I'd worked on my side of the wall for as long as I could in between keeping Brad at a distance. He'd called me to see if I wanted lunch made, to which I agreed.
Brad didn't say a single thing about why I was in the basement after being hysterical earlier today. I was grateful for that. I didn't need to try and explain my way out of that particular nightmare.
Returning to the basement after lunch was easy. Brad was distracted with getting his office set up before tomorrow. He had to clock on at nine am, and if he didn't, his pay would be docked. It was one of those little rules that came with working from home.
So, I continued to scrape at the mortar until dinner time. Brad bought frozen pizzas, so all he had to do was remove the packaging and put it in the oven. The man was a legend.
After dinner, I quietly returned to my duty. Curiously, there was a lot of dust on the floor. Stopping in front of the wall, I could see that Niko had done quite a lot.
"Evelyn, carefully pull the block out."
Slowly the cinder block began to move forward. When it was pushed out enough, I began to jiggle it out of the wall. Setting the block aside, I lowered to see Niko.
The space was cramped. I don't think he had a lot of area to move in.
"Hey there, did you need a little help?"
Niko jostled, moving his body lower so that he could see me. The pale face smiled, and the sharp teeth glistened in the light.
"More than a little."
"Do you think that this is enough, or do you need another brick?"
"It will be a squeeze, but I will manage. The question is, what to do beyond that?"
"Well, maybe you might want to go out and find that victim that definitely does not live in this house."
Niko smiled at me again. Filled with amusement and affection.
"My dear Evelyn, we have an agreement, and I am a man of his word. I will protect you until there is nothing left in me. I promise you of that."
"And I promise you. Now, are you going out?"
"It would be wise. While I am gone, you will need to find somewhere for me to rest during the daylight hours and ensure that your uncle does not find me."
"The attic. I think he's scared of it."
"It is just a room."
I shrugged, stepping back. Niko moved into position. First out was his head, then the broad shoulders were crammed in tight at an angle. His frame was narrow, but those shoulders proved to be a problem.
"Are you sure about this? We could pull another brick out."
"It will take too long. I will get there, do not fret for me."
After about half an hour, Niko was in a better position. I gripped his arms and pulled as hard as I could manage. My feet were pressed hard against the wall trying to drag him out. Then he popped out as if he had some force behind him.
I felt winded as my back hit the floor. To make it worse, I had a damp and dusty vampire lying on my body between my legs.
Niko lifted up onto his hands, then his arms gave out. His body fell back to mine.
"Muscle atrophy," he whispered. "I cannot move."
"Can you heal yourself?"
"It will take time, far too long considering the issues."
"So, you need to feed."
"That is correct."
"You said that you can feed and not kill, right?"
"I know what you offer, Evelyn. Are you certain this is the path you wish to take?"
"Well, you are kind of laying on me. Brad comes down here and sees this, and he's going to get super angry because I'm only seventeen. Besides, we said that we'd do what was in the best interest of each other, and I wouldn't be a very good familiar if I let my master die, would I?"
Niko smiled at me.
Rolling Niko onto the floor, I sat up next to him and held out my arm. Niko tried to lift his arms, but they wouldn't stay up. So, I held my wrist to his mouth. When the fangs pierced the skin, I winced. It was not nice at all, not that I thought it would be.
Niko was quite tall, dressed in a suit that seemed rather fancy. I didn't know much about men's fashion from sixty years ago, so I could only assume that he'd kept up with the times to blend in. Damp and dusty was not the rage at the moment, so the outfit would have to go.
Temporarily, he'd have to borrow from Brad. It was lucky that they were roughly the same size as each other. Brad was a little rounder in the midsection. He liked his doughnuts far too much.
Color began to return to Niko, now flushed with a soft pink tone that seemed to fit well with the dark brown hair and sharp green eyes. To me, he looked as if he was in his thirties, but that was not possible.
"How old are you?"
Niko pulled his fangs out of my wrist. His tongue slid along the weeping wounds, stopping the blood flow.
"Quite old. I am uncertain of how many there are, but I am considered to be an elder vampire."
His eyes lowered as a grim look crossed his face.
"At least, I used to be. Take this as your first lesson, my young familiar. Be wary of those around you, and do not trust anyone."
"Did you trust the wrong person?"
"I did."
Niko sat up, looking a little woozy at first.
"Do you need to have a proper feed?"
"I think that is necessary. However, I don't think that I have the strength to walk any great distance."
"Okay, familiar to the rescue. Come on."
Wrapping his arm around my neck, I lifted Niko onto his feet. He wobbled, reaching for the wall.
"How's that?"
"Getting better. You're not really considering taking me to a victim, are you?"
"Look, I get it. Vampires feed to live, so someone has to die. People die all the time, and we kill our own constantly. We're no better. At least you kill because you're sustaining your own life. Humans kill others for the thrill of it. So, yeah, I am. What are the rules?"
"Don't get caught."
Niko and I looked at each other. Slowly a smile emerged between us and quickly turned into a giggle. Who would have thought that I'd be friends with a vampire?
We slipped out of the house without Brad realizing, then went in search of the perfect victim. Niko did not have any preferences when it came to what they looked like or their gender. The only stipulation that he had was that they were alone and an adult.
We found a man living in a small house not far from where we lived. He was selected because I suggested that Niko needed to update his clothing. While Niko sustained his life, I packed a bag of clothes and accessories, then found a wash basket to load bed linen into.
Rather than staying and listening to it, I continued to search for things that would be useful for Niko. The man had a camp bed in his garage, so I dragged that out and set it aside with the other items. I also found his stash of money.
Acutely aware of what would happen once the body was found, I wore a pair of gardening gloves that I'd found in someone's garden. Niko could do as he pleased, there were no records of him but me, well, that was a sad tale that came from the life that I'd lived with my mother.
Yep, I had a record.
Because I was a child, they did nothing aside from recording my details in the system, and that included my fingerprints. I have no idea why they did it. Maybe they assumed that I would steal again and would need the information. Perhaps they were just jerks. Either way, I had to be careful.
The deed was done, and Niko could walk on his own. I could see that there was a fair amount of lethargy that had remained. He would stop and take a few seconds before starting to walk again.
"I've got school tomorrow."
Niko nodded.
"I will be fine in the attic."
Slipping into the house, I searched for Brad. He was in the office, muttering about something. With a flick of my hand, I urged Niko to hurry up. His steps were quiet on the creaky wood floors. Brad was clearly too invested in whatever he was doing to notice.
"Goodnight, Evelyn. Rest well."
"You too."
Quietly I closed the door to the attic, hoping that Brad wouldn't find some newfound gusto and brave his fears.
After showering, I fell into bed. It had been a strenuous day, and when I woke feeling drained, I wondered how I'd cope with starting a new school. Dressing quickly, I packed my bag and put it near the door. I had to check on a friend.
Tiptoeing up the stairs to the attic, I listened to the sounds of Niko rustling the linen as he sat up.
"Niko," I whispered.
"Evelyn, you are leaving for school?"
"Yeah. Will you be alright while I'm gone?"
"Yes. I have fed, and now it is time to recover. By this afternoon, I shall be reinvigorated and ready for another conversation with you. I am eager to hear how your first day at the new school goes. Be ready for it."
I chuckled.
"Sure thing. I'll see you later. Enjoy your sleep."
"Oh, I will. Goodbye Evelyn. Have a great day."
Rushing as quietly as I could, I began to wonder if Brad had noticed my peculiar behavior. When I found him in the kitchen putting the bowl of cereal on the counter, I knew that he was completely oblivious.
"Ready for a great first day?"
"Nope."
Brad smiled, rolling his eyes.
"Come on, Evie. One more year, and you're done. Just buckle down, and you'll be out of there before you know it."
"Sure."
We ate breakfast in silence.
My thoughts remained on going to school. First-day nerves were always a stomach churner. I was surprised that it actually managed to stay put.
"Okay, let's get this done."
Brad grinned as he took the plate. It was surprising that he wasn't cleaning them straight away. I looked at the clock and realized why. We were behind schedule. Because he had to clock on at nine, Brad said that he was going to boot me out the door and then rush back home. He added that I'd be a lucky girl if he actually stopped to let me out.
Lifting the bag over my shoulder, I followed Brad out of the house. As I walked to the car, I wondered what he would say if I told him about Niko. I didn't want him to be kept in the dark about it. I will have to discuss this with Niko this afternoon. If Brad went up to the attic and found him, things might get ugly.
Would Brad be brave enough and walk up those stairs? There was nothing to say that he wouldn't.
When he climbed into the driver's seat, I looked at him as I pulled the seatbelt over my body.
"Hey, I left your birthday present in the attic, so no going up there, okay?"
Brad frowned with a crazy smile on his face.
"What is so big that you can't hide it in your room?"
I shrugged.
"You know that I wouldn't go into your room, but sure, I won't go up there. I wasn't planning on it anyway, you know that attics give me the creeps. I heard something moving up there, probably a rat. You didn't leave food up there, did you?"
"No."
"Good. Might be nothing left if you did."
Brad pulled into the street, slowing behind a long line of cars that were dropping kids off. Next to us on the sidewalk was a group of giggling girls walking toward the school. Brad huffed a soft laugh, then turned his smirk back to the road ahead.
"They look like your type."
"Go to hell," I grumbled. "Oh, that's right. We're already there."
"No, I'm just in another town. You're the one in hell. Have fun."
The car jerked to a stop. Brad looked at me with his cheesy smile that, while begging for forgiveness, also didn't want it.
"Yeah, thanks."
"See you at three. If your schedule changes, let me know."
"With what? You haven't replaced my phone."
"You could try getting a job."
Rolling my eyes, I closed the door and stepped onto the sidewalk. The giggling girls drew closer, looking at me with their haughty smiles. Nothing was said as they passed, then they let out their condescending giggles.
The sooner I was out of this place, the better.