2. New Blood
Maybe small towns in the middle of nowhere like this are all great fun for centuries old vampires or cisgender, straight-passing guys over six feet tall, but I’m not sure I’m feeling the same way, I thought to myself.
Although it looked as though maybe forty people could live in this small little Main Street of a village, the streets were busy and parking was a chore. From what I could guess, it looked like mostly locals (and a handful of—dare I call them—tourists) moved from store-to-store, stopping at little vendors and pop-up booths that littered the sidewalks.
“Sorry,” a voice I wasn’t familiar with brought me out of my thoughts and back to reality. “Saving this spot for my friend. Will be here any minute now.”
His window down, Rigg seemed perturbed by the response of the teenage boy standing in the only available parking spot to be found on the street.
“Are you sure about that?” Rigg asked.
“Sure about what, sir?”
“Not everyone can master the skill of vampire compulsion right away, Rigg,” I heard Alek whisper to my boyfriend reassuringly. “Let me try.”
“Have at it,” Rigg shrugged as Alek leaned over him and got the attention of the spot squatter.
Oooh, vampire powers in action, I thought to myself as I peered over Rigg’s seat to watch.
“Excuse me,” Alek spoke in his most polite yet bitter tone. “Young lad.”
“Yes?” The teenager now seemed annoyed as he leaned down and looked back into our vehicle.
“I think this parking spot would be a good fit for us. You’ll let us park here, won’t you?” asked Alek.
“Oh, you mean this one?” The teenager now pointed to the ground and started backing away. “Of course, sir. I was saving it just for you.”
“Just for you?” Rigg repeated with a mocking tone as he looked at Alek.
“Just for me,” Alek teased his driver, patting him on the shoulder.
“Dominant and commanding. Sexy,” is all I could say. Oops, didn’t mean to share that thought with the car.
Alek winked at me from the rearview mirror. “I’ll show you dominant and commanding soon enough.”
I didn’t even have time to fully process his comments before he appeared on the driver’s side of the backseat, the door open and hand extended for me to take. “What a gentleman,” I giggled as I took his hand and found myself on the bustling sidewalk.
“He only does that because the last time he was taught any manners was in the early seventeen hundreds,” Rigg was quick to add as he got out of the car at a more human speed. “They didn’t even have cars then, did they, Alek?”
Fortunately, the overcast skies remained, and despite needing a pair of sunglasses each—and a fedora that took Alek to a whole new level of ‘daddy’—it appeared my two dates for the day would not be exploding in the sun any time soon. I’m going to have to help Rigg find the right hat for his face shape. Maybe a matching umbrella, too, I thought to myself as I visualized future household needs in a half-serious, half-joking manner.
I suckeddown the last of my iced coffee with the grace of a Genzennial. By this point, we had wandered much of the Main Street and a bulk of the most interesting shops along the road. Just as I thought Alek was about to pull us into the sex shop, he stopped short of crossing the street to the next block of town. At the moment, I found myself about a dozen feet behind Rigg and Alek, who had idly continued strolling ahead as I dropped my cup in the nearest outdoor garbage can.
I could just make out the sound of Alek whispering to my boyfriend under his breath, almost as though he was trying to make sure no humans could be in earshot. Almost on cue, I caught Rigg’s shy glare as he looked to see if I was paying attention. Now the bloodsuckers wanna tell secrets, huh? I thought to myself. Busted.
“I think he’ll like that,” Rigg spoke loud enough for me to hear as I finally caught up with the two.
“It’s perfectly safe, but just maybe a little different from what, uh, mortals might be used to,” Alek said to Rigg as he carefully examined my face for any signs of concern or worry. “Plus, I have a coupon.”
“Huh?” I asked, still as confused as ever.
“Here,” Alek gestured to the continuing sidewalk to our left instead of the crosswalk before us. “Just at the start of the alleyway down and around that corner.”
Our tour guide led the way as we followed behind. Rigg squeezed my arm playfully, but I could sense the action was spurred by his need to be protective of me.
“So, there’s this thing,” began my boyfriend. “I can’t think of the name of it, but it’s like this weird network of hidden shops for vamp?—”
“Ah, ah, ah!” Alek stopped in his tracks, which caused Rigg to nearly tumble over him and stop mid-sentence. I faked a smile as the passing group of teenage girls listening in on our conversation went around us. “Be mindful of who can hear you, my young progeny.”
“But of course, master,” Rigg rolled his eyes and put his arm around my shoulder as the two now guided me into the alley and stopped at what appeared to be a rusted old back door to one of the shops we had passed earlier. “Now that we’re away from prying ears, Alek tells me this is where our kind go to shop.”
“So, it’s like an underground Hot Topic?” I innocently inquired.
“Think, um, more food, fewer band tees,” Alek said as his knuckles rapped against the door in a fast, particular pattern that I only assumed must have been vampire code.
As the weight of Alek’s words set in, the door opened, and seemingly on its own. “So, this is where they harvest, uh, humans?”
“Oh, come on,” Alek nudged me as he held the door open for Rigg and I. “What do you think this is, The Dark Ages? Read the sign.”
The inside of the worn door boasted an open/close sign with another notice placard just above it: HUMAN-OWNED, ETHICALLY SOURCED.
Cryptic and generally non-descriptive, I thought to myself with a nod as Rigg led the way and pulled me behind. The sound of the door closing behind us seemed in sync with a large array of motion-sensor lights that now illuminated a large shop room with shelves, aisles, and even a front desk with a register and a friendly-looking—and alive-looking—cashier.
“Aleksandr, welcome back!” The kind, elderly Black woman behind the counter exclaimed. From what I could tell, she seemed familiar with our new beau. “Oh, it’s been so long. Tell me you’ll still have your regular.”
“It’s good to see you, old friend,” I watched Alek say as his face beamed. “I will of course take the same. And actually, make it double, as I have a budding new vampire friend here with me.”
“Oh?” the cashier asked.
“This is Rigg,” Alek exclaimed as he put his arm around Rigg’s shoulders. “He’s been a close friend for a long time, and now he has joined me in the darkness. Rigg, meet Olivia.”
“Hi there, Olivia,” a bashful Rigg held out his hand as the woman came around the counter, hugged Alek, and then proceeded to hug Rigg.
Just as I was about to sneak away into the nearest aisle and start exploring, I could feel the attention in the room turn to me. “This is our human counterpart, little Elijah. He’s bonded closely to Rigg and?—”
“Oh, a human?” Olivia asked as she grabbed for the spectacles that lay across her chest on a chain. “Let me have a look. Hello, Elijah.”
“Hi Olivia,” I said with a nervous smile. “Alek is too formal. You can call me Eli.”
“Hello, young Eli,” Olivia said as she embraced me with what appeared to be her signature hug. I did the same, and surprisingly felt comforted by the warmth a friend of Alek’s provided. “It appears Alek has left his imprint on both of you. You both seem quite special to him, which means you will both always find safe passage and haven in my establishment.”
Imprint?I thought to myself.
I could see Alek bounce between making eye contact with Rigg and myself as he looked to explain the offhand comment of his friend, but his face remained without an emotion to read. “Ah, sweet Olivia, you are quite right.” Alek now swooped behind me, the feeling of his cool hands on my shoulders alerting me to his presence. “Now, I know young Eli here would be very interested in seeing your inventory. You know, as a curious mortal who is very keen on keeping secrets.”
“Oh?” Olivia now adjusted her glasses, her attention turning from Alek back to me. “Although on the surface it appears there might not be much here for us humans, you’d be surprised with a little digging. Why don’t you let me show you around?”
Olivia kindly held out her hand to guide me down the closest row of merchandise. Still slightly hesitant, I looked at Rigg. He shot me a playful wink and a head nod. I felt Alek gently tap my shoulders before he returned to Rigg’s side. “I’ll show Rigg the grub.”
“T-thank you,” I said with a smile as Olivia led me through an aisle of trinkets and what appeared to be medieval armor.
I wonder what she meant by imprinted. And—and quite special to him? Well, I would say our relationship is budding—not even really official or anything, but… Was Alek my boyfriend now, too? Rigg’s?
“Now, I have full confidence that Aleksandr and Rigg would never let you fall into harm’s way, but this is a section I always highlight to my human customers,” said Olivia as she took me to the very back of the store. “I like to call it the ‘friends of vampires’ section, although maybe not everyone would agree with that title.”
My eyes darted from tag to tag: HOLY WATER CANISTER, EIGHT OUNCES OF VERIFIED HOLY WATER, TWENTY-FOUR OUNCES OF VERIFIED HOLY WATER, GENUINE CROSSBOW, SILVER CRUCIFIX, GOLD-PLATED CRUCIFIX. Whoa, I thought to myself. Do I think I need any of this?
“I’m sure you’re probably thinking, ‘Do I need any of this?’ Right?” continued Olivia. “Now, I’m not sure all of what Alek told you, but not all of his kind are as sophisticated and worldly as he is. As such, you never know what kind of vampire you might encounter out there—in the forest that surrounds us, in your own hometown, and even in the very streets of this quaint community.”
I gently traced the outline of the gold-embossed cross in the center of the commercial display. It felt cold, smooth, and almost magnetic. “And what—well, what exactly would this do?”
Olivia leaned forward to get a better look at what I was referring to. “Oh, you like the design, do you?”
I nodded.
“A religious person, are you, Eli?”
I shook my head to indicate no. Gay and religious? Yeah, right.
“Hm, no matter.. Here’s what it does.”
Like clockwork, Olivia took the cross in her hand and held it out directly behind us. It was at that moment that I caught a flash of movement as Alek used his vampire speed to appear behind us. “How did I know this is what you’d be showing?—”
Alek’s face instantly turned pained, almost as though a high-pitch wavelength was negatively affecting him. His eyes looked from me briefly, then down to the cross in Olivia’s hand.
“Please, don’t do anything that hurts him,” I quickly blurted out.
Olivia returned the handheld cross to the counter it sat on. “Hurt him? Oh, please. All that will do for a vampire his age is briefly stop him in his tracks. The younger ones, though? I’ll just say it works great as a pest deterrent.”
Unfazed by the emotions of the moment, Olivia continued down the aisle, reciting what appeared to be her script for any human visitors. “And down here, you’ll find our collection of handcrafted wooden stakes, spears, and even a few deals on our newest arrow selections.”
“S-sorry,” I hesitated as I struggled to maintain eye contact with Alek.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of us now,” I heard Rigg’s voice close by. When I looked up, he stood next to me. There was a small spattering of blood at the corner of his mouth, and an empty blood bag in his hand.
“As if,” I said very matter-of-factly.
“We’re not the ones he’s worried about,” replied Alek, who now had a calm smile on his face. He stepped forward, placing his hands again at my shoulders as he pulled me close to him. I caught a whiff of his scent—Burberry mixed with peppermint, at least it seemed—and instantly felt reassured. “And rightfully so.”
“Are there other vampires around these parts?” Rigg asked.
I watched Alek’s nonverbal cue to Rigg to wipe his face. Sensing my eyes on him, Rigg tried to casually rub the crimson stains off with the back of his hand. “There’s always a chance of it,” Alek said with a shrug. “The real ones you’ve got to worry out for are the ones that run around looking like a dog with rabies. They’re likely starving.”
“And where might I run into those?” I asked.
“Well, little human,” Alek said as he leaned down to address me at an even height. “Hopefully, nowhere. But on the off chance you do, then I’ll make sure to rip to shreds anyone who dares so much as to think about placing a finger on you.”
“And if you’re not there?” I asked.
“Then I will be,” Rigg said as he puffed out his chest.
“And what if you guys are working?”
“Something tells me he wants the big, shiny gold crucifix,” Alek said with a chuckle as he playfully tapped my nose.
“My mother always told me to watch out for gold diggers,” Rigg teased as he examined the cross I had in mind. “And Eli is a sucker for gold.”
“Funny use of the word sucker,” I said as I grabbed up the crucifix from the counter. “You know, considering.”
“Looks like we’ve got ourselves our very own Buffy the Vampire Slayer then,” Alek said with a chuckle. “Whatever you’d like here is yours, Eli, and it’s my treat. I never want you to feel unsafe because of me.”
“Yeah, but wasn’t Buffy taller?” Rigg asked as he purposefully stood to full height next to me.
“Very funny,” I giggled as I leaned up for a kiss, the cross now cuffed in the hand I kept behind my back. Rigg obliged, leaning forward and slipping his tongue into my mouth as he stole several more kisses than I initially planned to give away.
Alek, still close enough to me to embrace, watched quietly as we canoodled. It wasn’t lost on me that he might feel left out, which was the last thing I wanted. “And as for you,” I said as I grabbed up at the collar of his shirt. I didn’t have to command him twice, I thought to myself as the vampire quickly leaned in to come close to me. I pressed my lips against his, a tingle running down my spine as Alek cuffed my chin in his hand and continued to lock lips with me. “Wow,” was all I could finally muster.
“Shall we get you some holy water, too, then?” Alek produced a clear glass bottle from the shelf nearby and tossed it between his two hands. “You know, for your slaying session later tonight?”
“My slaying, huh?”
“Oh, you know,” Rigg began as he gently took my wrists, careful to avoid the cross I still held, and pulled me into him. “Tonight. The big finale. Where the vampire slayer faces two muscular, strapping vampires who will stop at nothing in their attempt to devour him whole.”
Now, I get it. But am I going to let them have the satisfaction? “Oh. Muscular, strapping vampires, you say? I’m there,” I said with a laugh. “You’ll have to introduce me, though, because I’m a little shy.”
“And here I thought I was the shy one,” I heard Alek whisper into my ear as he caressed my neck and pressed a kiss into the back of my head. I felt him push me into Rigg’s chest and torso, his body pressing against mine from behind. To my surprise, I could feel that Alek was rock hard in his pants at that moment, and he was being anything but shy as he swayed and rubbed his hips against my back side. “But never you mind. You’ll know your aggressors when you see them.”
“See, I told you,” came Olivia’s voice from somewhere at the other end of the next aisle. “You never know when you might find yourself surrounded by the undead.”
The look in Rigg’s eyes now was what I had lovingly termed ‘bedroom eyes’ when we first started dating. I felt him pull me up onto his feet, so that my boots were now on top of his own. From there, he rocked me back against Alek, against the growing bulge in his pants. I let out a quiet, gentle sigh as I realized what was happening.
It’s taking everything in my power not to reach around and grab Alek, I thought to myself as I looked from Alek to Rigg. Hell, it looks like it’s taking everything in their power to resist taking me right here.
“Well, if this is how excitable you gents get over a crucifix, I suppose I better buy a nice wooden stake or two,” I said teasingly as I placed the cross back on the counter.
“Oh, please,” Alek said with a chortle. “Leave the penetration to us, little mortal.”
I could feel my face turn into the smartphone emoji that is fiery red with its tongue sticking out. Despite being manhandled by two icy-handed men, to me it felt like the temperature had risen significantly. I fanned myself as the two finally released me from their grips. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I sighed.
Unbeknownst to me, I had shifted into the counter and the force of my elbow sent the gold cross flying into the air. I turned just in time to see a gold flash barreling toward the floor.
“Whoops,” Alek said as he grabbed it at the very last second. The bottom of the cross appeared to be maybe two inches from the floor, where it surely would have scuffed. “Gotcha.”
“Oh, sorry,” I immediately exclaimed as I bent down to grab it up. Alek took my hand in his free one, making eye contact with me.
“Look,” he gestured to me to look at the hand with my crucifix in it. I watched as the pale skin surrounding it turned bright red. His palm seemed to sizzle as he held the cross in it. “I want you to see how to really use it.”
I watched Alek grit his teeth together as he squeezed his palm with the cross in it. Smoke rose from his hand as he did. I continued to grab for the crucifix until he finally let me take it from him.
“Whoa, are you okay?” Rigg appeared at our side, bent over and examining Alek’s hand.
“Should you ever need to, press it into the vampire’s skin as hard as you can, Eli,” Alek said calmly, but with his teeth gritted. “And don’t stop.”
Rigg and I both watched in surprise as he opened his palm to reveal melted, charred skin. I took his hand in mine, examining the edges of his burn wound as they already started to regenerate. “I-I- — the last thing I meant to happen was for you to get hurt,” I said as I pressed a kiss into the top of his hand. I felt him kiss my cheek as I did.
“I know, Eli,” whispered Alek as his free hand gently caressed my face. “I know.”
“And here Iwas thinking the fire department might show up because of all that smoke,” Olivia said with a warm smile when we finally approached the counter again. “Everything worked to your liking then, Eli?”
With my vampire escorts on either side of me, I couldn’t help but blush a little. “Uh, yeah. I think I’m actually going to take this vat of holy water, too.”
I presented the gold cross and the bottle of holy water that Alek had juggled in front of me earlier.
“As the humans say, you’ve got to start them young,” Alek said as he almost exaggerated his very proper, elegant way of speaking.
“And Rigg, how did you like the meal?” Olivia turned to ask.
“Oh, the blood bags?” Rigg asked. “Easily the best blood I’ve ever tried.”
“Great to hear,” she said with a warm smile.
“We’ll take double what we had for the road if you’ve still got those little styrofoam coolers,” Alek interjected. “Plus, add what the little mortal here wants to my total, as well.”
“A most wonderful idea,” Olivia nodded. “Let me get you three all bagged up.”
I laid the cross on the counter as Olivia started to wrap and pack up the purchases.
“You know, you don’t have to pay for us,” Rigg politely whispered over my head.
“Please, Rigg, this weekend is on me. I am, after all, the host, and you are my esteemed guests,” Alek said confidently, his fingers tracing the veins in my arm down until he reached my hand and cradled it protectively in his. “And don’t tell me you both don’t deserve it, because you do. Besides, I think I know how you’ll make it up to me this evening.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I felt Alek give my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. The look on his face was one of sincere care and compassion as he addressed Rigg and gave me a quick wink. I wrapped my free hand around Rigg’s arm and gently leaned into his biceps.
The moment felt perfect, and it made me excited about what was going to come next.
The early afternoonhours were waning as we stepped back into what felt like the real world. Fortunately, it was cloudier than it was even before. It almost was as though it was already getting dark out.
Alek carried a small cooler in one hand, commanding my hand in the other, as we made our way to the sidewalk. With my anti-vampire items wrapped away in another bag in Rigg’s possession, my boyfriend used his free hand to tuck into the back of my jeans as he walked close to me on the other side.
I couldn’t help but feel like I had won the jackpot. I’m not sure I ever felt in a million years that I would find myself so emotionally into not one man, but two. And it seemed like my boyfriend was experiencing the same thing. Never mind the fact that they’re technically dead men, I thought to myself as I gave them both an appreciative squeeze. If only I could read their minds and figure out what they’re thinking.
“You guys have made my day,” I found myself blurting out.
“We haven’t even made it to the sex shop yet and you’re already saying that?” Rigg asked.
“I don’t even think I want to know what a vampire picks out at a sex store,” I added. “But I do mean what I said.”
“I’m glad,” Rigg said with a smile.
“Me, too,” Alek added as he tipped his fedora hat to me. “More than you can know.”
The feeling of butterflies in my stomach took hold of me again. I was glad they were with me because I could hardly focus on directions and my surroundings. I was stuck deep in thought, enamored by the fact I had the two hottest men I had ever met showering me with affection. What did I do to get so lucky?
I didn’t even realize we were nearly back to our car until I heard the sneers.
“Are those the queers that took my parking spot?”
Reality hit me like a ton of bricks.
The teenage boy that Alek had compelled out of his parking spot earlier was now standing in front of Rigg’s car with two others. The tallest and heaviest of the two, who appeared as though he could be the dad or uncle of the teen, spit tobacco on the ground before replacing it with a toothpick between his lips. He was the one who called us queers.
“Yeah. It was the tall, viking-looking one.”
“And what about his sissy boyfriend and this other fuck?” said the third member of the group, who appeared to be slightly older than the teenager, but still somehow related. Possibly a brother. He was referring to me and Rigg. Of course he has a mullet, I thought to myself as I looked him up and down.
“This other fuck is about to pound your head in,” Rigg said calmly as he handed the bag in his hand to me. I clutched it until my knuckles turned whiter than the tops of my hands.
“Why don’t you gentlemen move before that happens?” Alek was quick to add.
The three antagonizers seemed to flank around Rigg’s car as though not allowing us to leave. Seems like a mistake, I thought to myself.
“You okay?” Alek asked as he looked at me.
I nodded. Feeling his hand give me one last squeeze before letting go, I had an idea what was coming next.
“You three will all go home and forget this ever happened,” Alek demanded as he looked all three men in the eyes.
“Okay,” said the teenager before turning to walk away.
“Sonny, what the hell are you doing?” The angry dad shouted, seemingly unaffected. “We’re used to those kinds of tricks ‘round these parts. And don’t take kindly to no strangers.”
“Fuck this,” the second teenager, also apparently unaffected, lunged forward to punch Alek in the face. He was surprised when Rigg grabbed his wrist mid-throw. “What in the?—”
The two men before us, myself included, watched in horror and amazement as Rigg snapped the aggressor’s wrist like a twig.
“Holy shit, he broke it!” The mullet man cried out as Rigg let go of his arm and his hand fell limp.
“You sicko fucks,” the father cursed as he hurtled towards Rigg.
With me still on his right arm, Rigg seemed to momentarily panic as the man lunged towards us. I felt him pull his arm tight to his side as though to secure me close to him. I saw a flash of colors and felt the force of cold winds on me for just a few seconds before I realized Rigg had cautiously moved me down the block and away from the attackers.
“Are you okay, babe?” Rigg released my arm and cradled my face in his hands.
“I am,” I said with a gasp. “Go.”
I watched Rigg’s eyes turn bloodshot before he disappeared. The speed with which he did would blur any human’s vision, and I had to remind myself of why.
From the distance, I could see that the overweight man had toppled to the ground and was now hollering. I inched closer so I could hear what was going on.
“Where the hell did that sick son of a bitch go?” The man hollered as he struggled to get to his feet. He was surprised when Alek steadied him by grabbing his shoulders and pulling him up. “And what about you, pansy boy?”
“Do you want me to show you?” Alek asked, his eyes already as bloodshot as my boyfriend’s.
“Give it your best shot, faggo?—”
Before the man could finish the worst slur of the argument, Alek’s fist connected with his face.
“Oh, shit, pops,” the man with the mullet shouted in a pitch even higher than when his wrist was broken just seconds before. “Your fucking toothpick.”
The heavier man howled in horror as he realized the toothpick he innocently placed between his lips before the altercation was now piercing through his top lip. “Fucking fuck!” he hollered.
“Anything else?” Rigg asked the two. Startled and shocked, they shook their heads. “Good. Run away.”
“And forget this ever happened,” commanded Alek.
The two bloodied men took off down the street in the same direction that the teenager had absent-mindedly wandered.
“Are you okay?” Rigg asked Alek, who nodded. I felt better about the situation as I watched them embrace like friends who had won a sports game, but also like lovers who had survived a terrible accident.
As I made my way over to the car, I again felt the cool winds made by a vampire’s super speed. Both Alek and Rigg poked and prodded me to make sure I was physically okay. “Stop it, you two,” I said as I blushed with embarrassment. “I’m fine. Don’t make me get out the holy water and toss it in your faces.”
“There’s our perky little slayer,” Alek said as he gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
“Sorry if our PDA caused that,” Rigg quickly added. “It’s hard, you know, to not want to show you affection.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said jokingly in a pompous tone.
“Ah, the bratty side comes out. All good here, Alek. He’s back to normal with comments like those,” Rigg teased as he wrapped his hand in mine.
As we finally got in the car, I noticed Alek wiping someone else’s blood off his hands and onto a piece of tissue paper. While the whole situation made me uneasy, I couldn’t help but think that I was partially at fault for all that had just occurred. Alek and Rigg were flexing their vampire powers to protect me, and now there was blood spilled.
“How come they weren’t, uh, enamored by your compulsion?” I asked aloud as we drove off.
At first, Alek didn’t seem to know why. He appeared to be deep in rumination before finally answering. “I’m not entirely sure. The only time I’ve seen it fail is when another vampire is currently using compulsion on the human. Or perhaps feeding the human their blood.”
His response didn’t cure the uneasiness we all felt as we made our way out of the town.
“Let’s stop at the cabin quickly before we head out again,” said Rigg. We all agreed with his suggestion.
I hope that’s the only trouble we see, I thought to myself.
“Don’t worry, little slayer,” Alek said reassuringly as Rigg drove. “The only thing you’ll have to worry about for the rest of the day is the insatiable appetite your boyfriend and I have for you.”