Demonspawn Page 20

  I absorbed that for a moment. “That means you broke into our house.”

  “Yeah, I did. I had to know what you were. And once I knew you were adopted, I figured you'd do the rest for me.”

  “Couldn't go to wonderful Blossom yourself?”

  She smiled. “Traveling isn't that easy for us. A simple trip can turn fatal if that sun pops up.”

  I nodded. A part of me was still mad at her, but I didn't think she was some evil creature.

  I leaned forward. This was all just so much to take in. I didn't see how it was all possible.

  “Shit, it's the twenty-first century,” I said. “How the hell have you kept this a secret? You trying to tell me the government doesn't know?”

  “Oh, of course they know about vampires. They're just not going to tell the public anything about it. And I don't blame them. Now as for secrets-”

  She laughed and stood up. She walked over to the computer in the corner and motioned for me to follow. She sat down and started typing away.

  “This is a video on YouTube that popped up a year ago,” she told me. “Just watch.”

  The video showed a woman lying naked on a table. The angle was high and in a corner, like a security camera. The footage was grainy, but wasn't terrible. A man appeared from the side, dressed in a white coat. It looked like an autopsy, like on TV. Sticking out of the woman's chest was a large wooden stake. The man did some prep stuff, washed his hands, put on a pair of gloves. Then he grabbed the stake and pulled it from the woman's chest. She lunged up and grabbed the man by the hair. She clamped her mouth to his neck. Blood shot and sprayed the wall. They both fell to the ground, her still on top of him.

  A minute later, she stood up, and he didn't move.

  She looked briefly into the camera. Her chest rose up and down as she breathed hard. She almost looked like a wild animal, her head quickly moving to the left and right. Then she ran out of sight, very quickly.

  After the video played I just stared at the monitor.

  “That was in France, two years ago. That was a newborn vampire, fresh off a vicious attack that turned her. It's all right there, on the Internet for the whole world to see. And you know what? No one believes it. Everyone thinks it was a scene filmed for a movie. We don't even need to keep secrets, Alex. No one believes the truth when it's right in front of them.”

  I was stumped for words. “Wow. Just...wow.”

  Wild thoughts ran through my head. Victoria was gorgeous. Were all vampires gorgeous? How old was she? Did she know a lot of other vampires? How many of them were there? How did she know the vampire killers, Bachner and Heins?

  “You okay?” she asked. “You look a little pale. And believe me, I know all about pale.”

  “This is all unbelievable.”

  She laughed. “You know what's unbelievable? You. I've seen a lot of things. But you're one of a kind.”

  I frowned. Now I was a freak to humans and vampires.

  “Okay, it's bedtime for me,” she said. She pulled a business card out of a desk drawer. A business card. What the hell did a vampire do for a living? “Take this. Stop by or give me a call sometime. I don't like making friends with people. For a vampire, it doesn't make much sense. But you're different, aren't you?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Your truck's outside. I'll open the gate for you when you're ready.”

  I nodded. I was very ready to go home.

  “It's definitely been an interesting night,” I said.

  Victoria nodded and smiled. Again she quickly took her shirt off, which signaled that it was time for me to leave.

  Chapter 21

  It was about a half hour drive home. I was tired, confused, afraid of what was happening to me. I wanted to go home and sleep. A part of me knew it was a terrible idea for me to entertain the thought of becoming friends with Victoria, a fucking vampire, but another part of me knew it would happen.

  As I walked up my apartment steps like a zombie, the door next to mine opened. Cindy stepped out wearing tight shorts and a tank-top. Time for her morning jog.

  Morning. I was out all night.

  “Jesus. What time is it?”

  She looked at her watch. “Almost seven.”

  I shook my head. I really needed some sleep.

  “So, you do like her. Looks like you got lucky. You and Red Hot have a good time? Where are your clothes?”

  “Who?”

  “Red Hot. That's what I call her.”

  I laughed. She got serious. “Look, Alex. I'm glad you met someone that you're in to. I really am. But next time, let us know before you disappear, okay? I walked around the club for an hour looking for you. And I was worried.”

  I looked into her eyes. She wasn't joking. “Cindy, I can walk through walls. What do you think would happen to me?”

  “It doesn't matter. A woman still worries, you know?”

  I thought about telling her right then, on the apartment steps. Cindy, you are the one I have a thing for. We should try a real date, and see if there could be something there. Yeah, real easy words to say. Also a very easy way to ruin an eighteen-year-old friendship.

  Luckily reality settled back in. Cindy was my best friend, but she had no feelings for me. I had to keep thinking that.

  “Last night wasn't what you think,” I told her, and left it at that. Cindy didn't need to hear about vampires and vampire hunters. “But I won't do that again. Sorry about that.”

  She nodded and gave me that smile. I really must have been out of it, because I almost melted.

  “So, uh, you didn't get lucky last night?”

  “Nope.

  She almost looked relieved. Weird. “Okay, well, I got a run to get to. We're having a cookout over Grandma's house in the afternoon. You know she'll beat your ass if you aren't there.”

  I didn't want to go to a cookout. But I hadn't seen Grandma in months, and I missed her. She had this magic about her that she could always make everyone around her happy. Absolutely amazing woman. Cookouts at her house were always fun.

  “I'll be there.”

  “Good. And I went easy on you. You should have seen how mad I was last night.”

  She passed me and left the apartment. I watched her sexy figure bounce away as she started her jog. How she could stay out late at night and jog in the morning was beyond me.

  Being in my apartment calmed me a little as I lumbered past the living room and collapsed into bed. My bed never felt so good. I was asleep in minutes. Too bad it didn't last long.

  *****

  I had crazy nightmares. Visions of demons surrounding me. Some looked human, while others didn't. They clawed at me, begging me to let them leave the demon world. That part of the dream was interrupted by a group of vampire killers trying to kill me. Throughout the dream, I lost more and more of my humanity. My skin was on fire, and the wings on my back were out. The demons and vampire hunters fought each other, and I fought both of them, clawing and ripping at their flesh with claws instead of hands.

  I woke up in a cold sweat. My pillow was soaked. I looked over at the clock to see it was only ten in the morning. Three hours sleep. Wonderful. I knew I wouldn't be getting any more for a while either.

  I took a quick shower and tried to figure out what I should get in to for the next few hours. I should have probably called each of my friends and apologized for getting kidnapped at the club. But then one thing crossed my mind as I climbed out of the shower.

  Wings.

  I got dressed and went outside. There was a thick area of trees just behind the apartment complex that separated it from the highway. I strolled back there until I was sure I couldn't be seen at all. Then I took my shirt off. If I really did have a pair of wings inside me somehow, there was no need to ruin a shirt.

  I tried Victoria's technique from last night. I closed my eyes and pictured myself, standing there normal. Then I pictured a pair of wings growing from my back.

  I didn't feel anything.

  I
felt silly. I was in the woods behind my apartment trying to wings.

  “God, you're a dumbass,” I told myself.

  I turned to leave.

  And my left wing clipped a tree.

  I gasped as I looked left and right, and there they were. I was aware of them, just like any other body part. I reached my hand straight back to feel them. There were little hairs across the skin. Like any tickled body part, they reacted. My wings folded up close to my back, which scared the hell out of me. I concentrated, and extended them back out fully. I could see the bony fingers, four of them, running through the skin.

  I had wings, and I could control them.

  I put a hand to my head. This was what I wanted to see if I could do. And now that I knew, I was freaked out.

  I couldn't get a good idea in my head of what I looked like. I couldn't see how they were coming out of my back, but they felt about dead center. And I could do more than just extend and fold them. The fingers and skin were very flexible, and I could wrap the wings in front of me almost.

  Very cool? Or utterly terrifying?

  The question was answered for me after an hour of examining them, moving them around, feeling them. I decided to move them as fast as they could go. Instead of just extending outward, they beat against the air a single time.

  I lifted off the ground about four feet.

  I lost my breath for a second, and grabbed a tree as I landed. I folded my wings behind my back. It all hit me like a train.

  I could fly.

  The wings weren't only for show. They didn't just act as a parachute or glider. They worked.

  I looked up through the trees to the blue sky. People were so obsessed with flight that they built machines that could do it. Every kid sometimes pretends he can fly. And everyone's had a dream or two about it.

  The first time my wings took me off the ground, I knew I could fly.

  It was a moment I'd never forget.

  I knew as I stood there I'd be spending many nights in the woods behind my apartment, learning how to use my new wings. But not now. Baby steps first. I had a cookout to get to.

  I put my shirt back on and headed to the apartment. I gently opened Cindy's door. The bathroom light was on.

  “Hey Cindy! You in here?”

  “Yeah. What's up?”'

  “You want to head up together?”

  “Of course, stupid. I told Leese we'd pick her up, but she said she was bringing a guy.”

  “Really? It's been a while since Alicia had an eye on any guys.”

  “That's what I said. So don't give her a hard time. I'll be ready to go soon.”

  “Alright. Come get me when you're ready.”

  It was thirty minutes later when I heard the door to my apartment open. I was in the kitchen finishing up the dishes. I poked my head out to say hi.

  I froze.

  Cindy had on a two-piece bathing suit, with a pair of flowery shorts that didn't cover much. She wore one of those white blouses that you could see through. I looked her up and down. Slim legs, tone stomach. She had a pair of sunglasses resting on top of her head. I stood there with my hands dripping water on the carpet.

  “Alex? You okay?”

  I felt my face turning red, and quickly went back to the kitchen. I was so frustrated. I hated feeling this way, so out of control. Every weird thing I'd found about myself, I was able to control. I had no doubt I would soon learn how to completely control my wings. But I couldn't control how I felt about Cindy, and it was pissing me off.

  “Yeah, I'm good. Almost done the dishes, then I'm ready. So, you trying to give everyone a heart attack?”

  I heard her laugh in the living room. “You remember Grandma has a pool, right? Take your trunks with you.”

  I grabbed them and looked her up and down one more time. I didn't make any effort to hide it. Strangely, she didn't seem to mind. When our eyes met I just shook my head. A sudden courage hit me.

  “Cindy, how many people tell you a day how hot you are?”

  She smiled and shyly looked away. So modest. “Sometimes I hear it,” she said. “But it sounds different coming from you.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I actually believe it when you say it.”

  We stood there looking at each other. There must have been a good ten seconds of eye contact before she finally looked away. My heart was beating hard. Probably should have been awkward, but it wasn't.

  “You ready to go?”

  “Yeah.”

  Grandma's street was packed full of cars. I knew most of them were probably for the cookout. It took a while to find a spot near the end of the street. We saw Alicia's car. She beat us there with her new guy.

  We went straight to the backyard. The cars were a little deceiving. There were only about twenty people there. Cindy's father was leaning over the grill. Her mother and Grandma were laying in lawn chairs by the pool talking to each other. I saw Cindy's aunt and uncle near the back patio. Alicia was in the in-ground pool playing with some younger kids, but I didn't see any guy with her. I only recognized a few other people from Cindy's work.

  “Alex! Cindy!” Mister Marshall called. His voice boomed over the other conversations and the music. He gave us a wave.

  Grandma heard our names and looked at us. “You two get over here and give me a hug!”

  She looked great. She was close to eighty, and got along very well. She was about Cindy's height, and squeezed the hell out of me.

  “Man, Grandma,” I said. “Go easy on the steroids.”

  “Steroids? This is all home grown muscle.”

  I laughed. Everyone got hugs. Mrs. Marshall stood up and gave out the hugs too. Alicia waved at us from the pool. Cindy started talking with her mom and Grandma while I leaned down near my sister.

  “What? You didn't bring Red Hot?” she asked.

  I rolled my eyes. Now Cindy had everyone using the nickname for Victoria. “Nothing happened, Alicia. And Cindy told me you were bringing a dude? Where is he so I can tell him to get out while he can?”

  Alicia hesitated for a second, and that told me all I needed to know. “He had something else to do. Not really too sure.” She tried to hide her tone. But I knew better. She was upset. She flashed that smile of hers. “You getting in?”

  “I will later, after I eat something.”

  A new voice behind me. “Oh really?”

  Someone grabbed my shirt and nearly threw me into the pool. He held back, though. He only wanted to give me a scare. I turned around to see Mister Marshall laughing.

  “Ah I scared you there didn't I? You're lucky I'm a nice guy.”

  “You wouldn't do that, Mister Marshall. You're afraid of me.”

  He traded a look with his wife. “Alex, if I have to tell you one more time to call us Larry and Chandra, you will take a dive in that pool.”

  As the ladies talked only a few feet away, out of the corner of my eye I saw Cindy remove her shorts and shirt. Larry was saying something, but to be honest I have no idea what it was. It took the willpower of the gods to keep my eyes locked on his face. I think Cindy hesitated and looked at me before diving in the pool. I relaxed a little now that she was behind me swimming. The last thing I needed was for her father to catch me staring at her.

  Grandma cut between us to get to the patio. I should have seen it coming. She accidentally threw her body into me, and into the pool I went. As I got my bearings under water and stood up, the first thing I heard was the laughter. Larry, Chandra, Grandma, everyone on the patio and in the pool, all eyes were on me. Grandma had a fake look of surprise on her face.

  “I'm so sorry, Alex,” she said. “It must have slipped.”

  I laughed too and pointed at her. “I'll remember that, Grandma.”

  Larry laughed so hard he leaned on his knees. “She got you good!”

  I froze when a familiar pair of arms circled around me. I felt a warm body press against my back. A head leaned on my shoulder next to mine.

  �
��You just got your ass whipped by my Grandma,” Cindy said. “I wish I had a camera.”

  I was so tense. I wanted her to let go and not at the same time.

  “You'd better be careful or you'll be after her.”

  “I'll be waiting,” she said, then laughed and swam away.

  I watched as she hit the other side of the pool. I kept my eyes on her even as I pulled off my wet shirt.

  Then my eyes fell on Alicia.

  She mouthed something without talking. I could read her lips.

  Tell her.

  Yeah. Easy for her to say.

  It was a great time. Good food, great company. Larry filled me in on everything that was happening at the firm, including how well Cindy was doing. I filled them in on how my mother was doing. Cindy's cousins all had a good time, playing in the pool. It was the most fun I had in quite a while.

  After a few hours people started to leave. I was talking with Larry while he made one last batch of burgers when I saw Alicia sitting on the edge of the pool by herself. She had her feet dipped in the water, staring at the surface. I walked over and sat next to her.

  “So when are you gonna tell her how you feel?” was the first thing she said.

  “Never.”

  “Chicken shit.”

  “Alicia, give me a break. She doesn't feel that way. The last thing I need is for her to find out, then not want to hang out with me anymore.”

  She shook her head. “You're both so stupid.”

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “Nothing. Just forget it.”

  “Yeah, forget it. Enough about me, anyway. Where's this guy you were supposed to bring? Who is he?”

  She lowered her head. “Nobody. Well, I thought he was somebody. But he called right before he was supposed to come get me and let me know how it all is.”

  Alicia never had a problem with guys. I'd never really seen her get too attached to anyone. And plenty of guys showered her with attention. So I wasn't sure where she was coming from.

  “Are you okay? What's on your mind?”

  She shrugged, a sure sign she wasn't fine. “I don't know.”