Page 22 of Love Bleeds
Chapter Eight
Crimson stared at the pieces of Lego that lay scattered in the yard. He wasn't sure how he knew that it was Lego, but he did. His memory worked in weird ways, letting him remember some things, but not others. Like, food. He understood the concept of food, but he didn't remember the taste of anything, let alone what his favorite meal might have been.
He felt that same weird disconnect looking at the Lego. It had come sailing out of a window and shattered. By the looks of it, it had been some sort of spaceship.
Crimson wasn't sure why he couldn't tear his eyes away.
"You seem fascinated by that toy." Vlad's voice. His new ‘partner’. Honestly speaking, Crimson felt a little uncomfortable around the guy. He wasn’t sure if that was because he still felt a modicum of discomfort around all vampires, or because Vlad seemed so... Crimson struggled to find the right word to describe Vlad’s demeanor, but there was something distant about him, as if he wasn’t touched by anything he saw or experienced. Crimson was glad that his partner checked in with him only occasionally. He’d been keeping an eye on the front of the house.
"Did you see our target?" Crimson asked, only to change the topic away from himself and his fascination with the toy spaceship.
"No, but someone must have tossed that thing out the window," Vlad replied. "Next time, you will be watching the front. If you stand by the door, he'll see you for sure."
Crimson nodded, as if he understood everything the other vampire was saying. He still wasn't sure how exactly their target was 'protected'--or if he wanted them to find the boy at all. Whatever fate awaited the mortal when Nicolai got his hands on him, it likely wouldn't be pretty.
Vlad came to stand next to him, and Crimson fought the urge to move away as his partner studied the broken toy. "That almost looks like a Millennium Falcon."
"A Millennium Falcon?" Crimson asked. The word sounded familiar, as if he'd heard it before, but he couldn't quite place it.
"It's a recent pop culture thing," Vlad said. “Mortals are growing more and more fascinated with space exploration. I can’t say that I blame them for wanting to escape this rock.”
"How old are you?" Crimson asked, because even though his memory wasn’t all there, the concept of space exploration didn’t feel like a recent development to him.
"Older than your sire’s sire.”
“Then why do you work for Nicolai?”
Vlad’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “What makes you think I work for anyone?”
Crimson didn’t know how to respond to that. He’d simply assumed that Vlad was under Nicolai’s orders, same as he was, but in reality he knew fairly little about coven politics.
"I'm sorry. I don’t really know my way around the coven yet.”
"Don’t worry. I’m not going to get mad at a freshling.”
A freshling. Crimson didn’t like being called that, even if he was still freshly turned by vampire standards. If the designation could keep him out of trouble, though, he would let it slide.
He crouched down to give the Lego pieces a closer look. The main part of the spaceship was still intact. The other pieces could probably be put back together too.
He picked some of them up, then he glanced at the house. "Do you think we could put them back inside?"
"And let everyone know that we were here? Not a good idea. Those toys are staying where they are."
"But then..."
"What are you worried about? I assure you, that was not a unique toy. It can be replaced."
"Okay." Somewhat reluctantly, Crimson got up again. Something about Vlad’s statement rang false, though he couldn’t put his finger on the problem. But he couldn’t say why he cared about this toy either. Lord knew he had bigger problems. Speaking of...
Crimson turned to Vlad. "Do you remember anything about your old life?" he tried, digging his hands into his pockets as if that would make him appear more casual.
"There's nothing there that I would want to remember," Vlad said, but he didn't say it as if the question bothered him.
Crimson decided to try a different line of questioning anyway. "If you wanted to remember, how would you go about that?"
Vlad remained quiet.
Crimson was about to suggest that they head back to headquarters for the rest of the night when the other vampire spoke up again. "Sometimes it's best not to know." His tone was final. "Trust me, thinking about your past as human will only distract you from your present."
