IT WAS TOO late to do anything about my job today. Even if I'd wanted to, it would have been an exercise in futility. In a little less than three hours, the sun would be up, and it would be lights out for me. I considered a moment. Maybe not, now that I'd gotten a pretty big dose of Liam's supercharged blood.
I shook my head. No, I needed to proceed under the assumption that I had my normal restrictions. I didn't want something like last night happening again.
"You don't need that job," Liam said, his voice bland.
I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Unlike you, I haven't spent several lifetimes accumulating wealth. That job pays for my rent and all those other pesky little details that come with living."
Once, in addition to providing for my lifestyle, the job also sheltered me from vampire society while giving me exposure to the spook world. That wasn't the case anymore. The bell has been rung on my status as a vampire. There was no going back. However, Hermes still provided an income and allowed me to learn about other spooks.
For all that vampires were at the top of the food chain, they weren't the only dangerous things out there. It paid to know as much about this shadow world as possible—especially since I didn't enjoy the same protections as most vampires. Being a runner for Hermes offered me that. It also meant I had contacts throughout the community that I suspected even Liam didn't have. I could be wrong. He'd surprised me before.
"You could work for us." He met my gaze with a challenging stare of his own, not letting the astonished skepticism faze him.
"That'll never happen."
His lips quirked in a half smile. "You never know. I'm sure you once said you'd never stay in a clan home and yet here you are."
He did have a point there.
"Some things are non-negotiable. Giving you lot that much power over my life is one of them."
He chuckled, the sound warm. "We'll see."
"No, we won't."
I made my way out of the doctor's office, not seeing any sign of Joseph or Thomas. I counted that as a blessing. Even though Liam's blood had helped me heal any wounds they may have inflicted trying to get me strapped to that table, I was still tired—like I’d been up for three days with zero sleep. I didn't want any more run-ins before I recouped some of my energy.
It wasn't long until I found myself totally turned around. With no one to guide me, I'd made a few guesses as to which way would lead back to my room. I could have sworn this was the way Nathan and I had come last night.
I wandered down another long corridor, cursing space-warping magic.
Hearing voices coming from a hallway I had just passed, I about-faced and headed in that direction. If nothing else, they should be able to point me in the right direction. I found myself in a familiar, bright space full of gleaming stainless-steel appliances. It was the kitchen Nathan had shown me last night. Unlike before, several people occupied seats around an island, while a few others busied themselves cooking on the huge stove or chopping ingredients.
All eyes turned to me, curiosity on their faces. Judging by the fact they were in the kitchen, and all the vampires I'd met had expressed distaste for solid food, I assumed they were human.
Theo turned from where he was preparing something on the stove. "Aileen, what are you doing down here?"
A few of the humans shared looks before turning their focus back to me. The curiosity remained, but there was something else on some of their faces. Something a little less friendly.
I didn't want to admit I was lost, but I also needed to think of a good excuse to be down here. "Nathan gave me a tour yesterday and might have mentioned there was ice cream in the freezer." I gave him a sheepish smile.
Theo looked around before grabbing a hand-towel and drying his hands. "Ah, yup, I think there's still some left. Let me get you a bowl."
"I can get it myself if you point me in the right direction," I said, stepping forward.
"No, no. I'll get it for you. Just have a seat, and I'll pull it out." He waved at the island where three people sat.
I hesitated before I headed in their direction, finding a seat on the end and perching on it with a stiff smile. The humans watched but didn't say anything. It was awkward, like I was some kind of zoo animal they were examining for possible signs of aggression.
I didn't know if it was because this was typically their domain and they had rarely seen a vampire breach it, or if my reputation preceded me. It couldn't be because they hated vampires. They were all companions, or at least I assumed they were companions because they were in a mansion stuffed to the brim with vampires.
Theo busied himself in the industrial size freezer, shifting things around as the man and woman by the stove turned back to their work.
The rest of us stared at each other in silence until Theo set a bowl filled to the top with purple ice cream stuffed with giant chocolate blocks in front of me.
"Black Raspberry." I couldn't help the excitement in my voice. It was my favorite flavor.
Theo stepped back and leaned against the counter behind him. "Nathan mentioned you asked about it, so I figured it was a safe bet."
I dipped the spoon in the freezing awesomeness and stuck it in my mouth, rejoicing at the tart sweetness that rested on my tongue. It wasn't quite as good as Liam's blood, but it was damned close.
"Never seen a vampire eat ice cream before," a blond-haired man said from two seats down. He was tall, thin, and sported a scraggly beard. Young, but then they were all young. Most of the companions looked no more than their mid-twenties.
I paused in savoring the unexpected treat and looked sideways at him. There were several ways I could take that statement—especially given the smallest tinge of hostility I could hear in his voice. Maybe I was reading into it, letting some of my insecurities frame how I received their responses.
"Then they're missing out, because never tasting Graeter's Black Raspberry ice cream would be a tragedy." I stuck another spoonful in my mouth to illustrate my point.
"That's true," the woman by the stove said with a smirk. Her dark brown hair fell halfway down her back and had a reddish tint to it. "Ice cream is what makes the world go ‘round."
I pointed my spoon at her and nodded. Finally, someone who recognized the absolute need to have it in your life.
The man snorted. "It's weird. My patroness said eating human food could impact her strength. I wouldn't risk it. It's just not worth it."
"Not even for steak?" Theo asked, his expression teasing.
The blond shook his head. "Not for anything. Those who receive the kiss have a responsibility to do all they can to support the clan. Risking their health and development for some fleeting pleasure spits on that duty."
I dragged the spoon over my tongue. Well, I guess that answered that. Definitely hostile. Or at the very least, jealous.
"I don't know. It would be hard to face an eternity without all my favorite foods," a woman with dainty features and a sweet smile said. "Just imagine, never tasting sushi or lasagna again."
"My patroness said the taste of blood more than makes up for the loss of food," the blond said, a trace of haughtiness in his tone.
The woman by the stove rolled her eyes. "Don't mind Pierce. He's a pompous, know-it-all at the best of times."
"Since he heard about you jumping the line, he's been like a bear with a thorn in his paw," the man at the stove said. He had skin the color of dark mahogany and a beautiful smile.
Pierce looked like he'd bitten into something sour. "You all weren't happy to see another take your spot. Don't even try to pretend otherwise." His angry glare moved from one to the other. His eyes settled on the woman at the stove. "Deborah, you were just saying earlier how you didn't think it fair that some random stranger off the street got turned when you've been waiting eight years."
Deborah flushed and turned her eyes back to the pot of simmering red she was stirring. Marinara unless I missed my guess.
Theo stepped in, his brown eyes earnest. He gave me an embarrassed smile. "Pardon my friends, Aileen. They're a little out of sorts after the attack."
Pierce folded his arms and leaned back, looking oddly satisfied.
I looked around, noticing who avoided my eyes. Pierce met my gaze with a stubborn tilt of his head and jutted out his jaw as if he was waiting for me to chastise him. I didn't know how the vampires in this place typically interacted with them, whether such talk would be considered an insult or not.
I decided to focus on more important things then what they thought of my presence. "Attack? You mean the one Liam was investigating earlier?"
He nodded, looking somber. "Yeah, that's the one."
"Is the person attacked okay?" I looked around the room, careful to keep my expression sympathetic. "Who was attacked?"
"It was Theo and Catherine," Deborah said, turning to face me, while keeping one eye on her pot. "Thanks to Theo's quick thinking, neither one was hurt."
I made an appropriate sound of appreciation, my gaze flicking back to Theo.
He blushed and ducked his head. "I did what anybody would do."
Pierce rolled his eyes, looking disgusted at the entire exchange.
"That's impressive," I said, ignoring Pierce.
"It was," Deborah agreed. "He saw the wolf in time and got him and Catherine into the car before it could hurt them."
I glanced at the woman with the sweet smile. Catherine, I think that was the woman from last night.
Seeing my look, the woman said, "Catherine found the experience a little traumatic. She's in her room resting right now."
"And you are?" I asked.
"Sheila." She gave me another sweet smile. "My patron is Kato, one of the new master's lieutenants."
I had no idea what that meant, but by the way she said it, I imagined it was supposed to be impressive.
"My patroness is a lieutenant as well," Pierce said with a superior smirk. He slid a look Theo's way. "Unlike those of us who are unclaimed, I hear all of the latest news."
Deborah rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. It's very impressive that your patron is so high up. We're all companions here; you're no better than the rest of us."
Pierce curled his lip. "At least mine isn't an enforcer."
Deborah slammed down the spoon she'd been using to stir the pot. "Don't you dare talk about Noah like that. He's worth more than some upstart clan member hoping to get selected to the new master of the region’s inner ranks."
I took another bite without taking my eyes off the two of them. This place was like a real-life soap opera, complete with drama and hidden agendas.
Theo held up his hands in a placating gesture as he stepped between the two as they glared at each other. "That's enough. This isn't a conversation we should have in front of company."
All eyes came back to me. I gave them a small smile and set my spoon back in my now empty bowl.
Sheila watched me with an amused glint in her eyes. "Is it true that your sire had no idea of your existence until you declared it at the selection ceremony?"
I cocked my head as I considered. It had been less of a ceremony and more of an outright brawl, but perhaps blood sport was what passed as ceremony with these people.
"That about sums it up."
"What was it like waking up a vampire with no prior knowledge of this world?" Deborah asked, forgetting for a moment her disagreement with Pierce.
I looked down at my bowl and wished more ice cream would magically appear in it.
Seeing the discomfort on my face, Deborah said, "I'm sorry. That's probably an insensitive question. You don't have to answer if you don't want."
I studied her. She looked sincere. It was the only thing that convinced me to speak. "It was difficult. I thought I was going crazy at first."
"How did you survive the bloodlust that takes all the newly turned?" Theo asked, his gaze intent. I looked around to find all of them looked interested in my answer, even Pierce.
Their fascination made sense. If they were companions hoping to make the change, they would want to know what was in store for them. I doubted they'd learn anything from my experience. It had been far from the norm, based on what I’d heard.
"I had a little help from someone in my old command. They were familiar with this world and got me through the first few weeks. Once I stabilized, that person helped me get out of the military and set up a life here." It was a heavily sanitized version of events, and I made sure not to mention any details that might be used to identify the Captain. They probably weren't bad people, but their loyalty would be to their patrons first. I didn't want something I said being used to hurt the Captain later on.
I owed a lot to that man. I didn't like to think about what might have happened had he not been on duty that night.
"Impossible," Pierce scoffed. I fixed him with a stare, arching one eyebrow. He didn't let my look phase him, secure in his own convictions. "You're lying, or at least concealing the truth. There’s no way it only took a few weeks for you to rejoin the world. A vampire's bloodlust is near uncontrollable in the beginning. Some human, or even another spook, would have no chance in controlling you."
I gave him a grim smile that held little humor in it. "You've been turned into a vampire, have you? You have first-hand experience in what it's like?"
Deborah allowed herself a small smirk as Pierce's mouth snapped shut, even Theo looked slightly aggravated at the other man. It seemed I wasn't the only one who disliked him. He mistook the power and position of his patron as his own. I hated people like that, and I especially hated when they called me a liar.
Pierce didn't have a ready retort.
"I didn't think so." To the rest, I said, "Once in Columbus, I got a job with Hermes and have been working there ever since."
"How did you know what to do to survive?" Sheila asked.
I shrugged. "I figured it out and picked up tips here and there."
I left out the fact that my knowledge of spooks was seriously lacking. Every one of them probably knew more about vampires than I did. As companions, they had an all-access pass to the vampires' habits and traits, something I hadn’t had much exposure to. I'd learned more about my own brand of spook in the past twenty-four hours than I had in the last year.
"It must have been tough," Theo said with a sympathetic glance.
I inclined my head.
Pierce scoffed. "She got an easy pass to the top of the food chain. Some of us have been waiting years for an opportunity like that, and she had it dropped in her lap."
"Pierce," Sheila said with gentle reproach in her voice. “You know Thomas, because of his power, has an exemption from those rules.”
He grimaced but didn't challenge the small, gentle-looking woman.
I pushed back from the island, being sure to hold Pierce's gaze with my own. "Some opportunity. I would gladly give it to you if I could."
I gave the rest of them a small nod before leaving the kitchen without another word. Their voices trailed behind me.
"Pierce, that was rude," Sheila said.
"What? We were all thinking it. Sarah said she won't even claim a clan. Spoiled bitch. Any one of us would have killed to be in her shoes, and she's just throwing it all away."
"Pierce, you can't say things like that." Theo's voice was a quiet rumble.
"Aren't you mad?" he asked. "You can't even get a proper patron. They pass you around like you're a whore."
There was a long pause. "It's not her fault. She didn't choose this. We did."
Their voices faded as I continued out of hearing distance. They'd given me a lot of food for thought. From the sound of it, the patron/companion relationship wasn't quite the symbiotic give and take that Nathan and Rick had portrayed it as last night. At least from the companions' perspective, the vampires seemed to hold all the power, controlling who claimed a companion as their own, and who was turned, and when.
I could understand their resentment. I'd be resentful too, if I’d toed the company line for years only to find someone had not only skipped to the front of the line, but also turned around and given the finger to all of the traditions and rules that came with the lifestyle.
The glimpse into their thought processes was useful, and I made a note to talk to Theo about his attack at a later date. Maybe when he wasn't surrounded by the rest of the companions. I also needed to track down Catherine and get her perspective on what happened. I still stood by my assertion that it wasn't Caroline, but in case I was wrong, I needed all the facts. Finding out who, or what, was responsible for their attack would get some of the heat off Caroline until I could locate her.
I walked through several more hallways before coming to a stop. I was in the same predicament as I'd been in before I stumbled on the kitchen, lost and with no idea how to get back to my room.
My stomach cramped painfully, and I set a hand on it. That was new. My stomach hadn't given me problems since my change. That it was happening now, concerned me. Was it the ice cream? I'd been careful in the amount I ate, keeping it to just one bowl. While I did get sick if I overconsumed human food, it usually took quite a bit more than what I just ate. I shouldn't be having trouble right now.
It cramped again, my insides twisting and curling in on themselves. Sweat dotted my forehead. Pain. A lot of pain.
Seeing a staircase that looked familiar, I made my way up it and thanked every god I knew when I recognized the corridor. I wasn't far from my room.
Moments later I was lying on my bed and praying that my stomach would just stop hurting. Dawn couldn't be too far off. For perhaps the first time, I wished with all my being for its presence and the blissful unconsciousness that came with it.
My cell phone rang, the sound muffled from where I'd stashed it under my mattress. I hadn't wanted to take the chance that Liam or Nathan would see it and decide to take it—for monitoring purposes.
I answered before looking at the caller ID, my voice tight with pain. "Yeah?"
"Aileen?" Caroline's tinny voice came over the line.
I sat up, wincing as my stomach cramped before forcing the pain away. "Caroline, where are you?"
"I'm somewhere safe."
That was vague.
"Where?" I didn't know how I would get to her by dawn, but I'd figure out a way even if I had to steal one of Liam's goon's cars to do it.
"It's better that you don't know. Just know I'm safe. I'm sorry I got you involved in this. I didn't realize how much trouble it would bring to your door."
"Don't worry about it." The last thing I cared about was the trouble this had brought. I'd find a way to deal with any repercussions one way or another. "It doesn't matter. What matters is keeping you safe." And making sure she didn't attack any humans or start a war between the vampires and the werewolves.
There was a pause as I listened to her breathing.
"Caroline, I think it would be best if you came in. Let me talk to Brax for you. Maybe I could negotiate some type of compromise."
Her breathing became harsher, a hint of a growl creeping in. "Now, you sound like them. You're on their side, aren't you?"
"No, that's not what this is about. Right now, everyone is hunting you. I'm just trying to look out for you."
"Turning me over to them isn't how you help me, Aileen." That was a definite growl.
"I'm not saying I want to turn you over, but they can help you if you let them."
"I don't need help," she snapped. "And that's pretty hypocritical coming from you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"They told me about you. How you refuse to align yourself with the vampires or accept any help from them?"
"That's—"
"So, excuse me if I don't put a lot of stock in your suggestions right now." Her voice was bitter.
I took a deep breath around the hurt blooming in my chest. She was right, but so was I.
"Can you honestly tell me you're not a present danger to yourself or anyone who might bump into you on the street?" I asked, my voice low.
Her harsh breathing was my only answer. That's what I thought.
"Because I only spent a few minutes with you, and you nearly ripped my head off when I challenged you," I said, not showing any mercy. "I'm a vampire, Caroline, and even I was worried about what you would do if I pushed too hard. Can you truthfully tell me that if a human got up in your face or started arguing with you that you wouldn't lose it on them?"
There was a small snarl.
"Listen to yourself right now, Caroline. I've barely started pushing, and you're already losing control. How will you feel if you hurt someone?"
There was another snarl and then a small whine. My heart tugged painfully. It did not bring me joy confronting her on this, but I couldn't let her make a mistake and possibly hurt someone.
I waited as her breathing slowed, and she got a hold of herself. A thought occurred to me. "Caroline, were you anywhere near German Village this afternoon?"
"What are you talking about?" Her questions sounded frustrated and confused.
"Just answer me. Were you near Third Street today?" Did you happen to attack a pair of humans getting into their car? That question went unvoiced for fear I'd lose her. The other fear, the one I refused to admit to myself, was that she'd been responsible for the attack, and even knowing that, she was refusing to come in.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Caroline—"
"No. I know you mean well, but it's not going to work." Her voice held a steely resolve that I knew from experience meant she wasn't going to budge. "There are things about this that you don't understand. I'm sorry I got you involved, and I'll figure this out on my own. Thanks for your help before; I appreciate it."
"Caroline!" A dial tone buzzed in my hand. "Shit."
She was gone.
Moving slowly, every movement precise, I set my phone down on the nightstand. I couldn't afford to break it as it was my only phone and the way Hermes contacted me for jobs. Breaking it would cut me off from the rest of the world, something I couldn't afford right now.
Oh, but I wanted to.
The urge to break, rend, and tear ate at me. Before I could give into it, I threw myself back on the bed and forced myself to take deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Again and again.
When I could think past the rage, I opened my eyes. The pain in my stomach helped bring me back to myself. My sigh was heavy.
That could have gone better. The conversation had revealed Caroline wasn't going to listen to reason, and I didn't know if it was because of the transition to werewolf, or the demon taint Brax maintained still infected her. I was going to need to track her down and force her to be reasonable. Before that however, I needed to figure out what I was going to do with her when I did find her. That problem could very well be more difficult than the other.
Until then, I needed to survive the pain in my stomach now that the adrenaline of Caroline contacting me was fading.