Page 9 of Bound By Blood
CHAPTER 7
Saber jerked thewheel back toward the road as he snuffed out his need to kill.Focusing his attention on something else, he studied the touristystores selling T-shirts, shot glasses, and other dustcollectors.
At the end of theroad, a Ferris wheel rose into the darkening sky; its multicoloredlights illuminated the growing dusk. Other rides rose and fell intothe air as they went through their cycles, and people lined up atthe gates to enter the amusement park.
He turned themusic off and rolled down his window. Laughter, shouts of joy, andmusic from the carnival drifted in. The summer season was over, andSeptember had arrived, but it hadn’t chased away the tourists intheir T-shirts and flip-flops.
As he neared theend of the road, he spotted the pier jutting out over the ocean andbecame inexplicably angry again. Tourists and more shops packed thedock.How many shops do these people need?
Saber shook hishead to clear it of his irrational ire and counted to five as hebreathed in and out. By the time he hit five, he was still pissed,so he counted to fifty before his chest stopped feeling likesomething was crushing it.
Unaware of itsexact location, he drove past Charles’s shop. He turned the cararound and headed back the way he’d come, slowing as he neared thestore.
It was such astrange place for a man of Charles’s talents to be located, butthere it was, and it looked just as Charles described it the lasttime Saber spoke with him. He guided the car into an empty spotacross the street from the store and parked.
Leaning back inhis seat, Saber studied the glass-fronted window and elegant, whitescript declaring the store asBelham Wonders. It had been afucked-up day, but at least one thing had gone right; Charleshadn’t moved on from here yet.
He probably shouldhave called his friend before coming, given him a warning, andensured he was still here. He’d been in such a rush to escape Brieand so wound up while driving here that it hadn’t occurred to himuntil now.
Saber frowned atthe unlit store and the closed sign on the door. Night wasdescending, but it was still early enough that all the othertourist traps remained open.
Had Charlesabandoned his shop and moved on before the humans startedquestioning why he didn’t age?
Pulling out hisphone, Saber punched in the last number he had for Charles. Thephone rang before switching to an automated, robotic voice tellinghim to leave a message.
“It’s Saber; Ihave to speak to you. Call me back.”
He didn’t botherleaving his number; Charles had it. They always updated each otherwhen they moved or got a new number.
They weren’t thetype of friends who talked every day and shared the most intimatedetails of their lives, or many details at all, but they’d beenfriends for years. They looked out for each other.
If Charles hadabandoned his store, it was a recent development. But maybe hisfriend had closed early or taken a day off; it wasn’t like Charlesdid this for the money. He had plenty of that.
Charles liked tocreate things, and instead of having them piling up all over hishouse, he chose to sell them. It also kept him busy and gave himsomething to do and stay focused on. There was nothing moretreacherous than a bored vampire.
Saber shoved openthe door of the black Camaro and strode across the street. Heignored the blaring horns and the car that screeched to a haltbefore its bumper tapped his knee.
The man shoutedout the window at him, “Crazy asshole!”
Saber never lookedin his direction. If he did, he might kill the prick.
Instead, heremained focused on the store as he stopped in front of its glassdoor. The closed sign listed the hours, and according to them, thestore should be open, but maybe Charles had closed early or takenan impromptu day off.
He stepped up tothe door, placed his hands against the glass, and peered inside.Nothing moved within, but he scented blood on the air. It was sofaint, he couldn’t tell if it was coming from the store orsomewhere else.
Stepping back, hesurveyed the street and spotted a young woman with gauze around herhand. An older gentleman was helping her into a car as she held herwrist. Spots of bright red decorated the bandage.
Saber shut out thescent of that blood, so he didn’t grab her off the street. Placinghis hands against either side of his face, he leaned forward toinspect the store again.
If Charles hadabandoned the place, he’d left all his product behind as dragons,witches, warlocks, and other fantasy creatures lined the walls.Waves, seashells, mermaids, sharks, and other ocean-themedcreations decorated the wooden shelves in the center of thestore.
Walking a few feetfrom the door, Saber studied the windows above the store, but theywere also dark. Those windows could be for an apartment whereCharles lived. If they were, then his friend wasn’t home.
He might be ableto track down an address online, but he wasn’t in the mood to stareat a computer right now. According to the hours on the closed sign,the store would open at ten tomorrow.
That meant hewould have to wait over twelve hours if he didn’t hear back fromCharles tonight. That was far too much time on his hands and toomany people crowding this town for his liking.
As he thought it,a group of laughing women strolled by. They’d linked their arms andbent their heads together as they headed for a bar with acousticmusic drifting out its open doors.
