I also was dying to get that magic blood of his under a microscope to see if I could do any good with it.
“Can I ask you something?” I said when we had nearly reached my school.
Lucian looked tired and irritated from our walk in the sun, and he regarded me from under his shades. “I thought I said no more questions.”
“This isn’t about that. Not exactly, at least. I was wondering if you’d let me look at your blood under a microscope.”
“Out of the question.”
I sighed. “Nobody would have to know where it came from. It’s not like they’d believe me if I told them. I was just thinking there might be a way to kind of reverse engineer it. I mean, do vampires get diseases? Do they get sick? Because your blood could be the answer to all kinds of suffering out there. We could help people. I’ve been looking at my own blood with the bond, but those little black things in my samples keep dying. I’m guessing they don’t in your blood, or maybe there’s something else entirely.”
Lucian hesitated, then shoved the door to the science building open. “I’m not here to help people.”
I followed after him, noting how that wasn’t exactly true. He may want to see himself as a knight of the darkness. But I saw him as the man who put himself at considerable risk to save me. The man who subjected himself to a bond he knew was going to put him in danger. He was the man who promised to protect me, no matter the cost.
Lucian Undergrove may not want to be honest with himself about it, but I had a sneaking suspicion he was a good person. He was a funny person, when he wasn’t trying to play the role of the dangerous vampire.
And day by day, I was starting to fear the point when our bond loosened enough that he wouldn’t be stuck by my side.
20
Lucian
I’d been away from my duties for far too long, but I needed to wait until my bond with Cara had faded enough for me to meet with my former employers in private. I was putting her in enough danger as it was without reaching out to the order again. So there wasn’t much to do but wait out the bond—to pass the days with two critical objectives: do not let Bennigan harm Cara Skies, and do not sleep with Cara Skies.
I was under the sink in her smelly apartment kitchen, cranking a wrench to fit the new pipes I’d cut.
Cara sat on the counter eating little brown crunchy sticks she called pretzels. “A vampire plumber. I like it.”
“You need more than a plumber. This apartment is a hazard to any mortal who lives here.”
“Yeah,” she said. “But it’s the best we can afford. And plumbers cost a lot of money.”
I got up from the sink and tested it. “No more leak. But this cabinet is ruined. It’ll mold soon.”
Cara shrugged. She was wearing a particularly rebellious outfit today. Her short hair was braided and tucked behind one ear, where she’d tied it in place with a rainbow-colored ribbon. She had on a leather jacket and a short skirt, which I could nearly see up if I caught her at the right angle.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone fix a sink while wearing a suit and tie. It’s kind of hot.” She popped another pretzel in her mouth, smirking.
“I’m glad you enjoy it. Now you’re about to see someone fix your cabinet in a suit and tie.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You know how to do that?”
“Yes. Where can I purchase tools?”
A few hours later, I was in the parking lot outside Cara’s apartment with a stack of wooden sheets, saws, screwdrivers, glue, and cabinet hinges.
The sun had set while we shopped, which mercifully meant I could work outside and feel my strength recover in the moonlight. Cara sat cross-legged and closed one of her academic books on her lap. She glanced up as I was arranging my materials. “You’re sure you know how to do this?”
“Yes,” I said.
I started setting up the wood and making my cuts.
“Don’t you need to make measurements of the spot below the sink?”
“I used my vampire powers to estimate the size of the cabinet.”
“Wait, seriously?”
“Yes,” I said, turning my back so she couldn’t see me grin. I’d already measured it before we left, but she hadn’t been paying attention.
It felt good to do work with my hands again. I couldn’t say how long it had been since I’d worked with wood, but I was glad to find the techniques were still fresh in my mind.
Cara eventually curled up in the grass and fell asleep while I worked. I drew looks from the young college students who came and went from the building while I worked, and I gave my best glare to any who decided to look too long at Cara’s sleeping form.