15. Vameer
Vameer
Friendly shouts of goodbye float through the night from the front of the bar. One minute later, the back door opens, and the Irishman leans out.
He looks around before he spots me, back in the shadows. “Coast’s clear.” He waves me forward.
My steps are slow as I cross to the building.
For me, the time that passed felt like a nap. Like I’d lain down, rested my eyes, and rose again.
But it wasn’t a nap.
I was away from this world, missing, hidden, for over a century.
But I’m awake now. And it’s time to adapt.
I press the hilt of my sword to the door, holding it open.
The Irishman steps back, and I duck through the doorway, following him inside.
He looks back at me with a grimace. “The ceiling is taller just ahead.”
I keep my knees bent and my shoulders hunched, passing by a couple of doors until we reach the end of the short hallway.
I glance up at the wood paneling overhead, making sure I have clearance, then I stand straight.
“Holy shite,” a feminine voice whispers.
The Irishman laughs. “Ten-foot ceilings never looked so short.”
I look around, taking in the first building I’ve entered in over a century.
The walls match the ceiling. And the floor is a darker shade of wood, scuffed from use.
A substantial bar runs the length of the back wall, lined with stools, ending beside me where the hallway leads to the back door. On the other side of the bar is a staircase leading up to the living space above. And the wall beside me is lined with old whiskey barrels.
Electric lights hang from the ceiling over the bar, and more lights hang down over the tables and chairs. All of the lights are surrounded by amber glass, filling the bar with a pleasant glow.
A century means electricity is everywhere. Not just for the rich.
Last, on the far wall, on either side of the front door, is a pair of windows with wooden shutters pulled shut.
And a pair of strangers.
Inhaling the scents of three humans, beer, whiskey, and a trace of cooked meat, I nod. “The lighting is different. But it reminds me of a pub I visited in Dublin.”
“Yeah?” The Irishman lifts his brows. “When was that?”
“Two hundred years ago.”
“Hear that?” He grins at the pair standing frozen near the front door. “We’re historically accurate.”
The woman holds her hand up in a small wave.
The Irishman sighs. “Quit hidin’ and come greet our guest.”
The woman elbows the guy, and he steps forward first.
“That there is Alex.” The Irishman points at the man approaching. “That’s Grace, my lady.” The woman stops at the Irishman’s side. “And I’m Jack.”
All three look to be in their late twenties. All wearing jeans and T-shirts. And all are incredibly short. Though I’m sure they’re of normal human height.
I tip my chin in greeting.
Jack puts his arm around Grace’s shoulders. “And what do we call you?”
“Vampire works.”
Jack purses his lips, then shrugs. “Alright.”
It’s been nearly three hundred years, but I can still picture my father telling me to behave like a gentleman around humans.
I sigh, and doing something I’m not used to doing, I explain myself. “My name is not safe for you to know. I’ve been gone for a long time, and I don’t know where my enemies are or which ones are still alive, so I have people I need to find before my name is spoken on the wind.”
“People like Volik?” the girl, Grace, asks.
“Sí. Like my brother.”
She makes a happy sound, and Jack rolls his eyes. “She’s obsessed with him.”
I tilt my head. “Explain.”
Jack looks at Grace, so I do too.
Her cheeks turn pink. “It’s just the way he looked fighting. And the way he stands up for what’s right. And he’s… I mean, you’re both…” She bites her lip, and the two men snicker.
I have garnered attention throughout my life. I recognize it. I am not offended. But I am also not interested. I have a mate.
Even before my unintentionally long nap, it had been… decades since I’d been with a woman. And now…
I have never puked before, but even the faintest memory of having touched anyone besides my mate makes me feel sick.
“Everyone likes him. It’s why I got a little nervous when you asked about him. If you were looking to cause him trouble…” Jack shrugs.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not usually into dudes.” Alex lifts a shoulder. “But watching Volik throw down in the Battle of Versailles was fucking epic.”
“You watched him? When?” I ask Alex.
No one answers.
They all glance at each other.
“In France?” I prompt, familiar with the palace.
“Are ya asking me?” Alex points to his chest.
I push down my sigh of annoyance over the way humans can never tell where a vampire is looking.
I turn my head so I’m facing him directly. “You said you watched my brother.”
“I did. But… I wasn’t there.” His gaze flits to his friends.
Jack holds something up. “Vampire, allow me to show you the internet.”
I stare at the small black rectangular item in his hand. “Sí. Show me.”
He holds it flat side up between us. “You don’t know what a TV is, right?”
I shake my head.
Grace whistles. “Fair warning, Brother of Volik. This is gonna be fucking nuts.”
Jack wiggles his eyebrows. “Get ready to have your mind blown, boss.” He touches the rectangle, and it lights up. “Figure since he’s your kin and all, we’ll start with the videos from Versailles. Set the stage, so to speak. And go from there.”
“Show me,” I repeat, not knowing what a video is any more than I know what a TV is.
“Last thing before I start. So ya don’t freak out when shit starts to go down. I want ya to know he’s totally fine. And so is his mate.”
My eyes jerk up from the internet to Jack’s face. “He has a mate?”
Jack nods. “Yeah. All that happened—well, started—like a month ago. Something like that.”
Volik has a mate.
“And the Battle of Versailles was only last week!” Alex’s eyes are bright with excitement.
“France?” I clarify.
Alex nods.
I turn my head to Jack, so he knows I’m talking to him. “Show me.”
Jack taps the glowing surface.
An image appears, moving and making sounds.
I turn my head, trying to understand what I’m seeing.
And then I hear it.
Volik’s voice.
“I have pretended to be civil for long enough.”
I pull the internet out of Jack’s hand and bring it closer to my face. “Brother.”
I watch Volik collide with another vampire, and I start to understand what Alex meant before. He watched Volik.
It’s like looking through a clear portal.
A tiny portal.
My lips pull into a smile as I watch Volik rip his enemy’s throat out.
I lean closer to the image.
Is that vamp’s neck smoking?
I hold my sword out to Jack so I can grip the internet with both hands.
Jack grabs the hilt, right above my hold.
I let go.
The sword tip slams into the wood floor, the human unprepared for the weight.
I hold the internet close to my face.
“Shite.” Jack curses. “Shite, shite.” He continues as the weight of the sword drags him forward.
The sword and the Irishman crash to the floor together, but I can’t pull my gaze away from my brother.
Alex and Grace are choking on laughter.
But Volik is fighting against two enemies. At once.
Pride swamps me.
My brother became a warrior.
The vampire still standing yells something at Volik, but I can’t hear him well enough to understand.
Then the image shakes. And five more vamps drop to the ground, facing off with my brother.
He is handling himself, but I am grateful Jack told me Volik is fine. So I mustn’t worry.
I do not know what they’re fighting over. But I can see it in my brother’s stance.
He’s ready.
And I can see the dagger in his hand.
He’s prepared.
A vicious hiss comes from the internet.
Then a beast jumps through a portal above Volik’s head and attacks one of the enemies.
“The wolves.” I can’t hide my pleasure at seeing one allied with my brother.
And he has not just made friends with a shifter, but a druid too. A hidden one, controlling the portal.
The laughter around me stops just as the wolf howls.
My lips start to lift in a smile. I haven’t heard that sound in so long. But then another wolf jumps from the portal in the sky.
And another. More. Until it’s a sea of wolves ripping limbs off vampires.
The image moves. Narrows in… on Volik.
He is talking to one of the vamps. And…
The vamp’s head starts to glow.
“Fire Touch,” I whisper as I understand.
My smile is wide as I shake my head, hardly believing it.
I hold the internet in one hand and press the other palm to my chest.
My Fire Touch eludes me. But my brother has found his.
In my hand, Volik jumps away from the image.
I watch as the wolves finish the last vamp. Then a sound crackles out of the internet.
And that pride only gets stronger.
Because I recognize the boom.
I’ve not met many who can go that fast. And now Volik is among the number.
Well done, brother.
Too late, I realize my heart is racing.