9. Rose #3
The drive from Austria and over the German border to Mittenwald is fairly quick, even with early snow piled on the sides of the highway.
We go along switchbacks and up through picturesque villages, passing under the shadows of the craggy mountains, mist hugging their flanks.
Though the snow is bright even under the clouds, there is something ominous about it all.
It’s not just that I’m about to see Valtu for the first time in two decades, for the first time as Rose, and for the first time as a vampire.
It’s not even that there’s an element of real fear now where there wasn’t before.
It’s that I can feel something else here in the Bavarian Alps, something shadowy, dark and sinister.
Like something is watching and waiting for me.
My intuition seems to ratchet up a notch, my pulse thrumming in my neck.
It’s connected to Valtu and yet it’s not him at all.
It’s like all of this is about to be a very grave mistake, one I’ll come to regret for the rest of my life.
I am doing the right thing, right?
But I don’t dare voice my doubt to the doctor lest he turn the car around and drive me back to Austria.
Soon we’re parking in a lot behind a row of buildings that look like colorful gingerbread houses and Abe shuts off the car. He shoots me a grave look, twisting in his seat to face me.
“Listen,” he says softly. “I’m not going to bother warning you again. I can see you’re stubborn and that’s something that will never change, apparently. But I can tell you what to expect. I can give you advice. Naturally I’m not going to stick around here—”
“You’re not?!” I jolt.
“I’ll stay here tonight with you and Valtu, but then I have to head back to Oxford.”
“For what? Work? Can’t you postpone it?”
He gives me an apologetic look. “I do have important work back at the lab, yes. But more than that, it would be out of character for me to lurk around Mittenwald. If you want Valtu to believe you’re a…
well, who you say you are, it’s normal for me to leave.
I don’t always partake in Valtu’s parties, if you know what I mean. They can be rather distasteful.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Kink-shamer,” I mutter under my breath.
“And so,” he goes on, “I must go.”
“And if something happens to me?”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to handle yourself now,” he says. “You’re a vampire this time around. We’re practically indestructible. In fact, part of my current research is trying to figure out if I can harness that gene. Make it work to our advantage.”
“Like what? Someone chops off our head and we grow a new one?”
“Something like that,” he says. “Vampires have a lot of enemies, including other vampires. If some of us were more immortal than others, truly invincible…”
I make a face. “None of this is making me feel better.”
“I’m not trying to make you feel better. I’m trying to get you to reconsider.” His gaze darts to outside the car, at the bundled-up tourists going past. “You still have a chance to change your mind. There’s still time.”
“I’m not changing my mind,” I tell him evenly, but god, does my gut twist into knots.
He sighs, running a hand down his face. Then he reaches into the inner pocket of his coat and pulls out a business card, pure black with no writing on it.
“Look at this,” he says, flipping the card so that it’s right in front of my face, but there’s still nothing to see. I’m about to protest when he adds, “Hold out your hand, palm down.”
I do as he asks and he notices my hand shaking slightly, giving me a quick concerned glance before he drops the black card onto the back of my hand.
I barely feel it land and then it starts to dissolve in front of my eyes, like it’s sinking into my pores.
I gasp as there’s a tingling sensation and then the card is gone, as if it never existed.
“What the hell was that?” I exclaim breathlessly, staring at my hand in awe.
He grins, a twinkle in his blue eyes. “Magic.”
“Valtu taught you that?”
He rolls his eyes. “Would it surprise you if it were plain old-fashioned technology? Anyway, at a certain angle, and to your eyes only, you’ll be able to see the information you need.”
I turn my hand one way and then the other, toward the light outside, and I can see a phone number written down, an iridescent collection of numbers that’s barely visible.
“That’s my number,” he says. “Burner phone. Call it if you have a problem, but only in a life-or-death situation. I’ll see what I can do to help.”
“How long do the…how long do women…or whoever he’s enjoying,” I add, remembering how fluid Valtu’s sexual attraction is, “how long do they stay with him for?”
“You might have a day, you might have weeks. It depends if he likes you.” He shoots me a stiff smile.
“And how much he likes you.” Then his eyes widen.
“Oh I just remembered.” He reaches into his other pocket and pulls out a small black bag made of rubbery material.
“Valtu doesn’t always feed his guests though he’ll feed from them.
You’ll need blood if he’s not being generous.
You have a few weeks’ worth of blood pills in there.
Totally new version I just created, hasn’t even hit the black market yet.
Keeps you full and energized for longer and the bag acts like a portable refrigerator.
The cold is key to making the pills work better. ”
I take the bag in wonder, having briefly forgotten that Dr. Van Helsing is the one who invented blood pills to begin with. “Thank you,” I tell him profusely as I slip it in my purse. “You know you’re practically a hero for inventing these.”
He gives me a dry look. “Depends on who you ask. Most vampires miss feeding on humans. It’s the humans that should call me a hero for sparing the lot of them, but sadly most don’t even know of our existence so…” he punctuates that with a shrug.
“So Valtu might not feed me?” Thank god I fed from Michael last night.
“He’ll give you food. But I’m not sure about blood. You see, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him have a vampire over for this sort of thing.”
My brows raise. “Is the fact I’m a vampire going to be a problem?”
“Let’s hope not.” Then he opens the door and gets out of the car and it takes all my strength to take in a long, shuddering breath, then open the door and step into my cold and unknown future.