The Immortal Blood

Chapter 3

"Hey, Todd. " A bald man with dark skin had greeted him from one end of the table.
"Axel" Valentine had sat among them, looking at his other companions: Dimitri was chewing distractedly on a toothpick, while Vernon had skipped the preambles and had come straight to the point.
"So, have we found a home?"
"Hell, Verne, where are your ways? You're not even gonna buy me a drink?"
"I don't think you need it. . . " the older vampire had shot him a knowing glance.
Todd had smiled, in spite of himself. "We can celebrate, my friends!"
Dimitri had finally produced himself in a kind of sneer, while Axel had soundly slammed his hand on the table. "Great!"
"Are you going to buy me a round or not?"
"I'll take care of it. " Dimitri was on his way to the bar with Axel in tow, who had smacked a hand on his back as he passed through.
Left alone, Vernon kept staring at him with his arms folded. "Are you sure you have no other reasons to celebrate?"
"Verne. . . "
"I can smell it on you. Who's that?"
"No one. I just needed. . . " he interrupted, noticing the expression in the other's eyes. "Let me figure out a few things first. "
"Interesting. So you haven't noticed yet. . . "
"What?"
"Your eyebrow. The cut. . . it's gone. " Vernon pointed to him with a nod.
Todd carried his hands to his face. It was true. The scar he had acquired as a boy when he fell into the bathtub had completely healed.
"Cheers!" Dimitri had interrupted them, putting four glasses of Scotch in front of them. They had toasted to the new house, but Vernon had kept his eyes fixed on him the whole time.

Adam had returned early, made dinner and put the children to bed, before shutting himself in the bathroom for a refreshing shower. He felt the need, after spending the entire afternoon in that damn house.
He had heard Cleo close the door just as he was entering under the jet of boiling water, so he had given her a voice and started to wash his day off.
Once he was finished he felt better, but when the condensation of the water had thinned and he had managed to look in the mirror, he almost cried out loud.
He had a large swelling on the left side of his neck, a purplish spot with two reddish scabs in the center.
"What the hell?" He wondered, open-mouthed, panicked. Had he banged somewhere while falling down? He had checked his head, but had not found any bumps, and the rest of his body was as milky as ever. He had touched one of the crusts, which had fallen off, causing him pain and lose a stream of blood in the process.
"Oh, my God. . . " he had taken a handkerchief to dab the wound, with his head suddenly starting to swirl around in his frenzy. He had fallen unconscious, that had neen the house's fault. But those signs. . . the more he stared at them, the more a memory emerged from the depths of his mind. The feeling of someone bending over him. . . a breath, then teeth on his neck. . . he had taken four steps backwards, cuddling in a foetal position on the floor, trembling like a leaf. He didn't know how, but he was sure. . . yet, why would Todd Valentine bite his throat?