Page 38 of Wounded Soul
“And you don’t now either. The agreement the vamps have with the VLCD protects you.”
“What happens to them if they break it?”
“I can’t discuss that.” The look on his face told Ian that whatever it was, it wasn’t pleasant.
“How do they know who broke it? It’s not like they can test for DNA, is it? Because they have all different people’s blood in them, right?” She shuddered at the thought, and Ian grimaced.
“There are other ways to test for DNA,” Blake offered, but Cate ignored him, her mind seemingly stuck on vampire anatomy.
“Do they have other bodily fluids?” she asked. “I mean they’re dead right? Do they smell dead? I’m guessing no, or we’d all be able to spot them a mile off. Are they all handsome and alluring like in films? Are they cold to the touch? Are they super-fast, and can they do that mind control thing?” She finally stopped to breathe and Blake stared at her, mouth opening and then closing as he seemed to struggle with what part of that to answer first.
Ian laughed, and Cate gave Blake an apologetic shrug. “Sorry. You know I babble when I get nervous.”
Blake reached out and took her hands in his. “I know this is huge, and it’s gonna take a while to sink in. I can’t really discuss what vampires are like, mainly because I don’t really know all that yet. I have a ton of stuff still to read through and more training to do. But...” He gave her hands a squeeze and glanced at Ian. “I can tell you that they are fast—amazingly so—and as for looks, I’m pretty sure they don’t change all that much from how they were in human life.” He let go of Cate and sat back, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two miniature aerosol cans. He handed one to Cate and one to Ian.
Ian took his and examined it.
“Don’t spray it,” Blake said quickly. Both Ian and Cate immediately put them down.
“What are they for?” Cate eyed hers with suspicion. Ian could tell she was dying to pick it up and spray it.
“I know I said you have nothing to worry about, but just in case, I want you to carry these when you go out at night.”
Ian pointed at his where it sat on the table. “Are they some sort of pepper spray? What good will that do?”
“Ooh.” Cate was on the edge of her seat. “Is it holy water? Will it burn their skin?”
Blake’s smile was wry. “Not exactly. But it will temporarily blind them if you can get it in their eyes. Long enough for you to get out of there and call me.”
“And what will you do?”
“Contact the VLCD patrol. Trust me, no vamp wants to get caught by us. When they know we’re on the way, they’ll run.”
He made it seem like they were an elite special-forces unit. Which Ian supposed they were, but he struggled to picture Blake being a part of something like that. “How will they know the VLCD have been notified?”
“They’ll know. Trust me.” He yawned, and for the first time that night, Ian noticed how tired his friend looked. “I’ll send you my work number as well, just so you have it. But it’s only for emergencies.” Another yawn had him covering his mouth with a muffled, “Sorry.”
“Must have been a tough two weeks?”
Blake laughed. “You have no idea.” He tapped his temple. “I’m not sure I have any room left in my brain, and I ache everywhere.”
Cate smirked, “That’s because you haven’t used it in a while.”
“Piss off.” He grinned at her though, then turned serious again, pointing at the mini sprays on the table. “Please carry them with you when you go out, just for peace of mind, but don’t use them on anyone unless they have fangs, or I’ll have some explaining to do.”
Ian wanted to ask so much more, but Blake looked knackered. “You should probably go home and get some sleep.”
“Yeah, I’ve got my very first coven inspection tomorrow.” He perked up as he said it, excitement burning in his eyes. “And no,” he added before Ian or Cate could say anything. “I can’t tell you anything about it other than I’ll be unavailable tomorrow night.” He stood and stretched, then glanced at Cate. “You ready to call it a night?”
“Yeah.” She stood too, smoothing out her clothes. “Not that I’m likely to ever sleep again after all that.” Bending down, she scooped up the spray and tucked it inside her bag. Ian made a mental note to put his inside his jacket. Though if a vamp got close enough for him to use it, it’d probably be too late. Not that he was about to mention that to Cate.
He walked them to the door and gave them both a hug goodnight.
Cate turned to him as Blake opened the door. “You seem strangely unfazed by this whole thing. Aren’t you the least bit scared now you know they’re out there?”
Ian shrugged. “Course I am.” In truth it was the most exciting thing to happen in years, and for once he wished he’d followed Blake into the police force. “But there’s nothing we can do about it. So...”
She stared at him for a moment, then rolled her eyes. “Ugh, of course you’re not scared; you’re enjoying all of it aren’t you?”
