The Way of Escape (25 page)

“Okay. I’ll see you in a few.”

My fellow vampire got up from the table and gave me a wink before disappearing into the crowd. Exactly as he predicted, Mr. Teardrop came over to my table a few seconds later and loomed over me with a grill-covered grin.

“Hey, baby. Where’d your man go?”

I somehow managed not to cringe when he called me baby. I absolutely
hated
when strange men called me that … or any men for that matter.

“My friend left. He doesn’t like loud music, but I actually need to grab some fresh air,” I answered as I stood up. “Do you want to join me?”

“Fine by me.”

I reluctantly stepped onto the dance floor with my undesirable meal and made my way through the twerking, grinding masses to the exit Augustus had disappeared through. As soon as the door closed behind us, he made his move and darted in for a kiss, but I dodged his lips and backed away — suddenly grateful for my enhanced speed.

“Hold on. Follow me.”

I took the lead and walked to the back of the alley with him at my heels and a knot growing in my stomach. The moment he saw Augustus standing on the other side of the dumpster, he stood up a little straighter and furrowed his brow in confusion.

“What the h—”

Augustus’ eyes darkened and my clueless companion froze mid-sentence.

“Clara, I’m going to release him in a moment. When I do, I want you to capture his gaze and feed. After you’re done, give him whatever suggestion you see fit and send him on his way,” he instructed. “Just release your hunger and your power will come roaring forth instantly.”

“Okay,” I agreed with a nervous nod.

Augustus blinked and Mr. Teardrop resumed his tirade.

“—ell is this? I—”

This time, I was the one who ended what I’m sure would have been a
lovely
conversation. I did as Augustus directed and let myself feel the thirst I’d been suppressing with surprising ease since I awakened at dusk. All I had to do was remember how decadent and satisfying Augustus’ blood had been to bring my thirst for blood to the light and bring that night’s prey under the spell of my blackened gaze.

As I looked into his vacant eyes and realized how easily I could have taken advantage of him with my new powers, I remembered the men and women on Emmanuel’s island. They were home safe and sound with zero knowledge of their oppression, but that forgetfulness didn’t make what the coven had done okay. Even with supernatural amnesia, they’d still have to deal with the emotional wounds from their experience in some way.

If I abused my new abilities for the sake of satisfying my own thirst — no matter how necessary that seemed — how was I any better than they were? What kind of follower of Christ would do that? The concept of counting others as more important than myself was part of why I became a vampire, yet I was placing my desire for blood over my anonymous victim’s free will and wellbeing. I was preying on someone I should have been praying for.

“I can’t do this,” I said. “I’m letting him go.”

Before Augustus could respond, I blinked and released my would-be victim, who went back to being as justifiably irate as he’d been before.

“—don’t know what you’re trynna pull, but I’m out of here,” he continued before going back into the club and slamming the door behind him.

“I’m not going to push you to drink from him if he’s not appealing to you. That being said, you
do
need to feed. If you let yourself become too ravenous, you run the risk of losing control and killing your victim.”

“Is there any way I can drink blood
without
having to manipulate someone?”

Augustus eyed me for a second before answering my question.

“Yes, there is. Let’s go back to the car.”

“Thank you,” I breathed as I accompanied Augustus back to the parking lot, asking God for the wisdom and discernment I needed to stay on the right path with every step I took.

♦              ♦              ♦

Less than an hour later, Augustus and I were walking through Klyde Warren Park watching the people around us chow down on food truck fare, play games, and enjoy one another’s company under the stars. Even though Augustus and I probably didn’t look any different from the other pairs strolling through the urban oasis, our goal that night wasn’t to down a delicious bánh mì sandwich or play mini golf.

“Here we are,” Augustus quietly announced.

“You’re kidding right,” I asked as we got in the ordering line for one of my favorite food trucks.

“Let’s just say that the butcher’s son isn’t his child in the traditional sense,” he quipped with a wink.

My mind reeled for the few minutes we waited in line while I tried to reconcile my favorite slider-serving food truck with the vampire world.

What other businesses and organizations in Dallas are secretly run by vampires?

Once Augustus and I reached the ordering window, he released his power and let his eyes blacken as he placed our order.

“I’d like two strawberry milkshakes, please,” he said.

The order taker nodded, letting his eyes darken for a brief moment as he rung us up. Augustus paid a steep $30 for our drinks, which the order taker promptly handed over in warm, discreet cups with black straws.

“Have a nice night, my lord,” he replied with a slight bow.

“And you as well.”

The two of us moved away from the truck, and I waited until we were in a more secluded area to probe for more information.

“So where does this blood come from?”

“From completely lucid, well-paid men and women,” he assured me. “You can drink this with a completely clear conscience.”

My companion raised his nondescript cup to me in a toast before taking a sip, and I followed suit. Almost as soon as the blood touched my tongue, my gag reflex went into overdrive and I quickly found myself coughing and hacking to expel every last drop into a nearby trashcan while he held my curls back.

“I can’t drink this. It’s
disgusting.”

Without question, Augustus took a sip from my cup to inspect its sanguine contents.

“It tastes fine to me, but human blood can taste almost cloyingly sweet if your first drink was from a vampire. Pre-harvested blood also doesn’t taste as appetizing as fresh blood does.”

“It didn’t taste sweet. It tasted like apple cider vinegar mixed with cheap, rancid whiskey.”

Augustus looked me over as he tapped his pale finger on the lid of my cup and took in my unexpected revulsion.

“We should head to your friend’s house. Let’s discuss this on our way there.”

I nodded and the two of us headed back to the car as Augustus ensured that our bloody beverages didn’t go to waste. Rather than starting the engine immediately and beginning the drive to our next destination, he faced me and resumed our conversation.

“I’ve never encountered a vampire who found
any
human’s blood detestable. I wouldn’t be surprised if your aversion is related to your immunity to the sire bond.”

“In other words, my faith may be the cause.”

“Yes, but this begs the question: Did you find the blood repulsive because it was from a human, not fresh, or for some other reason?”

“Let me guess … You want to test this theory on Connor.”

“He is the only human who would willingly give you fresh blood,” Augustus pointed out. “After all, he
did
offer to be your personal slave if you weren’t able to escape the coven.”

“I know, but he’s already been through a lot. I don’t want to add to his pain.”

“What’s one more bite if it’s from a friend and done with his well-informed consent?”

“I don’t know.”

“Will you at least ask him?”

“I’ll think about it,” I sighed, “but if he says no we’ll have to figure this out another way. Okay?”

“As you wish.”

I took out my phone and texted Connor that we would be over shortly before giving Augustus his address. Then, we were on our way to what would surely be the most awkward visit of my life.

♦              ♦              ♦

When Augustus and I arrived at the Lakewood area house Connor shared with three guys from his community group, the man of the hour answered the door before we could even knock.

“Come in,” he whispered. “Everyone else is watching a movie in the living room.”

We crept into the house and followed Connor upstairs to his room. The moment I stepped inside, I made a quick survey of my surroundings. A combination of framed movie posters, album covers, and pictures of his family covered his eggshell white walls and gave the room some character. A few trophies sat atop the bookshelf by his window, which also held books by everyone from C. S. Lewis to Joseph Heller. There were also a few old textbooks from his college years. Either he’d forgotten to sell them back after his classes ended or he had a secret fascination with calculus and anthropology.

Connor had neatly made his twin-sized bed with a hunter green comforter and a matching sham adorned one of his pillows, but there were no other embellishments on the modest bed. The only other places to sit in the room were the chair by his desk and a wooden chair that I suspected he’d dragged in from another room. I claimed the swiveling desk chair, Augustus sat in the borrowed one, and Connor plopped down on his bed. A few beats of nothingness passed between us before Connor broke the silence, talking a bit faster than usual as his nerves surfaced.

“Thanks for helping me out. I know this is probably pretty weird for you, but I’m really grateful.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” I warned. “I need your help with something else first.”

“Okay. What do you need?”

I tried to think of a delicate way to explain my predicament, but there was nothing delicate about asking to bite your traumatized friend’s neck and drink his blood.

“I … Never mind. We’re going to—”

“Clara and I went out for her first hunt tonight, and we ran into a bit of a snag,” Augustus interrupted. “When she tried to drink human blood, she couldn’t stomach it. Now, we need to find out if she truly has an aversion to human blood. Will you help us?”

I glared at Augustus and opened my mouth to shut him down. Much to my surprise, Connor spoke before I could say a word.

“If you need to drink my blood, go ahead. Letting you have a few sips is the least I can do after you got me home alright.”

“You
really
don’t have to do this. We can find another way.”

“Why make things harder on yourself when I’m willing to help?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I know what I’m getting myself into.”

I searched Connor’s hazel eyes for any reservations or uncertainty. When I found none, I said, “Can you please close your eyes?”

Connor did as I requested and I moved from my chair to the bed. As I leaned in and bit his neck, I was acutely aware that Augustus, who I wasn’t terribly happy with, sat a few feet away and that Connor’s roommates were right below us. Suddenly,
I
was the nervous one. Well … nervous and nauseated because I had the same retch-inducing reaction to his caustic blood that I’d had at the park. Thankfully, I’d only swallowed a mouthful before the revulsion rolled over me.

Darting to the desk, I grabbed a few tissues and wiped my mouth. I couldn’t even bring myself to lick the last of his blood from my lips.

“He tastes just as bad as the blood from the food truck,” I said. “No offense, Connor.”

“None taken. It’s actually kind of comforting that you didn’t enjoy it.”

“Let’s see if you’re able to stomach my blood when I drop you off,” Augustus suggested. “In the meantime, you can exercise your new skills by granting your friend’s request.”

I nodded and turned back to Connor.

“Do you still want me to alter your memories?”

“Definitely.”

“Okay,” I breathed hesitantly. “Just look into my eyes. If everything goes as planned, you won’t even remember that you saw me tonight.”

When my eyes darkened and my fangs extended as they had on the plane, Connor jumped slightly. I knew my new appearance wasn’t exactly comforting, but seeing his wide-eyed dread broke my heart a little.

“Holy crap,” he whispered, clearly fighting the urge to bolt as he stayed glued to the wall.

“You’re still lucid,” I observed.

“Yeah.”

I looked at Augustus and saw that he’d undergone the same spooky transformation.

“Connor,” he said.

My friend turned and recoiled when he made eye contact with the other vampire. Upon realizing that Connor was also unaffected by his gaze, Augustus returned to his normal appearance and I did the same.

“I’m sorry Connor, but neither of us will be able to help you tonight … or ever for that matter,” Augustus said.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re immune to our powers. That’s likely the reason Marie had such a difficult time forcing you to submit on the island and why you still remember the torment you endured at her hands,” he answered.