Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Irina was waiting for me in the lobby when I arrived home, taking me by surprise. She was as usual impeccably dressed in her favorite color—red, the color of blood. Even her dark sunglasses and scarf were bright red. Irina didn’t delight in venturing out during the day; she hated sunlight. Whatever she wanted to talk to me about must be too important for her to wait for sundown. I wasn’t the only one who was taken by surprise, however. She looked aghast after one glance at my disheveled appearance. The fussing started right after, her healer instincts kicking in. I appreciated the gesture, except that it came with a lot of unwanted reprimands.

“You look more horrible than Death, Nikolai. What have you been up to at this ungodly hour? Come, let’s get you settled down while I brew you one of my special potions. How long has it been since you last fed? You’re withering right before my eyes, you glupyy chelovek,” she said, as she helped me to my bed. “Where’s that ogre bodyguard of yours when you need him?”

“Boris is not my bodyguard, and he’s not an ogre,” I said groggily.

“Who said I was talking about Boris?” Irina said, raising a brow.

She was baiting me, watching for my reaction, but I just blinked, too weak to do anything more. I had truly pushed myself to the limits this time. Three days without proper feeding and sleep could weaken even the healthiest vampire. With blood our only source of sustenance, vampires had little energy reserves to begin with. Using our special abilities easily depleted these, which was why we had to feed often. When Mira invited me into her home, she unknowingly granted me permission to teleport at will into her house. As long as she was there, acting as my anchor, I could get in and out whenever I pleased. However, it was an extremely demanding skill and used up much energy. I was so weakened by the exertion I barely made it back home in one piece.

“He still should’ve been here to help you. Don’t tell me you’re going out on solo missions again,” Irina said, clucking her tongue.

“I wasn’t out on a mission, Irinka.”

“Out with a girl, then? Did you overexert yourself? That would be a first. But enough chit-chat. Lie still and try to get some rest. I will return shortly with your lekarstvo.”

Sleep is all I need, I tried to say, but was too tired to even open my mouth. Sinking back into the pillows, which still smelled of Mira, I closed my eyes and greedily inhaled her scent. Images of her lovely face and body swam inside my head, waking my senses, and the nether regions of my body. Another whiff of Mira’s scent created erotic visions before my mind’s eye, of her naked body writhing beneath me in pleasure, her soft mewling sending me over the edge.

Too weak to talk or walk, but not to fuck? I can’t let Irina see me in this state, I thought, willing myself to gain control over my rampaging libido. I’d never been this attracted to a girl before, never been so aroused by just the thought of her. I was like a teenager, eager for my first tryst. I’d already lost count of the number of women I’d bedded. Why was I suddenly feeling like a neophyte? Was it because of her blood? Yes, it had a strange effect on me, but it was more than that. She was more than just her blood.

Irina returned after a few minutes, walking up the door rather noisily as if warning me to make myself decent. I pulled the comforter up to my chin and feigned sleep. My attempt didn't fool Irina.

“Ah, still afraid of my potions, are we? Come, you ozornoy mal’chik. Lift your head and drink this,” Irina said, placing a cup of the foul-smelling brew to my lips, forcing me to drink.

I did as told, almost choking on the thick liquid flowing down my throat. It was the most loathsome thing I’d ever tasted, but I knew it was what I needed.

“Good boy. You’ll be out for a few hours, but you’ll wake up feeling better than a newborn. We’ll talk later,” Irina said, smiling down at me.

She was still talking, but I didn’t hear the rest. The effect of the brew was instantaneous, knocking me out even before the taste had left my mouth.

When I next opened my eyes, Irina was nowhere to be found, but there was a note and a folder tucked under a book on my bedside table.

It read: “My dear Kolya. Forgive me, but I couldn’t wait for you to wake up. Felipe bought us tickets to a new play, and I didn’t want to disappoint him. I left my findings on the sample I took from your guest. Call me if you have questions or if you need anything else. Until next time, moy drug. Be careful.”

I had to smile at her thoughtfulness and made a promise to do something nice for her sometime. Irina’s brew had done wonders. I felt fully rested and better than I’d ever felt in a long while. Sitting up on the bed, I reached for the thin folder and perused its contents. The conclusion at the bottom said that the drug used on Mira was a mixture of vampire venom and a synthetic element of unknown origins. Knowing Irina, I was sure she had exhausted all methods of analysis to come up with these results. And this meant that someone out there, probably a rogue vampire, was testing a new drug designed for humans. Irina would keep me informed of any developments regarding this. For now, I must be content with her analysis.

I tossed the folder back on the table and left my room, hunger prodding me to make a quick trip to my personal kitchen, the one kept hidden from prying eyes. Pushing on one of the wooden panels in the narrow hallway leading to the proper kitchen, I pressed my palm on the biometric sensor that appeared at once. The metallic door behind it slid open, revealing the refrigerated room beyond. This was my private blood bank, which no one, not even Boris, knew about. Several dozen frozen blood bags hung inside the wall-to-wall glass freezers. At the far end of the room was a glass door display fridge, much like the ones in grocery stores. It alone contained cold, defrosted blood bags. I took two pints of O positive and drank until I sucked both bags dry. I sighed in relief, feeling immediately refreshed and full. After a quick shower, I dressed hurriedly and made the trip to Mira’s house, leaving my car in the designated guest parking.

As I waited for Mira in the lobby, my phone rang. It was Boris, sounding unusually worried. Apparently, one of our Knights had gone missing. He, together with Stefan and Marcus, would set out to see if they could track him. I told him to call me as soon as he had more information. Boris’s news had set alarm bells ringing inside my brain. My Knights were highly trained hunters. They didn’t just disappear. When Mira arrived, I was already on high alert, my senses heightened to catch anything unusual. Now that I knew Mira was a registered blood donor like the other victims, I couldn’t be too careful. Everyone who walked past, even a moving shadow, I treated as a potential threat. I hardly noticed that we had already reached her office building, too focused on keeping guard. Feeling guilty for acting like a distracted boyfriend, I promised myself that I would make up for my inattention later.

After a quick peck on the cheek, I urged Mira to go inside the building. She gave me a sad smile and walked away without a backward glance. I stayed on the sidewalk until I saw her walking up the stairs to her office. After making sure that Mira was now safe, I walked to my workplace, Red. The entire staff was already there preparing for the start of operation at 6 PM. There really wasn’t much left for me to do, except the administrative side of things. After a quick chat with James, just to make sure everything was in order, I went to my office and focused on the stack of paper on my desk—receipts, vouchers, bills, etc. Mundane work helped relax my overtaxed brain.

At around midnight, I left my office and went to the bar. Marcel was already there, chatting up James, his usual shot of vodka left untouched in front of him.

“There you are. I thought you would never leave that cave of yours,” Marcel said. “What were you doing in there, anyway?”

“Paperwork,” I said, smirking.

“Goddammit! Why don’t you just hire a clerk or something?”

“I enjoy doing it. Helps me keep my sanity.”

“Did you hear that, James? He keeps sane by doing boring stuff. You have a weird boss.”

“Ha-ha. Take your break, James. I’ll man the fort,” I said to my head bartender.

“Thanks, boss,” James said with a jaunty salute.

“I like that guy,” Marcel said. “If not for the damned Decree, I would turn him into one of us without thinking twice.”

“Even without his permission?”

“Why wouldn’t he let me turn him? Who wouldn’t want to live forever?”

“We won’t live forever, Marcel. We’re already dead,” I snorted.

“Ah! You know what I mean. Besides, if this is what being dead is like, then who would want to be alive? Not me,” Marcel laughed.

“There are still a lot of limitations to our existence.”

“Like what?”

“Like growing old with the woman you love—”

“Who wants to grow old? And the woman you love won’t want to grow old either. What kind of female would want her man to see her sagging breasts and wrinkled butt?”

“What about children? You know we can’t have them.”

“Again, who wants them? I surely don’t relish the thought of having brats hanging around my neck. Imagine if we still had that ability. Half the bastards in Europe would’ve been the product of our loins,” Marcel said, guffawing.

“Not everyone thinks like you, Marcel,” I said.

“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me...oh, wait. Does this have anything to do with the lovely young lady from last Saturday, eh?” Marcel said, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

“No, of course not,” I said, avoiding Marcel’s eyes.

“Well, I do hope not or I’d have to steal her away from you.”

Before I could give Marcel the beating he deserved for such a remark, Boris came barging through the door, his brows knitted in an ominous frown. James was already back from his brief break and was immediately by my side when I signaled to him. I didn’t bother saying goodbye to Marcel. The prick didn’t deserve it. I walked Boris to my office and closed the door behind us.

“What happened?” I asked.

“We know where he is, boss. But we have to hurry. Should I alert the others?” Boris said.

My top priority right now was my Knight, and based on Boris’s look of distress, this was something I needed to take care of myself. Still, I couldn’t just abandon Mira, especially now that I knew someone was hunting people like her.

“I’ll take the lead on this, Boris, but I need you to do something for me.”

“Sure, Boss. Whatever you need.”