Leaning on the opposite side of the bar, I had a sip of my drink, still wondering how I should reply. Eric and I used to be very good friends; it’s how we ended up in bed together so many times.
We felt that we should take the next step in our relationship, and after too many drinks one night, well, we woke up next to each other.
“I was under the impression we were still pretty good friends, but you know as well as I do, I couldn’t live in that house after what happened.”
“But you didn’t just move out, you abandoned us. You have to be forced to come back when you should be there every day.” He finished his drink and hopped off the stool heading towards the door.
“You are forgetting you have responsibilities, and it’s not okay that you’ve just left us at the hands of Sophia when she wants you out.”
“She's going to try and dethrone me, is she?” I shouted as he walked down the hallway away from me.
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” He shouted back, and then I heard the slam of the guest room door.
* * *
Lying in bed,after finishing the rest of the wine, I was getting antsy and the itch of finding a vampire to stake was becoming far too great to ignore. It had been days since I hunted, and I needed to get rid of this intense feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Part of being a Van Helsing was we were drawn to our need to kill, to rid the world of evil, and if we hadn’t been able to fulfil that need in a while, it would become unbearable to ignore.
Knowing Eric was a heavy sleeper, I took my chance to do a sweep in some of the local clubs before sunrise, maybe I would get lucky and up my kill count. Throwing on a pair of trousers, t-shirt, and jacket, I tucked a stake in my boot and then two in either chest pocket of my jacket before heading out.
Passing the guest room door, I listened closely and could hear the faint sound of snoring.Yep, still sleeps like the dead,I thought.
Heading towards one of the clubs that was a frequent hang out for newbie vampires and young adults who either refused to go home or had no home to go to. This meant they were easy targets as most of the time, they would have had way too much to drink and be easier to seduce and drain.
Club Phantom, the perfect place for any budding vamp looking for a willing or, God help them, unwilling victim. There would always be someone around ready to be taken home by a stranger for sex or drugs, and most of the time these were the ones that vampires preyed on.
It annoyed me how a lot of people had slipped through the cracks during my time at the manor and helping rebuild it. This meant more humans were either becoming a meal or being turned themselves to help build Angelique’s army.
Opting for a corner booth in the club, I watched. Keeping my eye on a few human girls who had clearly had too much to drink, they could barely stand up straight. They were obviously enjoying themselves by the way they laughed and danced with one another, and unbeknown to them a group of vampires had spotted them and was across from me just watching them.
One of them had clocked me as I walked in, and I knew he would be my first target for tonight, and then I would take out his friends.
“Nice to see you back in the city.”
Darius. I didn’t see him come in, nor did I notice he was even in the room. He was too good at sneaking up on me and again, I despised it. I was also starting to dislike his showing up unannounced and whenever he wanted to.
He appeared out of nowhere, as if out of thin air. He lit a cigarette as he took the seat opposite me and had a sip of his drink, it looked to be bourbon or whiskey. His jet-black hair still looked unkempt, but oddly it suited him.
“How goes rebuilding the house?”
“I’m sorry, did I miss the memo that we’re friends?” I wondered why he was even here.
“Ah, someone is touchy tonight, aren’t they?” He smiled a coy smile as he placed his glass back down on the table and took another drag of his cigarette.
“You haven’t seen touchy.” I paused, looking away from him, “What do you want?”
“Can’t a guy just sit with a pretty girl and make light conversation?”
“Depends on the girl, and if she wants to be bothered. Which she doesn’t, so get lost.”
“Have I done something offensive to deserve this welcoming tone of yours?”
I looked back at him then, anger flaring up in my eyes and crossing my arms as I tried to keep my chest from bursting. I was on edge. I needed to get tonight out of the way so I could head back home and rest.
“You just show up, and I’m getting tired of it,” I paused watching his reaction, nothing. “I don’t know who you are other than your name, and yet you know things about me. Things that I have managed to keep secret, up until now. You knew about my home being attacked, and I am starting to think you had something to do with it. You’re becoming a pain in the ass, and I kindly just want you to fuck off, and leave me alone to do my job.”
“Ah,” He put out his cigarette and then leaned towards me, exposing his forearms as he had rolled up the sleeves of his pristine white shirt. I noticed then his left arm was covered in a tattoo of blackened out trees resting on a black forest, his ocean eyes dancing in the club lighting.