Her Blood Sings: Episode 01 (5 page)

Instead, he made his way back to his
computer.

He had very few things at his place. He
always made a point to dress to impress, but his home was a
different matter. Irving kept his life frugal in every way
possible. He avoided long term relationships. He avoided making
friendships that would demand too much of his time and energy. He
kept his body in a Spartan diet of food and exercise. He kept his
home barely furnished. Not for the first time, Irving thought that
he could pack everything he owned in three large suitcases and
leave at a moment's notice. He didn't care about
things
.
Emotional attachments were the luxury of men and women with simple
lives. Irving had dedicated his life to a higher cause - a cause he
knew all too well.

He was fighting for Humanity.

The only exception was his niece, Lucy. It
might be that Lucy looked so much like his Madeleine, or that she
had the same fire as his dead sister. It might be because she'd
always brought a smile to his lips and lightness to his heart. She
was the one person who could break Irving's heart or make his
day.

Irving looked back at the screen, a ball of
anxiety growing in his stomach. All he needed now was for this kid
to make contact. Then, he'd see what he would do next.

Finding the kid hadn't been a problem. The
Order had a host of private forums online where the younger members
often got together to talk. Irving had realized most of these new
members were dying to do something, to prove themselves. Unlike
their parents and grandparents, these kids were not afraid of a
good fight. Getting the kid talking, on the other hand, had been an
effort. Irving soon realized there was a social stratification
happening. Younger people didn't mingle with their older peers.
They used the same forums, but stuck to different topics and even
sections. Apparently, the kids resented that their parents'
generation had a tendency to clip their wings. The members in
Irving's age group feared the radical tendencies of the younger
members. No one ever said anything, but the message was clear.

Irving wouldn't have any of that. He'd talk
to anyone who would listen.

He had taken his time. He had learned the
kids' lingo. Then, he had created a persona for himself that was
open and honest. He never outright lied - he just kept things
vague. He made things sound a little different than they were. He
had a brother and a sister. His sister had died at the hands of a
vampire. His family had been in the Order since long before the
trip to the New World. He had joined the Order after witnessing his
sister's death, eager to change the world. Then, the world tried to
crush him into conformity. But what he never mentioned was that
Madeleine had died fifty years ago.

Irving knew that deep down these kids would
agree with him, but he was the same age as their peace-loving
parents. It would be hard for them to trust him. So, he decided to
let his message do the talking.

He promised himself he would give the kid ten
more minutes and then he was off to bed.

After eleven minutes, Irving got to his feet.
A deep sigh escaped his lips. He knew the supernaturals were
gathering in Thunder Bay. Something big was about to happen. His
insider had told him so. He knew he would have a one in a million
chance to cause some real damage. All he needed now was a
matchstick that he could light and toss on the gasoline.

His computer gave out a loud ping. The kid
had entered the chat room.

Irving rushed back to his old, black chair
and read the message. His lips curled into a smile. He was back in
the game.

The message started with:
Guess
what? The bomb is finished!

Chris stood under her window, watching the
white drapes like a lovelorn idiot for a solid hour before his mind
started working again. What was wrong with that girl? No one had
ever said no to him since he'd been sired. Come to think of it, a
lot of girls wouldn’t have said no to him even before that. He'd
just been too much of an idiot to do anything about it.

Chris threw another nasty glare at her
window. He had never seen anyone resist glamour like that. How was
that even possible? He started walking down her street. This was a
quiet little street, a dime a dozen. Was he losing his touch? Maybe
he should talk to Darcy about it.

Chris stopped, startled.

Could a vampire have a glamour
dysfunction?

No. It had to be her. She was the problem.
Maybe there was something wrong with her head.

Chris turned around and started walking back
to her building. He went around it, checking how he could get in
and look around, try to get any clue as to why she just shut her
mind to him like that. Maybe then he could find a way to establish
a connection between them and glamour her.

Connections happened to earthlings all the
time. When two people saw something on the street and thought of
the same reference or joke? That was a connection. When a person
was thinking of a song and the person at the radio station plays
that song? That was a connection, too. When a person had been
thinking of a friend or family member and said friend or family
member called because they started thinking of that person, too?
Yep! Connection.

For earthlings that’s where the connection
ended. Their minds scattered and they focused on something else.
For vampires, it was their way in. They could harness that moment
and find their way into the other person’s head. Vamps couldn’t do
magic. They couldn't do it. Everyone knew that. Witches even had a
stupid explanation for it. They said vamps were unnatural -
whatever that meant. But even witches couldn’t explain glamour
without using the word
magic
.

She lived on the third floor - the top one -
of the cute little brick building. If Chris hadn’t ran into that
thug, this was the type of building he’d have lived with Elizabeth,
where they'd raise the kids they never had. Instead, Elizabeth was
killed and he was turned into a vamp.

Chris caught himself thinking of Elizabeth.
He'd loved her something fierce. He would’ve died for her. He tried
to do it, in fact. He'd thrown himself on the knife that had been
meant for her. But loving someone can’t save them. Love only made
you weak. Elizabeth begged Darcy to bite Chris instead of her.
She'd died because she loved him.

Chris shook his head. Damn it Lydia for
making him think of the past again. And damn this girl, too. It was
all her fault.

He tossed another mean glare at the girl’s
window. He had managed to not think of Elizabeth and his last
moments as a mortal for years. But then Lydia talked about it and
this girl came along, with her chocolate brown eyes and her creamy
skin, and now Chris was all sentimental again.

It'd been the whole reason why he had picked
her in the first place. Something in the way she danced made him
smile, it reminded him of the first time he'd seen Elizabeth, even
though the two women looked nothing alike. Chris had wanted to fuck
that girl senseless. He hadn't been able to look at anything else.
He had walked straight to her. It was as if
she
had
glamoured
him
.

He made his way back to the hotel in a dark
mood, something turning to steel inside him.

He knocked on Elliot’s door. Chris knew
Elliot would get the girl he'd been talking to back to his room. He
was counting on it, in fact. He had already glamoured her out of
her mind by the time that girl had walked back to the bar.

It took Chris's brother a moment too long to
answer. Chris heard a loud moan coming from a woman’s throat.
Great! Even Elliot got lucky tonight.

When he did answer, it was pretty obvious
Elliot was sexing someone. His hair was a mess and he was only
wearing a sheet draped around his body, like a toga. Chris just
hoped it was the right someone. Otherwise, this stop had been an
exercise in futility.

“What are you doing?” Chris asked.

“I’m with that girl from Moonlight.” Elliot's
cheeks had a nice little blush to them. He must have fed off of the
girl. “Where’s her friend? I thought you had left with her.”

Left with her, chased her cab back to her
place. Potato, Potahto.

But Chris wasn't going to tell Elliot about
that. He was getting laid and drinking fresh blood from a girl who
really wanted to sleep with him even before he glamoured her. Chris
was so mad he almost forgot what he had wanted to ask Elliot.
Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and gave Elliot a
bright smile. He couldn’t tip his hand just yet.

Chris jerked his chin towards the room behind
Elliot. “Is she succubus material?”

The reason they were the top clan for all the
mythological world’s succubi and incubi needs was because Darcy's
clan knew who to pick for their training program.

Elliot shook his head. “Nah. She’s a nice
girl.”

“Elliot,” the girl called from somewhere
inside the room. “Where are you? I want more, baby.”

Elliot’s lips curled into a proud smile.
Bastard
!

“What do you want, Chris?” Elliot was not
outright rude, but his tone left no room for doubt. He’d shut the
door on Chris's face any moment now. “I’m in the middle of
something here.”

Chris shuffled his feet and looked away. Now
that he could say what he wanted he didn’t know if he should ask
it. Elliot was his brother. Sure they got mad at each other from
time to time, especially where Lydia was concerned, but what
siblings didn’t fight from time to time? Chris knew Elliot would do
anything for him just as he would do anything for his brother. The
problem was their nature. They were vampires. It was in their
nature to look for an angle, for an opportunity. They were
creatures of prey even when they talked to each other.

“See you tomorrow, Chris.”

Elliot started closing the door.

“Wait,” Chris snapped.

Elliot stopped.

Chris knew how to get Elliot to do what he
wanted, no questions asked. With Elliot, you had to make him feel
like the king of the world. He had to feel his word mattered. He
had to feel that the whole thing had been his idea. If Chris asked
him a favor, Elliot would hold it against him.

“You know what? Nevermind.” Chris shook his
head, doing a
meh
face. “Have fun.”

He started walking away and counting silently
in his head
.

3... 2... 1...

“Chris, wait.”

Chris looked back and found Elliot leaning
towards the hallway, an eager look on his face.

“What is it?”

“I wanted to talk to you. Tonight’s girl
was-” Chris pretended to look for a word. “Interesting. I wanted to
check her out. Maybe sneak into her place. Do a background
check...”

“You need information on her.” Elliot nodded
like the old wise man from a 1970s kung-fu movie. “I can get her
friend talking for you-” he gave Chris a smug smile, “-if you want
me to.”

That was it. Chris almost had him. He just
had to keep playing Elliot a little longer.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Chris did
his best to look hesitant. “They are friends. If that girl
remembers you were asking about her friend...”

“What’s the girl’s name?” Elliot said,
rolling his eyes at Chris.

“Evelyn.” Chris hesitated again, acting like
something just occurred to him. “Are you sure?”

“It will be fine.”

"Thank you, Elliot," Chris sighed in genuine
relief.

“I’m on it, baby brother,” Elliot said,
giving Chris a grin.

Then, he snapped the door shut.

Chris whistled on his way back to his room,
feeling much better.

Evie was gazing out the window, back in her
family home in Oregon. She was seventeen again. A deep sense of
dread invaded her. She had relived this moment over and over for
the past four years, never able to stop it or chance how it played
out. But, like all dreams, she was powerless to stop it. She could
only watch herself as she gazed out the window, in tears. She had
just broken up with Dan.

They wanted opposite things. He was happy to
stay home. In fact, he'd be happy to stay working at her dad's
garage, building pretty custom-made cars, for the rest of his life.
NYU had just accepted her. She was moving to New York.

Evie knew Dan was sitting on the couch behind
her, quiet. He hadn't applied to any school outside the state, in
spite of all her pep talking.

Tears streamed down her face. This was it.
After summer, they'd go their separate ways. She could've waited
until the end of classes, but Evie didn't want a long goodbye. She
wanted things to end well between them. And a part of her knew that
she might love Dan but there would be a whole world between them.
She could feel the distance building from the moment she decided to
apply to NYU without telling him. So, the sooner the better.

Evie let out a strangled sob.

Something changed in the room. The walls
seemed to charge with energy, sending a tingling feeling right
under her skin. Her heart started pounding. Her mind snapped. Her
tears stopped. Something was off.

At this point, part of her - the part that
was watching this all-too familiar train wreck from a quiet corner
of the room - had noticed the slightly hazy contours of the moment.
It had realized what the other part of her hadn't: this was a
dream. Evie screamed in her head, trying to make herself wake up.
But she didn't. She never did.

Seventeen-year old Evie turned around. Dan
was standing. Her eyes lowered to his hand. It had curled into a
fist.

Dan took a step towards Evie. Then another.
He was so angry. Her eyes darted around, looking for an exit. But
she didn't move. It hadn't worked out, but they loved each other.
He wouldn't hurt her, right?