Page 7 of The Second Sight (Wanderlust Emporium Presents, Season One)

Chapter

Six

SEVEN

Istepped back slightly, creating just enough space between us for her to breathe more easily.

Her fear, while intoxicating to the predator in me, was becoming counterproductive.

I needed her cooperative, not paralyzed with terror.

I softened my expression and deliberately lowered my voice to its most agreeable register.

“I’m sorry I frightened you,” I said, watching her eyes widen at the sudden change in my demeanor. “That wasn’t my intention.”

She remained pressed against the wall, but I noticed her shoulders drop a fraction. Her breathing slowed. Good.

“I won’t hurt you,” I continued, maintaining the soothing cadence. “I promise.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly. Skepticism. Smart girl. “You were drinking that woman’s blood,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “In the bathroom stall.”

I nodded, seeing no point in denial. “I told you. I’m a vampire. That’s what we do.” I kept my tone matter of fact, conversational. “She wasn’t harmed. I was just feeding. I told you that.”

“You expect me to believe you?” Her voice was stronger now, indignation momentarily overriding her fear. “You have blood all over your face.”

“I was interrupted,” I replied with a small shrug.

“By you. It’s normally a much cleaner process.

” I released her wrist but kept my other hand on her shoulder, firm but not painful.

“The point is, she’s alive and well enough.

I don’t kill when I feed. It’s unnecessary and draws unwanted attention.

If you wouldn’t have been a peeping Tom, I wouldn’t have dropped her on the disgusting restroom floor. Her headache is basically your fault.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Well, the way I see it. We both are to blame. Fifty-fifty.”

Despite her obvious disbelief, I could see her listening and actually processing my words. I was penetrating her defenses, making her receptive even against her better judgment. Her eyes remained fixed on mine.

“What are you?” I asked abruptly, changing direction. “A witch? A seer? You must be something to see through the magic.”

Her brow furrowed in genuine confusion. “I told you. I’m not anything. I’m just a person.”

“Impossible,” I countered, my fingers moving from her shoulder to the curve of her neck in a gesture both threatening and intimate.

I felt her pulse jump beneath my fingertips.

“No ordinary human could have seen what you saw tonight. No ordinary human could use those glasses. They’re magically crafted.

That item is meant only for those with supernatural blood. ”

“I don’t have supernatural blood,” she insisted, shaking her head emphatically. “I’m not a witch or whatever else you think I am. I’m just a college student.”

I studied her face carefully, searching for the lie. But there was none. She truly believed what she was saying. Either she was unaware of her nature, or she was something entirely new to me. After four centuries of existence, there wasn’t much I hadn’t encountered.

Even her scent was unusual. Not quite human, but nothing I recognized either. There was something old about it. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was...

No, that was impossible. The Fae had withdrawn from this realm centuries ago, after the Great Burning. None remained. None could stay in this realm. I haven’t seen one in more than two hundred years.

Yet here she stood, wearing a face so like my one true love, Basirah, it made my dead heart ache. This girl could see through a witch’s cloak, and she had a scent that whispered of ancient magic.

“FYI, I would never kill someone as beautiful as you,” I said, the words escaping before I could consider them.

They were true, though not for the reasons she might assume.

I couldn’t harm this young girl, who wore my dead wife’s face, no matter what threat she might pose.

My thumb brushed across her cheek, tracing the line of her cheekbone.

“I just want to understand how you could see me drinking blood. How you could see through the veil no human should penetrate.”

Her heart pounded in her chest, the sound filling my sensitive ears.

It wasn’t just fear anymore. There was something else there, a flutter of interest?

Attraction? The response was unconscious, but human pheromones always gave them away.

Clearly, a part of this beauty was human, but there was another part that was something else.

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice steadier than before. Her honey-colored eyes dropped to my mouth before quickly returning to my eyes. “I don’t have an answer.”

“What’s your name?” I asked suddenly. “You know mine. It’s only fair.”

“Kasi.”

“Do you mean Kasinda?”

Her eyes widened. I could see her trying desperately to figure out how I knew her full first name.

“Yes, Kasinda. Do you already know my last name?”

“Maybe, but I prefer you to give it to me willingly.”

“Bacchar, Kasinda Bacchar.”

“Lovely name.” Her name rolled off my tongue quite effortlessly.

“Can you read my mind?”

I chuckled. “No, silly.”

“Well, how do you know my name?” She asked.

“I saw your name on the debit card you used at the bar.” I

“Oh.”

“I will call you Kasi, and you will call me Seven.” It was a command, and I believe she knew as much.

“Seven,” she tested my name. “Are there... more of you? Vampires, I mean.”

“Many,” I replied honestly. “Chicago has one of the largest vampire populations in North America. We’re particularly fond of large cities. It’s easier to feed without notice, easier to blend in.” I paused, considering how much to tell her.

“That makes sense.”

“We have an entire hidden society.”

Her eyes widened slightly at this information. I could see her trying to process it, rearranging her understanding of the world to accommodate this new reality. She was remarkably composed for someone whose fundamental beliefs about existence had just been shattered.

“Why are you so fixated on how I saw you?” she said after a moment.

I shook my head. “Those glasses, they only work for those with supernatural blood. An ordinary human putting them on would see nothing unusual. Perhaps slightly clearer vision, nothing more. The fact that they showed you the truth means you’re not entirely human, Kasi Bacchar.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she insisted, though I detected a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “My parents are human. I’m human. There’s nothing special about me.”

“Are you sure about that?” I challenged softly. “Have you never experienced anything unusual? Dreams that came true? Intuitions that proved correct? Strange reactions to certain places?”

A flicker of something crossed her beautiful face before she suppressed it.

“I’m just a normal college student,” she repeated, though with less conviction than before.

I didn’t press further. She wasn’t ready to acknowledge whatever she was hiding. That was fine. I had time. An eternity of it, in fact.

“Perhaps you’re right,” I conceded, though we both knew I didn’t believe it. “Perhaps it’s just the glasses.”

I stepped back further, releasing her completely but maintaining eye contact. The mystery of what she was and why she looked so much like my Basirah would have to wait. I’d frightened her enough for one night.

The change in my decision was instantaneous.

Standing there looking at her, I suddenly couldn’t resist the urge to confirm my suspicions.

In a movement too quick for her human eyes to track, I closed the distance between us and pulled her against me.

Her body went rigid with shock as I wrapped one arm around her waist and tangled my other hand in her hair, tilting her head to expose the smooth column of her neck.

I wasn’t going to bite her. I’d just fed, after all, but I needed to get closer.

I needed to breathe her in. To know for certain what my instincts were screaming at me.

I buried my face in the curve where her neck met her shoulder and inhaled deeply. The scent hit me like the smell of grass after rainfall. Then the notes of honey, apricot and peach beneath it all, a scent of something ancient and regal. Something I hadn’t encountered in over a century.

Kasi trembled in my arms. Her body was caught in a curious human tension between fear and arousal. Her pulse fluttered wildly beneath my lips as I dragged them across her skin, not kissing, not biting, just feeling. Tasting the air around her and trying to control my growing arousal.

I pulled back abruptly, holding her at arm’s length.

Her golden eyes were wide, pupils dilated, with breaths coming in short gasps.

The conflicting emotions on her face would have been amusing in any other circumstance.

Fear, yes, but there was also confusion and a reluctant, instinctual attraction she was clearly struggling against.

“I know what you are,” I said, certainty resonating in my voice. “But I believe you’re not ready to hear it yet.”

“You have dreams that sometimes come true,” I said, watching her eyes widen in shock. “Maybe not often, maybe not always reliable, but enough that you’ve learned to pay attention to them.”

Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly, confusion and fear warring on her smooth face. “How could you possibly know that?” She finally said.

“Because I know things. You’re not fully human, Kasi Bacchar. You never have been.”

She shook her head violently, alcohol and shock making her movements uncoordinated. “No. That’s not—you’re making this up. You’re in my head somehow. Reading my mind.”

“Vampires can’t read minds,” I said. “We have enhanced senses, strength, speed, but not telepathy. I know these things about you because they’re characteristic of your kind.”

Her eyes tightened with suspicion. “If what you’re saying is true, how do you know so much about my kind? I’m not a vampire.”

“That is true. You are not one of my kind. I’ve existed for a very long time,” I said carefully. “I’ve encountered many supernatural beings in my centuries alive.”

“Centuries.” She was watching me closely now, her analytical mind pushing through the alcohol and adrenaline.

I could almost see her filing away my reactions to her reactions. Kasi was intelligent and observant. Dangerous qualities in someone who now knew what I was.

“Come home with me,” I said suddenly, surprising myself as much as her. “Come right now. I have books, artifacts, things that could help you understand what you are.”

Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “You want me to go to your home? Alone? With a vampire I just caught drinking someone’s blood? Are you insane?”

“Perhaps,” I admitted with a small smile. “But I’m also the only one who can answer the questions you must have. About what you are. About your dreams.” I paused, watching her face. “About your mother, perhaps?”

I’d struck a nerve. Interesting.

Before she could respond, a shrill electronic noise cut through our conversation. Her phone, vibrating in her purse. She flinched at the sound, her hand automatically moving to retrieve it.

I caught her wrist in a lightning-fast movement. “Don’t answer it.”

“It’s Brooklyn,” she said desperately, glancing at the screen. “My friend from inside the club. She’s probably worried about me. I disappeared from the bathroom a long time ago. We were leaving. She’s probably looking for me.”

I considered for a moment, weighing my options.

I could force her to come with me now, but that would mean either killing her friend or kidnapping them.

Both options would bring a police presence to the club and likely turn Kasi against me.

Or I could let her return to her friend, and risk her telling someone what she’d seen, and what I was.

“We can go back inside,” I said finally, releasing her wrist. “If you agree to meet me tomorrow.”

“Where?” she asked immediately, relief evident in her voice.

“The Black Rose Café. Near the university. Eight o’clock.”

She nodded quickly, too quickly. “Fine. Yes. I’ll be there. Can we go back now? Please?”

I searched her face, looking for signs of deception. She was afraid, yes, but there was also a spark of genuine curiosity behind her eyes. Despite her fear, part of her wanted answers. She wanted to know what she was.

“Very well,” I agreed, stepping back to give her space. “But first, you should know what these are.” I reached into my pocket and produced her golden glasses, which I’d taken while she was distracted.

Her hand reached for them automatically, but I held them just out of reach. “They chose you, Kasi. They wouldn’t work for a human. Remember that when you start doubting what I’ve told you.”

I handed her the glasses, watching as she carefully folded them and placed them in her purse. Her movements were cautious, like she was handling something both precious and hazardous.

We walked together toward the end of the alley, the club entrance visible just down the block. Music spilled out each time the door opened, along with laughing, oblivious humans enjoying their night out, unaware of the predators that walked among them.

Just before we reached the sidewalk, I gripped her elbow, pulling her close to my side. I leaned down, my lips brushing the shell of her ear as I whispered my final warning.

“If you breathe a word of our conversation to Brooklyn or anyone else, I will hurt her. Do you understand?” I kept my voice soft, almost tender, which made the threat even more chilling.

“With your name, I can find out where you live, Kasinda Bacchar.” I felt her stiffen beside me.

“I can find everyone you care about. Remember that.”