Night Angel

Chapter Ten (Sample)

Kiernan thought it would do me good to meet some of the others. I knew there were others, I'd heard their voices, both men and women. What I didn't know were exactly how many of them there were. I was soon to find out though as Kiernan ushered me into the elevator then stepped in after me and pushed the button that took us to the main floor.

I don't know what I had expected to see when we stepped out of the elevator. Velvet curtains I suppose. Men and women dressed in evening wear and frightened humans chained to the walls. Stupid, I know. No more vampire movies for me. What I didn't expect though was how oddly normal everything was. An unsuspecting human could have walked into the front room and thought nothing of it and maybe that was the point.

The house, which I now knew was a monstrously huge mansion on an equally huge piece of land, seemed more like a college frat house than a den of blood-thirsty creatures from beyond the grave. Everywhere I looked were ordinary people doing ordinary things.

Stepping out of the elevator we found ourselves in a small hallway that opened into several other rooms. A large bathroom across from the stairs and to the right of that a recreation room. On the left was the kitchen and dining area that lead to an enclosed patio. A large garage was off the kitchen as well as a well-stocked pantry. There was a family room and a living room with a foyer. Another patio off the family room and a small library. The bedrooms were all located on the second floor along with another library and sitting room.

Kiernan walked me around the house, giving me a tour and introducing me to people we met along the way. In the family room we met a group of young women watching a movie. I don't remember all of their names but I believe there was a Miranda, a Tallie, and an Aubrey. They all smiled and greeted me briefly but were too invested in their movie and secret whispering mixed with giggles. I had to chuckle some, vampire slumber party.

Kiernan then showed me the library. We poked our heads in quickly and found it being occupied by a bookish young lady with long brown hair and long outdated attire. When she saw us, she frowned then complained to Kiernan about the noise from the other room. He nodded, said he'd take care of it and we left the room. On the way out of the family room, he addressed the slumber party and with a slight smirk said, "Try and keep it down ladies. Emily's nose deep in ancient texts again." The women immediately burst out into fits of laughter but ultimately promised to tone it down some. I looked up, eyes wide with wonder. "Ancient texts?"

Kiernan gave me a lopsided grin. "She's reading the Edge of night series." He put a finger to his lips and said, "Shh. We haven't told her yet that they're all bullshit."

Okay then. Vampires with a sense of humor.

The next stop on the tour was the rec room. This seemed to be the unofficial 'man cave' of the house. This room was decked out with several lounge chairs, a leather sofa, mini bar, large wall-mounted flat screen, one hell of an impressive home theater system that included a gaming console, blue-ray player, stereo, and massive speakers on either side of the TV. There was even a Foosball table currently being occupied by two guys who looked like either could have been a linebacker.

"Jared, Ethan." Kiernan addressed the linebackers. "Meet Devin. Our newest addition."

They each gave me a slight nod and a "hey" which I returned.

The others in the room were immersed in a heated game of Zombie defender where you play military characters in a post-apocalyptic city blasting the heads off zombies.

"Keeping the city safe?" Kiernan asked as we stood there watching.

"You know it." A blond-haired guy said.

"We got trapped in an abandoned airport though, thanks to Declan." Another guy sneered.

"Hey. It's not my fault!" Declan snapped, defending himself. "That hoard came out of nowhere."