Page 29 of Absolution
“No, it’s not. You don’t get points for the number of civilians you hurt, and you’re not trying to find the castle before someone bigger and badder offs your ass,” Sei said. “I know sarcasm is your defense mechanism, but you aren’t safe right now, Sam.”
“Fuck!”
“There’s a special cemetery for vampires just east of downtown. Tiny little place with really high walls. Can you meet me there?”
I didn’t want to, but he was right. Hell, I just wanted to sit down and cry like a baby. Why couldn’t life be more like a video game? At least then it was obvious who the good guys and the bad guys were. “Give me the address. I’ll map it on my phone,” I finally said. “You better fucking be there, Ronnie.” My gut churned, and I couldn’t get the taste of the lycan out of my mouth. Never again.
“Meet you there in twenty. Don’t make me come looking for you, Sammie.”
“I’ll be there.” I hung up the phone and programmed the address in. It wasn’t that far. I followed the directions having to stop twice to throw up—a new experience since I’d never done it as a vampire before—blood and chunks. Apparently I’d more than just sucked on that furry bastard. God, my stomach hurt. Was that part of the redout issue or the aftereffects of lycan blood?
Someone patted me on the back. “You okay man? You don’t look so good.”
I shook my head hoping the guy wasn’t going to try for my wallet, phone or the stack of cash in my jacket pocket. He didn’t smell like a homeless person but that didn’t mean he wasn’t trouble. “Too much to drink,” I gave him a lame excuse.
“Yeah, shifters will do that to you.”
WTF? I looked up. The guy was blond, willowy, longish hair pulled back in a ponytail and cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass on. He had to be a vampire since he didn’t smell human or even lycan. Or maybe I was just getting better at sorting that out. “You’re not one of Gabe’s.”
He shrugged. “Technically neither are you since your true sire is dead.”
Right, except Gabe and Jamie had said to stay away from vampires I didn’t know. “You’re not doing all that vampire shit around town are you?”
He raised a brow. “Not sure what you mean.”
“Okay then. Nice meeting you.” I turned to head back to the cemetery. If the guy followed me, at least Gabe could get him and turn him in to the cops. I couldn’t imagine any of Gabe’s vampires doing crap to get us all in trouble. He was really good at holding a tight leash as I’d experienced for myself.
“Careful out there,” the vampire said and patted my arm. A flash of power surged through me like I’d been hit by lightning. Brightness flooded my sight and I was sure I was going to burst into flames any second. Then just as quickly as it had begun, it ended and I was standing alone.
“What the fuck!” I screamed out at the empty street. No one answered, for which I was grateful. Now I ran. Eager to get away and find safety. Seiran was safe. He was probably the most powerful being on earth. And fuck if I didn’t need that right now.
The cemetery came into view with towering white walls and bright lights. It looked a lot like a prison. The walls were twenty feet high, made of concrete, and topped with barbed wire. Spotlights glared and circled with cameras watching their every move. Armed guards in heavy Kevlar stood outside the main gate and on the wall. I shivered.
“Creepy, right? I was expecting some ritzy hotel setup or something. Not this.” Seiran said as he suddenly appeared right next to me.
“Jesus!” I screamed at him. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Nope. Just Father Earth. Sorry. Calculating distances is sort of hard.” His hair was green again with flowers growing in it as he spoke. I’d heard of this version of him, but never seen it up close. He was a living, breathing embodiment of the earth. No wonder everyone was scared to death of him. “The whole astral travel thing is pretty easy if I follow the lay lines of the earth. It’s just a little jarring when I stop.” He shook his head like he was trying to clear it but smiled at me. “So tell me about the date.”
“It started okay, but ended in disaster.”
“How so?”
“He got pissed off when some bruiser was pushing us around the floor and went postal on him. Then yelled at me when I walked.” I sighed and looked away. “He reminded me of Matthew. Max said he got territorial because I shared blood with him. But all I saw were his fists beating on that guy…”
“You shared blood with him?”
“Yeah.”
“That was good?”
It had been better than good. Almost hypnotizing. “Yeah.”
“I see.” Seiran was silent for a moment. “It happens sometimes. Even Gabe will on occasion remind me of Matthew. The memories have faded, but they never really go away. Don’t blame that on him, it’s mostly in your head. Did he hit you?”
“No. Just called me a kid, but he was really pissed.”
“You are a kid.”