Blood Warrior(5)

“Let’s go.” Drew nudged me toward the threshold.

“Don’t you want to wait for the others?” I asked.

“Nah, they will find the way. I’m sweating like crazy, this heat is insane.”

I led the way into the house. He wasn’t the only one who was covered in sweat. My tank top was pretty much saturated.

It was a lot cooler inside the house. Once we entered into the foyer, I could feel the blast of cool air from an air conditioner. It felt amazing. I don’t think I’d ever been so uncomfortably hot in my whole life.

Anthony rounded the corner into the foyer. “Welcome to one of my many homes.” The dark skinned vampire spread his arms wide. “You are welcome to stay for as long as you need or want.”

Drew practically recoiled in response, but let out a small laugh. “Honestly I hope we don’t have to stay that long. Once the others come inside we can do the introductions and get down to business.”

“As you wish, little Hunter.” He executed slight bow in a mocking manner.

I heard the rest of the group on the porch, their footsteps not even attempting to be quiet. I reached over and opened the door before they had a chance to ring the bell.

“Welcome,” Anthony greeted them.

Luke was at the head of the group. He rewarded Anthony with a nod and stepped into the house with his hand extended. “Thank you for this hospitality and your willingness with the mission. We are grateful.”

I flicked a glance at the others. Christina wore a grim expression and had one hand hovering over the handle of her knife. Zander actually had his gun out and resting at his side, but his facial features were more relaxed. That wasn’t unusual for him since he was a more laid back kind of guy.

Alice’s swords were still crossed at her back, but she could use magic for a weapon if she wanted to, the same went for Gavin. Oscar didn’t have a weapon drawn, but his eyes were moving back and forth, looking for more vampires in the shadows.

Everyone here had their reasons for being nervous around the undead and not trusting them at all. As far as Anthony went, I think he was far more nervous than any of us were. He was truly the one putting himself in danger by surrounding himself with Vampire Hunter’s and humans with supernatural abilities.

“It is my pleasure as far as both issues. Now,” he rubbed his hands together, “I have acquired some items for the pantry in anticipation of your arrival.”

Food! Thank God. Getting a good meal these days wasn’t very easy for those not pledged to the Vampire Council. My mouth watered just thinking about meat.

“If you will follow me, we can prepare a meal and as the little hunter has suggested, introduce ourselves and get down to business.” He spun around and stepped out of the foyer, into the main house.

I followed him, with Drew close at my side and the rest of the group tagging along hesitantly. I knew they were uncomfortable, but they were just as hungry as me.

“This is the sitting room,” Anthony described as we passed through a room with delicate Victorian furnishings. “Anyone play?” he pointed at the piano. “I am a fantastic pianist, however, it is always much nicer to listen to someone else play.”

No one answered, so apparently none of us knew how.

“That is a shame.” Anthony shook his head at the lack of answers he received. “And this is one of the restrooms on the main floor if you have the need.”

We traveled down a short narrow hallway which opened up into a very large dining room with a huge dining table at its center. “This is our formal dining room and where we will be taking our meal shortly.”

Then, we followed him through a swinging door which led us into the kitchen. “Normally, I would have someone on staff to prepare the meal, however, help has been somewhat hard to find lately.” He shot me a pointed glance.

Dang, I wish people would stop blaming me for the Vampire Apocalypse? I already felt guilty enough without everybody rubbing it in.

Alice stepped forward and shyly pushed a lock of blonde hair away from her eyes. “I can help with the cooking, if you like.” She was ogling the kitchen, envy bright within her blue eyes. While the appearance was very antique, all the appliances were modern. A large rectangular island took up most of the center of the room, allowing a nice work space that we could all walk around.

“I’ll help too,” Luke volunteered.

Anthony’s lips widened into a smile so broad a bit of his fangs were visible. “Fantastic!” Let me show you where everything is kept.”

The next half an hour or so was spent with prep work. Alice and Luke put everyone to work doing small things like chopping, peeling and washing. The whole time, my stomach grumbled. We were active people. With all the training and physical work, we all needed to eat more to keep up our energy. I was freaking starving.