Living Violet (17 page)

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Authors: Jaime Reed

Tags: #Young Adult, #Fantasy, #Romance

BOOK: Living Violet
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19
N
adine agreed to give Caleb some field practice, so the three of us went to a club in Norfolk.
Only giving a week's notice, I had to offer up my firstborn to get Robbie Ford to make me a fake ID. When I saw the results, it was well worth it. That little plastic time machine blasted me five years into the future. Twenty-two was a good age—not too old, but old enough to pass inspection.
The club was an overpriced meat market with an uninspired emcee. The usual suspects were in attendance: the girls with the spray-on tans who did anything for attention and free drinks, the wannabe players who did nothing but hang in the corner with other guys, that chick who laughed way too loud, that old dude who swore he still had game, and that greasy guy at the bar with the open shirt, gold chain, and taco-meat chest hair.
Navigating through the ocean of catcalls and dirty dancing, Nadine grabbed a table and went right to business. “Okay, Caleb, we start off with simple allure. You can control how much you use.”
I sat across from Nadine and Caleb. “I thought it came naturally.”
“Some. Just enough to turn heads, but not enough to turn someone into mindless zombie. That comes later.” Nadine scanned the bar area, searching for a willing donor.
The pickings were a-plenty. I couldn't grasp the full scope of desperation women had these days. These women just showered and came to the club. Never mind clothes—that would just slow them down. Wearing a tube dress and sandals, I looked like a nun.
“There! See the brunette? Call her to you,” Nadine ordered. When Caleb rose from his seat, Nadine pushed him back down. “No, do it from here. Look at her and will her over.”
“Can you really do that?” I asked.
“Yes. The cool thing is so can you.” Nadine disclosed this tidbit with shifty eyes.
“Really?”
“Yeah, you look at someone long enough, you get response. Never discount the eye contact. It's vital to our power.”
“Is it like mind control?”
“In a way, yes. We deceive our prey. We don't need beauty. With one look, we become who they desire most. He is everything she ever wanted and she must have him. And her body responds, becomes a slave.”
That was the freakiest thing I'd ever heard in my life, and I'd never been more turned on. I could only imagine what it was like to become enslaved by one glance.
“Now Caleb, keep your eyes on her. When she looks this way, reel her in.” Nadine coached, steering my attention back to our mission.
Caleb did as instructed. The stare was so intense; I got sucked in from his peripheral. I redirected my focus on the brunette.
In seconds, she clapped eyes with Caleb and slid off her stool in half the time. The woman was pretty, thin, and what most men were looking for, especially in a club. I felt a bit self-conscious, not to mention awkward about the situation. The feeling only grew stronger as she crossed the room. I wondered what she saw when she looked at him.
Nadine leaned in toward Caleb and murmured, “Remember what I taught you. You do not need to pull directly from mouth; the energy around her body is enough. Just a taste.”
When Nadine told me that she wanted to help Caleb feed, I was gung ho about it, really. But now there was something very
Animal Planet
about it. A sense of helpless curiosity overshadowed the need to act, like when a baby gazelle drowns in a river and no one helps, not even the camera crew.
Notwithstanding the inexplicable sense of ownership I had toward Caleb. It was one thing to have women all over him. It stroked the ego to know that women want your man. It was another thing when he encouraged it. True, we hadn't had the “relationship talk,” but neither of us felt it was necessary.
So why did it still feel like cheating?
The woman slid inside the booth next to Caleb, barely blinking for fear of losing sight of the deity that struck her dumb.
“Hi, I'm Kelly.”
He nodded. “Caleb.”
Slinging her hair over her shoulder, she closed in on him. “I saw you looking at me across the room. I just had to come over.”
My muscles tightened as Caleb whispered in the woman's ear.
When his mouth moved toward hers, Caleb's eyes met mine and he froze.
“Caleb, what's wrong?” she asked.
He looked away. “Nothing.”
Not wanting to see any more, I slid out of the booth and made my way toward the bar. My mouth felt like cotton, and I would've paid serious money for a breath of fresh air. There were too many bodies, too much heavy breathing, too much music, too much energy, too much life to consume. Once I got the attention of the bartender, I ordered water to cool my fried nerves.
I felt Caleb's presence before he spoke.
“Are you all right?”
With my back to him, I said, “I'm fine, just thirsty.”
His breath brushed across my neck. “You left your water at the table.”
“That's okay. I got another. Besides, it's not good to leave your drink unattended. Someone might put drugs in it.” I nodded my thanks to the bartender when he set the glass in front of me. “So what happened to your little friend, Kelly?”
“I ate her.”
If Caleb was trying to provoke me, it worked. I almost knocked over my water. That statement held so many meanings, each more disturbing than the first. I took two strong pulls on my drink before asking, “Is she all right?”
“Look to your left.”
The words directed me to the end of the bar. The brunette rocked back and forth with her head cradled in her hand. Anyone else would have attributed her sudden discomfort to alcohol, but I knew better.
“Will you look at me?” Caleb asked.
Slowly, I turned around. “Isn't it dinnertime?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Sam.”
“What?”
“I shouldn't have brought you here. I can't put you through this.”
“Put me through what? I'm okay.”
“No, you're not,” he argued. “You can't understand what's going on. This isn't what I want, but I have to feed. It's nothing personal. I don't like this any more than you do. In fact, I dislike it more, which is why I've been fighting it all these years, and this is why I'm paying the price now. I've denied my spirit for too long, and I need to supply him with what he needs.”
His explanation didn't help at all. “Go ahead, Caleb. I'll stay here.”
“I'm not leaving you alone, so you can get that out of your head.” He reached out his hand. “Come back to the table.”
I collected my water and took his hand. By the time we reached the table, a muscular man sat in the brunette's place. Nadine leaned in, barely touching his lips when a white coil of mist pulled from the man's mouth. When the man tried to deepen the kiss, she pushed him away. Staring off in a daze, the man scooted from the booth and disappeared into the crowd.
Nadine sat back in the seat, basking in the afterglow of her intake. She swallowed a lungful of air and held it until the vein in her throat rose to the surface. With her eyes closed, she exhaled.
“So, are you okay, Sam?” she asked, peering through parted lids. A bright sliver of green light shot from her eyes.
“I'm fine.”
“Good. Caleb, follow me. We will do a lap,” she said before Caleb could sit down.
He paused. “A what?”
“We will mingle and feed. The key is to take little from each person, like sample platter. When you nibble regularly, meals are not necessary and your spirit will not want. Since yours starves, you will do more laps tonight. I will join you this time, but the next, you go alone.”
His head volleyed between me and the dance floor. “I don't want to leave Sam.”
I shooed him away. “Go on. I'll be right here.”
“You sure?”
“It's cool. I've got my mace.” I patted my purse. Planting a peck on my cheek, he faded into the mob of dancers. The separation gave me a moment to think. And I had some serious brain work to do.
Caleb liked me, a lot, and he really didn't want to do this. I had agreed to come along, knowing full well what would happen. But why was I jealous? Caleb and I weren't a couple, not officially. And I wasn't sure that I wanted to be if I'd have to deal with this on a regular basis. What kind of relationship was that? What if I walked in on him sucking face with some chick? I would lose my damn mind!
The underscore of my soliloquy was this: I would never be enough for him. I could never sate him. Those negative thoughts corroded my inner peace until Nadine and Caleb returned to the table. Their little exhibition had left them exhilarated and oddly refreshed.
“Well, that was fun.” Nadine fanned herself with a napkin.
“I never felt so ... full,” he added.
“Well, one more lap should do. Wait a while, then go back in,” Nadine advised.
Caleb's eyes beamed like a kid showing off his new toy. “It's wonderful. I don't kiss them to feed. All this time, I thought I had to pull the energy from the mouth.”
“That's good. At least now you won't catch mono,” I mumbled.
“How are you holding up?” He seemed on edge, perhaps waiting for me to go into hysterics and toss my drink in his face.
“Great!” My response came out more chipper than expected.
Caleb didn't buy it for a second. “We can go home if you want. I know this is awkward for you.”
“Naw. I'm good. Besides, I promised I'd help you train Capone, and I meant it. So I'm staying. All that matters is that you get better and no one else gets hurt.”
“Thanks, Sam. You don't know how much this means to me. I'm glad you're here to support me.” He kissed my hand.
When Caleb left our table, Nadine looked over at me. “You know he's in love with you, right?”
I looked around the club.
Her eyes locked on mine. “You, Sam.
You
.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, let us see. He can have any woman he wants, yet he chooses to be with you and your crazy friends. He lets you boss him around. He cannot stop touching you. He told you his secret, an honor only given to potential spouses, and the whole time on dance floor, he wanted to come back to table. Now if this is not love, I do not know what is.”
“Have you ever been in love?” I asked.
“Yes. It was wonderful, painful experience and I enjoyed every second.”
“What happened?”
“We grew apart. Oh, and he was married.”
I choked on my water. “Nadine!”
“I never said I was saint, Sam. In fact, having demon inside me precludes nomination into sainthood.”
I dabbed my chin with a napkin. “How long did you ... date?”
“Two years.”
“Two years?”
“It's in the past. I moved on and so has he. But we're talking about you here. Caleb loves you. He may not say this, but he shows it. I'm still helping him with his feelings, but he needs you.”
“I haven't even kissed him—well, I haven't
really
kissed him.”
Nadine's eyebrows rose. “You kid, right?”
“It's safer that way.”
“For who?” she scoffed. “Why have you not kissed him?”
“Because of Capone.”
“What about him?”
“If I kiss Caleb, Capone will feed off me.”
Nadine stared at me as if I were insane. “If the spirit is appeased and not threatened, it has no reason to attack. Caleb explained recognition, yes?”
I nodded.
“This spirit feels what Caleb feels; it corresponds to it. If Caleb loves you, then you bring him joy. Joy produces most natural strain of energy. So of course Capone wants you around. You are meal ticket.”
“I don't want Capone feeding on me.”
“That should be no problem if Capone is full.”
“How can a spirit be full? Aren't they supposed to be infinite?”
“By itself, yes. This spirit is limited within the body it inhabits. That's the cost of possession: cramped living quarters. I understand your fear; I would be scared too, but you must trust Caleb. He would never hurt you.”
“It's not Caleb I'm worried about.”
“You'll never know.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“What if you're wrong?”

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