Demon Vampire (The Redgold Series) (17 page)

Kyli was so caught off guard by Zack's quip that she let go of him and smiled again. Zack straightened his shirt and sat back down.

“Zack, what am I wearing right now?” Kyli covered Zack's eyes suddenly with her left hand.

Zack didn't know if Kyli was attempting to trick him or not. He answered best he could. “Practically nothing.”

“Just tell me from memory.” Kyli reinforced the question.

“A tank top and some pretty short shorts. Why?” Zack thought about Kyli's thin, sculpted body.

“Exactly. You can see most of my body, right? For all intents and purposes, I'm naked.” Kyli knew she was right.

Zack didn't resist.

“Then can you tell me which part of my body gives you the slightest hint that I'm not just another hot thing for you to stare at?” Kyli uncovered Zack's eyes. “Can you really tell me that I look anything like a monster that could kill you and drink your blood at any moment?”

Zack swallowed the pride he once had. He was being humbled and he knew it. Kyli was driving her point home even further. John wouldn't have known.

“No, you can't. Can you?” Kyli held her finger pointed to Zack. Her eyes watching his. “As much as I can hide as a human. A vampire can do more. To the average person a vampire appears to be simply a perfect specimen. An attractive person that just happens to be talking to them.” Kyli lowered her accusing finger. She placed her hands on her hips and sulked for a second. “If I had never said anything and just attacked you. You'd be dead.” Kyli shook her head. She was thinking of something that was bothering her. “I could have had my way with you and left. You would have never been the wiser. That is if I had to.” Kyli dropped her arms down and took another relaxing breath.

“Are you alright?” Zack didn't notice anything strange as Kyli spoke, but he felt it. He understood there was something that she didn't like. Something she had refused to do. Something that was morally testing to her. Zack didn't know what it was and didn't think Kyli would actually tell him at that moment. So he decided to lighten the mood. “You know your eyes turn almost green when you get upset. Did you know that?”

Kyli turned the facet in the kitchen on. She wiped her face and returned to Zack. Her eyes had become blue again. “Well I’m glad you’ve come back to your old self. As for being with a vampire, if the vampire didn’t want to tell him, he wouldn’t know. We may be able to easily pass for human, but at night, so can they.”

“How exactly? I mean, they have such longer teeth and the sunken cheeks, not to mention the tremendous strength. How can they pass for humans like that? You don’t look normal, but I don’t think 'vampire' when I see you. I just think 'hot' like you said.” Zack knew he said something wrong by the expression on Kyli’s face. “I mean, you’re beautiful, you don’t look normal at all.”

“Good save bat boy.” Kyli lightened up. “This is why.” Kyli opened the island refrigerator. She grabbed a small pack of blood and bit into the top. Kyli instantly grew fangs. She let off of the pouch. “See.” Kyli poured the blood into a glass originally meant for mixing the milk or OJ before she put them into the eggs. “The teeth react if we need them to. Vampires just don't go around with their fangs out everywhere they go. That would be too obvious. If you need to bite into a bag of what-not, you’re fangs will out themselves before you ever think about doing it. It's like a muscle. It's automatic. As for the sunken cheeks, that's the movies you're thinking about.”

“What about Orhn? He looked like that?” Zack asked.

“He was probably hungry. Or maybe it was due to his gift. He was walking around in the sun after all. That's not normal for a vampire, ever. Hell, we can get sunburns if we spend too much time in the sun ourselves. As for the teeth.” Kyli smiled, showing off her two pairs of long teeth. Kyli swallowed the rest of the blood in her mouth. She breathed deep, and smiled again. The fangs were gone. “It’s as easy as that.” Kyli reached for the glass of the remaining blood. “Now for the hard part.” Kyli slowly drank the glass of blood until the last drop. She set it down and smiled. They were normal.

“They didn’t change.” Zack was shocked. He thought that there was no real way to hide them other than physically skulking in the shadows.

“Yeah, freaky isn’t it?” Kyli commented, happy she impressed Zack.

Zack had no idea that watching a girl’s teeth do nothing could be a true sight to behold, but it was.

“You can control it. It’s a mental trick like sitting still. It's against impulse, but it can be done. You have to think of the blood as something else, something sweet and delicious. Other than what it actually is. It becomes easy with some practice.”

“Kyli what do you think about?” Zack wanted to know what her secret was before he had to think of something for himself.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kyli poured some milk into the same glass the blood was in. Kyli pushed it over to Zack.

Zack thought about it while he automatically drank the milk. “Milk?” It was a nice enough choice. It was smooth and soft and he did like it. There was something in him that liked the idea of blood as milk.

Kyli took the glass back from Zack and poured blood into it again. She threw it back and slammed the glass back onto the table. “Nope.” Kyli had a blood mustache.

“Then what?” Zack was sure it was milk.

“Cranberry juice.” Kyli finished the last drops in the glass. “Milk must be your thing. You sounded confident when you said it. Usually the flavor which the guesser mentions is what they themselves need to think about.”

“You mean you were testing me?” Zack asked.

“Take another look at the glass you just set down. What color is the 'milk' you were talking about?” Kyli licked her teeth clean.

Zack stared at the glass. It was red. There was no trace of white in the cup. Only dark the same dark red that Kyli had poured into her own glass. “Wait, what did you put in my glass?”

“Blood of course. What? Did you actually think I poured milk?” Kyli was set back from how powerful Zack's compulsion was towards milk.

“Seriously. What was it?” Zack needed to be sure.

“Do you want the truth or a lie?” Kyli was being coy.

“The truth of course.” Zack was being straight forward with Kyli and expected the same.

“Okay, first the lie.” Kyli said.

“Hey, I wanted the truth.” Zack spoke up.

“The lie is that milk is comforting to you. So that's what I gave you. Because it has a calming effect and sooths you. That somewhere in your head you really enjoy the texture.” Kyli sighed and waited for Zack's response.

“Go on.” Zack kept it short.

“The truth is you’re sick in the head.” Kyli waited for the outrage from Zack, but there wasn’t any. He sat there, listening to her. “Good, you didn’t blow up at me this time. That means that either the blood is kicking in and giving you some increased concentration. Or that there is something about blood as milk that fascinates you at a deep inner level. Milk to you is primal, almost a carnal satisfaction.”

“So I’m sick? That’s your opinion? That I lust for milk?” Zack didn’t like the thought that he was obsessed with milk in that way.

“Think of it. I filled your cup with red liquid directly in front of you. I did the same to my own glass. Somewhere in all that you saw me pour white milk. You were the one to see it, not me. I could call you a milk pervert if you’d like?” Kyli chuckled under her breath.

“A milk what?” Zack raised his eyebrows. He didn't like the sound of that.

“You have a milk fetish, that’s all. It makes your horny. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’re just
different
.” Kyli chuckled.

“I don’t have a milk fetish!” Zack was fuming. He was getting mad.

“Do you like cows too? How about the black and white pattern? Does it turn you on?” Kyli held her composure while toying with him this time. She was keeping the joke running as long as she could. Zack had clearly fallen for it.

Zack thought about her line of dialogue. She was being a little too antagonistic to be serious. “Wait, you’re screwing with me aren’t you?”

“Would you like me to screw with you?” Kyli put her hands up and acted like she was scribbling in a note pad. “And what was the relationship with your mother like?” Kyli tilted her head to the side in a questioning manner.

“Yeah, you are.” Zack was catching on to Kyli’s strange humor.

“Honestly, if milk is what allows you not to vomit, then think about it when you feed.” Kyli told Zack.

“When I feed? You mean when I drink blood, right?” Zack didn't enjoy the thought of biting someone.

“No, I mean when you do bite that special someone on the neck and suck their blood. You will be able to do it with grace and power. Instead of losing your lunch or your dinner in the same moment.” Kyli pointed to the phone again. “Now call him back and explain a little more about why you're here. He’s a dad. He’ll begin to wonder how the hell you got a girlfriend in a single night.”

“What happens if he asks about the address?” Zack picked up the phone and dialed his number.

“Tell him this address, tell him more about who I am. You don't have anything to hide as far as we're concerned.” Kyli handed Zack a stationary with the hotel address on it and her name on the top.

“You have your own ledger pads?” Zack asked as the phone rang.

“The hotel prints them for me, yes. Tell him that you are my guest and that you’re going to be staying for a little while more.” Kyli took Zack's plate and fork.

“I tell him that you’re what exactly?” The phone rang again in Zack's hand.

“Your girlfriend and that I'm taking care of you after you fell and twisted your ankle.” Kyli was making it up as she began to scrub the dishes.

“What if he asks why I’m spending so many nights here?” Zack asked as it rang again.

“That I hit you with my car and I'm tending to your minor injuries.” Kyli reached for the glasses at the bar.

“What!?” There was a click and Zack’s father answered the phone.

“Giver residence. Who is it?” John was gasping like he had run for the phone.

“Dad, it’s me again.” Zack said with a sigh.

“Zack? Hey, what's wrong? You're not in trouble are you? Honestly I thought you’d be here when I finally got back. I was pretty shocked when you weren't.” John seemed winded.

Zack paused and wondered if his dad was about to leave for a while. “When you got back from where? I didn’t know you left.” Zack thought about it. “Are you going somewhere now?”

“Yeah, Diane and I left for two days to have some alone time. We talked about it and it didn’t seem right having the date at the apartment like that. I’m sorry to put you through that Zack.” John was being considerate and thoughtful. It wasn’t like him.

Zack thought that Diane must have had a positive influence on John.

“So how exactly did you meet this hotel heiress? How did you end up at her place?” John was finally asking the right questions a father should.

Zack looked at Kyli. She urged him on. “I got here because I was-” Zack didn't want to lie to his dad.

Kyli mouthed the words ‘Say it’ with emphasis.

“Kyli Waterfield hit me with her car.” Zack delivered the line.

“She hit you? Are you alright? And now you're in her personal hotel room.” There was something on John’s mind he wanted to know.

“Yeah, I met her and she brought me back here to help me out.” Zack wasn’t sure how John might react to everything.

John began to laugh and whisper something to Diane while muffling the phone. They both laughed out loud. “When did you get there?”

“Yesterday.” Zack told John.

More laughter.

Zack could tell he was on speaker phone now.

“Then you probably just missed us. We checked out really early this morning.” John said. More laughter ensued in the background.

“You mean you were here at this hotel?” Zack still heard laughing that seemed to rip roar with each passing comment. “What were you doing?”

“Drinking cranberry juice.” Kyli joined in on the joke.

Zack was digging into the wrong stump on this one. Something that was better left alone than unearthed.

Kyli grinned. She could hear the entire conversation from the volume on the phone.

John settled down. “So how did you meet her? I mean besides the car accident.”

“Well, we met when-” Kyli grabbed the phone from Zack.

“At the club when I nearly ran him over with my car.” Kyli covered the mouth piece and snickered. Then she put it on speaker phone.

Loudly from John and Diane. “What!?”

Kyli held Zack away from the phone so he couldn’t get a word in. “I was driving late that night. I hit him in the left ankle with my car. Zack was on his way to a movie. He was crossing the street, so I pulled over to pick him up. Then it went all wrong.”

Diane spoke up. “So you knew our Zack already?” Diane was taking liberties that Zack didn’t feel comfortable letting her have. But he had to admit, she was sharp for catching what she did.

“Well, we met at a Goth club a few days ago. We hit it off, but Zack had to get home that night. So when I saw him walking I wanted to continue things from that night.” Kyli stopped pushing away Zack and nudged him to play along.