Demon's Doorway (5 page)

Glancing over her shoulder, she gave him a smile. It promised an evening they'd both enjoy.

"I need you in the bedroom," she said coyly.

Cindy was a naturally sexy woman. But when she actually put in effort, Alex was glad his demonic powers made him immune to fire. Otherwise, his blood would boil.

He raised the phone to his ear.

"I have to go. Something just popped up."

"I'll bet it did. Do you forget who you're talking to? I can hear everything going on over there."

"Then you know this is an emergency. Invite the Pope, Gandhi, the Wolfman. It's all good. But I have to go."

"Go have fun with your fianc
ée," Victoria said, laughing.

Alex hung up and let the phone fall to the floor. Cindy giggled and turned around, playfully covering her breasts with her arm. She pointed at him and curled her index finger, signaling for him to come. Alex removed his shirt as he walked down the hall, throwing it behind him.

"I told you that was my favorite shirt," she said. "See what it does to me?"

"I'll buy ten more. Come here."

"You'll have to catch me first."

She made a move to run around the bed, but his wings were out as soon as he entered the bedroom. He wrapped them around her, gently pulling her to him, until they were inches apart. It was almost like they were in a cocoon. She embraced him, pressing her bare chest to his, rubbing his shoulder-blades where the wings started. They kissed, and Cindy let out a happy sigh. Alex played with the outline of her thong with his fingers while caressing her back with his wings.

"I like this," she said, touching his left wing.

"Really?"

She nodded. "You get real…
creative
with them."

"You are one freaky lady," he said, smiling.

She tugged on his shorts. "That's why we're a perfect match."

He lifted her out of her heels and carried her to bed.

*****

Victoria laughed as she tossed the phone across the seat and shook her head. She turned the radio back up, enjoying the wind rushing in through the windows on the highway. During her rare private moments with Cindy in the clubs of Baltimore she would tell Victoria things she couldn't tell Alicia. Namely, how delicious Alex was in bed. She could only imagine the things they were doing at that moment.

The familiar sign was coming up for Walton, a small town on the Maryland border. She'd been on the road most of the day, the sun only setting a short time ago. She could have made better time, but she stopped along the way, spending time at rest stops and two diners, even though she had no need for food. Stopping to smell the roses, under the light of day, that's what life was all about.

When
Nosferatu
was first released to the general public, Victoria remembered quite clearly the dread in her bones. The relatively new entertainment medium of motion pictures, putting the idea of the vampire in the public's consciousness. Then came
Dracula
, with Lugosi, a positively charming man when she'd met him. The entertainment was slightly off, but they'd gotten some facts right. Soon, the public knew the sun was a vampire's enemy, a stake through the heart was a deadly weapon, along with fire.

But nothing came of it. Vampires weren't discovered, didn't crawl out from under the bed. Mortals went about their existence, while vampires owned the night, and hid from the day.

Until Victoria. Until a special gift from a special friend.

A vampire's entire existence revolved around two times. Sunrise and sunset. They needed to seek shade at sunrise, and ruled the world at sunset. It was the balance of things, to have a creature so powerful that time itself couldn't touch them, only to wither and die in the day.

Victoria was no longer governed by such rules. Ageless, yet a friend of the sun, thanks to a witch's touch. She could engage in activities vampires only fantasized about. A day at the beach, a ballgame at the park on a Saturday afternoon, a drive to an inconsequential town on the border of Maryland and Virginia.

She would enjoy every moment under the sun. Even if it was merely a drive, a stop at a diner, watching the mortals around her eat and converse, while she drooled at the thought of the essence flowing in their veins.

She rooted through the cooler wedged in front of the passenger's seat for a cold bottle of blood. Unscrewing the top and taking a long drink, she looked around her as the highway gave way to small homes and front lawns. The first street light greeted her, telling her she was finally in Walton. The light was red, not a car in sight. She wondered why Walton didn't just operate off four-way stop signs.

The conversation was still fresh in her mind. Kristin called at nearly midnight the night before. Victoria was in bed, having finally reversed her sleeping habits.

Something's wrong with my brother. He's just not…acting right. I know it's a lot to ask, but do you think you could come?

Victoria didn't hesitate. She owed Kristin's brother a few favors, all of them very big. There were also selfish reasons Victoria packed a day of clothes and jumped in her Porsche. He was the last person alive Victoria wanted to hear wasn't
acting right
.

A gas station was coming up on the right. Not a single pump was in use. She threw back the last of her bottle as her car was gassing, tossing the bottle in the trash. The attendant watching the station sat inside a mini-mart. With her keen hearing, she could hear the sounds of the basketball game on the radio he was listening to.

She'd just screwed the gas cap on when a car pulled up a few pumps away. A man climbed out, certainly young and healthy enough, somewhere in his forties. Sandy blond hair, good, strong physique. He leaned against the pump while filling his car.

His blood smelled wonderful. She tasted her own blood as her fangs pressed into her bottom lip.

She hadn't drank live in a week, since Cindy's bachelorette party. Cindy and Alicia behaved, but Victoria couldn't say the same for herself. Nothing sexual, but she drank from three dancers that evening. She was an expert at being subtle, not that she necessarily had to be. The very nature of the twenty-first century was on her side. Gadgets, noises, flashing lights. Women dressing to distract men, men fighting for women's attention. Mortals, in general, had a very strong case of attention deficit disorder.

Victoria continued to watch the man at his car. She could almost hear his heart beating in his chest. Did she need to drink warm blood? No. She'd just drank a bottle of the cold stuff, and that would sustain her fine. However, was warm blood like a rainbow and unicorns dancing through her body? Yes.

There was no comparison, and she always found describing the sensation difficult to her mortal friends. It was like comparing cold and warm pizza, or sex without an orgasm.

Willing her fangs away, she grabbed the first old map she found in the glove compartment. She didn't even bother to check her hair before crossing the gas station. She was always beautiful. That wasn't a thought stemming from arrogance or vanity. It was simply a fact. Vampires were generally attractive, especially when satiated with blood.

"Excuse me, sir?" she called. She popped her hips slightly and tossed her hair behind her shoulder, holding the map in her hands. "Could you help me? I'm a little lost."

The man straighted his posture and took notice, eying her up. "You're definitely not from around here. I'd recognize you."

She smiled a flirty, fang-less smile. Flirting wasn't something she enjoyed now that she was involved with someone, but it was still the easiest way to loosen a mortal up. Lower their guard, make them expose their necks at just the right angle.

The man accepted the map and opened it. Victoria stood at his side, shoulder to shoulder.

"This is a map of Wyoming—"

His sentence cut short as Victoria buried her fangs in his neck. She grabbed the map from his trembling hand and shoved it in her back pocket, all without missing a drop of blood. The liquid heaven poured down her throat, and strength flowed through her body.

It was like being wrapped in a soft, cozy blanket. Despite the warmness, Victoria kept total control, never got lost in the moment. She was aware of everything. The stranger's fluttering heartbeat, his short breaths, even his rising sexual arousal. But he would be fine. She'd take what she needed, and gently place him back in his car, in a state of euphoria. He'd go home, not even sure if it was a dream or not. He wouldn't even have wounds, thanks to her saliva's ability to heal small cuts.

She wouldn't kill him. She wasn't a monster.

The nameless vampire who slaughtered her family in the middle of the night four hundred years ago, that was a monster. Ripping, tearing, clawing, there was nothing sensual in the way he fed from her. It was only sheer luck Victoria's blood could handle the change, and there was enough of her left.

There were many evil things in their world. Victoria wasn't one of them.

*****

The largest mall in Walton was surprisingly crowded. Victoria assumed on a weeknight the place would be empty. The weather was slowly changing from warm to cool, and it reflected in the surrounding dress. There were a few stragglers in dresses and shorts, but mostly jeans and leggings, with the occasional coat.

Gathering in a space with so many humans was always an experience, and her senses were extra sharp from her recent feeding. So many scents and sounds. She could smell blood, perfume, sweat, aftershave, alcohol, food, even semen. Constant reminders that humanity was the true master of the world.

She wasn't blind to the attention she was receiving. People gave her a second look as she passed by, and she heard boyfriends and girlfriends both getting scolded about ogling the beautiful redhead.

As she entered the food court she took a moment to appreciate the memory of the last time she was there. Private business mercenaries, gun play, magic, mortals running for their lives. Her life was nothing if not interesting.

The restaurant Friday's wasn't packed, but had a good amount of people, eating dinner, drinking at the bar. Victoria approached the pretty hostess, who gave her a bright smile.

"Hi. Table for one?"

"No, thank you." She scanned the restaurant, puzzled she wasn't picking up the scent of a witch. "Is Kevin working tonight?"

The hostess looked down, searching her brain for the name. "Uh, Kevin…Mishnar?"

"That's him."

"He doesn't work here anymore."

She cursed to herself. It would have been nice for Kristin to inform her of that. "Okay. Thank you."

The hostess went on, surprisingly helpful. "What's today? Tuesday? He's probably over at the cell phone cover stand, right outside Best Buy. If you see him, tell him to stop over sometime."

"Thanks very much."

Victoria crossed the mall, and finally picked up his scent as she neared Best Buy. Kevin was supernatural, and had his own unique scent. She spotted him, sitting at a desk in between two spinning cabinets, full of cell phone cases.

She'd seen many sights over the centuries that demanded a second look. Watching Kevin at that moment certainly qualified.

Kevin was a full-blooded witch, the most rare and powerful supernatural creature alive. He was the first one she'd encountered in a century. The last one she'd met raised a town of walking corpses. A mere half-witch was responsible for innumerable deaths during World War II. The Black Death, a witch's doing. It was generally expected to kill a witch on sight, until Victoria broke the rule. Witches, and magic, were simply too dangerous to be unchecked. The supernatural scale was different for them. They were mortal, would live a normal lifespan, but didn't have a lot of rules otherwise. They could even break the rules that didn't pertain to themselves.

Such as granting a vampire immunity to sunlight. Curing a werewolf. Cursing a human.

So, it was very strange to watch Kevin, knowing all that he could do, stroking his cat's fur while playing checkers with himself.

*****

Kevin Mishnar stifled a yawn as he stretched his free arm over his head. Taking a drink of water, he was almost tempted to pour the rest over his head to wake himself up. He glanced at the time on one of the front TV displays at Best Buy. Two more hours to go before it was time to go home. Then he'd eat a quick dinner, maybe work on a magic potion, go to sleep, and do it all over again. Life was exciting and fun.

Potential customers stopped at the cabinet next to him, staring at Android phone cases. It was a cute Asian couple, holding hands and standing hip to hip. The woman gave her man a quick kiss on the lips before resting her head on his shoulder.

"How are you guys doing tonight?"

They said nothing.

"If you see a case you're interested in, just let me know."

Silence. Kevin studied his water, wondering if he somehow drank an invisibility potion by accident.

The couple left without a word, leaving him alone once again. Kevin simply laughed quietly to himself and scratched Oscar's head. His cat purred contentedly and curled into a ball in front of the checkers board.