A moment later, she placed her hand on his shoulder, whispering, “Sorry if this hurts a little.”
Then she sank her teeth into his neck and started to drink. Ira was one of those unreadable types. He never let his emotions show outwardly, but I had to wonder if he was turned on right now. Some kind of attraction had obviously been brewing between these two for a while.
It was kind of funny how awkward and quiet everyone became as we watched them. I had no love for bloodsuckers, but watching Delilah feed was oddly riveting. Several gulps later, she pulled away and licked her lips. Her pupils were dilated to the point where almost all the green iris was gone. Feeling devious, I jiggled the table leg with my foot.
“Hey, Ira. Get your stiffy under control.”
Gabriel and Alvie burst into laughter while Delilah shot me a death stare. One end of Ira’s mouth curved up, as though he was trying to suppress a smile. At least he still had a sense of humour. Next to me, Alora blushed even though the comment had nothing to do with her. Wow, this girl was shy. I probably wasn’t the best person for her to be around, since half the things that came out of my mouth needed an eighteen and up rating.
The waitress came and began setting food down in front of us, and I dug into my bacon and eggs with gusto.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” Gabriel asked.
“I booked us in to stay here another night. Today, I was thinking we could drive into the city and scope the place out, see if the vamps are still killing, or if Cristescu has ordered them to behave themselves. We’ll check my street out, too, and see if everything’s okay. If it is, then we’ll head back there tomorrow. I can’t be putting you all up in the lap of luxury like this forever,” I joked.
Delilah snorted. “Right. I think I saw a cockroach this morning.”
“Ah, a nice bit of wildlife to give you the full experience,” I replied with a wink.
Another snort.
“If we’re going to the city,” Alora said quietly. “Could you bring me to my parents’ house? It’s on Edmund Street just past the north side of the river.”
I glanced at her, something tightening in my chest at the thought of her leaving already.
“Sure. We’ll go and see if they’re there. If not, and there’s a big likelihood that they fled, you can stay with us.”
She nodded and took a sip of her coffee. She looked cute in the clothes I bought her, just like the pretty girl next door. Seeing her appear out of nowhere in that ethereal gown last night made her seem almost like an apparition, but now she was sitting beside me eating her scrambled eggs, a light sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks, looking like everything I’d ever wanted in a girlfriend.
Christ, I really was on the rebound.
I thought about the possibility of Alora’s family still being in the city. Would she want to stay in contact with me if they were? Perhaps when everything settled down, she might even let me take her out on a date. Asking her on a date wouldn’t be weird, right?
We finished breakfast and then everyone loaded into the van. On my way back from the shopping mall earlier, I had stopped by the parameter of Theodore’s enclosure and noted how even more people had gathered there. There was a frantic, desperate energy about the place.
Some people were saying the barrier was a sign of the apocalypse. Others thought that the devil had taken hold of Tribane. Most people were saying it was aliens. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was aliens, too, trapping us in a cage so that they could study us or some shit.
The motorway was practically empty on the drive into the city, and when we arrived, the streets had very few people on them. Those present scurried from building to building, afraid that if they stayed outside too long, they might get snatched up by a fanged monster.
An old homeless man was sitting on the doorstep of a shop next to where I parked the van. He had a bottle of liquor in a brown paper bag and was taking sips every once in a while. I glanced around, and saw two human policemen on patrol on the other side of the street.
“Any spare change?” the man asked as I got out of the vehicle.
I stuck my hand in my pocket and pulled out a twenty I’d forgotten was there. Ah crap, I hated when that happened. Now I’d look like a prick if I didn’t give it to him. His eyes lit up when I handed it over.
“Go wild,” I said before jogging purposely toward the two officers.