The Awakening (4 page)

“I think there are at least three people in the shop,” I said.

“How do you know there aren't more?” he asked, brows pinched.

“I can hear heartbeats.”

A half grin of amusement flashed on his face. “And you still think you’re not a vampire.”

I drew in a deep breath. Okay, I could hear heartbeats from far away, hear thoughts and voices, and smell aromas from nearby buildings. Ordinary humans wouldn't have such capabilities. Maybe I was special. A few things I knew for sure, (1) I wasn’t a killer, (2) I didn’t recall drinking blood, ever, and (3) I had yet to feel any sharp teeth. Weren’t vampires supposed to have fangs and lust after blood?

“How are you feeling?” Jonas asked.

I shrugged. “Fine.”

The pain in my gut rose and died in spurts. For all I knew, the ache could’ve been for human food, or maybe I had an ulcer. Hell, maybe my period was due. God, I hoped not.

“You know, if you need–”

“Jonas,” Boss said, appearing at the open window on my right. He opened the door and dropped into the seat.

“Find anything?” I asked.

“Security cameras are in the back. There are four people inside. Do you know how to use a gun?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, shaking my head. Those three words were becoming my most hated ones.

Boss reached under his seat and pulled out a small handgun. “Here.” He handed the weapon to me. “We’re not going in unarmed. Be careful. It’s loaded.”

The lightweight gun took up the palm of my hand. I slid my fingers through the small hole and held it upright. Oddly, it felt very natural.

“You think the owner caters to special clients?” Jonas asked.

“He’s open twenty-four hours, so I’m inclined to believe he might,” Boss replied.

“Special clients?” I asked. I reached behind me and slipped the gun under the waistband of my skirt, along the center of my back.

“People like us,” Jonas clarified.

Though I wasn’t sure what he was, I knew he meant not regular humans.

“Drive around the block. Whoever is in there should be leaving soon,” Boss said.

Jonas twisted the key in the ignition and gunned the engine. I leaned back and kept my eyes on both men. Every time Boss gave an instruction, Jonas followed. I wondered how long they’d known each other.

“Have you two worked together a long time?” I asked.

The car accelerated after Jonas turned on the main street. He shot a quick glance at Boss. “Do you want to tell her?”

“You can,” Boss replied before he turned his head to the open window.

“It’s been about twenty-five years now, if I remember correctly,” Jonas said.

I leaned between the front seats. “Wait a minute, you would have to be at least in your fifties. You don’t look middle aged to me.” I didn't see any wrinkles or gray in his hair.

“Technically, I’m in my late twenties,” Jonas said with a slight grin.

“Is there a fountain of youth I don’t know about?”

Jonas turned his head over his shoulder. His smile widened. “None that I’m aware of.”

“Then how?” I asked.

“I inject a small amount of my blood into his system once a year and it prolongs his life,” Boss answered.

“And it works?” I asked with skepticism in my voice.

Jonas chuckled. “I’m proof.”

I shook my head, unsure if I could believe him or not. The whole concept of sharing blood seemed gross and unbelievable. Yet, why would they lie to me?

“It seems to me Boss's blood does more than lengthen life,” I said, thinking back how Jonas had tried to get inside my head earlier.

“There are advantages to having vampire blood. I can slip into people’s heads and hear their thoughts, but I can’t manipulate them. I don’t ever get sick. And I heal fast when I get shot.”

“You’ve been shot?” I asked.

“A couple of times. Stabbed too. Violence comes with the job.”

“I would never have thought monitoring clans was dangerous.”

He chuckled. “Most of the time, its not. But sometimes people don't want us to report what we find to the council. They try to stop us.”

The type of work he described seemed difficult and painful. Why would he do it? What motivated him? I was curious.

“So, how did you and Boss meet?”

He spun the steering wheel as he turned a corner. “Our meeting was a bit of a fluke. I was traveling through Europe, hitchhiking mostly. For a couple days, I stayed in this small town. The people were preparing for some kind of festival. On the second night, I visited a pub and had a few drinks, chatted with the locals, and had a good time.”

“You should be grateful I showed up,” Boss said.

“No need to remind me,” Jonas said, his tone flat.

“What happened?” I asked.

Jonas continued. “Werewolves occupied half the town–”

“More than half,” Boss corrected.

Jonas gripped the wheel tighter. “They pretty much owned the town and the festival was to celebrate the full moon.”

“Had I not been in town to check on them, you would’ve been their next meal,” Boss said.

“So...he came up to you and said these werewolves wanted to eat you? And you believed him?”

“Actually, I thought he was crazy at first,” Jonas said. “On the night of the full moon, we attended the festival. Boss stayed at my side the entire time. After I saw them all change, I believed him. I puked my guts out and decided to follow him.”

Boss grinned. “Sweet memories.”

“My life changed that night and I haven’t regretted it since. Even the tedious research doesn’t bore me.”

“Ah, but we do have our moments of fun, don’t we?”

Jonas chuckled. “Yes we do.”

I inhaled a deep breath and weighed Jonas's story. If I had been in his shoes, I would have thought Boss was crazy too. Hell, I thought they were crazy for telling me I was a vampire. What if they were telling the truth? Why did I not seem disturbed or panicky?

Jonas turned down the street leading to the pawnshop. The truck I'd seen earlier was gone. Only the empty police vehicle remained parked in front of the shop.

“Looks like we get to go in,” Jonas said as he turned the car into the parking lot.

My heart sped up. I hoped we would find something to help me remember. I needed to know my name at least.

“Do you have the receipt?” I asked Boss as Jonas cut the engine.

“I have it in my pocket.”

“Can I have my dagger?” I asked.

Boss hesitated before he opened the glove compartment and withdrew my blade. He handed it to me with the cloth still wrapped around it.

“Can the poison hurt me?” I asked.

“No, not if the dagger is yours. I've heard of weapons handmade for the owners. They’re very rare, and the poison will kill anything it touches, except the owner. If those are your initials, then you will be fine,” Boss replied.

As he opened his door, I unwrapped the cloth and marveled at the shiny blade with the gold handle. Though the weapon was small, the metal blade looked sharp enough to slice through skin like butter.

Boss twisted around and leaned into the open doorway. “You might want to consider the fact that we don’t know who you are.”

What a twist. The blade could be mine and the poison wouldn’t do anything. But if the dagger belonged to someone else...
shit.

Someone hid it in my boot for a reason. Maybe I had. After all, if someone wanted me dead, the person could have easily stabbed me with the poisonous blade. Heeding my gut instinct, I slid the dagger into the lining of my boot.

Jonas and Boss waited at the door. Both men appeared confident and ready to do business. My heart pounded. Smiling and composed, I stepped out onto the curb.

Boss opened the door and Jonas strode in first.

“Stay close,” Boss said in a near whisper as I passed him.

Jonas headed for the back of the store with a casual stride. A bald man behind the counter was watching us. I paused two steps from the door, waiting for Boss. Aligned on the shelves near the door were a plethora of televisions and computers on display. The air had a stagnant odor, musty and smelling of dirt.

Boss touched my elbow when he reached my side. The soft contact reassured me. Side by side, we headed for the front desk.

Jonas stood at the counter, facing the bald man standing on the other side. “My friend was in here not long ago and sold something,” he said, jerking his thumb at me.

The bald man’s eyes darted to us. “Uh-huh,” he mumbled.

“We have the receipt and we’re hoping you could help us figure out what she sold,” Jonas said.

A series of clicks in the room behind the man at the counter alerted me. I stared at the door and saw it move.

Get the two in the back
, Boss said in his thoughts, and then chaos began.

Boss shoved me and I flew sideways. A series of shots fired as I crashed into a glass counter. The glass didn’t break, but the air rushed out of me. I regained my balance, and turned. Jonas was out of sight, and Boss held his gun pointed at the man behind the counter. The clerk had a frozen expression on his face and a dark hole in the center of his forehead. Blood rolled down in a single rivulet. His body collapsed with a thud as it hit the floor.

More shots sounded from the back. A woman screamed.

“Put it down and get out! Now!” I heard Jonas yell.

I removed the gun tucked in my waistband and quickly scanned the room for Jonas. Seeing the door behind the counter open, I reached out with my senses and heard three heartbeats. I assumed one was for Jonas.

Clutching the weapon tight in my hand, I rushed to Boss. I stopped next to him and inspected his arm. Scents of gunpowder residue and blood filled my nostrils.

“Were you hit?” I asked.

He tilted his head with his eyes and gun aimed at the open door behind the counter. “Shoulder.”

An overweight man with long brown hair limped out of the room, holding his hands over his thigh. Behind him, a woman cried and held her hands near her head. Makeup leaked from her eyes as she pleaded for her life. Jonas followed her, his gun aimed at her.

Boss grabbed the man and shoved him down. Blood smeared on the dirty floor. The woman whined louder and raised her shaking palms to her ears.

“Shut up. We’re not going to hurt you,” Jonas told her, keeping his gun pointed at her.

I stood mute with my hand gripping the gun.

Boss put his foot on the burly man’s injured leg. “We have a few questions we want to ask you.”

The man groaned in pain. Sweat beaded on his face. “I don’t know nothin’,” he replied through his dirty teeth.

“I think you do.” Boss took his foot off the man and pointed his gun at the woman. “If you answer the questions truthfully, you live. If you lie, and I’m very good at detecting a lie, then you get to watch her suffer, and you will die slowly. Do you understand me?”

“Ronnie,” the woman said. Her voice quivered.

“Shut up!” the man snapped. He spat on the floor before he lifted his fearful eyes to Boss. “What?”

“Have you seen this young woman before?” Boss asked, tilting his head in my direction.

Ronnie nodded. “Yeah.”

“Who was she with?” Boss asked.

“No one.”

Boss held his gun pointed at the woman as he squatted near Ronnie. “Are you sure she was alone?”

Ronnie met Boss’s gaze. The tension and pain in Ronnie’s face eased while his eyes became glassy.

“Was she alone?” Boss asked again.

“Yes.”

“You gave her nine hundred dollars. What for?”

“A watch.”

Boss pressed the tip of his gun into the man’s chest. “What kind of watch?”

Ronnie stunk of sweat, fear, and blood as he stared at Boss, transfixed. The coppery scent was one I couldn't ignore. I took slow steps forward. My stomach cramped while my heart thundered in my ears. Drawing near Ronnie, I realized the loud beat was his heart, not mine.

“A demon watch,” Ronnie said.

“Tell me about this demon watch,” said Boss.

“It was gold.”

“What else?”

Ronnie panted. “It told two different times.”

“Is the watch still here?” Jonas asked.

“No,” Ronnie replied.

“Where is it?” Boss asked.

Ronnie never blinked. “A man bought it.”

“Who?” Boss straightened, keeping his gun aimed.

Ronnie’s breathing labored. I stopped next to the smeared blood on the floor. My eyes rolled over the man’s leg and fixed on the spot of his bullet wound. I stared at the dark fluid coursing out. A small pain nagged at my gums and my mouth salivated.

“I...I...don’t...know,” Ronnie said.

“Hey!” Jonas yelled, and my eyes jumped up. “Are you in control?”

Good question. I felt shocked, confused, and afraid. The scent of the coppery fluid should've revolted me, but it didn't. I didn't believe I would thirst for it, but I did. A quiver ran down my spine. God help me, I craved blood. My hand holding the gun trembled. Control. I could take control, and fight the thirst. And I did. I swallowed hard and nodded at Jonas.

My eyes focused on the mirror behind him. For the first time, I saw myself. I had jet-black hair with red streaks, and pallid skin like Boss’s. I had a small nose and light purple lips that needed a red tint. Enlarged pupils hid the true color of my eyes. The large centers reminded me of Boss's. My God, I
was
a vampire.

“When did she sell the watch to you?” Boss asked.

I turned away from the mirror.

Ronnie wheezed. “Three days ago.”

“When did you sell it?”

“Less than twelve hours later.”

I inhaled the thick scent of Ronnie's blood and the knot in my stomach tightened. Wincing, I bent and pressed my arm under my ribs. My gums throbbed. I rolled my tongue along the roof of my mouth, hoping and praying for flat teeth. Between flat edges, I felt two sharp points. Every bit of me wanted the warm blood, wanted to feel it flowing into me and strengthening me. Somehow, I knew it would ease all my aches.

Fearing I might lose control, I backed away and dashed out the door. I wasn’t a killer.

Chapter 5

The bright fluorescent lights kept me alert. I slouched in my seat at a square table, holding my arms over my stomach. Boss sat across the table, watching me. Across the restaurant, boiling oil snapped and popped while a machine beeped annoyingly. I’d hoped the scent of real food would distract me from what my body craved. So far, it hadn’t.