The Vampire's Assistant

Chapter Four

It was a couple hours before sunset, and I was just getting out of the shower. For some reason I had woken up a bit later today than usual. It might have had something to do with the all night Call of Duty session Mr. Northman and I had indulged in last night. I wiped the foggy mirror with my hand and frowned at the image reflected back at me. I looked tired. Dark circles had nested themselves under my eyes and my skin seemed paler than usual.

I dried off and pulled on the jeans and t-shirt I'd laid out for myself the night before. I towel dried my hair and dabbed a little concealer on the offensive circles. It dawned on me that Mr. Northman had drank his last True Blood the night before and I had a few groceries to pick up as well. A trip to the store was in order.

I pulled on some flip flops and grabbed my purse on the way out the door. The sky was just beginning to take on its evening feel, the sun sinking closer to the horizon. The air was warm, but not muggy, so I rode with my windows down and drove the long way to Walmart, just to enjoy the breeze.

While I walked the aisles at Walmart, picking up a few things for myself and the True Blood for Mr. Northman, it grew dark outside. It was strange to think that he would be there, awake, when I got home. I wasn't used to anyone being at my apartment without me, much less my vampire boss. So far my little home had been "occupied" for three nights but each night I had been there when he rose for the evening, not having a reason to go into the bar as he had left word that he had "gone out of town on business" and taken me with him. I wondered if maybe I should have left a note.

As I loaded the bags into the trunk of my car, I decided it might be a good idea just to drive by the bar to get a look at things. Ginger had been left in charge and I had an awful feeling that whenever this vampire mess had blown over, I was going to return to find everything in chaos and disarray.

In retrospect, I don't know what I expected to be able to see from the outside, but it was certainly not what I found. Although it was still too early for the bar to be filled with patrons, I didn't expect to find it nearly deserted. There should have been at least three of the service staff there setting up for the night. Thursdays were always a wild card, Fangtasia could be slammed packed or nearly dead, but either way the staff knew to be prepared. And yet there was only one car in the parking lot. I couldn't see it very well, parked as it was toward the rear in the employee parking, but it looked like Ginger's.

I pulled into the lot and around to the back. As my wheels slowed next to it, I saw that it was not, in fact, Ginger's car. The black sedan was unfamiliar and had Arkansas license plates. My heart thumped and in the very instant I stepped on the gas, a figure appeared in front of the vehicle, smashing its fist hard into the hood. A breath later, my window shattered and the world went black.

Well it had taken a year, but I had finally found my way into the sort of perilous situation everyone had warned me about when I had first taken this job. I really had no one to blame but myself, though. Well, myself and the strange vampire sitting just a few feet away from me.

I had returned to consciousness to find myself in Mr. Northman's office chair, my hands and feet bound behind it with what felt like coarse rope. Something warm and sticky that was probably my own blood coated the left side of my face. The room itself was an absolute mess, more so than it usually was. Someone had obviously been rifling through the desk and the files. Foolishly, the thought occurred to me that it was going to be such a pain to clean up and reorganize it all.

Across the small room, a vampire lounged casually on the leather sofa. At first glance, he appeared deceptively harmless. His posture was relaxed and he wore an easy countenance. He was handsome, even, with a sharp, defined nose, full lips, and sparkling green eyes. Light blonde hair curled almost to the shoulders of his dark suit. He winked at me as I took him in.

"Welcome back... Abigail, is it?" He spoke with a slight British accent. I eyed him warily and kept my mouth shut. A long, quiet moment passed while we stared at each other.

"Well, since we're dispensing with the pleasantries, I'll just get to the point then," he said, abruptly rising to his feet in one fluid motion. "Your boss, where is he?"

"I don't know." The words passed my lips almost before I could think them.

The vampire t'sked. "Don't make me force it out of you."

"I really don't know. The last I was told was that he was going out of town on business."

He circled my chair ominously. "And you don't know where?" he asked skeptically.

I met his eyes. "I work for a vampire, sir. I know when to mind my own business. If Mr. Northman had wanted me to know, he would have volunteered the information."

The vampire stopped directly in front of me and leaned down so that his face was inches from my own. He held an intense, purposeful look in his eyes as he said, "You know where Northman is and you're going to tell me."

It reminded me of that night, not long ago, when Mr. Northman had used his influence to get me out of what would surely have been a bitch of a speeding ticket. I wasn't quite sure how that worked or what sort of power it was he'd used, but if this vampire was trying to pull the same trick, he sucked at it.

"I don't know," I repeated, slower and more forcefully.

With a hiss, the vampire stepped back quickly and his fangs popped out with a snap. Real fear and panic shot through me in an icy wave.

"What are you?" he demanded.

I was speechless. What had happened in the course of the last thirty seconds to bring this sudden turn? I could only shake my head, as tears sprang to my eyes. It was dawning on me that I probably wasn't going to leave this room.

An instant later there was a loud smack. I didn't even register the sting on my face until a second later when I found myself on the floor, still attached to the chair.

"I could break you in half," the vampire hissed.

Warm, coppery blood filled my mouth and I spit it out onto the floor just as a hand buried itself in my hair and jerked me back upright. The chair rolled backward until it banged against Mr. Northman's desk.

"Is it worth it?" the vampire asked, straddling the chair and my lap. "Does he pay you so much?" He leaned close, inches from my ear and whispered, "Does he fuck you so well?"

I barely registered the words before his fangs were in my neck. I screamed. It was excruciating, worse than either of the two blows I'd received that evening. He pulled away after what felt like an eternity and I realized that he had torn my shirt clear down the middle. I hadn't even noticed.

"You taste human," he said, wiping my blood from his lips.

I could feel the blood still pouring from the bite, dripping down my chest. Was this it? Was this the end? Was it worth it? There was really no time to meditate on these thoughts. The vampire towered over me, regarding me with a wild hunger in his eyes. He brushed a few loose strands of hair from my face and caressed my cheek.

"I don't have any information for you," I pleaded. He shushed me with a finger on my lips.

"So you say. Perhaps I'll just leave a message for Northman."

I didn't have to ask what that message would be.