Fading Darkness (Bloodmarked #1) (22 page)

†

The next night, I debated whether or not I
should wait for him to come to me. A whole five minutes passed before I decided
to go beat down his door for answers. After he never came to find me last
night, I hardly slept as I wondered about what he might have found out at the
club.

It took every ounce of willpower to not go
to the club myself, and it grew increasingly harder as the sick feeling crawled
into the pit of my stomach. Every part of me pulled in the direction of the
club and knowing that I couldn’t go in and kill the bad guys made me ill.
Sitting around and doing nothing about it was just as bad as me murdering those
innocent people myself.

I threw on an old coat that was a little
lighter than my ruined one. It was freezing outside, but oddly, the coat was
enough protection against the bitter temperatures. I was naturally built to
withstand those things. I still felt cold to a certain degree, but tonight, it
wasn’t as bad. Not wanting to consider the idea that I was getting closer to a
vampire and farther from a human, I pressed on.

 The first thing I needed to do was restock
my supply of stakes. I walked down the incline to where the old tracks lied
side by side and started a collection. I really needed to be more careful of
losing them because one of these days, I was sure I would be the cause of a
derailment. There was one set of tracks that seemed unused, so I collected my
spikes from that one.

It held a few old cars that had been sitting
there for what seemed like years now. Giant, graffiti-stained storage cars
towered over me as I neared. I walked the length of the lined cars searching
for old, loose spikes that wouldn’t be missed. When I neared the last car, I
saw a shadow move on the other side of the train.

My muscles stiffened in response but relaxed
when I didn’t get that vampy sense. Without the sick feeling, it could have
only been one other person.

“I was just about to come to you,” I said to
thin air. He still hadn’t appeared in my central vision, so I started scanning
the area, moving around the front of the car to the other side.

“I thought I’d save you the trouble of
hassling Gregory,” his voice drifted from above me.

My eyes darted up to meet his lazy figure
perched on top of the car with his jean-clad legs dangling over the side. He
wore a dark hoodie and light beanie to complete the whole casual look he exuded
with that lazy posture.

“Slumming it tonight, huh? I guess since you
came to visit the girl by the tracks, you thought you should blend in?” I said
sharply.

He was normally so tailored looking, even
when he wore jeans, but this was a completely loose, comfortable look I wasn’t
used to seeing. It didn’t fit him as well.

He looked down at me a little confused. He
wasn’t expecting an attack on his wardrobe, at least, not from me, and I was a
little surprised myself. I wanted the answers he had, and I suppose I was
dissecting his outfit to find any clues of where he might be going or what he
might be doing tonight. This told me nothing, and it was frustrating to wait
any longer.

“I wasn’t aware you were so attuned to the
way I dressed, but if it bothers you, I can go change. I’ve just been doing a
lot more hunting lately, and I can see the appeal of more relaxed clothing.”

There it was. That was why I resented this
new look. He was taking on my role, and I didn’t like it. “Hunting is my thing,
so why don’t you go back to the three-piece suits, and leave the dirty work to
me,” I said.

“Yes, mam.”

There was a pause when neither of us really
knew what to say, but the thought of his typical wardrobe had me wondering. The
curiosity finally got the best of me like it usually did.

“What do you do for a living anyway? I
always see you wearing nice clothes. You clearly have money.”

He laughed at my bluntness. “Real estate. I
own a lot of buildings that I rent out… including my own apartment building.”

Holy crap!
My eyebrows shot straight
up. “Wow, a business man, huh? Well, I guess that explains why you’re always
dressed to impress.”

 He chuckled and one corner of his mouth
tipped up. “Do I impress you?”

My face heated, but I schooled my features
quickly. “Only when you’re in the suit,” I teased, knowing full well it wasn’t
just the suit that impressed me.

He laughed then changed the subject. “So do
you want to hear what I have to say, or would you rather talk hair and beauty
regiments next?” he mocked.

I sprung agilely up to plant my feet right
beside him on top of the car. “You’re not as funny as you think, you know,” I
shot back.

Taking a seat beside him with my legs
dangled over the edge as well, I took in the sights around me. There was a
wide-open expanse of track with lights dotting the space ahead and behind us
for as far as I could see both ways. Some lights were tiny specks of color,
indicating the residential areas where people strung up their Christmas lights.
Although it wasn’t the same view from a sixty-one story penthouse balcony, it
was still an amazing scene.

The moon shone brightly above, and it was a
completely different perspective from down here. I would rather look up to the
sky than down on the world. It made me feel like just a small part of this
world but like there was so much more out there for me. There was a slight feeling
of hope gazing up at the stars, hope that maybe I could become more than what I
was. Then the thought was erased when I realized I would become more, more of a
monster.

What the hell was I doing hoping? That didn’t
exist for me. For many, the sky was a promise of big dreams, a symbol of a
better life awaiting the person that reached for the stars. Slowly, clouds
crossed under the moon, dimming its light, reminding me that my future
consisted of blackness and nothingness.

A sidelong glance at Gavin told me he was
having a similar introspective moment. “Who’s Gregory?” I asked, breaking the
silence.

The guffaws told me he had not been
expecting that. “He’s the one that constantly detains you from barging into my apartment
unannounced, or at least tries to. He’s not aware that you can’t seem to be
detained by anything. I should really get him a Christmas present for putting
up with you,” he teased.

“Hey, I’m the one that deserves the present
for putting up with him and his haughtiness,” I said.

“Hmm…Okay, so what do you want for
Christmas?” he asked lightly, but I knew he was serious.

“Nothing. I was kidding about the present.
I’m pretty sure someone whose soul is damned doesn’t deserve to reap the
benefits of the birth of Jesus,” I said.

Seeing the conviction on my face, he quickly
dodged that argument, knowing it was another that he would lose. “I told
Gregory to let you up from now on. He won’t give you a hard time anymore,” he
said.

“Wow, thanks,” I said stunned. It was like
getting the keys to the castle, and I wasn’t sure what to think of that.

He mumbled something in what sounded like a foreign
language then. German, from what I gathered in my high school classes. “Ich
denke, das macht Sie die Königin.”

I asked what it meant, and he just shrugged
it off, but I thought I recognized the word for queen. Avoiding the awkward
moment that would surely follow, I sidestepped that conversation and pushed on
with business. “So what did you find out at the club?”

“Not as much as I’d hoped, but it was
definitely the place we’re looking for,” he admitted.

“I told you that. So what did you see?” I
said eagerly.

“Like I said, not a lot. I saw the area
above the main floor where most of the illegal activities take place. They were
only allowing a few humans up at a time, so I couldn’t get close enough without
rousing suspicions. There was an elevator on the front wall of the upper level
that wasn’t accessible on the main level. Where it should have been, there was
a big mirrored wall that shelved all the alcohol behind the bar. It has to go
down to a basement level because every time a human went up they never came
back down. They must be shipping them down to the basement where the vampires are.”

That was exactly what I expected, but I
watched the news tonight and there was nothing unusual on it. “So what happened
to those humans? Their bodies never turned up.”

“Yet. Maybe they’re being more careful. I
don’t know any more than that yet. I still don’t know who is behind it all. The
owner seems to be a ghost. No one that worked there had even met him, at least
not the humans.”

“What about the vampires there?”

“I told you. I can’t get too close to them
if they’re on his payroll, they would just tip him off, if it really is a guy
we’re dealing with.”

“So what now?” I asked impatiently.

“I’m going back again tonight to give it one
more try, but I can’t just keep hanging around waiting for him to pop in. They
would definitely notice me coming and going every night. It may be useless to
go back.”

“Useless?” I shot to my feet. “We could just
go in and shut it down ourselves!”

“But we’d still have the problem of finding
the one in charge of it all. He could easily set up shop somewhere else, and he
would know someone was on to him, so he would be even more careful,” he
explained. His tone softened as he said, “Listen. Stay put for one more night,
and if I don’t come up with anything, I’ll just have to contact some of the
ancients here in town.”

“Ancients? Here? Since when?” I asked
incredulously.

“Since a long time. They’re not the types to
roam the streets at night looking for scraps, so don’t be so surprised you
haven’t encountered any. They have people working for them that bring them
fresh blood.”

That made sense, but I still couldn’t believe
there were ancient vampires here. I should not be so surprised though after
thinking Gavin was one for the longest time. “Okay, so why haven’t you gone to
them sooner?”

He let out an exhausted sigh. “They’re sort
of a last option. I have made it a point to stay far out of sight from them
since I’ve been here. I’m not exactly one of them, and to say that they would
be less than eager to help
me
would be an understatement.”

That was weird. I had suspected he was
different than most vamps, but I never considered he would be an outcast or
even an enemy to his own kind. “Fine, but I can’t just sit around forever and
wait for answers to come to me.”

“I know, which is why I’m only giving it one
more night instead of more. I wouldn’t want you going in and doing something
rash,” he said and gave me a sideways smile.

“Hey!” an angry voice yelled from a
distance. “You two aren’t supposed to be out there! Get down or I’m calling the
cops!”

We both looked at each other before jumping
down and parting ways. He took off north, while I decided to patrol the south
side of town for a while.

†

Hours later I found myself pacing back and
forth in front of the entrance to the Underground, trying to make a decision on
whether or not I should face Trixie. I wanted to get any information I could
out of her but didn’t know if she would be as willing to share it with me as
she was with Gavin. I highly doubted I would get any more answers, but it was
making me crazy to stay away from that club another night. If Gavin didn’t sort
things out tonight, I was just going to have to come up with my own solution to
shut that place down.

I was in mid pace when I sensed one of them.
Spinning to meet my opponent, I reached for my spike and came face to face with
Shane. “How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that?”
I yelled.

“Easy. I was in the neighborhood when I was
nearly blown away by the monsoon winds created by someone pacing at super
speed,” he replied.

“I was? I didn’t even realize,” I said
surprised.

“Something on your mind?” he asked.

“A lot,” I said with my mind still focused
on those problems.

“Obviously, if it’s driving you to drink,”
he said, nodding pointedly in the direction of the bar.

I didn’t want to divulge my problems to the
enemy, so I avoided explaining my real intentions for being here. “I wasn’t
going in there, just thought about it,” I said ambiguously.

“Trouble in paradise?” he asked “Speaking
of, where’s the boyfriend?”

“He’s not, and what would make you think he
was?”

“Aren’t you always with him?” he asked.

“And how exactly do you know that? Are you
spying on me now?”

“Nope, but I still stay informed on the
goings-on in this town.”

“Riiiiiggght… so about that? Do you have any
useful information for me today or is this strictly social?”

“Just wanted to make sure things were okay?
You don’t seem fine. What’s going on with you?” he asked smoothly. It wasn’t
genuine concern.

“Just itching for a good fight. You
offering?” I smiled sweetly.

“As long as we can be naked,” he responded.

“Gross. Not a chance. Should you still be
hitting on me when you have a girlfriend, or did you kill her already?”

“It’s more of an open relationship. She
wouldn’t mind,” he smiled, and I half expected to see a forked tongue behind
those fangs.

“Well, my threat still stands. If I see her
out snacking on humans, she’ll be a pile of ash.”

“So why are you out here pacing, really?” he
averted. I stayed quiet, so he continued. “Let me guess, the boyfriend’s
keeping you from a fight?”

He
was
paying close attention to us.
When I still said nothing he added, “That’s what I thought. When have you ever
backed down from a fight, and when did you start doing what you’re told,
especially when it’s a vampire who tells you what to do?”

“He’s just helping me with something, that’s
all,” I said.