Page 24 of Transfiguration
“Detective Lorenze. Did you know the victim?”
“Yeah, he was one of our regular drivers.”
“When did you see him last?”
“A few hours ago?” Sam checked the time on his phone. “Close to three hours ago. He dropped us off, and we headed up.” He nodded at the woman at the desk who they had passed earlier. Everyone came in or out either by this lower garage entry or the upstairs one to the street. Street level was actually harder to get through, with heavier guards and usually three people at the desk at all times. The garage itself was entry only by having a keycard to get an actual metal grate open before they could enter at all.
Had Blake been dead that long? Luca wondered. He swallowed hard, gulping air. The woman from the desk held out an unopened bottle of water, which Sam took, broke the seal and handed to Luca. It felt cold and soothing going down. Sam helped Luca sit with his back to the desk, the angle wrong to see anything out of the big glass doors other than lights. Luca blinked, red trickling around his vision like a drop of food coloring spreading in water. He’d never had a full redout. Not even walked the line like Sam could. Maybe because he hadn’t had a true death? The most he had ever encountered was a vague stir of it rising, like a pink tinge to the edge of his perception. Was it really blood in his gaze or purely emotional? Sam had never seen Luca’s eyes change. Luca had asked.
“We don’t normally ask civilians to look at a crime scene. But since he’s someone who works for you and you have advanced vision and stuff?” The detective hedged like he wanted to ask but wasn’t sure how.
“Sure,” Sam said. Luca gripped his hand. “It will just be a second. Can you focus on finishing this bottle of water for me?” Sam touched Luca’s face, a gentleness there that few others ever got to see.
“Don’t coddle me,” Luca griped.
Sam snorted and kissed the tip of his nose. “Maybe I should tell Ronnie his cooking made you sick?”
“Wasn’t his. Jamie made dinner. Don’t anger the muscle man.” Luca had to make himself loosen his grip on Sam. “I’ll be fine. But it better only take you a minute. Fuck, poor Blake. He was a nice guy. He’s been driving for me for at least two decades.”
Sam got up. “Be right back.”
Luca watched him follow the police detective out to the garage, his heart pounding and the edge of his sight turning dark.
“You okay?” The woman asked. Luca couldn’t remember her name. There were a dozen rotating employees between the two desks, and he was rarely alone when he passed.
“That is fucked up,” Luca said.
She nodded. “I didn’t really see anything. The security guys stumbled on it.” She flushed.
“No one needed to see that,” he assured her. He folded his legs in and took a few long yoga breaths, trying to center himself. He blinked a dozen times, but the taint of darkness remained on the edge of his vision. Maybe he was more tired than he thought? Luca usually slept the same hours Sam did. It was easier to keep them on the same schedule as Luca worked late afternoons and evenings, with virtual meetings and calls scheduled overseas. Maybe it was stress?
Sam reappeared without the police and headed Luca’s way.
“Anything?” Luca asked.
Sam shook his head and helped Luca up, putting a firm arm around his waist and tugging the wagon toward the elevator. “Thanks for packing this stuff up for us,” Sam told the receptionist as he hit the button and the elevator opened. Once inside, Luca slumped against Sam. Sam rubbed his back in circles as they made their way up. Luca breathed in Sam’s scent, which was one of Luca’s favorite mild colognes and a hint of blood, as was normal for vampires. He salivated, suddenly starving. Because he’d thrown up the regular food? That wasn’t normal. Luca didn’t need blood often; a couple times a month at most? He recalled he’d last fed a few days ago, and he shouldn’t be hungry yet.
The door to the elevator opened and Sam led them out and down to the loft, letting them inside. They worked together to unpack everything, folding up the bags and finally putting away the cart. Luca lost himself staring at Sam and the tempting swell of flesh between his neck and shoulder. He’d taken off the jacket, leaving only his jeans and a tank top, which showed muscled arms, the definition of his abs which came from constant training, and that tender line of his neck.
“Babe?” Sam asked, suddenly appearing in front of Luca. “You hungry?”
Luca blinked, having a hard time focusing on Sam’s face. But Sam didn’t pull away. Sam dragged Luca close, nestling Luca against his shoulder. “Eat. Things will work out. The stress is getting to you.”
Stress, sure. Luca bit, gentle as he always was, though Sam didn’t mind rough, and let the flavor fill his mouth. It was strange. Heavy and thick, not flavored like a creamy cheesecake topped with tart lemon, like he was used to. He let it fill his mouth but had to work to swallow. He licked the wound closed, trying not to gag. What the fuck?
“Better?” Sam asked.
“Sure,” Luca said with a tight smile. “Um, let me jump in the shower. It’s almost dawn. I feel gross from throwing up, and the Blake thing.”
“Okay.” Sam let him go, and Luca worked hard to contain the tremble that started in his gut. Something was wrong. He headed upstairs, stripping as he went, marveling only a few seconds over Con’s sprawled form on the bed and his delicious display of ink. He smelled divine. Under the sweat and exhaustion, Con smelled like steak, medium rare, with a fine glass of red wine. That wasn’t right. Conneversmelled like food. Luca didn’t need human blood, not even witch blood with all the power it contained.
He hurried to the bathroom, setting his phone on the counter and locking the door as he turned on the water. No invite for Sam. Not right now. A notification popped up on his phone. Upcoming fight, open to all level four fighters, which meant anyone not a vampire. He wondered if it would burn off some of the red haze and tremors. He stared at it for a minute, then sent a text to Hart… his father.
Something is wrong with me.
What?Came the reply a few seconds later.
Sam’s blood tastes bad.He paused, hesitating to add the rest. He’d had a long life. Longer than most non-vampires or witches, he knew. But he wasn’t blind or stupid either.Craving Con. Seeing red?Luca had always thought it would be a blaze of transitions. Not a wake up dead one morning sort of thing.