NightFall: Book One: Bloodlust Is the Cure for the Immortal Soul (11 page)

“Weird,” Indea commented
, brows wrinkled.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Simo
n
e continued at a lower
tone. “Turns out this Mr. Hobbs guy works for the quote
unquote OVI, otherwise known as the
Organization of Vampire Investigations–-“

“What?!”
Indea exclaimed a little too loudly.

Simone quickly put her fingers to her lips.
“Ssh-hh, Indea.
I’ve kind of been on the down low about this.”

Indea blushed slightly. “Oops. Sorry, Simone. But are you for real?” She lowered her o
wn voice to a whisper. “OVI?”
she asked incredulously.

Simone rolled her eyes. “I know.” She patted Indea’s hand sympathetically. “That’s about the same reaction I had when Mr. Brant mentioned this to me and told me I was doing the story. What could I do? He was hard on about it. I couldn’t very well say no. He’s like a father to me.”

“I know but-
–” Indea mouthed the word,
“––vampires?”

“Seems that there are a whole lot of people
out there
who are interested in
this.
Turns out Mr. Brant asked
me to do a monthly on the subject.” She didn’t look too excited at that. She looked down right cynical.

Indea’s tone took on a sarcastic note. “Could you
be
any more enthusiastic about it? It sounds like a step up to me.” Indea tried her best to sound encouraging.
Ever the optimist.

Simone blew air through her bangs with a pouty lip. “Well, I gave Mr. Brant my answer. He wanted it before I left today.”

Indea waited a bit impatiently. “Well?”

“I said yes. I get my own name under every article and my very own office. I know the stories are going to be more than outlandish but Mr. Brant gave me full authority over this.”

Indea smiled and hugged her best friend.
“Oh, Simone.
I think that’s absolutely marvelous.”

“Thanks.” It was clear that that was all she wanted to talk about on this subject.

Indea decided a change of subject was in order. “So, tell me. What exactly are you looking for in a French hottie?” Indea crossed her legs and put her elbow on her knee and a fist under her chin.

Simone giggled. “Who are you? Dr. Ruth?”

“Ah. I zee you are not answering my questions. Eez eet pozzible you are changing zee subject or avoiding eet?” Indea fought to keep a straight face. One look at Simone’s bewildered expression and she let out a whoop of laughter.

“You’re a great friend, Indea. Know
ing when I need a good laugh,”
Simone said sincerely.

Indea grabbed Simone’s hand and squeezed.
“Ditto.”

Simone let out a much needed breath of air.
“A Frenchman, huh?
Well, hmmm….tall.
Alluring.
Dark.
Mysterious.
Knows what he wants and how to get it and doesn’t let any one get in his way. Eyes so open and expressive you can see into his soul.
Sexy, of course.
A hard but ethical worker.
Definitely knows how to talk to a woman. Treat a woman. Touch a woman. But, you know,
with a French accent,
he could talk about lunch meat and it would sound sexy.”

Indea sighed.
“Ahh.
Amour.”

“I don’t know if love would have anything to do with it.”

“Lust, perhaps?”
Indea wiggled her eyebrows.

“Could be,”
Simone conceded. She tried to stifle a jaw cracking yawn. It took over.

“You work too hard.” Indea grabbed a pillow. “Here. Get some rest. We have hours before landing.”

Simone stuffed the pillow and placed it under her head. “Is it that obvious?”

Indea wrinkled her nose.
“Just
a smidge.
Now, go to sleep,”
she demanded motherly but softly as she arranged her own pillow.

Simone smiled as she closed her eyes, thinking.

It’s not very often in this messed up world that you can find a true friend like Indea. Simone didn’t care to make many friends. The minute you turned around, they’re ready to stab you in the back. At least with her few foes,
they were open about how they felt. If she wasn’t speaking metaphorically, her so-called ‘friends’ would have eventually stabbed her to death. She couldn’t count the number of times some of her
faux
friends told lies about her or tried to belittle her. Nine times out of ten, it was because of a man. Jealousy really brought out the devil in some people. How many times did she see the green-eyed monster looking pointedly at her?
And for what?
Why? It wasn’t worth all this aggravation.

Simone had always considered herself a
bit of a
loner. Until, that is, she met Indea Sky. Indea was in a class by herself. Like Simone, Indea had a devil-may-care attitude and she was the nicest person anyone could ever hope to meet. Yeah, she could be brutally honest but that’s why Simone loved her. Indea never lied. She just never saw a need to deceive. They felt like long lost sisters, finding each other after all these years.

Their friendship had been rock solid from day one. They stuck up for each other. Had each other’s backs, much to the maddening looks they got because of their strong bond. They were there for each other when a relationship didn’t pan out.
They went on d
ouble dates,
gone to parties, shopp
ed and tried new restaurants together.
They acted a lot like siblings but with a lot less squabbling.

It’s such a shame to get older. To get to a point where they would barely remember each other’s names, much less their own.

The final thought before Simone gave in to sleep was: too bad life wasn’t eternal. Then they could be friends forever.

*

Van k
new she was on her way to Paris. He couldn’t stop the skip in his heart at the thought of finally getting close to her. He’s waited for what seemed like centuries and centuries. Saldivar knew of her visit as well because another was with her. There were two. They were fr
iends which made it
easier to do what needed to be done.

Both nightwalkers were elated to meet these two extraordinary humans.

The time had come.

*

The jarring of the plane as it touched down woke Simone with a start. She’d had the weirdest dream. Problem was
,
she couldn’t remember it. But the way it made her feel when she was jerked from slumber was vaguely peculiar. She hated when that happened
. The fragments of the dream were
just beyond reach. She had the feeling of the dream but not the picture. She always wanted to kick herself for not being able to recall a dream. It would come to her if she would just put it out of her mind. The minute she started concentrating on so
mething else, she knew
the dream would
instantly pop up in her head w
ithout any labor on her part. But right now, she had Paris to explore.

Simone and Indea made their way to Baggage Claim and found their luggage. With two weeks worth of clothes and necessities, they had to get a porter to haul it to Indea’s parent’s car waiting for them at pick up.

Indea’s parents were outside waiting for them a few minutes later. The porter put the bags in the trunk and Indea’s father, Mr. Douglas Sky, tipped the man generously. The porter left with a huge grin on his face.

“Pere.
La Mere
,”
Indea said joyously, holding her arms out for a three-way hug. “How I’ve missed you.”

“We have missed you and Simone very much, Indea,” Mrs. Fredrica Sky said with a watery smile, a few tears spilling on her cheeks. “Simone. Come and give me and Douglas a welcome hug. We are so happy that you decided to stay with us for a while.”

“It’s been too long since I’ve seen you guys.” Simone embraced them.

“Let us only pray to the Creator that this will be
a regular habit from now on,”
Mr. Sky scolded lightly with a smile that gave him away.

“We will, Dad. Mom,”
Indea vowed.

“Absolutely,”
Simone agreed.

“Well, if we are all through here, how about some dinner?”
suggested
Mr. Sky.

“That sounds great! I’m famished.” Indea opened the car door and got in.

“You don’t have to ask me twice.” Simone followed after.

With that, Douglas started the car and went to his and his wife’s favorite restaurant just ten miles away.

*

“How do you like my parents’ new home?” Indea asked once they were in Simone’s room, unpacking.

Simone took in the vastness of the room
. “It is breathtaking. It’s completely
magnificent and charming.”

Most of the home was done up in a Victorian style.
Lace curtains.
Antique armoires.
A four poster bed with a canopy wrapped in a delicate white lace.
Plush ivory carpeting that felt like velvet across your bare feet. Wooden frames showing off abstract paintings and Paris scenery. Handmade doilies were placed on the dresser to set off antique knick knacks and other worldly and precious items.

Simone ran her hand across the tri-colored quilted bedspread that had an array of flowers sewn in. “I could really lose myself in this style.
Very classy and sophisti
cated.
I’ll sleep like a baby
tonight.”

“Good, b
ecause we’re goin
g to wear ourselves out tonight while having a great time,
”
Indea ran to her room and quickly came back with a suitcase that looked bigger than she was.

“Where are we going?” Simone wanted to know.

Indea studied
a black miniskirt. “Nope, I c
an’t tell. It’s a surprise.” She put the miniskirt against her waist.
“How about this skirt?”

“You know you’d look great in a potato sack.” Simone rummaged through I
ndea’s suitcase.
“Mmm.
This!”
she exclaimed. She held up a beautiful dress. It was a black midnight dress that came just above the knees. It was adorned with swirling constellations, a profusion of diamond-like and sequined embroidery. It was
opaquely lined with a transparent overlay and sparkling shoulder straps. With that, she added a rhinestone anklet and black Brocaded velvet shoes. For a necklace, she grabbed a sterling silver Karma necklace, a Labradorite
ring and mini silver wind chime earrings with tiny black glass bead clappers.

Indea clasped her hands. “Perfect. I’m getting ready as soon as I’ve washed away the stale smell of airplane off of me.”

Sim
one rummaged through her
suitcase
and tossed Indea the herbal shampoo, conditioner and mousse. She started looking for her own perfect outfit.