Vampires Suck (9)

LAILA

I have a bad feeling about this. Fabian’s a vampire and vampires don’t just go on screaming every time they see a cockroach or something. This has danger written all over it.

But I can’t just sit here. Plus, Will’s already at the door. Brave man.

To my biggest surprise and horror, when we knocked on Fabian’s door, Gabriel was the one to answer it.

EMILY

I was just about to complain about how nosy people usually get killed or kidnapped and then killed in situations like these, when a tall figure appeared at the next-door apartment. A handsome, no, beautiful man was looking down on us.

“You’re an angel.” I found myself saying. I couldn’t have said that out loud. There’s no way my lips where moving to form such idiotic words. A rich laughter followed them.

“I share names with Gabriel, the Angel of Death. And you, my dear?” He brought my hand to his mouth and was about to kiss it when Laila and Will both pulled me away at the same time. Talk about synchronizing.

“Where’s Fabian? I’d like to have a word with him.” Laila’s voice was obviously strained.

“He’s taking a nap.”

“But we heard...” Will started interrupting the blonde man, but then he stopped in mid-sentence. I could see the tension build up in his shoulders. Was I missing something?

“Oh, that was me. I like it rough.” Gabriel flashed a perfect set of incredible white teeth while watching my brother’s shocked face. Laila stifled a laugh. But then she immediately became alert again.

“All right, enough with the jokes, let us in.”

“You”, Gabriel licked his lips as he eyed Laila, “can come, the other two accessories will unfortunately have to leave us.”

I looked at Will, afraid he might pick a fight with this handsome idiot. But he was utterly calm, his face set in a very pleasant smile.

I knew my eyes must have look abnormally big when I turned to meet Laila’s. She seemed to have noticed Will’s lack of response too. It panicked her even more than it did me.

Gabriel took one step closer and whispered one word to me. “Go.”

The next thing I knew, I was running hand in hand with Will.

LAILA

Gabriel moved aside to let me enter, at the same time managing to remain behind me.

“I know what you’re thinking - thank God those two left. Now the mean big vampire won’t have to play with their weak minds anymore.” He recited all this sounding strangely enough like me.

“Those are my friends, they are not your puppets, Gabriel.” Sweet rage, how good it felt to have it replace all the fear. But I knew that nothing I would say could stop him. And that just served to make me angrier.

And then I saw Fabian. All the anger in the world couldn’t have accounted for the angst I was chocking on now. He lay on the floor utterly still, with his face down and bruises all over his body. But these bruises weren’t the normal shade of purple and yellow, they were pitch black, as if holes had been drilled into his skin.

“Why? Why Fabian?” I gasped, fighting back the tears. ”Why do this to him? Just to prove you’re the bad-ass vampire on the block?” I dropped on my feet and gently cradled the unmoving body in my arms.

“But I am the bad-ass vampire, so that’s irrelevant. Now that you know what we are, try to understand this, Laila. If vampires are real, so are other things, more dangerous things.”

I frowned. “What could be more dangerous than you?”

“I’m flattered, I assure you, but it is just so typical of humans to believe only in what you see.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

“Perhaps I’ve deviated a bit. Let’s put that discussion on hold for a while. You see, I need Fabian for something. And in order to make him cooperate, given his most stubborn attitude, I must take otherwise unnecessary measures. I’ve watched him from afar for the past few decades and thought hard before I decided there was no one else who could help me.”

“And you couldn’t just have asked him nicely?” My question sounded stupid and infantile even to me.

“I forget how young you are sometimes. But don’t you see? Fabian is a vampire with his morals intact. How many humans can you say that about?”

“So you tried to... corrupt him?”

“At first, yes. That was when I invited him to my parties. For a vampire, he is dreadfully... good.”

“I don’t get it, he said most vampires are even more normal than us.” Gabriel looked at me as if I just couldn’t see the point he was making.

“Normal, yes. But not good, never good. Fabian may seem hostile, but he always helps the innocent. Other vamps, me included, don’t care about the innocent. If we do not contribute to their suffering, we mainly ignore it – and that’s evil too.”

“So you’re saying he’s too God damned noble to agree to your plans?”

“Yes, but then I thought of something else.”

“What?”

“You.” Me? I don’t think I was glad of being one of Gabriel’s thoughts. “I realized this side of him was even more useful to me because of you.”

“Wha-?”

“You are too slow, Laila. You must have realized by now what I was about to do to you at the party. And when I tried, Fabian reacted just as I suspected he would. But still, a little lesson like this wouldn’t do him any harm.”

“Wouldn’t do him any harm? Are you demented? He’s not even moving!”

“We don’t breathe. We’re supposed not to move.”

“You idiot, that’s not what I –“

I stopped talking as I felt the stirring in my arms.

WILL

“Emily, stop! STOP!” Em stopped running and was now panting insanely. She was never the athlete of the family, that was my role.

 “Em, refresh my memory here. We were...”

“With Laila...”

“...and her creepy neighbors.”

“Oh!” Emily was blushing a deep shade of red now.

“That’s right! You were oh-ing over that Gabe guy.” I could kill the prick.

“Gabriel, not Gabe.”

“There was screaming. Who was screaming?” My head started to ache. “And when did we leave?” The pain became as sharp as needles. The memory of a low voice whispering in my mind came back – be a good boy, William.

 FABIAN

You’d think that after being that badly injured, people would treat you with some consideration. Even healing at a rapid rate, she was just too much.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt? Can you sit up?” When I didn’t answered, Laila frowned. “Can you talk?”

I rose up and just then realized she had been holding me. Cradling me, actually. Like I were some fragile thing that might break. Ha.

But I did feel weak. But mostly I felt anger and...

“You’re looking good. Rather lively, really.” Gabriel teased.

“Enough.” I could see how surprised the blonde vampire was by the menace in my voice. “Enough.” I said again.

“Then, by all means, let’s get down to business. I trust you’ve heard enough to...”

“Wait, you were awake?” Laila shouted in my direction, but Gabriel continued as if she had merely whispered a question.

“...understand my reasons. Any last minute details you’re interested in?”

I sat down on the coach and studied the carpet for a while. Such an elaborate design, old and complicated. It reminded me of a particular someone.

“Why can it only be me? Is it just because of my oh-so-noble sense of being?” I added mockingly.

“If I said yes, would you take me for a fool?”

“You are a fool.”

“I need a wonderer of the night I can trust. And you, Fabian, as much as you might dislike it, are very much trust worthy.”

“Wonderer of the night, very poetic.” The still indignant Laila rolled her eyes at us.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time for your bickering.” I snapped at her. Unfortunately, my wounds weren’t getting any better, so my sentence was abruptly finished when a gush of air came through my gritted teeth.

“I saw that.”

I ignored that.

“I hate to interrupt your lover’s spat, but frankly I’m bored and when I get bored I get creative.” Gabriel eyed Laila as if she were the main course at dinner, but then he finally settled his eyes on me again. “Come tomorrow at this address and I shall explain it all.” He reached out for the block of notes on my table and wrote something in a hurry. “No more schemes, this I promise you. I’ll be having some other guests, some... associates of mine, one could say.” He was heading for the door, when he took one last look at me and taunted. “I recommend a good feeding before coming.”

A flash of gold and he was gone. I heard Laila whispering under her breath “fast”, but then all I could think about was one word Gabriel had uttered – feeding.