Shade Chapter 2

Helix put his arm around me comfortingly, and we both heard a soft laughter come from inside the room.1

“Come on, Aries!” Helix said, sounding annoyed, “Now isn’t the time.”2

The door opened and Aries’s sly smile disappeared the moment he saw the blood peppered across my face. I’d almost forgotten about it. Almost.3

Aries ushered us inside, looking behind us to make sure we weren’t followed, and then he closed the door and locked it.4

Helix led me to a loveseat in the room, which Lesta and Aries had clearly just vacated, and sat me down, kneeling down in front of me.5

“Shade?” He asked softly and I looked up, “Did he hurt you? Are you alright?”6

“I’m fine.” I whispered but Helix didn’t look convinced.7

He gently lifted my chin in his hands and, with his left thumb, wiped the blood off my face one drop at a time.8

“I didn’t mean for you to be so close, baby,” He murmured, “I will never let that happen again, if I can promise you nothing else, I can promise you that.”9

I nodded and I felt another hand on me, on my shoulder. Looking at its owner, I found myself staring at Rara’s Spanish features.10

“Dios mio!” She breathed when she saw me, “What happened?”11

I was about to answer, but Helix spoke first.12

“One of those gangland asses thought he could take her from me,” He growled and Rara gave a short, derisive little laugh at the impossibility of that actually happening, “Yeah, I knifed him during his little dance. Hope he enjoyed it, I doubt there’s music where he’s going.”13

Lesta laughed, it was dark and humorless.14

“How long are we staying here anyway?” Aries asked from across the room.15

“As long as they let us I suppose.” He answered, “They
can’t do much to make me drift.”16

“They can suck on sunlight for all I care.” Lesta added.17

Seeing I was alright after all, Helix rose from the floor and then sat down beside me on the loveseat. I, however, was busy looking around the room.18

There was a bed on the other side of the room, Aries and Lesta had claimed it of course, Aries absently playing with Lesta’s golden curls.19

Then there was the loveseat we were on and the couch across from it which had Rara’s coat draped across it.20

“You’re lower than you let on, aren’t you?” Helix asked softly and I nodded. One little vial of Holy Water wasn’t going to cover all I needed, that was laughable.21

He sighed, leaned back, and pulled me around to face him.22

“Now you can take what you need.” He said, still speaking softly, “It’s better for you this way, without needles or drugs, it’s natural.”23

I put my arm around his shoulders and leaned towards his neck.24

He showed no reaction at all when I bit down. And, for me, it was just like the injection except there was no burn because Helix never shot himself with Holy Water. There was a cool sting in my head though, that had nothing to do with Holy Water. That was all because of the blood. Just because we needed it and we tolerated the taste didn’t mean our minds liked it. And, pretty soon, I had a good headache. That’s why there are steroids in the injection. Vampires don’t get ill effects from steroids; they take pain away and make us strong.25

But Helix didn’t do any injections unless they were pure blood. It was a rare vampire that didn’t do drugs these days, rarer still one that didn’t do Holy Water. Helix was the only one I knew and even he wasn’t perfect, he turned down everything else, but he couldn’t turn down alcohol.26

After a moment that felt too short, he gently pulled my head away with an apologetic expression. There was no sense in letting him get weak for me.27

He studied me for a moment as though searching for something.28

“You’re still low.” He stated, cool anger in his voice, “Of all the people you could lie to, why me?”29

I looked towards my feet, ashamed of myself. It was better when he shouted at me, not this soft voice. 30

“I just didn’t want you to be angry with me.” I murmured to my shoes and he pulled me back to sit on his lap with my head against his chest.31

“I’m not angry,” He answered, “I’m disappointed, there’s a difference. Baby, I could stay angry with someone forever, but I love you too much to think of you that way for so long.”32

“So...you’re going to stay disappointed with me forever?” I asked, not feeling like that was much better.33

“No,” He answered and then he smiled, “I’m going to be disappointed with you for exactly ten seconds and I’m going to kiss you the whole time.”34

He lifted my chin and, as promised, his lips touched mine.35

“One.” He counted.36

He kissed me again.37

“Two.”38

And it continued to ten. When he got to ten, I leaned up and kissed him, he grinned.39

“Now I said only ten seconds.” He reprimanded playfully.40

“You said you were only going to kiss me for ten seconds.” I argued, “You said nothing about me kissing you.”41

He laughed out loud that time, causing Aries and Lesta to look over in our direction.42

“Aww, Shade made a joke.” Aries said in the voice of a proud parent, “The only thing that’s gonna get made over there tonight.”43

Aries ducked, barely missing the small couch pillow that Helix had thrown at him.44

Lesta grabbed Aries and pulled him down while she stood up.45

“I’m getting out of the line-of-fire for this one, boys,” She said, “Anyone else want anything from the bar?”46

She glanced at Dax and Rara who both shook their heads, the drinks they liked were generally not something found anywhere outside of a back alley European bar.47

“Do they serve whiskey Red here?” I asked Lesta, she was the only one of us who‘d been here before.48

“They’ll put blood in pretty much anything unless it’s alive.” She answered and I saw Dax grin out of the corner of my eye, “You’re with Helix though, they’d probably dice up a human heart if you asked for it.”49

“I’ll take my whiskey.” I told her.50

“And I’ll never understand that.” Helix chuckled, and then he looked back up at Lesta, “Straight Absinthe, none of that sugar water they like to call a drink.”51

“I doubt they’ve got that anywhere around here.” Lesta laughed and turned to go out the door. Aries leaped up to follow her but Helix stopped them both.52

“Here.” He said, and then he pulled out his gun and tossed it to her.53

“You know I don’t need this.” She said, holding the gun at arm’s length as though it personally offended her.54

“True,” He admitted, “But you never know. That poor bartender is going to lose it if anyone else gets cut to pieces. And I know you; your knives take away the fun.”55

Lesta curtsied slightly.56

“Well, do me a favor,” He asked, “If they bug you, just shoot, just this once, I’d like us not to get thrown out with the hunters who’ve sworn to kill me.”57

Lesta looked doubtful. So did I for that matter, as though a single hunter stood a chance against Helix, now that was funny.58

“It’ll work better than your gun anyway, Helix added, “It’s got my silver bullets in it. You’ve got to praise the scientists that made those for us.”59

“Yeah,” She said sarcastically, “Those scientists are real smart. At least four centuries, and they still haven’t figured out what happens to the light when you close the refrigerator door.”60

Everyone in the room forcibly hid laughter and with a fake pout, Lesta drew her gun, stared at it for a moment, and then tossed it onto the bed with her coat and put Helix’s in her holster. 61

By appearance alone, Lesta was in more danger than I could ever be in. She was beautiful and she knew it, she had the kind of confidence most women would die for and most men would kill for. Right now, she wore tight pants and a shirt that laced low on her back. It was blue and showed her back, her stomach, and a lot of her chest. However, unlike me, she would fight and, more likely than not, someone else’s head would get ripped off if she was attacked.62

Both Aries and Lesta left the room, going towards the bar. Lesta would be in no danger, I knew.63

The room was quiet for a few seconds but it wasn’t an awkward quiet. It was peaceful, but I had no objection when Dax broke it.64

“How’d you even find this place?” He asked Helix. Dax sat at one end of the couch with Rara’s head on his knees and her toes touching the other end of the couch. She wasn’t asleep though and Dax was idly braiding her long brown hair.65

“Lesta.” Helix answered simply and Rara snickered as though this had been entirely obvious.66

“She been everywhere.” Rara murmured sleepily, her English
was heavily accented and slightly choppy as usual. Though she was fluent, she liked to pretend otherwise.67

It was quiet again for awhile, quiet and relaxing but I couldn’t go to sleep. The Holy Water wouldn’t let me. I wouldn’t be falling asleep at least until tomorrow night,68

“How old are you anyway?” Rara asked Helix suddenly.69

Helix smiled, “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to be nosy to vampires?” He asked teasingly.70

Rara shook her head, though it was difficult in the position she was lying in.71

“Madre never got that far.” Rara replied.72

I was always so amazed the way Rara could talk about her family, particularly her mother. Her parents, proud members of the Spanish court, had had her banished from the country when she’d been turned by a rogue vampire. Of course this was back when world governments and militaries were the only ones who knew vampires existed. But parents were always a touchy subject with us. None of us, except for Helix, had been away from our families for very long before we were turned. And the hunters had attacked my father, forcing Helix’s hand in either killing him or turning him. Helix chose the first and my father agreed with him73

“Put it this way,” Helix answered, snapping me out of my reminiscing, “Dracula wasn’t half as rabid as they made him out to be.”74

Rara’s eyes widened slightly.75

“And to think,” She said, “My first memory had a computer in it.”76

None of us were even half as old as Helix, which meant none of us were even half as strong. We didn’t actually know how old he was. I’d asked him once but he’d refused to tell me, saying the actual number would no doubt scare me. But I’d known Helix since I was human, and he’d turned me. Helix and I had run across Dax first when we were vacationing in Brazil then he found Rara and brought her back to us. Aries and Lesta, however, had found us when they needed a place to hide. It hadn’t lasted very long though, a few more days in South Carolina and we were tracked down by the hunters, then we were all on the run because none of us, me least of all, were willing to betray Helix.77

“You got anymore of them doses of Holy Water, Helix?” Dax asked suddenly and I suppressed the urge to groan. Dax had to need one now, didn’t he?78

The injection, the one with the Holy Water and steroids in it, did more than make us strong. It was addictive, highly addictive to most of us. Dax was one of the ones who was highly addicted to it and he got extremely uncomfortable if he didn’t get it once in awhile. He claimed he was trying to quit, but they say once you get started on Holy Water, there is no quitting.79

“Yes, I do.” Helix answered stiffly, “But you don’t need it. Isn’t Lesta getting you something? Anything?”80

Dax shook his head, light brown hair falling in his face.81

“I didn’t ask her to,” He said, and then his voice took on a pleading note, “Come on, man, I haven’t had one for three days!”82

Helix rolled his eyes, reached down to the case on his belt, and pulled one of the vials.83

“You’re gonna run me dry, Daxus.” Helix said, using Dax’s full first name. I’d never heard him use it before. 84

“Only I can call him that.” Rara mumbled, sounding as though she were already half asleep.85

“Besides, it’s just salt water.” Dax said sheepishly.86

“No,” Helix corrected, “It is salt water blessed by a priest. And it’s expensive. I don’t buy it from here or any other underground place. I get it from the churches.”87

“What do you do? Corner the padre in a confessional or something?” Rara questioned, giggling.88

Helix laughed guiltily, “Nah,” He said, grinning, “That’s too easy.”89

Dax laughed as he pulled out his own syringe and needle. I watched as he poured the clear liquid in the vial into the syringe and injected it into his wrist. The blood wasn’t necessary; it just helped a little bit and kept me from getting too high. But with the amount of Holy Water Dax always had in him, it would take more than that to have an effect.90

I was still watching as Dax shuddered over the initial burn, but then his shaking, which had been bothering him much of the night and half the plane ride to Vegas, calmed down and he relaxed. He could sleep through pretty much anything, Holy Water included.91

Just then, Aries and Lesta came through the door. Aries had two glasses in his hand. One was clear with red pooled in the bottom, which would be Red gin, Lesta’s favorite. The other was electric blue and I had no idea what it was.92

“What in god’s name is that, Aries?” Dax asked, trying not to laugh.93

“Ahh,” Aries looked at the glass, “I think he said it was
Holy Water, alcohol, and something else. Cocaine or something, I don’t know.”94

“Of course you don’t.” Helix laughed, and I joined him. It was so like Aries not to know what a drink was until it was inside of him. And I swear, put Aries and Lesta in the same room with some alcohol and their clothes would have trouble staying on.95

Lesta handed me a smaller glass of whiskey the way I liked it and I smiled at her. Helix was the only one who didn’t have a Red drink; if he was going to drink blood he didn’t mix things into it. And she handed him his preferred Absinthe. I didn’t like Absinthe, especially not straight. It was too strong for me.96

Lesta pulled out Helix’s gun and tossed it back to him, he caught it easily.97

“Told you I wouldn’t need it.” She said smugly.98

“All the same.” Helix muttered, setting the gun on a table beside the couch.99

I sniffed my smaller glass gingerly before drinking from it; vamp clubs are notorious for spiking the drinks of ones they don’t like. And, right now, I doubted any of them liked Helix. But it didn’t seem like there was anything in mine and I knew there wasn’t much they’d think to put in a drink that would bother Helix.100

“How is it, baby?” Helix asked, tickling me slightly.101

“Red whiskey’s pretty much Red whiskey no matter where you drink it.” I answered, laughing.102

“You know they’ve got a new one out down there?” Lesta asked, “Blood with black powder.”103

Helix shook his head.104

“Of all the twisted combinations,” He said, “Someone’s going to get blown up out there what with all the back powder they must have and all the smoking.”105

Dax nodded, looking slightly out of it.106

I curled closer to Helix and he ran his fingers through my hair.107

“You gonna sleep, baby girl?” He asked softy, I shook my head slightly.108

“I can’t.” I answered, “Too much in me.”109

Helix winced as though my being pumped full of Holy Water were his fault.110

“You could still try.” He answered hopefully, but both of us knew that wasn’t going to work.111

Holy Water keeps us awake. And even though the strength had worn off and the bloodlust had come back and been dealt with, the insomnia would still be there. But I couldn’t blame Helix for forgetting, since he didn’t use Holy Water he didn’t make it a point to remember all the effects.112

“Sun’s up by now.” I heard Dax say and I turned to look at the others.113

Rara, who, unlike me, hadn’t had any injections for the past month, was now completely asleep with her head still on Dax’s knees and her hair now fully braided. Aries and Lesta were sitting on the bed; Aries leaning back against the headboard and Lesta straddling him. Both of them seemed to be hovering on the verge of drunkenness and seemed completely oblivious to the rest of us.114

“Yeah,” Helix replied, looking at his watch “Looks like we’re all in for the day.”115

Lesta giggled suddenly, causing Dax and Helix to look over in the happy couple’s direction.116

“I sincerely hope you two aren’t planning on having sex over there.” Helix said, lifting his head slightly.117

“Not planning on it,” Aries answered, running his hands down Lesta’s thighs, “but you know how these things just happen,
Helix.”118

Dax snickered, but Aries ignored him.119

“Shield your eyes.” Dax told me, causing more laughter.120

These were the moments I loved most about our lives. When we weren’t running or hiding, when no one was dying, no life-or-death decisions had to be made. When we could laugh and joke with a few drinks. Pity these times were few and far between.121

“Hilarious.” Aries said to Dax, drawing out the word one syllable at a time, his silver eyes never leaving Lesta’s.122

Dax gave him a surprised look.123

“That’s your great comeback?” He laughed, “I would’ve expected better from the great Aries.”124

Lesta kissed Aries before answering for him.125

“Not now.” She said, “He’s distracted.”126

Dax cleared his throat.127

“Yeah, I’m sitting this one out.” He said, throwing a glance at Aries and Lesta who were about two seconds from stripping, “We got the room next door, I’ll take Rara there…turn in myself.”128

Helix nodded.129

“You know if you need me,” Dax added, “Just come get me, you know that. You’re my brother, Helix, you and Aries. Come get me if you need anything.”130

Helix smiled.131

“I’ve always thought of you both as my brothers.” He said, “I doubt anything would come up though. Go rest with her in peace, if you can, with all that Water in you.”132

Dax chuckled as he lifted Rara in his arms; she clung to him with a peaceful expression on her face. It was rare, Rara looking peaceful and, being a peace-loving vampire, I felt obliged to admire her expression for a moment before burying half of my face in Helix’s shirt.133

“I’ll be fine, I’m used to it. Not like you, Shade.” Dax said to me, “Just don’t ever get addicted to it, I swear.”134

“I do try to avoid that.” Helix said, “I just wish I could’ve done something about you.”135

“Too late for that,” Dax said as he stood up holding Rara and went towards the door, stopping just before it opened for him, “Like I said, if you need us at all.”136

Helix nodded as Dax left and the door closed after him. The room was silent except for Aries and Lesta who, by the sound of it, were beginning to reconsider their abstinence plan.137

“Alright!” Helix said suddenly, “There is a bedroom right through that door. Please take it in there.”138

Both of them, still seemingly unaware of Helix and I, leapt up and went towards the bedroom Helix had indicated, Lesta leaning back to snatch up Aries’s shirt. When she at last crossed into the bedroom, a door slid shut that significantly muffled the sound of what was no doubt going to be very wild sex.139

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