Page 79 of Fangs and Family
‘So… what now?’ I asked, wondering what could be a better solution.
‘Now we wait and see. The rift is small, and the good citizens of Tricity shouldn’t notice any changes to their daily lives, but I expect we’ll receive more visitors from the Nether. The fact Stribog could hold his physical form for so long speaks for itself.’
‘Stribog? God of air and change, that Stribog?’ I asked as I finally connected the man with the name. ‘But I thought the gods couldn’t enter this world in their physical form.’
‘Well… they couldn’t, except me,’ Leszek said, and I looked at Sara, my eyes wide from shock.
‘Oh, fuck!’ I swore, and she sighed.
‘Yup, oh fuck indeed.’
1.Fin de siècle, (French: “end of the century”) – relating to, characteristic of, or resembling the late 19th-century literary and artistic climate of sophistication, escapism, extreme aestheticism, world-weariness, and fashionable despair.
Chapter 28
Six months later
‘Have I told you I’m too old for night shifts?’ I grumbled, packing another bloody sheet into the bag. Sara smirked, rolling her eyes at my complaint.
‘Yeah, you did. It’s such a shame your old, decrepit body will have to endure it for eternity,’ she answered. I snorted and stuck my tongue out at her.
Today, we were repaying a favour to the staff that had covered our shifts during Yuletide, and that meant getting our hands dirty working at the major trauma unit. It had been a long time coming, but at least they weren’t waiting till the approaching Yule.
As usual, there was plenty to do. I could feel the sun rising even in this windowless room. It was one of the little treats my transformation had gifted me. Adam reassured me that the feeling was entirely normal, and I trusted this, even if it came from a man who sucked blood to survive.
When I caught Sara giving me the side eye for the third time, I straightened up and looked at her till she met my gaze.
‘Okay, I know I’m cranky, but you don’t need to hover over my shoulder all shift,’ I huffed.
‘C’mon Sister, you keep repeating it every time we clean up after a trauma, but look on the bright side. You haven’t licked your fingers clean once today, and you didn’t even lick your lips at that gusher earlier,’ Sara’s grin was mischievous enough that I felt like smacking her across the head with a dressing pack.
‘Stop calling me Sister, you wicked woman, and you can definitely stop making fun of my problem. It happened once, Sara, once, but of course, you keep bringing it up,’ I complained, pretending I was deeply offended, but Sara saw through my act right away. I was embarrassed that she still remembered my return to work and the first patient we had.
‘But you’re like a sister to me, Nina. Are you trying to break my heart? Besides, seeing you licking up the blood with that dreamy expression was an unforgettable experience. Oh, how I wish I’d had my phone on me.’
It had been unforgettable for me, too. I’d just come from my leave of absence, and minutes after my shift started, Sara’s boys brought in a man from a factory accident. Before I was able to put a compression dressing on the bleeding stump, arterial blood sprayed over my face, and I instinctively licked my lips, then stuck a finger in my mouth, moaning quietly at the rich metallic taste.
‘Yeah, unforgettable is the perfect word, especially after we made everyone else forget it.’
‘Well, that’s part of my job now. To protect the delicate balance between the Nether and the human world. Admit it, you enjoyed using your mojo on Karina. It was so funny afterwards, seeing the looks of confusion on everyone’s faces every time I licked my lips,’ Sara said, wiping the blood from the metal tray.
I was grateful for her help. I’d struggled to use vampire compulsion in those first few weeks, and covering up the mistakes I made because of my cravings had been hard work.
My new life was still a voyage of discovery; hence, the Wicked Seer of the West constantly looking over my shoulder. I was still regularly surprised by the hand I’d been dealt.
I didn’t need human blood to survive, although I still craved it. I could live well on the hefty supply of the best beef steaks that Adam kept stocked in his fridge. The biggest surprise came when Adam and I found out he didn’t need to feed elsewhere.
At first, we hadn’t realised, but we were in the honeymoon period, and sex had been… well, let’s just say we enjoyed each other’s company. Adam liked to bite me when passions were high, and our first discovery was that vampire venom still worked on me. Our second revelation was that my blood heightened Adam’s pleasure. We had explored that little quirk thoroughly.
After several days of bedroom gymnastics, we’d emerged to enjoy a nice meal. However, instead of opening a unit of blood, Adam only had a glass of whisky. When I expressed my concern, my winged lover simply shrugged, saying he wasn’t hungry. After two weeks, I’d been ready to tie him to the chair and pour a unit or two straight down his helpless throat, but Adam insisted he felt the best he’d ever been. Once I made him talk to another vampire, and they analysed his blood, we found out that not only was my blood nourishing his body, but it was much more potent than anything a human could provide.
I also discovered I wasn’t as affected by the sun as fledgling vampires. That discovery came after I lost my temper when Adam told me to wait before returning to work. After I’d stormed out and stolen his bike to blow off some steam, I realised, two miles down the road, that it was midday and my skin wasn’t a blistered mess. Both Adam and I were relieved when I returned unharmed. I had taken my telling off for that one very contritely.
‘I hope you haven’t forgotten about tonight?’ I blinked, my musing interrupted by Sara’s question.
‘What?’
‘Tonight? Autumn Equinox? The Harvest Festival? Please don’t tell me you forgot about Leszek’s birthday and the party on the island?’ She asked with a gentle frown, and I slapped my forehead.
