Demonspawn (25 page)

“What's the plan?” I asked. “Go to the
police?”

She laughed sarcastically. “Yeah, right. And
tell them what?”

“Well, what do we do?”

“
We
don't do anything. This isn't your
problem. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But they'll
leave you alone. I'm the one they want.”

“Who are they? And who are you?”

“I know you got a thousand questions right
now. And I'll be more than happy to fill in the blanks,
after
I get home, get a nice shower, and a good drink.”

I looked her up and down. We were both
soaking wet, but I was in far worse shape than she was. At least
she
had
clothes. The only thing I was wearing was a half
burnt pair of jeans and waterlogged shoes. Still, she had a point.
No use playing trivia pursuit while we walked through the
woods.

And what a walk it was. We must have walked
two miles before we finally got somewhere. She had a hell of a
nose. I could see a car break through the trees up ahead, then
another.

We were at a highway. I didn't recognize it,
so I had no idea where we were. Victoria stopped just before the
trees ended and turned to face me.

“You might want to put those things away,”
she said, pointing at my wings.

“I don't know how.”

“Alright, look. Close your eyes.” I did.
“Now, I want you to picture yourself standing with a giant set of
wings hanging out of your back.”

“That shouldn't be too hard.”

“Okay, now, I want you to picture them
disappearing. They go away, and you're back to normal. Or, at
least, whatever you call normal.”

I tried to do as she said, but I could still
feel them. My right one even brushed against a tree, and I could
feel it all the way through the wing into my back. Very strange
sensation. Then there was that pain in my back again.

“Good job.”

I opened my eyes. “It worked?”

“Yeah. Looked pretty weird too.”

Nice. A woman who survived an arrow in the
chest was calling me weird.

“Okay, let's go.”

I followed her up the embankment to the
highway. I was only along for the ride. I had no idea what was
going on, but Victoria had a natural leadership vibe to her.

I don't know what time it was, but it must
have been the wee hours of the morning. There weren't many cars on
the road.

“How do I look?” she asked as we stepped over
the railing on the shoulder.

“Like a train wreck.”

“Well, I know that. But do I still look sexy
enough to flag someone down?”

“Are you joking?”

She wasn't. She waved at the few cars that
passed by. It only took the third one to pull over and back up to
us. Inside was an older man in a suit. Late work night? Crazy
party? Who knows. But he rolled down the passenger's side
window.

“Well, hello there,” he said with a
smile.

“Hi,” Victoria said. She went through that
change that I'd seen before. A minute ago she was forceful and
direct. Now her voice oozed with sexiness. “My friend and I had a
little accident.”

He looked her up and down. Whether he was
looking at her ruined clothes covered in blood, or her nice body,
again I don't know.

“Yeah, I can see that. You need a lift?”

“Nah. If I could just borrow your cell
phone?”

“Certainly.”

He handed it over. She dialed a quick number,
and looked at me. “You have money to pay for a cab?”

“Yeah, why?”

“My purse is locked in my car back at the
club.”

The club. Oh man. As far as the gang knew, I
just vanished, chasing after Victoria. They were either worried
sick, or furious at me. Especially Cindy and Alicia.

I glanced at the phone as Victoria handed it
back. It was almost four in the morning. There was no sense in
calling. They were already in bed. They'd understand, once I
explained everything to them.

The driver offered one more ride to Victoria.
She politely refused, and he took off. Victoria sat on the
railing.

“We wait for a cab here?”

“Yup. I told him right by the sign on the
beltway leading to the interstate.”

“Okay. This is definitely new.”

“Tell me about it.”

I sat next to her. We were both quiet, lost
in our own thoughts. I wasn't thinking much actually. I was still
absorbing the fact that I was fireproof and could grow a set of
wings.

It took twenty minutes for the cab to get
there. He insisted on taking us to the hospital, but Victoria
refused, and gave him an address on the outer limits of the city.
It took another forty-five minutes to drive there. Quite a high cab
fare.

I sat in the cab in silence. Victoria did the
same thing. Near the end of the ride I noticed she was getting a
little jittery, looking out the window and shifting in her seat. We
ended up in a nice neighborhood, but I was even more amazed at the
house we stopped in front of.

House is the wrong word. More like mansion. A
huge wall surrounded the place, with an electronic gate to keep
people out. Even the cab driver gave Victoria a doubtful look as we
climbed out of the cab.

“You're sure this is your place, lady?”

“Last time I checked.”

I paid the man and he drove off. I stood
there stunned while Victoria punched a few buttons on a keypad next
to the gate, which slowly opened. She turned around to look at
me.

“You coming?”

I followed her up the long sidewalk, taking
everything in. Huge lawn. It must have taken an army to keep it
neat. The mansion was two floors and a lot of windows, and bars
over every single one. Next to the sidewalk was a driveway that led
to a garage attached to the mansion. The whole place was simply
impressive.

She fumbled with her keys a moment before
throwing open the front door. I followed her into a huge hallway,
and it was a strange contrast from the outside.

There was absolutely nothing. Nothing on the
walls. No pictures or decorations. As we passed the huge stairs
leading upstairs and a few other rooms, I stole peeks in them. They
were bare too. It wasn't dirty or dusty, just empty. Very
strange.

We stopped at a large door near the end of
the hallway. It had a keypad similar to the one at the front gate.
She punched a few numbers and pulled it open. She led me down a set
of stairs into the basement.

Again, I was amazed.

The basement was probably the size of most
people's houses. I have no idea of the square footage, but it was
huge. It was like a studio. There was a kitchen along one wall, a
living area in the corner, complete with awesome home theater
system. Her bedroom was in plain view for everyone to see, as well
as a pool table, and a heavy duty computer system. The only room I
could see was in the far corner, and I could only guess that was a
bathroom. There wasn't a single window. It was obvious she lived
completely out of her basement.

She grabbed a phone from near the couch and
dialed a number.

“Hey, Jim. It's me. Listen, I need a favor.
It's a long story, but my car, and also a blue Chevy truck, are in
the parking lot of Lumbermill's. Could you tow them to my house for
me? The code's still the same. Thanks a lot.”

She hung up. I noticed that she was familiar
with my truck. I didn't ask any questions.

She looked at me and took a deep breath,
slumping her shoulders. We were both exhausted.

“What a night, huh?” she said. Then in one
quick motion she grabbed her shirt and pulled it off. I saw a
glimpse of a white sports bra and a nice chest before I turned
away. I heard more clothes coming off. “What's the matter, Alex?
Haven't you seen a naked woman before?”

“Every now and then. But I usually have to
turn on the charm first.”

“Well, when you get to be as old as me, you
stop caring about modesty.”

As old as me. She only looked a few years
older than me. I wouldn't even guess thirty years old.

She passed me, holding her wet clothes. It
took a lot of effort to not look at her nude body as she headed
toward the bathroom. I was impressed with myself. I knew if it were
Cindy, I don't think I would have been able to pull it off.

“I'm gonna take a quick shower,” she
announced. “Make yourself at home.”

She vanished into the bathroom. I heard the
shower turn on.

Make myself at home. I was standing in the
middle of a stranger's huge well-furnished basement, wearing
nothing but wet, burnt clothes, and I was supposed to make myself
at home.

I studied her place while she showered. No
pictures of anyone. A large DVD collection. Instead of any closets,
she had a few dressers and a couple of racks holding her
clothes.

The shower turned off. She came out wearing
nothing but a towel, which wasn't that long. Her wet red hair hung
just behind her shoulders. Very sexy woman. I have no doubt she had
no trouble getting men to notice her in the clubs she went to. Or
dragging them into the back alleys.

“It's all yours,” she said. “Just leave those
nasty clothes in the bathroom. I'll dig up something for you.”

I said nothing. I was hesitant to take a
shower, but I knew I could definitely use one. I didn't exactly
trust Victoria, but I didn't think she'd hurt me. It wasn't like
she could anyway.

The shower did feel good. I made it quick,
just enough to get the drops of blood off me and relax a little.
When I got out I saw the bathroom door was open with a pair of
shorts and a tank-top folded on the carpet. I grabbed them quickly
and put them on.

Victoria was dressed, wearing a pair of jeans
and a baggy white shirt. She was lying on the couch with her feet
up. I sat in the chair opposite her and leaned on my knees. I
wasn't comfortable enough to lean back.

“Sorry, no underwear,” she said with a smile.
“Don't get a lot of male company.” She looked me up and down, not
even bothering to hide it. The word
predator
came to mind.
“You can fill out a shirt though, can't you.”

I could say the same for her. “Thanks for the
clothes.”

“Sure. So, Alex,” she said. She sat up and
swung her legs into a sitting position, almost rivaling some of
Cindy's sexy moves. “You're probably lost right now, aren't
you?”

I nodded. “I don't even know where to
begin.”

“Well, let's start with you. You're not fully
human. I sensed that when I first laid eyes on you. But you got a
normal heartbeat. So what gives?”

I took a deep breath. “It's a long story. But
somehow, I've got demonic power. And more and more keep coming out
all the time.”

She nodded. “Ah. Was this on purpose? I mean,
did you do this yourself?”

I scoffed. “Yeah, right. My
parents
did this. But it backfired on them.”

Victoria laughed. “Wow. I've seen all kinds
of crazy shit. This century has been the worst, with all this
technology popping up. Some weird experiments going on out there.
That's what I thought you were. Some kind of experiment.”

“And what exactly are you?”

“Oh come on. I'm sure you figured it out by
now. I'm a vampire.”

I knew that. The clues were all there.
Sucking blood with large fangs in the back of an alley. An arrow
through the heart. People using crossbows as weapons. But even
though we were saved from a violent fall into the river by a pair
of wings that shot out of my back, I convinced myself that there
was no way vampires could exist.

“A vampire,” I said.

“Yup. If you really have demonic powers, then
you know all about the demon world, the spirit world, blah blah.
Well,
our own
world has some pretty freaky shit in it too.
Vampires, werewolves, witches. It's full of the supernatural.”

I was quiet for a moment, just taking it in.
“Are they all like you?”

She smiled and struck a pose. “You mean
gorgeous?” Wow, just a strange conversation. Who knew a vampire
could be so normal and funny. She got serious. “Everyone and
everything is different, Alex. No different than humans. All
vampires drink blood. We need to to live. Human blood is the filet
mignon. You got vampires out there who don't care how they get it,
and they'll suck a person dry. Then you got others like me who only
take what they need. You don't need to kill a person to get
blood.”

“Did you kill that guy back at the club?”

“Hell no. He never came so hard in his
life.”

“What?”

“When we feed, it's like sex to the person
we're feeding from. They forget about what happened usually.”

“Who were those people trying to kill
you?”

Her face turned angry. “Vampire hunters. They
don't care who I am, only
what
I am. They watched too many
movies and think all vampires are trying to take over the world.
Please. But yeah, I've dealt with them before. Heins is a real
piece of work. He just lives to kill. He works for a guy named
Bachner. They got a little army going on, all out to kill vampires.
Real nice.”

I shook my head. This was insane.

“You handling this okay?” she asked. “I think
if you can handle having a pair of bat wings, you can handle
this.”

“Yeah, I'm okay. Sometimes, it's just...too
much, you know?” I looked down at the fresh clothes I was wearing,
remembering what happened to the old ones. “Sometimes I feel like a
monster. This isn't helping.”

“I can relate a little,” she said. “But
you're not a monster, Alex. Neither am I. Our actions make us what
we are. I don't kill people. Neither do you, right?”

“No, but when we were fighting those guys
back there,” I trailed off. “I just felt so powerful. I almost got
out of control.”

She nodded. “I understand. But I think you
have a good heart.”

“Then why the hell did you try to squeeze me
to death when you first met me?”