No vampire has a choice
NO VAMPIRE HAS A CHOICE
Amara
“I’m not a babysitter ,” moans the vampire, as she shoves her way through the crowd to the elevators.
She’s the second youngest one, the one with platinum hair. In some ways, it’s refreshing to know that even obscenely wealthy, ancient vampire families have the same petty sibling rivalries that everyone else does. I wonder if that’s important information to pass along to Lavinia.
The communication with my High Priestess has been strained lately. She was incredibly upset after the failed mission to capture Oana and tried to blame the whole thing on me. Needless to say, I threw my scrying mirror in the bottom of my sock drawer and have been ignoring the muffled obscenities emanating from it since.
But eventually I do need to speak with her. She is the High Priestess of my coven, and it’s tremendously disrespectful for me to avoid her like this.
“Two vodka sodas, please,” giggles a boy who looks barely old enough to drive, never mind drink vodka. He’s wearing a blindingly neon-green mesh tank top and very tight shorts.
Without needing to look, I reach for the bottle and quickly mix the two drinks. I’ve become extremely comfortable here. I suppose if Lavinia Nox kicks me out of the Hecate coven, I’ve already got a job lined up.
“Cheers,” I say as I pass over the drinks and the credit card machine.
He pays and takes a glass in each hand. Then his eyes flicker across the club toward the elevators. I follow his gaze, and see two figures glide past the security desk. I can tell they’re vampires by the deliberate, fluid way they move, and the telling pallor of their skin. They each wear black outfits and dark sunglasses. I’ve never seen them here before.
My instincts immediately kick in and I look around for Xia. But she took an earlier shift today, and I know that she’s probably gone home already.
“You ok?” says Nova, sidling up to the bar through the crowd.
“Do you know if Xia went home?” I ask. Maybe I should let it go. Better safe than sorry. I can always intervene if need be, but I can’t blow my cover unless it’s absolutely necessary. That would most certainly be the cause for another massive war, and I do not want that. Not to mention what the vampires would do to me if they realize I’m a spy.
“Yeah, she was doing something for Celine earlier,” Nova replies. “Why?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Have you met Tudor’s new progeny?” Nova asks. “The one who used to be a cleaner?”
“Hallie. She’s sweet.”
They wrinkle their nose. “I suppose. I don’t know, vampires weird me out a little bit.”
“I know what you mean. But she didn’t have any choice.”
“Well, no vampire has a choice , do they? I’m sure none of Tudor’s progeny had any say in whether they became vampires, especially the older ones.”
There’s a strange pang in my chest. I’d never thought about that. I suppose Celine was like Hallie once. Brave, full of life. Before she was pulled into this world. I wonder what her life was like before…
There’s a loud crash from the back of the club. Not the normal chaos, but a deliberate bang, followed by shouting. Nova immediately jumps to attention.
“What was that?”
I look around frantically, but I can’t see the vampires who came in. My heart almost stops.
“Hallie…she’s in Celine’s private suite!” I tell Nova. “There were two vampires here, but I can’t see them now!”
“On it,” Nova says, and they begin to push through the crowd toward the sound.
Fear churns in my stomach. Why didn’t I do something before? I should have trusted my instincts. I pick up the bar phone and dial the concierge.
“Get Celine to the club! Now!” I shout. I slam the phone back down and grab my bag. If things escalate, I want to have my wand handy.
In a matter of seconds, there’s a massive uproar in the club. Screams of terror slice through the thick air like butter.
All concerns about blowing my cover are out the window. I’ve got to do something! As lovely as Nova is, there’s no way they’re a match for two vampires. I wish Xia hadn’t gone home early. How could they not have a vampire or witch security guard on a weekend evening? I’m definitely mentioning this at the next health and safety meeting.
Do vampire clubs have health and safety meetings?
Throwing caution to the wind, I leap over the bar and onto the dance floor. Luckily nobody notices. Most of the guests are caught up in the frenzy and heading to the elevators as fast as they can.
Then I see why.
At the back of the club, lit by neon purple and red lights, is the most enormous bear I’ve ever seen. It towers at least twelve feet in the air, its wingspan equal to its height. It throws its head back in a mighty, terrifying roar, spit flying from its mouth.
Its coat is a shiny white. The very same colour as Nova’s close-cropped hair.
Their ripped security uniform lies on the dance floor in front of me.
The sudden appearance of a massive bear shifter in the underground nightclub distracts both of the vampires for long enough to give Nova’s bear a critical advantage. With a powerful swipe of their paw, they knocks the first vampire over, sending him flying into the DJ booth on the far wall.
Hallie runs out to me, her eyes full of fear.
“They…they were coming at me!” she shouts. “Celine warned me about that, but then…then that bear! ”
“They’re a shifter,” I explain to her quickly, moving in front of Hallie to shield her from the fight unfolding before us. She might be a vampire, but she’s younger than the other two, and my offensive magic may be enough to keep them away if Nova can’t.
“A what ?”
“A bear shifter - a person who can turn into an animal.”
Hallie’s eyes widen. “Cool! Like a werewolf?”
“That’s ridiculous. There’s no such thing as werewolves.”
She strains to get a better look.
“Hey, stay behind me!” I tell her firmly. Nova has managed to corner the second vampire, who might be strong, but isn’t a match for the raw power of Nova’s bear form. The first vampire is crawling out from the DJ booth, his legs crooked and broken. But he’ll heal quickly enough.
I hope he hasn’t drank any blood recently.
“O Hecate,” I whisper under my breath. “If we need you, do what’s right. Stay close by and help me fight…”
“What was that?” Hallie asks.
“Just saying a prayer!” I reply. It’s not a lie.
A smooth voice makes my heart flutter. “Your prayers are answered.”
Relief washes over me as Celine steps out between us and the vampires. The dance floor is almost completely empty except for the six of us. All of the customers, both living and vampire, have flooded the elevator and the emergency staircase. The vampire who was thrown into the DJ booth gets to his feet, one arm still twisted grotesquely. There’s a horrible squelching sound as it heals.
Celine reaches down and takes her dagger from its sheath at her ankle. She holds it in one fist, pointed toward the vampire.
“I would have thought Lazarus didn’t want to lose any more progeny,” she says to him, her long canine fangs jutting out of her mouth, lit by the red neon lights. She looks formidable, her unnatural eyes glaring across the dance floor.
“You stake his progeny, he stakes Tudor’s,” snarls the vampire.
“He’ll lose another if you don’t leave immediately,” Celine responds.
There’s a clicking sound behind us. Renata joins her sister on the dance floor, a matching dagger in her left hand .
“Get out,” she adds, her canines protruding from her lips just like Celine’s. “I hate to ruin a nice pantsuit, but I will.”
The vampire’s eyes flash red, malevolent and horrible. Hallie, so quiet behind me, takes my hand and squeezes it anxiously. Her skin is cold, and my first instinct is to pull away, but I squeeze it back.
“It’ll be ok,” I whisper, keeping my eyes on the vampire. “Celine has him on the ropes.”
Celine’s lip twitches, almost imperceptibly. My voice was quiet, could she have heard me?
“Fine,” says the vampire, his voice a low growl. Celine signals to Nova, who shifts back into their human form, so small in comparison to the massive bear they were a moment ago. Nova keeps their sharp eyes on the vampire, and doesn’t change back into their uniform, just in case they need to shift again quickly.
The two vampires walk toward the elevator, and Hallie’s grip on my hand relaxes. I allow myself to exhale, glad I didn’t have to reveal myself tonight.
I’m fantasizing about a nice, warm bath, when suddenly, there’s an impossibly quick movement beside me and the first vampire knocks me aside. I fall painfully onto the hard, sticky club floor. He grabs Hallie by the front of her shirt, holding up her up in the air. She struggles, but she’s still young and nowhere near as strong as he is.
“No!” I screech, as my hands glow with gold.
But I don’t need to worry. Just as quickly, there’s another blur of supernatural movement. Celine pushes between the vampire and Hallie and drives her dagger deep into his chest. Blood comes pouring out, all over Celine and her younger sister.
There’s a shout from the second vampire, but Renata already has him pinned up against the wall, the point of her gold dagger piercing his shirt.
“What do you think?” she sighs to Celine.
“Do it,” her sister hisses.
“I really liked this suit,” Renata growls, as she de-animates the second vampire, gallons of blood pouring over her. She tosses the limp corpse aside.
The dance floor is absolutely soaked. It’s a lot, even for my stomach to handle. Celine steps over to me, and offers her unbloodied hand. She’s a formidable sight, covered head to toe in blood, her dagger still in the other fist. My heart thumps as I take her hand. It’s cold, but not unpleasant. She pulls me up easily and looks me over.
“Are you all right?” she asks.
“I’m fine,” I reply, surprised at the weakness in my knees.
“Who were they?” Hallie asks nervously.
“A rival vampire gang,” Renata answers curtly, as she pulls a rose-embroidered handkerchief from her pocket to clean her dagger.
Celine kicks over one of the bodies with the toe of her leather boot, to look at the face. “Shit. We should have left one, to send a message to Cedric.”
Renata rolls her eyes. “You’re always getting carried away. When are you going to let it go, Celine?”
Celine glares at her.
“Yuck,” says a prim voice from by the elevators. Lexi walks over, on her ridiculously high heels, her mini skirt riding up as she walks. “Was it Cedric’s vampires again? You guys have got to chill out sometimes, you know? It’s way 17th century to go around staking everyone else…”
“We wouldn’t have had to, if you had kept an eye on Hallie like I told you to,” Celine lectures.
Lexi wrinkles her nose. “Oh please, you would have staked them anyway. Tudor’s going to be so mad at you.”
Renata wipes the blood from a device on her wrist and speaks into it. “Lily, send a cleaning crew to the club immediately. And we need to do some damage control.”
Celine addresses her sister. “Lexi, take Hallie back to her crypt for the night. And don’t let her out of your sight again.”
The younger vampire flips her hair haughtily, but takes Hallie to the elevators without another word.
“Nova, conduct a complete search of the club and the casino,” Celine continues. “Make sure there aren’t any other vampires lurking around.”
“You got it, boss,” Nova says, picking up the torn pieces of their uniform. “I’m sure I have a back up somewhere…”
Celine steps toward me. “Why don’t you take the rest of the night off? ”
I don’t know if it’s the adrenaline flowing through my veins, or the way that Celine’s eyes gleam like two bright gems. But I feel a flutter in my chest.
“Ok,” I reply softly. I lower my voice so only she can hear. “I should say…thank you, again. You saved both Hallie and I.”
She pauses, regarding me slowly. The flutter intensifies into a full stomach flip. I inhale, trying to steady myself. I’m not sure why I’m having this reaction. I’m used to being around death and destruction. I’ve seen it countless times.
Perhaps it’s because I’m out of my element here, surrounded by vampires, away from my coven. Unable to use my magic for fear of being caught.
And there’s something about this vampire queen that throws me off my guard. The way she she took my hand…how she looked at me, like she wanted to make sure I was ok…I feel disarmed in a totally different way.
“It’s nothing,” she replies. “I appreciate how you watched over my sister. It was brave of you.”
I can’t stop a small grin from forming on my lips. If only she knew. “It was nothing, really. Happy to help.”
She takes a step toward me, and my stomach flutters again.
“You should go home, get some rest,” she says.
I nod, but to my surprise I realize…that the last thing I want to do is leave.