The vampire on the left side frowned. “That would bedisagreeable.”
“You and I both know that that’s not an option, Miss Rose. Please come with us. I promised no harm will come to you, but you do need to come with us. Quickly,” the silver-haired vampire saidcoolly.
I sighed and nodded, knowing full well that if it came to a fight between myself and two vampires, there was absolutely no chance that I would come out on top. I could try and stubborn my way out of it, but I had a feeling that wasn’t going to be effective at all either. “Okay, but at least let me shower first.Please?”
The vampire on the left glanced to his companion, and then looked back at me and nodded. I feigned a half smile and then sauntered towards the bed and reached for a towel on the floor. I rummaged through the top shelf in my dresser and pulled out a fresh set of clothing that didn’t smell like beer and a sweatywolfman.
I glanced back at the two men and then walked stubbornly into the small bathroom on the other side of my one-room apartment. I stepped into the bathroom and slammed the door, and immediately turned on the hot shower and let it run until the bathroom filled with steam. I shook my head and tried to think clearly, hoping that maybe in the few minutes I had alone I might be able to come up with a plan to get out ofthere.
I looked around the bathroom for a way out, but realized the tiny window above the sink was far too small for me to climb out of. The three-story drop would likely kill me anyways. Or would at least break my legs, in any case. A tempting alternative, but not necessarily an idealoutcome.
The burning water felt good against my skin when I finally stepped into the shower. I scrubbed away the traces of the events of the night before and washed my hair with the no-name budget-brand shampoo and conditioner that sat on the floor. I didn’t exactly live a life of luxury, but I enjoyed the shower just the same. I might have enjoyed it too much, as I suspected it may be the last chance I had at normalcy for awhile.
I didn’t know how long I was in the shower for, but when a knock came at the door I realized I’d better hurry up and finish. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” For fuck’s sake, you’d think the undead would have a little morepatience.
I turned the shower off and quickly toweled myself dry, then wrapped the towel around my hair as I pulled my clothes on. My skin was still damp, but I slid my tight jeans on awkwardly and pulled my favorite black sweater over my towel-covered hair. I then dried my hair as best I could with the damp towel and sprayed in a little bit hairspray so my hair wouldn’t get too frizzy. I then stared at myself in the mirror, and wiped a circle in the foggy mirror with my hand so I could see. I hardly recognized the reflection that looked backatme.
I wasn’t what you would necessarily categorize as classically beautiful, but my looks had their strengths. I had deep blue eyes and full lips. I was attractive enough for men to hit me up at the bar, yet unassuming enough to go unnoticed when I wanted to. The cheap bleached-blond hair didn’t help though. It made me look washed up and aged. I had bleached it in an attempt to hide from the vampires, which I realized now was probably one of the dumbest things I could have done. Would blond hair really have concealed my identity from him when he was in my thoughts every day and probably watched me bleach it in the first place?Likelynot.
I reached for my makeup bag and ran my clear lip balm over my lips and stared back at myself in silence. I looked plain without makeup, but I was clean. Whatever the hell their master vampire wanted with me, he’d have to accept me asIwas.
With one final look in the mirror, I stormed through my tiny shit-hole apartment and straight through the front door into the hallway. And then turned and looked back through the threshold at the two vampires standing silently in myapartment.
“Well, are you coming?” I didn’t wait for them to answer as I turned on my heels and stormed down the three flights of stairs to the street. I waited outside for them, and not a moment later they both joined me on the sidewalk. They wore their hoods covering their faces, and I turned to look at them as they stood next to me. “So you guys can go out indaylight?”
When neither of them answered me, I rolled my eyes and laughed to myself. I guessed maybe that was why they lived in London, where it was constantly gray and dreary and they didn’t have to risk bright sunlight every day. Between the constant cloudy weather and their funny-looking ancient black cloaks, I figured that was enough to keepthemsafe.
I’m then laughed wildly to myself as I realized I was contemplating the safety of my two vampire escorts. Really, I should’ve been focusing on my own safety, however futile the task may be. I had absolutely no chance of survival against two vampires without any protection or backup, and if things ever came to that there was nothing I could do to save myself. I shrugged my shoulders and turned my attention to the street, and waited silently for whatever the two vampires seemed to bewaitingfor.
Despite vampires being fairly common in modern society, it still felt strange to be standing next to two vampires in the middle of the morning on the streets of London. But I supposed my life hadn’t really had a whole lot of normal lately, so I letitgo.
A moment later a long black limousine pulled up on the street next to us, and the older-looking vampire opened the door and motioned for me to get in. I crawled into the back seat of the long vehicle and both vampires followed me in rightafter.
A soon as the door was closed, the car took off down the street, and I looked out the window and watched the buildings pass by. After we left Camden, I turned my attention back to the older-looking vampire with silver hair. “So, where are wegoing?”
The vampire didn’t answer and I sighed as I looked back out the window to see if I could figure out our route. We passed familiar streets, but eventually we left the city and I turned my attention back to the two vampires beside me. “Seriously, where we going? Aren’t you guys in London anymore?” After a long moment of silence, the silver-haired vampire turned to look at me. He slowly removed the cloak from his head and peered at me curiously. “We have relocated to Oxford. Is proven quite…sustainable…forus.”
I wondered what he meant by sustainable, and then I realized I really didn’t want to know. From what I understood, vampires still feasted on human blood, and I then imagined all the yuppie humans in Oxford, professionals and students alike who would be sustaining these freaks. I shook my head to rid myself of the thought and smiled as sweetly as I possibly could at the two vampires. I refused to admit my feartothem.
“So our little raid scared you out of London, then?” I thought back to our raid on their coven in their underground lair in the middle of the city a few months back. I then remembered the five men and women that I worked with, all so smart and who had so much to live for, who were still missing. Missing or dead, I didn’t know. The memory of them made me feel sick to my stomach. Maybe I could get some answers from their master if I worked hard enoughonhim.
Before he killed me,thatis.
At least I would die knowing. I chewed my lip thoughtfully as I realized I wasn’t actually as frightened of that outcome as I shouldhavebeen.
I looked out the window and watched the passing buildings become sparser and sparser as we made our way west towards Oxford. The journey took about an hour and a half, and we finally slowed and pulled over in front of the large stone building. The vampires pulled their hoods back up and left me alone in the limousine. I’d expected them to wait for me, but they walked immediately up to the front door which opened as soon as theyapproached.
I rolled my eyes and crawled out of the limousine after them and followed them up to the building in silence. I knew there was no sense in trying to run. No matter how fast I once was, I wouldn’t be able to outrun them if I tried. I reluctantly walked up the massive stone steps and through the open door, and was immediately shocked by the space that sprawledbeforeme.
The room was grand, complete with white marble walls, heavy timber beams, and massive chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. There were clerestory windows along the top wall, letting a wash of warm light into the space. It was the last place I would have imagined a vampire coventobe.
The older-looking vampire, Vincent, cleared his throat, and when I turned towards him, he motioned for me to follow. I swallowed hard and followed him slowly down the long hallway towards the back room. We arrived at a long set of stairs, and I turned back to see the angry looking vampire following me closely from behind. We walked down what felt like at least a dozen flights of stairs until we hit the damp, dark basement far below the building’sfoundations.
I figured we must’ve been below the sewer system as the walls seemed to drip with moisture and the floor glistened with puddles of water. Vincent led me down another long dark hallway and I held my hands out in front of me to protect myself from walking intoanything.
The vampire didn’t seem to need light to see and I wondered if he realized that I was completely blind. I didn’t want to say anything as I didn’t want to make myself seem even weaker than I knew he already considered me to be. Each step I took down the dark hallway made me more nervous as my hands began to shake as wewalked.
After another few minutes of moving in silence, the vampire in front of me stopped and I walked straight into his back with a thud. “Shit. Sorry,” I muttered as I rubbed my nose that had smacked into his back. His body was harder than I would have imagined and it felt like I had just walked into a brick wall. A very cold, very creepybrickwall.
