Page 8 of Thicker than Blood

Glaring at the phone on the side table—a landline, thank you very much—I lift the receiver and dial the ten digits still bouncing around my head. A hurried male voice answers, and I know immediately who it is.

“Hello, Geordi. This is Elias.”

“Shit,” he mumbles, and then, muffled, I hear him say it again along with a lot of jostling. “Sorry. I dropped my phone. Hi.”

“Hi. Is it a bad time? I know it’s early still.”

“No, I’m up. I’ve been at the lab since it happened. What can I do for you?”

“I’ve been thinking about the situation. I believe the only way out of this is to partner together.”

“Partner?”

“Yes. Vampires and mortals. Obviously, not all vampires, but I can vet the right group as I’m sure you can on your side.”

“Um…”

“We need to unite against a common enemy. As difficult as it is for me to view my brethren as adversaries, they’ve threatened my livelihood, so I have no choice but to join the mortal cause.”

“Oh.”

“I assume you need to discuss this with your leadership?”

“Yeah.”

“Do that and get back to me. I’m available and willing to meet whenever you are.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Sure. Yeah. I’ll get back to you.”

“Very well.” I hang up and lean back in my armchair.

I can’t believe I’m willingly offering my assistance to the mortals who are responsible for most of the trauma that’s happened to my kind. From hunting to persecution, they are the reason we had to go underground in the first place centuries ago.

Going against fellow vampires leaves a foul taste in my mouth, but if I’ve learned anything in this long life of mine, it’s that my interests have to come above all others’. It’s how we’re wired as a species. Protect ourselves at all costs, even if it means the demise of someone else. It’s not my fault I was made this way.

All I can do now is hope I’ve aligned myself with the right person and that I won’t regret this decision. If we can manage to stomp out the uprising and return to normalcy, then whatever we have to do to get there will be worth it.

Even if it means some vampires will have to die at my hand.

CHAPTER 4

Geordi

Shoot. Elias wants to partner with me? That’s so weird, isn’t it? Is partner another word for murder?

Tapping my pen on the metal lab table, I try to wrap my head around the request. Will Meredith even go for that? Can we trust a vampire?

“What’s wrong with you?”

I startle, nearly jolting out of my chair at the sound of Enyo’s voice.

“Dude.” I shake my head. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Not in the slightest.” He leans a hip on the table. “You’re over here practically hyperventilating. Did you discover a new gene or something?”

---