Vamps (5 page)

“H
urry up!” Oliver yelled over his shoulder as he ran from the park. “We've got to get back to the cars before the Van Helsings call in support!”

“But I broke my heel!” Carmen whined, limping after him like a hobbled horse.

Oliver bent down and snapped the heel off the remaining slingback. “There! Now they match again!”

“Those were my new Pradas!” she wailed.

“So you'll be well dressed when they drive a stake through your heart and cut off your head!” Oliver growled. “If you slow me down again, I
swear
I'll leave you behind for the Van Helsings to take care of! Don't think I won't!”

The look in Oliver's eyes made Carmen stop arguing. She kicked off the ruined shoes, her bare feet slapping against the pavement of the West Village
streets as she hurried after him.

Sergei slowed his run down to a trot and looked around. “Where's Tanith?” he asked. “Did anyone see her?”

“The last time I saw her, she was with Jules,” Melinda answered. “Ollie, have you seen Jules?”

“He went after Lilith—that's all I know,” Oliver replied.

“It looks like we might have to fly out of here. Until Jules or Tanith shows up, there's no way we can get back into the cars,” Melinda said, pointing across the street at the parked limousines they had arrived in. The Graves driver was leaning against the hood of the Mercedes, his arms crossed over his chest, staring into space, while the de Laval driver busied himself by polishing the windshield of his vehicle.

“Fly?”
Carmen frowned. “Are you serious? I can only stay in winged form for five minutes, tops! It'll take at least twenty minutes to get back uptown!”

“I realize it's dangerous. None of us are particularly strong fliers yet,” Melinda replied. “But we have to get home as fast as we can.”

“But what if they've already deployed their interceptors?” Oliver asked anxiously. “I heard that Van Helsings have specially trained eagles and condors to take out vampires on the wing.”

“I've heard that too,” Carmen agreed. “My aunt says some of them even use pet gargoyles they've raised
from eggs!
Gargoyles
, Melly! An eagle would be bad enough—how are we supposed to fight off a gargoyle in midair?”

“You're getting yourself worked up over nothing, Carm,” Melinda said, trying to calm her down. “It's just rumors, that's all, urban myths, that kinda stuff.”

“Yeah, well, I've heard that before. Lilith and Tanith said the same thing about Van Helsings, and
now
look what's happened.” Carmen's voice was quivering. “All I know is that I'm scared, my feet hurt, and I want to go home!”

“Let me try talking to Tanith's chauffeur,” Sergei suggested. “I've been dating her for a few months. Maybe he'll recognize my scent….”

“Be careful,” Oliver cautioned. “Undead might not have the same powers as the true-born, but they can still fuck you up.”

Sergei walked across the street, heading for the Bentley. As he drew closer to the car, Tanith's chauffeur turned to face him.

“Dixon, it's me,” Sergei said, raising his hand in greeting. “You know me, don't you? My friends and I just need to get inside the car, that's all….”

With a deep growl like a guard dog warning off a prowler, the driver bared his fangs at Sergei. His eyes were flashing ruby red as he positioned himself between the intruder and the car.

“Whoa! No need to get upset!” Sergei immediately
stepped back. He looked over his shoulder at the others and shook his head. “It's no use. Dixon's not going to let anyone in that car unless they're of the Graves bloodline. The same goes for Jules's driver. We'll have to risk flying, gargoyles or no gargoyles.”

“Maybe not!” Melinda said excitedly. “Here comes Jules!”

Sergei and the girls turned to see their friend limping toward them, an arrow sticking out of his upper-right thigh. Jules paused long enough to yank it free, snapping it in two like kindling, as his friends surged around him.

“Praise the Founders!” Carmen exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. “We were afraid you were dead!”

Jules gave her a squeeze.

“I knew those bastards couldn't catch you,” Sergei said with a relieved chuckle.

“Where are Lilith and Tanith?” Melinda asked anxiously.

“You didn't see?” Jules replied, a surprised look on his face.

“Afraid not,” Oliver admitted. “When you yelled, ‘Van Helsings,' we got out of there as fast as we could.”

“Jules—what happened?” Melinda whispered.

“Tanith's dead.”

“Oh, no!” Carmen gasped, covering her mouth.

“What?” Sergei blinked in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I'm afraid so,” Jules replied sadly. “She's gone, dude—I'm sorry.”

“What about Lilith?” Carmen whimpered. “Is she okay?”

“I don't know,” Jules said grimly. “I was hoping she was here with you.”

“So what do we do now?” Melinda asked.

“I won't leave without Lilith,” Jules said firmly. “We already lost Tanith; I won't lose her too.”

Suddenly a large animal the size of an Irish wolf-hound, its fur dripping wet, came loping up the middle of the street from the direction of the park. Blue eyes blazing, the tailless beast suddenly stood up on its hind legs and nuzzled Jules's face.

“Lili!”
Jules threw his arms around her. “You made it!”

Suddenly standing there in Jules's arms—stark naked, her wet hair cascading down her back like a waterfall—Lilith hungrily searched for his lips.

“Oh, my!” Oliver's gaze said it all.

Jules quickly shed his jacket and handed it to Lilith.

“Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly. “When will D&G make dresses shapeshifter proof?”

“I'm just glad you escaped unhurt,” Jules said, pulling her close.

“We've got to get out of here quick,” Lilith said. “I heard the Van Helsings talking. Their reinforcements will be here soon.”

“It'll be a bit of a tight fit, but I think we can all squeeze into my limo,” Jules said, motioning to his driver. “Marcel! We're leaving now!”

Marcel put away his polishing rag and nodded.
“Oui
, Monsieur Jules,” he said as he opened the rear door for his master. Melinda, Oliver, Carmen, Jules, and Lilith packed into the backseat while Sergei rode with the driver.

“What about Tanith's driver?” Melinda asked. “Shouldn't we tell him to go home?”

Jules shook his head. “It can't be helped. He's undead. He won't obey anyone who doesn't have Graves blood in their veins.”

As the car pulled away from the curb, Lilith wriggled her naked body around on Jules's lap so she could look out the rear window one last time at the chauffeur. Dixon leaned against the Bentley, arms folded, patiently awaiting his mistress's return. He would continue to do so until the rising sun turned him to ash.

 

The night doorman at the Balmoral didn't raise so much as an eyebrow as Lilith crossed the lobby barefoot, dressed in nothing but her boyfriend's jacket. After all, he was merely a servant. It wasn't his place to approve or disapprove of how a member of the family dressed.

Lilith entered the elevator and punched the button
for the penthouse floor, waiting until the doors shut securely behind her before allowing her hands to tremble.

During the whole ride back, she had worked hard to keep from appearing weak in front of the others. But the truth was, what happened in the park had shaken her badly. She had never seen anyone die before—and never suspected that the first death she would witness would be not just another vampire, but one of her best friends.

Tonight was a brutal reminder of how dangerous it was out there, especially for fledglings just learning to master the skills that would allow them to survive and prosper in a ruthless world.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Tanith lying sprawled on the ground like a broken toy. If she hadn't gotten out of the way at the very last second, she would have been the one lying there, not her friend. She frowned and shook her head, trying to dislodge what that meant from her mind.

It was all that damned New Blood's fault,
she told herself.
If she hadn't attracted the Van Helsings' attention by summoning a storm, none of this would have happened.

Lilith decided that the worst thing about the Van Helsings showing up and killing Tanith was that it broke up the fight between her and that New Blood
trash. Sure, the girl caught her off guard with that whirlwind, but Lilith was certain she would have won the fight in the end. It galled her that the newbie managed to escape unharmed. No doubt the little skank was telling all her lowlife friends about how she got one over on an Old Blood.

She could still hear the bitch's taunts ringing in her ears. Stormgatherer or not, there wasn't a newbie born fit to lick her shoes. Lilith promised herself that if she ever saw that hipster fashion victim again, she would tear her tongue out by the roots for even
daring
to speak to her!

Lilith stepped out of the elevator into the private lobby that served as the foyer for her apartment, only to find the family butler waiting for her.

“Greetings, Miss Lilith,” he said in a cultured British accent, not reacting at all to her state of undress. “The master wishes to see you.”

“Do I have to, Curtis?” Lilith groaned. “I've had a
really
shitty night, as you can no doubt see, and I'm really tired….”

“Your father was most insistent that he see you as soon as you arrived. I have been standing here awaiting your return for”—the butler pulled a pocket watch from his waistcoat—“seven hours, twenty-six minutes, and fifty-eight seconds.”

“Very well.” Lilith sighed. Although the undead who served her family normally obeyed her every word,
her father's wishes overrode hers every time.

“Come with me, Miss Lilith,” Curtis said as he held open the front door. “The master is in his study.”

Whatever her father's reason for wanting to speak to her, the fact that he was waiting for her in the study did not bode well. Although she'd lived in the penthouse all her life, Lilith could count on one hand the times she'd been inside his private sanctum.

Developer and CEO of HemoGlobe, the largest and most successful company in the blood bank industry, Victor Todd had single-handedly revolutionized vampire culture for true-born and undead alike.

Thanks to his processed blood supply program, paid for by monthly subscriptions, it was no longer necessary to spend every waking hour stalking and hunting that next meal. Now all but the most wretched had the time to focus on other needs and interests, using their free time to better their existence.

Yes, as far as the families of Lilith's friends and school-mates were concerned, Victor Todd was Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates all rolled into one. But to Lilith, he was the man who controlled every aspect of her life, at least until she was finally old enough to marry Jules and begin her new life as the Countess de Laval.

As Curtis escorted her to her father, Lilith found herself glancing at the portraits that lined the long hallway. Her attention was momentarily caught by a
painting of her grandparents, Adolphus Todesking and Marcilla Karnstein. Having died decades before she was born, they had never been anything more to her than daubs of paint on stretched canvas. The only thing Lilith really knew about them was that Adolphus was responsible for slaying Pieter Van Helsing after the legendary vampire hunter killed his beloved wife.

Lilith could almost swear Marcilla's head turned to watch her pass by.

Curtis hesitated before rapping lightly on the door to the study. “Miss Lilith has arrived home, sire.”

“Send her in.”

Lilith swallowed hard and tugged the lapels of her borrowed jacket even closer together. As much as she hated to admit it, deep down, at the very core of her being, she was afraid of Daddy.

Curtis held the door open but did not follow Lilith into the room. “Will there be anything else, Master Victor?” he asked.

“No. You're free to withdraw, Curtis.”

“Thank you, master,” the butler said, with more than a hint of relief in his voice as he closed the door, leaving Lilith alone with her father.

Victor Todd turned from the flat-panel computer monitor on his desk to face his daughter. With his money and brooding good looks, he was easily one of the most desirable men in the jet set.

“I trust you did not leave the house dressed like that, young lady?” He scowled.

“No, sir,” Lilith replied, her voice suddenly very small. “If you're busy, I can come back later after I've changed clothes—”

“There's no need for that. I was simply checking on some investments I made in the foreign exchange market. The euro is doing very well right now,” he said, self-satisfaction creeping into his voice despite his displeasure with his daughter. “Right now you and I need to talk. First I want to hear what you thought you were doing at the club last night; then you can explain how you ended up wearing
that
.”

“You know about what happened at the Belfry?” Lilith asked, stalling for time.

“Of
course
I know!” he replied wearily. “I'm a co-owner of the club. You should know I have an interest in every vampire-friendly business in this city!”

“We were just having fun, that's all.” Lilith dropped her eyes to the carpet. “It wasn't just me—Tanith and Carmen bit him too.”

“I don't care what the others did or didn't do,” Todd replied sternly. “They're not my daughters—you are.”

“Yes, Father,” Lilith said glumly.