"That scent . . ."
"I'm sure it's just mold. This place hasn't beencleaned inyears."
"It's not a bad smell . . . it's the scent of--"
It was then I felt the dewy drops on the side of my cheek. I must have broken open my wound when I ran into the cabinet.
I stepped into the moonlight.Alexander's eyes lit up, thenhe backed away.
Alexander didn't know what to do. If he got anycloser to me, he might be attracted to mymouth, withlust and thirst.
We didn't have time for a romantic vampire moment betweenus.
We heard the scuffling of footsteps coming down the staircase at the end of the hallway.
"They won't--" I said. "It's not enoughand theyare too far away."
Alexander put his finger to his lips to direct me to be silent as they came down the corridor.
"You must wipe it away. Before--"
My cut was small, but the scent of blood would be ripe on a breezy night in an empty factory. If the vampires were close, it wouldn't take long until they'd know a mortal was near.
"Do yousmell that?" I heard someone say. I couldn't see them, but I could hear them shuffling around intheir coffin room.
"It's blood," I heard a voice say. I couldn't tell if it was Sebastianor Jagger.
"It must be from the bottle in your office. You left it there last night," Onyx said.
"Ifinished it," Jagger said.
"It's human," I heard a female voice say. "Definitelynot ananimal."
"Yes, it's mortal. I could smell that a mile away."
"But whywould anyone be here?" Irecognized Sebastian's voice.
"It could be a homeless person," Jagger said. "Ican't keep track of everynook and crannyof this vast place."
The voices were so close; I knew they had to be standing only a few feet away.
I pulled my sleeve over my fist and pressed it to the crease of my mouth.
Alexander's escape would be easyand painless and take onlyseconds. Inbat form, he could easily fly through the sky-high ceiling and out the crack in the window. I, on the other hand, had only two legs and a very impatient nature. Without someone to guide me out, I had only the help of my flashlight.
"I'm not leaving youhere,"Alexander said as if he was reading mythoughts.
"That handle gets stuck," Isaid. "Maybe that could ward them off for a few minutes. Pushthe door closed."
"There's no other wayto escape," he said.
I could only hope they would let me be--but withsucha temptationas my blood looming before them, now wasn't the time to find out. It was one thing for me to be inthe companyofAlexander. But it wasn't a good idea to be in the company of other, more impulsive vampires.
Alexander peered throughthe crack of the doorway. "They're intheir room. Now is our onlychance!"
He grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the room and toward the staircase. It was rickety and dangerous at best, but the elevator would be creakyand loud if it still worked. Not onlywould it draw attentionto us--it could trap us in a cryptic cage.
We had just reached the stairs when the voices and footsteps emerged from the other end of the hallway. There was no time for a dash up and out. Alexander drew me behind the circular stairs and we stood close together in the shadows.