B006P1R39O EBOK Read online

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  After paying the taxi driver, Kathrina got out and stepped over the rain-swollen gutter and onto the narrow sidewalk. The Déjà vu tattoo shop was dark. In the window was a hastily made sign.

  Closed Until Further Notice

  What was going on?

  Dash had come to see her in the hospital, but hadn’t mentioned anything about closing his shop.

  Kathrina was suddenly hit with a feeling of foreboding. She couldn’t quite put her finger on where exactly the feeling was coming from, but something wasn’t right. Maybe it was because finding the shop dark and empty was unsettling to her. It seemed Dash was always around when they needed him, but the empty shop gave off the feeling of abandonment and hopelessness.

  Had Dash lost hope?

  Though finding the shop empty was unnerving, there was something else bothering her - something that she hadn’t noticed at first.

  Someone was watching her.

  The sensation of eyes boring into her was unmistakable. Taking a deep breath Kathrina peered down the dark street. Whoever was watching her was hidden within the shadows - beyond the reach of the streetlights.

  Should she run or pretend that she hadn’t noticed?

  Before she had time to decide, she heard a small voice behind her. Startled, Kathrina nearly crawled out of her skin.

  “Are you looking for Dash?”

  Although unsure of what exactly it was that she’d been expecting, it wasn’t what she saw when she turned around.

  A small boy was peeking his head around the side of the building. He couldn’t have been more than ten years old. The first thought that ran through her mind was that the boy was too young to be out at night - especially in an area of town that was infested with vampires.

  That was what she thought at first, but as she watched the boy, she realized there was something wrong. He was too pale and disheveled. He almost appeared to be dead.

  “What’s your name?” Kathrina asked.

  “Chad.”

  “Chad who?”

  “Just Chad,” he told her in a tight - guarded voice.

  “Well everyone has a last name … what’s yours?” Kathrina asked again.

  “Chad nobody,” he said, glaring at her.

  Sensing that the boy was ready to bolt, Kathrina figured that she had better tread lightly.

  “Do you know where Dash is?” she asked, changing the subject.

  Once the boy realized that her attention had turned to something else, he was visibly relieved. “I might know where he’s at … depends on who you are?”

  “I’m a friend of his,” Kathrina smiled, hoping to further disarm him.

  Kathrina took two cautious steps toward the child; as she got nearer, she felt her heart sink. Once she could see him better, it was hard to mistake him for anything other than what he was. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent. The boy’s hair was caked with dirt to the point that she could not tell what color it was. More than anything, it was his eyes that gave it away. His soft brown eyes shone with the light of the vampire’s hunger.

  Turning a child was forbidden. If it was found that a vampire turned a child, the punishment was death of that vampire, as well as the child.

  It was no wonder the boy seemed overly nervous. Not only did he have to avoid slayers, but all other vampires as well.

  Kathrina’s heart went out to him. He’d been a normal boy once, with a family - hopes and dreams - a favorite toy.

  “I’m not a slayer or a vampire … at least not the kind of vampire you have to worry about,” she tried to reassure him.

  The boy took a step back, ready to flee, but now he had moved from the shadows. She’d guessed right - he was about ten or eleven years old. At least that’s how old he’d been when he was turned. He had on a worn pair of jeans and a ragged blue coat. On his head was a knit hat with a superhero on the front.

  Kathrina bit at her bottom lip, hoping the pain would overshadow the ache in her heart. Life could be so cruel. With so many victims to choose from, why would a vampire take the life of such a young child? It was brutal beyond belief.

  “I won’t hurt you,” she promised.

  “But how do you know I won’t hurt you,” he hissed, baring his fangs.

  “You can’t hurt me,” Kathrina smiled. “If you were to feed on me it would kill you.”

  Instantly he transformed back into a child. “You are Kathrina,” he stated.

  “How did you know who I was?”

  “I’ve heard Dash talk about you.”

  “Who did this to you,” she asked.

  He took another step back. “I’ll never tell … you can torture me … destroy me, but I’ll never tell.”

  “Why won’t you tell?” Kathrina frowned. “You know that it is forbidden. It was a terrible thing that happened to you.”

  The boy was silent.

  “So do you know where Dash is?”

  The vampire nodded. “He’s at the Bottom Feeder.”

  Kathrina drew her brows together. “I’ve never heard of it.”

  Chad smiled. “That’s just what vampires call it. It’s Carnival Place.”

  Kathrina grimaced. She had heard of Carnival Place. It was a nightclub frequented by the type of shady characters you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley.

  What was Dash thinking to go to a place like that?

  The nightclub was located on Canal Street, several blocks away. She didn’t savor the idea of walking the dark streets of New Orleans. Though most vampires wouldn’t try and feed on her, they still wanted her dead. That was not even including the other monsters that lurked in the shadows, human and otherwise. She now wished that she had asked the taxi driver to wait for her. At least she could be thankful that the storm had passed.

  “I’ll walk with you if you want?” Chad offered.

  “Okay,” she agreed. “Let’s go.

  For a long time they walked without saying anything. Kathrina didn’t want to scare the boy off. She thought it best to let him get comfortable before hitting him with more questions.

  When they came to a busy intersection, she instinctively took the boy’s hand in hers. Kathrina took it as a positive sign that he didn’t pull away. When they reached the other side of the street, she let go.

  “I do know how to cross the street you know?” He crinkled his face up. “Besides … it’s not like it would kill me if I did get hit.”

  Kathrina laughed. “Maybe not, but it would probably hurt.”

  “I was hit by a car once, after I turned. I just rested in the bushes until I could move again.”

  “Ouch!”

  Chad giggled. The sound of the childish laughter lifted her spirits just a little.

  “So how do you know Dash?” she asked.

  “I don’t,”

  Kathrina was shocked. “What do you mean you don’t know him? How did you know about me or where he was then?”

  “I don’t know any vampires really,” he shrugged his shoulders. “I just kind of follow them around and listen.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to learn. My maker left without teaching me anything,” Chad explained.

  “But you are afraid if the vampires know about you … they’ll kill you?”

  The boy nodded. “They will you know … if they find out about me.”

  Kathrina stopped and looked down at him. “I know, but how will you survive all alone?”

  “You could be my big sister if you wanted. You could teach me.”

  Kathrina felt like she had a lump in her throat the size of a baseball. “What makes you think I could teach you?”

  Again he shrugged his shoulders. “You seem to know a lot about vampires.”

  “How long have you been a vampire?” she asked.

  “Not long … just since Halloween.”

  Kathrina was hit with the realization that she had seen this child before. Only a few months ago his picture had been plastered all over the news. She
was sickened by how quickly the world seemed to forget those people that went missing. It was no wonder vampires found the human race such easy prey.

  She could still see the news report and his parents pleading for his return. According to the news, Chad Spencer had disappeared while trick or treating with this family. The mother hadn’t noticed that he’d fallen behind, and by the time she did, he was gone.

  “How have you taken care of yourself so long?” she asked, her stomach churning with nausea.

  “Animals mostly. I heard about Dash’s recipe and broke in a couple of times to take some, but this time there wasn’t any,” he told her.

  This was another piece of information that Kathrina found disturbing. Dash was so proud of his recipe. Why wouldn’t he have any?

  “Why won’t you tell me who turned you?” she asked again.

  “He said that if I ever told, he would kill my family.”

  “Oh …” Kathrina was at a loss for words. No wonder the boy wouldn’t talk.

  Deciding to drop the subject for the time being, she was just about to ask him about something else when she heard growling. It seemed to be coming from the passageway between the two buildings they had just passed. Fear prickled at her skin and she picked up her pace.

  “Hurry,” she urged.

  The young vampire didn’t have to be told twice. He was moving faster than she was.

  Kathrina snuck a look over her shoulder. She wasn’t surprised to see two wolves moving stealthily behind them. They didn’t even bother to hide themselves, which either meant that they were with a pack, or they had no intention of attacking.

  “Stay close,” she told Chad.

  “I’ve seen them before,” he said, walking even faster. “They killed a vampire in the square.”

  “How is it they didn’t kill you?” she questioned him.

  “I don’t know. Probably because I was hiding.”

  Kathrina shook her head. “They would have picked up your scent.”

  “I should tell you something,” he said quietly.

  “What’s that?” she asked, taking another quick glance over her shoulder.

  The wolves were still there, but were following them at a distance.

  “There’s something really really bad after you … I heard them talking about it.”

  Kathrina slowed her stride. “What do you mean? What’s after me and who did you hear talking?”

  “They were vampires … and I don’t know what they were talking about. Some kind of creature I think,” he said without taking his eyes from the ground in front of him.

  The piercing sound of a nearby siren grabbed Kathrina’s attention. When she looked back at Chad, he was gone.

  Chapter Nine

  Kathrina searched the area for over an hour, but Chad was nowhere to be found. She couldn’t believe that the boy had just up and left in the middle of their conversation. Of course there was the chance that he’d been playing her the whole time, but she didn’t think so. Something had taken him or scared him off, which is why she’d spent so much time searching for him.

  Finally giving up, Kathrina continued her walk to Canal Street. It was then she realized that while she’d been searching for Chad, she hadn’t noticed the wolves. A sick feeling began to spread from the pit of her stomach. She hoped that they had not taken the boy.

  Thinking back to the moment he’d vanished, Kathrina didn’t believe it was the wolves. He’d vanished too quickly and she hadn’t so much as heard the snapping of a twig. The wolves could attack swiftly and silently, but she was sure she would have noticed something.

  Reaching Canal Street, Kathrina saw the brightly colored neon lights of Carnival Place. The blue and pink court jester lit up the street for at least half a block. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Carnival Place was a favorite hunting ground of vampires. It just seemed too bright.

  Kathrina reached out to open the door to the front entrance of the club, but then paused.

  Could the boy have been setting her up?

  What if it were a trap?

  The boy had come out of nowhere and vanished just as quickly. A trap was a real possibility.

  She’d just take a quick peek, and if she didn’t see Dash right away, she’d leave.

  Once inside, Kathrina relaxed. The music was a little too loud to be pleasant, but there were a lot of people and everything appeared normal enough. Though the red and blue lighting inside the club was suppose to create a carnival like atmosphere, Kathirna found it eerie.

  Making her way through the crowd, she began searching the dark corners for any sign of Dash. Most vampires preferred to remain in the shadows and avoid drawing attention.

  Sure enough, she saw Dash at a table in the far corner of the room. He was with about seven other people. Probably vampires, Kathrina guessed.

  Dash smiled when he saw her approaching. “What’s a bit of a girl like you doing in a place like this?”

  “Can we talk?” she asked, hoping that he would hear her over the hum of the crowd and the blasting music.

  “It’s a little hard to hear in here, but I guess we can try,” Dash said before turning to his companions.” Give me a few.”

  Kathrina glanced at Dash’s friends. There was nothing extremely remarkable about any of them. They appeared to be just a group of people out to have a good time, but they were vampires. There was that aura about them that was hard to miss - a charisma – a certain look in their eyes that reflected their predatory instincts.

  Dash stood up from the table and motioned for her to follow him. He led her out a side door to the alley that ran beside the club. The alley was dark and abandoned, with the only exterior lighting being a dim lamp that hung over the door. If she’d been with any other vampire, she’d have been terrified.

  “What can Dash do for you tonight?” he asked. The crooked smile he gave her made her feel better. He was still the same old Dash, and that was comforting.

  “What’s going on? Why’d you close your shop?”

  “Not enough business. The vampires of New Orleans seem to be slithering into the nooks and crannies of the city,” he told her in a ghoulish voice that was laced with amusement.

  Kathrina rolled her eyes. “Really Dash, it’s a little harder than that to scare me.”

  “Oh … well it was worth a try. Just thought it could be useful for you to be a little nervous. What the hell are you doing out wandering the streets?”

  “Doesn’t that seem a little strange to you … the vampires disappearing?” she asked.

  “Well look at her,” Dash smiled. “She wants to ask questions without answering them.”

  “I went to the shop to find you,” she told him.

  “And how did you know I was here?”

  Kathrina opened her mouth to tell him about the boy, but then remembered her promise. “A lucky guess.”

  Dash laughed. “I get it. You are not going to tell me.”

  Kathrina nodded.

  With a little shrug of his shoulders, Dash leaned up against the wall and folded his arms in front of him. “Well then … why should I tell you anything?”

  “Dash! This is important.”

  “The vampires are not disappearing … they are staying out of the way. Did you forget that your wolf friends are prowling the streets at night, hoping to make a meal out of any vampire they see?”

  “Oh … I guess that makes sense.” Again she felt that flutter of fear for the boy vampire. In a way it might be better for Chad if the wolves found him, at least he wouldn’t be cursed to exist as a vampire. Kathrina pushed the thought aside. A child was a child, and it wasn’t exactly his fault that he’d been turned.

  “And you went to my shop because …?” Dash asked.

  “I wanted to talk with you about the Light Seekers and Luciano.”

  Dash smiled. “Do your sisters know you are out running the streets after dark?”

  “I’m not a child anymore,” Kathrina scowled.
/>   “But you are a target … or did you forget about that too?”

  Kathrina shook her head. “I haven’t forgotten, but there’s a few things I need to ask you.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “How can I find the Light Seekers?”

  “Why?” Dash was curious.

  “I have reason to believe that some of them may have known my mother. Maybe they have an idea who killed her.” Kathrina explained.

  “Well you can ask. Those vamps I was sitting with are Light Seekers.”

  He waved at her to go back inside with him. The vampires were still sitting at the table, apparently waiting for Dash to return.

  “Mind if we borrow this?” Dashed pulled an empty chair from a nearby table. The couple that was sitting there gave him a quick glance, and then went back to what they were doing.

  Kathrina sat down and nervously smiled at the group of vampires. They were staring at her, probably wondering why they could not probe her thoughts. She knew they were trying, she could feel that dull ache behind her eyes that told her a vampire was attempting to sneak into her head.

  “This is Kathrina … Nicole and Sarah’s sister,” Dash introduced her.

  When Dash mentioned her name, Kathrina noticed that one of the vampires looked rattled, at least for just a split second, and then a mask of composure dropped over his features.

  The vampire was thin and pale. He had sharp angular features that almost reminded her of a hawk. His platinum blond hair was slicked back like he used some type of hair oil. He was dressed in a fashion that had not been popular for at least four decades.

  That was one method of spotting a vampire; most didn’t change their fashion. It was like they were frozen in time. Around them the world would change, but they seemed stuck in the era they had lived in as mortals.

  “You knew my mother … didn’t you?” she asked the blond vampire.

  The vampire stared at her with eyes of blue ice. “I did,” he admitted.

  “Well that’s why Kathrina’s here,” Dash told them. “She wants some information about her mother.”

  A female vampire drew her gaze from the guy she’d been devouring with her eyes. She looked at Kathrina and smiled. “Your mother is why we are all here. She told us about the Place of Light and how we could live without killing.”