Lucas (Immortal Blood) (2 page)

I stood in the shadows, my gaze locked onto the old stone house next to the park. I felt quite relaxed but didn’t let my concentration waver. I dug a lighter out of my pocket and clicked it on lazily. It had been a long day and it wasn’t over yet. A dog barked somewhere near and I shut the lighter, merging into the long, dark shadows of the trees. I heard steps coming closer, stopping and moving on. My fangs hurt as I caught the walker’s scent, and my mouth got wet just from the thought of sinking my teeth into his neck. The dog growled, making its master jumpy, and they hurried away. Good. Maybe it was better. It was almost three days since I’d fed and I couldn’t guarantee I could control my hunger when my emotions were screwing up everything inside me.

After the man and his dog were gone the street was quiet again and I stepped closer to the house, staying in the dark. I watched Kate and her friends through the window as they sat in the living room. They seemed oddly expressionless and uneasy. Sure, they acted as if nothing was wrong, but I felt the scene in front of me should have been completely different. After all, they had just buried Kate’s father and yet no one was crying, not even Kate, and if I hadn’t known better I would have said they were just a bunch of friends spending an evening together and not even particularly having fun.

I could hear bits and pieces of their conversation, but as it had nothing to do with my brother I let it pass and concentrated on observing them. Sam braided Kate’s hair and puppy-eyes watched her when he thought no one was looking. The tough guy with a cocky smile played lazily with some cards and the rugby player was throwing darts with a boy who looked exactly like him. The guard dogs had fled, so I assumed I could also wipe them off my list. As I watched I also discounted the rugby clone, as he simply seemed too dumb and clumsy to kill anyone. And yeah, there was also the fact that he didn’t seem to belong with the others, and they in turn were acting awkwardly around him. Like they were watching their words and hiding something from him.

When Sam was done with Kate’s hair she went to sit next to the tough guy. He froze visibly and moved away from her. She looked hurt. Puppy-eyes said something to him and he jumped up, dropping the cards on the floor. Sam jumped up, too, and I heard her trying to soothe him. He snapped at her and fire flashed in her eyes. She snapped back and I laughed. I had been standing there for hours now but I didn’t feel tired, just anxious, and I knew by experience that the best way to get what I wanted was to be patient and wait for them to do something stupid. Something I was witnessing right now.

Suddenly, Sam marched out of the room. I stepped back, hiding myself, and not a minute too soon. Only a couple of seconds later she opened the front door and glanced angrily behind her, but since no one was following her she decided to slam the door as hard as she could and get out of the house. A slow smile spread over my face.

She headed to the park and I took off after her.

The moon was high and was shedding light across the narrow path. I could hear her muttering angrily and saw the dirt she kicked up whilst walking. Suddenly, she stopped and turned fiercely. I stopped, too, staying as still as I could. She cocked her head to one side, her eyes scanning the area. I held my breath. She harrumphed, slowly turned her back on me, and started to walk, much slower than before, to the nearest bench.

Great. Now I was stuck, frozen in the middle of the path, and could only hope we were the only ones enjoying the fun. Sam lifted her feet onto the bench, hugged her knees, and pressed her head onto them. She sobbed once. A dirty word almost slipped from my mouth. Was she crying? ’Cause if she was, I was so out of there. Crying girls and me were not a good match. She sobbed again and I moved an inch, hoping she wouldn’t hear me. She didn’t and I moved a little more.

Her head popped up. “Hello?” She looked around nervously.

A gust of wind rattled the trees and made the leaves on the ground dance. I saw my chance and slipped behind a large bush. Her eyes caught my shadow and she jumped up, revealing her canines. I didn’t move an inch. Her eyes moved systematically from bush to bush, tree to tree, but otherwise she was just as still as I was. The wind blew again and she sniffed. My lips curved up. There was no way she could’ve caught my scent, as I was standing upwind, and I could smell a hint of her perfume quite well. I licked my lips, and as if she sensed it, her heart raced frantically. She licked her lips, too, but as nothing happened she decided she was just imagining things and started to walk again. I seized the moment.

I slowly counted to ten in my mind, put my earphones on, and started to jog. She must’ve heard my steps and that I was getting closer, but she kept walking and kicking small stones angrily. My steady steps were not threatening in any way. Just a lonely jogger in a park. Nothing out of the ordinary. Yet a normal girl would’ve panicked at this point, especially after the suspicious moment minutes ago, but not her. She knew she could take any human attacker down, so why bother to be scared. I was only six feet away and I wanted to laugh out loud. Turn around, I mentally urged her, but she stared stubbornly ahead. I did the only thing I could to get her attention. I bumped into her. Hard. She stumbled and turned fiercely.

“What the f―” The words died on her lips as her eyes met mine.

I grinned cockily. She stared at me like I was a fallen angel. My bright green eyes flashed in amusement as her eyes wandered from my eyes to my lips. She inhaled sharply and I couldn’t help a corner of my lips twitching. She pressed her hand to her mouth and then reached out to me as if she needed to touch my ruffled dark-brown, almost black hair that hung just above my broad shoulders. I stood stiffly like a statue and let her examine me. Once I had been smug about my looks, but now it was just the way things were. I knew I looked exactly the same as twenty-two years ago. Okay, not exactly, ’cause becoming a vampire had highlighted my almost perfect features, and even though I looked like a twentyish-year-old boy, I was a man now.

She drew her hand away and shook her head as the reality started to reach her brain.

“Hi.” I smiled and took the plugs out of my ears.

“Hi.” She smiled back and I knew for sure that this would be the answer to all my prayers. She was obviously the weakest link, and getting close to her would get me closer to whoever killed my brother and help me to get my revenge.

I forced a concerned look into my eyes. “Sorry I bumped into you. I didn’t mean to, but I was lost in my thoughts and didn’t expect anyone to be here this late.” I smiled boyishly.

She hesitated and took a step back. “It’s okay. You’re not a serial killer or something are you?”

I shook my head. If only she knew.

“’Cause I’m not any helpless chick you can easily knock down,” she continued.

“No worries. I’m a perfect gentleman.”

She grinned and I grinned back. Okay, I was so not a gentleman, and I think she knew it, too, but she couldn’t resist the wicked gleam in my eyes.

I held out my hand. “Lucas.”

She glanced behind her as if to make sure she was close enough to the house if I jumped on her. “Sam,” she said but didn’t take my hand.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked, trying to look innocent.

She nodded and I decided to push my luck.

“I could buy you a coffee or something. You know. As a peace offering?”

“I’m cool,” she said and I backed away.

“Okay. Fine. Well, I guess I’ll just get on.” She didn’t try to stop me and I shrugged nonchalantly. “Okay then. Bye.” I started to jog away. I felt her eyes on my back. The hook had been thrown. Now I just needed to wind in the fish from the water. I grinned widely.

When I got to my hotel room I jumped onto my bed and dug out my cell. I dialed and waited. A familiar voice answered after three beeps.

“How did it go?”

“Just like you said. Perfect.”

“Are you coming home then?”

“Nope. Not until I find the killer.” A cold mask covered my face.

“O-k-a-y,” the voice from the other end of the line said. “But no matter what you find out, the girl is mine.”

“Deal.”

I closed the phone. He didn’t need to tell me to be careful, as we both knew I wouldn’t be. There was no need for that. He had trained me well and anyone looking deep enough into my eyes could see the black death in me. I had no illusion about what my brother had been, and I knew if he had still been alive he’d mercilessly hunt me down and drive a burning stake through my heart without any hesitation. But if my br
other had done things he should’ve been ashamed of, it was nothing compared to what I had done. I was a cold bastard who killed for money and, well, to be honest, sometimes even for fun, and if there was anything human left in me I had hidden it so deep inside that I doubted anyone could ever dig it up. No. I was more afraid that Kate would recognize me before I had accomplished my mission, as I was sure if she looked close enough she would see the similarity between me and her dad.

I spent the following morning in the car outside Regents East High and watched the students come and go, but after noon and a couple of not so tasty chocolate bars I decided to explore a bit.

The hall was empty as I slid in, so I didn’t bother to hide myself in any way. Sure, there was always a risk that I’d bump into Sam and her friends, but as it seemed unlikely I let myself wander freely from room to room and peeked inside through the small windows in the doors. I spotted Kate and puppy-eyes, looking bored in what seemed to be a math class, but Sam and the others were nowhere to be seen. A hall monitor passed me and gave me a weird look but didn’t bother to stop and ask what business I had in the hall in the middle of class. I waved at him mockingly behind his back and kicked lazily at an abandoned backpack that lay on the floor. I found my way to the office and was flicking through some brochures when a middle-aged woman tapped on my shoulder.

“Can I help you?”

I turned slowly and her eyes widened. She swallowed and I could almost see the unholy thoughts in her head as her gaze slid over me.

“Sir?” she squeaked.

For a second the thought of signing in as a student crossed my mind, but I shook it off quickly. I wasn’t planning on staying and I sure as hell hoped I’d get this all over with by the end of the week so I could go back to my normal life. I gave her a killer smile. “
Naah. I’m just here to pick up a friend.”

Her face fell. Glancing at her once more I turned to put the brochures back.

“Well, what’s your friend’s name? Maybe I could ask someone to find him?”

I glanced at her. Her eyes looked glassy and she licked her lower lip nervously. I couldn’t help myself. “It’s a she, and thanks but no thanks. I’m sure I can find her by myself.” An image of Sam’s bold eyes and wicked grin flashed in my mind, and a slow smile crept onto my lips. The woman in front of me obviously took it the wrong way, as she touched my arm softly.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. The look on her face was eager. I glanced at the clock on the wall and back to her face again. My eyes slid to her neck. I had twenty minutes before classes ended. I moved closer to her. She blinked, mesmerized. A corner of my lip turned up and the predator in me raised its head. Twenty minutes full of pleasure. I put my hand on hers and prepared to pierce her white skin with my canines. She opened her mouth slightly, and as though she knew what would happen next she bent her neck, offering her pulsing vein to me. I leaned even closer. Her breathing was quite shallow now, her heart fluttering like a scared butterfly’s
wings, and her fingers clung to my hoodie in anticipation. I brushed her neck gently with the back of my hand, moving her hair away. My fangs extended and I put them lightly to her skin. She inhaled sharply and a nervous laugh escaped from her.

“Eileen, is there―” A man burst in and stopped on his heels when he saw us.

I straightened up and drilled my eyes into the woman, gluing a concerned look on my face. “Are you all right, miss?” I asked.

She nodded, stunned.

I turned to the man. “I think she was about to faint. Could you get her a glass of water, please?”

He blinked, astonished, and shook his head, as if trying to understand what was going on, but managed to nod and blurted out, “Sure,” before vanishing through the door.

I steadied the woman and helped her onto the couch. She blinked rapidly.

“Are you sure you’re all right? You look a little pale to me.”

“Yes.” She cleared her throat, still quite flabbergasted. She loosened her grip on me and moved her hands to her lap, smoothing the nonexistent wrinkles on her skirt. “Yes, yes, I’m all right. What happened?”

“Nothing happened.” I emphasized my words. “Nothing at all.”

“Nothing,” she repeated and nodded. “Yes, I believe you’re right. I just … I feel weird.”

I smiled and patted her hand. She grabbed it quickly. “Could you sit here with me for a while?”

Jeez! I so couldn’t. “I’m sorry, Eileen, right?” She nodded and I continued. “I actually should be going now.”

“Of course,” she said hurriedly and looked as if I’d just killed her cat.