The Way of Escape (24 page)

Even though I wanted to connect with my two friends and find out how they were doing, I had to be careful about how I approached them. Since I was supposed to have no memory of the past week, I wouldn’t have had any knowledge of what they endured on Emmanuel’s island. I had to pretend that I learned about their disappearance from the authorities or the news and hadn’t seen them since we were at Gospel Gateway.

After making myself presentable, I stepped into my living room and finally faced reality. I turned on the television and flipped to a cable news channel, listening for any coverage of the slaves’ return to society while I tackled my phone. Once I turned off airplane mode, a flood of new notifications came up. It seemed as if every single person I knew had decided to call or text me when they heard that I was back. I finally took advantage of my new abilities and flew through my inbox, replying to dozens of texts in mere seconds and thanking everyone for their prayers and concern. The only person whose message gave me pause was Connor. He’d sent me a text right after sundown asking me to call him as soon as possible. Between the abrupt nature and nocturnal timing of his request, I stopped my texting spree and called him. He picked up halfway through the first ring and bypassed all of the normal small talk.

“It didn’t work,” he hissed. “The spell or whatever from the vampires that was supposed to make us forget what happened on the island worked on everyone else, but I still remember everything.”

Crap.

“How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know … I’m probably more thankful to be home than everyone else since I know what we escaped from.”

“Does anyone else know what really happened?”

“No, I played dumb and acted like I couldn’t remember either.”

I relaxed into the couch and thanked God that he’d stayed silent.

“I’m sorry that you had to lie to them, but I really appreciate it.”

“It’s the least I could do since you’re one of them now. You
are
a vampire now, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Do you feel any different? You sound like yourself.”

“That’s because I
am
myself. As far as I can tell, the change was only physical. The sire bond didn’t even take effect.”

“Sire bond?”

“Vampires are connected to whoever turned them. They’re obedient to their makers and can’t hurt them. That’s why I had to have Augustus turn me instead of any of the other vampires,” I explained. “Thankfully, that wasn’t the case for me.”

“So does that mean he’s gone?”

“No. I still need his help adjusting to my new life. After I’m back on my feet, he’s going to head home.”

“I guess that’s good.”

“It is. I couldn’t have done any of this without Augustus, but he’s just not someone I want lording over me for the next however many years.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Since you’re a vampire now, can you try wiping my memory?”

“I haven’t done that to anyone yet. Maybe Augustus could do it before—”

“I don’t want him poking around in my head. It’s you or no one.”

Casting my reservations about manipulating Connor’s memories aside, I reluctantly convinced myself that it was okay since he was actually
asking
me to do it.

“I can try.”

“Great. Can you do it tonight?”

“Augustus is probably on his way over here now. I know you don’t like him, but I’ll need his help since I’ve never done that to anyone before. Is it okay if he comes along?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” he grumbled.

Even though Connor was clearly unhappy with my request, he kept his displeasure to himself. Before I could try to assure him that Augustus wouldn’t abuse his powers or cause trouble, I heard a knock at my door and realized that our time was up.

“I have to go. Augustus is here. Text me your address and I’ll let you know what time we can make it over.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

I ended the call and zipped to the door with my newfound speed. When I opened the door and saw Lisa, one of my closest friends, I immediately cursed myself silently for not looking through the peephole before answering.

“I’m so glad you’re back! I know you said you wanted some space, but I just needed to see you with my own eyes and know that you’re okay,” she explained with a hug. “When I saw that you were answering texts, I figured I’d drop by. I hope you’re not mad.”

My community group leader, who lived in the apartment complex next door, wiped away a tear that had spilled from her brown eyes as we moved into my living room and sat down on my couch. Lisa Park and I had spent many nights in my apartment doing everything from attempting to recreate her grandmother’s pho recipe to watching bad romantic comedies together on Valentine’s Day.

Even though I was happy to see her, I was also terrified that she would be able to see right through every lie I told. I just prayed that she would be too thankful for my homecoming to press me for details or develop any suspicions about my lack of recollection. I also hoped that she hadn’t noticed the extra care that I’d foolishly taken with my appearance that evening. After all, kidnapping victims with amnesia probably didn’t get all gussied up their first night back home.

“Of course I’m not mad. I’m just surprised,” I said, leading her into the living room.

“How are you other than surprised?”

I weighed my words carefully before I spoke. Thankfully, I could give her a truthful answer without going into too many details.

“I’m fine for now. I might be singing a different tune if you ask me again in a few days.”

“That makes sense. You’re probably in shock,” she sympathized. “Is it true that none of y’all remember what happened?”

So much for being truthful,
I cringed inwardly.

“Yeah,” I lied.

“That’s terrible. How are you dealing with that?”

“I’m just grateful that I got home in one piece. Things could have gone a lot worse.”

“Is there anything the girls and I can do to help? Do you need us to bring you food or stay the night with you or something? I could even get a sub for my students tomorrow if you need some company.”

Knowing that Lisa and the rest of the ladies in our community group were so eager to help me get back on my feet warmed my heart, but Augustus was on his way over and I didn’t want to lie to her more than I already had by dancing around his identity and avoiding the truth. I’d cross that bridge later.

“I’m good for now. Maybe we can have dinner or something tomorrow night.”

“That sounds great,” she said with a smile. “I’m going to head out, but can I pray for you before I go?”

“Sure.”

Lisa took my hands in hers as we bowed our heads and closed our eyes.

“God thank you
so
much
for bringing Clara home safely. I don’t know what happened to her these past several days, but you know exactly what she’s gone through and exactly what she needs to recover from this strange turn of events. Please give her peace, help her find healing, and restore whatever joy was taken from her. Help all of us love and guide her through this incredibly difficult season of her life so she can get back on her feet and be closer to you than ever. I pray all of these things in your Son’s name. Amen.”

“Amen,” I repeated, wiping away a few unexpected tears much as Lisa had done moments before. “Thanks for coming over.”

“You’re welcome. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I walked Lisa to the door and she was on her way after one last hug. Once I closed the door behind her, I let out a long sigh and headed back to my living room. Less than two steps into my walk, I heard another knock and turned right about around to answer it. When I opened the door again, I expected to find that Lisa had come back because she’d forgotten her keys or phone. However, the person standing on the other side of my door wasn’t a Vietnamese high school teacher in her late twenties. My visitor was an Italian, redheaded vampire who was centuries older than his thirty-something appearance implied.

“I’d ask if you were enjoying your first night at home, but you’re clearly not,” Augustus observed as I stepped aside and let him in.

“My friend Lisa was just here.”

“Did she say something to upset you?”

“Not really, but I spoke with Connor right before she came over,” I confessed.

“You shouldn’t have contacted him so soon, Clara. You have to be careful.”

“Connor texted me not the other way around,” I clarified. “He still has all of his memories, and he wants me to help him forget everything.”

“He must have fallen through the cracks somehow,” Augustus assumed. “Did you agree to do what he asked?”

“Yes, but I told him I’d need your help.”

“Good. The fewer humans who know about our kind the better. In the meantime, are you ready to go hunting?”

“Hunting?”

“You’ll need to find a human to drink from since we’re in the civilized world now. It will be just like feeding from me only you’ll have to make him or her forget your encounter.”

Biting a complete stranger wasn’t exactly my idea of fun, but it was necessary for my survival. If the previous night was any indication, I had enough restraint to keep from taking too much blood. The only skill I hadn’t practiced was the supernatural hypnotism, which I couldn’t quite wrap my head around doing.

“So how do we find this poor guy?”

“Bars and nightclubs are usually the easiest places to feed inconspicuously. Everyone is too wrapped up in their own drunkenness and debauchery to be alarmed by a pair of strangers disappearing for a few minutes.”

I thought back to my pre-Jesus days and remembered the times I’d ducked into bathrooms, hallways, and alleys to make out with David or whatever lost souls my beer goggles and broken heart were drawn to at the time. As shame inducing as those memories were, they served as a much-needed reminder that Augustus was right. No one would care or notice if I lured someone away as long as the person in question didn’t have a date and he came back in one piece.

“That makes sense,” I replied. “Did you already have somewhere in mind?”

“I have a few places I frequent when I’m in the area, but it’s your first hunt. We can go wherever you want.”

“I’d rather not go to any of my old stomping grounds and risk running into someone I know.”

“Then we’ll go to mine. After that, we can visit your friend and give him the gift of forgetfulness.”

♦              ♦              ♦

Thirty minutes later, I felt like I was in hell. Not the lake of fire, weeping and gnashing of teeth hell of the Bible, but the loud club music with too much bass and sweaty people grinding on each other from one wall to the next hell that Augustus had chosen. Not long ago, I would have fooled myself into thinking I was right at home amongst the men and women around me with a few strong drinks. Since my last foray into the club scene, my eyes had been opened to the emptiness and outright grossness of the lifestyle I was dipping my toe into again. I couldn’t even muster up an ounce of faux enjoyment.

“We’ll only be here long enough for one drink,” he promised once we slid into a sticky booth that probably hadn’t been wiped off in weeks.

“Okay.”

“Do you see anyone you’d like to grab a drink with?”

As I glanced around the room and saw a few attractive guys, I mentally rejected them since blood lust and traditional lust apparently went hand in hand. I needed whoever I drank from to be as undesirable as possible because fighting whatever temptation might arise would be a lot easier. Sure, lust hadn’t hit me over the head when I drank from Augustus, but I didn’t want to press my luck.

Keeping that in mind, I scanned the hazy room again and saw that my donor for the night had noticed me before I’d laid eyes on him. The man was ogling me from the bar with his two equally unappealing friends. While his jeans sagged so low that the crotch almost reached his knees, his oversized black t-shirt, which just barely covered his lightly tanned neck and sleeve tattoos, saved what little dignity he had by keeping his underwear out of plain view. When he licked his lips at me and turned to talk to one of his friends, I noticed the clear teardrop tattoo by one of his green eyes.

Hello, dinner,
I thought halfheartedly.

“I think I see someone.”

Augustus flicked his eyes over at the man in question and raised an auburn eyebrow at me.

“Your taste is more varied than I thought.”

“It’s not
that
varied. I just rather not … grab a drink with someone I’m attracted to,” I defended, fiddling with a loose thread on the sleeve of my shirt. “I don’t know how I’m going to muster up the nerve to go over there though.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll leave now and he’ll swoop in before my seat is even cold. Bring him out to the alley I showed you on our way in. I’ll be waiting for you there.”