I tensed and shook my head. “I-I don’t know. I just feel funny.”
Marc snatched up the spoon and whacked it against the candle holder. “Demon! Out with you!”
The flame burst to life and cast its warm glow over us. I hardly felt it as my body began to grow cold. My limbs became numb, and I couldn’t stop shaking.
“What seems to be the issue?” the waiter asked us.
“Something’s happening to my friend here,” Marc explained as he wrapped his arms around me. “Send Adrien at once.”
“M-Marc,” I whimpered.
He drew me against his side, and I was glad for the warmth. His heart pumped warm blood through his body, and one of those veins was close beside my face. I lifted my eyes to his arm, covered at it was in clothes, yet still I could feel that hard thump of his pulse. My tongue slid over my lips, and a sharp point at the end of one of my teeth made me freeze.
I reached up a trembling hand and brushed the tips of my fingers against my canine. The tooth was far sharper and longer than I remembered. I clapped my hands over my mouth, which stifled my scream.
Marc slammed his fist against the table and left an impression that the cloth sank into. His voice was low and growling. “Get Adrien here right now!”
“What seems to be the problem?”
I whipped my head to our left and beheld the proprietor standing there with his hands clasped in front of him. His blood-red eyes took in the scene with a deft sharpness, and his gaze halted on me. He narrowed his eyes and shot forward with such speed that I could barely follow him. Something told me I shouldn’t have been able to follow him at all.
Adrien grasped my hand in both of his and studied my fingernails before he moved up my arm. His eyes followed the trail to my face, where he grabbed half of my head in his cold palm. He used his thumb to part my lips. A sharp glint crossed his dark eyes before he settled them on Marc.
“Both of you follow me.”
Marc helped me to my feet, and Adrien drew away toward the rear door. The other patrons watched us in silence as we passed by their number. A few put down their forks and pushed their plates away. Their resident demon handlers shot out of their glass bowls.
“There is nothing to worry about, madam.”
“You have nothing to fear, sir. This matter has nothing to do with your food.”
“You are perfectly safe, dear people.”
I wish I could have believed them, but the chill in my body only grew worse. My feet felt strangely light, like I was floating rather than walking across the floor. The air seemed to be alive with sounds and colors. The noise pounded against my eardrums. I shrank against Marc as he swept me through the rear door.
The entrance led into the kitchen, where a few demons worked their magic at the wood stove. They paused at our coming, but we didn’t stick around. Adrien led us through the cookery and to a narrow hall. A rear door led outside, and a set of tall stairs led to the upper level.
But that’s not where we went. Adrien stopped us in front of a heavy door with an even heavier lock. He waved his hand over the bolt, and the clasp popped open. Our host removed the lock and opened the door, revealing a staircase that led into the basement.
The musty scent of earth wafted over us with all the welcome of a dark cloud on an otherwise blue sky. “Come,” Adrien commanded us as he hurried down the steps.
“I’ll hold you,” Marc whispered as he guided me after him.
We hurried as quickly as my lame legs would allow, and soon we reached the dark dwelling. It couldn’t be called otherwise, because the basement held a half dozen stone coffins. They were placed around the room near the wall on short platforms. Most of the stone lids were laid to one side and revealed the shallow layer of dust that sat on the bottom of the boxes. Huge stone columns separated the ‘beds’ and supported the establishment above us, and a few torches placed about the room allowed light for those of us with less acute sight.
I was fast wondering if I would remain among them as I noticed my eyesight had vastly improved.
The interior of one of the coffins wasn’t so empty, however, as a girl of ten sat up and rubbed her eye with one balled hand. “What’s going on?”
“A moment, Victoire,” Adrien answered as he led us to the largest coffin, centrally located at the rear and center of the room. He stopped beside the bed and turned to us. “Lay her in the coffin.”
My mouth dropped open. Marc had a different reaction as he hugged me close against him. “What’s going on, Adrien? What’s happening to her?”
Adrien’s gaze fell on me. “She is merely reacting badly to my blood.”
“Badly?” Marc snapped as he nodded down at me. “She looks like a vampire!”
Victoire draped her arms over her coffin and smiled at us. Her long fangs peeked out from underneath her upper lip. “It has been many years since we had a fresh recruit, Adrien. Why do we not humor fate and allow her to become one of us?” A sharp look from Marc and a faint glow from underneath his eye patch made her shrink lower into her bed. “I was merely making a joke.”
