Original Sin (The Order of Vampires 1)

Sometimes erotic, sometimes eerie. But the dreams never made any connection to her real life.

When she recalled the dreams where the world seemed bathed in light, a warm sensation expanded in her chest. Contrarily, the darker dreams filled her with a cold sense of coiling fear. Like the flip of a coin, her dreams could go from perfectly pleasant to ominous.

Visions of last night’s dream returned. Gentle hands lulled her into a peaceful state, massaging and whispering promises. The air was warm. She’d been with someone—a man. His face hadn’t been clear, but she loved him very much. Their love swallowed her, kept her warm and safe.

But then he disappeared and she was alone and cold, swimming in a pool of darkness where her feet couldn’t touch and there were no ledges to hold on to. Candiru fish swam around her. They were tiny, eel-like fish with whiskers. And they bit, latching onto her like leaches.

Her hand stilled as she dried herself with the towel. Candiru. She knew the word, but never said or heard it before. It was probably something she made up.

Wiping down the mirror she frowned. Her skin seemed abnormally pale. “You need to start taking more vitamins.”

Returning to her room, she humored herself with a quick search. Candiru. “Please be something stupid.”

Her hand brushed a tender spot on her thigh, and she lifted away the towel, frowning when she spotted two faded dots. “What the...”

She leapt off the bed and stripped the sheets. So help her God if some sort of spider bit her—“Oh, God. Ew!”

She needed to get out of this hellhole and find a bug free apartment building. STAT.

Totally skeeved, she bagged up the bedding and left it by the door. She’d have to vacuum her mattress before going near it again. She re-examined the bite mark. It looked almost healed. Maybe she’d been infected with something. Maybe that’s where all the trippy dreams were coming from.

Dressed—for the added layer of protection—she decided to do a quick search of spiders that inhabited this region. Only, when she turned on her phone, her last search results filled the page. “What. The. Fuck?”

She dropped the phone and glanced around the apartment. Was someone playing a prank on her? How were all these weird things happening? Candiru were real and they looked exactly like the whiskered fish from her dream.

Freaked, she searched for Wikipedia. Native to the Amazon. Blood sucking. Sharp teeth to latch onto their prey. Oh, hell fucking no. First blood sucking butterflies, now this?

If she was going to dream about bloodsuckers, why couldn’t she dream of Eric Northman or Edward Cullen? No, she dreamt of gross, little leech fish and cattle-sucking butterflies.

She dumped her cup of coffee then grabbed the bag of laundry by the door. She didn’t have time for this crap. It was her long day at the bar and she needed to hit the Laundromat before her shift.

When she pulled into the bar parking lot Kyle’s car was already there, as well as a few others. She regretted not finishing her coffee that morning, because exhaustion had already set in. Once inside, she stashed her belongings in the back and tied her apron.

Strong arms closed around her and she gasped. “Jesus, you scared me.”

Kyle seemed as startled as her by her reaction. “Sorry. Did you get some studying done this morning?”

Ha. Do exactly as she planned? Wouldn’t that be nice? “Not really. I had to take care of some things at home.”

“Oh.” He caught her hand, hooking their fingers. “Does that mean we can’t hang—” His words cut off as he sniffed. “Is that new perfume?”

She laughed. “Do I look fancy enough for perfume?” She sniffed her hand, but didn’t smell anything. “Do I stink?” She lifted the collar of her shirt and sniffed again, only smelling soap and laundry detergent.

Kyle leaned close and immediately drew back. “Wow. Strong.”

“My head smells?” She sniffed her hair. Just shampoo. “I can’t smell anything.”

“You, uh...” He took a subtle step back, but she noticed all the same. “It’s different.”

“Bad different?” What was it? She continued to sniff her skin and even blew a breath into her palm. Everything seemed fresh on her end. “Maybe it’s you.”

“It’s definitely not me.”

Self-conscious, she put more distance between them. “I don’t know what it could be. I showered a few hours ago.”

“It’s sort of ... musky, like a masculine scent. Where were you this morning?”

“The Laundromat and home.”

He shrugged. “It’s really strong, Anna. It’s all I can smell.” He took another step closer to the door.

“I think you’re being dramatic.”

“I’m really not. Sorry.”

“What the hell?” He acted like she was wearing some sort of Kyle repellant. Frustrated, she picked up a tray. “I don’t know what it is. Maybe that’s just the way I smell.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” he called as she pushed past him. But he did let her leave the back room.