––––––––
While Luc drove, I sulked in silence. I hadn’t asked for any of this and now I was going to die. Again. This time it would be forever. Death might suck but I was just starting to get used to it.
“We should return to the Court before they send out guards to find us,” Luc decided. “I don’t want them to become suspicious of us and they need to know of Vincent’s treachery.”
“What are you going to tell them?”
He spared me a glance. “That he broke the rules and had to be exterminated. The Councillors will pick someone else to be the Prophet’s guardian. Perhaps they will keep a closer eye on Vincent’s successor in future.”
“Yeah, maybe they’ll even install phones,” I mumbled to myself. “What are you going to tell them about me?”
“Nothing. They can continue to believe you are my servant and are of little consequence.”
“But Danton and his guards know I could understand the Prophet. Word will get back to the Court eventually.”
“We will be long gone before that happens.” Luc gave me a strained smile that I didn’t believe for a second. Why would he abandon the Court for me? He wouldn’t. Not after seven hundred years of loyalty.
“Why are you helping me?” It was a question I’d wanted to ask since we’d met and now was as good a time as any.
“Perhaps I hope I can convince you not to destroy our kind,” he said lightly and without meeting my eyes.
“Uh huh.” I believed that one even less than I did his smile. Like he’d said the first time we’d met, destiny couldn’t be outrun, not even by a creature like me. The only way to avoid the total destruction of our kind was to lop off my head. Well, he had the tool to pull that off now. He just didn’t know it yet.
For a change, we stopped in a town and hired a room in a hotel rather than finding a hole in the ground to spend the day in. Compared to the tiny village we’d stolen the truck from, this place was a sprawling metropolis. The hotel Luc chose was on the outskirts of the town. Presumably this was so we could make an easy escape to the nearby highway if we were discovered.
Houses were more modern than I’d been expecting in a country like Romania. I’d pictured the entire place being covered in villages of stone and thatch buildings. This town had wood and brick houses, telephone poles and big screen TVs. We could have been in any small town in Australia. Exiting the truck, we headed for the reception desk.
Luc had no trouble procuring a room, once he managed to shake the clerk awake. Sitting up, the clerk blinked at us owlishly. He had a crease mark on one cheek from where it had been lying on a magazine. He was youngish, in his early thirties, and I suspected he’d imbibed an illegal substance before he’d taken his nap. His pupils were huge and his hands shook uncontrollably. Long, unwashed brown hair hung around his face. I could smell the grease from several feet away. Stronger than that was the smell of sweat that stained his grimy red shirt. I was hungry but not hungry enough to be tempted by this guy. Besides, I’d already had a taste of drug tainted blood and I wasn’t about to try it again.
I understood their brief conversation but wouldn’t be able to speak Romanian myself so remained silent. Luc spoke the language fluently, of course. The clerk was probably stoned enough that he wouldn’t remember us but if I spoke English, he might. Taking the key, Luc handed over the required amount of cash and gallantly allowed me to exit first. With no luggage to speak of, we made a strange sight as we trudged down the hall to our room. It was late enough that we didn’t run into anyone who might have noticed our lack of belongings.
Our room was sparse and garishly decorated. It was a ghastly combination of colours but at least the ugly blue curtains were thick enough to keep out the sunlight. The window faced north anyway so we should be safe enough come morning. The queen sized bed looked lumpy and uncomfortable beneath the eye-searing lime green comforter. A tiny couch, covered in lurid orange fabric, looked even worse.
“It will be dawn in an hour,” Luc said with a quick look at his watch. “I suggest we both hunt now so we can get an early start when we rise.”
“Ok.” Yeah, the sooner we get back to the Court, the safer I’ll feel. Not. I kept my misgivings to myself and followed Luc quietly to the exit at the far end of the hall. He left the door open a crack for a silent re-entry. Even someone as stoned as the clerk would be suspicious if he saw us leaving the hotel at this hour. Most stores would be shut so what reason could we have to leave our room? A romantic pre-dawn walk? Not likely.
Luc melted away into the night and I was left to fend for myself. Two blocks away from the motel and deeper into the town, I revised my thought that I could be in any small town in Australia. We didn’t have many cobbled streets back home. I could swear I heard a horse clomping by a couple of streets away. For a minute I was scared I’d been warped back in time. The sight of bright electric lights shining through the windows of a tavern ahead eased my mind.
Three levels high, the pub had been around for at least a few hundred years. White paint had been applied so many times that it would be impossible to strip it back to the original stone beneath. Cracks ran in haphazard patterns in several places and had been inexpertly patched. The windows were large and dirty but I could make out a few diehard drunks inside.
I wasn’t in the mood to search further so hung around outside the tavern and waited for a victim to stumble into my trap. With time running out, I mentally urged one of the men to leave. It was spooky standing all alone in the shadows. A low, dense mist began to rise, adding to the eerie atmosphere. I had to remind myself that I was the scariest monster in the area.
My patience was rewarded after about half an hour as two men exited the tavern. Speaking quietly, they stuck to the street lights and avoided the shadows. Following in increasing frustration, I was about to jump them both when they parted. One continued down the main street. The other trotted down a dim alley. “Big mistake,” I whispered with a grin and hustled after him.
Either my undead feet scuffed the ground or he sensed me closing in on him. Sending a look of pure terror at me over his shoulder, he took off with a cry of, “Aiiiieeee!”
“People really say that?” I muttered. “Hey, you! Get back here! You can’t resist my evil allure!” I whisper-shouted after his retreating back.
I had to give my fleeing meal credit, he alllllmost made it to the safety of his home. His key was jittering in the lock when I yanked him backwards into the bushes. We’d made a bit of noise during our chase and I didn’t want anyone seeing me snacking on him. It seemed prudent to get out of sight quickly.
He was a big guy, broad through the shoulders and a good foot taller than me. Unfortunately for him, I’d gained considerable strength as the unliving and held him down easily.
When I angled my head so he could see my eyes, he squeezed his own shut so he wouldn’t be caught in my spell. Damn, the food is wily around these parts. I didn’t want to hurt him but I also didn’t want him to remember the encounter. Holding him down with a hand over his mouth, I reached down and grabbed hold of his nuts. As expected, his eyes popped open. “You are a she devil.” His horrified whisper was muffled behind my hand but was still audible.
“Buddy, you have no idea,” I sighed without any actual air escaping my lungs. Now that our eyes were locked, I had him under my control. “Sleep,” I commanded him then bit down on a tasty spot on his neck as his head sagged to the side. He’d wake up sometime later in the bushes, thinking he’d stumbled into them drunk before passing out. From the trampled look of the shrubbery, it wouldn’t be the first time.
Getting my bearings, I scurried off toward the hotel. I’d run quite a distance during the chase and dawn had to be close now. Full of blood, I couldn’t sense the arrival of the sun as easily as I usually could. Thanks to the alcohol in my meal’s system, I felt a little drunk myself.
“I am surprised you did not unleash your flesh hunger on the hapless man after snaring him so...handily,” Luc said from right behind me.
Staggering sideways, I put a hand on my unbeating heart. “Cripes! Don’t do that.”
“Has your flesh hunger risen yet?” he asked me pleasantly.
“Nope,” I lied. It reared its ugly head every time Luc cocked an eyebrow in my direction.
“Pity.” With a sly glance at me, he indicated we’d arrived at the hotel with a nod. He pulled the still unlocked back door open and gestured for me to enter first. Manners sure had changed over the past few hundred years. Men rarely held doors open for women anymore. If they did, they’d get an affronted stare half the time. I’d never minded gallantry. Not when it saved me from opening the door myself.
Luc locked our door after a quick glance around to make sure no intruders had snuck into the room then began stripping immediately. His eyebrows rose when I didn’t emulate him. Tugging the curtains closed so there was no possibility of the sun getting in, I took a seat on the couch.
“There is plenty of room in the bed,” he pointed out.
“I’m fine here.” I’d also be away from the temptation of using his body to sate my flesh hunger on. It would be far too easy to take advantage of him again if I woke up naked in his arms. Taking my shoes off, I lay down. It was immediately obvious that the couch was far too small. Bringing my knees up to my chest, I turned my face away from the window and snuggled into the coarse orange fabric. It was dusty and smelled like old farts and cabbage. Cabbage farts. Wonderful.
Rustling came from the bed as my companion made himself comfortable. He made several satisfied sounds to let me know just how comfy he was. Clenching my hands tightly, I ignored him as best as I could. My fingernails bit into the twin holy marks as I worried about my impending death. Just how long did I have left before my head became separated from the rest of my body?
Dawn came before I had my answer and I sank into darkness’s embrace willingly.
·~·