“I got some good stuff, if you wanna share,” he said, holding up a small Baggie. I saw the glint of steel in his hand — a knife, maybe.
I was breathing way too fast to respond — short puffs through parted lips making clouds of smoke in the cool night air.
“Nah? Maybe you just want to have some fun, then?”
I swallowed convulsively, terrified. I knew I should run— scream and run, as loud and as fast as I could. But I was frozen, unable to move a single muscle.
He reached toward me, dirty fingers clutching at my coat’s sleeve. And that’s when the world turned upside down.
Something — or someone — slammed into the junkie, dragging him farther into the alley and pressing him up against the graffiti-covered bricks.
I screamed, but nothing came out. My lungs were burning, my throat so tight I could barely breathe as I tried to run, but my legs buckled beneath me and I fell to the sidewalk. I heard a grunt and looked up to see the junkie’s attacker dip his head toward the filthy man’s neck.
Still pressed against the alley’s wall, the junkie struggled, his feet dangling a foot off the ground while the attacker — my savior, I realized — held him by the throat. So help me God, the guy had his face buried in the junkie’s neck, as if he were biting him. I could only watch in horror, unable to believe what I was seeing.
Seconds later, the junkie went limp and the attacker released him, stepping back as the man slid to the ground like a rag doll. My gaze was involuntarily drawn to the crumpled form on the ground, deep red blood trickling from a pair of puncture marks on the guy’s neck.
The attacker took a step back, his hands clenched into fists by his sides. His shoulders rose and fell — once, twice. I was holding my breath, just waiting.
And then he turned, blond hair glinting in the dim light of the moon, familiar eyes reaching out to me through the hazy fog. Recognition washed over me like a dousing of ice-cold water, and I gasped.
Holy hell and God in heaven.
It was Aidan. Of course it was. Hadn’t I known it all along?
As I sat there gaping in shock, he reached up and wiped a smear of ruby-red blood from his mouth with his sleeve. As he did so, I saw a flash of oddly long canine teeth. Long and sharp. Looking suspiciously like. like fangs.
That was the last thing I saw before I passed out cold, right there on the sidewalk.
I awoke to the sensation of speed. Panicked, I began to flail around, but strong arms held me tight.
“I’ve got you,” came Aidan’s voice beside my ear.
“Oh, God,” I moaned. “Where. what are you. how—” I swallowed hard, unable to form a coherent sentence.
“Shhh,” he murmured.
Immediately I felt a calming sensation. I wanted to protest, to tell him not to manipulate my mind that way. But I couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything but swallow, over and over again. I kept my eyes squeezed shut, praying for my stomach to settle, for the freaky sensations to go away.
There was a popping noise, followed by a rush of air, and then. nothing. Scared out of my wits, I opened my eyes, half-expecting to see. I don’t know what. But all I saw was a front door, painted a shiny black with a big, brass lion’s-head knocker in the center and a mail slot down below.
On either side of the door was a column of stained glass. I had no idea where he’d taken me, but we weren’t downtown anymore, that was for sure.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when the door swung open. A well-dressed elderly man stood inside, gaping at us both. “Master Gray,” he said with a nod, moving aside as Aidan carried me in. The old man’s bushy gray brows knitted together as he peered down at me. “Is she injured?”
“Just scared, I think. Here, take her bag and draw her a bath.”
“Of course. Right away.”
I felt something slip over my head and realized it was my overnight bag. I shivered violently, and felt Aidan’s arms tighten around me.
“Is he. did you. kill him?” I finally managed to ask.
“No. Though perhaps I should have.”
“He was going to. to. ”
“You’re safe now, Violet. Let’s get you upstairs and cleaned up. We can talk later.”
“I can walk,” I said, struggling against the confines of his arms.
“That’s what you think,” he answered with a chuckle. “C’mon, Trevors will have your bath ready soon.” He carried me away from the front door, across a huge foyer lit by a glittering chandelier, and up a curved staircase. There was marble everywhere — marble and gilt and crystal.
“Where. where are we?”
“My home,” Aidan said quietly. “Don’t worry, we’re still in Manhattan. Just off Fifth Avenue.”
A door opened on its own, then another. Fear shot through me. Still, I clung to Aidan. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the image in my mind’s eye was even worse. Aidan, fresh blood on his mouth, blood from the junkie’s throat.
I won’t hurt you, Violet. His voice, in my head.
I just nodded, exhaling slowly. In through my nose, out through my mouth. I had to concentrate on breathing, because if I thought about anything else, I might lose it.
“There you are, sir. Her bath is almost ready, and I’ve laid out fresh towels and a robe in the dressing room. Will you be needing anything else?”
“That’s it for now, Trevors,” Aidan said, and my eyes flew open, darting around, taking in my surroundings.
We were in a bathroom done in deep blue and gold. An enormous tub sat in the center, fragrant steam rising from the water. Beside the tub, thick towels the same blue as the walls were piled on a chair that looked like an antique, like something that belonged in Gran’s living room. Gold velvet drapes were tied back from a large bay window with tasseled cords, fleur-de-lis-patterned shades covering the panes of glass.
Aidan gingerly lowered my feet to the plush patterned carpet, then reached across the tub to turn off the faucets. “Here, take all the time you need,” he said, and I couldn’t help but notice that his teeth were back to normal now. “There’s a new toothbrush and some toothpaste in the closet over by the sink; help yourself to whatever you can find. Soak for a while, and then we’ll talk, okay?”
I nodded mutely.
“When you’re done, the dressing room is through there.” He pointed to a curved door on the far side of the room. “Trevors left you a robe. I’ll know when you’re ready.”
Aidan left me then, shutting the door softly behind him. A click sounded, and I realized that he’d locked the door from the inside, as if to reassure me that I had complete privacy, that I was safe. Of course, if he could lock it with his mind, then he could unlock it too. But he wouldn’t. Call me crazy, but I truly believed that.
I swallowed hard, wincing at the nasty taste in my mouth. I found the toothbrush and toothpaste and turned on the faucet, glancing up at my reflection in the oval, gilt-framed mirror above it as I did so. I looked awful — pale and disheveled, with a terrified look in my eyes.
Yeah, what do you expect? You almost got yourself jumped by some junkie, then you watched your maybe-boyfriend bite the dude’s neck and suck him dry before you passed out cold. Good times.
I finished brushing as fast as I could, desperate to get into the tub and scrub away the grime, the filth, the memories. In seconds I’d stripped down to nothing and climbed the marble steps that led to the tub, sighing with relief as I stepped into the hot water and sunk down to my chin. Spying a pair of buttons below the faucet, I punched one, firing up the jets. I closed my eyes as the water frothed, the steady hum of the motor soothing my jangled nerves. The water was the perfect temperature and scented with lavender, and I inhaled deeply as I laid my head back against the marble.
Still, I couldn’t get my mind to relax. All I could think about was the fact that Aidan was a vampire — there was no denying it, not now. I’d seen the proof. He’d been transformed, his eyes glowing red, his canine teeth elongated. I didn’t need one of Dr. Blackwell’s books to spell it out for me. A vampire— creature with fangs, drinks blood, hides from the sun. Not a big fan of garlic or crucifixes.
How could I face him, knowing the truth? How could I sit there, looking at him, knowing that he was a. a monster? Because that’s what a vampire was — a monster. An undead thing that went around hurting people, sucking their blood. Killing them. Bile rose in my throat, and I forced it down, forced my hands to stop shaking.