Page 5 of Thicker than Blood

“I’ll let you know what I find out. Who is the point of contact?”

The four mortals exchange glances and then Geordi raises his hand. “Me. I’m always available.”

How delightful. The mortal seems bereft of the inherent bias so many of his kind carry. He should be easy enough to interact with.

“If you have your phone, I can put my number in,” Geordi offers.

I pat my pocket, realizing I left it at the house. I hate those things. “Just tell it to me. I’ll remember.”

“Oh, right.”

He rattles off his number, and I nod. “Very well.”

“Any tips for us before you go?” Luci asks.

I pause, turning back to them. “Beware. They’re likely lurking everywhere.”

CHAPTER 2

Geordi

My skin is still tingling. It takes several minutes for my racing pulse to slow too. I met Elias Caswell. Theultimatevampire. No one knows exactly how old he is, but he’s really, really old. He’s everything I imagined him to be too, given all I’ve ever seen are written accounts of his antics.

I assumed his appearance in texts were always exaggerated for effect, but nope, he’s everything people over the centuries have said he is. Tall, fit, elegant. His accented voice is unique too, a blended influence of all the places and cultures he’s been exposed to. But his face. There are no words to accurately capture a face like that, but if I were a poet or an artist, I would have infinite inspiration.

Scientifically, we know that vampirism perfects the human body, removing scars and imperfections, healing ailments, strengthening the form. It can take an average looking person and make them model worthy, so based on that, Elias must have already been a looker before his change.

I know from my studies that he’s French and English, and I assumed he would look like a handsome modern man who hails from those regions, but I was wrong. Sure, there’ve been plenty of drawings of him over the years, but he’s managed toavoid being caught on camera or video, though our research has debunked the no reflection myth. Still, drawings can’t capture reality.

His shoulder-length brown tresses brush his shoulders in a way that manages to look both historical and trendy, his jaw square and sharp. It’s his eyes though. Only a poet could describe their true depth and beauty, so clear and blue they seemed to light up the night around him.

I’m fully aware of what he can do with those eyes too if he wants to. He could compel me to follow his every whim, to offer my neck and my body with the false perception of consent. Another shiver slides down my back and I have to choke back a sound.

Luci, Bernard, and Mere have been discussing the night’s events, and I can vaguely hear them, but I’m mostly stuck on the fact that Elias has my phone number and he just might use it. Being attracted to him is wrong on so many levels. First off, it’s against the treaty rules. Not because the powers that be hate love, but because we all know about the persuasiveness of vampires. Add to that the rumors about how possessive and violent a lovelorn vampire can be when the object of their desire is threatened, and well, you have a potentially explosive situation.

So yeah, no fucking the vamps. I remind myself of what my therapist suggested—I’m not attracted, I’m obsessed, and those are different motivations. Right. I nod, mentally checking myself. Obsessions aside, I do have my own motivation to work with the vampire, but it’s gotta be a secret.

“Did you hear me, Geordi?”

I turn to Meredith and stare. “No.”

“You’re still thinking about Elias, right?”

I nod. “Yeah. He never interacts with mortals. Kind of a big deal.”

Bernard scoffs. “Be careful, kid. He’s not trustworthy.”

“I know, and I’m not a kid. I’m thirty-four and I have ten years of vampiric research under my belt, four of which were practical, hands-on lab work. I’m well aware of their nature.”

“How do you have ten years?” he asks. “We didn’t know they existed until five years ago.”

“Let’s just say I had my suspicions.”

Meredith smiles, patting my back. “Geordi knows what he’s doing. All I was saying is to let me know if and when Elias has an update.”

“Of course.” I glance around at the empty square. “I guess the warning scared everyone off. Not even the media is here.”

“No one has forgotten the war,” Luci says. “How could we?”

---