CLUB NUMBER FIVE (Immortal Blood) (14 page)

So, my inner voice whispered? Anyone can take a tattoo like that and it doesn't have to mean anything.
I pushed the voice aside
. Yes, anyone could've done that, but what were the chances that two vampires, and in this case I'd say a lot more than two, had taken the exact same tattoo on their left wrist? None. The tattoo was important, I was sure of it, and nosy as I was, I wouldn't rest until I found out what the word ‘quinque’ meant.

I was sitting there wrapped up in my thoughts when Jo came back with a half-naked boy. She pushed him onto the couch and I gasped. The boy didn't resist when Jo sat next to him and wrapped her long legs around him. In fact, he seemed to be very willing to play whatever game Jo wanted to play with him, and I was almost too embarrassed to look when Jo slid her fingers over his bare flat tummy and placed them just above his jeans. He moaned with pleasure and I tried to turn my eyes away. I did, really, but I couldn't. The boy smiled at me invitingly, but that was a line I didn't want to cross and I couldn't return his smile. I glanced at Jo fiercely and tried to make her stop. She shrugged and put her finger slowly on her lips, licking it provocatively. I snorted and looked at the boy again. His eyes looked so innocent and I wanted to puke. Couldn't he see that this was not normal; that he was being abused by someone who just wanted to show me that it was okay to do that to humans; that he was nothing but a warm body with hot blood under his skin?

He winked at me and I gagged. I turned my back to them but a smacking noise made me turn quickly. Jo was kissing him all over and he had finally closed his eyes, lying still and savoring each kiss. I let my eyes wander over his body and had to put my hands behind my back to stop myself from touching his golden skin. Damn, I hated myself, but he really was a hottie with only his jeans on, and I was only human. Well, technically not, but you know what I mean. I took a step closer and suddenly his eyes flew open. He cracked his lips a bit and his chocolate-brown eyes eyed me expectantly. I swallowed and I knew I must have looked like a scared rabbit.

“Jo,” I said warningly as she roughly put her finger on his bare chest and pressed so hard that a drop of blood burst from his skin.

The look on Jo's face was wicked and she showed no sign of backing down.

“Jo, stop it!” I ordered. “I think you made your point clear. Now, let him go and then we can continue our girly talking session, okay?”

She ignored me and pressed her head
to
his chest, licking the blood away. He moaned with pleasure. She moved her tongue to his arm and, before I could stop her, sank her fangs into his flesh. The boy closed his eyes and looked ecstatic. My feet were glued to the ground and I tried to shut down the heat that was creeping inside of me. My fangs pierced my tongue and I could taste the blood in my mouth. Jo didn't hurry while feeding from him and I was sure she was letting a narrow stream of blood run freely on his arm just to tease me. Eventually, she stopped and lifted her mouth from his skin. She licked the last drops of blood from her lips and offered his arm to me. I shook my head. Jo licked his arm again, letting me see his deep red blood on her tongue. I was unable to speak.

The boy opened his eyes and smiled lazily. “Go ahead. I don't mind.”

I took a step closer and grabbed his arm. Jo moved and let me take her plac
e. I licked his arm lightly. Oh
God! He tasted so good. I met his eyes and he put his hand slowly on my neck, pushing a bit. How could he be so calm? He was alone in a locked room with two vampires and he was offering his blood to us like he'd done it hundreds of times. I lifted my head. That's it! Maybe he really had done this before. I pushed his arm away and jumped up.

“I don't want your blood,” I said quietly. “Please leave.”

“But why?” he asked, stunned. He got up, too, looking a bit dizzy. “The others loved it.”

I swallowed and looked at Jo
pleadi
ngly. “Take him away.”

She
sighed heavily and shook her head in defeat. “Come on, big boy. Let's take you downstairs. The night is still young.”

She led him out and I went to look from the window. I saw her walking the boy down and to another young man. He kissed Jo's cheeks and said something. Then he smiled and snapped his fingers. The boy Jo had fed from followed the man and didn't resist when he pushed him
in
to a chair. Without a word, he bent the boy's neck and sank his fangs into it. I shivered and turned away.

When Jo came back I attacked her. “How could you?”

“Back off!” Jo pushed me aside easily, but I was back on my feet in no time and tried to attack her again. “I said back off,”
she
hissed and I found myself on the floor.
“That boy was not an innocent victim,” she steamed. “That boy has been coming here for the last three years willingly and lets us drink from him, because he gets paid. So don't lecture me or feel sorry for him. He knows exactly what he's doing.”

“Paid?” I asked, horrified.

“Yes. You could call him a blood whore. He provides us his blood, and well, to be honest, sometimes something more, too, and we pay him sumptuously. Way easier for him to pay for his study than working his butt off in
a bar
or something.”

I still couldn't say a word. Jo sat next to me and punched me lightly. “Come on, it's not the end of the world. Besides, I'm pretty sure he enjoys our company. Why else would he keep coming back over and over again?”

“Okay. Point taken,” I said, numbed. “They're not innocent victims, I get it, but I don't have to like it.”

“Right,” Jo huffed, and I was sure she was going to remind me that I'd almost fed from the boy, but the look in my eyes stopped her. “Right,” she huffed again and stood up. “Well, if you're okay I think I'll go downstairs. The phone is on the desk. If you need me, press three and it goes straight to my cell.”

“Okay,” I nodded and wished she'd gone already.

She glanced at me once more and then hurried away.

Once I was alone I went to the couch and turned on the huge flat TV that covered most of one of the walls. I scanned the channels but found nothing interesting, so I shut it off. The noises from the
C
lub felt annoying, especially now that I knew what was going on there. I pressed a pillow to my ears. It didn't help. I could still hear whispers and quiet music, and something that heated my body. A heartbeat that couldn't belong to anyone else but my creator. I jumped up. Dane was here.

I rushed to the window and carefully peeked down. The people were dancing like before and I couldn't see anything unusual, but I was still sure he had found me. I watched everyone and tried to see if I could recognize a familiar face. Still nothing. I squeezed my eyes closed and inhaled deeply. My heartbeats slowed down and for a while I couldn't hear anything else but them. When I was positive nothing could distract my concentration, I opened my eyes and looked at the
C
lub again.

Dane was standing in the shadows, staring at my window. I knew there was no way he could see me, but somehow he did. I was one hundred percent sure he was looking straight at where I stood. The look on his face was unreadable but a crooked smile on his lips told me he thought he had won. I shivered but kept a light smile on my face. He had found me, okay, but the game was still on, and until he actually had his fingers on me, I had a chance to run away.

I put my fingers on my lips slowly, never taking my eyes off him, and blew him a kiss. He raised his glass to me and flashed his fangs. I smiled at him and backed away slowly. So, apparently I'd been right. He had seen me as clearly as if he'd been in the same room with me. I didn't know what hocus-pocus thing he had done or if it was just some creator thing, but I knew I had to get out of there fast. The moment I was sure he couldn't see me again, I turned away from the window, put my fingers around the doorknob and tried to open the door, but it was firmly locked. Shoot! There went my only escape route. Then I ran to the toilet and opened the closet. There had to be something I could use to break the lock. There wasn't. Unless I could force the lock open with a toothbrush. I couldn't believe
this! I knew that at any minute
Dane would step in with a smug, winner smile on his face, then drag me back to the vampire house and tie me up with dozens of handcuffs. I leaned on the wall. It opened. That was it! If there were hidden closets there might be a hidden door as well. I turned like a tornado and pushed my hands against the wall.

I managed to find a linen closet, a cleaner's cupboard and a small hoard of treats. But that was all. Defeated, I sat on the floor, waiting for my doom, but I caught sight of a small lever under the table. Normally, I wouldn't have paid any attention to it, but now it felt like a sign and I crawled to it. I put my hand on it and pressed. The TV moved a bit, or maybe I had just imagined it, but I had to go and check what had happened. I planted my fingers under one corner and lifted the TV carefully. I didn't want to think how much it would cost if I dropped it.

Behind the TV was a narrow tunnel. I wanted to dance! I swayed the TV a little and tried to make it stay aside so I could crawl to the tunnel, but the TV kept stubbornly coming back and covered the hole. I went to the window again and searched for Dane. He was still standing in the shadows, but I could see his glass was almost empty. He glanced at me and I was sure he suspected something, as he put his glass on the table and waved at Jonathan. I backed up quickly and started to place chairs under the TV. When I had managed to move it enough, I crawled into the tunnel and pushed the chairs down. I knew Dane would see them, but I couldn't help it. I only wished he'd look for me elsewhere first and that he would be pissed enough not to check behind the TV. I mean, who would hide behind a flat-screen TV? It was a crazy idea and there was no way Dane could know about the tunnel. Or at least I hoped he didn't. If he did, there was nothing that could save me from him.

I stayed still for a while and listened. The room behind my hiding place was silent
,
and no matter how hard I tried to listen, I couldn't hear a single footstep. Not from the room
,
nor from the stairs that led to it. I glanced at the tunnel and wrinkled my nose. The tunnel was filthy and I didn't want to be there, but as I was not ready to give up my freedom
,
I took a deep breath and started to crawl. I knew I only had a couple of minutes' head start and should have crawled faster, but I couldn't. I hated being there. Just the thought of what might be hidden in the tunnel with me made me want to scream and go back to the room. Only the picture of Dane's face if he saw me crawling back to him made me go on.

My stubbornness forced me to move as I tried to ignore the heavy layers of dust that made my new, clean clothes look like I had dug them out
of
a dumpster. I also tried to ignore the ugly feeling when my hair got stuck on something and mixed with
a
spiderweb. But I had to really hold myself
together
when I felt something crawling under my top.

Once in a while I saw a ventilation gap and tried to get a glimpse of where I was, but as I hadn't actually been in the
C
lub it wasn't easy. Finally
,
I made it to the end and pushed the hatch hesita
n
tly. No one had come after me yet, but I couldn't be sure there wasn't someone waiting for me. The hatch made a small screechy
noise
and I backed away a little, listening. Nothing. I crawled closer
quietly
and put my eye
to
the crack in the hatch. The room behind the hatch was dark and I couldn't feel any life in there. I pushed the hatch open and slid out.

I was obviously in some kind of warehouse under the
C
lub
,
as I
coul
dn't hear music or voices. My eyes adjusted to the darkness fast and I saw a big iron door at my side. My hand trembled a bit as I put it on the door handle and turned it. The cold air hit my face and I realized I was not under anything but
the sky
above. I stepped
on
to the roof and glanced down. Of course. How stupid of me to even think for a second that I was in a cellar
,
since I hadn't gone down in any part of the tunnel. Instead
,
the tunnel had brought me gradually higher and higher
,
and if I had felt
trapped before, now I knew it was true. There was no way out but down. And down looked
a long way
to me.

I searched the roof inch by inch
,
but unless I had wings I was stuck
t
here. I sat on the edge and looked down. Would I die if I fell? Probably not. Shoot! I'd rather die than get hurt
,
and since I had no experience of vampire pain, I wasn't
about
to find out how much pain I could take
all
at once. Morning was close and I knew I only had one day and several hours before the hunters would leave me alone. Piece of cake, right? I mean, how hard would it be to sit
t
here and wait for what, twenty-nine hours or so? I winced and didn't bother to answer myself.