Chapter 19
NINETEEN
I kept a low profile for a few days, staying indoors and drinking blood from Vail’s fridge.
I helped her search her books for new tracking spells and to see if we could find anything about making an antidote for the drug.
Flipping through the books, I felt a familiar restlessness creep in, whispering temptations of old habits.
I struggled to resist the urge to flee. I made sure to keep myself well fed.
This town had been suffocating me, dredging up memories of my past and trapping me in a web of nostalgia. Yet, when I had woken up that morning, I surprisingly felt better than I had in most days.
I wandered into the kitchen and found Vail at the table, a glass of blood in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
“You still get the newspaper?” I asked her, taking a seat and pouring myself a glass of blood from the teapot on the table.
She tossed it to me, and I glanced at the headline.
“Two Campers Found Dead in Brutal Attack,” it read, describing a possible wolf or cougar mauling.
I glanced back at Vail, her brows furrowed, and her arms crossed.
“That was fast,” I remarked, tossing the newspaper back on the table.
My actions from that night clawed at my conscience, and my good mood vanished in an instant.
Each sip of blood was a bitter reminder of the violence I had unleashed and the many more lives I ended that night.
I avoided Vail’s gaze, unable to meet her eyes as I tried to shake off the weight that had settled in my chest.
“This is from you the other night, isn’t it?” she questioned.
“Maybe,” I admitted, my voice heavy with regret.
“That night is kind of a blur now.” It was a lie.
I remembered every second of it. I remembered my anger, my predatory need to feed, thinking that if I just let out my frustration, I’d feel better.
But I didn’t. I had spent the last couple of days hiding from my emotions in the house, but now they had come back to confront me.
Vail’s tone softened, her concern evident. “Rosie, you can’t keep going from town to town doing this to yourself. You’ll get caught eventually, and I need you this time. You’ll ruin this for a lot of Vampires if you’re selfish.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, and I meant it.
Vail’s eyebrows shot up, and her eyes widened. She set the glass down on the table with a little too much force, the clink echoing in the room. Her arms, previously crossed defensively, now hung at her sides as she studied me with a mix of disbelief and relief.
“What? You weren’t expecting me to apologize?” I asked her.
“No, actually, I wasn’t.”
“Well, Vail, I’ve changed in the last fifteen years since you’ve seen me,” I said, taking a sip from her glass of blood.
It tasted bitter, like metal, and I forced it down my throat.
I hated this blood, but I needed to curb my appetite if I was going to leave the house today.
I couldn’t let myself slip up again. But I could feel my skin crawling with an itch I couldn’t scratch.
“Seventeen,” she said.
“What?”
“It’s been seventeen years since you’ve seen me, actually.”
“Time flies,” I murmured, feeling a pang of guilt. A hundred years together, and then nothing. Seventeen years of silence. Funny how easily love can fade when you finally let it.
Vail’s gaze drifted into the distance for a moment before refocusing on me. “Anyway, forget about that. Can you help me with something today?” Vail asked me.
“What do you need?”
“There is a book I need. This bookstore in town might have it. Can you go check for me?”
“Why can’t you get it?” I questioned, propping my feet up on the table. Vail promptly pushed my feet off, a clear display of her frustration. Maybe it would be good to get out of the house for a bit.
“Because you need to get out of the house and I can’t go into the store since it’s only open during daylight hours,” she retorted firmly.
My hand found my necklace, and I played with it, looking out the kitchen window at the snow beginning to fall. “I’ll go in the morning.” I told her, “What’s the book?”
“It’s a new book on medicinal plants, specifically those in Lakeview. I’ve been researching how this Vampire drug is made, trying to identify the ingredients so I might create a remedy.”
“It’s kind of crazy that someone’s spending the time to make this stuff,” I commented, shaking my head at the thought.
“Yeah, and George thought he was getting close to the dealer, but now we’re back to square one,” Vail said. She knew it meant resorting to drinking people’s blood to extract their memories for our investigation. A method that could end badly for us.
“We’ll figure something out,” I reassured her, though uncertainty lingered in my own mind.
When dawn broke, I ventured out into the snowy morning. I zipped up my large, puffy coat, and the crisp air cut at my cheeks. I squinted up at the sky, where the sun was again obscured by heavy, snow-filled clouds.
I decided to stretch my legs, opting to walk to the bookstore instead of driving.
That’s what I liked about these small towns: everyone walked around, regardless of the weather.
People were out, walking their dogs, students walking with coffee cups to class.
I listened to the sound of my shoes with each step, the melting snow crunching underneath—anything to take my mind off how vulnerable I was feeling for crying in Vail’s arms the other night.
I was embarrassed that a human had made me feel that way.
I spotted the book shop on the corner of a street, the quaint red building with a small café attached to the side. In front of the store, people stood holding coffees, chatting away, undeterred by the gently falling snow.
I started to walk across the street but then stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Connor and Amber in front of the shop together.
My heart raced, and I felt suffocated by my winter coat.
I needed to take it off, I felt too confined.
I rounded the corner, avoiding their gaze, not wanting Connor to see me.
“Shit, shit,” I muttered to myself as I walked away. Would I be avoiding him the whole time I stayed in town?
The truth was, I couldn’t pinpoint why I felt such a surge of jealousy at the sight of Connor and Amber together.
Maybe it was because, despite my immortality, I yearned for connections, and seeing them together triggered an ache in me.
It reminded me of Vail’s comment that Vampire-human relationships were doomed.
Draven’s image surfaced in my mind, the ghost of our connection once again finding its way to the forefront of my thoughts.
Glancing back around the corner, I saw Amber making her way down the street and Connor slipping into the bookshop. An impulse guided my steps as I trailed behind Amber through the snowy street.
What am I doing? I thought as I followed her at a short distance. Her fiery red hair swayed behind her, falling in perfect curls that seemed to mock me, and she entered a chain café. The bell above the door chimed as I entered. The warmth of the place was a stark contrast to the frosty exterior.
Amber was met with a burst of excitement from the barista. “Amber!” She exclaimed, rushing over and engulfing her in a tight hug. “You’re back!”
“I’m back!” Amber replied, her voice filled with genuine enthusiasm.
I stood there, a silent observer in this scene that was playing out like a movie in front of me. Another customer beside me, unamused by the spectacle, shot me a glance as if to say, “What’s the big deal?”
The barista continued her animated reunion. “How long are you back for?”
“It depends on a couple of things,” Amber responded with a cryptic smile.
The cashier giggled knowingly. “Oh, I know what that means,” and she did a little dance, giggling and jumping from foot to foot.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Can I get some coffee?” I interjected.
The barista, momentarily torn from her Amber-induced euphoria, took my order. Amber turned around and looked at me. A flicker of irritation burned in her green eyes, a captivating contrast to the fiery red of her hair. No wonder Connor liked her. Who wouldn’t find her attractive?
Amber ordered a tea and made plans with her friend for the upcoming weekend. I stood there, watching this mundane exchange happen in front of me.
Note to self: Don’t kill Amber. She has friends in town who would actually miss her, which definitely means a police report.
I took my coffee and tossed it into a nearby garbage can on my way out.
I froze. My senses heightened as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed a blur of motion that drew my gaze down the alley.
A man in a hoodie moved quickly, meeting two college students in the shadows.
As he reached them, he produced a baggie from his pocket, accepting cash from the students before they quickly dispersed.
An instinctive urge to follow him stirred within me.
Without a second thought, I set off in pursuit.
“I’m back!” I called out to Vail as I opened the front door. Amber’s voice echoed in my mind, an image of her in the coffee shop surfacing as I said it. Vail came out of her bedroom in her pyjamas, rubbing her eyes.
Did you get my book?” She asked.
“No, I have something better,” I replied, dragging the hooded man into the house. His hands were tied behind his back with his shoelaces, and I had gagged him with his own sock.
“Um, who the fuck is this?” Vail asked, her expression a mix of confusion and concern.
“He was dealing drugs, so I caught him and brought him back here,” I said proudly, pushing him down onto a kitchen chair.
Vail came around toward us, grumbling, “Am I ever going to get a day of peace?”
She placed her hands on the man’s temples and muttered under her breath. “There. I’ve put a spell on him, so he won’t be able to leave this chair for an hour, at least.”
The man started wiggling in the chair, knocking himself to the ground. His scream was muffled by the sock in his mouth.
“This will be much easier if you cooperate,” I told him, lifting the chair back up.
Vail turned to me. “Why did you bring him here?”
I couldn’t contain my excitement as I explained, “For questioning! Like what they do in the movies. Good cop, bad cop.”
Vail’s response was more skeptical, “Well, let’s hope he talks. He looks terrified. I don’t think he’ll say anything.”
Sweat dripped down the man’s forehead, his face contorted with fear as drool escaped from the makeshift gag.
“I’m going to take the sock out,” I warned, leaning closer. “But you need to understand, if you scream, it’s going back in.” I locked eyes with him, gauging his fear before pulling it out.
“HELP ME! HELP ME!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. I reacted without thinking, delivering a swift blow to the side of his head with a pot that was sitting on the table. He slumped over the chair, unconscious.
“Why did you do that?” Vail asked, her gaze fixed on his limp form.
“He was screaming! The last thing we need is neighbours calling the cops on us.”
“How do we question him now?” Vail looked at me expectantly.
“We drink his blood and let his memories do the talking,” I declared, feeling a sense of empowerment. Wow, maybe I should consider becoming a private detective, I thought.
“Rosie … we can’t do that. You saw him dealing. What if he has the Vampire drug in his system?” Vail said, backing away from him and sitting down on a chair.
“I’ll only drink a little bit. It’s a risk I’m willing to take. And besides, you’re here if anything happens to me. I’ll be fine.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince more, her or myself.
“Be my guest,” she said, motioning to him.
I bent down and leaned into his throat. My fangs were already elongated, and my stomach let out a low rumble. I sank my teeth into the flesh of his neck, and warmth filled my mouth. I closed my eyes and almost let out a moan.
Adjusting his hair in the mirror of a gas station bathroom. Mowing the lawn. I struggled to concentrate, searching for the right fragments of his memories. Students in the alley. His footsteps on the frosty sidewalk. Ryley.
I saw images of him gathering supplies from Ryley, the same person George had left the bar with the night he died. We had finally uncovered the trail George was on.
I stopped drinking his blood.
“Ryley,” I told Vail. “George’s investigation led us straight back to Ryley. He gave this guy the drugs.”
“We have to find Ryley,” Vail said.
The hoodie man woke up and groggily stared at us. I quickly wiped away his blood from my chin with the back of my hand, but it was too late; he had already seen it.
“Are you guys fucking Vampires?” He started screaming, “Help me, these fucking Vampire bitches—” I snapped his neck before he could finish his sentence,
“What the fuck, Rosie!” Vail exclaimed after I had killed him.
“What else what I supposed to do? He knew we were Vampires,” I shot back, licking my lips.
“Sure, but I could have wiped his memories.”
“I just topped off your blood supply, so you’re welcome,” I smirked.
“Why are you so angry?” Vail asked, studying my expression.
“I’m not angry.”
“Okay, maybe you’re just a little stressed. And now we have to deal with another body,” she said, opening a cupboard and getting out glass jars.
“We’ll figure it out,” I assured her.
“Did you at least find the book at the bookstore?”
“I didn’t go in.” I hesitated, then continued. “Connor was there with Amber, and I freaked out. But I will go back tomorrow, I promise.”
Vail didn’t miss a beat. “Rosie, he’s just some guy you met. I can’t believe he’s having this effect on you. You’re acting a little nuts.”
“I’m not crazy.”
“Excuse me? You just killed a guy in my kitchen,” she said matter-of-factly. “Just admit you like Connor already.”
I sighed with frustration. “I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with me. I used to be better at controlling myself, or at least not letting my jealousy get in the way. I can flirt like it’s nothing, so why was I so scared to confront a human?”
Vail was busy filling jars with blood, so she didn’t respond right away. When she did, her gaze flicked to me. “I don’t know. But please, go back tomorrow and get that book. It’s important to me.”