that," a young man with cheeks splattered with pimples said as he pointed and his friend turned. "She's eating the snake blood soup. Just what the doctor ordered." They laughed and stared at me. I bared my teeth and hissed with such ferocity Patrick jumped.
"Your canines are hanging out," Cupid said. "Bad form. Even in a place like this."
My hand ran down the points of my teeth, sharp and so long I presumed I resembled a saber-toothed tiger that had been caught in the wrong century and run down on the freeway.
"I'll take my chow fun to go," Cupid said as he wagged two fingers in the air to summon the waiter. "Forget the tea. I've suddenly lost my need for the comfort tea can bring and will require something of a harsher sort of...remedy."
I drank every drop, even lifting up the bowl and sucking up every drop of the sweet blood until the gauze bandages around my mouth were sopping wet. "Let's get out of here," I gasped to Patrick. "I need to sleep."
"So what do we do now?" Patrick asked Cupid.
"I suggest you call your friends at the CIA. And hang on to that bow I gave you. Use it when the time is right. It's great for killing more vampires and you will need it if you cross paths with Aoleon again. She will be flaming mad. Flaming. Not Hibachi. She burns while I stay cool. Always cool. Yet another reason for my nickname. King of the Dead." He smirked as he donned a pair of dark sunglasses with red hearts for frames, picked up the white cardboard box with the words Come Again stamped in red lettering and waddled to the glass doors, pushing one open and leaving a filmy handprint upon it as he trolled out onto the sidewalk.
Chapter Eleven
Patrick hung up the pay phone across the street from the McClellan Airport landing field. "They're meeting us at the Tiki Towers in half an hour."
I shielded my eyes from the blinding rays of the sun that shone down and reflected on the glass windows of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. "My eyes hurt."
"Let's get you inside." Patrick threw his hand up in the air at several passing taxi cabs, each one filled with passengers. "It's a Saturday morning in April. There's no way we're going to find a cab."
We walked toward the south in the direction of the Tiki Towers. My skin felt hot, as if a very bad sunburn developed quickly upon my shoulders and face. The Tiki Towers loomed before us like a mirage. I knew it had to be a half a mile away. At least. In my ear, I heard a searing noise. "Patrick," I cried in desperation. "Something is happening."
Patrick took one look and ran out into the road in front of a pickup truck. The truck screeched to a halt and a gargantuan man jumped out. "What the hell!' the man shouted as he advanced toward Patrick. Patrick held his hands up in the air. I smelled the tips of my hair burning.
"Sorry, man, but my wife needs to get inside that truck. Please. The heat is killing her."
"I got a job I need to get to." The man pushed Patrick backward with his enormous hands and Patrick fell down on the ground. He immediately sprang back up and pushed the man in the chest.
"Sorry," Patrick said once again. "She needs that car. I'm a dealer at the Paradise. I'll take care of you. Free drinks, dinner. Whatever you want. Just let her get inside the car."
I screamed as I heard the skin on my scalp pop and sizzle. "Patrick!" I shouted. "Please!" I looked down at my hands. Blisters bubbled over the top of my skin. I covered my hair, my face, my body, as the intense heat seared through my very core. Throwing back my head, I shrieked at the sun.
"I don't give a damn!" said the man as he turned away. "Let her fry for all I care."
I crouched my hips and leaped upon the gargantuan man's back. I sank my teeth into his neck as he cried out and turned in circles. My fingers dug into him as I drained his blood dry, biting and sucking as he fell on the ground and swatted at me as if I were a giant mosquito.
"Eden, no!" Patrick tried to pull me off. I clung to the man until the
"Your canines are hanging out," Cupid said. "Bad form. Even in a place like this."
My hand ran down the points of my teeth, sharp and so long I presumed I resembled a saber-toothed tiger that had been caught in the wrong century and run down on the freeway.
"I'll take my chow fun to go," Cupid said as he wagged two fingers in the air to summon the waiter. "Forget the tea. I've suddenly lost my need for the comfort tea can bring and will require something of a harsher sort of...remedy."
I drank every drop, even lifting up the bowl and sucking up every drop of the sweet blood until the gauze bandages around my mouth were sopping wet. "Let's get out of here," I gasped to Patrick. "I need to sleep."
"So what do we do now?" Patrick asked Cupid.
"I suggest you call your friends at the CIA. And hang on to that bow I gave you. Use it when the time is right. It's great for killing more vampires and you will need it if you cross paths with Aoleon again. She will be flaming mad. Flaming. Not Hibachi. She burns while I stay cool. Always cool. Yet another reason for my nickname. King of the Dead." He smirked as he donned a pair of dark sunglasses with red hearts for frames, picked up the white cardboard box with the words Come Again stamped in red lettering and waddled to the glass doors, pushing one open and leaving a filmy handprint upon it as he trolled out onto the sidewalk.
Chapter Eleven
Patrick hung up the pay phone across the street from the McClellan Airport landing field. "They're meeting us at the Tiki Towers in half an hour."
I shielded my eyes from the blinding rays of the sun that shone down and reflected on the glass windows of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. "My eyes hurt."
"Let's get you inside." Patrick threw his hand up in the air at several passing taxi cabs, each one filled with passengers. "It's a Saturday morning in April. There's no way we're going to find a cab."
We walked toward the south in the direction of the Tiki Towers. My skin felt hot, as if a very bad sunburn developed quickly upon my shoulders and face. The Tiki Towers loomed before us like a mirage. I knew it had to be a half a mile away. At least. In my ear, I heard a searing noise. "Patrick," I cried in desperation. "Something is happening."
Patrick took one look and ran out into the road in front of a pickup truck. The truck screeched to a halt and a gargantuan man jumped out. "What the hell!' the man shouted as he advanced toward Patrick. Patrick held his hands up in the air. I smelled the tips of my hair burning.
"Sorry, man, but my wife needs to get inside that truck. Please. The heat is killing her."
"I got a job I need to get to." The man pushed Patrick backward with his enormous hands and Patrick fell down on the ground. He immediately sprang back up and pushed the man in the chest.
"Sorry," Patrick said once again. "She needs that car. I'm a dealer at the Paradise. I'll take care of you. Free drinks, dinner. Whatever you want. Just let her get inside the car."
I screamed as I heard the skin on my scalp pop and sizzle. "Patrick!" I shouted. "Please!" I looked down at my hands. Blisters bubbled over the top of my skin. I covered my hair, my face, my body, as the intense heat seared through my very core. Throwing back my head, I shrieked at the sun.
"I don't give a damn!" said the man as he turned away. "Let her fry for all I care."
I crouched my hips and leaped upon the gargantuan man's back. I sank my teeth into his neck as he cried out and turned in circles. My fingers dug into him as I drained his blood dry, biting and sucking as he fell on the ground and swatted at me as if I were a giant mosquito.
"Eden, no!" Patrick tried to pull me off. I clung to the man until the
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