Part: 4 of 10
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I really love them and think they are really important because A) the feedback I get from your reviews are the only feedback I get B) I love reviews and you know...being appreciated! It takes a long time to write this stuff and knowing someone likes it just makes my day. They're like early Christmas and a foot bath rolled into one. Most of the time. And when they're not nice… well you can't please everyone!
Four
"This place seems fun," Rachel screamed at me as we walked towards the stage at Stone. The club had just opened and it was a Monday but there were still quite a few people dancing to loud hip hop music as the band set up.
"Bloody fantastic," I said feeling grumpy. Rachel had linked our arms together and her scent was everywhere. I was real glad the club was half in darkness because else I was sure Rachel would have been freaked out by my nearly black pupils. Because I was sure they were – being trapped in a car with her for fifteen minutes hadn't exactly done wonders for my vampiric instincts.
Two guys – one a living vamp and the other a ghoul danced up to us – making me think of chimpanzees or perhaps cave men looking for mates. I tugged Rachel along suddenly a little thankful we were joined together.
"But Ivy," she whimpered and threw a look back at the living vampire. I gave him a once over. He was cute enough but too skinny and ordinary looking for my taste. The vamp had taken our looking back at him as an invitation (or maybe it was Rachel suddenly placing her hand on the scar on her neck) and was taking quick steps towards us. He stopped next to Rachel and she smiled. I quickly grabbed the hand the vampire was moving forward – either to introduce himself or pull Rachel away with him.
He looked at me as if he hadn't really noticed me before, which wasn't surprising since next to Rachel's beautiful skin and red curly hair my slightly oriental look and simple black braid was almost boring. I squeezed his hand harder and Rachel looked surprised and confused but took her hand off her neck. Thank god for small favors.
"If you touch her blood you die," I said still holding the other vampires wrist in a vice like grip. "In fact if you touch her in anyway I don't like, you die," I promised and in a flash the other vampire seemed to realize who I was and went pale. I smiled and Rachel frowned.
"You big stupid lunker," Jenks said suddenly appearing in the air between me and the other vampire. "Don't you know better than to touch Tamwood's witch. You need a lesson in manners," the tiny man said and pulled out his sword. I did so not have time for this…
"Not now Jenks. I think that's my source," I said pointing to a guy standing by the stairs that led to the stage. The area was so dark not even my vampire vision could penetrate it from this far away but I was sure someone was standing there. I couldn't see him but I could sense him. "Go and check him out," I ordered the pixie.
"Fine," Jenks put his sword away. "You better thanks Tink's tiny tittles for this," he added to the frightened vampire. As soon as I let go of the vamp's hand he sprang ten steps back and then went back to join his friend trying not to act embarrassed.
"What you do that for? Can't I have some fun?" Rachel asked, her cheeks going red. "I mean, just because you seem to like being unhappy doesn't mean I can't have a good time. You're not the boss of me," she said stubbornly pulling away from me.
"Didn't you hear me before? The only reason I let you come is because you said you'd behave," I said putting my hands on my hips.
"I only said I'd shut up and act tough. Not follow your rules," she hissed. My eyes seemed unable to focus and I wasn't really hearing what she was saying because the vein in her neck had begun to throb fast under her thin skin making me think of just how easy it would be to take her. How easy it would be to drain it all. All that blood pumping away - I wanted it so bad.
I truly was a monster.
Swallowing I tried to focus and be gentle but I was angry at both her and my own stupid instincts. "This place doesn't have an MPL so if you want to get bit and end up someone's shadow - go ahead," I swept my arm out towards the people dancing to the left of us.
Rachel seemed to debate with herself for a moment. I knew My Rachel would have gone, simply to piss me off. But she knew how to take care of herself -this Rachel didn't. "Fine," she grumbled. "Where is this guy we're meeting?"
"He's over there. A were if I'm not mistaken. You really think he got information about your missing vamp?" Jenks said before he landed on Rachel's shoulder his wings blurring and giving off orange dust.
"Let's go and find out," I said with sarcastic cheeriness. Rachel threw a last glance over at the guy she had wanted to dance with and followed me towards the dark corner.
"You them ones paying for information?" the growly voice I recognized from the phone asked. He wasn't my source even though I had known that since he called. Still sometimes word got around and my source wouldn't have given my number to just anyone. I paid too well for him to risk it.
"Depends on the information," I said, putting my arm out for Rachel to stay behind me.
"I got them good stuff. About them girls going missing, I was told you were them ones to talk to," the were said in a rush that even though his voice was calm betrayed his nervousness.
Girls? As in plural? Could several girls go missing in Cincinnati without anyone noticing? If it was going on, I was putting a stop to it. And I was kicking some ass on the way. I pulled out the envelope pulling out a thick wad of hundred dollar bills.
"Keep talking," I said pretending to count the small fortune. I heard Rachel's breathing pick up speed and the were seemed to relax a little bit once he had seen the money.
"Out by them old warehouses and factories to them north." He licked his lips. I still couldn't see him clearly in the dark but I could hear him well enough. "There are gray trucks leaving by a different route every three days. Word on them street is that lots of runaways have gone missing. People that ain't to be missed."
"Do you actually know any of this is true, or is it just rumors?" I asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know about them people going missing, but I know about them vans. I work guard out by where them industrial roads meet highway. They come my way once a week or so but we talk… I talk with them other guarding. They say them same thing. Gray vans. Every few days," the were said in his rough voice and I had to really concentrate to understand him. He was abusing the English language to the point where I wanted to cover my ears.
"That's a lot of space to search. Hundreds of square feet. Even staking it out would take too long." I pulled out more of the cash. "I need something better..."
"There is a logo on them vans," the were eagerly offered. "Green, like a tree. Quite big. On them van's side." I rolled the money up in a tight bundle.
"Anything else that can help us?"
"If them use them same routine, them will be driving me way day past tomorrow, around the middle of night, rout 32," he said as his hands stretched out for the money. Satisfied he had given all the information he was going to I smiled a tight lipped smile and handed it to him. The were moved off into the shadows towards the emergency exit a second later.
"That was a lot of money Ivy," Rachel commented as we walked out of the club. She had been quiet for nearly five whole freaking minutes and I was beginning to worry what was on her mind. "We could have just told him we'd curse him or something. I'm sure he would have talked."
"He might, he might not have, and this way we didn't make an enemy and if he has information in the future he will be more inclined to help us," I said while unlocking Rachel's red car.
"But all that money," Rachel said looking at me across the roof of the car. "That was a lot of money, I'm sure of it. I remember how much money is worth," she added the last part with a stubborn expression on her face.
"Relax," I said as I slid into the car and rolled my eyes. "I got plenty of it so what if I use it to keep my sources coming back to me. It's better than threatening to curse them. God Rachel it's just money." She closed her door.
"It's not just money, it's…" Rachel seemed confused and I was too. Truth to be told I didn't understand why she even cared about money when she was My Rachel but now that she didn't remember anything, me handing money to strangers shouldn't bother her at all.
"Do you remember something?" I asked as Jenks flew out of Rachel's scarf, turning to her as she pushed some hair away from her face.
"Turn the heat on, it's freezing in here," the pixie complained and I started the car and turn the hot air on.
"I don't know if I'd call it remembering," she said scrunching up her face. "More like I just got the feeling we had this argument before."
"Off and on. You want it all to be fair and hate it when I try to pay your rent or buy things when we need them, just because I can afford them," I said as I put the car in drive feeling surprisingly open. It wasn't like she was going to remember this conversation in a week. It was really quite freeing. "You always insist on paying me back, even though it takes you forever."
"So I'm poor?" Rachel asked suddenly looking very amused.
"As a rock," Jenks said helpfully.
"My life sounds so wonderful. Gosh I bet the twenty dollars I found in my wallet is the only money I have," she said in a disbelieving tone. I on the other hand had no trouble believing the twenty was the last money Rachel had.
"Don't worry," I said and patted her leg, surprising myself by touching her first when usually I made sure not to. For both of our safety. "I won't let you starve. Remember? I'm the one that buys the groceries."
"Oh my God," she suddenly said as if she had suddenly had an epiphany. "You love me."
I blinked, hit the break and turned to her in surprise. Her mouth was slightly open and Jenks snickered from the dashboard. I wondered where the hell that realization had come from.
"You do, don't you?" She asked again.
What was I suppose to say? It didn't feel right to lie and tell her no. But I wasn't sure how well she would handle a vampire in love with her. But she had only said love, not in love. To care deeply for a friend was alright, wasn't it?
"Yes," I drove through a red light seeing as there was no traffic.
"That makes it all make sense," she said as she leaned back to look at me. "Makes it all come together," she whispered so low I was sure she didn't mean for me to hear it.
It was much later, long after I had given up looking for grey vans with green tree logos on the net. So late, the sun would be coming up in just a few short hours. I thought Rachel had been asleep for ages when she came tip toeing into the living room, seating herself in the plush armchair across from me. Looking up at her over my coffee cup I thought she looked flushed. Like she might have a fever. A sudden worry spiked through me. I hadn't let myself think about what would happen when the memory potion left Rachel's system. Unpredictable was what she had said and that was never good. Was this a symptom? Was she sick? I sat up straighter on the couch looking closer at her.
"It must be hard," she whispered peering at me with those almost too green to be real eyes. I didn't say anything but put my coffee down feeling wary. "Living here with me. Wanting me but not being able to have me. Because that's what I figured out. You want to touch me…" she got off the chair and moved next to me on the couch. "But you keep stopping yourself. Is it me or you that make you do that?" she asked tilting her head.
"Me," I whispered as I felt the smell of Rachel and power, envelop me. She was too close.
"So I'm a test? You deny yourself something because it makes you feel better? Feeling in control," she analyzed. "But why don't I want you?"
"I don't know," I said inching away from her, trying not to breathe. "You don't like girls that way." That was almost a lie, at least when I said it. I knew Rachel fear of being gay or even bi was more real than what she might or might not feel for me. It's too hard to stay in love with someone who isn't into you to keep it up for long. And I had managed to stay in love with Rachel for years. Every now and again I would see a glimpse in her eye that told me she had just been thinking of me in ways she didn't think she should. I was sure she didn't realize it herself, but I did. She wanted me even if she couldn't accept it. It would have been comical if it wasn't so damned frustrating.
"I don't?" Rachel asked with a little smug smile as if she knew what I was musing about."Then why can't I stop thinking about you? Why do I like to look at you? Why do I live in a church with a vampire that I know wants me if I don't want her too?"
"Perhaps we are more alike than you think. Perhaps you too like to deny yourself things," I said defensively, wanting to move off the couch and leave the room. But I was worried she would follow and that might cause even more problems.
"Maybe," she kept the little smile going and moved closer to me. "Or maybe I'm afraid. But we could both have what we want tonight. I won't remember anything of this week; I could have what Rachel clearly wants but somehow is not taking. You could have what you want the most without her knowing." She moved so close I could feel her knee touching mine. "You could have me. Just for tonight. Just a taste."
"No," I said afraid of both how much I wanted that and the consequences if I gave in. If My Rachel realized I had taken advantage of her, even if it was Rachel seducing me and not the other way around, she would leave. She would never trust me again. I craved her trust more than I craved her blood. More than I wanted her body and soul.
"You could have it all," she whispered. Leaning closer she brushed the hair away from her neck exposing the scar there. "My body, my blood. My heart." She reached for my hand.
"No," I managed to get out, as I almost threw myself away from her to the other side of the room. Rachel blinked and stiffened on the couch, clearly surprised at how quick I had moved.
"Ivy," she said in a voice I had never heard My Rachel use. It was almost patronizing. But I wasn't sticking around to hear what she was saying. I rushed to my bedroom, feeling very much like a child that had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Only the cookie jar had been freaking throwing herself at me.
"Ivy wait, I didn't mean…" Rachel cried out hurrying after me but I slammed my door shut. I could still hear her from the outside as I leaned against the door. "I didn't mean to make you upset, I just thought it was a good idea. I'm sorry,"
But Rachel's other words were still ringing in my ears. Tempting me, making me regret and wonder. I slid down the door to the floor and in my mind saw her brushing her lovely red hair away from her neck.
You could have it all. My body, my blood, my heart.
Thanks for reading and reviewing! Hope you didn't think I over did creepy growly were guy. I just wrote Them instead of the once and went like "hey that could be kind of neat" but now I kind of think I went overboard with it. Also hope you didn't think I went too far with having Rache trying to get into Ivy's pants!
