Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
The bass thumped through the club as we stepped inside; the rhythm pulsed through me like a heartbeat.
Vail had mentioned that this place was a favourite among the local Vampires, and I could see why.
What surprised me most was how well it hid in plain sight; a Vampire sanctuary tucked among humans who still dismissed the old legends.
In my youth, Blood Hunters had been a constant presence in our lives, but now we had become nothing more than fables.
Caught in the pulsating rhythm, Vail and I moved through the sea of bodies with a fluid grace, making our way to the bar situated at the heart of the dance floor.
“Do you want anything to drink?” I asked Vail. She seemed tense, her eyes scanning our surroundings.
“We’re here for information. Not for fun, Rosie,” she replied.
“Please,” I urged, batting my eyelashes. “I haven’t been to a Vampire bar in so long. I’ll drive home later, and you can just relax.”
With a reluctant nod, Vail agreed, and I ordered us two drinks.
The bartender handed us two blood bags, and I paid before handing one to Vail. “Bottoms up,” I said, raising the bag to her before taking a long sip of my own, draining it in one go.
Fresh, vivid memories flashed through my mind: fleeting glimpses of bodies dancing, swaying to music. Swimming in a summer ocean. Cliff jumping.
The club pulsed with life, the thumping bass and flashing lights creating an electric atmosphere.
Strobing lights bathed the dance floor in hues of pink and purple as I pulled Vail into the midst of the crowd.
She followed closely, her hands on my hips, and I couldn’t help but grin at her infectious giggle.
We danced, our bodies moving in perfect rhythm, swaying and twisting in sync with the music. We had done this a hundred times before, our movement fluid and effortless as we danced together.
I eyed Vail. Her eyes were closed, and she moved with the same effortless grace that defined her.
A smile spread across her face as she opened her eyes, sparkling with excitement when she met my gaze.
In an instant, she pulled me into a twirl, and laughter bubbled between us as we surrendered to the music, spinning and weaving through the sea of dancers.
Being surrounded by Vampires made me feel raw and open. I felt free. I felt happy.
Vail and I created our own world on the dance floor. A world where worries were forgotten, and the only reality was the electric pulse of the music. Our bodies moved together seamlessly with an unspoken understanding.
As the DJ played the final buildup, Vail and I locked eyes. The anticipation hung in the air, and then the beat dropped. We unleashed a final burst of energy, dancing in each other’s arms. The years apart from Vail faded away as we slipped back into the familiar rhythm of our old routine.
Vail took my hand, breathless and exhilarated, and leaned into me, “Let’s go find Sable,” she whispered.
I whined as she dragged me away from the dance floor and toward the booths lining the room.
Taking a moment to catch my breath, I watched as Vail approached a Vampire leaning against the wall, asking him if he knew Sable. He motioned toward the private rooms at the back of the club, and with a determined nod, Vail led the way.
We pulled back the curtain at the entrance of the first room, revealing a young male Vampire in a red tracksuit and a backward trucker hat.
A group of similarly youthful female Vampires lounged around him, their laughter mingling with the music.
He was eating a cheeseburger and fries; the smell of deep-fried food was unsettling in the club.
“That’s definitely the half-vamp,” I whispered to Vail as we entered the room.
“Are you Sable?” Vail asked as he looked up at us.
“Yes, I am, pretty lady. How can I be of service to you?” He spread his arms wide and spoke between bites of food. We took a seat on the tufted benches.
Up close, Sable had pimples dotting his face, and his hair looked excessively greasy under his hat. I estimated he couldn’t be older than eighteen before he turned.
Vail placed a bag of the Vampire-killing drug on the table in front of Sable and cut straight to the point. “Have you seen this before?”
Sable took it, inspecting it in the light before flicking the baggie. How much of this substance did Vail have? It seemed like she and George had acquired quite a large stash through their months of investigating.
“Yeah, I’ve seen this stuff before. My bros told me about it last week. Nasty stuff, they said.” Sable tossed the baggie onto the table and took a sip of his drink through a straw. The smell was unmistakable. It wasn’t blood, but the sweet scent of soda.
“And do you know who’s distributing it?” Vail questioned.
“Yeah, my girl Kira told me,” he said, sitting back in the booth and running his hands over his hat. “Aww, shit man, I can’t remember.”
“Yo, Chloe! Can you grab Kira for me?” he asked the Vampire to his right, who got up and exited the room.
“Why does your business card say half-vamp?” I asked.
“Wow, not very polite, are you?” he replied, raising an eyebrow. “No, ‘Hi, how are you? Nice to meet you?’ Just straight to the questions. That’s rude.”
I stared at him.
“Because I’m a half-Vampire, okay?” he added, as if it should have been obvious.
“And what does that even mean?” I crossed my arms, skeptical.
“My dad was a Vampire, and my mom was human,” he clarified.
“That’s not possible,” Vail chimed in.
“Well, baby, you’re looking at possible,” he said, motioning to himself.
“How?”
“My father was a newborn Vampire, and I guess he had sex with my mom … Dude, I don’t know how this shit works, all I know is that I am part Vampire and part human.”
“Are you immortal?” I asked him.
He looked at me for a moment, as if weighing whether to answer my questions. “I don’t think so,” he finally said. “I can eat normal food, and I still get zits and shit, so I would say that I am still aging.”
“Blood?” I asked him.
“Yeah, I still need blood to survive, and honestly, I fucking love it. I don’t want to live forever in this fucked-up world anyway. And also, I can’t imagine not drinking milkshakes.”
A young female Vampire entered the room, looking hardly sixteen, with a loose scarf around her neck barely hiding the fresh bite marks underneath. I stared at her. She must have been a newborn if those bite marks were still healing.
“Kira, baby, who did you get those drugs from last month?” Sable asked her. I figured she must have gotten them while she was still human. If she had been a Vampire, she probably would have been dead.
“I think his name was Sean or Seth or something. Wait … maybe it was Sam,” she answered.
My skin felt tight, and my hands got clammy. Vail locked eyes with me, her face pale.
“Sam? Are you sure it was Sam?” I asked Kira, trying to keep my voice sounding neutral.
“Yeah, definitely Sam,” Kira confirmed, plopping down on Sable’s lap.
“Sam’s just a Slayer in our town. We’ve seen his weapons. They are nothing special, just like normal, mundane shit,” Vail added.
“Well, be careful because apparently he’s out there dealing this stuff,” Sable said, and Vail looked at me, raising her eyebrows.
“Are you sure it was him?” Vail pressed, her tone edging with skepticism.
Kira shrugged. “Yeah, he followed me into the bathroom and sold me a bag.”
Vail leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. “Did he say anything else? Anything about where he got it from or who he’s working with?”
Kira shook her head. “Nah, just handed it over and told me to be careful with it.”
Sable leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Look, I don’t know what you’re mixed up in, but I don’t want to be a part of it. Or this retch.” He said, throwing the drug bag back on the table.
A chill ran down my spine at his words. If Sam was connected to something bigger, it meant our investigation had just taken a dangerous turn.
“Thanks for the info,” Vail told Sable, and she got up to leave.
We made our way back to the car in silence, the weight of the revelation settling heavily between us.
“Sam doesn’t strike me as the type of Slayer who would kill from afar,” Vail said, her hand pressed to her temple, deep in thought. The shock of discovering Sam’s involvement lingered in the air like an unwelcome guest.
“Connor told me that Sam hates Vampires because he blames them for killing his parents, leaving him an orphan. He made it sound as if Sam liked getting his hands dirty when it came to Vampire slaying.”
Vail’s expression turned serious. “You know what I said about telling Connor that you’re a Vampire? Forget it. It’s too risky. Never tell him.”
“I still have to see Connor and pretend like everything’s normal,” I sighed, the weight of the situation pressing down on me.
“True, and we have to figure out how to get into Sam’s house and investigate. Maybe you can get Connor to somehow invite us over to Sam’s?” she proposed.
I scoffed at the absurdity of the idea. “How would I do that? ‘Hey Connor, I know I left town for a couple of days, but maybe I can make it up to you by sucking your dick in Sam’s basement?”
I was joking, but Vail’s expression made it clear she wasn’t amused.
“I’m just saying that we need to get invited into Sam’s house to investigate,” Vail reiterated. “And you are the ticket to make that happen.”