The days until my next agreed date with Nik passed achingly slowly. But Thursday night finally arrived and I was buzzing with excitement as I looked through the intercom to see Nik, waiting for me. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Okay.” His voice crackled through.
I inspected myself one last time, in the mirror, by the front door. I’d chosen my ripped jeans, a fluffy jumper and a tassled, black leather jacket. I’d picked it up in a charity shop but it scrubbed up pretty well. I finished it off by tousling my pink hair so that it fell around my shoulders and applying a bit of smudgy eye make up. Satisfied with my look I called out to my flatmates and left, skipping down the stairs, two at a time.
When I spotted him, my breath caught in my chest. His honey-kissed complexion stood out against a crisp white shirt, jeans and black bomber jacket.
I opened the door and leaned in to kiss him, lightly, on the lips. He tasted sweet, like peppermint - he’d brushed his teeth before meeting me. The smell of his familiar aftershave wafted over me.
“Hey.” His heart-breaking smile completely disarmed me.
Looking down, I tucked my hair behind one ear, as I asked. “Where are we off to?”
He put his hands in his pockets, a look of slight discomfort crossing his face - maybe he was cold? “I thought we’d go to Altitude, in the city. Do you know it?”
I shook my head.
“It’s a top floor bar, it has a beautiful view.”
“Sounds good.”
“Come on, let’s go.” He walked briskly, taking strides that were too big for me to keep up. I tottered by his side. He seemed anxious - was he nervous? I couldn’t imagine why, this wasn’t even our first date. But then, as we rounded the corner, towards Dalston, he slowed his pace.
I glanced at him, sideways. “Are you okay?”
He turned to face me, smiling brightly. “Never better, why?”
“You just seemed a little… agitated back there, that’s all. I was wondering if you’d had a bad day or something.”
He gulped. “Sorry, I sometimes forget how much longer my legs are. Please tell me if I’m walking too fast for you, I’m often not aware.” He slowed right down. “Is this better?”
I opened my mouth wide and put my hands on my hips. “I’m not a geriatric you know. I can walk at a normal pace - just not the speed walk you were doing back there.”
He chuckled. “Okay, got it. Anyway, we won’t be walking for long. The first taxi we see, we’re grabbing it.”
As I looked up and down the road, a taxi approached, its lights blinding us as it ramped a slight hill. I stuck my arm out and it swerved to stop beside us. The driver wound down his window, and smiled. But as I turned to Nik, he’d gone pale. Something was definitely up with him.
“Actually, it’s a lovely evening, maybe we should walk?”
I gawped at him. It was not a lovely evening. “Are you serious? The City is miles away. It would take us at least an hour to get there on foot. Anyway, I’m not wearing the right footwear for that kind of a hike.”
He looked down at my cuban-heeled ankle boots. They were made for dancing, not walking.
With a tight smile, he dropped the subject. “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
The taxi driver’s lips curled up slowly, in a way that was insincere and oily. His smile was one of challenge rather than genuine positive feelings. Confused, I looked from the driver to Nik and back again. Something unspoken passed between them but I couldn’t work out what. His crow like eyes flashed at Nik. “Where to?”
Nik cleared his throat, a look of palpable contempt on his face. “Altitude bar, on King William’s Street, please.”
Dismissing the weird atmosphere between them, I hopped in, flattening my back against the leather clad seats. The driver immediately locked the doors, glancing at me, in his rearview mirror, as he did so. As soon as we were inside, it hit me. A feeling of rage that swept through my core, igniting every nerve cell and consuming my thoughts with a murderous urge, all directed at the taxi driver. My mind flitted back to my encounter with the Arcane witches and what Morgana had told me about my episodes. She’d said that my powerful urges meant that I was in the presence of a vampire. Could this man be a vampire? I glared at him, studying his odious features. He was balding, with a beaky nose and small, deep set eyes.
Clenching my fists, I looked out of the window, focussing on my breaths, in an effort to stay calm. The instinct to hurt him was so strong, I ground my jaw, willing the episode to go away. Why did this have to happen now, when I was on a hot date? I flicked my eyes towards Nik. He still seemed on edge - perhaps he’d noticed my weird behaviour. I was relieved when the taxi driver spoke, distracting me, from my dark fantasies.
“Nice night for it, isn’t it?”
Nik’s eyes settled on the man. “Indeed.” He smiled but his eyes remained cold and I had the distinct impression that Nik hated him too - but why? Did they know each other from somewhere?
I looked at Nik, trying to work out what was going on with him. “You’re very quiet tonight. What’s on your mind?”
He rubbed his face with both hands. “Am I? Sorry, it was just a busy day at the hospital, that’s all.”
I swallowed, suddenly feeling guilty. Of course, sometimes he’d be out of sorts - I could only imagine how hard his job was. “You must have to deal with some terrible things. I don’t know how you doctors do it. All that blood… and losing patients. Don’t you get traumatised?”
He shrugged. “You get used to the blood.” He gritted his teeth and flicked his gaze towards the driver who was, inexplicably smirking at him, as if they were sharing an ‘in’ joke. Nik looked back at me and carried on. “Over the years, you learn to think of a human being, more as… just a body. That sounds cold-hearted but it’s the best way to treat them, especially when their injuries are severe. If I got emotionally involved with every patient who passed through my doors, I wouldn’t be able to do my job.” His eyes filled with sincerity. I could tell he really loved his job and this made him even more attractive to me. What could be more heroic than a man who saved lives every day, for a living?
I fluttered my eyelashes at him, in a way that I hoped was alluring. “But you got involved with me.”
He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “You’re different.”
His gaze travelled down my frame, for just a second, making a shiver go up my spine, before he looked away. It was as if he didn’t trust himself with me. Why couldn’t I work him out?
Suddenly, he became agitated again as he shuffled forward in his seat to address the cab driver. “This isn’t the way to Altitude - you should’ve turned back there.”
The driver looked at us in the mirror. “They’re doing roadworks over by Aldgate. Traffic is a nightmare around there. This way is quicker, trust me.”
Nik narrowed his eyes at the man, as though he didn’t believe him. Clenching his jaw, he seemed to be wrestling with himself. He definitely had some sort of beef with the driver.
Nik tore his attention away from the man, to face me. “Anyway, enough about my day. How was your day? What did you get up to?”
I scrunched up my nose. “Nothing much. Just more job hunting.”
He nodded and his shoulders visibly sagged with relief, as we turned towards King William’s Street. We pulled up outside Altitude and got out. Nik paid the driver, practically throwing money at his face as if he couldn’t wait to be out of his presence.
The driver apparently didn’t notice. “Thank you very much, Sir.” He tilted his head towards him. But Nik returned a murderous gaze, as if he wanted to punch the man in the face. I couldn’t understand his bizarre behaviour but nor was it obvious enough for me to call out. Perhaps he’d just had a stressful day, as he’d said.
As the cab drove off, he put his arm around me and I brushed the incident aside, looking forward to spending an evening with him, as we went inside.
Once we got inside, Nik relaxed and I forgot about his weird behaviour in the cab. Then, after a magical evening of laughter and soul-sharing, we left the warmth of the bar and stepped out onto the windy street. Standing near the edge of the road, we tried to hail a cab. A taxi approached and I raised my arm to hail it. But Nik grabbed it down so forcefully that he almost pulled my arm out of its socket.
I whirled around, my eyes blazing at him. “What’s wrong?”
A range of emotions struggled for dominance on his face. “Nothing. It’s just… such a pleasant evening. I thought we could walk for a bit.” He was a terrible liar. His eyes flitted towards the approaching taxi, his expression that of a hunted animal.
I wasn’t buying this bullshit. “Pleasant? It is not pleasant - it’s windy and cold and horrible. What’s really going on?”
I could see the cogs of his mind turning as he raced to settle on an acceptable explanation. Why couldn’t he just tell me the truth?
“Don’t get in that taxi. I don’t like the look of the driver.” He blurted it out in one breath.
I squinted, in the semi-darkness, unable to make out the driver. “How can you see him from this distance?”
He faltered. “I… I can’t, I just have a bad feeling, that’s all.” His agitation seemed to increase, the closer the cab got.
This was ridiculous. “Come on, you’re being paranoid. He’s a professional black cab driver. Aren’t they all registered?”
Nik’s face dissolved into something akin to panic as the cab stopped beside us.
He gulped, closing his eyes briefly as the front, passenger window wound down, with a whirring noise. I did a double take as I saw that it was the same taxi driver from before. The man must have still been in the area…
Or had he waited for us?
An uneasy feeling spread through me. But I pushed the irrational thought to one side. Now I was being paranoid. The driver smiled at Nik with the same, weird, knowing look he’d given him before. Less a smile and more a smirk. “Good evening again Sir, where to?”
Fed up with the sludge-like atmosphere, I strode forward and opened the door, smiling back at Nik. “Come on, what are you waiting for?”
Nik had gone pale. He stood, routed to the spot, looking from me, to the driver and back at me again. Was he about to have some kind of fit? I started to wonder if he was suffering the onset of some type of mental breakdown. Then, without warning, he lurched forward and slammed the door closed. He grabbed me and almost threw me away from the cab, without bothering to give an explanation, to either myself, or the driver. He half walked, half ran, dragging me along as he held my arm in a vice-like grip.
He’s lost his mind - or maybe this is the real him? A violent psychopath!
For the first time I started to feel genuinely scared. I looked from left to right, there was barely anyone about. “Ow! You’re hurting me.” I winced and tried to release my arm.
He relaxed his grip slightly and I tore my arm out of his grasp, rounding on him. “Have you gone mad? What is wrong with you. Tell me now or I’m going home and you can forget about seeing me again.”
We were now far back from the road, standing next to a skyscraper, the security guard visible through the glass doors. I felt a rush of gratitude that I wasn’t completely alone with Nik who was becoming more and more unhinged by the minute..
His hands were shaking as he ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. “That taxi driver. He means us both harm.”
My eyes narrowed. “What makes you think that?”
“Because… there’s no easy way to explain.” He looked up at the sky and then back at me. “This is not a joke. I’m not trying to toy with you. I just want to protect you and keep you safe. That taxi driver is…”
A feeling of doom spread through me. I knew what he was going to say, I’d known it the minute I’d got into his cab earlier and felt the onset of my rage episode. “Is what?”
“He’s a vampire.”
It was as if time stood still and the only thing that my mind registered were Nik’s lips, forming the words that I’d dreaded yet expected.
He gulped then continued. “Vampires are real, they live all around us.” he paused, assessing my reaction. I know I should’ve feigned surprise but I’d never been a good actor.
“Go on,” I replied softly, a cold feeling spreading over my limbs as I crossed my arms.
“It’s not like in the movies where they explode if they go in sunlight and recoil at garlic and can’t stand the sight of crucifixes. They are just like regular people, living normal lives. But they can only survive on human blood and they live for centuries. They’re stronger, faster, heal quicker and are altogether more powerful than humans.” He stopped and looked down at me, his brow furrowed, pain etched across his perfect features.
“How do you know all this?” I replied, desperate to know yet afraid of what the answer might be.
He opened and closed his mouth a few times then met my gaze, a mixture of longing and sadness, in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he said, “the reason why I know all this is because I…”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence. With a loud revving of its engine, the black cab reappeared. It mounted the pavement, bumping into the edge of a bus stop, just beside us. Nik grabbed me and dived out of the way, crushing my body under his as we hit the hard, cold pavement. The cab doors opened and two, burly men got out of the back seat. The cab driver got out of the front and joined them. One of them licked his lips and the other cracked his knuckles, as they advanced on us. Icy claws of fear clutched at my insides as I looked at Nik.
Scrambling to his feet, he pulled me up, beside me. A glassy look of hate that I’d never seen before, entered his eyes, as he growled at the advancing men. I didn’t know who to fear more - the cab driver and his built-like-tanks buddies, or this strange, animalistic man, Nik had suddenly become.
Then he looked at me. “Run!” he yelled, yanking my arm as we took off. As we ran, our pursuers seemed to move with lightning speed. They surrounded us in the seconds it took for us to get a few metres.
Nik whipped his head from side to side, as if trying to work out which one was the weakest. We’d fled far away from the security guard and were now completely alone, on a deserted side street. The taxi driver painted an oily smile on his face as he addressed Nik. “Just give us the girl and we’ll leave you alone. We won’t hurt her.”
“Bullshit.” he snarled.
He shrugged. “Have it your way.”
They were at his side instantly, powering punches and kicks into him as he crumpled to the ground. I screamed, instinct telling me to run but my heart telling me to stay and help him.
“Bree, run!” He managed to lift his head and another fist flew into his face, blood spraying from his lip. Nik punched one of the goliaths, hard, in the nose but it was like the man was made of stone. There was barely any reaction. One of them kicked Nik in the face, hard enough that his head ricocheted backwards but he righted himself and carried on fighting. That kind of a blow would normally cause a man to pass out. My hands flew to my face and I staggered backwards, appalled at the level of violence I was witnessing. This was a far cry from the sparring that I regularly engaged in. These guys fought like they really wanted to kill each other and I struggled to match what I was seeing with the tender, compassionate man, who I’d come to know since he’d treated me, in the hospital. It was three against one and there was no way Nik could hold them off forever. As the blows reigned down on him, he crouched down, into a protective ball, his hands covering his head.
My heart thumped in my chest as I fumbled in my bag, for my phone. I had to call the police. These men were going to kill him, if I didn’t do something. There was no way I could take them on alone - even I wasn’t that reckless. But then, as my fingers found my phone, it was as if something in the air shifted, causing me to look back up. I couldn’t explain what had changed but I felt it, like sound waves but ones I could feel rather than hear. My skin tingled as if static electricity was passing over me.
Nik suddenly roared, bursting through the men. It seemed as if he’d grown in size, his muscles flexing as he threw each one off. He snarled and twirled around. Then he closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
The men were staggering to their feet and moving towards him again but he opened his eyes and looked at them, in the same way a wolf looks at a deer.
He lifted his head and growled deeply. The sound punctuated the cold, still, night air and in that moment, my heart froze.
There, inside his mouth were two, perfectly pointed white fangs, where his canine teeth should’ve been. They hadn’t been there before - they’d just appeared. I started to shake as the terrible realisation seeped into my mind.
Nik is a vampire!