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“I know. But it’s the best-case scenario. She’s a tourist and needs to have blood,” Ruric said. “I can’t hack into their computer system, and we can’t use vampiric persuasion on them.”
“I’ll go inside with Caitlin. She won’t know how to do this, and we don’t want anyone to know she’s newly turned.”
“Alright, Levka.” Ruric gave Levka directions to the blood bank then. “Live long and prosper.”
“Star Trek, Spock said it, right?” Caitlin asked.
“Of course,” Ruric said.
When they arrived at the blood bank, Levka parked the van, and then he and Caitlin went inside.
Stasio moved into the driver’s seat, just in case they had to make a fast getaway.
* * *
Caitlin couldn’t help beingnervous about this. She wanted to enter the building invisibly, using her witch’s skills, but Levka told her she needed to learn to use blood banks for when they were finally settled.
They walked inside the pristine entrance, several people waiting in the lobby to donate blood. She’d never donated blood when she had been human, but she admired those who did. She went up to the check-in counter and said she was visiting the region and then telepathically, she said,“I need some blood.”
She had to show her passport, and then the woman smiled. “American. Go ahead and have a seat and we’ll call you when we’re ready.”
“Thanks.” Then she and Levka took a seat together.
Another guy who was waiting in the lobby smiled at her.
Levka said to her,“We need to teach you how to direct your telepathic conversation to only those you want to hear it, like to me, so I know what you were telling the clerk, and to the clerk. The man smiling at you probably is a vampire getting some blood, not giving some.”
“Sorry. I don’t know how to do it.”
“I know.” Levka wrapped his arm around her shoulders.“It probably will take time. We can practice when all of us are in the same room, and you can try to direct your conversation to only one of us. In the beginning when my friends and I were turned, we had no clue how to do it, but it has been so long ago, it’s hard to remember just how we learned to control our conversations. Before that, it was chaos, believe me, with vampires telepathically communicating with each other, but everyone within hearing distance being privy to the conversations.”
“I bet that was unreal.” Caitlin couldn’t imagine anything so strange.
Then the smiling guy was called in and a few minutes later, he left the back rooms and winked at Caitlin, carrying a little package. Her face felt hot, and she was sure she was blushing. Levka scowled at the guy. Luckily, he didn’t show his fangs.
She was called in next, and she noticed that several other people who had been there before her frowned at her, probably wondering why she was able to go in ahead of them. She wondered if it was because they were donating blood as humans, but she was a vampire needing blood.
Levka went with Caitlin and the lab technician looked a little surprised. Caitlin had planned to go in by herself, but Levka was ever protective. Still, she didn’t want to make this appear that anything was out of the ordinary.
“We’re probably set up just like your American blood banks,” the lab technician said.
“Oh, sure, but I’ve never been here before, so my friend is here for moral support,” Caitlin said.
The technician smiled. “Here you go.” She gave Caitlin a sack like the one the man had been carrying.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Enjoy your stay here.”
“I will. Thanks.” Then with much relief, Caitlin and Levka left the building, and she was so glad nothing wrong had happened. It seemed like while she was with the guys, something was always bound to occur—and often in a bad way.
Levka indicated to Stasio that he had the wheel, and Stasio moved back to the next row of seats.
“Everything went fine, we take it,” Stasio said.
“Yeah, I’m all set,” Caitlin said. “Now that I know how to do this, I can go on my own.”
“With me,” Levka said.
