Chapter Ten
The warm water wraps around me like a blanket as I recline in the bathtub. Candles flicker and dance on the countertop next to me. Lola”s scent still fills my nose, and it soothes my troubled mind as I stare up at the ceiling.
Lola”s offhand remark, ”If I were a vampire, if only,” keeps replaying in my head, making me question everything about her and my feelings toward her. I have no doubt she would make a splendid vampire, but I”m not sure what to make of it.
Why did she want to be a vampire? Did she believe it would give her powers, or was she simply being playful?
Perhaps I”m reading too much into it. People joke about being immortal all the time. But what if she”s serious? How would she react if she knew I had the power to change her life forever? Would she be repulsed or intrigued? Or both?
It”s a moot point anyway, as I”ve sworn off turning anyone else for a long time. The last time I turned a human was about eighty years ago, and he didn”t take well to the change. He went feral and couldn”t be brought back to lucidity. It ended with me having to kill him, which was quite distressing for all involved.
The image of Lola, vibrant and alive, wanting a taste of the other side haunts me. She”s a flame flickering dangerously close to the dark. She”s the first woman in a long time I”ve felt any genuine interest in. Of course, it doesn”t matter; there”s no way I”m going to turn her into a vampire. It would be a selfish act, and I wouldn”t wish this life upon anyone who wasn”t one hundred percent certain they wanted it.
Wouldn”t it be nice if there was a test she could take? An assessment that would answer all her questions about whether vampirism is right for her? That way, there would be no doubts or regrets later on.
Then again, why am I even considering this? She”s just a human, and my thirst for her has made me soft. My first priority should be getting the knife and stopping the other clans from waging war against us once we have it.
I submerge my head completely under the water and let out a frustrated growl. I stay there until my lungs are aching and burning for air, then I emerge with a splash. My hair is slicked back against my scalp, and my fingers are wrinkled as I massage my temples with them.
I have other things to do besides dwell on this nonsense. Eventually, I rise from the tub and dry myself off with a towel before wrapping it around my waist. Once I”m dressed, I head downstairs to find Marina. Before I can leave, I need to make sure she and the others know what to do while I”m gone.
Marina is seated at the dining room table, playing cards with Simon and Marlon. She”s dressed in a simple black pantsuit, with her long, black hair pulled up into a tight bun on top of her head. She”s always so stylish and elegant, no matter what she wears or where she goes.
When she sees me approaching, she raises an eyebrow and puts her cards down. ”Well? Any luck?”
”Yes,” I answer confidently. ”We found where the artifact is hidden, now we just need to get to it. There”s a knife we need to perform the ritual at an occult museum in Salem.”
She scrunches her nose as though she caught a whiff of something unpleasant. ”An occult museum? You mean that one with all that cheesy folklore about witches? No wonder it was hidden there all along. No one in their right mind would ever think to look there. None of their stuff is authentic.”
”That”s what makes it a perfect place to hide something important,” I chuckle. ”No one would suspect it”s there because they think it”s fake.”
”How will you get the knife, though?” Marlon asks as he fans his cards out across the table. ”It”s not like they”re just going to give it to you.”
”Good question,” Marina agrees. ”What about the security in this museum? You can”t expect it to be unguarded.”
A sly smile curves on my lips. ”That”s where you all come in. I need your expertise to coordinate the heist. Simon, I want you to gather information on the museum”s security measures, any weaknesses we can exploit. Marlon, I need your skills in diversion and misdirection. Create a distraction that will draw attention away from the area.”
Marlon grins broadly at my request. ”With pleasure, boss.”
”Consider it done,” Simon chimes in. ”But what about Adrian? He”s been getting nosy lately. I don”t trust him not to sabotage our plans just so he can get his hands on the knife himself.”
”I share your concern. While Lola and I are away, I want you all to keep a close eye on him. Report any unusual behavior immediately. We can”t afford a traitor in our midst, especially with the other clans lurking in the shadows. Marina, I”m hoping you can keep him in check for me. Can I count on you to keep him in line while we”re gone?”
”Of course,” Marina replies curtly. ”You know how I love putting that jerk in his place.”
”What do you think is going to happen once we get that artifact out of its little hiding place?” Marlon asks. ”The other clans are going to come gunning for it. You know that, right?”
I sigh deeply before answering. ”Yes, I do.”
Simon chuckles, leaning back with a smirk. ”War”s on the horizon, huh? Always up for a good brawl, but are we ready for this, Drake? The pendant”s a hot commodity, and every clan worth its fangs will be after it.”
”I know.” My mind drifts back to the painting we discovered tonight, and a sense of foreboding washes over me. ”I”ve been in this life a long time. I”ve seen what war can do to people, even vampires. It changes them. Turns them into something worse than the monsters they already are. I suspect that”s why Adrian”s been acting so erratic lately. He”s had his own experiences with battle, and he came away with a thirst for power that has blinded him to everything else.”
”You think he”s a lost cause?” Simon asks.
”No, but I do think we need to be careful with him,” I caution. ”He”s dangerous when he”s like this. He smells blood in the water, and it”s going to affect him.”
Marlon scowls. ”So, what you”re saying is that if he tries to pull any shit, we have full permission to kick his ass?”
”Absolutely,” I confirm. ”Just try to keep property damage to a minimum.”
”Sweet!” Marlon exclaims enthusiastically.
”I still don”t get this dynamic the two of you have,” Simon comments. ”You clearly don”t like him. You don”t trust him. But you keep him around because you feel sorry for him or something like that? Why not just bite the bullet and kill him? We”d be better off without his negativity dragging us down.”
”He”s a brother,” I respond simply. ”I”ll never turn my back on a brother. No matter how much he”s fucked up.”
Marina huffs out a breath and lays her cards face-down on the table. ”You”re a good man, Drake. Not many would extend such kindness to someone who looks for opportunities to defy them every time they turn around. I don”t agree with it, but I respect it. Maybe Adrian needs something to fight for instead of against.”
”Maybe.” I shrug. ”But that”s something he needs to figure out for himself.”
”When do you leave?” Simon asks.
”Soon,” I say as I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. I unlock it and check my flight itinerary. ”There”s a private plane scheduled to depart in an hour to Boston. From there, we”ll be renting a car and driving down to Salem.”
”You”re taking the girl with you?” Marlon inquires.
”Of course,” I reply. ”She”s the reason we found the location of the artifact. It”s her intuition that led us to it, and it”s her blood that we need for the ritual. I need her by my side.”
”Be careful around that one,” Simon warns me. ”Don”t fall too hard.”
”What is that supposed to mean?” I demand.
”Exactly what it sounds like,” Simon retorts. ”If you”re not careful, that girl will lead you around by your nose, and you”ll wind up regretting it.”
”Everyone can see you”ve been acting differently since she”s been here,” Marlon adds.
”That”s not a bad thing,” Marina speaks up in my defense. ”He”s been smiling more. I haven”t seen him like this in a long time. I say, do whatever makes you happy.”
Marlon turns his attention back to his cards and smirks. ”I guess what Simon”s really trying to say is that the rest of us just want you to be careful. That”s all.”
”I appreciate the concern, but I think I know what I”m doing. For now, all I need from you all is to focus on getting this heist underway.”
They nod in agreement. Simon sits down at the computer and pulls up the museum”s website, and Marlon grabs a pencil and a pad of paper, ready to begin making notes. Marina looks over at me, and I jerk my head to the side, indicating she should follow me. We step outside onto the balcony, and I close the door behind us before speaking.
”Listen, Marina. I mean it when I say I need you to watch Adrian. He”s been... leering at Lola since she arrived. I don”t want him getting any ideas about following us and trying anything stupid when I”m not around.”
She rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips. ”What do you take me for, Drake? Adrian knows better than to fuck with me.”
”I”m serious. I need you to make sure he behaves.”
”I know, I know. I promise, I”ll keep him in my line of sight at all times. You need to focus on finding that dagger. Let me worry about Adrian.”
I”m thankful for Marina”s support. It”s refreshing to know that there”s at least one person in this house I can count on to watch my back, even if she”s not the one coming with me on this trip. ”Thank you,” I tell her.
”No problem. Just out of curiosity, though, what do you plan to do if he does touch her, Drake?”
I let out a low growl as I contemplate the situation. ”If he lays one finger on her without her consent,” I finally answer, ”I will tear off every part of him and then drain him dry. Until he begs for death.”
”That”s what I thought. Glad to see your patience with him has its limits.” Marina flashes me a wide grin before entering the house again.
There are very few things that could get me to turn on one of my own kind. A threat to my life or the lives of my friends and family? That”s a no-brainer. But the thought of another vampire touching Lola sends a dark cloud of rage rippling through my body. My hands clench into tight fists, and I have to fight to keep my fangs from descending as the anger courses through me like poison.
Why does the thought of her being hurt or harmed cause this primal instinct in me to surface? What is it about her that brings out such intense emotions from within me? I”ve never experienced anything like it before. I”m not sure what to make of these feelings, but I know I need to figure it out so I can focus.