I turned to look at him and found him staring back in my direction. If eyes could shoot daggers, his certainly were.
“Well, what am I supposed to think? Connor made it pretty clear he wanted us to clean up and get moving. If giving us information to do that would help us, why not say something?”
“He may not know the answer right now,” Lysander said, as if he were reaching for the conclusion but not quite certain of it yet. “He was interested, that’s all I could gather. He might have heard about a Pandora’s box before. Werewolf culture goes back about as far as vampires.”
“So maybe there was more than one Pandora’s box legend?” I asked.
“It’s a possibility,” he said, still not sounding quite certain of himself. “I do not know all of the answers. Right now, we need to learn as much as we can before approaching the Alpha again.”
“You got it.” Fallon crammed the last bit of the bagel into her mouth and started booting up her laptop. “I’m just going to pop outside for a quick smoke and get started.” She stood, pulled out her pack of cigarettes and lighter, and headed to the door. She paused and looked at Nicholas as if waiting for him to say something.
She shrugged when Nicholas failed to berate her for smoking and turned towards the door.
This time I was prepared and covered my eyes when she opened it.
“As for you, Alyssa.” Lysander turned to me. “We need to bring you up to speed on dealing with werewolves. I have not dealt with them much, but I will tell you all I know.”
***
After hours of Lycanthropology
with Lysander, research on ancient Greek legends, and thanks to Nicholas, the constant drone of national news on TV, my energy level was at an all-time low, and I was chomping at the bit to get out of the hotel room.
I now knew more than I ever wanted to about the furry overlords we were trying to play nice with. Not that they had any particular dislike for our kind—quite the opposite, actually. We were all pretty much on the same team, but according to Lysander, werewolves were the least likely to help.
Everything hinged on what their leader said. Werewolves were extremely loyal to their Alpha and their pack. They’d be willing to follow the Alpha on a suicide mission if he asked.
It was because of that extreme loyalty that an Alpha had to be very conscientious and consider every detail before committing his pack to any danger. Alphas are not simply rulers of the pack, they’re also its protectors. An Alpha would never do anything to risk the pack, and if helping us was to set this poltergeist thing on them, it would certainly be a death sentence.
Fallon was having little to no luck herself. She found references to Greek myths involving werewolves and a link to Kallisto, but nothing to link them back to this Aniketos guy. The name itself meant “unconquered,” but that seemed pretty self-explanatory given the spirit’s ability to dispatch one of our own despite being locked in a box for who knows how long.
“Has anyone called to check in with Crystal and Drew?” I asked, hoping to force a break from all of this study and research.
Nicholas, who’d been more interested in the news than our research, reached for the phone on a small side table between the queen-sized beds. “I’ll check on them, but they’re probably asleep.”
“I’m going to head outside for a quick smoke break.” Fallon said, already reaching for her half-empty pack.
“Are you ever going to quit?” I asked. Someone had to take up the slack if Nicholas wasn’t going to do it.
“Someday,” she said with a smirk. “Every time I try to quit, something bad happens. The last time I did it, you turned into a vampire.”
I choked on a laugh. “Sure, blame me for you not being able to quit.” Fallon had quit for a whole week before the night I disappeared. Not that I blamed her, but if she hadn’t ditched me, I wouldn’t have walked home alone and been attacked. Thankfully, Lysander had come to my rescue and turned me into a vampire. During the time I was adjusting to my new life, I was forbidden to associate with anyone from my former life. That’s when Fallon started smoking again.
“I’ll quit smoking when you guys quit having drama,” she said, and stepped outside before I could respond.
I stood and stretched, then walked to the bathroom to splash a little water on my face. I might have been immortal and fueled by the blood I drank, but I still appreciated my beauty rest and hadn’t gotten any in almost forty-eight hours. It was taking a toll on me. I was feeling a little slow. I’d probably have to hunt again soon. Normally I could go a few days, but I didn’t want to chance it with Fallon around.
As I walked back into the main room, I was able to pick up bits of the conversation going on between Nicholas and Drew on the phone. Gotta love that handy supernatural hearing.
“Not good… I do think it’s attached to the box,” Drew said solemnly.
“What makes you say that?” Nicholas asked.
“The house has been trashed, but everything around it seems unharmed.”
Oh, no!
“What do you mean trashed?”
“The police were called in on a domestic disturbance last night. They went into the house and came out unharmed, but it’s all taped off now like a crime scene. I’m going to take a closer look later this evening. It’s still a little early here now, but we’ll get in there as soon as the sun sets.”
“What if that spirit is just lying in wait? I’m not sure it is safe to return to the house.”
“We’ll find out this evening.”
“I don’t want you risking it. It’s too dangerous. If it could take down…” Nicholas choked on the word before it came out. “Rozaline.”
“We’re going to make that thing pay for Rozaline.” There was pure determination in Drew’s voice. “I’ll be safe, but I need to see for myself if it and the box are still there.”
“Call as soon as you do.” Nicholas hung up the phone without another word.
The room fell silent. Nicholas sat on the bed with his eyes pinched tight as if he were fighting back tears. He balled up the bed sheets in his fists. I could see veins pop under his pale skin.
Lysander’s voice broke the sudden silence. “We will avenge her.”
“Should we call the werewolves next?” I asked, hoping to change the subject. I didn’t want to see Nicholas hurting or continue to remind him of Rozaline. I hoped talking battle strategy or something helpful might keep his mind occupied. “We should get started as soon as possible, right?”
Lysander nodded. “Agreed. However, I am not quite sure at this point how to approach them. If they have any information, then we have to play on their terms. I do not want to barge in there demanding anything.”
“How about Zuri? Should we try to talk to her again? I could take Fallon out with me and we can hang with her crew. They have an
in
with the wolves already. They might help us.”
“Oooh! Party with the local vamps? Sounds like fun,” Fallon said as she walked back in the door, a trail of smoke in her wake. “I need a break from the computer screen anyway.”
“That is an excellent idea,” Lysander said. I smiled. I loved hearing him praise me, mostly because I am usually the one screwing things up. “We will need any support we can find with the locals. I’ll join you for another night out too,” he said with an uncharacteristic wink.
He was never Mr. Social, but I wasn’t going to complain if he was going to lighten up a bit and give it a try.
“Nicholas, come out with us,” Lysander said. “It will do you good to be out of this hotel room and in the fresh air.”
Nicholas grumbled, “I’d rather not,” and flopped back down on the bed.
“I was not asking.”
I was shocked to hear Lysander say that. He’d never pulled rank on someone like that in front of me before. True, he was Nicholas’s maker and friend for over two-thousand years, but to see them together, you’d never know it. They acted more like brothers and equals, Nicholas often being the one to tell Lysander to lighten up. This was definitely unusual behavior, but as Nicholas was in a weird place, it was better he be supervised. And who better to do it than Lysander?
“C’mon, guys, let’s get a move on!” Fallon whined as I attempted to fix my hair. “It looks fine, just leave it down. I wanna hit the town and meet these other vamps.”
I groaned inwardly as I pulled my long red hair up into a high ponytail. I expected Fallon to be nervous, hanging out with a bunch of strange vampires, but she was really gung-ho for the idea. I think living with us had skewed her perspective. We were no longer scary or fearsome to her. I wasn’t sure if I really liked that. Not that I wanted her to fear us, but she should fear the things that go bump in the night… at least a little bit. We were, after all, predators who feed on human blood. That’s not exactly Sunday brunch with the folks. It definitely gives a whole new meaning to “going out for drinks.” There was no reasoning with her, though, she was too excited to get out and explore Boston.
“Okay, I think I’m finally ready.” After one last look in the mirror, to make sure my makeup looked good, I turned to find Fallon standing in the doorway.
She was dressed and ready to head out on the town as soon as dusk arrived. Her short blonde pixie hair had been teased within an inch of its life and all of the ends were flipped out at just the right angle. Fallon knew how to look good. She wore fur-lined boots and black leggings, topped by a long maroon cowl-neck sweater, belted at the waist,
My old-school converse shoes, jeans, and layered tee’s paled in comparison to Fallon’s trendy look. I’d never been all that stylish. “Maybe I should put something else on.” I ran to my duffel bag and grabbed my khaki-colored jacket and printed scarf. I tossed the scarf around my neck and tied it loose, hoping not to look grungy next to Fallon.
“Let’s get this over with,” Nicholas said with a sigh.
“I am ready too,” said Lysander.
The men, in typical guy fashion, wore jeans and tee shirts with an open, button down shirt on top. Very classic, college-guy chic. No
real
dressing up for them, not that they needed too. Lysander was hot all on his own, and his messy dark-chocolate hair just begged for me to run my fingers through it. Some days it was really hard to remember he was not a twenty-something-year-old guy. His youthful face masked his true age so well.
The same applied to Nicholas. You’d never know he’d been a Roman legionary. With his permanent five o’clock shadow and muscular build, he had a rugged edge. Some might even consider him cute; that is, if he smiled a bit more, and maybe avoided the snide comments.
“Let’s do it.” I said and reached for my bag. Before I could say another word, Fallon was practically dragging me by the arm out the door.
We planned to meet Zuri and her friend at a bar near Commonwealth Avenue, some indie place where lots of local bands begin their career. It seemed right up my alley, being a former Copioh-goer. Open mic night was a regular thing there and it was always an adventure — not always a good one, but definitely an adventure.
The Theater, that’s what it was called, looked pretty nondescript from the front, just a red brick building attached to other storefronts in the small strip along the street. The only thing that made it stand out was the old playhouse-like marquee. Lit up by a row of four lights, it showcased the upcoming talent. A small line had formed outside, and a bouncer guarded the door, keeping order.
Just as I started to wonder how we’d find each other, the telltale feeling of a new vampire nearby hit me, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.
I scanned the line and zeroed in on Zuri, spotting her huge puff of tight spiral hair. She had it teased up high and offset with huge gold earrings. No longer in her barmaid attire, tonight she wore a bare-shoulder, animal print tunic top, dark leggings and stilettos—not that she needed any extra height, she was already an Amazon.
Seeing her made me feel underdressed.
Zuri waved us over to the head of the line and whispered something to a tall, slender man next to her wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a skin-tight white shirt, and a leather jacket. He looked like a modern-day greaser.
“Hey,” I said as we approached. “We made it.”
“Great timing, we were just about to go in.” Zuri smiled brightly, though her lips managed to cover her fangs.
Fallon, I noticed, stopped short behind me. Guess she was a little scared after all. Good. That meant she hadn’t lost all common sense.
Nicholas and Lysander trailed behind too.
“Guys, this is Ian,” Zuri said, indicating her partner. “He’s one of my roommates.”
Ian had a thousand-watt smile and the biggest eyes I had ever seen. His dark hair made the trademark blue-gray of his vampire eyes stand out so much, I was momentarily speechless when he extended a hand to greet me.
“Uh… hey… um…”
Fallon nudged me from behind.
“Sorry. I’m Alyssa, and this is my friend, Fallon.” I shook his hand and stepped aside to let Fallon do the same.
He quirked an eyebrow as he took her hand. “Human?”
“Yeah,” she said with a smile of her own, though hers was more bashful.
“You a wannabe or something?” he asked with a wink and a brief flash of fangs.