Chapter Thirteen
Stark left swiftly, and though I wanted to keep emailing for the cause, I had to give in to my biological need for sleep.
I wouldn’t be much good running on empty, and more than ever, the world needed someone with their head on straight.
Because to any sane person paying attention, Stark’s confession had been so much worse once you read between the lines.
If the Repurposed People Act passed, humans were vampire-toast. If the bill didn’t pass, vampires would go to war over the very thing driving the bill in the first place: whether or not they had the right to kill us—for fun, for food, for any gosh-dang reason.
In the meantime, countless people would be “stockpiled” by both sides, for a war that could swing either way.
This entire sticky ball of death and destruction meant that humankind’s best odds were to place the football firmly in our own hands.
No more vampires deciding the score.
But how could I convince the entire planet to off these vermin or, at least, hunt them back into their dark caves?
When I woke up around two in the afternoon, my cell phone had blown up. So had my inbox. People from all over were asking how to help.
My eyes teared with joy. “It’s working…” I muttered.
I quickly hopped over to my web browser and checked the “news.”
Nothing. Of course. But when I checked a few social media sites, my email to Congress had gone viral. Millions of views. Millions of calls around the world to round up and capture all vampires. Even Sheriff Idiot had shared the post.
“Show them the sun?” I said aloud, reading the comments for extremely creative ways to end all vampires. One person even posted that we should feed them his mom’s lasagna. I guessed she didn’t cook well.
Anyway, this was great news. They believed me!
Of course, scoring a trending post wasn’t enough to save the world, but it was a start.
I spent the rest of the afternoon replying to emails, urging everyone to reach out to their senators, get the word out in their communities, and, if they had time, murder a few vampires. Meanwhile, my cause continued gaining steam.
Just before sunset, my cell rang. The caller ID said it was Charlie Cross, a man I once considered a friend and who’d been helping lead the VCP, Vampire Coexistence Party.
“Charlie?” I said, holding the cell to my ear.
“Masie, we need to talk.”
“I hope you’re not going to tell me I’m crazy and we should live in harmony with vampires.” Because that had been the main goal of the party. I knew because I’d been a part of it, too.
“Who do you think made your email go viral?”
“You did that?” I asked.
“My team has been boosting, sharing, doing everything we can to spread the word.”
Charlie was one of the few humans who’d known about vampires before they came out.
He’d actually worked for them as a political consultant, helping vampires quietly influence a world that didn’t even know they existed up until a year ago.
Later, he would get in trouble with Stark—a long story—but during that time, I’d come to trust him.
Which was why when vampires held elections for leaders to represent them during the integration with humans, I put Charlie’s name in the hat.
He knew their tricks and laws, and he also wanted to protect humans.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked.
“I saw their plans with my own eyes, and it goes against everything we’ve fought for: peaceful coexistence. We were all duped.”
“I won’t lie,” I said, “you’ve answered my prayers.” Charlie knew a lot of people on both sides of the species fence. “But are you really prepared to rid the world of vampires? Your cousin is one.”
“So is your dad. That’s why I want to talk. In person. I think there’s another way to win this.”
If he was legit, then I was all ears. “When can you get here?” I asked.
“It would be faster if we met in Nashville. By the airport. I can catch a flight and be there in a few hours.”
I doubted I’d make it safely to the airport. Stark had to be near. By now, other vampires would be looking for me, too: Masie Kicklighter, the woman calling for an end to vampires. “If you want to talk, you’ll have to come to my apartment.”
“Montgomery Stark would have my head,” he argued. “He still claims you’re his fiancée.”
After I just told everyone I planned to kill him? “I don’t know where you heard that, but he never asked, and I never said yes. In fact, we’re over.”
“That doesn’t mean he agrees. Vampires are very possessive. Even with humans who betray them.”
I had not betrayed him. It was the other way around. “Fine. Meet me at the Rooster.” It was as safe a place as any, even if my family was hopped up on moonshine.
“I’ll see you there around ten.”
We ended the call, and I got to the task of sending out another round of emails, explaining to the world the true motives behind the bill.
That’s right, Monty. You’re on our radar screen now. Soon, there’d be nowhere to hide. “I am so winning this war.”
After stashing Betsy behind the bar and saying hello to a few of our longtime customers, I took a seat at a four-top in the back of the Rooster, past the jukebox and near the small dance floor.
Thankfully, the only member of my drugged-out family working tonight was Maybell—too busy with customers to even notice me—and at least I was safe here. Kinda.
Nowhere was truly secure from vampires, but our little slice of Southern charm was known to be frequented by Stark, and vampires tended to be somewhat territorial, especially the older ones.
Other vampires stayed out of their way. It was why Daddy never wandered too far from the watchful eye of his master.
Barf. Their relationship still made my skin crawl, but that was their world. Weaker, newer vampires had to serve an older, more powerful one if they wanted protection. Which they did. From what? I guessed it was a safety-in-numbers kind of thing because not all covens got along.
“Masie!” Ashley hurried over, holding an empty tray, her bottle-blond hair in pigtails.
She was one of the servers I considered a close friend.
“I heard you were attacked in the parking lot last week, but your family wouldn’t tell me anything.
They kept sayin’ you were just peaches, off on some vacation with Stark.
Why didn’t you answer any of my texts? What happened? ”
“Um…” I didn’t want to reveal the humiliating truth about being brainwashed and kidnapped by my vampire boyfriend, but I couldn’t come up with a good answer. “I got what Betty Su had.” Betty Su was a part-time server.
Ashley made a sour face and glanced in the direction of my lower torso. “You mean…” she made a circle with her finger toward my crotch, “the pees?”
The pees was slang for herpes, which wasn’t what I meant. Betty Su had come down with the flu. Wait. She’s got herpes? I needed to make sure we hung up more handwashing signs in the bathroom.
Ashley went on, not giving me a chance to reply, “But I thought you were only doing the Wednesday with Montgomery Stark, and vampires don’t get the pees.”
Doing the Wednesday meant humping.
I rolled my eyes. “Not the pees. I had the flu.” The man flu. “And Stark and I are Wednesdaying no more.”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up like beacons of lust.
“Don’t even think about it,” I growled. “Not now, not ever. Besides, you have a boyfriend.” And since when had Ashley gone Twi-curious?
She sighed. “Yeah, but Beau’s nowhere near as hot as your sexy Twizzler. Also, he’s broke. Lost his bouncer job again.”
Twizzler was her nickname for vampires. The red licorice ropes reminded her of fangs or something.
“Broke is better than being a five-hundred-year-old coffin squatter,” I pointed out.
Confused, she frowned.
“A Twizzler,” I clarified.
“Why would a vampire squat over a coffin? Do they have weird bathroom habits I don’t know about?”
“Never mind,” I said. “Hey, can I get a red slaw, black coffee, and cheesy gator-taters?”
“Sure thing, Mas. But you and I need to catch up. Your family’s been actin’ all…happy, like they’ve been pilfering the inventory.”
I only wished they’d been drinking too much whiskey.
“Yeah. They get that way sometimes. We can talk about it later, but there’s nothing to worry about,” I lied.
There was plenty to worry over, but she’d find out soon enough.
The last thing our customers needed was Ashley freaking out over their whiskey and fries.
Let them enjoy their food before pandemonium hits.
Ashley walked away to put in my order, and as I waited for Charlie, I got to checking emails on my phone. Five hundred and eighteen replies? This was fantastic. People from all around the world wanted to join the fight.
I got through the third email, noticing the next one had attachments. I clicked and gasped, covering my mouth. Someone had sent an image of a vampire strung upside down like Jaws. Five men in colorful shirts were all standing around him, pointing and smiling.
“What is the matter with these people?” Not that a vampire wouldn’t do the same, or worse, to one of us in their waking chambers, but I wanted to believe humans would be more humane about killing these monsters.
These pics were grisly and disturbing. I prayed Charlie had a solution better than mine.
“Masie,” said a familiar voice.
I looked up from my phone to find Charlie. He wore a blue plaid shirt and jeans on his now very lean body. His dark hair looked shaggier than I remembered it, and his face had aged five years since I’d seen him twelve months ago.
“Charlie, you look…”
“Tired?”
Maybe a little, but it was better than all that perfect hotness found on a vampire. “You look like a breath of fresh air. Take a seat.”
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Everything okay?” he asked.
“My okay is so un-okay that it’s renamed itself Krystal and decided to take up pole dancin’.”
“Vivid.”