Thicker than Water (Fangs and Feuds #1)

Succumb

SUCCUMB

Amara

Thank Goddess, my first few shifts at the club aren’t too bad. It takes a while to get used to the pounding, bone-shaking music, and the sweaty closeness of all the people in the club. But once I settle in and get used to the smells and the noises (and the ridiculous drinks that everyone orders), it’s actually tolerable.

“White Russian, please,” says a girl in a bright pink tube dress. Her hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail, her long neck on display. I wonder if she’s doing it purposefully to attract a vampire, or if she even knows that’s a possibility. I always wonder if the people who come to Hemlock Haven know that they’re visiting a witch coven, or if there’s just something about the magic of the place that draws them there. Maybe the club is the same way.

I bend down to get milk from the mini-fridge underneath the bar. When I come back up, there’s a man standing directly behind her.

My breath catches in my throat. It’s not Tudor Thornblade, but he’s definitely a vampire. His pale skin has a sickly pallor and his eyes have a deep lifelessness that I’ve never seen in someone who’s heart still beats.

“Let me get that for you,” he says slickly, his eyes flicking to me for just a moment. Composing myself, I mix the drink.

The girl smiles sheepishly and takes the glass from the bar. “Thanks, do you come here often?”

“On occasion,” he grins, flashing his protruded canines .

Fighting against my discomfort, I quickly set up the credit card machine and place it on the counter in front of him. Barely looking, he taps a jet black card against it.

“Let’s find somewhere more comfortable, shall we?” he asks. The girl follows him with nervous delight toward the row of curtained booths along the side of the club. I watch them go uneasily. But it’s not like there’s anything that I could do. Vampires feed on humans all the time, especially in clubs like this. Lots of people actually enjoy it, if you can believe that.

I’ll never understand it. For witches, especially good witches like me, allowing a vampire to drink your blood is extremely taboo. Being close to so much blood-sucking is making me feel antsy. I’ll have to do a grounding ritual when I get back to my apartment. I check my watch. It’s only 11:43pm. The night is still young.

I stifle a yawn. Back in Hemlock Haven, I would have been in bed by now. Tucked in with a nice book and some herbal tea.

I can’t wait to finish this mission and go home. But I have no idea how long I’ll be undercover. Given how suspicious Lavinia is, it could be months . I don’t think her fears are founded, at least I really hope they aren’t. After all, I haven’t even seen Tudor, or any of his progeny. They must not come down to the club that often. Maybe I can just lie low for a while, spend some time in the city, and call it a vacation. It might even be good for me to get outside of my comfort zone.

A bachelorette party descends on the bar and orders a round of vodka shots. They down them quickly, then demand another round. After I pour them all, I realize that I’m getting very low on vodka. It’s the drink of choice tonight, it seems.

I look around for the barback, but he’s nowhere to be found. He’s a smoker and he always takes really long breaks. The other bartender is mixing old fashions on the other end of the oval bar.

There are no other customers waiting to order drinks, so I figure I can go to the back of house and get another case of vodka. It’ll give me a break to stretch my legs. I check to make sure my bag is securely stashed under the bar and I open the hinged counter before merging onto the crowded dance floor.

After attending two hundred years worth of pagan witch celebrations, I’m no stranger to sweaty, drunken debauchery. But I have to say, this is something else. People are packed into the club like sardines. It takes a lot of elbowing for me to make it through the crowd.

Miraculously, I emerge from the dance floor unscathed. I’m about to head for the back of house where the extra liquor is kept when I hear a strange noise. It’s almost a moan, but not a pleasurable one. It’s a desperate, aching cry, just quiet enough not to be easily heard over the pandemonium of the club.

My senses sharpen immediately. The sound came from one of the curtained booths that line the side of the club. I hurry in that direction, weaving through bodies of people flirting and dancing closely.

“Hey, watch it!” someone shouts as I push them aside.

But I don’t care. I follow the noise to one of the booths. It’s big enough for a small party, with a table and couch for…well, you can imagine what. Following my instincts, I pull aside its heavy curtains.

The blood freezes in my veins. It’s the girl from earlier. She’s seated on the lap of the vampire who bought her a drink. A long, thick trail of blood stains her pink tube dress. Her head is tilted unnaturally to the side, her eyes lolling back into her skull. His mouth is pressed firmly to the side of her neck as he sucks the blood from her limp body.

“What are you doing?” I say sharply. “Stop it! You’re draining her!”

He stops drinking to look at me. His fangs are covered in the girl’s thick, crimson blood.

“Mind your own business,” he says. “If you don’t want to end up just like her.”

With a cheeky wink, he goes back to drinking.

I stumble backward, trying to process what’s going on. My stomach is slightly queasy. It’s been a long time since I’ve witnessed something like this, and it stirs up painful memories.

“Wait, you can’t go in there!” says a voice behind me. Of course, this vampire has a little gang to back him up.

I push my discomfort aside. I’ve got to think fast. I have to help that girl. I can’t let her be drained by that vampire. Even without my wand, I should be able to work enough magic to stop that vampire.

But it would reveal my identity. What if him and his gang are part of the northern vampire alliance? They would recognize my Hecate magic immediately. If I’m caught, I would have hell to pay.

There might be another option .

“Xia!” I shout, praying my voice is loud enough over the din. Frantically, I weave back through the bodies, searching for her. She was patrolling earlier, so she might be nearby. Could she be strong enough to stop this vampire? I hope so.

A moment later, I spot her in the crowd, moving toward me. The customers seem to know who she is, and they give her a wide berth.

“What’s going on?” she asks, a concerned frown on her face.

I point to the private booth at the back of the club. “There’s a vampire, feeding on a-”

“I know,” Xia says with a sigh. “It’s always very shocking when you find out for the first time. Ok, so you know how you think vampires, and witches, and all of that, are just a story? Well, they’re actually real…”

“I know , Xia!” I shout, taking her arm. “But the vampire is draining a girl in there! He’s not just drinking from her, he’s going to kill her! You’ve got to stop him!”

“Shit,” Xia sighs. “Where is he?”

“Over here!” I grab her arm, and pull her over to the curtained area. A large man stands in front of the booth. He wears sunglasses and a dark suit, the buttons straining over his chest. “Hey, you can’t-”

Xia puts her hand out, and a flash of bright red knocks him to the side, into a train of other people who fall like dominoes. Then she pulls the curtains aside, ripping them from their rods. In a quick motion, she takes a silver chain from her neck and throws it at the drinking vampire. He hisses angrily as the metal burns his skin, his fingers clawing at his face. The girl in the pink dress falls to the ground, pale and shaking.

“Call Celine!” Xia shouts at me. “It’s Lazarus’s gang. She’s not going to be happy.”

“What?”

“On the phone behind the bar! Dial 0 and tell them you need Celine at the club!”

The vampire recovers and lunges at Xia. She brings her hands up to form a shining crimson forcefield around her.

I hate to leave her, but I have no time to waste. I hurry as fast as I can through the oscillating, sweaty bodies. Shouts of outrage follow me as I shove my way to the bar. I throw myself under the door and search urgently for the phone.

“What’s going on? Are you ok?” asks the other bartender, a shaker in each hand.

I find the phone beside the drop safe and dial o. Thank Goddess, I know how to use a dial phone from working at the bakery.

A crisp, professional voice answers. “Respite concierge, how may I-”

“Celine!” I yell into the speaker. “We need Celine at the club, right now!”

The voice replies without any hesitation, “Right away.”

I hang up the phone, my hands shaking. I’m no stranger to conflict, but I’m used to battlefields and open war. Down here in vampire club, I’m completely out of my element. And witnessing that vampire attacking that girl bothered me more than I realized.

“Can I get a gin and tonic, please?” asks an irritated man, waving a bill across the bar.

Suddenly, there’s another flash of red from the back of the club. It’s big enough to start a commotion. Shrieks and shouts drown out the loud club music. I crane my neck to see over the crowds but I can’t make out what’s going on. All I can see are bodies racing away from the dance floor toward the elevators.

Despite my trepidation at facing a vampire again, my palms itch with unspent magic. I can’t stay back here, behind the bar, while an innocent human is being drained by a vampire. Xia seems like a capable witch, but I doubt she’s stronger at offensive magic than I am. I don’t know who Celine is, but even if she can make it down here, she would never be able to get through the crowd. If there’s any chance that someone could be hurt, I have a responsibility to protect them.

I’ll have a better chance if I take my wand. I can work magic without it, but it will amplify my natural abilities. I crouch down below the bar and grab my bag, searching through it frantically. Wallet, keys, protection stone, tampon, pen… why do I have so much crap in here?

Before I can find it, there’s another commotion. Gasps and screams from the humans in the club. Oh no, I hope that the vampire hasn’t hurt Xia. I look up over the bar anxiously.

A gasp escapes my throat. Above the sea of bodies trying to get out of the club is the form of a woman, levitating through the air. She has dark hair that flows around her shoulders. Her deathly pale skin shines in the dim light of the club. She wears a sharp leather blazer over a red corset top.

I gaze at her with wide eyes, unable to look away. I’m used to seeing levitating figures wearing robes, not blazers, and they’re almost always on broomsticks. Being able to fly is an impressive ability for any magical person, especially a vampire. A shiver goes up my spine.

The vampire flies over the dance floor and toward the back of the club. It’s almost empty now, since many of the humans have realized there’s a fight going on and don’t want to be caught in the crossfire.

I reach for my bag again, but the other bartender stops me.

“Your pepper spray won’t protect you,” he smirks. “Don’t worry, just stay behind the bar and watch the show.”

I’m about to tell him that I don’t appreciate his condescending tone, but I’m interrupted by the body of the offending vampire flying through the air and onto the dance floor right in front of the bar. The remaining people scatter to the sides of the club, either heading toward the elevators or staying to watch, frozen in fear and horrified curiosity.

The vampire in the leather blazer walks slowly out from the back of the club, lit by the purple and red glowing neon lights. She watches the other vampire as he scrambles to his feet, like a lioness circling a gazelle.

“Well, well, what do we have here,” she says, her voice smooth as the velvet drapes at the back of the club.

“You can’t treat me this way!” he shouts. “I’m Lazarus Gray’s progeny!”

“That’s interesting,” she responds, a smirk across her blood red lips. “I don’t see him anywhere here. All I see is the bloodless form of my patron. It’s very bad for business. Some would go so far as to say it’s disrespectful .”

Xia emerges from the back, holding the form of the girl, her dress now stained irreparably crimson. She looks weak but seems to be clutching the front of Xia’s shirt.

Thank Hecate, she’s still alive. But that doesn’t mean the threat is vanquished. Either of the vampires could still hurt someone. Vampires are incredibly powerful and strong, and it’s dangerous to underestimate them. Especially one who can fly. She must be at least a hundred years old, if not much older. Not only are they formidable opponents, but they’re ruthless and bloodthirsty. I’ve seen a single, hundred-year-old vampire take out half a dozen young witches on the battlefield like it was nothing.

The vampire in the blazer moves closer to the other one, who cowers before her.

Her voice takes on a low, predatory tone. “I don’t like rival vampire gangs sneaking around my business. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that Lazarus sent you over here to keep an eye on us.”

A horrible chill crawls up my spine.

“You can’t hurt me!” the other vampire whines, looking desperately around for the others he arrived with. “Celine, you-”

“You’re not in Lazarus’s territory anymore,” she responds, a glint of joyful malice in her eyes. “You’re in my club. And I don’t like being spied on.”

She reaches down and pulls out something strapped to her ankle. It’s a gleaming dagger, with a bright ruby at its hilt. The other vampire tries to run, his form blurring as he bolts. But she catches him easily, holding him by the lapel of his dark shirt. In a smooth movement, she drives the dagger deep into his chest, and his form goes limp. Thick blood gushes freely from his wound and coats the dance floor in crimson.

With a self-assured grin, she takes the body of the now-inanimate vampire and hands it to one of the men who arrived with him, who is now gaping at her in fear.

“Take him back to Lazarus,” she says to him. “A message from Celine C?té, Tudor Thornblade’s eldest progeny. If Lazarus, or any member of his gang, dares to even think about setting foot in my club, or drinking from any of my patrons…I will stake them so fast that the blood will still be fresh on their fangs.”

The vampire and the rest of his gang take the body away, disappearing into the night without another word.

Celine turns to the bar, holding the dagger in her hand. It must have a wooden core, making it a lethally effective stake. Bright red blood drips down its hilt. To my horror, she looks directly at me, her eyes meeting mine.

I stare back at her, my heart beating wildly in my chest. In the darkness of the club, I didn’t notice it before, but her eyes are a spine-chilling, impossible shade of pale violet.

We gaze at each other for a minute.

Then she steps toward me. The predatory tilt of her head puts my nerves on high alert and all I want is to run away. Yet, I’m rooted to the spot. My fingers tingle, itching for my wand. But even if I had it, would it be enough to save me? I’m not used to feeling so helpless, so completely out of my element.

She raises an eyebrow at me, then holds out a bloody hand. “A handkerchief, please.”

“Oh!” I gasp, jumping slightly at the request. I fumble around the bar and find a clean napkin. Fighting the urge to run, I move closer to her, handing her the rose-embroidered cloth.

Without breaking my gaze, she takes it, and runs it over the sharp blade, soaking the white fabric in blood.

“Thank you,” she says, her lips twitching slightly as she hands it back to me. Then she tucks the dagger back into its sheath at her ankle and disappears into the darkness of the club.

I take the bloody handkerchief to the sink, running it under cold water to remove the stains.

Then I wash the blood from my hands.