Black Market Blood (The Lazarus Hunter Series Book 2) Page 9

  Across the street, he glanced at the shuttered windows of a Chinese grocery store, closed already despite the early hour. So much for the city that never sleeps. That was only twelve blocks away, but it might as well have been a million miles from this. Here, the midnight hours were filled with longing and desperation. Desperate people committed way more armed robbery than those minding their own business. The pock marks in the wall told Garth the store owners had already learned that lesson the hard way.

  A scuffle behind him made his heart pound, but years of practice held his body steady. Whoever fell into step with him wasn’t a vampire. The telltale sense that Garth had come to recognise wasn’t there, but that didn’t make the danger any less real. He had fifty dollars in his pocket, but nothing else.

  Nothing but the knife in the pocket of his jacket. His weapon of choice with vampires. Useless against a man with a gun.

  ‘Hey, you looking for something?’ The man was almost level with him now. The tone was easy-going; a friend asking about a movie or talking about a football game.

  ‘Just walking dude.’ Garth was polite, but not overly friendly. The place he was looking for was somewhere on this street. He didn’t have time to lose the man before he went in.

  ‘You look like a kid looking for something, that’s all. Maybe I could help you with that?’

  ‘Just walking,’ Garth said again.

  ‘Nobody’s just walking around here. I can help you out.’

  ‘I’m doing okay thanks.’ Garth checked out the number on the nearest doorway. 2202. It was close.

  ‘You’re no cop. So why you here?’ The easy tone was gone now. Unable to get an answer from Garth that pleased him, the man was inching closer.

  ‘Just looking for an address. That’s all.’

  ‘Then you are looking for something. Whatever you want, you’ve come to the right place. I can help you out with that.’

  ‘I don’t want any trouble,’ Garth turned and forced a smile onto his lips.

  ‘None of us want any trouble. But sometimes, trouble finds us, you get what I’m saying?’

  ‘I do.’ They were level with the right doorway now. Garth didn’t know if knocking the door would trigger some kind of problem. He toyed with the idea of walking on. He could come back another night. But all nights would be the same as this one. ‘This is my stop,’ he said, prepared to fight or run if he had to.

  ‘Well, why didn’t you say?’ The man grinned, showing a set of teeth that came in two styles: gold or broken. He banged on the door with a closed fist. ‘My ladies can help you out.’

  ‘They can?’ Garth was dubious. The door swung back. A young woman stood there. Wasted away, she pulled a threadbare cardigan tight around her stomach. Garth noted the vacant eyes and a love bite that hid puncture wounds on the side of her neck. This was the place. No doubt about that now.

  ‘Sure they can. How about you step inside. Shonda here can help you out.’ The man placed an insistent hand on Garth’s back and he tried not to flinch. It was either walk away or walk into the darkness. He looked at the girl’s neck one more time and stepped inside.

  The door shut behind him. The man on the street had stayed out there to pick up any other strays that came walking his way. Shonda walked down the dark hallway on wobbly legs and Garth had no choice but to follow. He fought against the stench of smoke and unwashed bodies. He tried to stay focused on the job in hand. According to his sources, this was the centre of a particularly bad outbreak. People here knew what was going on, but they still came back, vampires and humans alike.

  He paused in an open doorway. The room was in semi-darkness, bathed in red light from an unshaded lamp that sat on the floor. Two threadbare sofas faced each other. On one, a woman had passed out, her skirt hitched up in a way that made Garth look away in discomfort. On the other, the cause of his interest. A vampire, even scrawnier than he was, sat with his shirt open. Another woman lay sprawled across his lap. Her eyes flickered in a state of semi-consciousness.

  Garth took a step inside. The vampire was relaxed, his fangs half-distended if you had the focus to look closely. In his hand, a used syringe flicked back and forth in his fingers like a cigarette. ‘Hey.’ The vampire noticed Garth watching him. ‘Take a seat.’ He gestured at the sofa opposite where the woman lay. It felt like a trap. Garth would need to move her. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

  He was about to decline when Shonda came back. In her hand was a small bag of white powder. His feet remained frozen to the ground. He didn’t want to take a seat. He should have known better.

  This was a stupid idea.

  He had been so determined to check out such a good lead he hadn’t thought this through. He had prepared for vampires but not this.

  He could pretend it was all a mistake. He’d never be able to come back here again, but neither would he blow his cover.

  Or worse.

  ‘Hey, do I know you?’ The vampire on the couch looked at him. Garth felt a chill climb his spine. If anyone recognised him, he would be a dead man. Upstairs, there was a scream. A loud bang followed. They all looked up. Then silence. He saw his chance.

  Committed to the least dangerous option, he walked to the couch and sat down, pushing the woman’s sprawled legs aside to do so. She made a snuffled response and her head lolled to the side. Like Shonda, she had a large bruise on her neck he assumed was from a vampire bite. The marks on her arms could by either vampiric or hypodermic in nature and he didn’t want to look close enough to confirm.

  Shonda sat next to him on the arm of the couch and waggled the bag in front of his nose. ‘Shoot, snort or smoke?’ she asked.

  ‘Um,’ he looked at the collateral damage of the room. Shooting was not an option. No vamp had ever touched his blood and they weren’t going to start now. He smoked for a few years, back when he turned fourteen, so that was the better option.

  As if any option was a better one.

  ‘Come over here, son.’ The vampire gave a lazy smile and pushed the woman from his lap. She fell to the floor with an unceremonious thump. He threw the empty syringe down on top of her. Garth watched it bounce off onto the floor. ‘Give me the bag Shonda.’

  ‘He’s new here. Not until I get my ten bucks.’

  ‘He’s good for it, aren’t you?’

  ‘Sure.’ Garth could spare ten bucks to work a way out of the mess he’d gotten himself into.

  ‘See, I told you. Come on, give it to me.’

  Shonda stood up and threw the bag at him. He missed it, despite his enhanced reflexes. He was in a sleepy world. Garth could kill him where he sat, if he chose to do so. He was sure there was more to his sluggish reaction than just drugs. He was in the right place. The vampire was infected, shielded from the pain as he self-medicated. Garth pulled ten dollars from his pocket and handed it to Shonda. He was going to pay for this night in many ways. Debt to a drug dealer was not going to be one of them.

  The vampire waited with hooded eyes. Garth stood, not knowing what else to do. At his acquiescence, the man seemed satisfied. From the front pocket of his jeans he pulled a packet. Garth watched in fascination and horror as he folded out a neat rectangle of foil, edges slightly raised, and placed it onto the arm of the couch. With a languorous yet expert touch, he tapped the powder out onto the foil.

  ‘You’ll like this,’ said the man with a grin. His teeth had receded again now, only a fraction longer than normal. Garth noticed the remains but most people would never spot them. He had no idea what would happen next, but he saw something he knew all too well in the vampire’s eyes. This sharing was his attempt at bonding them. He would mentor him through this moment until Garth was enthralled by him in return. He needed to raise his barriers as high as they would go. Not only those of his body, but the ones of his vulnerable mind.

  It’s not too late to leave, he told himself. The drugs were paid for and he didn’t think anyone cared who actually took them. If he thought it was hard to walk out the door now, it was only
going to get harder after whatever the vamp did next.

  ‘Here.’ He handed Garth a rolled up tube from beside his feet. ‘Blair likes it better this way.’ He kicked at the woman with his foot but got nothing by way of agreement. ‘Doesn’t like needles.’ He roared with laughter at his secret joke, but Garth saw the grim punch line all too clear. His anger was washed away in a tide of relief when he realised that he wasn’t going to have to avoid the needle somehow. He only had to fake inhale.

  The click of a cheap plastic lighter brightened the gloom for a fraction of a second. When Garth’s eyes adjusted to the flare, the foil was between them. ‘Roll it tighter,’ was the only comment and Garth twisted the tube to do as he said.

  He watched with fascination as the powder began to brown and bubble. ‘Time to chase the dragon, man,’ the vamp said with a grin. ‘Quick, before it goes.’

  Garth held the end of the tube above the paper and tried not to breathe too deeply. It was hard to fake. Despite his best efforts, his blood began to rush. He had to stay in control. He was here for information. That was all.

  His head swirled and a sudden rush of joy was upon him. The joy of his childhood. From before his mother died. The usual sadness and anger at the thought of her murder didn’t fill him. Instead all he could think of was laughter. Her smile. The warmth as she held him.

  He turned away from the smoke.

  In his final moment of clarity, he knew he had to get the hell out of there before he gave his soul away.

  25

  Monica checked her watch as she marched through the outer bar towards the chamber at the back. She was late for the council meeting. They always hated when she was late. A generational disapproval of her tardiness. Unfortunately for Monica, it happened a lot.

  Everyone in the bar had stopped and watched her walk through. A hush had descended on the room, a silence that lay under the thumping music. She sensed it, could feel the lack of vibration in the air. Monica had kept her head upright and her feet hadn’t faltered, despite the tension along her spine. It was not a good sign.

  When she reached the door that separated the rest of the family from the Council of Elders, she paused to compose herself. This needed to be handled with diplomacy. She had spent the past two years doing whatever she could to make them trust and accept her as their leader. She was under no illusions how easy it would be to lose all that. They teetered on the brink of a crisis. She knew it and so did they.

  She pushed open the door and walked in. Shoulders back, she acted like she belonged there. The key was to show no fear. The room fell silent as everyone turned to stare. She scanned the room for friendly faces, pleased to see that Elverez was at his customary spot in the corner. His nod was what she needed to find the strength to walk towards the centre of the room and take her place at the head of the table.

  ‘I apologise for being late.’ Monica forced authority into her voice and made eye contact with the key players in the room. ‘When you hear where I have been, I am sure you will understand.’

  ‘Of course Miss Carletto.’ William DuMont, the most senior member of the council, nodded. ‘It is your prerogative to arrive when you wish.’

  ‘That may be true, but I am sure you prefer it when I am punctual. That is neither here nor there. I presume I understand the reason why this emergency council session has been called?’

  ‘Um, that depends,’ William looked around the room. No one there had spoken to Monica about the situation, and he knew it. A subtle jab at her leadership on their part.

  ‘Has the meeting been officially opened? Can we move directly onto the main topic at hand?’ Monica looked at the scribe at the end of the table. She seemed poised and ready to go.

  ‘Yes, we have done everything required. Do you wish to begin?’

  ‘Actually William, as you called the meeting, I suggest you begin. Then I will see if I have anything to add.’ Monica made her displeasure known. Not to do so would be seen as a sign of weakness. The first hint and they would be gunning for her blood.

  She wouldn’t make that mistake a second time.

  ‘Very well. My fellow Council of Elders members, as you are aware, there have been a number of our family who have succumbed to sickness recently. Only last week we lost Lawrence before his time. He was not the first, as we originally thought. He most certainly has not been the last. We need to admit to the truth. That there is a terrible disease out there that has the capability to bring us to our knees.’ He paused for dramatic effect. Monica almost rolled her eyes at his melodrama. Too much time hunting for feeds on Broadway. ‘I have counted ten such individuals. These are merely the ones I know of. We must brace ourselves for the fact that this silent killer could be claiming more of us as we speak. Monica, can I assume that you are aware of this?’

  ‘Yes, I am,’ she confirmed. No thanks to any of them. She would have been on the back foot if it hadn’t been for Dennis and Garth. Without a direct challenge to her leadership for over a year, she had been lulled into the false belief her standing with the council was strong.

  ‘Can I ask then, what your plan of action is? Before more of us succumb to this violent yet silent killer?’

  ‘Calm down William, please. This is not a time for hysteria. I was aware of this disease prior to Lawrence’s death.’ There was no need to specify how soon before. ‘As a result, I have already had my own resources investigating the events surrounding his sudden decline.’

  ‘Why, may I ask, did you not come to the Council of Elders and share your concerns? That is what we are here for.’

  ‘You seem to be doing just fine on your own. So tell me, what do you have to add that I could have gained from coming to you? Please tell me. I’m all ears. Any help right now would be appreciated.’ Her temper simmered. William, to his credit, shrank back.

  ‘Well, we, um, have been taking it very seriously.’

  ‘As have I. But what do you know that may be of use to me?’

  ‘We know that it is affecting us more than it is affecting the humans.’

  ‘An obvious fact, but it doesn’t propel us any further in combating it now, does it?’

  ‘Well, no, but…’

  ‘Exactly. I will speak now William. I hope you are all willing to listen to what I have to say. I will not let fear and panic take hold. I will not have it in this room, and I most certainly will not have you propagating it out there.’ She pointed at the door that separated the privileged few from the rest of the family. As she did so, her eyes met Elverez’s discreet nod of approval. Spurred on by his support, she continued. ‘At the moment what we need is solutions, answers.’

  ‘Do you have them?’

  ‘No, not yet,’ she admitted. ‘But I do have someone investigating this disease. I can tell you this much. It is a disease that can and will kill us. It is a blood disease and makes us particularly vulnerable.’

  ‘What are you saying?’ William looked at the other horrified faces around the table. The confirmation was a bitter blow to them.

  ‘We catch the virus by feeding. It produces mild symptoms in humans, if any at all. This makes it impossible to tell if they are infected. They are carriers of the disease in this situation as far as we can tell. They may have a longer incubation period and over next few weeks or months they too will start to show symptoms. This is just supposition. What we do know is that if you feed on someone who is infected, you run an increased risk of contracting the illness. Once contracted, it does not take long for the disease to take hold.’

  ‘How long?’

  ‘Maybe as little as two weeks between infection and death. It is impossible to know for sure.’

  ‘Why us?’

  ‘If you mean why us in comparison to the other families, then your assumptions are wrong. I have sources who confirm our family has been the least hit so far. Whether it is to do with where we feed or just plain chance, I don’t know.’

  ‘Who is this source?’ demanded William. The others were willing to let him
do all the talking. She could see the fear and curiosity in his eyes.

  ‘That doesn’t matter right now.’ Monica had no intention of telling them it was Garth. They would trust her even less if they knew she was getting most of her information from humans. ‘What does matter is that other families are suffering, but they are not talking about it. The families that have been most affected are now the most vulnerable to attack. That is not something they are likely to broadcast.’

  ‘This is insane. Are you saying that any of us could contract the illness at any time? That the very act of feeding could lead to our downfall?’

  ‘Unfortunately, that is exactly what I am saying. I would recommend feeding only when you need to. An absolute need. Nothing for pleasure. Even those of you who have a regular source, no matter how intimate and monogamous that relationship, I urge you to take care. We have no idea yet how humans contract the disease. Until we know that, we cannot be sure that any person has not come into contact with it.’

  ‘But not feeding will only make us weaker. Without it we will die anyway.’

  ‘I know. What I am asking is that you take care when you do so. Only do it when the need is almost too much to bear. Be careful.’

  ‘But we can’t go on like this indefinitely.’

  ‘No of course we can’t. Which brings me to the reason why I was late to the meeting. I have found someone capable of isolating the pathogen found in Lawrence’s blood. That person is now working hard to create a vaccine. He will also try to create some kind of test to determine if a human is infected. If we can establish that, then we can reduce our risk when feeding. This is not an ideal situation, but it is the best we can come up with in the short time we have available.’

  ‘When will this be ready?’ William looked at her with narrowed eyes of disbelief.

  ‘I can’t give you an answer to that. It’s still early in the process.’