Sam
I’d knownLukas was too good to be true. Rich and gorgeous. Sure, grumpy, but so kind to me and Bubbles. Naturally, he’d be nuts. I wasn’t sure if indulging him for five more minutes was a good thing, but I supposed it couldn’t make things worse.
He grabbed his phone and texted someone before looking at me and smiling. Was it unhinged? I didn’t think so but if he’d been this way since we met, would I know?
Winston walked in carrying a goblet. He glanced at me and offered a grin. He handed it to Lukas and left. I stared at the drink in his hand, red wine it seemed. If we were drinking, I’d need something stronger than that.
“This is blood,” Lukas said, and I pushed away.
“What?”
“Blood. Here, hold it, smell it. I want you to understand that I’m telling you the truth.”
I did not grab it but I leaned in and sniffed. “Ugh, nasty. What the hell, Lukas?”
He didn’t say anything; he simply drank every drop, and when he was done placed it on the table.Sweet Mother Mary.
“Why would you drink that? It’s not healthy…Look, Lukas, if you’re trying to make me believe you’re a vampire or whatever, you don’t have to go to such extremes.”
Lukas sighed. “Apparently, I do.”
“You’re sighing. Vampires don’t breathe, Lukas. And are you wearing purple contacts to be more alluring? Don’t you see how none of this adds up?”
He shook his head. “We don’t have to breathe, but there are several reasons we do. One, it looks unnatural not to, and we don’t like to draw attention to ourselves. Two, breathing in is a great way to assess the area. Odd scents and such. My eyes are really purple; I got them from my mother.”
“Uh-huh…you have an answer for everything.”
“Sam, please. I know this sounds crazy, but look.” He opened his mouth, and right in front of my eyes, four fangs on the top descended and two on the bottom.
“What the…”
He closed his mouth and the fangs were gone. “I’m not lying to you. The gala you went to in New York. The council arranged it; they do it every year. They asked each of us to bring a human date.”
“Why, to eat us?” I realized I was entertaining this but…fucking fangs!
“What? No. See, there’s been some distress within the vampires. I believe the council was hoping more of us would find our eternals. And they can only be found among humans.”
“Eternals? Like the Marvel superheroes?”
His mouth kicked up. “No, Sam. There are sires and eternals within our race. Sires are chosen by the council—their job is to decide who to turn. Usually this is done in dire circumstances, unless you’re Vincent…his story is weird.”
“Vincent…your friend…is also a vampire?”
“Yes, and he was never at death’s door. His sire found Vincent amusing, wanted him to be in his life, but knew they weren’t eternals. Vincent threw his pickax at the guy, and when he didn’t die but instead healed before his eyes, he sort of freaked out.” He waved his hand away. “It was different from my story.”
“So, if I stabbed you in the heart, you wouldn’t die?”
“No, it would hurt but I’d heal. Why, Sam? Do you want to stab me in the heart?”
I shook my head. “I…this is crazy, Lukas.”
He nodded once and got up, moved to an antique desk by the window and pulled something out of the drawer. It appeared to be a letter opener.
“Watch.”
He sat, held out his arm and the moment he jammed the knife into his arm I screamed, jumped up from the couch, and froze. He slowly removed the knife, and to my surprise I watched the wound heal.
“What in the Nosferatu is going on here?”
