Page 52 of Of Mercury and Mist

“Kayla told me it was all theater but it's not,” I gasped, as she rubbed my head. She was using the toilet as a chair while I’d managed to wedge myself in the corner between it and the wall. “I’m having a nervous breakdown.” I was well aware I was being overly dramatic.

Lily shushed me and then said, “Stop playing around. You’d have run out of the building screaming if you’d never come across them before. Look at you—you're on the floor behind a toilet. Get up.”

She was losing patience. “You really think they couldn’t get you if you hid behind a toilet?”

I wanted to laugh at my ridiculousness but she had a good point. The problem was, why the hell couldn’t I get away from these people? It was like I had some kind of homing beacon implanted under my skin or something.

Grabbing her outstretched hand, I picked myself up. “How do you do it and why does no one else know? Kayla thinks everything’s cool, but these people drinkblood.”

She stood up and yanked the skirt of her dress down. “Well, you eat dead animal carcasses and drink fluids reserved for babies.”

“That’s not the same.”

“Oh, no?”

I huffed. “When’s the last time you saw anyone walk up to a cow grazing in a field and just go and tear a chunk out of it? Cows just mind their own business; give people something to look at while they drive along. You can’t compare them to vampires, they don’t eat each other, or rip heads off.”

The edge of my mouth tilted, picturing bucolic fields. Vampires and whatever the hell was on the other side of the bathroom door did not mind their own business. They stalked you and put leashes on you and bit your boob.

Lily shook her head. “That’snot the same.”

“How so?” I ran my hands down my face, wiping away a couple errant tears and lamely attempting to fix my makeup.

“You’re confusing me,” she protested. “They do eat each other. That’s what milk is.”

“You thinkyou’reconfused,” I said. Lily just didn’t get it. This was not normal life. “How do you do it?” I asked again.

Her brows furrowed. “Do what? I don’t drink milk, but I have drunk blood.” I gave her a look and she groaned. “I’m not complaining about the money. Plus, Matthew protects us. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me, just like he told you. Just pretend they’re normal cuz they basically are, if you think about it. They have hopes and dreams, too.”

“Hopes and dreams to tear my heart right out of my chest,” I muttered.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Most of them aren’t like that.” She applied a candy pink gloss to her lips while I stared at her.

“Great—that’s comforting.”

Shoving the tube down the front of her shirt, she said, “You’re being dramatic.”

“I kinda feel like I’m not. Okay, yeah, I am.” I dropped my arms to my sides. “You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

Her lips thinned. “And I’m sure you’re not allowed to tell me; I’ve been at this long enough to know how it works.”

My curiosity piqued, I asked, “How long have you?” It didn’t seem like a career with much longevity built in.

“About fifty years,” she replied, arranging her cornsilk ringlets.

I grabbed the edge of the sink. “Fifty? You’re lying.”

“Get a sponsor and you’ll never age, too. Matthew helps a lot of women.” She had my full attention.

“He rescued me. Pulled me out of the depths of hell and set me up with a gorgeous apartment, credit cards he paid for. He even bought me a car. I can’t tell you who my sponsor is but he’s a good man. They can’t go around biting people and he doesn’t care much for the bagged stuff, so he comes by once a week, and I feed him. He’s honestly pretty great. Doesn’t care what I do as long as I give him a vein when he needs it.”

“Wow,” I replied, stunned. It really didn’t seem like a bad gig with those kinds of perks. If you didn’t mind literally sticking your neck out.

“The only rule is I can’t let anyone else feed from me. That’s it. Just one rule.”

We moved to the door, her hand on the latch. “Do you have to sleep with him?”

She giggled. “Oh, no. We’re not each other’s type. It's a simple blood transaction.”

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