So I'm a Vampire... Now What? - Book 2 (Original Version)

Chapter 12.2 - The Chosen Ones pt 2

"I bet you're surprised to see m—"

The answer from me would have been a solid "Nope," if I had bothered to answer or let Daemien finish talking.

Daemien's look of surprise was priceless as I reached out almost by reflex and grabbed him by the ankle. When I yanked his leg out from under him, and he flew into the air, it was more satisfying than it really should have been. He went down with a shocked yelp befitting the man who had just had the upper hand in stomping the shit out of me but had taken a moment to gloat about it. The very audible thud-crack that sounded from the back of his skull colliding with the asphalt was shocking, but at that point, it was also something I didn't give a shit about.

I could have taken the time to celebrate or even pop off a witty one-liner, but it's that kind of behaviour that gets you your legs pulled out from under you. Instead, I popped up like a Jack-in-the-Box, not waiting to see how severely injured he was. See, I had a desperate need of not getting killed today, and it was kicking in hard.

A very surprised Lillian Lestrade was standing right in front of me.

You're wondering at this point, "who the hell is Lillian Lestrade" since that's a name I haven't used up to this point. To be honest, it wasn't until later that I would actually find out her name. For the sake of clarity, I'm just going to use her name right now, so just go with it, okay?

Okay.

At that point, all I knew was that I knew her from somewhere and had only just remembered precisely where that somewhere was. The last time I had seen her, she had been translating for Michél, the head of the Montreal vampires. You know, the same dude who had tried to bite my throat out with his nasty disease-ridden mouth. He was also the same dude who had sent several assassins after me, including Louise.

Yes: that motherfucker.

So there I was face to face with his gorgeous (did I mention how hot she was?) and fiercely passionate daughter, and there was no doubt in my mind that she wanted me just as dead. What is it about gorgeous vampires wanting me dead anyway?

From the look of surprise on her face, Lillian had definitely not expected this kind of response from me, no doubt having heard how much of a fuck-up I was. Maybe she had wanted me to be scared shitless and begging for my life or something, and on any other day, that might have happened. But after what I had gone through with Beatrice? Yeah, no.

She might have said something along the lines of "KILL HIM!" and it looked like her brain was still trying to make the connection to her mouth, so I didn't give her a chance.

I punched her in the face without even thinking about it.

Her nose smashed and flattened with a sickening crunch and I wondered for a second if I had hit her too hard, but by then it was too late. Already committed to getting the fuck out of there without dying, I did the next thing that comes naturally for me in a fight: I cunt-punted the gorgeous bitch.

"Sorry, not sorry!" I yelled as I ran the other way as fast as I could. Lillian's goons had all winced and covered their crotches in sympathy for her pain, and that hesitation gave me all of the time I needed to try to get out of there. I could hear thudding footsteps behind me and the crunching of ice, so I knew that at least one of Lillian's goons were after me. If this was a bad horror movie, I would have looked over my shoulder to see who it was or how close, but I've seen those movies, and they never end well.

The exhilaration that had taken over me the last time I had run? It didn't make a return, and this time running was a painful process, the cold air biting my lungs, my chest straining to take breaths, heart pounding as if it was going to burst. I kept waiting for the vampire instincts to take control, but even those failed me in every way, and my legs were beginning to turn to rubber.

I finally collapsed against the side of a building six blocks and several turns away from where I had started running. The one guy who had been running after me looked relieved as he also staggered to a halt and hunched over, taking huge gasping breaths that matched mine. He held up one finger as if asking for a time-out.

I had made my way back into the crowd of shoppers and downtown worker bees somewhere close to King St and Spadina Avenue. I had been hoping to make it to the Toronto Underground Path system; there were more people and cameras everywhere, a sense of safety. I had overestimated my abilities. Passing pedestrians gave us a wide berth, shooting the type of stink-eye usually reserved for unstable and potentially dangerous homeless people, or obnoxious street performers. There was nobody between us for about twenty-feet.

We made eye contact, and I grinned as best I could through my laboured breathing. Dude wore a black turtleneck sweater under a really nice looking jacket and except for the brilliant vampire eyes, looked like your average vampire playboy and definitely not like some hired goon. He just seemed like the type of guy you'd call Chuck instead of Charlie.

"You... don't... want to... really... catch me," I gulped at Chuck, my new best friend.

Chuck shook his head wearily. "I gotta... catch you."

"I bite," I pointed out helpfully. "We could just... you know... call it... a day?" I somehow gasped at him.

"Lillian... will... will murder me," he somehow managed and gave me a look that expressed how much he wasn't joking.

"Sounds like... a hostile... work environment... to me," I breathed. Breathing was coming easier already, but I wasn't going to let Chuck know that. Any advantage I could get, you can sure as hell bet I was going to take.

"It's not so bad," Chuck conceded. "Great dental plan." He stood upright, breathing more regularly, and stretched his arms. I stood up to match him, still faking my hard breathing a little, but not too much.

"Wanna gimme a twenty-minute headstart?" I grinned.

"How about twenty seconds?"

I hesitated.

"What's the deal with that dude? Daemien?"

"He's one of us, and you killed him, that's all I gotta know."

"Do you even like him? Dude's a dick."

"You don't always get to choose your family, you know how it is."

"And just when I thought we were having a moment..."

Dude shrugged. "You want the twenty seconds or not?"

I didn't wait around to negotiate the terms of the deal. Lillian and the rest of her goons were already on their way looking for us; I didn't want to stick around to see what they had planned for me. I took off like a bat out of hell, this time feeling that surge of power and confidence as my vampire strength kicked in.

This time, I ran for my life.