Gerry Bartlett - Real Vampires Know Size Matters

I handed Ray a kitchen towel to press against what was essentially a minor wound and grabbed Sienna’s hands while Will kept her pinned to the bar stool.

“Calm down, Sienna. I know you are upset.”

“Upset? Are you fucking kidding me?” She stared at me, her eyes wild. “I saw your fangs, Glory. All of you have fangs. This is a nightmare. What the hell is this? A coven?”

“No, we don’t have those. We’re just, um, friends.” I glanced at Jerry’s scowling face. “Some of us anyway. I’ll mentor you, help you figure this out.”

“What the hell does that mean? You going to tell me why I can’t eat pizza?” Sienna tried to jerk her hands away and I let her go. Will glanced at me and I nodded. She jumped to her feet, swaying for a moment before grabbing the counter.

“Tell me the truth, Glory. What happened last night? Why did you make me drink that red stuff? Is it blood?” She grabbed her mouth. “Oh, holy fuck, I have fangs!”

“Explain.How did this happen?” Sienna collapsed on the long leather sofa in Ray’s living room. I’d managed to get her there during her freak-out. I figured the kitchen wasn’t exactly the best place for this. Too many sharp objects.

Ray sat beside her and started to pick up her hand. “I—”

“Get away from me!” She shoved him, hard. “You think I haven’t figured out this is all on you?” She hit him again and again. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

He didn’t try to defend himself, just took it. “I deserve whatever you want to dish out. Stab me again. Blade, give her one of your knives.”

“No.” Jerry leaned against the cold fireplace. He was just observing. Not exactly enjoying the show, none of us were. Seeing a mortal come to terms with our world wasn’t exactly a treat. It made me want to cry for all she’d have to face. The losses . . .

“Sienna, it was an accident.” I managed to speak calmly, trying to keep things from going off the rails even more. “Ray made a mistake. He’ll take care of you now. He owes you that. Definitely. But I’m the one who made you vampire.” I sat across from her, in one of the big overstuffed chairs Ray favored, and leaned forward. It would help if she’d quit using Ray as a punching bag. “Look at me and listen.”

“You?” She finally sagged back, her hands falling into her lap. “Why? This is nuts. Hell.” Tears glittered on her eyelashes. Fakes. I’d bet my last dollar on it. I wish I could afford such a gorgeous set.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have done it if there had been any other way to save you. You almost died, Sienna. Ray had just about drained all the blood out of you before he called me.” I had plenty of time to analyze Sienna’s makeup while she sobbed into her clenched fists. It was a good distraction from my churning stomach, a cross between guilt and pride. Hey, I had saved her. So I admired her tattooed eyeliner and eyebrows with those piercings she was famous for. Flawless skin even without any other makeup. Me? I didn’t fare well with the fresh-scrubbed look, especially with three hot men staring at me along with Sienna.

Okay, the waterworks were now occasional sniffles and I had to get down to business. Sienna finally looked up at me, her eyes glittering like her trademark sapphire on the side of her nose.

“You were a heartbeat away from meeting your maker. Turning you was the only way to save your life. Ray called me because he knew I could do it.” I got up and sent Ray a mental message to move. He jumped up and got out of the way and I took his place at her side. “I used my blood to bring you back.”

“Drained me? Wait a minute. Ray? What the fuck?” She shot Ray a narrow-eyed look.

“Ray got carried away and drank too much of your blood.” I grabbed her when she lunged for him again. “Yes, he’s a jerk. A selfish asshole. We all agree on that.” I glanced around the room and everyone nodded, even Ray. “If it makes you feel any better, he’ll have to go in front of a vampire council and defend himself. They don’t like us making new vampires. It’s against the rules here to drain mortals like he did. He was careless and he could be killed because of his mistake with you.”

“Killed?” That took some of the steam out of her. “That’s a little harsh.”

“An eye for an eye, Sienna. You’re not alive now. You’re what some people call undead.” I patted her knee. “Your life is over as you knew it. Everything is changed.”

“That’s crazy. I don’t feel all that different. What do you mean?” She looked around. “Explain. Pizza. I can’t eat it?” She glanced back toward the kitchen. “Or drink coffee?”

This had been the hardest part for me. Giving up mortal food and drink. Depending on her priorities, it could be for Sienna too. I knew Ray hadn’t missed food. He’d mourned the sunshine and booze more.

I tried for a sympathetic smile. “Blood will be your only menu option now. That was a synthetic blood you drank earlier.”

She was on her feet before I could stop her. “But Ray, he wasn’t satisfied with a fake, was he? He just had to have the real deal. Right from the source. Me.” She poked him in his healing stab wound and he winced. “Is that right, lover boy? Was your seduction, the invitation to come here and make another record, all of that just an excuse to get to my blood?” She was shouting now, and her pokes had turned into shoves until Ray was pinned against the wall. “What the hell, Ray?”

“God, I’m sorry, babe. But you’ve got to know you mean more to me than just a blood donor.”

“Do I? Really? When every word out of your mouth is a lie? Your sleep schedule. Your energy drink.” She sobbed, bit on her fist then screamed when her fangs must have pierced it.

“We do make good music together, Sin, don’t we? The label loves us.” Ray tried out a smile. He knew better than to reach for her, holding his hands out to his sides in a mock surrender.

“Bastard! User! Yeah, I helped you win a Grammy after you hit a dry spell.” She wiped tears off her cheeks. “What I want to know is how the hell you did it. Drank my blood and I didn’t have a clue you were doing it.” She whirled and we all got a flash of her bare butt. She really needed to go put on some clothes. “Glory, how could he do that?”

“I call it the whammy. He mesmerized you, Sienna. Stared into your eyes and made you go into a kind of trance. He could erase your memory of the things he did to you. Or you two did together. Even put you to sleep.” I took her arm, easing her away from Ray. “Why don’t you and I go to the bedroom and you can shower, get dressed and I’ll answer all your questions? We don’t need to do this in front of an audience. Especially not with Ray watching. Right?”

“No kidding.” She strode toward the hallway. “I don’t care if I ever see that jerk-off again.” She stopped and turned around to glare at him one more time. “You could make me forget things we did together?” Her voice rose. “What else, Ray? What other perverted shit did you do to me besides take my blood while I was in la-la land?”

“Nothing, Sin, I swear it. Please believe me. Just your blood. I didn’t need . . .” He glanced at the two other men. “You know, we had fun. I wouldn’t have to—”

“Just shut the fuck up.” Sienna turned on her heel and kept going toward the bedroom.

“Don’t believe I’d have said that, Caine,” I heard Jerry say as I headed down the hall. I couldn’t have agreed more. Dumbass.

I heard the shower start and decided to leave her alone to clean up and clear away at least the smell of her last night with Ray with soap and shampoo. Her stash of makeup sat on the dressing table next to the walk-in closet and I helped myself after I shut the bedroom door. Putting on my face did a lot for my own attitude, that and using a hairbrush.