CLUB NUMBER FIVE (Immortal Blood) (4 page)

We sat there in silence and were so absorbed in our own thoughts that we didn't notice the sound at first. Then Kate winced
as she
reached for her purse. Her cell was ringing. She closed it and sighed.

“It's seven thirty and school starts in half an hour.”

“Right,” I breathed. “What do we do now?”

“Nothing
.
” Kate shrugged. “We go to school and act like nothing happened. And you better act good. I don't want any bloodsucking in public, okay?”

“Okay.” I smiled at her.

“Okay.”
Sh
e smiled back. “But you have to give me a ride. My hand hurts like hell.”

We arrived at school just in time. I was sure that we looked guilty and thought everyone would stare at us, but apparently we didn't look guilty enough, as no one looked at us twice. Except when Kate sat next to me. Kate's normal place was in the front row and not in the back where I sat, but we didn't want to separate. Not yet. We felt so close and we weren't ready to split up this soon.

Jonathan sat on my other side and glanced at me quickly.
“Hi,” he said.

I stared at him. He never said hi to me. Not first. So whatever had happened to me had caught his attention.
“Hi.” I smiled at him.

He let his gaze slide slowly over me and then he froze. I touched my lips but they didn't feel swollen anymore, and the last time I checked I looked just fine, so there was no way he could know I'd fed last night, and yet I was sure he did.  His gaz
e
was starting to get on my nerves and I felt uneasy. A week ago I would've danced out of happiness. I mean, Jonathan Blake, a stupefyingly handsome boy, was staring at me. Me! But now, well, it just felt awkward. I turned my eyes away but could still feel his eyes on me. Then he sighed and glanced at Kate. I could've sworn he froze. I felt the coldness in him and questions he could never ask. So forgive me, but I had to look at him.

Jonathan's deep blue eyes darted between me and Kate's wrist, and for once I felt like I was a bad girl. I smiled at him and made sure he saw a glimpse of my fangs. He swallowed. I flashed him a smile again and turned my back to him, feeling very smug. I glanced sideways at Kate. She was almost sleeping in her chair. I punched her lightly.

“Kate, are you all right?”

“Mmm,”
sh
e mumbled sleepily.

“Kate!” I punched her again. “You're sleeping.”

“I don't feel very well,” she managed to say before she passed out.

Mr. Carrigan, our English teacher, ran to her and tried to revive her. But whatever he did, it didn't work. Finally, he lifted her and carried her out of the class. I stared at them in horror. What had I done? I felt the air running out of my lungs and cold sweat running on my spine. Had I killed her? I stumbled up and ran out of the class.

Jonathan jumped up, too, and ran after me. He caught me in the hall and grabbed me from behind.
“Don't ever do that again,” he hissed between his teeth.

I couldn't speak. I couldn't do anything. Jonathan didn't have to say more. I knew he was talking about me biting Kate. Shoot! I felt guilty and angry at the same time. If he had known this would happen he should've warned me. He should've told me not to feed on my friends. I laughed nervously. Would I have believed him? Probably not, but that wasn't the issue. He should've warned me. I stared at him and dimly noticed where I was. My brain had stopped working and the only rational thought in my mind was that Jonathan was holding me and speaking to me. I should be thrilled, right? That's what I wanted all along, but all I could think about was chalky-faced Kate lying unconscious on the floor. My eyes drowned in Jonathan's and I could've sworn his eyes were black. But how could they be? There was anger flashing in them and I knew he wanted to shake me, but he didn't. Instead he growled at me and revealed his fangs. I swallowed. I hadn't heard a word he'd said to me and I knew he knew it, too.

“Please,” I whispered.

But he didn't seem to hear me. He shook me violently once more and then pushed me away. I sank to the floor, breathing heavily. I was sure he would hurt me, but when I lifted my eyes he was gone. Some little voice in my head told me that was impossible. Every door in the hallway was closed and the entrance was way too far for him to run without me noticing it. But I dismissed the voice quickly. So much had happened to me lately that Jonathan being gone in a split second wasn't enough to make me freak out.

I stumbled up and headed for the nurse
’s
room. A quick glance from the small window in the door told me I really should stay out of there. Kate was lying on a bed and she had some tubes going from a machine to her veins. Her nose looked bloody and one look at her blood made m
ine
run faster. The scarf I had tied to her wrist was gone and I was surprised there was no one screaming out, “Vampires!” I took a closer look at her wrist and saw that my fang marks were still there. Although they were fading and could've been mosquito bites or something as well. I sighed, relieved. I knew that the only reason I was safe was because these people didn't believe in vampires. In their perfect little worlds vampires were just myths or trendy figures in teen movies. How little they knew.

I sat down on the floor behind the door and listened. I could
make out
small clips of their conversation and wanted to laugh. I'd heard the word anemia more than once and I knew Kate wanted to laugh, too. Still, I felt my eyes get wet. Kate was my friend and Jonathan had been right. This could never happen again. The only problem was, I didn't know what else to do. I had to eat and I couldn't just pick innocent people on the street to be my snack. Oh crap! Being a vampire wasn't so fun. Especially when no one had taught me how to be one.

That night I went back to the
C
lub. Well, technically not to the
C
lub but to its door. I knocked on the door and watched it open.

“Not you again!” the bouncer said
in
irritat
ion
.

“Hello to you, too.” I tried to smile.
He rolled his eyes and started to pull the door closed, but this time I was quicker and managed to put my foot in the way.“Please, you don't understand. I really need to get in.” I hesitated. He looked hard as a rock and ready to push me away. I sighed heavily. Huh, you can't win unless you play, right? “I need to get in 'cause I'm a vampire,” I blurted
out
and flashed my fangs.

He stared at me and for a moment I thought I'd made a horrible mistake. Then he smiled dryly. “I don't care,” he said and flashed his teeth at me.

I couldn't believe my eyes. He had fangs, too! I was so surprised that I took a step back and he managed to pull the door closed. Unbelievable! I tried to clear my confused mind, but I still couldn't get it. If he had fangs, did that mean that he'd known from the first time that I was a vampire, too, and still refused to help me? I stumbled, gasping. Some people went inside and glanced at me. I think I saw a woman looking contemptuously at me, like I was the lowest link in the evolutionary chain, but I didn't bother to look back at her. My world was upside down and I couldn't care less if some upper
-
class trophy wife felt uncomfortable being near me.

I glanced at the door again. The bouncer opened and closed it time after time, but refused to look at me. I heard muffled music from inside and shivered. I had to get in. I slid my eyes
over
my clothes. Okay, I looked a bit trashy and from the look of people's clothes this place was some kind of an elite club, but I couldn't believe he would just leave me there. I knocked on the door again but he didn't open it. I started to hit the door with both my hands and shouted, “Open the door!”

The door flew open. “Are you mad?” the bouncer asked and glanced at the alley.

“I might be,” I sniffed.

He looked at me pitifully and sighed. “Look, lady, I can't let you in. So stop banging the door and go away.”

My lower lip started to tremble and I whispered miserably,
“
Please.”

He sighed again and shook his bald head. “You'd be dead in a minute. You hear me? This is only for members and you're not one.”

“But Jonathan is,” I sighed, beaten.

“Yes, Jonathan is,” he agreed. “And no, before you ask, I can't get him here
.
”

I couldn't speak so I nodded, beaten. He looked like he was really sorry, but that didn't help me one bit. I needed some answers and I knew this was the place I could get them.

“I want to be a member,” I said before I could stop myself.

He flinched and shook his head. “No, you don't.”

“Yes, I do,” I argued and stepped closer to him.

He put his hand between us.
“Believe me, you don't.”

“I'll do anything to get in. Anything.” I licked my lips and hoped I didn't have to do ‘that’.

He stared at me and halfsmiled, but the smile never reached his eyes. “Go home, princess,” he said tiredly and pushed me away.

“Anything,” I pleaded.

“You're not ready.”

“But I am,” I said and felt the hope rise inside of me. “I am.”

I stood before him and shivered. He stared at me and I knew from the way he looked that he was cursing strongly in his mind. I sniffed and tried to look very vulnerable and harmless. He squeezed his eyes closed for a second and sighed heavily. “You really want in, don't you?” I nodded eagerly.“I'm sure I'm going to regret this, but go to the next alley and knock on the third door on your right. A woman will open it. Say that Will sent you.”

“Will,” I repeated.

“She will probably laugh at you, but at least you know you tried,” he said dryly.

“I don't care.” I smiled at him. “Thank you. Thank you so much! I won't forget this!”I turned and he slammed the door closed.

The next alley was dark. Even darker than the last one, but my vision was way better than a human's and I could easily find the right door. I didn't know what I was expecting to find behind it, but if this was my only chance to get in, I didn't care. I straightened myself up and pulled my
short dress
a little lower. My hand was shaking and I wanted to run away, and yet I knocked on the door.

A woman opened it, just like Will had said. I pressed my hand to my mouth and tried to get a grip on myself. She looked at me questioningly but I couldn't speak. I had never seen a woman like her. She was gorgeous
,
and I mean really, really gorgeous. Her long black hair licked her back and she was wearing less than a napkin on her slim olive
-
skin
ned body
. Her dark exotic eyes were cat-like. I tried to move my eyes, but I couldn't. I had been proud of the new improved me. Heck, I'd thought I was stunning, but I wasn't. She was and I could've killed for a body like hers.

I coughed. “Will sent me,” I managed to say.

She looked at me very intensely and suddenly I felt like her prey. She laughed huskily but didn't let me in.
“Will
.
”
S
he tasted his name lusciously. “And why would he send you here?”

“I want to get in,” I whispered eagerly and trembled when she narrowed her dark eyes dangerously.

“Do you?”

“Yes,” I sighed. “I'll do anything to get in.”

“Anything?” She took a loose tress of my hair and played with it. I nodded, but warning bells had started to ring in my mind.

This was so not like me. I was a nice family girl. Not exactly a goodie-goodie, but true to my values and a girl with good manners. At least I used to be.

The woman came close to me, and I mean really close. My eyes widened and she laughed. She was still playing with my tress but now I felt small tugs that hurt. She placed her other hand on my neck and left it there. I was confused. Was she going to break my neck or what? The air around was chilly and I wanted to run, but I couldn't. There was something in her eyes that kept me still. Something that dared me to try and I knew I had to stay still or else I was doomed. She flashed her teeth at me and I saw her fangs. Great, obviously this place was full of vampires, but they wouldn't hurt one of their own, would they? 

“You can't go in without sacrificing something first,” she purred in my ear.

A small, scared whine burst from me as she licked my ear, letting her tongue slide slowly
over
it. I wanted to scream. I had never been this scared before. You can still stop this, a whisper echoed in my mind
;
just say no and she'll stop. I stayed in place.

“Do you still want to get in?” she breathed seductively.

I closed my eyes. Did I? Yes, yes I did. Only good girls go to heaven, and bad girls go everywhere, right? I nodded almost undetectably and she moved her fingers from my neck to my chest.