Chapter Six
The Viral Room was a two-level club in the trendy Meatpacking District. On their arrival, Jules and Sergei immediately made for the balcony lounge, which overlooked a large, square dance floor decorated with chaser lights.
"I like this place," Jules said as he scanned the room full of scantily clad women and giggly college girls. His eyes widened as he caught sight of a well-dressed young Asian man talking to an older African American man with dreadlocks hanging to his waist. "Whoa! Are those what I think they are?"
"They're weres, all right," Sergei agreed. "I think the younger dude's dad runs the were-tigers down in Chinatown. I don't know the were-lion."
As they spoke, the were-tiger turned to look up at the balcony. Although weres and vampires shared a distant ancestry, the relationship between the species was notoriously tense. The were-tiger studied the pair of fledgling vampires for a moment before returning to his conversation. Jules let out a sigh of relief and resumed his survey of the Viral Room's clientele.
"Whoa! Who's the hottie?" Sergei asked, nudging his friend.
Jules looked where Sergei was pointing and felt his heart begin to race. "That's the new girl at Bathory," he replied, trying to hide the excitement in his voice. The last time he'd seen Cally Monture, she'd been dressed in her gym suit and trying to sneak out of Ruthven's School for Boys. The moment he'd looked into her glittering green eyes, he'd found himself attracted to her. She was a fun tease.
"You mean she's one of us?"
"Not exactly." Jules shrugged. "She's a New Blood."
"Stand back, boy, and watch the master at work,"
Sergei leered. "I hear New Blood girls are easy and wild in the sack. Whoever gets to first base wins."
Cally looked around the crowded nightclub as she waited for Melinda to come back with their drinks. She was wearing the miniskirt she had been working on, made of black silk and embellished with scarlet flowers, a black long-sleeved turtleneck, and a pair of suede Marc Jacobs slouch boots she'd scored at a rummage sale. She felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to find a young man standing at her elbow. He had dark eyes and shoulder-length hair and was dressed in tight-fitting leather pants and a leather bomber jacket. He was holding a cell phone in one hand.
"Excuse me, miss. But there seems to be something wrong with my phone. . . ."
"Like what?"
"It doesn't have your number in it," he replied, flashing a smile that could melt the panties off the frostiest ice princess.
"Nice line, Romeo." Cally laughed. "Why don't you try it out on someone who's more your 'type,' huh?
Maybe one of them?" She pointed to a table full of Sex in the City fangirls drinking muddled watermelon martinis and gossiping among themselves.
"I'm not looking to tap some clot, baby," the pickup artist said as he leaned forward to whisper into her ear:
"Ever make it with a real vampire before?"
Cally recoiled, insulted. "I beg your pardon? What do you mean by 'real'?"
"You know," he said with a smirk. "Have you done it with an Old Blood?"
Suddenly a familiar face appeared over the pickup artist's shoulder. It was Lilith's boyfriend, Jules de Laval. Cally smiled, remembering their last encounter in the halls of Ruthven's.
"Is this man bothering you?" Jules asked.
"Definitely . "
"You heard the lady, Sergei." Jules jerked his thumb over his shoulder in imitation of an umpire. "You struck out."
"No fair cock blocking!" Sergei growled under his breath.
"Oh? There are rules?" Jules stage-whispered in reply. "I must have missed that part. . . ."
"What are you doing here?" Cally asked.
"Not much-just checking the place out. Are you here by yourself?"
"No, I came with Melinda. She should be back any minute. . . ."
"You wouldn't happen to need an escort to the Grand Ball, would you?" Jules asked abruptly. At first Cally laughed at the suggestion, but seeing the look in Jules's eyes, the smile on her face quickly disappeared. "Look, I don't want any more grief from Lilith. After the thing in the grotto-"
"What thing?" He frowned.
Cally gave him a puzzled look. "You don't know?
Never mind. I just don't need the aggravation, that's all."
"Will you at least give me the pleasure of a dance?"
"I just told you I'm not looking to piss Lilith off."
"Lilith's not here, and I promise I won't tell her if you won't," Jules said with a mischievous smile. Cally arched an eyebrow. "Okay-but just one dance."
"I promise," Jules said, taking her by the hand. Suddenly Melinda was at Cally's side, tugging on her arm and glaring at Jules. "I need to powder my nose. Come with me."
"But-"
"Never mind that! Bathroom! Now! " With a single pull, Melinda freed Cally from Jules's grasp, dragging her down a crowded hallway and into the ladies'
lounge.
"What do you think you're doing?" Melinda asked in exasperation as the door swung shut behind them.
"I was just going to dance with him, that's all," Cally assured her.
"Maybe that's all you were planning to do." Melinda looked around, checking to make sure no one could overhear them, and then leaned in close. "Look, Cally, I'm going to tell you straight up: you can't trust Jules. No woman can. The man's a dog. Worse than a dog: he's a wolf. And I'm not saying that just because he can turn into one! Jules's hobby is cheating on Lilith behind her back, especially with her friends. Bathory Academy is full of ex-BFFs that Jules has tagged."
"Did he ever hit on you?" Cally asked, unable to restrain her curiosity.
"Of course!" Melinda laughed. "But he didn't get anywhere. And don't let his good looks and the fact that he's nobility fool you-he's no Prince Charming. When I shot him down, he started this rumor that I was a lesbian to get back at me. However, he did manage to seduce Carmen. Not that he had to try real hard with her. They've been screwing on the sly for the last couple of months."
"Ewwwww!"
"His family likes to pretend they're above this kind of stuff, but they desperately need the Todd bloodright if they want to survive this millennium. Since Jules can't dump Lilith, every time she does something that really pisses him off, he starts acting distant and makes a play for one of her friends. She freaks out, thinking she's losing him, and starts acting all submissive and girlfriendy and they make up. And then it starts all over again."
"But if Jules goes after Lilith's friends, why is he interested in me? I'm as far as you can get from being Lilith's BFF."
"If she gets that insecure when he's fooling around with her friends, imagine the drama if she found out Jules was fooling around with someone she hates."
"Well, I appreciate the heads-up on Jules, but you don't need to worry about me falling for his charms. Granted, he is super-hot, but I'm not interested. I've already got a boyfriend."
"Oh, really?" Melinda leaned in close, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "What's his name? Is he cute?"
Cally hesitated for a long moment, trying to decide whether to divulge any more than she already had. But as fearful as she was of exposure, she was eager for a chance to talk about Peter to someone else. "I can't tell you his name, because we're not supposed to be seeing each other. He's a little older than me, but he's really good-looking. He's so sweet and understands how I feel-"
"Does he go to Ruthven's?"
"No, you wouldn't know him," Cally said quickly.
"He-he's from my old school." Cally paused, realizing she was saying too much about the wrong things. She needed to change the topic without triggering suspicion. "So who was the were-tiger I saw you talking to at the bar?"
Melinda's smile disappeared, and it suddenly
occurred to Cally that she wasn't the only one whose love life could get her in big trouble. "Please don't tell anyone you saw us together, okay?"
"Don't worry, I won't." As she squeezed her friend's hand in assurance, Cally looked at her wristwatch and feigned surprise. "Is that the time? I need to get home! I still haven't finished recopying those passages for scrivening class. I'll see you at school, Melly."
Cally hurried out of the ladies' room and headed toward the door of the club. Just as she came within sight of the exit, Jules emerged from the crowd of sweaty, enthusiastic dancers, blocking her way.
"Leaving so soon?" he asked. "I can give you a ride if you like."
"That's okay-I can get back home on my own."
"Since you're leaving, can I see your cell phone for a second?"
"Why?" she asked as she handed the cell over to him. Jules did not answer but instead began to punch the keypad. "What are you doing?"
"Giving you my number," he explained. "That way, if you change your mind about my being your escort, you can call me." He smiled and handed her the phone.
"There. It's done."
As Cally reached to take it back, Jules grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her toward him, pressing his lips against hers. She tried to push herself away, but the heat of his mouth brought her even closer until their arms were wrapped around each other's waists. Then, as suddenly as it began, Jules broke off the kiss and, with a wink, darted back into the surging mass of bodies on the dance floor, leaving her with a hunger that had nothing to do with blood.
Cally walked out past the line waiting to get into the Viral Room, thinking about how Jules's kiss made her feel. Part of her wanted to turn around and go back into the club in search of him, but if she did that, then she would be just like her mother-and that was something Cally had sworn she'd never let happen.
Jules was clearly big trouble: a ladies' man she couldn't trust, not to mention the future husband of her biggest enemy. Lilith had already attempted to kill her once before, simply because she'd seen him kiss her hand.
Still, as clearly wrong for her as he was, Cally had to admit she enjoyed Jules's company. He had a sense of humor and, in a lot of ways, came across as more fun to be with than Peter. Or at least that's how it seemed. Since she and Peter couldn't really go anywhere or do anything together outside the walls of Rest Haven Cemetery, it was hard to tell if she was being fair. Cally stopped and shook her head. What was she thinking? How could she compare the two? What she and Peter shared was far deeper than the mere physical attraction she felt for Jules. Peter was the only person, besides her mother and grandmother, who knew what she really was. It didn't matter to Peter that she was half vampire or half human.
Even with diluted vampire blood in her veins, Cally knew she might live for centuries, which meant she had no choice but to watch the humans in her life grow old and die-including Peter.
Cally had loved her granny very much, and the thought of having to go through another profound loss such as that made her stomach knot up like a balloon animal. She wondered how humans could stand going through their lives watching those they cared for wither and die.
She could solve the problem of losing Peter simply enough by turning him undead-assuming a hybrid like her could even make undead in the first place. That way she could have him with her always, forever young and unchanging. But was that the right thing to do? What if whatever that attracted her to Peter, that made her love him, was no longer there after he became undead? What then?
Disturbed by the direction her thoughts were taking her, she suddenly found herself needing to hear Peter's voice. Maybe if she talked to him, the doubts that were plaguing her would disappear. She stepped off the sidewalk and into a nearby doorway and quickly dialed Peter's number.
One ring. Two rings. Come on, Peter, answer. Three rings. She felt a tiny rush of relief as the other line picked up and a familiar voice filled her ear.
"Hi . . ."
"Peter! Sorry I'm calling so late-"
"I can't take your call right now, but please leave a message."
Cally frowned and snapped the cell phone shut. Normally Peter always answered the phone, no matter what time she called. Before she could obsess any further over her boyfriend's late-night whereabouts, a shout of alarm broke the relative quiet.
Cally leaned out of the doorway where she was standing in time to see Melinda running in the direction of the river. Three figures pursued her-and they held crossbows at the ready.
As the strike team thundered across the decking of the recreation pier, the vampiress they were chasing whirled to face them, hissing in angry defiance. The trio of vampire hunters, composed of two men and a woman, automatically fanned out, crossbows cocked, effectively cutting their target off from the shore.
Their prey suddenly dropped onto all fours, transforming into a black panther in the amount of time it took the strike team's leader to yell, "Shoot her!"
Before any of the vampire hunters could fire their weapons, the panther leaped, sinking three-inch fangs into the team leader's throat. He shrieked in terror as she bore him to the deck of the pier.
"Drummer!" the female vampire hunter screamed, opening fire on the creature attacking her friend. Arrows from her five-shot repeating crossbow pistol pierced the panther's right flank and leg, causing her to yowl in agony and let go of the team leader's throat. Before any more shots could be fired, there was a loud roar and a were-tiger leaped over Drummer's body, positioning itself between the vampire hunters and their quarry. The great cat snarled at the startled humans, then turned its gold-and-black flank to them, protecting the wounded panther with its own body.
"Sam, call for backup!" the younger man yelled, opening fire on the snarling were-tiger.
"Eagle's Nest, this is Strike Team Delta!" Samantha shouted into her wireless headset as she scrambled to reload her pistol crossbow. "Drummer's down! Repeat, Drummer's down! We need backup immediately!
Over!"
Arrows tore through the were-tiger's rib cage and spleen. The big cat shrieked in agony, then collapsed heavily onto its side. The panther struggled to her feet and pressed a bloodied muzzle against the were-tiger's head. Although the huge were-cat was bleeding and in pain, it closed its burning yellow eyes and began to purr. The panther then raised its head and stared into the eyes of the young vampire hunter. As he drew a bead on the great cat's forehead, he suddenly found the pistol crossbow he was holding heavy, almost too heavy to hold up. He felt his grip on the handle of the weapon start to weaken. . . .
"Snap out of it!" Samantha yelled, pushing her dazed teammate aside. "She's trying to mesmerize you!" Before Samantha could fire her weapon, there was a smell of ozone in the air and all the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stood erect. Without warning, her entire body was in excruciating pain, as if a million red-hot needles had been suddenly thrust into every centimeter of her skin.
Peter Van Helsing stared in horror as his teammate collapsed onto the decking of the pier. He spun about, his finger on the trigger of his loaded crossbow, ready to send an arrow into the heart or brain of whatever was behind him. Then he froze. It was Cally, standing twenty feet away, a ball of pulsing electricity cupped in the palm of her hand.
The lovers stood staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Upon hearing the sound of beating wings, they looked up to see the silhouette of a large gargoyle rapidly approaching from across the river. It was Talus, Christopher Van Helsing's lethal pet, arriving in response to Samantha's SOS. Cally and Peter exchanged a quick glance, and Peter sent the crossbow arrow sailing over his girlfriend's shoulder. Cally hurled her fistful of lightning down the length of the pier, where it struck an ornamental stainless steel waterwheel, causing it to light up like a Fourth of July pinwheel.
Peter blinked, momentarily blinded by the flash, only to find Cally had disappeared. He knelt beside Drummer, but when he couldn't find a pulse, he moved on to Sam. She was alive-just barely. As he got back on his feet, he looked to where the vampiress and the were-tiger had been. There was nothing there but a fistful of bloodied arrows and fur. Lilith scowled as she impatiently swirled her AB neg with bourbon around in its glass. Where in the name of the Founders was everybody? She had arrived at the Belfry fifteen minutes ago, expecting to meet everyone in the Loft, but there was no sign of anyone. Just as she was about to call Jules on her cell and ream him out for standing her up, she spotted him coming up the stairs from the dance floor.
"Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" she scolded as he sat down beside her. "Did you just get here?"
"Yes and no. I was here earlier, but I left to check out this new VIP bar with Sergei."
"How was it?" she asked, mildly curious.
Jules shrugged. "I'm back, aren't I?"
"See anyone there worth talking about?"
"Nope," he lied. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Thirty minutes," Lilith lied in return, pushing her lower lip out in a practiced pout. "I thought you'd forgotten me."
"Sorry for the trauma," Jules said with a crooked smile, taking her hand in his. "So, what were you doing earlier?"
"Shopping for a new gown for the Grand Ball. Mom is cutting her vacation short so she can attend. Ugh."
While the first part was a lie, the second was true enough.
Jules raised an eyebrow. He was all too familiar with Lilith's rocky relationship with her mother. "Irina's in town? For how long?"
"The rest of the Dark Season, I'm afraid." Lilith grimaced.
"Bummer," Jules agreed. "So, have you talked to your dad about going with me to Vail for Long Night?"
"I thought your father said you couldn't go to Vail unless you passed alchemy."
"Don't worry-it's in the bag." He laughed. "Exo's been helping me."
"By 'helping' do you mean he's tutoring you or that he's doing your homework for you?"
"He does it for me," Jules admitted sheepishly.
"But I copy it down in my own handwriting once he's finished."
"Sweet!" Lilith exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "I guess there is an upside to having a spod like Exo hanging around all the time."
"So, are you going to ask your dad about going on the ski trip with me?"
"I dunno . . ." she said hesitantly. "Dad usually wants the family together for Long Night. He's kind of Old World that way."
"If you ask him, he'll let you go. He never tells you no, Lili, and you know it! After all, you're the only daughter he's got. How could he deny you anything?"
"Cally! Thank goodness you're home! I was beginning to get worried."
Cally groaned at the sight of her mother standing in the foyer of their apartment, anxiously wringing her hands. It had been a hard night for her, and the last thing she needed was more of her mother's nuttiness.
"Mom, whatever you've got to say-I don't want to hear it," she said wearily, brushing past her. "I just want to get cleaned up and go to my room."
"Cally-you can't go to bed yet," Sheila said, grabbing her daughter's arm. "We have a visitor."
"We have a what?" Cally turned to look at her mother in disbelief. In the two years since they'd moved into the condo, no one-outside of the occasional delivery boy-had ever set foot inside their home.
"He's waiting for you in the living room," Sheila said gently, pointing to a well-dressed stranger seated on the chaise lounge.
As Cally entered the room, the stranger got to his feet to greet her. He was tall and well built and appeared to be in his mid-to late thirties, with dark hair going saltand-pepper at the temples, brooding good looks, and an expressive mouth. But what caught Cally's attention were his eyes: they were the same color as her own.
"Hello, Cally." The stranger smiled, holding out his hand in greeting. "I'm glad to finally meet you. My name is Victor Todd. I'm your father."