbed a
magazine.

“You guys don’t need to be so dramatic,”
Medium Dave said.

Jimmy eyed him. “I don’t care how you know
these vampires or how much you trust them. As far as I’m concerned
they’re still bloodsucking monsters.”

White Paul squirmed in his chair. “Man I’m
bloated.” He looked at the fashion magazine Candy was flipping
through. “Mind if I read that after you? That’s good material
to—”

Jimmy cut him off with a glare.

“Good for what?” Medium Dave asked, but
everyone ignored him.

Turning her head from them, Candy spotted
Were-Jew lurking near the magazine racks. Jimmy continued reading
texts each time his phoned buzzed and he sent a couple out while
they all kept an eye on the door. After what seemed like hours, she
had flipped through most of the magazine. Medium Dave fell asleep
in his chair. White Paul had ordered about five coffees, each time
complaining about the refill price to the poor girl with acne and
braces behind the counter. He eventually wandered over to a woman’s
laptop when she went to the bathroom.

Through the windows on the other side of the
café, full dark had descended over the city, causing the knot in
Candy’s stomach to tighten. People entered and exited the bookstore
at a steady pace, but there was something odd about the guy with
fair hair who walked in through the door. He had on a
diamond-patterned sweater and tan khakis even though it was warm
out. As he detached himself from the traffic of customers his eyes
went directly to the café. He spotted Medium Dave and then he made
his way over to them. Jimmy nudged the sleeping Misfit
awake.

“David,” the young man said with a wide smile.
Medium Dave stood up and shook his hand. “It’s been a long
time.”

“Hey, Chester,” Medium Dave said in a casual
manner.

Candy sensed an air of arrogance around
Chester, and combined with the way he was dressed he reminded her
of the spoiled preps she had gone to school with. She couldn’t see
anything about him that pegged him as a vampire aside from his
apparent youth and maybe his pale complexion, though that didn’t
mean anything.

“Who are your friends?” Chester
said.

“This is Jimmy and Candy,” Medium Dave
said.

“Nice to meet you,” Chester said, smiling as
if perhaps he meant it, his eyes lingering on Candy more than the
guys. “I’m Chester Mullin. Why don’t we head on out and you can
fill me in a little more on your problem.”

“Head out where?” Jimmy said.

“My mother is interested in Candy’s situation
with the British fellow. She wants to meet her in person. And of
course she’d like to see David again.”

Jimmy passed a glance to Medium Dave. “Your
mother couldn’t come here?”

The pleasant smile on Chester’s face remained
and he spoke in an equally pleasant tone. “My mother is willing to
take time out of her very busy schedule to help with your problem,”
he said. “She’s invited you to our home; an invitation not offered
to many, I assure you.”

Jimmy glanced at Medium Dave again. “How do we
know we can trust you?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Chester said, resting a
hand on Medium Dave’s shoulder. “You called for help, didn’t you?
That’s why we’re all here.”

Jimmy wasn’t convinced. He looked between
Medium Dave and Chester for a moment and then his eyes settled on
Candy. She was just as lost as him, if not more, and she didn’t
know what to make of Chester. She supposed the blue-eyed vampire
seemed pleasant enough, but then again she had been told that was
what vampires wanted people to think. She didn’t know enough and so
she gave Jimmy a slight nod to indicate her trust in his
judgment.

“Okay,” Jimmy said with some reluctance.
“We’ll meet with your mother.”

“Excellent.”

White Paul came back over to his seat. “Who’s
this prick?”

“Chester Mullin.” Jimmy sighed. “This is our
friend White Paul who has no etiquette at all. Sorry about
that.”

“A pleasure, White Paul,” Chester said
congenially, extending his hand out. White Paul stared at him and
after a moment Chester lowered his hand. “So, are there any more of
you I should know about?”

“This is it,” Jimmy said.

Chester clapped his hands. “Very good. My
driver’s waiting for us outside. You can fill me in on the
way.”

“Your driver?” said White Paul. “Are we
talking a limo here?”

“Not quite. It’s a town car, but it has all of
the comforts.”

“I’m sure it does,” White Paul
grumbled.

Everyone followed the vampire to the door,
through the crowds of people who didn’t know any better, who didn’t
know a vampire was among them. Candy held Jimmy’s hand while Medium
Dave walked alongside Chester ahead of them.

“I don’t like him,” White Paul whispered.
“He’s the worst kind of person
and
he’s a vampire. What’s
the world come to?”

“You don’t even know him,” Jimmy said. “I
never thought I’d say this but he seems okay.”

“That’s what he wants you to think, dipshit.
That’s how they get you. The next thing you know you’re waking up
with blood on your neck and cold vampire sausage in your
mouth.”

Jimmy stopped to glare at him.

“What? Don’t tell me you can’t see he’s a
little fruity. He’s wearing a turtleneck in July and he clearly
bleached his hair.”

“I don’t really care about his sexual
orientation,” Jimmy said. “We’re here for his help so stop being a
jerk. Please.”

As they walked out the door a woman yelled,
“Why is there porn on my computer!?”

Chapter Eight

When Candy was in the third grade her class did
a Christmas play. She had to dress up like a reindeer and wear an
antler hat. She didn’t have any lines until near the end when each
reindeer had to come forward to sing before joining in with a
chorus. She didn’t remember what the lines were anymore, but she
did remember she was so nervous she couldn’t talk and she almost
threw up. She had never felt like that again until now.

She clutched tightly onto Jimmy’s hand while
they followed Chester. She wanted to call the whole thing off. For
the first time in her life she wanted nothing more than to go home
and see her mother. She didn’t want to meet more
vampires.

She said nothing. The thought of Rupert
finding her again kept her mouth firmly closed.

When Jimmy turned his head to scan the other
side of the street, Candy looked as well. She saw Felicia lingering
near a corner in the dark, her head low and her eyes on them. She
turned and took something out of her pocket, probably her cell
phone.

“Here we are,” Chester said. A town car waited
for them at a crosswalk up the street. Though it wasn’t as big as a
limo or as flamboyant, it did have double seats facing each other
in the back. Everyone piled in. “All in, Milford. Take it
away.”

The town car lurched into motion. Candy sat on
one side against the window with Jimmy next to her and White Paul
against the other window. Chester and Medium Dave sat on the other
side facing them. The windows were tinted completely black so
nothing could be seen outside and the driver’s cab was partitioned
off.

“Why don’t you fill me in on your problem?”
Chester said. “David said you have a Brit who won’t leave you
alone?”

Jimmy continued speaking on Candy’s behalf,
which suited her just fine. “Yes. He attacked Candy and now he’s
stalking her.”

Chester’s eyes went to Candy, to her neck.
“Did he bite her?”

Candy’s face burned. Jimmy noticed and took
her hand.

“Yes,” he said. “Maybe we should wait for some
privacy before she relates exactly what happened. I imagine this
has to be embarrassing.”

“My apologies. Let me ask a little about him
instead. You said his name is Rupert?” Chester said.

“Yes.”

“I know him,” Chester said thoughtfully. “He’s
a vicious bastard, that’s for sure. The whole Kingsley family is
like that.”

Candy didn’t like the sound of that, and
neither did Jimmy. She wasn’t sure what a vampire family was or how
many there were, and the thought of more vampires like Rupert and
Vivian made her visibly recoil. She also didn’t like how Chester’s
eyes kept going to her neck or how he was trying to be subtle about
it. He glanced at her wrists as well.

“How long until we get there?” White Paul
said.

“Not long.” Chester turned his attention back
to Candy. “So tell me, did you see any other Brits?”

“Just one,” Jimmy said. “Vivian.”

Chester flinched and sucked in a breath
through his slightly spaced front teeth. “I was hoping he wasn’t in
the states. He’s the worst.”

Jimmy asked the question everyone was
thinking. “How many of them are there?”

“Enough to be a pain in the ass. I believe
there are four Kingsley brothers, maybe five, but their father
hasn’t been around for some time. Hayden Kingsley has been head of
the house during his absence. They’ve done nothing but cause
problems since.”

White Paul grumbled, clearly wanting to throw
in a remark.

“But if you mean their extended family,”
Chester went on, “well, there’s no telling exactly. The Kingsleys
are the prominent family here; they’ve controlled Boston for a long
time. There are two more families in Massachusetts alone and that’s
not counting the loners. And more come and go from their
overpopulated island.”

“Just our luck,” White Paul said. “It had to
be the prominent family we get involved with.”

Chester nodded agreement. “My mother will sort
this out.”

After about thirty minutes they arrived at the
Mullin house. Candy heard a gate open and then the town car
crunched along a gravel driveway that must have been a mile long.
When at last the car came to a halt the driver, an Asian man in a
tidy black suit with white gloves, opened the door for them. Once
everyone had exited the car, he returned to the driver’s
seat.

“Keep the car running, Milford,” Chester
said.

Candy had no idea where they were and she
couldn’t see any other houses across a vast yard and the driveway.
When she turned her eyes grew large. What she saw wasn’t a house
and the term “mansion” didn’t do it much justice either. The house
before her towered three-stories high and was built in the colonial
style more common in the south. Grooved columns lined the porch,
supporting a spacious balcony on the third floor. It was immense,
even the windows were huge, and the surrounding yard stretched out
into darkness. She tried to imagine how awesome it would be to live
in a house like that.

White Paul let out a low whistle. “You didn’t
tell us they’re filthy rich.”

“Most vampire families are,” Medium Dave said,
standing nonchalantly with his hands stuffed into his jean pockets.
“I knew they were wealthy but not like this.”

Chester led them up the porch steps to a huge
door. It was ingrained in some kind of woodland motif Candy didn’t
have time to inspect. She did notice gold relief in some spots.
Chester held the door open while his guests filed in.

“I’m afraid I won’t be staying as I having
some pressing business to attend, but my mother will be with you
shortly,” he said. “It was a pleasure to meet all of you and I hope
everything works out.”

Candy followed Jimmy through the door into a
massive antechamber made of marble and dark polished wood. The room
was vast, including the ceiling which rose well over thirty feet
above. Two curving stairways of dark stone and gleaming bronze
handrails hugged the walls on both sides, ending in an overlook.
Everything sparkled as if an army of maids had swept through,
including marble statues Candy thought should have been in a
museum. There were also sitting chairs, couches, tables, a piano;
she didn’t have time to look at it all. There were even objects
hanging from the high ceiling, too far away and too dark to make
out.