Vampire Miami by Philip Tucker Read Free Book Online Page B

at the crowd at the bar. It all
seemed so unimportant.
    She lowered her Omni and frowned. She felt even
more alone now, alone and bored at the prospect of sitting here for
six hours watching people drink and make fools of themselves.
Should she start asking around if people knew anything about Blood
Dust? Mama B’s recriminations came flooding back, her scorn for her
lack of a plan. She hadn’t thought past her arrival. Hadn’t been
able to envision actually being in Miami, and had instead vaguely
assumed that she’d figure things out once she arrived. What had
seemed simple back in Brooklyn suddenly seemed impossible; exactly
how did one go about learning where a drug came from?
    She kicked her heels for a minute, and then
stood. Tucked her Omni away and wandered out of the room. Thought
about hitting the door to check in with Maria Elena, and then
disdainfully turned toward the dance floor. She hugged the wall as
she walked down it, hand trailing along the smooth paint, and
stopped at the room’s entrance. It was stunningly huge. Cavernous.
Another bar to the left, smaller than the first, but then she saw a
second bar set in an island on the dance floor, and a third against
the far wall. A fashion catwalk ran up to the island bar, but
nobody was on it.
    The lights flowed and flashed, and the music was
good, the kind that got under her skin and into her bones. Not
enough of a crowd to really begin dancing, though. Just more people
at the bar.
    An hour passed during which Selah explored the
green room, and found it to be an extended lounge where low and
sensual music played, all shadows and recesses. She sat at a small
table, and then panicked at the sight of white lines of powder
arrayed across the glass top. She stood, looked around to see if
anybody was watching, and then quickly left before she could get in
trouble. Eventually, she decided she liked the loud music in the
dance room and hung out there, watching the people as they slowly
trickled in, began to fill out the space.
    “Hey, what’s up?” somebody yelled in her ear.
She started and turned sharply to see a lean-looking Latino guy
grinning at her. He was about her age, dressed in stylish black
clothing, and he stepped back and put his hands up. “Hey, don’t hit
me, I was just saying hi!”
    “What do you want?” asked Selah. Was he hitting
on her? This guy couldn’t be a vampire.
    “Can I buy you a drink? I’ll cover the credit!”
He tried his grin on her again. He smiled too much, she decided,
looked too pleased with himself. Still. Selah eyed the bar. The
glittering wall of bottles, the cornucopia of alcohol. She
shouldn’t. But she was on edge, half terrified, and what harm could
one drink do? Her rebellious edge arose and mixed with her fear and
impulsiveness and she nodded.
    “Sure.”
    He nodded, pleased, and leaned in once more.
“Awesome, what can I get you?”
    “Vodka cran,” she yelled. She didn’t really like
drinking. Not most nights. But sometimes. Sometimes.
    He flashed her a thumbs up and headed back to
the bar. Leaned in and waited to catch the bartender’s eye. Selah
scrutinized him. Was this a bad idea? But the music really was
good. And the drink might take the edge off. After the day she’d
had, she deserved it. And what else did Maria Elena think she was
going to do for six hours in club?
    Selah waited nervously. She was definitely not
interested, she decided, but still wished she could’ve cleaned up a
little better in the bathroom. He came back with two drinks in
hand, his clear with ice, and handed her a glass.
    “To wife!” he yelled.
    “What?”
    He leaned in, “I said, to life!”
    “Yeah, life,” said Selah. She clinked glasses
and took a sip. It was smooth and cold: perfect.
    “My name’s Michael!”
    “Selah.”
    “I haven’t seen you before. You new?”
    “Yeah. Just arrived.” Selah forced a smile. This
was it. Her opportunity. “So, what do you do for fun?”
    “Fun? I love to