Charles reseated himself by the window, but Ivory paced away. She approached the other man, who leaned against a wall by her dresser. When she reached his side, she put a hand on his shoulder and gave me a pleading look. “Sometimes people are not what they seem.”
“Go on…,” I said. I tried to shift my weight on the bed, but the pain in my wrist shuddered through me. I rested back, closing my eyes. “Whatever it is, please, just tell me already.”
“Club Flesh is a supernatural establishment.”
Okay. Maybe I would’ve preferred being eased into things after all. At least my ‘too-shocking-to-induce-panic’ gene was kicking in.
“So why did you take me?” I asked.
“It’s always been welcoming to humans.”
“And of course I’m the exception.”
“I didn’t know, Sophia,” Ivory said. “You never told me.”
“Never told you what?”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “Some humans can see differences like yours. For example, Charles can see you for what you are, while the rest of us are limited to what is immediately visible. Such as the Cruor.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
The man by the door pushed away from the wall and approached. When he reached my side, he tossed his crisp dreadlocks over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry our introduction couldn’t occur under better circumstances.” His voice was deep—formal in tone. He did not offer his hand in introduction. His body seemed tenser now than it had from across the room. “I am Adrian.”
“You’re Adrian?”
“Yes,” he said, “and I am one of which she speaks.”
“What does that mean?”
“Please understand,” he said smoothly. “We are not all bad. The actions of the Cruor who attacked you do not speak well of our kind.”
“Wait—what?”
Adrian paced over to the dresser to switch the television off. As he fumbled with a small radio, tuning to a classical music station, a gold ring on his right hand glinted in the lamplight. There was a large scripted ‘A’ at the ring’s face.
Adrian frowned. “You are familiar with the Cruor, yes?”
“The what?”
“Earth elementals, as they were originally known.”
I turned to Ivory. “You believe this?”
She swallowed and gave a slight nod.
I shook my head. “Quit playing.”
“I sense you are not a believer,” Adrian said.
“A believer in ‘elementals’? Seriously?”
“No one believed in the cobra until someone was bitten.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Marcus works for the Maltorim, our elemental council. No doubt he was here on council duty. They’re always on the lookout for the dual-breeds as well as anyone who might be of value, and Marcus is one of their leading men. He is one of the oldest Cruor—an earthborn.”
“Earthborn?” Who were they trying to protect with these lies? Maybe Adrian wouldn’t be the best person to borrow books from—not if this was the kind of nonsense he was pushing.
“Earthborns were the first chosen as Earth elementals. A darkness had overtaken the human race, and without positive energy for the Universe to feed on, it was beginning to die. At the time, people were being buried alive, mistaken for dead, and the Universe saw this as an opportunity.”
“People being buried alive? Happened a lot in the thirteenth century, right?”
“And the centuries before.” Adrian’s nostrils flared. “The Universe resurrected those who didn’t survive the live burials. They were chosen to protect humans at night. Guardians, or, if you will, Earth elementals. With their ability to sense the pull of the moon, they knew to rise when it loomed high and to flee from dawn.”
“So you’re a vampire? That’s what you’re getting at? And the guy who attacked me…he’s a vampire, too?” Something was up. Yeah, the guy last night had fangs, but anyone could purchase a pair online.
“The Cruor are the reality from which legends of vampires arose.”
“You’re full of shit.”
“You may believe that if you wish,” Adrian said, “but I assure you the Cruor are real, and this is as true as I am standing before you.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Adrian’s sharp gaze trampled the idea. What was I supposed to say to that? I couldn’t argue with his presence. If he wanted to be a ‘vampire’ or ‘Cruor’ or whatever, who was I to argue?
“These guardians cherished immortality with greed, concerned only to prolong their own semblance of life. They lusted for the blood of their prey, for to drink the blood of another is to steal the life source and maintain immortality.”
I recoiled deeper into the bed but refused to give in to the panic rising in my chest. “You’re trying to tell me some kind of monster was trying to eat me?”
“You make our kind sound so…carnal.”
“Aren’t you?”