Roxanne Fosch Files Collection

Chapter 1-1

I had just finished chopping onions for Paul when the sky broke.

It wasn"t really a kaboom, but more like giant rocks tumbling down a hill. Like a giant avalanche.

On its heel followed the torrential downpour I"d been hearing about for the past few days. A sense of foreboding kept nagging at me, a feeling that I was missing something that I should know. Or see.

“Do you need anything else before I go?” I asked Paul as I hung my apron on a peg and tried to shake the sensation away. I could hear some of the crowd outside dispersing, going home to celebrate another weekend with family, friends, or just be alone after a fulfilling meal; and the booming laughter of those who lingered for a drink and latest gossip in the diner.

“That"ll be all,” he said, sending me a distracted smile over his shoulder.

I went inside Paul"s office and grabbed my purse, a huge monstrosity my friend Michelle had desperately tried to destroy, but inside were things I couldn"t leave behind if I had to make a hasty exit. Dr. Maxwell"s journal was also inside. It had helped me sort a lot of things since I escaped, even if it hadn"t been the one I wanted, and I never went anywhere without it.

I slung the purse on my left shoulder and let it dangle on my right side, the easier if I needed to run, then let myself out from the back door of the diner. The downpour was like a water sheet in front of me, blocking anything farther than a few feet from view.

Already water was gathering on the street, herding the brown leaves that had gathered at the edges toward the drainage system.

It was unbelievably cold for October, but I"d only been there for three months so I wasn"t sure if this was the norm for early autumn.

I shivered involuntarily and tucked my gloveless hands inside my pockets. I loved autumn, when trees turned into that burnish gold color and animals scurried to gather supplies for the winter, but it seemed like here, in this small town, winter had already arrived.

Another flash of light appeared, just a few yards to my left, followed immediately by a loud kaboom! And the bucket of giant rocks down the mountain.

That sense of foreboding returned, and I glanced around, found nothing out of place.

Paul"s Diner was only two blocks away from Marian"s bed and breakfast and, on a clear day, the lack of tall buildings in between would have given me a clear view of both. I hurried to the small B & B where I rented a small room on the second floor, wondering if Rudolph (AKA Rudy), the local troublemaker, would be waiting for me by the door like he did most days despite of the downpour. I believe the only reason his bullying didn"t extend to outright harassment was because I refused all other offers from other men. That, and the fact that most of the townsfolk had become a little overprotective, believing I was hiding from an abusive husband.

As my long legs ate the small distance, I thought about calling Michelle and asking her over so we could do something fun. I had missed the excitement of going out with my friends during my teen years, locked up in a bedroom in the PSS headquarters instead. I had permission to watch the world from a TV and read about it from books whenever I wasn"t down in the lab. Sometimes I was sent to the small library where I received a rudimentary education, but it was nothing near what I"d have learned had I gone to school.

Marian wasn"t behind her desk in the foyer, but the low sound of a talk show and reflective TV lights came through the slightly closed office door. I"d stop by in the morning and pay my rent then; I knew how much she hated being interrupted from her shows. Plus, I was soaked to the bones and my appearance would only prompt her to pour one of those awful teas down my throat. I took the back stairs on the corner and headed up to my room, the last one in the corridor, telling myself I"d grab some dry clothes, then backtrack and dry off the water trail I left behind.

The moment I unlocked the door and reached for the switch on the wall to my right, I knew that someone was inside, even before I spotted the silhouette sitting on my bed. Not a friendly someone, considering his scary, inhuman aura. Panic reared its head so fast, so furious, it had me paralyzed in an instant. I forgot all the carefully-laid plans I had so meticulously drilled into myself over and over, even before I escaped the PSS"s HQ, for moments like this one. My mind… disconnected.

For a long moment, my fear paralyzed me. I felt its icy grip around my heart, spreading down to the pit of my stomach and up around my neck. Then, he moved. But he didn"t attack, instead he—flipped a page?

The casual way he sat on my bed, flipping through Michelle"s latest fashion magazine as if he"d yet to notice me, broke through my terrified mind and expelled the paralyzing grip panic wove around my limbs. My first instinct was to run.

But, as fast as I was, I wasn"t sure I could outrun a vampire.

Think, Roxanne, think. Identify the threat.

I eyed his red and purplish, almost-black aura and struggled through the terrified haze to remember what I read on Dr. Maxwell"s journal. Red for a vampire who lived on blood, and only a made vampire lived solely on blood. I deduced the purple part indicated how long he"d been a vampire, assuming he"d once been human with a simple blue aura.

One thing was clear from his aura; he was old. Very old.

Shit. s**t.

This was such overkill. It was like firing a cannon ball at a mosquito.

If I ran, he"d only chase me. Made vampires—especially old ones—shed their humanity once they transition from alive to undead. Anyone I passed while fleeing only meant he"d get more prey to play with.

Especially sweet, over-protective old Marian.

Straightening, I tried hiding the fact that I was scared shitless and entered the room, turned on the light, and closed the door behind me. I think I saw a flicker of something—respect?—in his eyes, but who knew, it might have been annoyance that he didn"t get to chase me around town. Then again, he didn"t know I knew what he was, seeing that aura reading wasn"t a normal trait, even among the preternaturals. Maybe I had an advantage after all.

I just had to figure out how to use it.

In a valiant attempt at bravery, I threw the key down on the dresser to my right, crossed my arms over my chest – no way near impressive with the way my hands shook – and leaned back on the door in a gesture that mimicked `I"m such a bad a*s", but was really so I wouldn"t melt into a quivering pool of fearful goo.

A mocking, condescending smirk formed on his lips. For the first time, I noticed his unnatural features.

Corpse-like, he was thin, so thin he looked on the verge of emaciation. Or like a very well fed skeleton. I"d been so focused on the twisted, double-colored aura that I hadn"t even paid any attention to his strange features.

His bones—cheek, skull, arms, and ribs—were so pronounced that he looked more like a skeleton dressed in skin than anything else.

And then he changed. Right in front of my eyes.

Dark, lean, handsome.

His hair was long, curling lazily at his shoulders. Green eyes, a thin nose that had been broken at some point during his human life, nice full lips. His body, which a few seconds ago had been all bones, now looked also extremely nice. He was dressed all in black. From the tips of his shining boots to the V-shape of his knit shirt, everything was black.

I gave myself a mental shake, and for a moment, the handsome GQ vampire image stuck. For a second, both images superimposed. There was a stabbing pain above my eyes and there sat the emaciated dude again.

“Are you lost?” I asked, proud my voice didn"t c***k or shake.

His eyes glittered coldly, sending a chill through my body. And then… he laughed.

A deep, coming-from-the-belly sexy laugh.

Oh s**t, I was amusing him. I was prey, entertaining the predator. I had to get away from him, put plenty of distance between us.

But first, I had to distract him. Somehow, I had to disable him, to keep him from finding me again. Maybe strike him hard enough to render him unconscious while I fled? I just needed to get closer. In retrospect, I could tell how foolish and naïve that idea was.

He tilted his head to the side in an unnatural gesture that caused my heart to skip beats.

He was so far from human, a tiny, frightened voice squealed inside my head.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, an expression of bliss crossing his face.

“Smart enough to be afraid.” He watched me for a moment, his eyes moving slowly over my body. It was like being bitten by fire ants. “Yet, you are still standing.” He tilted his head to the other side, puzzling over me, a reptilian movement.

My heart skipped another beat, then kick-started into an accelerated drum.

“If I bolt, you"ll only think I"m game—which I assure you I am not.” I shrugged, a jerky move that belied my tone. Then I added in a shakier tone, “I"m already amusing you and I"m just standing here.”

He gave that mocking, condescending smirk again. “I like you. Very brave, very courageous,” he said, and I noticed his voice carried a British accent. Of course it did. I bet he was turned at a time when Indians were the only human life in the Americas.

“Yeah? Unfortunately, I"m not interested at the moment. Perhaps you should try again in a month or two.” I pushed away from the door and took two steps, close enough, with only two more steps to go. “Who knows?” I shrugged again, “Maybe then I"d be interested. Now, if you don"t mind, I"d like to be alone.” I pointed a thumb behind me, my hand jerking when a vicious kaboom! blasted the air.

“You know why I am here, little one?” he asked, serious now. I was glad he deemed me neither worthy nor dangerous enough to get up from the bed. He remained calm, relaxed even.

I shrugged, took one more tiny step, and stopped cold when his eyes narrowed into thin slits. He didn"t look like an emaciated dude anymore. He looked dangerous, his eyes gleaming with inhuman intelligence and awareness.

Scratch plan A. If I couldn"t get close enough to strike him unaware, I needed to come up with an alternative. Time for plan B. Now, I just needed to figure out what plan B was.

“I"m here to take you back. Enough playing the damsel in distress. If you wish to bring anything you"ve acquired, then go ahead and bring it. You have five minutes.”

“What makes you think I"ll go back?” I asked, my mind whirling for something I could do.

He showed me his teeth. Straight, nice, white teeth. It wasn"t a smile or a sneer, just… teeth.

“I have some papers for you to sign before we leave,” he said, returning his attention to the magazine as if my accompanying him was a foregone conclusion. “A disclaimer that entitles the scientist"s full rights for the next ten years …” He flipped another page. “Hmmmm. Nice shoes.” Flip. “During this ten-year period, if you give them your full cooperation —”