Blood Candy Read online

  White Paul glanced back at Chester who was talking to Medium Dave out on the porch.

  “What a weirdo,” he said.

  “Let’s see where the others are,” Jimmy said. He pulled out his cell phone and started typing out a text. A few seconds later his phone chimed with a return message. “They’re back where we pulled into the driveway. Were-Jew’s going to scout around.”

  It was ridiculously cold inside the mansion. Candy was thinking she should have worn something other than shorts when soft footsteps echoed in the chamber. She turned to see a girl of perhaps fourteen or fifteen walking towards them, her face plastered in dark mascara and eyeliner. She was dressed in ripped jeans and a skimpy black top. To complete the goth look, she also wore lipstick matching the color of her jet black hair which hung down in uneven strands over her face. She swung her head to the side to clear some of the hair, revealing icy gray-blue eyes, and then she touched a cherry red popsicle to her lips. Everyone stared at her while she licked it in an inappropriate manner. White Paul dropped his mouth open and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

  “Uh,” Jimmy said. “Is your mother home?”

  “My mother?” said the girl, her voice disturbingly sensual. “She’s dead.”

  “Dead? But we just spoke with—”

  “David!” the girl blurted out as Medium Dave walked inside. She held her arms out and hustled over to him, her bare feet slapping against the marble floor. Medium Dave sheepishly stepped forward into her embrace and his face burned red when the girl planted a quick kiss on his cheek that left behind the black outline of her lips.

  “It’s been too long, David. I was beginning to think I’d never see you again.”

  The girl rubbed up against Medium Dave while everyone else watched on with mixed interest and confusion. Candy didn’t want to know what was going on over in White Paul’s head. The girl separated herself from Medium Dave and turned her attention to the others.

  “You should introduce me to your friends.”

  Medium Dave was almost too embarrassed to talk. He shuffled his feet for a moment before finding his voice. “This is Jimmy, White Paul, and Candy.” He lowered his eyes to the floor. “This is Anastasia.”

  Anastasia gave them a big smile. “Welcome to my home.”

  Everyone’s eyes went a little wide when they realized she was the head of the house—the Mullin mother, the vampire mother. Candy didn’t think the situation could get any stranger and yet it had.

  “A pleasure to meet you. Any friends of David’s are friends of mine,” Anastasia said. “Please, make yourselves comfortable. Is it too cold? I don’t often have mortal company.” She seemed perfectly comfortable in the freezing house.

  “The pleasure is mine,” White Paul said as he moved forward and bumped Medium Dave out of the way. “The cold doesn’t bother me at all.”

  The cold stare Anastasia flashed his way made his smile instantly vanish. The girl turned her attention to Candy once White Paul had taken a few steps back.

  “I was told you ran into a bit of a problem with an Englishman,” she said as she daintily held the popsicle in her upturned hand. “The English have never been known for their manners or charm, though they certainly try.”

  “Yes,” Jimmy said, nodding dumbly. He may have been more uncomfortable than Candy in Anastasia’s presence. “His name’s Rupert and he’s been stalking Candy.”

  Anastasia moved in front of Candy. The girl’s eerie eyes were hard to look at, and Candy found herself staring at the ground most of the time. The popsicle dripped a few red spots on the otherwise pristine white floor.

  “Why don’t you tell me what happened?” the vampire mother asked.

  Candy looked to Jimmy for reassurance. He nodded.

  “He attacked me. Rupert did,” Candy said.

  Anastasia seemed to ponder this for a moment, her head tilted slightly with her unnatural eyes locked onto Candy. She bit off a piece of the popsicle, some of the red juice running down her chin. The vampire girl was quick to clean it up with her tongue.

  “I see. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but I would like to hear everything from the start. Every detail could help.”

  Candy lowered her head again. She didn’t like those glassy gray eyes, and the exposed skin of the girl’s abdomen was so pale it didn’t seem real. The idea that this young girl had fangs and a thirst for blood freaked her out. Jimmy squeezed her hand, giving her courage.

  “I went to a bar. Rupert was hitting on me,” Candy said.

  “How unfortunate,” Anastasia said. “He attacked after you told him to get lost?”

  “No. I left the bar with him.”

  Anastasia frowned. “You told him no after further advances, and then he attacked?”

  Candy felt everyone’s eyes on her and her face burned. She couldn’t remember being more embarrassed in her life.

  “No,” she said. “I mean I didn’t have the chance.”

  Jimmy stepped in to help her out. “He glamoured her. He tricked her.”

  “Glamoured?” Anastasia said. “I haven’t heard that term used by mortals in a long time. Most people these days prefer ‘charm’ or ‘mesmerize.’ ”

  “That shit has to be illegal,” White Paul grumbled. “It’s the date rape drug of the vampire world.”

  “Sadly, no,” said the vampire girl. “Though all refined vampires look down on it. The theft of free will is a sin of the highest order, literally a slap in the face of God.”

  Anastasia made everyone uncomfortable in more ways than one. It was the combination of her mature tone and language on such a young body, and the way her eyes seemed to bore right into whoever she was looking at. The whole situation was so odd Candy wondered if maybe it was a joke. She almost wanted to slap the popsicle out of the girl’s impossibly white hand to see what would happen, and because it freaked her out every time it was brought up for a lick.

  “Did he bite you, Candy?”

  Candy didn’t want to answer any more questions. She didn’t want to be around the vampire girl. With her eyes averted to the ground, she nodded. Anastasia gently took her chin in one hand and turned her head to the side. She brushed the hair from Candy’s neck.

  “Tell me what happened,” Anastasia said.

  Candy breathed deeply and set her resolve to get this over with.

  “It’s hard to remember,” she said. “I was charmed. I didn’t know what I was doing. He bit me and then someone came to help. I don’t remember much else. All I know is he’s completely insane. He’s been trying to find me ever since.”

  “Interesting,” Anastasia said. “I assume, if you’re here of your own free will, that you didn’t climax?”

  “Hey! You don’t need to ask such personal questions,” Jimmy said.

  Anastasia’s fierce, liquid eyes blazed at him. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t pertinent. I ask because that’s a means through which vampires enthrall humans, and the English are particularly notorious for it.”

  Jimmy pulled Candy back to his side, ready to do the talking once again. “What can we do about this? Is there anything you can do?” he said.

  Anastasia ignored him. “It’s no mystery why he wants you so badly.” She smiled, showing little white fangs. “Your blood is like candy to us.”

  Jimmy and White Paul passed questioning glances to each other, but no one was more intrigued than Candy. Jimmy asked, “What do you mean?”

  “There was a time when I would have paid a hefty price for someone like you,” the vampire said, smiling and licking her lips, her tongue stained red from the popsicle. “Maybe I still would.”

  “I thought they didn’t drink human blood,” White Paul said to Medium Dave in a whisper everyone heard.

  Anastasia’s otherwise soft voice boomed in the high ceilinged antechamber. “We don’t. I was merely trying to illustrate a point. Her blood is irresistible to our kind.”

  “Why?” Candy said.

  Anastasia grinned as
if the subject delighted her to no end.

  “A few reasons,” she said. “The vampires of old fooled the superstitious into believing in such things as celibacy. It’s a worldwide practice that goes back further than anyone can remember. Superstitious people were led to believe God cares how pure someone is, that He cares when and how people partake in the pleasures of the flesh.”

  Anastasia tilted her head and closed her eyes as if she was lost in a fond memory. She let out a long sigh and then focused on Candy again. “You see,” she said, “blood ages like a fine wine. The longer it remains corked, the better it tastes.”

  The Misfits glanced around at each other, unsure what exactly she was talking about. White Paul let out a little chuckle.

  “Wait,” he said. “You mean she’s a virgin?”

  Candy spun around and gave him a look of pure vitriol. “What’s it to you?”

  “Nothing,” he said, smirking.

  “That is precisely what I mean,” Anastasia purred.

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Jimmy’s a virgin so why aren’t vampires after him?” White Paul said.

  Jimmy glared at his friend, though the revelation didn’t surprise anyone.

  “First,” Anastasia said, “it doesn’t work the same way with men. Second, shapeshifter blood tastes worse than piss. Do you know what piss tastes like?”

  Candy scrunched her face at the thought. Medium Dave raised his hand.

  “But none of that is what truly makes her blood so very special,” Anastasia continued. “A virgin at eighteen isn’t such a rare thing, even these days. It’s merely a compliment to something else within her veins. It’s the cherry atop the cheesecake. There’s more to her that makes vampires go crazy.”

  Everyone watched the little goth girl intently, waiting to hear what made Candy so special. Anastasia looked over her shoulder towards the stairs and then she put her hand up as if waving someone down. Candy didn’t see anyone there.

  “I have a plan,” Anastasia said. “Unfortunately, within the laws and customs of vampire society there’s nothing I can do to directly help. Rupert can claim your blood because he was the first and thus far the only to partake of it. According to our laws, you are his and his alone, you are his blood slave. I know, it’s an old and archaic custom, but that’s what we are. My hands are tied unless you untie them for me.”

  Candy wanted to know what made her blood so special, but this whole thing about being a blood slave knocked her down mentally. She couldn’t get the terrifying implications out of her head.

  “What do you mean?” she said. “What can I do?”

  “Let my family claim you. If you do, I can call in a mediator to settle the matter. It’s the only thing I can do for you.”

  “Wait a minute. No one’s claiming anyone,” Jimmy said.

  Candy’s mind raced. The cogs turned and churned out the same word over and over again—blood slave. She couldn’t stand the thought of it; the darkening clouds when Rupert became angry; his grasp she couldn’t escape while he bit her neck; his repulsive voice on her phone, haunting her forever. She refused to let that happen again.

  “I’ll do it,” she said.

  Jimmy stammered, but under Anastasia’s stare he couldn’t get anything out.

  “I’ll set it up. I’ll contact someone impartial to help with the situation,” Anastasia said. “Until then, you should remain guests in my home while this matter is settled. I’ll send down one of my sons to keep you entertained while I change into something more appropriate.”

  Jimmy waited for the creepy girl to disappear up the stairs and then he exploded. “Are you insane? You don’t even know what this blood claim shit means. Why would you say yes?”

  Candy snatched her hand away when he tried to take it, upset and thinking he had no right to talk to her that way. “Didn’t you hear her? There’s nothing else she can do. I’m not going to be that asshole’s slave.”

  Jimmy tried to calm himself. He watched Candy for a long time with his hands on his hips. “I hope you’re right,” he said.

  Candy didn’t say anything. She hoped she was right, too. She let him take her into his arms though she wanted nothing more than to be alone.

  “Here’s the important question,” White Paul said. “Did anyone else pitch a tent while she worked that popsicle?”

  “She’s like fourteen,” Candy said.

  “Plus a couple hundred,” White Paul corrected.

  Candy shuddered. “God, this is so creepy. Maybe you’re right, Jimmy. Maybe this is a mistake.”

  “You guys are making a big deal out of nothing,” Medium Dave mumbled. “She’s cool. She’ll help us out.”

  “She’s cool? She’s a freak,” Jimmy said. “You have some explaining to do.”

  “Freak is right,” White Paul said with a broad grin. “That was a blood popsicle she was sucking on.”

  “Blood popsicle?” Candy said, wondering how it could possibly get any stranger. “How do you know?”

  White Paul tapped his nose. “I can smell if a bear shits in the woods a mile away. Call it one of my talents.”

  “This is weird. That chick creeps me out. She’s younger than her son,” Jimmy said.

  “They’re a blood family,” White Paul said. “She’s the mother, so that means she made the others. They’re all freaks if you ask me, worthy of nothing more than a bath over an open flame or a stake through the heart beneath the rising sun.”

  Jimmy held his hand up. “Enough. I don’t like them any more than you but we need their help.”

  “You mean Candy needs their help.”

  “I need your help. You’re supposed to be my friend.”

  White Paul glared at Candy and then he softened. “Sorry. My nerves are a little on edge.”

  “We’re all on edge,” Jimmy said. “But they can’t be so bad. They openly invited us into their home, after all. If that doesn’t show they want to help I don’t know what does.”

  “Just keep your guard up and don’t forget what Tinch taught us,” White Paul said.

  One of the downstairs doors opened and a moment later Candy heard someone approaching. She felt Jimmy turn to see who it was and then she heard a new voice. “Hey, I’m Blake.” She lifted her head to introduce herself. Her mouth fell open but no words came out—Blake was hot.

  Chapter Nine

  Blake had the same dark hair as his blood mother, though his was short and messy. He also had the same eerie gray-blue eyes, but on him the odd glow was irresistible. Candy couldn’t keep from staring at his enticing, white-toothed smile. He looked no older than twenty and in the absolute prime of his life. She pushed away from Jimmy to introduce herself, offering her hand.

  “I’m Candy. Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Blake said with a broad smile that threatened to make her swoon. “Nice to meet you as well,” he said to Jimmy.

  Medium Dave and White Paul stared at the vampire with almost the same awe as Candy. It struck her that she may be falling into the same trap through which Rupert had charmed her, but she knew she had her wits about her. Blake was so good looking she couldn’t help herself. He had everything she liked in men right down to the perfect angles of his face. He was dressed casually in a blue shirt and jeans that showed off enough of his physique to pique a lady’s interest while keeping the rest a mystery.

  “You’re Anastasia’s son?” Candy asked the gorgeous vampire.

  “Of a sort. She’s my blood mother.”

  “Ah,” Candy said in fascination. She hardly noticed Jimmy fuming at her side.

  When Blake spoke, his voice resonated through the antechamber. “I’m to keep you entertained until Mother returns. Follow me into the den if you will, please.”

  Candy tried to move to his side as he headed to one of the doors at the back of the antechamber, but Jimmy caught her by the hand. “Stay at my side,” he whispered. “Remember what we told you. They’re vampires. Don’t forget what one of them already
did to you.”

  His words were a slap across the face; the slap back into reality Candy needed. She nodded, but she didn’t want Jimmy holding her hand. Blake led them through a door into a glorified living and entertainment room. Five huge flat panel televisions lined two of the walls, each with an assortment of electronics and speakers. On the other side of the room were two pool tables, and there were even two bowling lanes set into the wall.

  There weren’t any windows. Now that Candy thought about it, she didn’t remember seeing any windows on the inside of the antechamber, which was odd because she had seen plenty on the outside of the mansion. Blake stepped onto the thick carpet that covered the floor from wall to wall and then he extended his arm out as a gesture of invitation. White Paul and Medium Dave marveled over the televisions and electronics as if they had died and gone to Heaven.

  “There’s plenty to do,” Blake said. “We have a basketball and tennis court in the back as well.” He strolled a little further into the room. The guys, including Jimmy, took tentative steps, their eyes full of wonder. “The couches are comfortable if anyone needs a nap.”

  “Holy cow,” White Paul said in a small voice as he approached the electronics. “Look at the size of that television. What game system is that?”

  “It’s a prototype from Japan. It blows everything else out of the water and looks amazing in high definition,” Blake said.

  Blake turned on the television and game system, and then told them to have at it. When the game menu popped up Candy thought the perfectly proportioned Japanese girl wearing a yellow bikini was real rather than a graphical representation of every boy’s fantasy. White Paul and Medium Dave gazed at it for a long time before they bothered picking up the controllers. Even Jimmy wandered over to watch the Japanese girl smile amiably while blowing kisses streaming with red hearts.

  Blake leaned his head down into Candy’s field of vision. She hadn’t realized she’d been goggling at the video game as well even though she didn’t care for such things.

  “Want to play a game of pool?” he said.