25. Valtu #2
I start for the door and Rose calls out, “Val, you may want to uh,” she trails off, gesturing to the fact that my half-hard dick is swinging about.
I grumble again and grab the towel from earlier, wrapping it around my waist. Could be a housekeeper and I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.
But when I glance through the peephole, I see Wolf’s big fat head on the other side and I know that things are about to get nuts.
I sigh heavily and Wolf says, “I can hear you Valtu,” from the other side. He sniffs. “Smell you, too.”
Here goes nothing.
I open the door and see Wolf, tall with all that Scandinavian burliness. From behind him Amethyst pokes out her head.
“Where is she?” Amethyst says, her violet eyes sharp and demanding. Then she eyes my bare chest and my towel and her eyes grow even sharper.
“Well hello to you, too,” I say, as she pushes me to the side and barrels past me into the room, her black hair trailing behind her.
I look back to Wolf, grinning.
I only see his fist.
He punches me right in the face. Pain explodes as my bones crunch beneath his hand.
“Fuck!” I yelp, stumbling back against the wall, holding my nose. “What was that for?”
“For everything.”
“Everything?” I repeat, trying to move my nose. “Oh. Right.”
“Yeah. Everything ,” he says. Not just the fact that I’m with Rose, but the fact that I never helped them when I first got the book.
I rub at the bridge of my nose, feeling the bones go back into place. “I guess I deserved that.”
He glares at me but there’s just a tinge of sympathy in his eyes. It makes things a hell of a lot worse.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom of the suite, Amethyst and Rose are sobbing away during their reunion.
“Coffee?” I ask Wolf walking toward the machine.
“ Please ,” he says emphatically. “I am jetlagged as fuck.”
“Where’s the rest of them?”
“Solon and Lenore are exploring the area. Wanted to give us some time alone with Rose.”
“And I’m right here,” Van Helsing says loudly from the other side of the door.
I go back over to it and open it, still wiggling my nose back and forth.
Van Helsing glances at my towel, a brow raised. “All of us catching you at a bad time?”
I roll my eyes and usher him inside. “Get in here.”
Wolf is now with Amethyst and Rose in the bedroom, their reunion continuing. I’m not about to intrude, lest I get punched in the face again.
“Help yourself to some coffee,” I tell the doctor, gesturing to the machine which is currently brewing Wolf’s cup.
“Don’t touch my coffee!” Wolf roars from the bedroom.
I shrug. “Careful, he’ll fight you for it,” I comment and then drop my towel.
Van Helsing winces and turns his attention to the espresso machine. “I don’t care how long we’ve known each other, Val, I never need to see that.”
“Phhff,” I snort. “You’re a doctor, you should be used to the human anatomy. Also…” I lower my voice as I slip on my boxer briefs. “Got any pills?”
The doctor turns around and looks at me in mock surprise. “I can’t believe it. You, Dracula, Prince of Darkness, King of the Undead, who would rather starve than take pills, is now asking me for that very thing.”
I give him a tired look. “Yeah, well, I’d watch your mouth if I were you. After all, you did bring Rose to me under false pretences, you lying motherfucker. I should be punching you in the face.”
Van Helsing looks chagrined. “I do apologize for that. But in the state you were in, I thought it was worth a shot if Rose could make you remember. At the very least, I thought if you would have some sort of affection for her, it could soften you.”
“I’m afraid it worked, for better or for worse.”
“Well, I do have to say, it’s for the better. It’s good to have you back,” he says solemnly. “I mean, have you really back. You were a changed man, Val. It wasn’t a good change.” He pauses. “I’d hug you, but I’ll wait until you put on pants.”
I take the hint and grab my pants, slipping them on. I’m buttoning up my shirt when the Doctor comes over, holding out a black pouch, the same one he had given Rose. “Here,” he says, opening the pouch and takes out a red pill. “This will help.”
“You gave the same ones to Rose,” I say, taking one from him.
“Did she like them?”
“I don’t know. I flushed them down the toilet,” I admit.
Oooh, he doesn’t like that. His eyes narrow. “You’re a fucking dick, you know that?”
“I’m very aware. Come on.” I pop the pill in my mouth and then pull my oldest friend into a big bear hug, squeezing him tight.
“At least you’re wearing pants,” he mutters against me.
I laugh and release him, slapping him hard on the back just as Rose, Wolf, and Amethyst come out of the bedroom. The girls’ eyes are red and puffy and even Wolf’s look a little bloodshot.
Rose’s face lights up when she sees me and she goes straight over and into my arms, occupying the spot that Van Helsing was in, who quickly steps aside.
“Hey, darling,” I say to her, wrapping my arms around her and kissing the top of her head, unable to ignore the fact that Wolf and Amethyst are staring at us with blatant disappointment.
I don’t blame them. On paper, I am the worst vampire in this world for Rose to end up with. But it is what it is.
And it’s beautiful.
“Oh, hey Abe,” Rose says, pulling back to greet the Doctor.
“Ms. Harper,” he says with a tip of an imaginary hat. “Oh,” he says and then takes another blood pill from the pouch. “Apparently your boyfriend approves of these now.”
I roll my eyes at the term boyfriend while she takes the pill from him and puts it in her mouth, swallowing.
I don’t want to admit this to Van Helsing, but I can already feel his blood pill working through my system.
It doesn’t have that taste, that physically addicting feeling you get from drinking straight from a human, but it is making my cells replenish, giving my mind and body a boost. I’d compare it to vitamins—you’re better off eating a healthy diet but supplements will help you when you can’t.
I’d say it’s already taking the edge off my hunger, but I think I’m still hungry for Rose.
Her blood last night was exquisite. It tasted like Dahlia’s blood but different now.
It’s both fresher because of her age and headier because she’s now a vampire.
If I could only feed off Rose for the rest of my life, I would be a very happy man.
“So what’s the plan?” Wolf’s voice booms across the room, taking a wide stance and crossing his arms. If he thinks he’s trying to intimidate me, he’s got another thing coming.
“I don’t know,” I tell him. “Shouldn’t we wait for Lenore and Solon to figure this out?”
“Doesn’t hurt to get it started,” Van Helsing says and ticks off his fingers. “Let’s see, we have two vampires that are witches, two vampires that know some party tricks, and then—”
“Then the rest of us normal fucking people,” Amethyst pipes up dryly, arching a black brow.
“And you both remember where Bellamy was located?” Van Helsing asks us.
Rose nods, absently rubbing at the scar on her chest. “Yes. But that’s all we know now. Without the book, we can’t tap into their location. I doubt they’d still be there now that we know.”
“Except we don’t know what they know,” I point out. “You’re a vampire now. That might prevent Bellamy from knowing that it’s you, that you’re his Dahlia. They definitely know who I am though.”
“Like you’re really so distinctive,” Wolf mutters under his breath.
“And they think you have the book,” Van Helsing points out. “We could use that to our advantage somehow.”
“I still don’t think they’d be there,” Rose says. “And if they are, they’ll be waiting for us. And anyway, I don’t think you can really count me as a vampire witch. I don’t know any spells or how to use magic other than killing things with lightning bolts.”
“You can do what now?” Amethyst asks, her eyes going round.
Rose gives her a hangdog look. “Remember when the lightning hit the deck when we were fighting? That was me.”
Wolf sighs loudly. “I’ve spent days trying to replace the boards,” he says with a groan but there’s just a touch of pride in his eyes.
“That’s not nothing,” Van Helsing says. “I’m counting you as a witch.”
“Speaking of witches,” Lenore’s voice rings out through the suite. Okay, this hotel room is officially at capacity.
Our heads all swivel toward Lenore and Solon who’ve just come inside, the sound of the door closing behind them.
“How did you get in here?” I frown.
“Magic,” she says with a smug smile, wiggling her fingers in a manner that’s both saying hello and showing off her abilities.
Even though I haven’t seen Solon for a long time, and Lenore for even longer than that, it feels like no time at all. There’s something to be said about being immortal and everyone always looks the same.
Solon and I nod at each other.
Valtu. It’s been awhile , Solon projects his thoughts.
A little too long , I tell him. That’s on me.
He nods . I can see that you’re back .
I grab Rose’s hand and give it a squeeze. I am.
Better late than never, he says. Bit of a trip dealing with Wolf, no?
I can’t help but laugh at that. You can say that again.
“Okay boys, enough with your private little convo,” Lenore says to us with an air of impatience. She looks at everyone else. “We were just in the Spice Bazaar down the street and holy fuck, did I ever feel a presence.”
“What do you mean?” Rose asks.
“We both felt it,” Lenore says, gesturing to Solon and he nods. “Witches. At least two. And I swear I picked up on a vampire as well. It was all a little muddled, there are so many rich scents in there, but there was the vague smell of a bloodsucker.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t Solon? He did get off a long flight,” I point out.
Solon glares at me.
Lenore rolls her eyes and ignores me. “Maybe it’s nothing. I’m sure a city as rich in history as Istanbul is just teeming with vampires and witches and who knows what else. We’re always a little egotistical aren’t we, thinking we’re the only ones that matter.”
“Well, I am the only Dracula,” I say, half-joking, and that brings out a communal groan and eyeroll from everyone.
“Wait a minute, this spice bazaar,” Rose says to her, “it’s like a market?”
Lenore nods. “Yeah. You know, mounds of saffron and cumin and whatnot.”
“See, when I was able to track them before, I saw them in this market,” Rose says, getting excited. “Maybe that’s where they are. We should start there.”
“Except you could be describing all the markets in Istanbul,” I tell her.
“It’s still worth a shot, don’t you think?”
“No matter what,” Solon speaks up, “I don’t think it would be wise if we all went to the spice bazaar together. The five of us leaving the airport together was a bit much for the humans. You know how they can get. Seven of us together would cause problems.”
Right. As a rule, vampires tend to travel in small groups.
Generally, the more vampires together in a cluster, the more it starts to affect the world around them.
Most humans don’t believe in vampires, but put them in a room filled with them and things start to get really weird.
You attract a lot of attention, and not the good kind.
The kind that will get you in trouble and fuck up all your plans.
The last thing we need is to get hauled off by the police.
“So then we split up,” Wolf says. “Half of us will go check out the place you saw them at before. Just to put eyes on the building, scope it out. The other half will go to the market and see if it correlates with what Rose saw.” He pauses. “Of course, now the question is, who is going with who?”