Silent Cravings (41 page)

The options were nightmarish. Going back to the house to become this guy’s donor wasn’t at all ideal, but Ashi didn’t want to be passed around like a cheap whore. Escaping was now looking more and more unrealistic—hell, he hadn’t even gotten across the damn bridge.

Fucking island.

Then again, he had the chance to choose.

“I’ll go back,” Ashi said. “But I’m going to choose who I have to get bitten by.”

Reece nodded, torn between relief and disappointment. He would have liked a donor of his own, but wasn’t sadistic enough to force someone into it. “They have to agree by the end of the night, though. That’s part of the deal. You’ll have to tell them to tell Royce so he can rescind the order to make the schedule.”

He gestured for Ashi to follow. When they got closer, he lifted his hand in an “all clear” wave to Angus, who slowly straightened to stand his full height, towering over the car. The Highlander was mildly disappointed that the matter had been resolved without any bloodshed.

Ashi trudged behind Reece. He was surprised Angus hadn’t gone after him. He would have been impossible to beat.

He got into the back and slumped in the seat. He needed to find Jessica as soon as they got back. It was likely she knew everyone and could give him advice. He was going to listen to someone for once.

It didn’t take very long for them to get back, and Mouse was on guard in the foyer when they came in. She didn’t bother looking up from the paperback she was thumbing through. Angus and Reece escorted Ashi inside, only watching to make sure he didn’t try to make another run for it before heading back to their own apartments.

He wasn’t their problem anymore.

Ashi immediately went to the room he shared with Christoph to shower. He felt like he had a coating of smog all over his body, which might not have been far from the truth. Christoph wasn’t in the room. As soon as he was dry and dressed, Ashi hobbled to Jessica’s apartment and knocked on the door.

Christoph was on a treadmill in the second floor gym. He wasn’t alone. There could have been a dozen more people in the room without crowding, but there were only a couple of guys lifting weights and a girl working her abs on a metal contraption that could’ve passed for a medieval torture device. All of them were human, and none of them seemed particularly interested in conversation, just working on keeping already toned bodies in shape.

Christoph’s loss of strength and endurance was disconcerting. He was used to running all day, five days of the week, with a few odd errands on Saturdays. Now he was pacing himself and going much slower, gasping for air. Weak. Human.

He closed his eyes as he ran and could almost imagine he was on a trail in the Angeles Crest mountains. He was strongly reminded why humans tended to become fat and slow. It was too hard to maintain this sort of thing without serious discipline.

It wasn’t Jessica, but another girl who answered the door when Ashi knocked. Like everyone else in the building, she was lovely. However, she was wearing an ankle-length ball gown that looked like it belonged on the set of a star-studded forties glamour movie. Even without the heels, she would have towered over him, an Amazonian blonde. Her makeup was thick but tasteful, her lips very red and curved in a disapproving frown as she looked him up and down.

“Can I help you?”

Ashi stared up at the woman and tried not to let his surprise show in his expression. “Is Jessica in?”

He was pretty sure this was the first time in his life he’d ever felt intimidated by a woman.

While Christoph was running, Analie was frantically whisking.

It had started when one of the sous chefs burned his hand and had to make a trip to the emergency room. This left a sauce that Analie didn’t know the name of unattended and Jacques had ordered her out of the protective bubble of her corner. His exact words were to “keep stirring the sauce or I will murder you with a flour sifter.”

Analie wasn’t sure how you could do someone in with a flour sifter, but she was certain that Jacques could pull it off.

The woman continued to frown down at Ashi for a very long, very uncomfortable moment. Finally, she tossed her long hair over her shoulder and stepped aside, gesturing for him to come in. Despite the mellifluous quality to her voice, her tones were anything but friendly.

“Wait on the couch. I will see if she is available.”

With graceful, purposeful strides, she disappeared into the hallway leading to the bedrooms. She shut the door, lowering her voice conspiratorially as Jessica, sprawled on her bed, glanced up from her textbook.

“There is a strange man asking for you. He’s not dressed very well.” That last sounded more scandalized than anything. “He’s waiting on the couch.”

Jessica had a test in the morning and didn’t have time for interruptions. However, she liked Christoph and figured he was probably running into troubles with Mouse again. Easy enough to fix.

“‘Kay. What’s with the dress?”

The blonde shrugged. “Part of the ensemble for the entertainment at
La Petite Boisson
tonight.”

Jessica smirked and tossed the book on her nightstand, heading to the living room. Ken picked the weirdest outfits for his underlings sometimes.

When she saw it was Ashi sitting on the couch, not Christoph, she paused. Warily, she continued forward, offering a cautious, “Hi.”

“Hi,” Ashi said in return.

There was an awkward pause.

“I need your help. I can repay you however you want. I need to choose a lee—a vampire that I will be a donor to tonight. I was wondering if you knew someone who isn’t like John who is looking for a donor.”

He didn’t intend to, but right then he looked like a lost puppy.

Jessica didn’t know what she’d been expecting, exactly, but that really wasn’t it. She didn’t mean to, but she ended up staring, mouth hanging open for a second after he finished.

“Well, uh…” she trailed off. What to say? She chose her words carefully, settling next to him on the couch. “I don’t know who is looking right now. I’d introduce you, but most of them are probably at work and I have to be up early for a test tomorrow morning. I can’t stay up and wait for them to come back. I could probably introduce you tomorrow, if you want. Or you can ask Clarisse to do it, if she isn’t looking for new donors herself.”

Ashi nodded slowly. He didn’t like to be surprised about anything, so he kept his expression neutral at the news Clarisse was a vampire. He wouldn’t have suspected in a million years, particularly after seeing her acting so… domestic when he hid in the living room of her apartment.

“All right. Thank you. If you could tell me where I can find Clarisse—if I can find her right now—I would be grateful.”

“She and Lisa share the apartment across the hall from John and Wesley downstairs.” Jessica sighed at the look on Ashi’s face when she mentioned John’s name. “Never mind, I’ll show you the way.”

With that, she rose, running a hand through her hair and stifling a yawn.

Ashi followed her. He felt like he was in a dreamlike state, but not one brought on by doing forms. A floating sensation gripped him, as if he were not part of his body anymore, or at least desperate to get away from it. And instead of the euphoria that came with the more spiritual side of his martial arts, there was only a feeling of vague unease.

As Jessica knocked on Clarisse’s door, Ashi wondered if he was going to faint.

Clarisse answered within moments. Her welcoming smile died when she saw Ashi cowering behind Jessica. This couldn’t be good.

“Evenin’, lass. What’s all this about?”

“Ashi has a question for you,” Jessica replied, her tones arch and dry. With that, she stepped aside and put a hand at his lower back, urging him to step forward so he could talk to Clarisse without hiding behind her.

Ashi did take a step forward. He cleared his throat. “I would like to be your donor” was an outright lie. He didn’t think he could pull it off with a straight face. After some very noticeable hesitation, he spoke up. “I would be very grateful if you accepted me as your donor.”

That sounded pretty good.

Clarisse just stood there, staring, for quite a long moment before giving a short bark of laughter, long black ringlets flying as she shook with mirth. “Aw, that’s endearin’, lovey. Sorry, but you’re not much my type.”

“Oh, come on, Clarisse,” Jessica chided. “You could give him a chance.”

Clarisse frowned, folding her arms. “He’s not askin’ me because he likes me, ye silly bint. I donnae want a donor who flinches from me whenever I come a’callin’. He does nae want tae have John touch him again, an’ that is nae reason enough for me tae take him on.”

Jessica frowned right back, turning to Ashi. “You wouldn’t flinch from Clarisse, would you?”

Ashi glanced between Clarisse and Jessica. After a very drawn-out moment of silence, he heaved a sigh. He felt tired now, no longer weightless and nervous and dreamlike. He was just a lump of exhausted Ashi.

“Flinch? Of course I wouldn’t flinch,” he mumbled, rubbing his face. “I would downright
cower
or possibly try to fight. Christ, this is nuts. I’m afraid of all of you and I have to figure out someone who scares me the least so they can
drink my blood
. I have a million horror stories from my pack swimming around in my head, and I keep remembering details from them. Lev raped girls as he tore them apart. Rosa would skin her donors once their beauty faded. Saojin Fung—”

“—strung people up by their intestines until the crows pecked through and they fell. Malik cut the feet off his slaves and made them dance. Hayabaki tore his donors’ faces off and made them return to their villages until the entire countryside was filled with monstrous people.” Christoph walked up behind him in the hall. He reached over and smacked the back of Ashi’s head. “Grow a pair. Also, be less of an asshole.”

Ashi covered his face. “I’m going insane.”

Jessica was exchanging horrified looks between Ashi and Christoph. She covered her mouth with her hands, turning a curious shade of green as she edged away from them both. Clarisse scowled and rubbed her temples.

“Laddie, ye hear the horror stories of our kind, but ye dinnae seem tae acknowledge what’s right in front of yer eyes. Do ye really see me or Mouse or Alec or Angus or Ken—anyone in this building—except for John, the scutterin’ gobshyte—doing any of those things?”

She brushed past Ashi to Jessica’s side, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. It was a little awkward considering how much taller Jessica was, but she seemed to appreciate it, nonetheless. She was speechless after hearing those gory descriptions of the monsters out of Goliath legends.

“There are those of us who do monstrous things,
’
tis true. But not a one of them live in this building or work for Alec Royce.” Clarisse narrowed her bright green eyes, staring at Ashi with disdain. “If ye think ye can get yer head out of yer arse long enough tae see that, I’ll take ye on as a donor. But if ye can’t get over lumping me in with those monsters, then I’ll have nothing tae do with ye.”

Ashi, again, was quiet for some time.

“Maybe I can see the people here in a different way,” Ashi said, halting, unsure. “You’re obviously not like John or Rosa or any of the other vampires that... that... terrify me to the core of my be—”

Christoph slapped a hand over Ashi’s mouth. “Please realize he left at six a.m. and has been running ever since. He’s tired. I’m sure he would love to be chummy with you.”