Page 20 of Night of the Vampire
To the left was a queen-sized bed. Lizzy was there, the blankets kicked off of her. She wore a gray T-shirt and loose, black shorts and her dark hair was pulled up to the top of her head. She was lying on her stomach with one leg bent and one arm reaching toward the edge. It almost looked like she was trying to crawl off before she passed out.
Moving quickly, I reached under her arms and rolled her over, then pulled her up and off the bed. Throwing her motionless body over my shoulder, I headed toward the door. There, I paused. The flames had crept closer in the few seconds it had taken me to find her. Colors flashed within them, variations of blues and greens, feeding the spell that had started it.
"Shite."
My fangs ached to sink into this thing that was threatening her, but I couldn't drain the lifeblood from fire. Rage burned through me for the second time that night. Someone had set her apartment ablaze, had purposefully tried to harm her. But there was nothing I could do about it right now.
I laid her back on the bed and rushed to the windows. Pushing the chair out of the way, I busted through the glass much as I had to get in. There was no way I'd be able to get through the fire now, it was too close. So window it was. Luckily, this side of the apartment also looked out over the alley below.
As I went back to the bed to get her, I couldn't help but think she deserved so much more than a cheap flat that looked out over an alley filled with dumpsters and the buildings across the way. I checked that she was still breathing, then threw her back over my shoulder. At the window, I held on to her with one arm and used the other to steady us as I climbed out.
Once I had a steady hold and felt her weight balanced across my shoulder, I released her legs, reached in, and grabbed the dog.
Tucking him under my arm, I held onto both of them as I used my free hand to climb down. On the ground, I laid her down on the pavement and put the dog beside her. They were both unconscious, but still breathing. I retrieved my sweater, moved the dog to her stomach, and picked them both up in my arms.
Sirens grew louder as they came closer. It seemed the saviors had finally been called, and I needed to be long gone before they arrived. Leaving the alley, I ran full speed to our home. Not the swamp. Our actual home in the Quarter. I thought of nothing but getting her someplace safe and warm, and since we'd abandoned it after the attack on Kenya, the house was empty right now. If the witches have been watching, they'd know we're not staying there. Lizzy should be safe enough there.
No humans saw me. The streets were finally emptying out. And even if there were any stragglers, I moved too fast for any of them to track. At most, I was a blur. A breeze that ruffled their clothes. A ghost that flew past them in the night. After all, New Orleans was known for its many hauntings, especially this time of year.
About a block away from my home, I ducked into a doorway. Taking a deep breath, I scented the air, but smelled nothing except the warm scent of Lizzy's skin beneath the smoke that clung to her clothes and the dog's fur. She started to stir in my arms. I needed to get her inside.
I went through the narrow gate on the side of the house that led to the back courtyard. My nerves were strung tight, but I felt nothing threatening. No menacing forces. Inside the house, I immediately took them both to my room. Gently, I laid her on the bed and took the dog from her stomach, laying him beside her. As I pulled the comforter over her, she started to cough, her eyes flickering open.
"It's all right," I told her as I brushed escaped tendrils of her hair back from her forehead. "I'll get you some water. Stay here."
In the kitchen, I found a glass and filled it with filtered water. As an afterthought, I pulled a small bowl from the cabinet and did the same.
I didn't examine why I had done what I had, risking my own life to save a human. And not just any human. A witch. I didn't examine it, because I knew the reason. I needed her to save Kenya. Lizzy should have burned tonight. Now, she owed me a life.
Actually, she owed me two.
When I got back upstairs, she was sitting up in the middle of my bed, tears streaking down her dirty face as she pet the dog.
Had I been too late? "Is he..."
She didn't seem surprised to see me. Actually, she didn't even look up. "No." Her voice was raspy and raw. "He's breathing."
I set the bowl of water on the nightstand and handed her the glass. She looked up at me then. "Thank you," she said. She took a sip, then covered the front of her throat with her hand, wincing. "That hurts," she mumbled.
"You were in a fire," I told her. "You seemed to have inhaled a bit of smoke. Both of you." I nodded at the dog.
When she looked up at me again, her eyes were red and raw. From the smoke? Or from tears? "You got us out," she said in disbelief. "It seems I owe you."
"Yes, you do." I didn't need to explain what my payment would be. She had never struck me as a stupid woman. She knew what I wanted from her.
But, does she?
"I need to take Wiggles to the vet." She started to get off the bed. "He probably needs oxygen, or...or...something." On her feet, she looked around my room, confused, then started coughing. "Do you have a phone?" she asked when it stopped.
Yes. And she should probably be at a hospital. But that plan wasn't going to work for me. I'd just gotten her here. I had risked my life to do so. However, I could see by the determined look on her face she wasn't going to let this one go. So, a little bit of influence it was. "The bathroom is right there." I pointed to the door. "Why don't you go rinse your face and I'll see if I can find a number for an emergency vet and a blanket to carry him in."
"Okay. Thank you, Killian." In a sort of daze, she wandered into the bathroom and shut the door.
I looked at the dog passed out on my bed, his dirty little body ruining my comforter. Wiggles, wasn't it? "All right, boy. Let's get you fixed up." My fangs tingled in anticipation as I brought my wrist to my mouth. With a moan, I sank them into my own flesh, the coppery taste of my blood teasing my tongue. Grabbing the dog gently by the muzzle, I pried his mouth open and dripped a little of my blood down his throat. When I thought he'd had enough, I licked my wound closed as I massaged his throat with my other hand to force him to swallow. I didn't have a lot of time. Lizzy would be back in a second. "There you go, fella." She would now have her old dog for a few extra years.
I glanced at her water glass, wondering how badly her lungs were damaged. But sharing my blood had consequences I didn't think either of us were ready for. As it stood now, as long as the dog was with her, I'd be able to find her anywhere.
And maybe he wouldn't growl at me anymore.
