Cravings (13 page)

" WELL!" he said cheerfully, toweling his hair ten minutes later.

Annoyingly, he hadn't put his shirt back on. At least he was wearing jeans.
Tight, faded jeans that clung to his—

"That was super awkward. Oh, well. Saddle up, Andy, let's hit the trail."

"It's Andrea, and we have to… urn… stop first."

"Huh? How come?"

"I have to eat."

"What?"

"I said, I have to eat." She was, in fact, starting to feel a little
desperate. Not to mention horribly embarrassed. "And soon."

"Oh. Oh! Right. Eat. Except you don't mean eat, do you?"

"Soon," she repeated.

"What's the rush?"

"Haven't you been listening?" she cried. "I'm thirsty
all the time
.
And the longer I go without, the more… desperate… I become. It's—"

"You get stupid," he said bluntly. "That's what you don't like. You get
totally obsessed with chomping and you can't think about anything else. And you
fucking hate it, don't you?"

"How analytic of you," she said, calming… the worst was over. She had dreaded
the telling of it more than anything else. And he was finding out all her
secrets. It was alarming… but kind of comforting, too. "And you're right. I
fucking hate it. And… it's been a while since my last… I mean, there was
you
,
but I managed to stop myself, and…"

"Well, how much do you need?"

"I never measured," she snapped.

"Like, a pint? A half-pint? A gallon? What?"

"Daniel, what difference does it make?"

"Well." He cleared his throat. "The reason I was asking was, you could chomp
on me again."

"Oh, no!" She couldn't recall ever being so shocked. And gratified. He was so
kind. He had always been kind. "No, I couldn't do that to you."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not volunteering to be the horse led to slaughter—"

"Sheep."

"Not that, either. And I don't want you to, like,
drain
me. But you
could have a little. Holy shit, what the hell happened to your mouth?"

She clapped her hands over her lips. His words had brought out her fangs; she
was very much afraid she had started to drool. "Nothing," she mumbled. "Let's
talk about something else."

He came closer, trying to get a better look; she backed away. "That is so
cool! And scary. It's like all of a sudden you sprouted about twenty more
teeth."

"Let's change the subject."

"Okay, but don't say I never gave you anything." But he sounded relieved, and
she knew at once he had been secretly hoping she wouldn't take him up on it.

He wasn't afraid of her, exactly, but he was cautious. She thought it was a
very healthy reaction.

"Let's get out of here," she said, still muttering around her fingers,
"before I change my mind. Don't forget your dictionary."

 

"YOU know, if you'd told me last week that I'd be in a bar trying to help a
vampire suck some poor guy's blood, I'd have said you were on drugs."

"The night is young," she said, staring into her wine.

"So, uh, how do you usually do this?"

"
I
usually skulk in a dark alley until someone tries to rob or rape
me. Then I assault them. Then I sulk. Then—"

"I think I get it," he said.

"But with you hovering over me like an overprotective linebacker, I'm not
sure at all how this is going to work. Can't you just… wait for me in the car,
or something?"

"And leave you alone? In
here
?" He looked around, clearly appalled.
It really was a dive, with dirty floors and the pervasive odors of beer, sweat,
and urine.

But she could also smell blood under the rest of it, which told her this was
the right place to go trolling. Violence was no stranger here.

"It's perfect."

"No way, Andy."

"
Andrea
," she growled, and drained the rest of her wine. "Well,
then, I don't know how we—oof!"

"Shorry, little lady," the hulk behind her slurred. She craned her neck, and
craned it some more… he was
big
. Easily six foot four, possibly a hair
over. And broad. And smelly. He was wearing a filthy t-shirt, filthier jeans
that might have once been blue, and Doc Martens. "Gut stampers," her dad used to
call them. "Buy m'drink?"

"I think you're supposed to buy
her
a drink," Daniel said.

"You lookin' f'r a fight?"

"You lookin' for a shower?"

"I would
love
to buy you a drink," Andrea said, glaring at Daniel.
"Possibly five. Have a seat."

"Oh, Andrea, come on!"

"Andeuh? S'pretty name."

"Daniel, will you stay out of this?"

"Bet y' got a pretty l'il pussy, too."

Daniel stood so quickly his chair tipped. "Okay, that's
it
."

"He's perfect!" she cried rapturously. The perfect bar, and now the perfect
entree. Drunk, obnoxious, and all the knuckles on his left hand were
scraped—he'd already been in a bar fight. It was doubtful he'd picked on someone
his own size. A glance around the bar confirmed there
was
no one his
own size.

She stood also, fumbled in her jeans, remembered she had no money, then
fumbled in Daniel's jeans.

"Hey, quit! That tickles!" She pulled a couple of fives out, dropped them on
the bar, then turned to her O-negative in shining armor.

"Why don't we go for a walk? Get some fresh air?"

His brow wrinkled as he tried to decipher her request. "Nnnnn… walk? Don'
wanna walk… wanna stay here n' talk t' you."

"You can bring your beer," she suggested, and that was good enough.

Annoyingly, Daniel stomped behind them as they left the bar. Smelly slung an
arm over her shoulders as she half-led, half-carried him around the back of the
building.

"Daniel… if you could just wait in the car, I'll be right with—"

"No way. I'm not leaving you alone with this—this—ugh!"

"Don't get too cocky," she muttered. She was glad Daniel couldn't see Smelly
was using the opportunity to grab and paw at her left breast, the only one he
could reach. "You're about as articulate as he is."

"I can't believe this is how you spend your nights," he whined, trudging
after them. "It's so bogus."

"As opposed to the fun-filled nights I could spend with Dictionary Boy," she
snapped. "Don't judge
me
. I'm doing the whole neighborhood a community
service. Instead of picking another fight or indulging in a little felony rape,
he'll sleep the rest of the night and stagger home in the morning, hungover,
violently ill, and remembering nothing."

"So, getting bitten by a vampire is the same as having six tequila shots?"

"Hilarious. I have laughed. My point—ow!"

"What?"

"Nothing." She glared at her boozy meal, who was leering at her with bleary
satisfaction. What he doubtless considered "being playful" was painful as hell.
Did he not understand nipples were
attached
? "My point is, he won't be
picking any more fights tonight, bullying women, committing date rape… none of
it."

"Can't we just hit him over the head? We'll get the same result. Right down
to the headache!"

"Daniel, I have to eat." She said it as simply as she could, because to her,
it
was
simple. She was too much a coward to end herself, and too hungry
to starve herself. She had chosen to live… after a fashion. This was her means.

She seized her knight in shining platelets, bent him back…

"Whu?"

… and sank her teeth into his jugular. Took her a second to find it; he had
an extremely thick neck.

"Jesus! You're doing it now? Right this second?" Daniel jumped in front of
her—them—arms spread wide, shielding her from passersby. Not that there were any
at this hour, this location. "Andy, we're not even all the way out of the ally
yet!"

"Grgle," she said, or something like it.

"Purrrrrrteeeeeeeeee…" her knight in shining plasma slurred, slipping into
unconsciousness as easily as a child slid down a slide. "Mmmmm… purrrrrrrr…
gaaaaahhh."

Daniel had a hand over his eyes. "They're never going to believe this at the
reunion."

"HEE! That was a piece of cake." She stumbled and Daniel steadied her.
"Course, it usually is… piece of cake I mean… hee… I miss cake…"

"Are you all right? You look kind of… uh… flushed, actually."

"Rush of blood," she said giddily. "Straight to the head! Zoom! Do not pass
go, do not collect any wooden stakes."

Daniel was peering worriedly down at her. He was so big, he was so strong.
She snuggled into his manlike—manful? manly?—arms, so gorilla-like in their
soothing strength. Ahhhh.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again. "You really don't seem like
yourself. At
all
."

"You wanta see something super supercool? Like comicbook cool? I used to
watch Wonder Woman alia time when I was a kid."

"Uh…"

"Watch this!" She straightened out of his embrace and lurched toward the
streetlight. It was one of the old-fashioned wooden ones, with a halo of moths
and mosquitoes circling the globe at the top. She threw her fist and hit the
wooden pole dead-on (a good trick, since at the moment, the pole was revolving
lazily, as was the street, and Daniel's head). It shuddered and splinters jumped
away from it, pattering to the street. She, of course, didn't feel a thing.

She hit it again, and it sloooooowly tipped over with a groan, hitting the
street and bouncing up about a foot, then settling back and rolling over the
curb.

"Holy shit!" Daniel just about screamed.

"I told you it was cool," she said. "Could you stop spinning around like
that? It's annoying."

"I'm standing still. Uh, don't knock over any more light poles, okay? Are you
sure
—wait a minute!"

"Okay, but only a minute."

"That guy was three sheets to the wind, and you drank his blood—you're
drunk!"

"I know you are," she said cleverly, "but what am I?"

"Great. A drunk, insanely strong vampire wandering the streets of—of whatever
town we're in. With me."

"Drunken," she corrected muzzily. "And I am not."

"You totally are! Does this happen a lot?"

"I thought I was high on life," she said, and giggled. "Guess I was high on
O-neg and Jack Daniel's." She laughed again, harder. It was all so stupid! And
funny! And stupid! "He was so silly! And smelly! He thought he was gonna get a
little, but instead
I
got a little. Ha!"

"Look, let's just—go back to the car, okay? This giddy, happy side of you is
kind of freaking me out. We'll get to the car and we can make it all the way to
the Cities before the sun comes up."

"No," she said.

"Uh… what?"

"No. You shouldn't be with me. You should leave me here and drive away as
fast as you can. Put that big smelly foot to the metal."

"It's not smelly," he said, "and you're talking crazy." He reached for her
arm but she shook him off like a fly.

"Go away!" she shouted.

He didn't go away. Instead, he hurried after her. "What the hell's gotten
into you
now
? What's the problem?"

"Just… leave me alone." She weaved unsteadily down the street. The mood she
was in, if those damned streetlights didn't stop wobbling, she was knocking them
all over. So there!

"C'mon, Andy, will you come to the car already? You're totally screwing up
our plan." She felt his fingers brush her elbow and whirled on him like a cat.
She could tell from the way the color fell out of his face that all her teeth
were showing.

"Leave. Me.
Alone
."

He rallied quickly, she noticed grudgingly; she'd give him that much. Too
dumb to stay scared. It was endearing, yet irritating. "What's the matter with
you?" he demanded. "Well… I mean… what
else
is bothering you?"

"I'm no good, Daniel," she said, her anger abruptly shifting to racking sobs.
"I have to drink blood to survive,
get it
?" He reached for her again
and this time she let him. "I'm the worst thing there is to be… a vampire! Pull
over at lunchtime," she begged, "and open the trunk."

He winced away from her, horrified. "I couldn't do that, Andy—"

"
And! Reel Uh
!" she screamed into his face.

"Okay," he said, rubbing his ear. "Now, come on. You're not bad, Andy, you're
just—in a bad situation. Yeah. And it's so totally not your fault, it should be
a crime. In fact," he said, warming to his subject, "it
was
a crime!
Like, murder, anyone? You're just doing the best you can. And you said yourself
you only go after scumballs. You're—you're doing a community service! Yeah,
that's it, they oughta give you a friggin' medal. Now—now quit crying, all
right?"

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Come on. Let's get to the car. You'll feel better when we get closer to St.
Paul."

"I doubt it." Did vampires get hangovers? She was afraid she was about to
find out. "Thanks for listening to my hysterical ravings."

"Aw, that's okay. It's kind of nice to hear you raise your voice once in a
while. You're a pretty cool customer, y'know?"

"I used to think so." She sighed, fell into step beside him, and made a
conscious effort not to rest her head on his shoulder.

They found his Intrepid and climbed into it. When she refused to buckle her
seat belt ("Honestly, Daniel, what could possibly happen to me?") he leaned
across her and belted her in. His chest pressed briefly against her shoulder,
and his breath, redolent of spearmint gum, tickled her ear.

"So!" he said cheerfully, starting the car and playfully racing the engine.
"We're off to see the Wizard! I figure we got about seven hours of darkness
left. Plenty of time."

"That's true," she said, cheering up. "I'll see the new vampire queen soon,
so I probably won't have to worry about anything much longer."

"What are you talking about?" He pulled into traffic after checking blind
spots she didn't know existed. For a happy-go-lucky laid-back type, he was
fanatically careful behind the wheel. "Won't worry about what?"

"Well, the new queen probably won't want any baby vampires around."

"Baby vam—what does
that
mean?"

She was momentarily surprised, then remembered he really didn't know anything
at all. "Sorry, I thought you knew. She'll kill me, of course. All the young
ones. I mean, we're not much use to her, and it's a great way to get her point
across. So I'm dead meat. Again," she added cheerfully.

He nearly drove into the stoplight. "
What
?"

"It's not like killing a real person," she said, trying to soothe him. She
should have guessed he'd take power-killing entirely the wrong way. "I've
already got a death certificate, remember." She rubbed her hands together in
anticipation. "Yep, she'll take one look at me and know I'm useless to her and—
glllllkkkkkk
!"
She drew her finger across her throat. "Sayonara, sweetheart."

"Jesus Christ!" Daniel yelled, which nearly made her throw up. "Are you
insane? You're taking a trip to see a vampire who you're pretty sure is gonna
kill you?" He slammed on the brakes. In fact, he stood on them. The car shrieked
like a cat and the cords stood out on his neck as he wrestled with the wheel.
Her breath was cut off (big deal) as the seat belt locked. Hmm. Maybe it was a
good thing he'd belted her in… otherwise she'd probably be skimming the road
like a tiddledywink about now.

"For crying out loud," she said when the car had shuddered to a smoking stop.
"What is your problem?"

"My problem? My—well, forget that shit! No way am I driving you to your own
murder! I'm turning this car around
right now
and we're going back to
Chicago."

"Oh, for the love…" She put a hand over her eyes.

"Yeah, you heard me." He twisted in his seat, glared through the rear window,
then slammed the car in reverse.

"Look, Andy, I'm real sorry you hate your life right now, but
I
think you're a super chick, and I'm not driving you to be some damn vampire
queen's hors doover!"

"It's pronounced," she said gently, "hors d'oeuvre."

"I give a shit!"

"That's fine," she said, "but I guess I'll just have to steal a car—it's not
difficult, I assure you—and go myself. Alone."

He glared at her. "No you won't!"

"Sure I will."

"Won't!"

"Ah… will."

"Dammit!"

He put the car in neutral and fumed while it idled. She hummed and studied
her nails. Eck. She had some of Big V Smelly's blood under her index nail. Could
she lick it off without Daniel noticing? Maybe he—

"Okay," he said abruptly. "Here's the new plan."

"I'm breathless with anticipation."

"I still drive you to Minneapolis—"

"So, the new plan is the old plan."

"—
but
, I'm going with you to meet the vampire queen."

"I beg your pardon," she said politely, "but you certainly are not."

"No escort, no ride! That's the way it is."

She studied him and briefly considered knocking him out and stealing the
Intrepid. But she had the odd feeling it might not be quite as easy as she
thought.

Well, she had a ride (again), and she could always ditch him at an opportune
moment.

And his concern was really… well… really…

"Let's go," she said, "before I start to cry again."