Disclaimers: Don't own anything but my orange hoodie.
Summary: Henry, Vicki, and Mike are pulled into a battle against an unexpected advisary.
Go to www . bloodtiestv . com, the official Blood Ties site. They are supposed to have merchandise soon
Chapter 9
Vicki shot up, gasping, and saw Henry just walking out of the bathroom, dressed with his hair still damp. "How long has it been dark?"
"Five minutes maybe. I'll go get you some blood." he left the room and was back seconds later with a few bags.
"Where's Mike?" she frowned. She looked around and caught his familiar scent not far. "The livingroom?"
"Sleeping. He was up all day on the phone with Coreen, trying to locate Alexander. You feed and then you can take a nice hot shower."
"Oh, you know me so well." she smiled. He nodded and sat on the edge of the bed while she fed, watching her. After she finished, she went into the bathroom with an armful of clothes.
Henry went into the livingroom and easily moved Mike to the bed without waking him, then collected the blood bags and threw them away. He looked over the file Mike had on the table. He had a list of every sleezy hotel in a ten mile radius and about half of them were crossed off. There was a note.
Henry,
Looking into the hotels.
Coreen went to sleep at noon,
she should be awake when
you get up. Call her for help.
Night,
Mike.
Henry nodded and pocketed the note, then Vicki came out of the shower in her blue jeans and green, long-sleeved shirt. "He looks exhausted." she nodded back to the bedroom.
"He was mostly just pissed after we got you back here."
"Really?"
"He's been up since then looking for your father."
"Do we know where Sinead and Callisto are?"
"No. We're figuring on Callisto being with Alexander. Sinead isn't at her shop."
"How do you know?"
"Coreen went by there."
"Are you serious?" she looked at him, then reached into her purse, which was on one of the chairs, and pulled out her cellphone. She called her assistant.
"Hello?" Coreen asked.
"Coreen, what the hell were you doing, going to Sinead's alone? You could've gotten hurt!" she scolded. There was a pause.
"Vicki, I'm so glad you're okay." Coreen let out a choked sob.
"I-I'm fine, Cor. Thakns. Seriously, you shouldn't have gone alone."
"Oh, I was fine. Can I come see you, are you feeling okay?"
"I feel fine. I-I don't know if you should come over." Vicki frowned.
"Oh. Okay. But soon. I miss you."
"Alright. You, too. But don't act like an idiot. Sinead isn't a normal freak. She's a real bitchy witch."
"I know. So, Mike's asleep?"
"Yeah." Vicki sighed.
"How many hotels did he cross off the list?" the gothette sounded like she was rifling through some papers. Vicki looked at the table and saw the list immediately.
"Alphabetically, he's marked off A through M."
"Okay. You call the N's and O's. I'll call the P's and the Q's. Have Henry call the R's and S's. After that we'll regroup."
"Okay." Vicki hung up and looked at Henry.
"R and S." he nodded, grabbing the phone.
"Well, this has its perks." she mumbled, rolling her eyes. She scanned the list of motels she had to call. Night's Rest, Nix the Ritz, No-tell motel, and No Vacancy, various other cheesy names. "No Vacancy. That place can't get a lot of customers."
"It's two vampires. People is probably their goal."
"Yeah." she started through the list.
Hours later, Vicki called the last of the Z's. "Zacki's Zoo-themed Motel. How may I help you?" a teen asked.
"Do you have an occupant by the name of Alexander?"
"Uh. . .nope."
"Dark hair, pale, funny eyes. Probably with a younger woman."
". . .Maybe."
"Maybe is good." she hung up and saw Henry watching her. "Zacki's. . ."
"Right." he nodded. Mike came out of the bedroom, wide awake, and looked at them.
"Vicki, why are you awake?"
"It's night."
"But you need to conserve energy, right?"
"She's almost finished changing." Henry explained.
"Good. Because this apartment is getting pretty boring." she started pacing.
"When we're working, yes." Henry smirked. She rolled her eyes.
"Can I still eat regular food?"
"Yes."
"Good." she grabbed her phone again, hitting the third speed-dial button. "Hi, it's Vicki. Um. . .I want the usual and. . ." she looked at Mike.
"Large mixed rice with soy sauce and a carton of mandarin chicken." he smiled. She relayed the order and hung up.
"Don't you ever get hungry?" she looked at Henry.
"Food gets bland after awhile."
"Blasphemy! If I ever get tired of food, I'm walking into sunlight. Chinese is my best friend."
"That's not funny, Vicki. Eventually, everything is boring repetition."
"What happened to all of that nice talk you used to do on how vampires had the best lives?"
"There are so many perks, there has to be a downfall." he shrugged.
"What are the downfalls?"
"You outlive everyone. No kids. Food gets boring. Sex gets boring."
"Woah. Sex? Boring?" Mike asked.
"You can only go through the kama sutra so many times before it becomes a menial task."
"Okay, so I'm going to get bored with sex and food. I can't have kids. I lose everyone. Suddenly, I find myself forgetting the perks." she crossed her arms. He pulled her into his embrace.
"Etarnal youth. Experience centuries of history firsthand. Control people with a thought. Hear, feel everything. . ."
"Was it worth it? Hell, you would've been King Henry the Ninth if you hadn't been turned." she didn't push him away, but her arms stayed around herself. He buried his face in her hair, kissed her head, held her tighter.
"It was when I met you and Mike." he murmured. There was a moment of nothing, then he felt her shake gently and stop. Shake and stop. He looked down at her and saw she was crying. Mike moved around to the other side, hugging her while Henry did the same.
"It's not fair." she muttered over and over. Henry felt a weight settle over his heart with every sob she gave. Her head shot up and she cleared her eyes. "Chicken." she went to the door and opened it. The chinese delivery boy was there, hand raised to knock.
"Hey, Vicki. And may I say you look very bodaci. . ."
"Mike, pay the man." she took the food and went into the kitchen. Mike paid the delivery boy and followed Vicki to the kitchen. She was looking through the cartons and finally settled on broccolli and beef. She hopped onto the counter and just sat there, eating. Henry stood in the doorway and watched Mike take a similar stance and eat mandarin chicken. "Are you going to try some? See what our fascination is." she gestured to the food and he wrinkled his nose, but grabbed an extra pair of chopsticks and opened a carton.
"What's this stuff?" he asked. She looked at it and her nose twitched.
"Asparagus chicken stir fry." she said. He took a small mouthful and chewed it slowly, both of the chinese-addicts watching. Vicki smiled cockily. "You like it." she said.
"So what? It's food. I do have taste buds. And I haven't eaten in almost a century." he defended.
"Oh, well, if it's not that great then." she reached for it, but he jerked away. She laughed.
"We've converted him!" Mike cheered. Henry rolled his eyes.
"Hardly."
"So, when can we go on a mass murder spree?" Vicki asked nonchalantly, trying to seem disinterested. The chopsticks in her hand snapped, giving away her tenseness. Mike snorted.
"As soon as that doesn't happen."
"Oh, come on, that's a load! You lose control all of the time!" Vicki objected, hopping off of the counter and glaring at him.
"I can control myself well enough. Especially things that require discretion."
"Oh, like the bartender you nearly strangled?"
"That was different."
"How?"
"I wasn't killing anyone."
"They deserve it!"
"I never said they didn't." he remained calm.
"Vicki, he's just trying to protect you." Mike chimed. She glared at him.
"I didn't ask for your help here." she growled.
"I'm helping Henry." Mike shrugged. She opened her mouth. "No. You're an emotional wreck. You need more time to just figure everything out."
"Figure what out? I'm good." she gave him a pointed glare to stay silent.
"No, you can't control basic things and. . ."
"Mike, shut up!" she growled, eyes black. He fell silent and went stiff. "Mike?" she touched his shoulder. Henry grabbed her arms.
"It's alright." he comforted. He looked at Mike and released him from the transe. The detective looked around.
"I'm sorry." Vicki said immediately.
"It's okay, but that only goes to prove our point." Henry said lightly.
"How about a little nap?" Mike suggested.
"I'm not tired." Vicki shook her head.
"But I am. And you aren't going anywhere tonight anyways." the detective coaxed. She groaned.
"But I. . ." she began.
"Vicki, do you really want to argue?" Henry frowned. She made a face at him.
"Fine. But tomorrow, you're teaching me something or I'm going kill them without your help."
"Fine." he nodded.
