“Why?” Joelle asked.
“Sorry, Joelle, I don’t have all kinds of fancy words,” Charon said with a slight smile, “but vampires can’t enthrall one another. But an Ancient can, if the vampire is weak enough.”
“Fuck, yeah,” Reaper said, “feed a vampire real blood, and it totally screws with the mind. Think back to Juan, Tomas’s brother, he had no memory of what went down. Hell, he still doesn’t. Any vampire would be easy to control once blood has gotten into their system.”
“So, what’s the plan?” She asked.
“For now,” Kenshin said, “we continue to do what we’ve been doing. Monitor all PIA transmissions and try to find one of the enthralled vampires. If we can find one, we can track it back to its master.”
Aislinn paced restlessly around the large bedroom suite. Charon had dumped her and rushed off to do whatever the secret text was about. She’d showered and dressed in clean clothes after the intense training session in the gym. That had taken all of fifteen minutes. She’d then pretended to nap, but could only lay with her eyes closed for so long. Finally, she’d risen and spent the rest of the time pacing.
She thought about leaving the room to explore, but the size of wherever she was daunted her. What if she got lost? She didn’t think anyone would find her if she did. So, she very well could die in some dark corridor before someone stumbled on her. Yeah, that wasn’t how she wanted any of this to end.
She’d even resorted to turning the TV on and flipping channels, something she never did. For a while, she’d watched a channel devoted to home decoration and hunting for houses. That had occupied her for nearly an hour, until she’d gotten antsy. So again, she paced.
Aislinn had kept the television on for company more than anything else. She wasn’t used to all the silence and being utterly alone. In the hospital, she’d been checked on constantly. There had been nowhere she could go to get any privacy. Now, she had all kinds, and it was unsettling and a bit scary.
The door opened, and she spun to find Joelle. She couldn’t help the spurt of disappointment when it wasn’t Charon. Jeez, she needed to stop and get over it.
He’s a vampire
, she thought,
he drinks blood. You’re scared of vampires
. But thinking about him made her far from afraid. In fact, the thoughts of him made her hot and achy.
“I’m here to take you to see Kenshin,” Joelle said. “If you forgot, he’s the director of the PIA.”
“Right,” she said as she dropped into a chair to pull on her shoes. “Am I dressed okay?” She asked as she smoothed a hand down her heavy fleece sweatshirt.
“Oh yeah, the first time I went to his office for a meeting, I was in jeans. He’s real laid back.”
The two women exited the room, and Joelle took her a different way. They walked down a long corridor until they came to an elevator. Joelle ushered her in and pushed a button. The car slowly began to rise.
“This complex is all underground.” Joelle said. “The Ancients take up the two lowest levels. There’s apparently a number of ways in and out, but only the Hunters know them.”
“Does that bother you?”
“No, I trust Talon. I know he’ll take care of me.” Joelle smiled when she said Talon’s name, and Aislinn was a bit envious. This woman had someone she so obviously cared about and who cared about her.
They rode the elevator up a floor and exited. Joelle led her down another corridor and through a large door. The room they ended up in looked like a combination living room, game room and kitchen. A pool table dominated the center of the room while a huge television took up one whole wall.
“This is where the Hunters hang out,” Joelle explained. “It’s also the only point of entry to where we all live. If someone were dumb enough to try and get down here, they’d end up facing five very pissed off Ancients.”
She walked across the room and pressed a button on the wall. A panel slid aside, and Aislinn saw it was another elevator. They stepped inside and the doors closed soundlessly behind them. Joelle pressed a floor and the car started up. Aislinn wondered what would happen if this man she was going to meet didn’t want to hire her. What would she do then? Would she have to go back to the hospital? If she didn’t, then where would she end up? It wasn’t like she had any skills. She had schooling since she took classes while in the hospital, but she doubted any sane person would hire her. As soon as she told someone she’d been locked up in a mental hospital for nearly ten years, they would show her the door. She didn’t blame them. She’d do the same thing, but that made her choices very limited.
They entered an office with an incredibly efficient looking woman typing away at a computer. She looked up at them over the rim of her glasses, and Aislinn had the urge to blurt out all the suspect things she’d done over the last few days. Gad, it was like being back in boarding school again since the woman very much resembled the headmistress. Instead, she looked away as Joelle addressed the woman.
“Hello, Miss Parsons, we’re here to see Kenshin.”
The woman let out an audible sniff, then spoke in a very pointed manner. “
Director
Kenshin is quite busy. Do you have an appointment?”
Joelle laughed without much humor. “Now, you know very well I don’t since I’m here at his direction. Just buzz him and let him know that we’re here.”
“Names,” she said haughtily.
“Joelle Quinn and Aislinn Flaherty.”
“Business.”
“None of yours,” Joelle responded.
Aislinn saw the woman’s eyes widen and figured she’d never been spoken to this way before. Aislinn knew if it came down to it, she would address the woman with nothing but kindness. She looked like she could break both of them over her knee and not break a sweat.
Joelle and Miss Parsons stared at one another a long moment. Finally, to Aislinn’s surprise, Miss Parsons picked up the phone and punched a button. “Director Kenshin, Joelle Quinn and Ms. Flaherty are here to see you.” If the woman could have put any more scorn in her voice when she said Joelle’s name, the subject would have burst into flames.
“Thank you,” Joelle said, pleasantly as she led Aislinn past the woman and through a large door.
“Aren’t you scared?” Aislinn murmured to her.
“No. Why?” she asked puzzled.
“Because she seriously looks like she could shank you in a stairwell or something.”
Laughter greeted this statement, and Aislinn looked to find a handsome Asian man watching them. Heat crept up her face, and she wished the floor would open up to swallow her. The man was obviously the director, and now, he’d caught her making fun of his secretary.
“I’m Kenshin,” the handsome man said as he approached her with his hand out. “I’m the director of the Paranormal Investigative Agency.”
“Hello, I’m Aislinn Flaherty.” She shook his hand then tucked both of hers behind her back. She hated meeting new people since it always made her a nervous wreck. She didn’t have a lot of experience meeting people, especially people others would consider normal. But then again he was a vampire, so that wasn’t really normal, she reasoned. But it was, she argued, since she was now in his world. He was the norm and she still was the odd one out.
“Why don’t you both sit down?” he said, motioning them to a seating area away from the desk.
The room was large and beautifully decorated with a subtle mix of antique and contemporary. The rugs were thick underfoot, and Aislinn liked how she sank down as she walked. She took a seat in an overstuffed chair and watched as Joelle and their host did the same. She folded her hands in her lap, not sure what she should do next. Should she tell him all her qualifications for a job? If so, wow, there wasn’t much. She could do mobile art, speak three languages fluently, and kill stuff. Beyond that, there wasn’t much else she could do.
“I’m glad to see you safe,” Kenshin spoke to her. “Are you fully recovered?”
Aislinn glanced down at her now, fully healed, wrist. “I’m fine. Actually, better than fine. Charon took me to the gym area, and he’s started training me again.”
Kenshin smiled. “So Charon is taking good care of you?”
Aislinn could feel a flush steal into her cheeks as an image of Charon laying between her legs popped into her head. Jeez, the man knew what he was doing, but doubted if Kenshin was asking about sex. At least, she hoped he was. She blinked when she realized both Kenshin and Joelle were watching her. Joelle was trying to hide a smile, and Kenshin just looked uncomfortable. Did they know what she was thinking about? Could they guess?
“Everything’s great,” Aislinn blurted out. “I’m great. Great.” She closed her mouth before more words issued forth.
After a long moment of silence, Kenshin said, “I’m sure Joelle’s mentioned that you would fit in quite well here at the PIA.”
“She said you might have a job for me. I don’t know what it entails, but Charon’s training me. He said I could fight.”
“Charon said you could go out with the Hunters?” Kenshin asked carefully.
“Yes,” Aislinn said with a nod. “He said I’d already been fighting, and if I wanted to continue, he’d make sure of it.”
“Unusual,” he muttered.
“So, are you saying I can’t fight?” she asked. She wondered what she could do if he said no. She wasn’t equipped for much else. She doubted anyone needed art, and the languages were something she learned because she’d been bored. It seemed to her that fighting was something they needed.
“I’m saying nothing of the kind,” Kenshin replied. “If Charon thinks you’re capable, then I have total faith in your ability. Joelle tells me that you aren’t susceptible to vampire suggestion.”
She shrugged. “I guess not. I mean, the vampire that attacked me in the hospital told me to come here like he expected me to follow along. I didn’t and didn’t have the urge to.”
“Tell me about what happened when you were twelve.”
He said it so conversationally, as if everyone knew about the event of her childhood. As if the event was run of the mill and happened to everyone. But, then again, he was a vampire so maybe he had heard it before. Had it happened to others?
“Aislinn you’re safe here,” he said gently.
Joelle, who’d been silent through the entire exchange, said, “Dude, that’s like the spider telling the fly to come on in. She knows you’re a vampire and, she might feel like laughing at you for even saying that.”
“I was trying to be supportive.”
“Really? It sounded like you were trying to be all Dr. Phil with her.”
“I swear that Talon’s attitude is rubbing off on you.”
Joelle smiled. “That’s not the only thing that he rubs on me.”
This time it was Kenshin’s face that went just a bit pink, and Aislinn burst out laughing. He was embarrassed. That actually made her like him more, since he could feel regular emotions and show them. Maybe vampires, as a whole, weren’t so different.
Kenshin shook his head. “Perhaps having the two of you together is a bad idea.”
“Who?” Joelle demanded. “Me and her or me and Talon. Because I can tell you that when Talon and I get together—”
“Stop,” he cut her off. “You’re so going to make my eye hurt.” He took a deep breath, obviously striving for some kind of composure. “Aislinn, if you want someone other than this uncivilized person to show you the ropes, just let me know.”
Joelle burst out laughing, and Aislinn understood that this was their relationship. These two people, who on the surface have nothing in common, were very much friends. She relaxed all the way and got more comfortable in the chair. Yeah, maybe she would fit in here, after all.
“I like Joelle,” she said to Kenshin.
“Ha!” the other woman proclaimed. “Told you she and I were besties.”
“Heaven help us all,” was the only thing he said.
“Okay,” Aislinn said with a sigh, deciding to get it over with. “When I was twelve, I was away at boarding school. I shared a room with a girl named Diane. She was nice, and I liked her. She had this pretty blonde hair and big blue eyes and talked with the hint of a lisp. Anyway, one night in the winter, I woke up because the room was cold. I remember the tip of my nose was numb.” She rubbed her nose absently, still able to feel the cold. “I could see the window was open and wondered why and how. Diane and I were both always cold so we made sure our windows stayed closed and locked. We even put blankets up to block any chance of cold coming in, but everything was on the floor and the window open.
“I heard this sound, a slurping or sucking.” She shivered with the memory. “I looked over, and this man was on Diane’s bed. The bedding was tossed onto the floor, and he had her up in his arms. Her arms were just dangling, like a doll’s, and her head was flopped back. Her eyes were open, but she wasn’t moving. I must have made a sound because he looked over at me. His face was covered in black, and he had fangs. I saw them when he smiled at me. Later, I realized, the black was actually red because it was blood, but it was dark. Not all the way dark, because the moonlight was coming in, but dark enough.
“Anyway, he told me to close my eyes and go to sleep. I didn’t see him and wouldn’t remember anything when I woke up. I was so scared. I closed my eyes and pretended to go to sleep, but I could hear him. The slurping. And I smelled this rotten smell. It wasn’t real bad, because I guess with the window open, and it took care of the worst of it. But once he left and closed the window, the smell made me gag.