Chapter Text
Maddie finally agreed to let me use the car, though when I tried to drive back to Texas, I ended up making a U-turn and returning to the apartment complex, so I’m guessing she’d worked more of her vampire hoodoo to keep me from running away.
I probably gave up too easily, but it seemed easier to set up here than to continue to fight with her. Call me weak, but I preferred pragmatic.
She did buy me a phone, but what was I going to do? Call Silversmith’s and tell them what? Call G9? No one would believe me, and even if they did, I didn’t want Maddie in trouble. She wasn’t a bad person, but she was terrified of Godric for some reason.
Speaking of Godric, I briefly entertained calling him, except I couldn’t remember his number and I had no SIM card.
I sighed as I pulled into the parking lot. Bernie’s was an “artisan” pizza place that needed a daytime bartender. I mostly poured glasses of wine and bloody marys, so that was easy enough.
Jaime was my trainer, which meant he watched me work and kept the tips while I got hourly. I was supposed to have my first shift on my own next week though, so hopefully the money would improve. Maddie told me not to worry about the rent, but it was a hard habit to break. The apartment was nice, and nice apartments weren’t cheap.
“You’re almost late.”
“I’m literally clocking in.”
He snorted and pointed me towards a rack of glasses. “Take those to the back, then cut fruit.”
I used the rolling rack this time, still paranoid about carrying glasses, and stacked the dirty bus tub on top. Dave was the dishwasher and he helped me sort the dishes and promised to run the glasses up to me later.
It was a Tuesday, so it was dead enough that I was glad I made hourly. Just a few regulars sitting at the bar, munching on overpriced pizza and drinking IPAs so oily, they could double as disinfectant. For lack of something to do, I started wiping down tables. There was a booth in the corner of my section and I couldn’t help but imagine Godric sitting there, his polite expression at odds with his sarcastic sense of humor.
This place didn’t have cheesecake, but I’d definitely snag him a cannoli.
Or maybe not.
I sighed. It was still hard to reconcile him as a vampire. It explained some things, but made no sense in other ways. Why did he bother with me anyway? Seemed like he put a lot of effort into getting to know me if he was planning to eat me.
Was he planning to eat me? I only had Maddie’s word to go on that and I was skeptical.
I swept crumbs off of a seat with more force than was strictly necessary, half wondering what Godric was doing now.
Shift change was at 6, which, at this time of the year, meant that it was already dark. I called Maddie to let her know I was on the way home. She didn’t like texting.
“Can you pick up more Trueblood on the way home?”
“Again? That’s your third six pack this week.”
Maddie groaned. “It’s because I’m not feeding live, it takes more to satisfy the thirst.”
The blinker clicked as I changed lanes to head towards the convenience store, mentally wincing. Trueblood was almost twenty dollars a six pack and I only made forty bucks tonight. “I didn’t realize that was a thing, so you’d drink less blood if you were drinking from a person?”
“Yup.”
“I thought Trueblood was supposed to be, like, a complete blood replacement.”
“It’s not. I’m guessing it’s for the same reasons they can’t use it in transfusions. Something’s missing.”
I pulled into a parking space and thought about it. “So, why haven’t you been….going hunting or whatever?”
“That’s…complicated.”
“What do you mean, ‘complicated’?”
“I just…I may or may not have skipped the line by moving you here in the middle of the night.”
“What line?”
“All vampires have to petition before moving into a new area…I…didn’t.”
“Do you do anything the right way?”
“Oh, hush. Like you’re any better than me. How’d you convince that man to hire you with no I-9 documents?”
“One, I have an amazing rack and two, he’s paying me under the table.” I fumbled in my apron and pulled out the two pitiful twenties, before making a decision. “Listen. What about me?”
“What about you?”
“Can you…feed on me? Just for a little while? Until I start making better money?”
“Uh, I mean, I can, I just…you wouldn’t mind?”
I shrugged. “We’re related. Plus, Trueblood is really getting expensive at the rate you’re going through it. I figured we can at least try me and if I hate it, we’ll never do it again.”
Maddie’s silence over the phone sounded skeptical.
“Look, let’s just try it and if it’s too weird or whatever, then I’ll run back out and buy you more Trueblood.”
“...okay, fine.”
“Great, I’ll be home in a few.”
I pulled into the apartment complex a little after eleven, stuffing the money into my pocket, but leaving my apron on the seat, so I wouldn’t forget it tomorrow.
Maddie looked almost nervous when I stepped inside. “So, uh, how do we do this? Should I shower first or eat something?”
“Nah, you can do that after. I can feed from your wrist, so it’s not as intimate.”
“My wrist, will it hurt?” I kicked off my shoes and left them in the hallway, heading towards the living room. “Should we put a towel down or something?”
“Don’t be stupid. It’s not like I’m going to hit an artery or something. Yeah, the wrist hurts, but I’d have to sit in your lap to drink from your throat.”
I stuck out my tongue. “Gotcha. Wrist it is.”
I plopped down onto the sofa, leaving Maddie standing in the middle of the room, looking at me like an awkward first date she’d invited in. “Maddie?”
“Huh?”
“You good? Or do you want me to go get Trueblood?”
She made a disgusted face. “Nah, I’m good, just…it doesn’t matter.”
She took a seat next to me on the sofa and grabbed my wrist. “I’m just going to go ahead and do it because otherwise it’ll hurt more, okay?”
My arm tensed and I grit my teeth before nodding.
There was a muffled crunching noise before a sharp pinch spread up my arm. I instinctively jerked back, but her grip was like iron and a numbing sensation followed the sharpness, leaving my fingers tingling.
I forced myself to stop pulling away and settle down against the sofa. This was no weirder than the one time I donated blood to the Red Cross. Just relax and try not to think about it.
I didn't know how long it lasted, but I was guessing around ten minutes before Maddie detached with a wet sucking noise. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. You done?”
She nodded, licking her lips then dabbing at her mouth with the back of her hand. I pulled back my hand, flexing my fingers and waiting for the feeling to return. There were two neat punctures wounds on my wrist, one was still weeping. “Do you want me to heal it?”
“Nah, it’s not that bad. I’ll get a bandaid from work tomorrow.”
“You should still probably bandage it tonight.”
I snorted. “With what? Do we even have a first aid kit?”
No, but we did find rubbing alcohol under the sink, which stung like a bitch, then we wrapped it in paper towels.
I felt a little woozy, but wasn’t convinced that wasn’t just being overtired from work.
So that was a vampire feeding.
No the worst thing that had ever happened, getting my tattoo had hurt worse.
I tried to imagine Godric with fangs. Twin points peeking out from his lips when he gave me that half amused smile, but it didn’t work. I just couldn’t see it.
Not for the first time, I wondered if Maddie was confused, like she’d mistaken Godric for someone else.
“Hey Maddie?”
“Yeah?” She didn’t look away from where she was flipping through channels.
“Are you sure Godric is a vampire?”
“Yes. He’s an old vampire, one of the oldest in the States.”
“I just, he never acted like a vampire.”
Maddie turned the television off and looked at me. “You have no idea what vampires are like. You never noticed what I was and you invited me into your house. Even if I was just a regular street kid that would be stupid.”
“A regular street kid wouldn’t be a crazy kidnapper.”
“I’m not crazy. I saved your life.”
“How do you know that Godric was planning to kill me?”
“Because there is no reason an older vampire would have an interest in you.”
“Hey!”
“I’m serious, Evelyn. You’re as normal as it gets, apart from being a little naive. The only thing a vampire would be interested in is your blood.”
“My blood?” Blood was blood right? Didn’t it all taste like dirty pennies? Metallic and sour.
“It’s sweet and warming. Like apple brandy.”
“Huh, thanks I guess. So, what you’re saying is that Godric was pretending just so he could eat me? Why didn’t he just eat me the first time I asked him for a light?”
Maddie shrugged. “Who knows. The old ones sometimes like to keep pets.”
“Pets?”
“Yeah.” She shook her head. “You have no idea how bad it can be. I couldn’t let it happen to you.”
I wanted to ask more, but there was a bitter tone to her voice and she wasn’t looking at me.
I sat back. “Wanna watch Hell’s Kitchen?”
“Sure.”
It stung to think that Godric spent all the time letting me think we were friends and all the while he was planning to kill me, or keep me in captivity so he could drink my, apparently tasty, blood.
It didn’t fit with the image I had of him, but then again, how well did I know him?
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
Something warm and wet was working its way down his throat and across the tattoo on his collarbones. Dragging his eyes open, Godric saw a wonderfully naked Evelyn pause her kisses across his chest to grin before nipping at him and continuing down until her cheek rubbed against the erection straining the front of his linen sleep pants. Her small hands pulled down the waist band as she slid up his body until her center hovered over him. Her arousal smelled similar to her blood, like apples with a sharper undercurrent. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip the way his wanted to as she slid down his length, seating him deep inside her.
Godric hissed and arched his hips, bucking against her, making her yelp before she found her rhythm. Rising and falling, she braced her hands on his upper abdomen. Her hair fell around her shoulders in messy waves, her breasts heaved and bounced, his hands slid up to cup them, his thumbs brushing over her nipples and her head fell back. “Godric…”
Grinning, Godric sat up, ignoring her groan at the change in angle to latch on to her right breast, pulling deeply. Her hands sank into his hair, holding him closer as his fangs extended and sank into her soft flesh. Her sweet blood spilling into his mouth.
Her hips never stopped, but the rhythm faltered as she became over stimulated and Godric slid a hand between them, fingers unerringly finding her clit and rubbing in circles until he could feel the muscles in her thighs and stomach tense, her fingers turning into claws against his scalp.
“No-no, don't. I cant-”
Godric detached with a wet pop. “Yes you can, come for me.”
“No, I can't. I'm gone, remember?”
“What?”
Pulling back to look at her face, Godric's hands slid to her back to support her as she went limp. Her head was no longer thrown back in passion, but lolling at an impossible angle, strings of sinew holding it in place from where her throat had been torn out. Her eyes were wide and accusatory. “You didn't find me.”
Her husky voice was a wet gurgle. “You didn't find me.”
Godric didn't gasp because he didn't need to breathe, but his fangs slid down as he woke, his body tense with impotent rage.
Evelyn was still missing and the reality that his human was abducted at him, gnawing at his insides. Eric had no luck tracing the phone number, apparently it was a burner cell, used primarily for blood deals. It was no help finding Evelyn, but it was more than enough to convict the vampire of blood trafficking.
In the two weeks she’d been missing, Godric killed two of the blood dealers and ripped the fangs out of the leader before the prisoner “remembered” overhearing the kidnapper making a phone call to the local cleaners.
The line only rang once before picking up. “Where is the incident?”
“This is the Sheriff of Area 9 requesting information about a job performed two weeks ago at 3114 Red Bush Circle.”
“Yes Sheriff, how can we be of assistance?”
“Who commissioned the job?”
“Madeline Galloway.”
“Was it strictly a cleanup?”
“No, we relocated her also.”
Godric sat up impossibly straighter behind his desk. “Where?”
The cleaner listed an address in Shreveport.
“Thank you for your assistance.”
“Yes, Sheriff.”
Godric hung up, already rounding his desk and finding Isabel in the hallway. “Isabel. I am leaving to retrieve my human. I will return shortly.”
Isabel dipped her head. “I am glad you found her. Safe travels, Sheriff.”
Godric nodded, leaving the nest, remembering to withdraw his phone and call Eric.
“ Fader.”
“Eric, min människa fördes till ditt territorium. Jag kommer dit inom kort.”
“Mitt område?”
Godric rattled off the address before hanging up and taking to the sky. It was the fastest means of transportation.
*&*&*&*&*&
Eric stared at his phone.
The vampire Madeline Galloway was clearly insane.
Trafficking blood, kidnapping Godric’s human, then illegally entering another territory without petitioning the Sheriff for entry?
They were either crazed or had a death wish.
Either way, they would be taken into custody.
Eric remembered the human, she seemed innocent enough of vampires, not recognizing Godric as one, but humans were duplicitous.
He wasn’t convinced that this human wasn’t an accomplice.
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
It was Thursday, which meant I fed Maddie enough to get her through the weekend. I hadn’t noticed too much of a difference except I was getting tired more easily, but that could also be chalked up to my diet consisting of primarily shift meals and other refined carbs, which was doing me no favors on any level.
I rested my head on the steering wheel after pulling into the apartment complex. My wrist was a constant ache because the puncture wounds never healed. I was going to see if she'd feed from the other arm this time. The angle would be awkward, but the tingling sensation in my fingers was taking longer and longer to fade each time so it would be worth it.
Maddie was practically bouncing in place when I opened the door, like a fanged puppy. “I have an idea!”
“You're going to petition to live here so you can find a real job?”
“No! Don't be stupid, it's better not to attract attention, plus I'm already here.”
I kicked off my shoes and shucked my hoodie, leaving me in my Bernie’s tee shirt and jeans. “Alright, so what’s the big idea?”
“I have an old friend here who sells his blood to a human who deals it and-”
“What? No, no, no. That’s dangerous!”
“You didn’t even let me finish!”
“Uh uh. You told me that the sheriff here was dangerous and a real hard-ass when it comes to dealers.”
“He is, but I wouldn’t be dealing, technically.”
“Maddie…”
“Seriously, it’ll be fine. Plus, we really need the money.”
I winced. That much was true. I needed to work at least two jobs again, but the odds of me finding another job that would let me work with no ID was low. “I know, but…”
Maddie flapped a hand. “Believe me, it’ll be fine. I promise.”
I made my way over to the sofa, this time sitting sideways and folding my right leg underneath me, it was the least awkward way I could think of to put my left wrist in range. “Can you feed on my other arm this time? My right one keeps going numb.”
“Sure, move over.”
I scooted over and Maddie took the seat to my left.
I winced at her cold hands holding my arm steady before her fangs sank deep into my wrist.
The door crashed off the hinges and I screamed as something tore at my wrist while wind whipped at my hair.
The door was flat on the floor, the alarm system still beeping frantically.
I gripped my wrist with my right arm, trying to stop the bleeding and looked around the apartment for Maddie. “The fuck?”
The huge blonde vampire from Silversmith’s, the one I saw with Godric, was holding my great aunt against the wall as easily as a pin held a butterfly to a board, his grip around her throat so tight, Maddie could only make strangled noises and kick her feet impotently.
“You. Dare?”
Hair on the back of my neck raised at his chilling tone as I watched him press Maddie so hard against the wall, the plaster cracked.
I scrambled off the sofa, still clutching my wrist. “Um?”
His eyes slid to me, impossibly dark, but that was the only part of him that moved, the rest of him might as well be a statue. “Do not interfere, human.”
“I-I-” I swallowed hard. “Don’t hurt her.”
The large vampire snorted. “And what, exactly, could you do to stop me?”
“Why are you doing this? Where did you even come from?”
“This vampire entered my territory illegally. I do not tolerate blood traffickers, or kidnappers.”
“Kidnappers?” I repeated. “Wait, are you the sheriff?”
“Obviously.”
“Did Godric send you? There’s been a huge misunderstanding! I’m not, well, it’s complicated, but Maddie was only trying to protect me!”
The blonde rolled his eyes. “Spare me your pitiful human excuses-”
“It’s not! I- she didn’t try to-she thought Godric was planning to-”
“Are you planning on finishing any of those sentences?”
I huffed out a breath, trying to get my pounding heart under control. “This is a huge misunderstanding. I can explain everything, but can you please let her go?”
The blonde tilted his head, as though considering. “No, I think not. You will both return with me.”
There was a crunching sound and Maddie dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, her head lolling. “What did you just do?!”
“Silence human, that’s not enough to kill a vampire. Now, come.”
“Like hell! Leave us alone! I want to talk to Godric!”
He would understand. This was a huge mistake. I wasn’t going anywhere with this guy.
The blonde vampire rolled his eyes before meeting mine. The last coherent thought I had was that his eyes were a dark blue, as deep and unforgiving as an ocean.
Fader. - Father.
Eric, min människa fördes till ditt territorium. Jag kommer dit inom kort. - Eric, my human was taken to your territory. I will be there shortly.
Mitt område? - My area?