Chapter Seven
I would've ran straight for the door and headed upstairs right there and then if J.D. hadn't read my mind a second before and pushed me back in the chair.
"Let me go I want to see my friend!" I shouted as I attempted to get back up but then found myself to be pushed back into the chair again.
"Calm down and I'll consider it." He said through gritted teeth, I clearly had pissed him off. "You bet you have."
"And why's that?" I asked. I really wanted to thump him and I made sure that he knew that. He choose to ignore me however.
"Because you're acting too rash, didn't you realise that you were about to run into a bar full of many humans as well as vampires. You haven't had much exposure round them yet and you could seriously hurt someone." His face softened then and he crouched down so he was eye level in the chair with me. "So if you just sit here and calm down for a bit, drink some more TrueBlood," he pointed to the few still unopened bottles of synthetic blood. "Then when you're completely full and calm, I'll see if I can fetch her down here for you? Now that's a very reasonable request isn't it?"
"I guess," he did have a point, after all I didn't want to hurt anyone, especially Chloe. Though I never would willingly have done it, I couldn't trust what I had become.
"Good now drink up," he said as he handed me another bottle of TrueBlood and I drank it quickly. We stayed silent for a few moments before I couldn't stand it anymore and asked him another question.
"Antonio said last night that you we're staying here to help me. Does that mean you're not a Hampshire vampire?" Obviously I knew he wasn't born here since he said himself he was sired in Alabama but he had to have been somewhere in the country before leaving America. It wasn't that unusual to have vampires from other countries, many had to immigrate here for their own survival and our political system definitely appealed too many of the undead.
"No I'm not a Hampshire vampire," he said, "I was just here visiting like most of the vampires around here."
"So how many vampires are actually based here full time?" I asked.
"Eight." He said thinking carefully. "As you may or may not know with the Vampire Parliament we are divided into the different county's, each of which has a head, or the sheriff." I nodded to show that I understood. "Well Antonio is the Sheriff of Hampshire County, or Area 9 as it's also referred to. Now while many vampires prefer to travel around, the one's who work for the Parliament are based in a specific area. They can either request to join or are recruited by the sheriff."
"So if Antonio is the leader, sorry sheriff. Well then who are the other seven based here?" I was sure Carla was one; she and Antonio seemed very close. And since they were in his office last night I'm assuming the twins Hazuki and Satoshi as well as that frizzy haired vampire Caroline worked for the him as well.
"Correct." J.D. said nodding. "Carla is Antonio's child, not in human terms; he was her sire so she willingly offered to help him out run the club and everything. Caroline is an old friend of his, though I believe she's just here more for her own convenience. Antonio actually recruited Satoshi and Hazuki, both are very ruthless and infamous in the vampire world and he knew they'd be a great investment to keep them in the bar."
"So who are the other three?" There had been a load of vamps in the theatre when I woke up but I didn't know which of them actually worked here.
"There's Maurice who you haven't met yet cause he was watching the bar last night while we all were down here. He's the strong silent type but can handle a bad customer like that! If I'm remembering correctly he's actually a child of the Queen of France though I can't be sure. And then finally there's Connor and Anne who aren't here now but you'll meet them soon enough. They're both good vamps, you might get on well with Connor; he was the same age as you when he was turned. Of course that was over a thousand years ago now."
Jesus Christ that is old, imagine being a teenager for that long. Then again who knows in a millennium that could be me? "And then Anne, she's another child of Antonio and well," he started grinning then. "All I'm gonna say is that she didn't really lose her head like all the history books say she did."
"Huh?" For a second I was wondering what the hell he was talking about and then I had a flashback to a history lesson on The Tudors. "No way!?"
"Way." J.D. smirked. "Just ask her about it when you meet her, surprisingly she's always very happy to talk about it."
"Wow." That was all I could say to that. My year 8 History teacher would be so jealous. So these vamps I guess we're like my new family or something? Or work colleagues at least, they hadn't got me to do anything yet but I was sure that wasn't gonna last long.
"Probably not." J.D. said as he handed me another bottle of TrueBlood. He clearly wanted to make sure I was in no way thirsty when I saw Chloe and I completely agreed with him.
"So what were you doing down here then if you're not a Hampshire Vampire?" I asked him.
"I had the week off and the King of England suggested I'd come here for a holiday to do some rest and relaxation." He laughed to himself at that idea as if it was ludicrous. "It is ludicrous, the King has so much work going on and then there's the summit of the entire UK vampire leaders soon so nobody should be taking any time off. Of course it doesn't help with the mess of you of course, not that it's your fault obviously." He quickly added which I thought was very considerate, something vampires are famous for not being. "Well I am the considerate type." He smiled. I then asked him something that had been troubling me.
"The King, is he the leader of the Vampire Parliament as well?" I seriously hoped he wasn't.
"Yes I'm afraid he is." Shit! That probably didn't bode well for me. "He's not as bad and heartless as the press makes out, after all you are alive." True but by the sounds of what Antonio had said that was only till the summit in a few weeks time when the King decides what to properly do with me.
The King of England and Head of the Vampire Parliament was commonly known as Lucas Wainwright, the public face of all things Vampire related in Britain. Though he didn't look a day over twenty (he was in fact rumoured to be over two thousand years old), he was famous for being charming, confident and ruthless when it came down to Vampire rights. It's because of him that Vampire's were given their own separate Parliament and naturally he was appointed the Head of it. Of course with that responsibility he became known for showing no mercy to vampires that forcibly harmed humans and broke the law. Though it hadn't ever been proven, he was also rumoured to have executed vampires without even giving them a trial. He was particularly known for having little tolerance for newborn vampires, like me. And he had them killed just like that if they so much as stepped a toe out of line.
"Don't worry I promise you he isn't set out to harm you." J.D. said, clearly telling that I was anxious. "Lucas, he's always out for the best interest in vampires and I'm sure he's genuinely sorry for what has happened to you. And he's definitely determined to give you a chance to get used to this. Otherwise he wouldn't have assigned me to you." Of course, if you want to keep tabs on how a newborn's doing, have someone who can read the thoughts of the newborn to get back to you. "Exactly." J.D. grinned. "The fact you're interesting anyway is a bonus." Another wink, I hope I wasn't sending him the wrong signals. "Don't worry your not."
"Good." I said maybe a little too quickly. "I mean you're a great guy and all, reading my mind aside," he laughed at that. "But like I said before I'm just not into guys that way."
"I know," he smiled and got up from his chair. "Now you wait here and I'll see if your friend Chloe is still upstairs." He then suddenly came up real close to me. "And like I said, now you're a vampire, you never know who you'll start finding yourself attracted too." Then quick as a flash he kissed me on the cheek and left the room. I just sat there in shock. Okay so he definitely liked me, and that could start becoming a problem. I was flattered, but could I really see myself with him? I didn't think so, I mean I did kind of like him but definitely not in that way. Then again maybe he was just pretending he liked me to mess around with me, make it more entertaining for him to read my confused thoughts. After all I had heard there isn't that many actual vampire couples, they preferred too have sex with humans rather than each other. Although they probably did do it with other vampires, since they always seemed to be horny. Unlike me however, I hadn't thought about sex once since I've been turned.
I'll forget about J.D. for the moment and worry about it later, I just hope Chloe hadn't left yet; I wouldn't blame her for not wanting to stay in a vampire bar too long. I hope Darren was with her too, I couldn't see him willingly letting her come by herself. I wonder what they would think of me, if our friendship could survive what has happened to me. Of course we had survived worse things than this. Our friendship had only gotten stronger after that night nearly three years ago now and through the horror of it the three of us had managed to become closer than ever before. I guess disposing off a body can do that to you.
I know it's sort of a filler chapter but i needed to get some of the info on what's going on across plus it gives you a bit more insight into the Hampshire Vamps and J.D.
Thanks for everyone who's reviewed and read the story so far, i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i've enjoyed writing it. I'll keep trying to upload as often as i can, but might not be able to do it every day as i have been but i'll try and aim for at least every few days.
In the meantime any reviwes on how it's going, what you think of the characters and so on would be much appreciated!
Next time Greg finally comes face too face with Chloe for the first time since he was turned, but is he ready for it?
