H.T. Night's 8-Book Vampire Box Set (96 page)

I thought about grabbing some meat from the
fridge but I didn’t know if it would help. Plus, all I had were
twenty-dollar steaks.

She looked in the direction of my room and
went absolutely berserk. She didn’t like something in my bedroom.
She must have smelled Patrick. What was I going to do? I couldn’t
calm her down. She wasn’t having any part of me. As matter of fact,
my presence in the room seemed to be making matters worse. It
wasn’t like she and I had developed any kind of rapport, so she
could even consider listening to me.

I looked in the cage at this beautiful,
black wolf. She was a sight to behold. Absolutely spectacular in
her perfect wolf form. I had to admit, she was scary looking, but I
wasn’t intimidated. She still had a level of femininity that made
her seem more delicate than I imagined.

I put my hand to my chin and scratched and
when I did I scratched a hand full of beard. Crap. I ran to the
bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, fully expecting to
have a Michael J. Fox Teen Wolf moment, but to my surprise, it just
looked like I hadn’t shaved in a couple of weeks. There were
scattered patches of hair that looked more like a teenager’s sad
attempt to grow his first beard than the makings of a werewolf. I
looked at my eyes and there was a hint of yellow. Something was
wrong. I was caught in between what I used to be and what Sasha had
become.

I didn’t know what to think. Part of me felt
like I had just died and gone to hell, but another more competitive
part of me wondered what kind of bad ass I could become. And not
just in the ring.

“Hey, is anyone here!” A voice yelled from
my bedroom. It was Patrick and he must have wondered where he was
and why a werewolf would be hooting and hollering in the living
room.

I went into my bedroom and Patrick had sat
up. He was taking several deep breaths and caressing his
throat.

“How does it feel?” I asked, referring to
his cracked larynx.

“It hurts to swallow and inhaling is a
bitch. So about every 2.2 seconds I’m in excruciating pain.”

“Look, you attacked me. I was fine to just
leave.”

“I know. It wasn’t my idea, it was Nero’s.”
Patrick paused. “You know, the guy you killed.”

Damn, that didn’t sound right. This wasn’t a
video game where I eliminated an opponent in Halo. I fucking killed
a man or Mani or whatever the fuck he is...was.

“I’m still wrapping my head around all of
this,” I said.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do for a
week.” Patrick added.

“You said you were new to all of this.”

Patrick leaned back against my bed post and
rested. “Yeah, this was the last thing I wanted.”

“You and me both.”

Patrick stared at my face with a puzzled
look. “I don’t remember you having a beard before.”

“I’m having my own issues,” I said.

Patrick didn’t seem like he was up for an
inquiry. He closed his eyes and took a big swallow. I had just
noticed Sasha quit barking and snarling. “Hold on,” I said, and I
dashed to the living room. Sasha was sound asleep. I sighed. At
least she’d be quiet for the time being.

I went back in the room and it appeared that
Patrick had gone to sleep also. It was night! Why weren’t my
vampire and werewolf awake?

I left and went into my kitchen. I sat at my
oak table and looked across my living room where I had a werewolf
sound asleep. I was exhausted, too. I had barely slept, and I only
had one bed. Even though I barely knew Patrick, he was going to
have a bunk partner tonight.

I went into my room. I put a large pillow
between us. There would be no vampire spooning in my bed. I laid
down and turned my head and faced my cardboard-covered windows.
Within seconds, I was out like a light.

Chapter Ten

I was awakened a few hours later by my new
alarm clock, known as a pissed-off werewolf, Sasha. She was yelping
up a storm and I looked over at Patrick. He was no longer next to
me in bed. I instinctively felt my neck, I don’t know why I thought
he might have sucked my neck while I was asleep, but what the hell
did I know? I was sleeping next to a freaking vampire.

I walked out of my room cautiously and made
my way out to the living room. Sasha saw me and began acting like a
junkyard dog on crack.

Right next to the cage was a black raven,
just chilling and staring at the crazed, overgrown dog. When did my
apartment become an episode of Wild Kingdom?

“Patrick?” I called out to the bird.

The bird flew and landed in the hallway
where I was standing. Then, as if right out of a Tolkien novel, the
black raven transitioned and became Patrick. He collapsed to the
floor and I grabbed his arm.

“I’m still not great with the whole
transition thing, Kyro,” he said, as if I could ignore the fact he
just went from bird to man. Err, to vampire. Mani. Whatever he
called himself.

I just stared at Patrick and mumbled, “How
did I get mixed up in this?” I grabbed Patrick’s arm and we went
outside my apartment to the porch. I closed the door behind me.
“Maybe a time out will shut her up.”

Patrick walked over and sat on a bench that
is adjacent to my apartment. “You need to start getting used to
your world being completely turned upside down. Everything you ever
knew is wrong and everything that is actually true, you couldn’t
come up with even in the darkest parts of your imagination.”

I stared blankly at my new friend and walked
over to where he was sitting and sat next to him. “Why were you the
bird just now?”

“It seemed to make your female werewolf
friend less upset.”

“How do you know she is female?”

“I checked.”

“You weren’t perving in there, were you?” I
said, disgusted.

“Sick. No! She’s got four legs. I wouldn’t
hit that,” Patrick assured me. “If she is hot in her Carni human
form, well, then I might make an exception.”

“You’re funny,” I said.

“Who knew?” he laughed, and then coughed
like a fifty-year smoker.

“You all right?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. It’s hard to be funny while
fighting for your life. Also, it’s easier to breathe when I’m the
raven.”

“You’re really going to milk this breathing
thing aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry, you did crush my windpipe. A
little. And you mashed my face.”

He was right. I not only choked him out but
used his body as a weapon to knock out his friend. “So. What’s the
deal? Where do you live?”

Patrick was quiet. Uh-uh, I had to kick a
homeless vampire’s ass.

“You don’t have a place to stay?” I
asked.

“My parents kicked me out a month ago.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty.”

“Well, that’s about the time parents start
kicking out their kids.” I looked at Patrick. My instincts were
that I liked him. He seemed genuine. He appeared to be a legitimate
guy like myself who got dealt a crappy hand as of late. “You
work?”

“I can make money.”

“Can you make money legally?” I asked,
direct.

“Yeah, I have a storage unit filled with
sports memorabilia. When I’m strapped for cash, I sell stuff on
eBay.”

“Cool,” I said. I was a huge fan of the
Raiders and Lakers, so this guy was right up my alley. “Look, you
can stay here for the meantime; just pull in enough money to get
your own food.”

“I really don’t eat. My stomach is pretty
unpredictable.”

I looked Patrick in the eyes. “You don’t
kill people do you?”

“Of course not.”

“How do you feed your … you know…
desire?”

“I haven’t been a vampire for very long, but
my sister works at a hospital.”

“And she gave you blood?”

“Why wouldn’t she?”

“Cause it’s fucking weird, that’s why,” I
laughed. “She didn’t ask what it was for?”

“I told her.”

“You told her?” I asked, shocked.

“I had to.”

“And she believed you?”

“The whole turning-into-a-raven thing pretty
much seals the deal in the belief department.”

“Yeah, that pretty much convinced me,” I
stated.

“There you go, Kyro, there you go.”

The sun began peeking out of the sky.

“I think your friend probably turned back,”
Patrick said, making a motion to the inside of the apartment with
his head.

“It happens that fast?” I asked

“Put it this way, Tommy. Your beard is gone.
And my skin is burning.” I felt my face and sure-enough, I was
clean shaven. “So what’s the deal with that? Are you some partial
werewolf?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Patrick.” I
got up and opened the front door to my apartment. Sasha was in a
fetal position in the middle of the cage, soaking wet.

“Why is she soaked?”

“It’s what happens to werewolves. It’s like
sweat or a secretion.”

“That’s disgusting. The word secretion makes
me shudder.”

“I actually think it’s kind of hot.” He
laughed.

“It’s not funny,” I said. “I might be
halfway there.” I turned and faced Sasha. “Sasha,” I called into
the cage. She opened her eyes. She seemed disorientated.

“Tommy?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“Let me out. I need to pee.”

I took the key out of my pocket and unlocked
the cage. Sasha rushed past me and made her way to the bathroom. I
looked into the cage and the carpet was scratched up and mangled.
Oh well, I thought. There goes my deposit.

“She’s pretty hot.” Patrick said.

“Oh, she’s a hot mess of trouble.”

“Female werewolves usually are. They are a
rare breed.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because if a woman gets bit by a werewolf,
she usually dies. Only really strong and tough women survive. You
have to survive the bite to become one.”

“Doesn’t say much for the women’s movement,”
I said. “My experience is that women can take a lot more pain than
men.”

“We are wimps, aren’t we?” Patrick grinned,
then coughed. We could now hear that Sasha had started a shower and
Patrick rolled his eyes at me.

“Throat any better?”

“A little.”

“I want you to know I’ve been bitten twice
in the last few nights and you don’t hear me complaining.”

“You like pain?” Patrick asked.

“I was a street fighter growing up. Now I’m
a professional one, so pain doesn’t play a big part in my life,
except that I can use it as an edge in a fight.”

Patrick cracked a smile and said, “Says the
guy with a bandage covering his entire shoulder.”

“Again,” I said. “You’re funny.”

“So, did you hit that?” Patrick looked
toward the bathroom and was referring to Sasha.

“For real, dude?” I asked.

“I would. She’s hot.”

I don’t kiss and tell, and I wasn’t going to
start now. “She’s a lovely, young lady, Patrick. You need to learn
to respect women.”

“Oh, I respect them, Kyro. Especially when
they are down on all fours.”

I shot him another look.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he laughed.

“I think I liked you better when you
couldn’t talk.” I motioned again to the bathroom at Sasha. “I’m
telling you, she’s trouble.”

“Trouble, or not. Damn, she can drip sweat
on me anytime.”

“Enough, dude!”

Sasha eventually got out of the shower and I
gave her some workout shorts that were kind of small on me, but
looked like a trash bag on her. I actually had a woman’s pink
Raider jersey I had received as a gag gift from a friend of mine
for being a Raider fan. So, I let her wear it.

Patrick went back in my room and laid down.
He had barely introduced himself to Sasha. He apparently was all
talk; he was really shy around Sasha. It was almost humorous. Sasha
didn’t seem too interested in my pale vampire friend.

It was weird; I had been alone for such a
long time. The life of a fighter is a lonely one. It was nice
having people around. Be how it may, they weren’t exactly people,
but it was nice having friends. Damn, I’m pathetic.

Chapter Eleven

The following night was more of the same
with Sasha. We had to blast the radio and act like we were having a
party a couple of times when Sasha decided to lose her mind and
make enough racket to wake the whole block. But, we did get through
the night without any problems, and in the morning, Sasha seemed
very grateful that Patrick and I were there for her.

For the next two weeks, the three of us
became inseparable. It was odd to have close friends again. I
hadn’t realized how much I missed joking around and being stupid
with people. Patrick continued to get better and my injuries were
healing pretty quickly. I told Patrick my real name was Tommy, but
he said he liked calling me Kyro better. I told him I’d make an
exception for him and let him call me that.

Sasha and I continued having some sexual
tension. We would kiss here and there, but I would never take it to
the next level. I truly was having too much fun and didn’t want to
blow it by turning us into ‘friends with benefits.’ I knew I didn’t
have a desire to be her boyfriend, but I did want to be her friend.
I went out and got a queen-size bed at a yard sale. I stuck it in
the spare bedroom, so Sasha had a place to sleep. Patrick always
slept in my bed because of the whole sunlight thing—being that my
room was the safest place in the house. I, however, would sleep
anywhere in the house: sometime next to Patrick, sometimes with
Sasha, but mainly I would sleep on my couch. It was damn
comfortable and in the end, that’s all that matters when it comes
to a good night’s rest.

I also got my windshield fixed at a local
shop and the damn thing cost me $400. I let Sasha know she would
pay for it by doing the dishes and keeping the apartment clean. She
looked relieved at my offer. With that being out of the way between
us, for the first time in my life I had real friends and I was
having the time of my life. The three of us seemed to be as close
as three oddballs could get.