29: Vampire Business

I can do this. I can do this.

We approach the rundown building’s front door and I’m positive that the two vamps that linger out front can hear my racing heart. What I wouldn’t give to see Icky’s sweet face instead of some haughty vampire. Gabriel and one of them tip their heads in unison to each other as if they know one another and for all I know, they do.

I don’t know what I’m expecting since I’ve never been here, but my imagination gives this place more credit than it deserves. The second we step over the threshold it’s not a night club. It’s more like a condemned building, but there’s no denying the thumping of very loud music vibrating the crumbling walls.

“This is it? This is Rapid Pulse? Looks like a dump to me.” I whisper knowing that Gabriel can hear me.

“Just wait.” Gabriel says back as he leads me through the empty, dirty hall. “We can’t go and show all the fun the second you walk in. We don’t want to go attracting humans.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” This time my words are more than a whisper because that faint music is much louder now.

We come to a stop at an elevator. Gabriel pushes the down button and almost instantly the doors pop open. He kindly gestures for me to step inside the small square box, but my feet are reluctant, so he goes in first and holds the door open with his arm.

With a couple of deep breaths, I muster the courage to step inside. As the door closes my heart races as I suddenly become claustrophobic. We go five floors down and with each level the music gets progressively louder. By the time we reach our destination, I cringe from the sheer volume of it.

Seconds before the doors open a bright purple glow seeps through the crack. And once the doors do open, I’m bathed in that same glow, the whole club is. It’s breathtaking, something I never considered a vampire club to be. Gabriel walks out of the elevator and holds the door open with his arm yet again.

It takes a great deal of strength to put one foot into the club, but somehow I manage, maybe because I’m slightly mesmerized by everything. This floor of the building has been completely redone. A shiny bar lines one wall accompanied by comfy bar stools. There's a large dance floor in the middle and the outer walls are separated by several sectioned booths.

There’s no doubt that it takes extraordinary vampire hearing to be able to hear over the beat and I’m sure Phillip and Gabriel are counting on that, but I’m not completely useless. I mumble a quick chant under my breath and the buzz of the loud music quickly dies down to the perfect volume.

Gabriel squints at me in skepticism, eyeballing me and my mischief. I provide him a small smile and play the part of a mere human overwhelmed and deafened by the too loud music. He doesn’t say anything, so either he buys it or he’s being nice and not punishing me for using my magic to my benefit.

“This way.” Gabriel shouts. Apparently, he doesn’t realize I’ve just made myself a liability. I keep my eyes on the ground as I follow him, but that proves to be a bad idea. Blood splatters the concrete floor. Some splatches are small drizzles, but some are huge puddles.

I advert my eyes away from the floor looking for somewhere safe to look at, but there isn’t anywhere. It’s either scantily clad women and men dancing provocatively or vampires enjoying a meal.

My eyes don’t linger on any one thing for too long and I become slightly relieved when we approach a row of plush, leather booths. Phillip casually sits in one already deep in conversation. I don’t realize that Gabriel stops and his hand catches me jerking me back.

“We wait here.” He says.

Fair enough. I’m still close enough to listen. I can’t see who Phillip is meeting with, but I know I’ve never heard their voice before. He says something about equality of his vampires if they should align. Phillip being on his high horse replies with the classic line of, ‘what is mine is yours’, but that’s the biggest lie I’ve heard from him yet. And that says a lot since he’s been nothing but brutally honest with me.

Not long after we arrive Phillip looks our way and waves us over, “ah, my favorite son is here.”

Gabriel quickly latches onto me as we make our way to the booth and I become all too aware of how close he is. Once we come to a stop in front of the booth, meeting every single vampire’s eye...all six sets of them as well as one female human’s eye, my heart drops. I hope they don’t expect anything of me, like talking or offering anything.
“A witch?” One of them says, but all of their eyes scan me up and down and a wave of disgust nearly jolts my body trying to shake it off.

Phillip turns his stare on me, a soft smile on his lips as his kind voice says, “she’s like a daughter-in-law to me.”

What did he just say? I’m frozen in place, shocked to my core. I can feel Gabriel’s hand tightly clutch mine as if silently threatening me to play along.

“So close.” I mutter. “He even makes me call him Daddy sometimes.” I joke, but I instantly regret it.

They all stare at me with serious eyes that I instantly think I overstepped some boundary. But then the unimaginable happens. The oldest, most prominent looking vampire stranger cracks a smile.

Oh thank God.

“Quite funny she is.” He looks to Phillip, his smile gone, but his tone is still light, “So you have a select number of witches on your side and league of half breeds. Impressive.”

“And I’m allowing you a spot with top ranks, but decline and I can’t guarantee that there will be a spot for you.”

“You never said how you are to achieve this goal. There’s no way you’re just going to out yourself and not have backlash. If anything, you’ll have groupies, but not superiority like you claim.”

“Magic of course.” Is all Phillip says as if that explains it all.

The other vampires glance in my direction, but Phillip cuts their questioning stares short. “Not her. Like I said she’s more family. It’s my coven, I was telling you about, they have it all handled.”

“Interesting. I’d like to hear more.” The leader of the opposing vampires says.

“We’ll let you finish.” Gabriel quickly interjects. “Love, shall we dance?”

I clench my teeth together, “love to.”

Gabriel slowly brings us to the dance floor where we effortlessly find a spot unlike the couple of times I’ve been to Young & Restless. Gabriel quickly takes advantage of the situation and draps both of my arms over his shoulders bringing me flush up against him. As I glare at him, he flashes me a cocky smile.

“So, he’s gaining allies.” I say into his ear.

“Smart and sexy.”

My eyes flutter from his eyes to his lips and then to his chest at his words. “You do realize that hundreds of thousands of people, innocent people will die if Phillip gets his way. You’re okay with that? All that death on your hands.”

“Do you really think of us as monsters with an insatiable appetite? Don’t you think if that were true that you would be full of bite marks right now?” His finger lightly glides down my cheek, follows my jawline and drops to my neck. A shiver travels through my body.

“Says the vampire who works for the vampire that sent a vampire to rough me up to trick me into a blood oath or to turn me into a walking, talking dead person who will be at your command.” I stare at his emotionless face. “Did you get that?” I shout at him.

“Not at all.” I can’t tell if he’s lying or he really didn’t follow that. I didn’t take him for being stupid, but I take him for being biaist.

“When can we leave?” I groan.

“When Phillip says we can, so lighten up and have some fun. I promise no one is dying tonight and no one will be having a taste unless you offer.”

“Not gonna happen,” I quickly reply.

He doesn’t say anything to that, beside flashing me yet another half cocked smile. Ugh, I hate him sometimes. And just at the thought a jolt of pain rips through my stomach. Gabriel catches it.

“Are you thinking of ways to murder me?” He asks.


“No, but that seems like a great way to pass the time.”
“Then I foresee that I’ll be the one shedding some blood tonight.” He jokes, but the words fall flat and cause my body to stiffen. “I’m just kidding. But, you do realize that it won’t be the last time that you’ll have to drink. You need to find Tessa.”

“I’ve tried, Gabriel. You have no idea how hard I’ve tried.” I whine.

“And you’ve tried with your gift, your specialty?”

“The dream realm?” I can’t believe I didn’t think of it, but once the thought buries itself in my head I push it aside.

“The coven is still sending her the dreams. Can’t you follow that?” He says as if it’s really that easy.

“It’s a little more complicated than that and even if I did just go to the dream realm and follow that horrific dream, I’m not sure I want to. I almost got stuck there the last time I saw it. Going in without-”

“You’ll be anchored to me. I won’t let you get stuck.”

We stare at each other for several minutes, silent. His words sink in. Damn it. The books didn’t work, the spells didn’t work, because this was the way all along, the last possible way to find her. Something only I can do. That’s why Phillip needed me out of all the witches in the world. Not because I had a minor interaction with his sacrifice, but I had the way to find her.

I just hope I don’t lose myself in the process.