A Gift of the Darkest Magic (2 page)

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Chapter 2

“Hi, Marsha. The girls are already fast asleep. They tried to wait up to see you, but the

sandman didn’t give them the chance,” Clarissa said, opening the door for the babysitter. Marsha was Caren’s best friend and used to babysit every Thursday night when she and Matt enjoyed a

date night. She hadn’t seen the woman in six months. Marsha gave her a big hug. “Thanks for

coming.”

Caren came in the door behind her friend. “Ready?” She gave her sister a strange once-

over.

“What?”

“You look like someone’s deranged secretary. You do know we’re going to a club and

not a meeting?”

Clarissa looked down at her white, cotton button-down shirt and knee length, black skirt.

She’d lost a lot of weight since Matt had gotten sick. This was the best outfit she had that still fit.

“My husband is dying. I don’t exactly feel like whooping it up like a co-ed. I’m dressed

and I’m going. Be happy you’ve gotten me out of my uniform.”

Caren rolled her eyes. “People would be giving you orders for drinks all night if you

wore your waitressing uniform.” The younger woman chuckled. “Okay, I get it. Tiffany said she could get us in, so I guess you don’t have to change. That is a cute skirt. Come with me into the bathroom, I can make this work. We’re getting in, but not if you look like someone’s mother

coming to drag them out of the club.”

“I’m old enough to be most of their mothers.”

“Yeah, but you don’t usually look like it.”

Caren took her sister’s hand and led her into the bathroom. She took the bun out of her

sister’s long blonde hair and grabbed the hair spray as Clarissa just watched. She scrunched, sprayed, shook, scrunched, sprayed, and instantly Clarissa looked much more casual. She hadn’t done anything with her hair for so long, she forgot what it felt like.

Next, Caren grabbed a big red crystal necklace and matching earrings out of the jewelry

armoire that sat next to the bathroom vanity and put the jewelry on Clarissa. She grabbed some eyeliner and thickly lined a black strip under her eyes, bringing up just a little curve at the corners. She used a little blush and some red lipstick to complete the transformation.

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“You’re still pale, but you look a heck of a lot better.”

“Thanks so much. You make it sound like I looked awful before.”

“If the shoe fits, sissy. Just kidding, the girls are sleeping and Matt’s in good hands at the hospital. Let’s go see if we can get your husband a miracle.”

“I just hope this isn’t a waste of time. If this is some kind of scam, I’m never speaking to

you again.”

“Tiffany said they won’t take money for the blood. She said it took her months to

convince one of them to give her some. She’s risking her life getting us in. She said they might want to bite us.”

“Bite us! You’re telling me this now? What kind of psychos go around biting people? I

can’t believe you’ve talked me into going there. This is crazy!”

“I know, it sounds crazy to me too, but Tiffany genuinely likes you and Matt. It’s taken

me months to get the truth out of her. She was scared when she told me and agreed to get us in.

Give this a chance. I believe her.”

“You’ll have to believe for both of us. I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t go.

No matter how insane this sounds, if there’s anything that might help him and I don’t try, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

Caren wrapped her arms around her sister. “I know,” she murmured.

“Have fun, you two. Your daughters will be just fine. Stay out as late as you’d like. If I

get tired, I’ll just sleep in the spare room next to the girls’ room,” Marsha said.

“Great. Thanks, Marsha,” Caren chirped and gave Marsha a quick hug. “You’re a life

saver.”

“No worries. I love those kids, and it’s not like I have a life since Brad broke it off,” she pouted.

“You’ll find a better guy,” Clarissa told her, but she knew how empty those words must

sound. Love wasn’t something replaceable. Marsha gave her a little, sad smile.

They left the house and climbed into Caren’s small blue Toyota. Her favorite angry metal

band began screaming from the speakers. She quickly flipped the radio off. Clarissa was a

country music girl all the way, so they seldom listened to the radio together; death metal and country never found common ground. Clarissa’s palms were sweating, so she wiped them on her

skirt.

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“I told Tiffany I’d pick her up. She said she doesn’t need a ride home. They have a

courtesy service to take donors home after they check out with a clean bill of health. I guess vampires are more conscious than the movies would have us think,” Caren teased, but the words only increased the thick tension in the car.

“You just had to go there?” Clarissa growled at her sister.

Caren shrugged. She turned the corner and they pulled up in front of Tiffany’s apartment

building. The short redhead came out of her door. She was wearing a short, red leather skirt and fishnet stockings. She wore a corset style top, and her breasts looked ready to spill out of it at any moment. Clarissa noticed a large hoop ring in her nose and a smaller hoop in her eyebrow.

The woman’s hair was a riot of curls, and she wore thick black eyeliner and the reddest lipstick she’d ever seen. Clarissa was shocked. She’d only seen the woman at PTA meetings, but this

wasn’t the Tiffany Morgan she knew.

“Hi.” Tiffany giggled as she slid into the back seat. “Ground rules, you don’t make eye

contact with anyone. You don’t tell them you know what they are. You don’t ask for blood. You don’t say the word blood. Any questions?”

“How are we supposed to get blood if we can’t talk about it?”

“I have a few regulars that have special…feelings for me. A bond grows from regular

donations to the same vampire. There’s something about the magic, if I ask and bring you the

blood, it doesn’t work. Since it’s for someone you love, you have to be willing to sacrifice

something for the blood given to you. I’ll do the talking. One or both of you might have to

donate for it. I promise you won’t suffer any lasting harm. You might even like it. I do.”

“How can you let strangers bite you? You have kids, aren’t you worried you’ll get a

disease?” Clarissa asked. Tiffany laughed with genuine amusement. Clarissa didn’t see anything funny about her question. “I’m serious.”

“I know, and I appreciate the concern. They aren’t like us. I don’t know how much you

both believe, but these are not humans who might have AIDS. We’re going to a vampire club

tonight, ladies. Yes, vampires live in our small, sweet Midwestern town. Vampires are

everywhere. They have the resources to stay hidden, but they exist. This is dangerous. They

aren’t going to like it that you know. I thought it would just be Caren and me going in. This is even trickier with two of you. We have to avoid drawing attention from the more powerful ones.

My particular vamps are small fries, young vampires. They’re more likely to be sympathetic,

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because they still remember being human. Old ones, like Lord Drago, are more likely to kill you first and ask questions later. We could all die, for real, so please don’t do anything stupid.”

“Oh, anything stupid like going into a place supposedly run by blood sucking movie

monsters? Gee, let me jot that down,” Clarissa said sarcastically.

“If you’re not going to believe me, I’m not getting you in. This isn’t a game, and these

aren’t just lonely gothic teens looking for a thrill. This is for real. The people in the club, most of them are vampires. You’ll see once you get inside, but you have to promise me you’ll trust me and not get us killed. I’m not kidding. This isn’t a prank or a joke. This is life and death, for us and for Matt.”

“Did you really give your daughter blood and it saved her life?” Clarissa asked while

watching the woman’s face in the review mirror. “I remember how sick she was. She was

waiting for a heart transplant and everyone was afraid it’d come too late, then she was just well again.”

Tiffany smiled a strange little smile. “It’s been a mixed blessing. I’d heard that if I

donated blood, I’d receive a large payment of tax-free cash. I went to the club because the

medical bills were killing me. It didn’t take me long to form bonds. They felt my grief. My

clients knew how much I loved my daughter and what I was losing. Things had gotten bad, we

didn’t have more time to wait, and finally one of my regulars gave me the blood. I’d asked when I realized what they were. I did some research at the library. Some of the really old legends are true. I knew they could help. She told me how to use her blood, and I documented the miracle.

One day my daughter was lying in a hospital bed, dying, the next day she was my little girl again and full of life. I swear it. If I didn’t owe you and Matt for the clothes and food you gave me when times were tough, I’d never have endangered myself by telling Caren any of this.”

“You don’t owe us anything, Tiffany. If this is for real, we’ll be the ones who owe you.”

“First, we have to get in and out without dying. Don’t do anything to draw additional

attention to yourselves. If they see you as a threat, you’re dead. Vampires aren’t human. Don’t forget they’re predators. They’d have no problem killing you if they think you’re a danger to them. I’ve seen people disappear because they did the wrong thing. Please don’t make me regret helping you. It took me months to build up the kind of relationship that made one willing to give me blood. It’s dangerous. If the blood fell into the wrong hands, they’re all exposed. This isn’t going to be easy.”

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“I don’t have months, Matt’s only got weeks. He might not even have that long. Speaking

of, I’m going to call the hospital to check on him.” Clarissa pulled her cellphone out of her purse and dialed the hospital. The number was the first contact on her phone.

When the switchboard picked up, she asked to be connected to the fourth floor nurse’s

station.

“Hi, Elizabeth. This is Clarissa Blair. How is Matt doing tonight?” She listened intently

to the nurse’s report, hoping against hope for some small sign of progress, but she was at least grateful to hear that his situation hadn’t deteriorated. “Okay. Thanks, Elizabeth.” She hung up the phone and turned to speak quietly. “He’s sleeping peacefully, but they’ve increased his

morphine.” She tried not to break down.

Tiffany reached around the headrest and squeezed Clarissa’s shoulder. “You’re doing the

right thing. If we can get one of them to give you just a few drops of blood, he’ll be all right.”

“Let’s say I believe you about the vampires and their magical blood, do you know for

sure that it works on cancer and not just heart problems? Your daughter was young and small.

Will this work on a full-grown man?”

“I’m sure it’ll work. I wouldn’t be risking my life if I weren’t. Just don’t do anything to

draw attention to yourself, and if they want to feed from you, let them.”

Could it really be that simple
, Clarissa wondered. She loved her husband more than her own life. They could have all her blood if that’s what it took to save Matt.

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Chapter 3

They parked a few blocks away from the club. It was chilly and drizzly, unusual weather

for June. The sisters followed Tiffany toward the back of the building.

“Shouldn’t we go in the front with everyone else?” Caren asked.

“This is the only real way in. Ever notice how that line doesn’t move? They only let a

few of them in and they glamour what they actually see. They leave thinking they’ve just been to the hippest club ever and had the best time, but they just sit them down at a table under guard.

They leave unharmed, but with no real memory of the club. It’s an amazing trick. The few

humans they trust come in this way.” Tiffany knocked on the door. A slat opened up and a pair of red eyes glared out at them. “The Sire’s blood is nectar,” she told the spooky eyes. “They’re with me.”

The vampire opened the door for them and the sisters rushed in behind Tiffany, not

making eye contact with the grumpy looking vampire.

“I hope you have His Lordship’s consent to bring them here.”

“Don’t worry, Winslow, I’m not an idiot.”

He grunted at her, but said nothing more and let them all pass. Clarissa let out a sigh of

relief.

Tiffany looked at her grimly. “That was the easy part.”

Those words didn’t ease the sisters’ tension. Looking at each other fearfully, the sisters

remained silent. Clarissa saw the worry in Caren’s face and understood it completely. The

supernatural doorman’s eyes had told her she wasn’t coming to a normal club. If she doubted

Tiffany before, those glowing eyes diminished her doubt greatly now. The fangs she’d caught a glimpse of in his mouth could’ve been dental implants or some sort of slip-in Halloween

disguise. His eyes hadn’t just been red, they’d glowed. They almost reminded her of how cats’

eyes looked in the darkness if you shined a light at them. She’d never heard of contacts doing anything similar. Either he was a very gifted makeup artist, or she’d just seen a vampire.

Trying not to dwell on the fear, she decided to focus on her task. Get the blood and get

out. In the end, it didn’t matter what the hell was going on here, she just wanted to help Matt.

They could go on eating people to their hearts content, as long as they gave her the magic potion that would bring her husband back. God, how she ached for him. Every cell in her body cried out
A Gift of the Darkest Magic