Ninth Grade Slays (18 page)

Otis grabbed the larger suitcase and headed up the steps to the door. After a moment, Vlad followed.

Nelly already had their plates filled with delicious, warm steaks, dripping with blood. Vlad took a swig of B negative from his glass and listened as Otis relayed details of their trip. Well, not details. Not really. Otis carefully omitted that they'd stayed with other vampires and that Vlad had learned that there are vampires who believe he was some demon-like beast come to reign over vampirekind. Vlad was thankful for that at least.

But he did speak lovingly of the countryside and of how much he'd enjoyed the trip. Vlad wondered if Otis was trying to reassure him that he cared, but there was no need. He knew his uncle cared for him. How can you go through hours on a dogsled through Siberia just to seek out protection and tutoring for somebody and
not
care for them?

After dinner and after whispered, too-close good-byes with Nelly, Otis slipped his top hat onto his head and walked her out to the car. Minutes later, Nelly drove in the direction of the hospital for yet another double shift, and Vlad moved down the steps toward Otis. “When will I see you again?”

“In all honesty, I do not know. But I hope it's soon.” Otis hugged him and slid into the driver's seat. He looked up at Vlad with a wrinkled brow. “If you have any troubles, call for me with your mind. If I don't respond, write me. And should you encounter the slayer, my best advice is to block the stake—they favor those—and run as fast as you can.”

Vlad sighed. “That's your best advice?”

Otis chuckled. “Sadly, yes. The Lucis has no effect on humans. You'll do fine. Just lay low. He may leave without discovering you. Most slayers are poorly paid and easily distracted. Bumbling fools, the lot of them.” He pulled the car door shut and, after two attempts to start it, backed onto the road and drove off down the street.

Vlad stayed where he was and watched the taillights of Otis's car shrink in the distance. He missed his uncle already.

It was still late afternoon, and the sun had not yet set. Across the street, Mr. Templeton was shoveling snow from the sidewalk and tossing it onto his snow-blanketed yard. Several elementary school kids were building a snow fort two houses down and filling the air with blissful laughter. Mr. Jenkins, the mailman, walked by and offered Vlad a nod as he shoved a small pile of letters into the mailbox. Vlad watched them all with a distant curiosity.

As he turned his head back to the direction Otis had driven, he noticed a man standing across the street, staring directly at him. At first Vlad merely raised his eyebrows. He wasn't a teacher, Vlad was almost certain. And he knew pretty much everyone in Bathory, if only by face. He watched the man watching him and tilted his head to the side, wondering where he'd seen this man before.

The man stepped forward, and halfway across the street, he broke into a run.

And then it hit Vlad. It was the man who'd been standing across the street that night after Vlad had left the belfry. The one Vlad felt certain was the slayer.

Everything but the man and Vlad slowed to a crawl. He blinked as the slayer approached, and Vlad threw his arms up to block the stake he was sure the slayer had behind his back. He backed away as fast as he could.

The laughter of the kids down the street sounded like a slow, muffled recording, and Mr. Templeton was shoveling at a tenth of the speed he'd been. There was no time to run. The slayer was moving faster than sound.

The man opened his mouth wide, exposing glistening white fangs.

Vlad dropped his arms in confusion. Fangs?

A searing pain lit up Vlad's neck as the vampire bit into his artery. Vlad felt a sudden ache tear through him as the blood was sucked from his veins. He gasped, more surprised than scared, and forgot to fight back.

Vlad watched his neighbors moving in that weird slow motion that had overtaken them. Why couldn't they see the vampire attacking him? The answer was simple. Some vampires were apparently gifted with the ability to move so fast that humans couldn't see.

Huh. That wasn't in the book. He'd have to remember that trick the next time Bill and Tom came around.

If there was a next time.

The vampire pulled away and withdrew a glass tube from his jacket's inside pocket. He spit a mouthful of Vlad's blood into it and capped it with a cork.

Vlad clutched his neck, suddenly very woozy and still lacking the urge to fight. He wondered if that was an effect of being drunk from so deeply. He pushed weakly with his thoughts to call for Otis, but he could barely focus on his uncle's name. He forced his attention back on his attacker. “Who are you?”

The vampire smirked. “I am Jasik.”

Vlad's head swam. He was dying. Holy crap, he was dying . . . and it was a vampire who was killing him.

He stumbled, dizzy from blood loss, but tried hard not to fall over into the freshly fallen snow. “Are you . . . are you going to kill me, Jasik?”

Jasik's metallic laughter filled Vlad's ears. “No, little one. I am no killer—there are laws, remember? I am but a thief.” He held up the vial for Vlad to see and then slipped it into his jacket pocket.

Blood squeezed out from between Vlad's fingers. His wound was taking its time to heal. What was that chemical mosquitoes used to keep blood flowing from their victims? He'd just read about it in science class.

Anticoagulant. Mr. Gaunt would be proud.

“Jasik.” Vlad wavered and finally collapsed on the ground. He thought he asked his attacker “do you feel bad?” before he passed out, but he couldn't be certain.

What he did know was that he heard Jasik's laughter again and watched his footprints in the snow as he walked away.

16

THE HEALING POWER OF BLOOD

VLAD'S HEAD FELT LIKE it was being crushed by a large rock. He tried to lift it, but it was pinned to the pillow.

Pillow?

He cracked open one eye and looked up at a very concerned-looking Henry. He tried to open his other eye but couldn't, so he gave up and closed them. Henry shook him gently. “Hey, are you okay?”

He licked his lips and forced open his eye again. This time the other eye opened, too. “Henry?”

Henry nodded, a dark cloud of concern hanging over him. “I had this weird feeling like you were in trouble, so I

came over and found you lying facedown in your driveway, surrounded by a bunch of your neighbors. Mr. Templeton said he was gonna call 911, but I stopped him.”

“How'd you manage that? He's got to be the most stubborn old man on the planet.”

“I told him that you'd been sick with the flu and that I was supposed to be looking in on you while Nelly was at work. I said I'd call her as soon as I got you inside.”

Vlad bit his bottom lip and gave Henry a pensive glance. “Did you call her?”

Henry shook his head. “Nah. I wanted to talk to you first. What happened?”

Vlad tried once more to lift his head but failed. He took a deep breath. His skin felt like it was on fire. What had happened? His memory was fuzzy at first, but then he remembered fangs and a flash of pain. Jasik had been his attacker's name. Vlad reached up to his neck. The puncture wounds had already healed, leaving only smooth skin behind. In a disbelieving voice, Vlad said, “A vampire bit me.”

Henry rolled his eyes. “Funny.”

“I'm serious.”

Henry looked him over for a moment, and then nodded. “Any idea who it was?”

“He said his name was Jasik. I've never seen him before.” Vlad thought for a moment and then met Henry's eyes. “What did it feel like when I drank from you?”

Henry thought for a moment, and then said, “Like a paper cut, to be honest. Your fangs were really sharp, so the bite made me wince, but after that it was okay. It was a little dizzying once you started drinking, but not painful or anything. Why?”

Vlad rubbed his neck where Jasik had bitten him. “When Otis gave me my mark last year, it barely hurt. I felt a little dizzy, but that was it. I wonder why when Jasik bit me it hurt so much and left me feeling so weak.”

“Well, you just tasted my blood, and Otis was just taking some of yours. Maybe this Jasik guy took more.” Henry's voice shook some. “Maybe he was trying to kill you.”

“No. He said he was a thief, not a killer.” Vlad lifted his head and tried to sit up, but he was overcome by the most nauseating dizziness, so he lay back down.

“Can you sit up?” Apparently, Henry had amazing powers of intuition.

“No.” Vlad gestured to the door with his eyes. “I need blood.”

With an assenting nod, Henry moved out Vlad's bedroom door. Vlad heard him cross the library and move down the stairs. The house was quiet for a moment, and then Henry jogged his way back up the stairs and into Vlad's room. He laid an armful of blood bags on the bed. “There were four in the freezer. I brought them all.”

Vlad brought one bag up to his mouth and bit into it. It was only then that he realized his fangs had elongated.

He sucked the bag dry and reached for another, continuing until they were all empty. But something was missing. He should feel better but didn't. Vlad squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. “I feel weird.”

“Well, you are weird.”

“My heart is racing, and I can't pick up my head without getting dizzy.” Vlad licked his lips, relieved that it had been Henry who'd found him passed out in the driveway. He met Henry's eyes. “I'm pretty sure I need more blood. Man, how much did he drink, anyway?”

Henry slipped his cell phone out of his pocket. “I'm calling Nelly.”

“No!” Vlad made a feeble grab for the phone, as if that could stop Henry from calling. He cast Henry a worried glance. “You can't call her. She'll worry.”

Henry sighed and sat the phone on the bed. “Vlad, another vampire just tried to have you for dinner. We have to tell someone, and I'm pretty sure the Red Cross doesn't handle these types of situations.”

Vlad licked the holes in the last blood bag clean and lied, “I'll be fine.”

He didn't know if he'd be fine or not. The whole experience made him feel extra guilty for having ever bitten Henry.

Still, he couldn't deny how hungry he was.

Henry was quiet for a moment, then rolled up his sleeve and held his arm out to Vlad with determination in his eyes. “Take some from me.”

Vlad shook his head. “No.”

A large blue vein drew a delicious line down Henry's arm. Vlad looked away.

Henry met his eyes. “Hey, what good is being your drudge if I don't have your back when you need it?”

Vlad tried hard to ignore the scent of Henry's blood. He thought of Tristian and the way Vikas barely looked at him. “I don't think of you that way, you know . . . like my slave. You're my best friend.”

Henry smiled. “I know. Now shut up and drink my blood before I change my mind. Geez—there's nothing worse than a sappy overlord.”

Vlad pursed his lips. “No, Henry.”

“Vlad, I've wanted to tell you something since the third grade.” Henry smirked and moved his arm closer. “Bite me.”

Vlad looked at Henry's vein again and shivered. It looked warm, inviting, and delectable. He flipped open Henry's cell phone and punched in the number to the hospital. “Hey, Aunt Nelly. Could you come home real quick and bring me some blood? We're out.”

Henry slowly unrolled his sleeve and whispered, “What are you going to tell her about the other vampire?”

Vlad covered the mouthpiece. “Nothing. And neither are you.”

Relief left Henry's eyes, replaced by bemusement. “Yes, master.”

17

TRAPPED

VLAD'S STOMACH WAS RUMBLING again, and it was taking every ounce of focus he had to keep his fangs in check. Clearly, lunch hadn't been enough, and his bloodthirst was getting the better of him. Maybe he needed to start sneaking extra snacks in during the day . . . or maybe get a note from Nelly saying he had to stop at the house for his “medication” for about ten minutes every afternoon. Either way, something had to be done to curb his appetite . . . and it had to be done fairly quickly.

His eyebrows scrunched together in irritation as Stephanie Brawn, cheerleader extraordinaire and kisser of all boys with a pulse, sashayed over to his locker. “Hi, Vlad.”

He didn't reply—he'd known Stephanie far too long to trust her motives—but instead, he ducked his head inside his locker and pretended to be busy looking for something. He didn't know what, but he was sure that he wouldn't find whatever it was until Stephanie had seen something shiny and followed it down the hall.

Unfortunately, there must have been a distinct lack of shiny objects in the hall that day, because Stephanie wasn't going anywhere. “Did you see the senior lockers? They're painting them black and red, can you imagine? But then, I suppose it says something for school pride to use our colors.”

Vlad sighed and pulled his head out of his locker far enough to raise an eyebrow at her. “Are we supposed to be friends or something? Because I missed that memo.”

Stephanie's eyes grew wide in that fake way they always did when she was trying to impress a new teacher. “I'm just trying to reach out.”

Vlad rolled his eyes. “Well, don't, okay? My life is complex enough without you trying to befriend me with some lame freshman outreach program.”

“Don't you mean dork outreach program?” She smirked and moved her eyes to something behind Vlad, but it was too late for him to turn.

In a moment, Tom had Vlad pinned against his locker while Bill whaled away on Vlad's back with his fists. Vlad cried out in surprise and wondered for a second if Joss would save him this time, but then Tom picked him up by his shoulders and carried him down the hall, stopping only to toss him through a small door and down several steps. With laughter and taunts of, “Have fun, ladies!” Bill and Tom shut the door as Vlad landed on the bottom step of the boiler room.