Blood Hunt (18 page)

“Works for me. Think they’ll buy it?”

“Depends on how well you sell it,” Jakob said. He got out of the car and opened the right-side passenger door, near Rhes’s feet.

“Rise and shine, sweetheart,” said Sarah, tapping Rhes on the shoulder. Rhes groaned.

“I’m going to let these people decide how to get him out of the car without causing him undue pain,” Jakob said. He went inside.

“My whole … fucking … body hurts,” Rhes said from her lap. He sounded groggy, but better than he had since they’d left Two’s apartment. “I’m not kidding. I mean every last thing. Pick a thing. It hurts. Guarantee it.”

“Toes?” Sarah asked.

“Yep. Those hurt.”

“Small of the back?”

“That too.”

“Roof of your mouth?”

“Burned the
shit
out of it this morning with a cup of coffee.”

Sarah laughed. “Poor Rhes. They’ll have something good for you inside, hon. Darvocet or Vicodin or something.”

“Mmm …” Rhes murmured.

Sarah could hear clattering outside. Jakob’s voice said, “They’re bringing a stretcher.”

She felt Rhes’s head leave her lap and heard people speaking to him as they transferred him to the stretcher. A man’s voice near her said, “Ma’am, your friend says you can’t see. Can I help you out of the car?”

Sarah shrugged and held out her hand. “Hey, sure, why not. Be careful with my boyfriend, please. I’d like to keep him.”

The man laughed. “We’ll do our best.”

* * *

“Eleven stitches in the leg, five in the eyebrow. Two broken ribs. Broken finger. Two black eyes. Abrasions all over the place. Light concussion … and enough bruises that he looks like a patchwork quilt. Forgive me, Ms. Taylor, but the term we normally use for this is ‘had the crap beat out of him.’”

The doctor was young. Sarah could tell by his voice and manner of speaking that he wasn’t much older than she or Rhes. He seemed to be in a decent mood, which helped Sarah relax. She leaned back in her chair, took a deep breath, let relief wash over her.

“So there’s nothing terrible?” she asked. “He’s not bleeding internally or about to barf up his own spleen or anything?”

The doctor, Jamison was his name, laughed. “No, nothing like that. He needs two weeks of rest – no hitting the gym or even lifting anything heavy at home – and another couple weeks of light effort so those ribs can finish healing. That’s about it. They really stomped him. Did he see anything?”

Sarah didn’t like lying for Rhes, but he was out cold in the hospital bed to her left, exhausted from the beating and the painkillers. “He said they jumped him from behind, and he never got a good look after that. It was dark out there.”

“Unfortunate. I’m sure you’d like to press charges.”

“I’m just glad Rhes is safe. People like that usually get what’s coming to them eventually.”

Jakob was standing behind her, in the corner at the far side of the room, looking out the window at the city below. He made a coughing noise that Sarah thought was a laugh.

“You didn’t see anything, did you, sir?” Jamison asked.

“I’m afraid they were gone by the time we got there. They were probably gone before we even went out to look for him. The gentleman at the door said no one had come running by, so they must have gone the other way.”

The ease with which Jakob’s lies rolled off his lips amazed Sarah. He sounded so convinced of what he was saying that she found it difficult not to believe his sincerity despite knowing the truth.

“All right,” Jamison said. “Well, I’m afraid visiting hours are over and I’m going to have to ask you to leave, Mr. Kasavan. Sarah is his fiancée, but you’re not.”

“No, I’m not. That’s not a problem, doctor.”

Sarah heard Jakob start across the room. He brushed against her coat on his way, slung over the foot of the bed, and Sarah’s hearing, honed to pay attention to things that sighted humans might not bother with, heard something drop into the folds of fabric. Jakob continued moving, stopping next to her.

“He’ll be fine. I will call you later, Sarah.”

Sarah nodded. “OK, Jakob. Thanks for your help.”

“It was nothing.” Jakob left the room.

Dr. Jamison spoke up. “I’ve got to move on, but I’ll be back to check in later this evening. I’d like to keep Rhes here overnight, just to monitor him. He can go in the morning. Just keep him out from behind the wheel of a car while he’s on painkillers.”

“That’s easy – we don’t own one,” Sarah said.

Jamison laughed again. “We’re at low capacity at the moment, so Rhes gets his own room. You’re welcome to the second bed, if you want it. But my guess is—”

“I’m not leaving this chair,” Sarah said.

 “And there we go. I’ll talk to you later, then.” She could hear the smile in his voice.

“Thank you,” she said as he left.

It was less than ten minutes later when the cell phone that Jakob had dropped into her coat began ringing. Sarah reached over, picked it up, and flipped it open, hoping that would answer the call.

“Yeah, it’s Sarah.”

“I didn’t have time to get your own number, so I gave you my phone,” Jakob said. “I’ve had some updates. Molly is asleep, safe and under guard. We don’t know where your friend is, but nothing we’ve heard suggests that the Burilgi have taken any special prisoners this evening. We will watch her apartment and wait for her return.”

“Good.”

“When you and Rhes are discharged, what are your plans?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it. We’re going to go home, he’s going to call in to work and go back to sleep. I’m going to figure out what to tell Molly. Are we in danger?”

“Not during the day. Sarah, I know you don’t trust me and I take no offense, but I will make you an offer: we can guard you at night, at least until we find out what has happened to your friend and know whether you are in any further danger. You will not see us unless you are attacked, but you will be kept safe.”

“You know where we live now, Jakob. I already trusted you with that.”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you come by tomorrow night and we can talk things over. You can also pick up your phone.”

“That would work. Is eleven too late for you?”

“Eleven is fine. We’ll expect you then. Thank you again for saving us. We may not trust you completely yet, but we know we owe you our lives.”

“I’m glad I was there to help. Try to get some sleep, and I will see you tomorrow. Goodbye.”

“I will. Goodbye, Jakob.”

Sarah hung up the phone and blew air through her pursed lips. Vampires, beatings … this might be old hat for Two, might even be what the crazy girl was out looking for right this second, but Sarah wanted nothing more to do with it. She had a life in which she was largely happy. She had a fiancé with whom to share that life. What did she need from vampires?

Protection, it seemed. Sarah wondered if Jakob was really any safer than the creatures that had attacked them earlier, and she decided it didn’t matter. Fate had delivered them here, into the hands of a vampire who at least seemed intent on keeping them alive. There was little she could do about it.

The night wore on. Sarah called the nurse’s station and asked if some food could be brought up from the cafeteria. Twenty minutes later she received a surprisingly good cheeseburger and some french fries. Dr. Jamison checked in and said that Rhes seemed fine, and that they should be dismissed whenever he was ready in the morning. Sarah thanked him again.

Some time in the night she took his arm in hers and wrapped it up. She drew her knees under her, rested her body against the side of the chair she was sitting in, leaned her head against his shoulder, and slept.

Chapter 10
Expensive Tastes

“What in the fuck happened here?!”

Two stared in awe and dismay at what had once been her living room. Where before there had been giant glass windows looking down on the streets of SoHo, there were now only heavy plastic tarps duct taped to the window frames. Scattered below these on the carpet were thousands of shards of safety glass. Her furniture was overturned, and there were huge maroon splotches on the carpet and walls.

Stephen was squatting by the stains, inspecting them. “Don’t touch anything. It looks like there was a fight, and someone got hurt … probably killed. This is blood, and a lot of it.”

“Who the hell was in my apartment getting killed?”

“Hopefully, no one you knew,” Naomi said. She was standing near the door, by the police tape, making sure that no one was coming.

“Well, no shit,” Two replied. She peered around the room, still too shocked to do much else. Stephen had moved on to inspecting the windows.

“Do you see the way this glass is spread out? Someone knocked this window in from outside.”

“What could do that?”

Stephen glanced over his shoulder at her. “I could, if I had the right equipment, but my bet is a Burilgi … a lot of them have nasty fingernails. Good for climbing.”

“So you’re saying vampires broke into my apartment.”

“That’s what I’m guessing, at any rate.”

Two laughed. “That’s great. I spend five fucking months searching, and get nothing. I finally find two of you, and a bunch more come looking for me in the same damn week.”

“I told you that you might have encountered Burilgi and not known it,” Naomi said. “It is very possible that they knew you were searching for them, saw it as a threat, and came here to stop you.”

“Well, that would explain the break-in at least. What about the blood?”

“Someone else was here,” Stephen said. “Someone with a knife of some sort. See the blood sprays on the walls? They’re too thick to be claws or teeth; sheets like that would have to come off a good-sized blade.”

“You train as a cop or something?” Two asked.

“I’m a warrior, as I’ve mentioned. I know about fighting, and the results thereof. I’ve seen men hacked to pieces with machetes in Zaire and claymores in Scotland. It looks like this.”

“So someone wasn’t just killed but was
chopped up
in here?”

“Multiple someones, I think. My guess is two or three.”

“Well, what the hell does
that
mean?” Two was peeking her head into the other rooms of the apartment. They were dark and empty.

“It means we need to get in touch with the council, right now,” said Naomi.

“Why?”

“Should be obvious,” Stephen told her.

“Pretend like I’m stupid.”

“Pretend?”

Two extended her middle finger. Stephen grinned at her.

“What can kill two or three Burilgi vampires, Two? There’s not much. Another group of Burilgi vampires? Possible, but though they often fight amongst themselves, it’s unlikely that they broke in here to do it. A skilled Ay’Araf could handle three Burilgi with ease. So could an Ashayt or an Eresh, but the former aren’t much for fighting and there’s presently only two of the latter in the entire city, so it probably wasn’t them.”

“That,” said Naomi from the hall, “is precisely why we need to contact the council.”

“Wouldn’t they call you?” Two asked.

“Only two or three people know my private number, and I asked not to be disturbed. To be honest, Two, before you dropped in on us, I’d been planning on taking a vacation. It’s been a while since I saw France.”

“France. That’s right … Theroen said you and Lisette were both French.”

“Yes.”

“I’d like to go someday.”

“Perhaps we can do so together.”

Stephen moved past Two, touching her on her shoulder as he went, signaling for her to move toward the door.

“That’s all well and lovely, but it can wait,” he said. “Right now, let’s be gone, before someone calls the police back. Did you need anything from here, Two?”

“Well, I was
gonna
grab some clothes, but … no, I’ll buy new stuff. Better not to take anything, right? I’m probably a missing person and I think I’d like to keep it that way for now.”

Naomi nodded. “A wise policy. If our guesses as to what transpired here are correct, then the council can help you straighten out this issue. They will give you an alibi and ensure that no legal action will be taken against you. I do not detest the Burilgi the way that Stephen does, but you’ll find few members of the council that are particularly sympathetic to them, especially if they’re threatening you.”

“All right,” Two said. “I’ll go buy some stuff to wear, and while I’m doing that, you can make some phone calls and find out what the hell is going on.”

“Very well,” said Naomi, already reaching for her phone. “Let’s go.”

* * *

The vampires had suggested this trip to her apartment on the third night that Two had spent with them. After she had fallen asleep on Naomi’s couch, Two had spent the rest of the night and most of the following day there. She had awoken during the following afternoon, ravenous, and treated herself to a burrito and a beer. Naomi had woken shortly thereafter, as had Stephen. Two had spent most of the second evening in deep conversation with Naomi, as Stephen had almost immediately excused himself to attend a football game.

Two enjoyed talking with Naomi. Their experiences with Theroen gave them common ground, and from there the conversation had flowed naturally. Naomi seemed to enjoy Two’s sarcasm and outspoken nature. Two found Naomi’s more reserved approach calming and pleasant, similar to how Theroen’s demeanor had made her feel.

Eventually both women had gone to their beds, happy to know each other and content to spend the time between then and the next council meeting as friends. For Two, it was a welcome change after months of self-imposed solitude.

Now they were standing in a pricey SoHo boutique. The store had closed an hour ago, but Naomi knew the proprietor. The woman, dark haired and stunning even in middle-age, seemed to understand that they would make it well worth her while to allow them in to shop. She was leaving them alone, sitting at the counter with a laptop computer.

Two had a hard time not reacting with incredulity to the price tags on the clothing she was looking at. Eight hundred dollars for a pair of blue jeans seemed outlandish even in this new world where she could afford the extravagance. Two owned a cashmere sweater that had cost her half as much, and had been convinced when she bought it that she would never spend more on an article of clothing.