Chapter Two

The silence was oppressive. I was sitting in a dimly lit room with my out-of-it best friend and her latest bad decision. The other guys in the band didn’t say a word; they seemed to be waiting for something. It was clear that Travis was the leader of the group. He sat between Skyler and me, which meant I couldn’t see her expression.

Travis had one arm resting on the couch, his long fingers draped over Skyler’s shoulder. He tried to drape his other arm over me, but I shifted away.

I leaned around Travis and whispered to Skyler, “It’s as funky as the devil’s armpit in here.” She didn’t respond.

I waited for introductions, but the other band members just stared at me. I shifted uncomfortably. “Who are you guys?”

“That’s Fang, our drummer,” Travis said, pointing to the red-haired guy. There was a towel around his neck, and he used it to wipe the sweat off his chest.

“Ozzie’s the bass player, and Armando’s our keyboardist. And I’m the lead singer and guitarist.”

Ozzie was dressed in eighties grunge, like he thought he was the next Eddie Vedder, and Armando wore a sharp black suit with a white shirt and black tie. Apparently, the wardrobe budget all went to Armando’s suits.

“Did you enjoy the concert?” Fang, the drummer, asked me. His words were slow and deliberate, like he didn’t talk very often.

“It was…interesting,” I said.

“You’ll come to our next show,” Travis said. “You can be my number-one groupie.”

I made a face, and he must have misinterpreted it as confusion.

“A groupie is like a friend of the band who likes to do things for us.”

“I know what a groupie is,” I said. “And you’re sugarcoating it.”

I didn’t appreciate how he was trying to mansplain.

“Thanks for the invitation, but I don’t think so,” I said. I tried to pull Skyler to her feet, but it was like trying to teach a wet noodle to walk.

Travis leaned toward me until our faces were only inches apart. “You are beautiful. I will make you very happy.”

My gaze narrowed on his high cheekbones. “Are you wearing glitter?”

Skyler reached out slowly and touched his face, but he swatted her hand away.

“It’s stage makeup,” he replied defensively.

“Skyler, I think it’s time to go,” I said.

He gave me the creeps. There was a dark splotch of something on the corner of his mouth, and a word tickled my brain. Vampire.

I’d heard my granny talk about them before, but she always mentioned them as evil and soul sucking. I mean, Travis was dirty-hot, but in that I’m-too-cool-to-call-you-later sort of way, not the I-eat-hearts-for-breakfast kind of way.

He locked eyes with me. I didn’t look away, even when a headache began to build. A voice that I instinctively knew no one else could hear told me to give in, to yield, to do what I was told. But I refused, jerking my gaze away. Still, even though I fought it, my gaze went back to him.

The smells of graveyard dirt and dried blood hit my nose, and my stomach roiled. Something tugged at my mind, but I resisted it. I wasn’t looking at a human. I was looking at a vampire. But as soon as the thought occurred to me, it was gone.

“What were we talking about again?” I asked. My head was spinning. I’d forgotten something. What was it?

Travis gave me a satisfied smile. “Just getting to know each other.”

“I’m hungry,” the drummer whined like a tired toddler.

“You already ate,” Travis snapped.

Fang looked at me and licked his lips. “I want dessert.”

Travis glared at him. “No one gets dessert before I do.”

“I want my necklace,” Skyler slurred suddenly. “Need it.”

“You don’t need that thing, baby,” Travis said, but Skyler continued to mumble.

“You’re wearing it already, Sky,” I said, lifting it up to show her where my charm necklace was draped around her neck. “Here you go.” She was too out of it to be able to tell the difference. I’d help her find hers in the morning.

Downstairs, someone put on a playlist.

“Baby, they’re playing your song,” Skyler cooed.

“That doesn’t sound like the same band,” I said.

“We’re better live,” Armando said.

I thought auto-tuning made everyone sound better, but apparently not. It was hard to believe it was the same band. I’d never heard anything more ear-numbingly awful than The Drainers album playing on the sound system. I was relieved until I realized the music was so loud that nobody would hear our screams.

“I’ll be right back, Sky.” I made for the door alone this time. I’d go get help, find Vaughn.

But Travis was in front of it, blocking the way. He was fast, so fast, even though he was drunk. Or high. Or something. Something that made his face flushed, his eyes red and beady like a rat’s.

“What’s your hurry?” Travis said. “You’re having fun. You want to stay.”

“No, I do not.”

Again with the surprised face. I had a hard time believing that a guy like Travis hadn’t heard the word “no” before, but he acted like it was a unique experience.

Then there was this squeezing sensation, like someone had put my brain in a vise and was twisting it tighter and tighter.

A tiny part of my mind tried to tell me this wasn’t just a headache. But suddenly, the room was spinning, and a queasy feeling reminded me of the one time I’d been seasick, spinning and sloshing. I hadn’t had anything to drink, had I? It felt like he was there, in my head, telling me to go with him. Something inside me knew to resist. I wasn’t the kind of girl who let some asshole boss her around, so I gathered all my strength and silently yelled, “Get out of my head.”

When I looked up, Travis seemed shaken.

He leaned in and sniffed me, then tried to nuzzle my neck. “You smell good,” he said. “I’ve never smelled anyone like you before.”

“No means no, asshole,” I said. I shoved him away, but not before he leaned in close and sniffed my neck, grazing it with his teeth.

“You’re resisting me?” Travis asked. “But girls can’t resist me.”

I rolled my eyes at his monumental ego. “This one can.”

He made a move toward me again, and I brought my leg up and kneed him in the groin. He crumpled to the ground.

The room tilted, my vision blurred, and a burning sensation went down my neck to my chest, but I managed to stay upright.

I was so out of there.

I grabbed Skyler, who thankfully seemed to be coming out of it, whatever it was.

The other two guys snarled, but I put up a hand. “You two stay back. We are leaving, and you’re not going to stop us.” I’d scream the house down if I had to, but I was hoping I could bluff my way out of it.

Travis still writhed on the floor. He started to get up, but I raised my leg like I was going to kick him again, and he decided to stay put.

The drummer, who had muscular arms as big as my thighs, blocked the door.

“Hi, Fang,” Skyler said. She gave him a dazed smile.

“Skyler, Travis doesn’t want you to leave,” he replied.

“Too bad,” I said. “We’re gone.” I briefly wondered if I should bust out a spell of some kind, but then I realized I had no idea what might work on vampires—probably best to just hightail it out of there.

“What are you?” the guy asked. There was a strange note of curiosity in his voice.

“I’m going to be your worst nightmare if you don’t open that door,” I said.

I was seconds from screaming, but I tried not to let my fear show. “Let us go.” I stood my ground but avoided staring into his reddened eyes, until he unlocked the door and stepped aside.

I half dragged, half carried Sky. I nearly turned my ankle again in my heels, but our pace didn’t slow until I knew we were out of their sight.

I helped her downstairs to find Vaughn waiting for us. Thank god. The tension in my body relaxed a fraction, but we needed to get out of here. Now.

“We’re leaving,” I said shortly.

“Is she okay?”

“She will be. We just need to get her out of here.”

“Okay.” Vaughn was usually unbelievably chill. Everyone at his dad’s catering company liked working with him. Always calm in a crisis.

That’s when I noticed the red stain on Skyler’s dress. “That’s blood,” I said.

Vaughn knew what that meant—the sight of blood made me pass out. “Breathe, Tansy,” he said as he checked Sky for wounds.

Even a little cut could cause me to get light-headed and weak, and I was realizing there was way more than a little blood all over Skyler’s white dress. I took shallow breaths, one after the other.

I couldn’t faint when Skyler needed me.

“We have to keep her away from The Drainers,” I said. “Especially Travis.”

Skyler stirred when she heard his name. “Travis loves me.”

“She seems okay except for these two marks on her shoulder,” he said as he took Skyler from me and hoisted her into his arms. He grunted. “She’s heavier than she looks.”

“She’s all muscle and unrequited love,” I said. “Which weighs more than you’d think.”

Skyler had been reckless, going out and looking for love in all the wrong places, ever since Con broke her heart and headed off for a study-abroad program in Europe. But tonight was the first time I’d been truly scared for her.

I looked more closely at her shoulder, and sure enough, there were two bite marks. Damn vampires. “We need to get her to the hospital.”

She smiled up at me. “I’m in love with Travis.”

“You barely know the guy.” I rolled my eyes, teasing her even though my heart was pounding in my chest. “Wipe that smile off your face.”

“I can’t help it.” She continued to rhapsodize about Travis, but I tuned her out.

I was gasping when we got to the car, but despite his initial complaint, Vaughn carried Skyler with no problem and didn’t even look winded.

“Where are her keys?” he asked.

I fished them out of Skyler’s tiny cross-body purse, which fortunately, she still had with her.

Vaughn placed Skyler gently in the back seat, and I got in beside her. He put the roof up on the convertible and took off.

“How’re you doing back there?” he said as we started down the narrow, twisting road that led to the freeway.

We’d barely made it onto the main road when Skyler started screaming.

I tried to soothe her, but she snapped her teeth at me when I tried to hug her. I’d never seen Skyler like this, not even at her worst.

“What’s wrong with her?” Vaughn asked. She hissed when he flicked on the overhead light with one hand while keeping his other firmly on the wheel.

She panted like a dog, her tongue hanging out. She opened her mouth to scream again, and I froze. Fuck my life. She had long, pointed fangs.

It was hard to believe what I was seeing, but I’d grown up on Granny Mariotti’s stories of the hidden world.

“Vampire,” I whispered. “The Drainers turned you into a vampire.”

She heard me and laughed. “He’s coming for me. Our love is eternal.”

Her whole body contorted, her limbs moving impossibly fast. She nearly ripped the car door off its hinges trying to escape.

“Skyler, close the door,” I said. “Stay calm. We can help you.”

To my relief, she obeyed me, but she started saying Travis’s name, over and over, like a chant.

“Ignore it,” Vaughn said. Clearly he hadn’t heard my earlier revelation. “She’ll be fine once we get her home.”

Skyler snaked an arm around his neck and tried to pull him into the back seat, nearly causing Vaughn to lose control. He was forced to let go of the steering wheel, and the car swerved wildly as he tried to pry her hands from his neck. I tugged at her hands, too, but she had a death grip on him.

Before we ended up wrapped around a tree, Vaughn grabbed the wheel again and managed to maneuver the car to the side of the road.

“Stop it right now!” I shouted. Skyler released him but began to claw at her own skin. There was the bite mark on her neck and another lower down, near her collarbone. Would this happen to me? I rubbed my neck, at what I hoped was just a scratch and not a bite, then drew my hand away quickly. I’d think about my own scraping from Travis after we helped my best friend.

“What’s the matter with her?” Vaughn asked. “Did she take something at the party?” Drugs might explain some of Skyler’s bizarre behavior, but she never touched anything stronger than booze. This was something much worse.

“Do you have any rope in the trunk?” I asked Vaughn.

His eyebrows shot up, but he got out and popped the trunk open, then returned with the rope he used for rock climbing and handed it to me. “I thought we were taking her home.”

“Nope,” I said. “We need to crash Granny’s book club.”

Skyler’s eyes went bloodred, and she lunged for Vaughn’s throat before I could stop her. He jumped back. “Jesus, what the hell is wrong with her?”

Maybe most people would think they were hallucinating or being pranked if their best friend suddenly sprouted fangs and a bad attitude, but I was a Mariotti.

“Fucking vampires,” I muttered under my breath again, but Vaughn heard me.

“Vampires? Sky is dating a vampire? Are you high?”

“I know it sounds preposterous, but it adds up,” I explained. “The Drainers had fangs. Fangs mean vampires. And I got a look at them—they weren’t fake. Plus, Sky has bite marks.”

I was sure it sounded far-fetched to Vaughn, but I knew what I saw.

“I think you’re right,” Vaughn said after a very long pause. “Skyler doesn’t do drugs, and you saw something. Sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one.”

Vaughn had never doubted my family history, but I was grateful that he also believed me about the vampires.

Our popular culture was inundated with stories of vampires. There was even a non-scary vampire on a beloved kids’ show. Maybe there was more to it than just stories to make you shiver.

Skyler thrashed wildly as we wound the rope around her. “Not too tight,” I said. “But make sure she can’t get loose.”

Her dress rode up, and I noticed a bite on her thigh. It was an old mark, faded, but the skin looked ripped and swollen.

I sucked in my breath. “Those jerks.”

“What are we going to do at the book club?”

“Find out how to kill a bunch of asshole vampires.” I stared at the night sky. The moon was full and bright, a typical romantic setting, but there was a dark blot in the sky, and it was coming toward us. I stood frozen, my heartbeat loud and fast.

Vaughn came up next to me. “Get in the car, Tansy,” he said. He repeated it a couple of times before my brain, which had been locked down in terror, finally started working again.

“Help me with Sky,” I said.

He bent and, in one swift motion, picked up Skyler and carried her in a bridal hold to the car. She tried to bite his ear.

“Sky, stop it,” he said. “Or I swear I’m going to drop you on your ass.”

She growled at him like a feral cat, her teeth snapping, but he managed to dodge her.

I opened the door, and he shoved her into the back seat. I jumped in after her, and then Vaughn got in the driver’s seat and we sped home.

“I can hear you being all judgy over there,” I said. “Cut it out.”

“I’m not being judgy,” Vaughn said. “It’s just that—”

I cut him off. “Your best friend broke her.”

“Con didn’t break her,” Vaughn said. “He broke up with her.”

“Same difference,” I said, a hot feeling in my stomach all over again at the way Connor had dropped Sky so suddenly.

“Not always,” he replied carefully. “Sometimes, a breakup is a good thing—especially if one of the people is in love with someone else.”

My mouth fell open. “Connor’s in love with someone else?”

“No, I’m not talking about Connor,” he said.

“Who, then?”

He took his eyes off the road for a brief second, and something in his gaze made my heart pound in my ears. “Can we talk later?” he asked.

I nodded, barely restraining myself from asking more questions. From hoping.

He returned his attention to driving. “Good,” he murmured.

We’d reached PCH when a heavy fog rolled in, obscuring the road. Vaughn slowed down but kept a steady pace as the fog grew thicker.

“I’ve never seen a marine layer like this,” he muttered.

There was a sound like hail falling on the roof. Then something hit the windshield and clung there—a skeletal creature with wings like a bat but the face of a man. Its cheek pressed to the driver’s side, its mouth in a silent scream. Vaughn and I were both screaming now.

“What is that thing?” I yelled. The creature raised its bony hand and tried to punch through the glass to get to Vaughn.

“What the hell?” Vaughn swore but kept driving.

This night had been a freak show from beginning to end, and I’d had enough of things that go bump in the night.

“Leave him alone!” I screamed. The car swerved…

And then the creature was gone.