“Fine,” Grace said before shooting Rebecca a pointed look. “But you aren’t getting an invite to my party.”
“I’m completely devastated by that news,” Rebecca deadpanned as she picked up her glass of red wine and took a sip.
“Sarcastic bitch,” Grace replied, smirking.
My focus was drawn across the bar, where my dhampir senses felt someone’s attention on me. An older man sat at a table by himself. There was no drink in front of him, which clued me in that he was a vampire. Well, there was that and the fact that he was so still you’d think he wasn’t breathing. Vampires did breathe, by the way, just way slower than everyone else. Their hearts beat far more slowly, too.
He stared at me for a long moment, then got up out of his seat and left the pub. Weird. Maybe he recognised whose daughter I was. Either way, something about the encounter gave me an uneasy feeling. I tried to shirk it off, but it wouldn’t go away.
“What’s wrong?” Rebecca asked, reaching out to touch my hand. “You’ve gone quiet.”
I frowned and shook my head. “Nothing’s wrong, but I think we should go home now.”
“Sure, just let me finish this drink, and we’ll go.”
“What? You want to go home already?” Grace complained. “We’ve barely been here twenty minutes.”
I felt bad, so I relented, “Fine, we’ll stay another little while. I’m just going to use the bathroom. Can you two be cordial with one another while I’m gone?”
Rebecca nodded and took another sip of wine while Grace stuck her tongue out at me. I moved through the pub, still unable to get how that vampire had looked at me out of my head. I kept my wits about me, checking all the stalls were empty before I entered one.
When I re-emerged and stepped outside, the vampire stood in the corridor. I startled before quickly regaining my composure. He didn’t breathe a word, just stood in a position where I would have to manoeuvre past him to get by. I folded my arms, my extra senses awakening as I listened for anyone else. It seemed he was alone.
9.
“Can I help you?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow.
The vampire was silent a beat, looking me up and down before he spat on the floor. “Half-breed scum,” he muttered, then turned and walked outside.
I stood there, frozen in shock. No one had ever spoken or looked at me with such sheer vitriol, especially not a complete stranger. I wasn’t a delicate person. I prided myself on being tough, but there was something about the unprovoked, hateful statement that cut through me.
All my life, I’d been aware of my difference, that I wasn’t a full-blooded vampire, nor fully human, but I’d never been made to feel like it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite, in fact. Yet, in a few short moments, this stranger had made me feel small, lesser than.
I felt … cut open and vulnerable. Then came the anger, the indignation. It seeped into my bones. My dark, blood-hungry side wanted to go after him, confront him for insulting me, but my logical side won out. What would be the point in starting a fight with some old geezer with antiquated views? It wasn’t like I was ever going to change his opinion of me.
I knew that things hadn’t always been how they were now. That there was a time when different species didn’t mix in this city, but it felt like ancient history, something I’d never have to confront in my lifetime. Seemingly, there were still people out there who wanted to go back to the old ways. My father had said as much yesterday.
I returned to the bar, and Grace and Rebecca were chatting quietly. Thankfully, they hadn’t gotten into another argument. “Something really weird just happened,” I said as I took my stool and recounted what the vampire said to me, how he’d been staring at me out here in the bar.
I’d come out hoping to lure out the demon so that I could get a look at them, but instead, I’d attracted a different kind of unpleasant attention.
“He said what?” Rebecca questioned, her delicate features drawn into a hard expression.
“What an absolute dickhead,” Grace exclaimed. “Like, where does he even get off talking to you like that?”
“I’m going to call Dad,” Rebecca said, reaching into her purse to find her phone.
I shook my head. “Don’t call him. Let’s just go home. I’d rather forget about it.”
“Okay, we’ll go,” Rebecca replied. “But I’m still telling our parents when we get back. If there’s dissent among the vampires, then they’ll surely want to know about it.” She grabbed her bag and put on her coat. Grace did the same, and we left the bar to start the short walk home. I was distracted when Peter’s voice entered my head.