The entire world was amplified. Brighter. Louder. Sharper. It was as if he had been living in a two-dimensional, black-and-white world as a human, and now, as a vampire, everything was in Technicolor and high-definition. He might have been dead, but ironically, he never felt more alive, and he felt guilty as hell about it.
He shouldn’t like what he had become. A bloodsucker. A monster. He should loathe it and detest it like he did when he first woke up, but somehow… he didn’t. Doug’s jaw clenched as he battled with his emotions. Was he being brainwashed on top of everything else? Was he losing himself in this insanity?
He flicked his gaze to Olivia. She ran beside him, matching his speed, and in spite of how fast they were moving he saw her perfectly. She was as stunning as ever. Her red curls flew behind her, but she stared straight ahead, intensely focused on their destination.
We’re almost there. Her thoughts touched his, tickled almost, along the boundaries of his sanity. The main entrance is just around the bend here to the left.
Doug said nothing. He simply kept pace beside her and looked straight ahead. He could sense Pete and Maya right behind them, but he didn’t want to turn and look. It seemed like a bad idea to take his eyes off the proverbial road.
Seconds later, Olivia’s hand rested on his, and they came to an immediate stop. He wavered briefly from the biggest head rush of his life. For a minute, while he stopped moving, it felt like the world around him hadn’t.
“It will pass in a minute.” Olivia squeezed his arm gently and held him. He looked into her worried green eyes as the dizziness subsided. “It’s a common side effect after running at that speed for the first time.”
“I’m fine.” Doug pulled his arm from her grasp and stuffed his hands in the pockets of the long coat, even though what he really wanted was to hold her hands. “Thanks. Where are we?” he asked, quickly needing to change the subject.
“The Cloisters are directly above us.” Olivia pointed up. “The Presidium is located underneath The Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park.”
“I thought vampires lived in luxury.” He looked at the wet, mossy tunnel they stood in and made a scoffing sound. “This is a shithole.”
“We’re not in the Presidium yet.” Olivia smirked and arched one eyebrow as she reached above them and pushed in a rectangular stone in the wall.
A section of the wall swung inward, and bright light flooded the sewer tunnel, revealing a lush, decadent hallway to a whole other world. Crystal chandeliers hung from a curved ceiling, and portraits lined the brightly lit corridor.
The door swung shut, closing silently, and when Doug turned around there was no sign of the door. He tried to squelch the feeling of being buried alive and took in the rest of his surroundings as swiftly as possible. The floors were red marble and reminded him of a river of blood, and the walls were a sunny yellow. The paintings gave him the eerie sensation of being watched.
The four of them walked down the hallway in silence toward a massive arched doorway made of wood, which conjured images of medieval times, but the camera watching them with its blinking red eye brought him back to the present.
Before they reached the doorway, Pete stepped ahead with Maya clinging to his arm like a damsel in distress. The girl looked terrified, and by all accounts, she probably should be. Pete placed his thumb on a button to the left of the door, and a moment later, it swung open.
“Stay close,” Olivia said as they followed Pete. “Lots of listening and no talking.”
“No promises,” he said evenly.
She shot him a look of warning but didn’t respond. After what felt like forever, they finally arrived at their first destination. Another ornate, wooden door fit for a castle swung open, but the room inside was decked from floor to ceiling with LCD screens and filled with cigarette smoke. An older woman sat behind a massive desk, puffing away on what was clearly not her first smoke of the day.
“It’s about damn time,” she rasped as she crushed the cigarette in an ashtray overflowing with butts. “You know, for someone who doesn’t like to turn new vampires, you’ve done it twice this year already.”
“Thanks for the reminder, Millicent,” Olivia responded humorlessly. “We need to register him ASAP so he can help us hunt the rogues.”
“Yeah, I heard.” Millicent fiddled with her lighter. “Before you go hunting, be sure to see Xavier in the lab. He wants to know if that synthetic blood worked, and I think he’s got a new weapon.” She wagged a finger at Olivia. “No more younglings outta you this year. You’ve hit your annual limit.”
“Limit?” Doug asked with a curious look to the others. “There’s a limit on how many vampires you can create? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course it does.” Millicent walked up to him, her hands in the pockets of her suit jacket, and looked him up and down. “You’re a big one. You sure can pick ’em, Olivia. Anyway, too many vamps can cause a food shortage.”
“You mean, people,” Doug said sharply.
“Yes, people. Come ’ere.” Millicent grabbed his hand and brought him to the back wall that looked more like one enormous computer network. He went with her and surmised that even as a human, this older woman wouldn’t have been someone to tangle with.
She punched buttons on the large touch screen, and a stainless steel platform slid out. She put his left hand on it and punched a few more buttons. A flash went off as his picture was taken, and a needle quickly pricked his finger, taking a blood sample.
Doug removed his hand and watched as the small puncture closed and vanished. He opened and closed his hand, rubbing at it absently as he moved back to stand with the others again.
She punched a couple more spots on the screen, and seconds later an electronic identification card came up with his picture. “Too many vampires, and we’d all eventually starve to death. We can survive on vampire blood if we have to, but too much of it, and we can get a little nuts.”
The screen blinked, and a loud beeping sounded as Doug’s ID flickered to life on the screen. Doug Paxton: Vampire 12-52-6459—Maker: Olivia Hollingsworth.
So that was it? He was a vampire, and the woman of his dreams had turned his life into a nightmare.
“There.” She lit another cigarette and took a long drag. “Your newest coven member is registered. Now, don’t go rescuing any more dying humans, or you’ll answer to Czar Augustus. And from what I’m hearing, you’re in enough trouble as it is.”
“Thank you, Millicent.”
The door swung shut soundlessly, and they continued down the stone hallway, turning several times and making Doug feel like a rat in a maze.
Doug stopped walking, and Olivia gave him a curious look. “What?”
“You said that once I registered, you’d give me a gun.” He stuck his hand out and moved closer, daring her to deny him. “How about it?”
He invaded her space, but those emerald green eyes were glued to him, tracking his every move. Doug dropped his hand and stopped inches from her as her familiar scent wafted over him, testing his resolve.
“Gun,” he whispered. “Now.”
The corner of Olivia’s mouth lifted. Eyes on his, she reached beneath her jacket with both hands and withdrew a sleek, black gun and two magazines. She held them up and ejected the magazine to show it to him.
“It’s a semiautomatic loaded with mahogany and sterling rounds. Put one in the brain or heart, and these will turn a vamp to dust. But hit ’em anywhere else, and it’ll just slow ’em down, so be sure you shoot to kill.”
She placed them in his hands, and when her fingertips brushed his palm, fire flickered over his skin and his fangs broke free. Lust and need roared through his blood. Olivia’s eyes glanced to his bared fangs, and her tongue flicked out, moistening that gorgeous mouth.