Chapter 2 #2
“Then get up, go home and shower. And find a new set of friends—preferably not a bunch of fucknuts.” I turned and headed toward the Wayfarer, thinking that I hadn’t had that much fun in a while.
Ever since Dredge, I actually enjoyed tangling with assholes, as long as I could humble them.
It gave me a vicarious thrill, considering my sire was still out there, hunting for other innocents.
One day, I wanted to stake him. It would ostracize me in the vampire community, but I didn’t give a damn about that.
I wanted Dredge forever dead, and I wanted him to hurt before I killed him.
As I pushed through the door, Jocko waved me over, a look of concern on his face. I shrugged off my jacket, hung it up, then headed behind the bar.
“What’s up?” I started to say, but he shook his head.
“Follow me,” he said.
Wondering what had happened, I followed him toward the stairs leading to the basement.
“Is Chrysandra okay?” I asked, thinking maybe he didn’t like my choice for a waitress.
But he just shrugged. “She’s great. I think she’ll make a good addition to the bar. This is something else.”
As we entered the basement, Tavah nodded toward the safe room. The Wayfarer had a magic-proof, escape-proof room that even the strongest brute couldn’t break out of. It was an OIA precaution in case we should ever get an escapee come over from Otherworld.
Jocko led me to the room, then turned to me. Under the soft glow of the overhead lights, he took a deep breath, then said, “We have a problem.”
“What? Or should I say who?” Chances were, the problem was a someone rather than a something.
“Laddy McDonald’s in there.” Jocko said.
Laddy was one of our regulars whom we saw five nights a week.
He was a reserved young man in his mid-20s, who was a junior accountant at one of the local firms. He always came in alone, and he always ordered dinner and one drink.
Then he would leave, and we wouldn’t see him until the next night.
He never brought a date; he never talked much; he was always polite and a good tipper.
I had wondered what his home-life was like.
Did he have a girlfriend? A boyfriend? A pet?
He never showed up with friends, so I didn’t even know if he had any. He was an enigma, but a pleasant one. He knew I was a vampire, but he never treated me differently from anyone else. He was human, but he seemed perfectly at home among a crowd of Supes.
“Why? What did he do? Don’t tell me he’s actually a Supe?” I couldn’t imagine Laddy being part of the Supe Community, even if he fit in well. He seemed too mild and placid.
“I need you to talk to him. Menolly, he’s been turned,” Jocko said. “He’s terrified and confused.”
My blood ran colder than it already was. Laddy, turned?
“No,” I said, staring at the door. “Is he feral?”
“I don’t know. He was hanging on by a thread when he showed up.
I could see it in his eyes. They were crimson, and his fangs were down, so he was hungry.
I tried to calm him down, but he just kept begging me to stake him.
He was absolutely terrified and hungry. He doesn’t seem to have realized his strength yet, so I was able to steer him down the stairs and lock him in the safe room.
I figured that you, of anybody, would know how to handle this. ”
I didn’t want to handle this. I didn’t want to remember the night after I was turned, but it was inevitable.
An unwilling vampire—one who didn’t ask to be turned—was usually in a rough state, but more often than not, their sire would stick around and help them adjust. Rogue vamps, however, basically were the hit-and-run drivers of the Vampire Nation.
And given what Jocko said, Laddy’s transformation was the result of one.
And that was bad news. Rogue vamps were best hunted down and destroyed because they were too chaotic and dangerous.
The Vampire Community was lobbying for rights, and rogue vampires provided plenty of fodder for anti-vampire groups to fight against us.
“I’ll go talk to him. Don’t worry,” I said. “He can’t hurt me unless he’s got a stake or a blowtorch. Tavah, can you cover me, just in case?”
“I’ll watch the portal while you take care of this,” Jocko said. He paused, then asked, “You don’t have to kill him, do you?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “I hope not. Not only has he been through a massive system shock, the biggest one you can go through, but he’s been emotionally traumatized. I’ll do everything I can to make sure he’s okay.”
Tavah cleared her throat. “I know someone who can help him, but he has to agree to go.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah, he runs a group for vampires with issues. Like a self-help group. But let’s see what we’re dealing with first.” She nodded at the door. “Let’s go.”
I wasn’t sure how long Tavah had been a vampire—we hadn’t had that discussion yet. But she was older than I was, at least in vampire-years. I had been close to sixty in human years, but the equivalent to about nineteen when I was turned.
Bracing myself, I unlocked the door and pushed through, girding myself should he attack.
But in the light of the safe room, I saw him, sitting on the bed, curled into a ball, his head between his knees as he coiled tightly.
“Laddy?” I asked, keeping my voice soft. “Talk to me.”
He didn’t answer, but his shoulders shook. He was crying.
“Laddy? Look at me,” I brought out my command voice. Every vampire had one, though it had to be developed. It was part of our glamour and it was similar to the Fae command and glamour, though stronger.
Laddy jerked his head up. His bloody tears stained his face. He hiccupped, then panicked. “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe, Menolly!”
The terror in his voice was all-too familiar. I walked over to him and sat down in front of him, taking him by the shoulders.
“Stop. Stop trying. It won’t help. I know—and Tavah knows. We all go through this when we’re turned.” I actually didn’t know if all vampires experienced the panic of realizing they weren’t breathing, and desperately trying to claw for air that would never again inflate our lungs.
I held his gaze, forcing him to stare into my eyes as I projected an energy that was calm and peaceful. I pushed the energies out to enshroud him, and he slowly began to relax. This was the exact energy we used to calm our prey, but he didn’t need to know that right now.
“Close your eyes,” I said.
Laddy obeyed.
“I want you to dig deep within. I want you to focus on your legs and arms. You feel no pain; you feel control over your limbs. Move your hand to show me that you have control.”
After a moment, he moved his hand.
“Good. Now focus on your heart and your lungs—they’re embraced in stillness, but they have no need to breathe.
You’ll never rely on air for your life again.
This is power, Laddy. This is freedom. I want you to focus on the quietude of your body and how easy it is.
Listen to my voice. I do not breathe. My heart does not beat.
I make no noise except that which I choose to make.
You’ve known this about me. I can help you. Squeeze my hand and slowly sit up.”
After a moment, he gently squeezed my hand and began to sit up.
I stared deep into his eyes, not letting him look away.
I remembered this state all too well. It had been over twelve years since I’d been turned, but some moments remained burned into your skull, and this was one of them.
I remembered the panic, the hunger, the desire to burn to a crisp to get rid of the realization that life would forever be different.
“Tell me it will be okay,” he said, his voice a whimper and a plea.
“Life will never be the same, Laddy, but it can still hold happiness and it can still hold joy. It depends on what you choose to do with it. Yes, we walk in the shadows, and we’ll never again feel the sun on our faces, but the moon holds beauty and the stars still sparkle.
” I turned around to sit by his side, putting my arm around his shoulders.
“I’m afraid,” he whispered.
“I know,” I said. “But I’m here, and I’ll help you as much as I can.
” And then, as he melted against me, I took a deep breath and said, “When you’re ready, you need to tell me what happened.
I need to find who did this to you. And I promise you—they’ll pay for it, and you’ll never have to face them again. ”
For a long time, he just sat in silence, and then—finally—he turned to me and began to tell me what had happened.