"Could I offer you something to drink?"
I wondered at his seriousness for a moment, but the look in his eyes spoke volumes. I felt hunger, but not for him.
"Thank you, but no. I'm looking for someone." The lie slipped easily from my lips. He looked crestfallen, but he wasn't pushy. He smiled, turned, and escaped back into the crowd.
I knew from television, a vampire's bite could be pleasurable to humans, but my mind couldn't fathom why humans would willingly offer themselves to vampires they didn't even know. My aunt fed me regularly, but I never saw pleasure on her face while it happened. The absence of pleasure alone let me know she did what she did out of love, and not some addiction to pleasure or pain. The thought of people willingly being meals not only disturbed my morality, but almost left me with a sense of outrage. I had to fight to stop myself from yelling at their absurdity.
My thoughts drifted to the smell of spices all around me and the hunger roared through my mind. I had to eat! I could barely control my body any more. I could actually feel lethargy creeping into my limbs and I could barely hear the music permeating the club anymore. I made my way to the bar frantically searching for something. I knew what I wanted; I just didn't know how to get it. I knew if it did not get offered to me, I would take it.
My vision became blurry and I spun in place looking for the closest source of palatable blood, and found him at the bar a mere five feet away. He stood about six feet tall with roguish good looks. He conversed with a demure blond human dressed to the hilt in a black cocktail dress. I could see both hunger for blood and something else in his eyes, and I'm sure she could see it too.
I remember taking one step towards him, and the rest is a blur. I kind of remember launching myself at him, and I definitely remember my teeth piercing the flesh of his neck and the first spurt of his lifeblood striking my tongue. Blurrily, I remember hands of steel and sinew pulling against me, trying to pull me off the handsome stranger whose blood tasted so sweet. I remember the shouts of anger and outrage at what I had done, and then I remember nothing.
Chapter 3
I came to sitting in a high backed leather chair in a nondescript office. I didn't know if I remained at the club, or had been spirited somewhere else. I felt two things, regret for what I had done, and fear of the consequences. I wasn't just sitting in the comfortable chair; I had been bound hand and foot with not one, not two, but three sets of handcuffs. I must have fought pretty hard against the bouncers for such extreme measures. I must have not completely fed either, because the hunger still grumbled from deep within.
I looked around the room, and knew myself to be alone. I thought of the handsome vampire I had attacked with a pang of guilt. I wondered at his fate. I don't think you can kill a vampire by ripping out his throat, but for every interesting fact I did know about vampires, there are probably a million no one had documented yet. If you want to talk about secretive sects, vampires outrank most supernatural species by several rungs of the ladder.
I glanced down at the sets of handcuffs encircling my wrists and gave a tentative tug. They weren't standard police issue cuffs either. I could tell because instead of being a bright chrome color, they had a grey matte finish. I wondered what material was used in their production. While cool to the touch, pure metal would have been even cooler. I pulled my wrists apart to see if they would give, but the material refused. I had heard the expression "up the creek" before, but now I could actually pinpoint the location on a map.
I heard footsteps outside the door and I glanced up just as the door swung open. An angry looking woman stopped just inside the door and stared at me with hatred in her eyes. I gasped a little from her beauty. She stood about five foot seven and probably weighed a little more than my one-hundred pounds. Her hair, the color of spun gold, lay intricately above her beautiful face. Green eyes flashed at me and her lips pursed in an angry line. Her skirt and jacket, obviously of designer label, lay sleekly against the lines of her body and she wore them gracefully.
"Give me one goddamn reason why I shouldn't turn you over to the fucking police." She stood with one hand on her slim waist and one foot tapping an angry rhythm on the hardwood floor.
"I'm sorry ma'am. I wouldn't blame you if you did. I haven't eaten in almost a week, and I don't know what came over me," I looked down as I said it and tried to look as meek as humanly or inhumanly possible. I didn't even look up when I heard her close the door and walk behind the mahogany desk in front of me to sit down.
"Who are you, and more importantly what the hell are you? I know you're a vamp, at least a master, but how did you get so fucking strong? I have seen hunger do strange things, but it took ten of us to pull you off Charles. Those handcuffs you are wearing are carbon nanofiber cuffs. I couldn't break through one of them, and yet you broke through not one set, but two. I didn't think even three sets would hold you, so again, what the fuck is going on?"
"I don't know I swear!" I could hear the tears welling up through my voice, and they weren't faked. I felt scared, hungry, and all alone and I feared my perch on the precipice of the abyss wouldn't remain stable. "I have always been like this. I don't remember ever not being a vampire, and I don't know how I got like this. Please, just kill me or call the fucking cops. I can't do this anymore!"
I brought my cuffed hands to my face, hid behind them, and cried. I didn't expect anything from the female vampire and she didn't disappoint. She just sat behind the desk and left me to my despair. I don't know how long I went on, but it took quite a while, or at least it felt that way. I went from hysterics, to wracking sobs, to sniffles and then finally to quiet lip quivers. When they finally subsided, my mysterious captor finally stood and pushed her chair back.
"What is your name?" Her tone sounded five-hundred degrees softer than before.
"Ashlyn," I answered.
"Ashlyn, if I take those off are you going to attack me?" The timbre of her voice made me pause. I heard her ask, but the words kept repeating themselves over and over and over. I could feel them trying to insinuate themselves into my brain, trying to force me to answer truthfully. I wouldn't have lied anyway, but I felt the compulsion almost forcing the truth from my lips. I knew I could have lied, but I didn't.
"I don't know. I'm still hungry."
If I judged the look on my new friend's face correctly, I surprised her. She closed her eyes for a moment and I heard a soft knock on the door followed by it opening and the large man mountain from the front door pushing his bulk through its inadequate frame.
"Yes
,
mistress?"
"Anan, come in and close the door," She said and waited for him to comply. "I need you to bare your wrist for our famished guest. Do so now."
I had to give the guy credit. Her voice left no room for argument, but I probably would have told her what she could go do with herself. Anan however, removed the watch from his left arm and lowered his wrist to my mouth. It looked like an entire leg of lamb splayed out in front of me. I raised my eyes and locked gazes with the woman behind the desk as I bit down. I fought the instinct to grab his arm, which would have been damn near impossible anyway because of my spiffy restraints.
The blood hit my tongue and I felt ecstasy consume me. I had lived on the blood of my kin for over seventeen years. It had nourished me, kept me alive, and kept me sane. I never enjoyed it. This however felt like liquid fire pouring itself through every nerve of my body. The puzzle of what made my aunts blood nourishing became clear. It had to be power. My aunt told me my mother had been an earth mage of considerable power. Here before me now stood a vampire of considerable power. My aunt must have had the aptitude to use magic, just not the desire. I must have been a fool not to have seen it earlier.
I drank deeply of my meal. He made no motion to stop me, even as I felt his legs start to quiver. I felt his power ebbing and neither myself nor the hunger inside felt the desire to stop. Then I felt his fear. I like to consider myself a good person. I have never harmed animal, vegetable, nor mineral in the scant two decades of my existence. Feeling his fear made me a little sick to my stomach. Hooray for morals.
I let him go and made sure to be careful extracting my curved fangs so as not to rip his flesh anymore than necessary. I don't know if I expected a modicum of gratefulness from him for my delicate work or what, but I did feel a little hurt when he grabbed his wrist and fled to the far side of the office. I let it go and rolled the power and taste around on my tongue. It tasted exquisite. I stretched like a cat and felt the hunger slumber finally. I had been hungry for days and the feeling of contentment washed over me.
I couldn't contain myself. I looked down at my bonds and snapped the three chains without a thought. If I had thought about it beforehand, I probably wouldn't have done it. I looked again at my captor. She closed her eyes again and a mere moment later a group of large vampires in the Fangloria's regalia came surging into the room. A mere fraction of a second later and I became surrounded in bouncer.
"Whoa!" I wasn't going to do anything; I just wanted to free my hands. I held my hands up in the classic "freeze" posture, and I felt multiple hands grab my wrists and arms.
"Stop," I heard her say. Again she used her double voice. I could hear it whispering to me with desire to do what she said. I'm not going to lie; I wish I had her ability. It would be pretty handy in a bank.
"I'm not doing anything, the cuffs started to chafe," I told her. I saw doubt wash across her face and something else. Maybe fear. I doubted it. "Can you please undo my feet? I promise you I'll leave and never come back."
She motioned her private army to release me and back up and they did so. I rubbed my wrists and settled my hands into my lap.
"Ashlyn, first you have to answer some questions for me." I felt her using a compulsion not to lie again. "How old are you? What house do you claim as your heritage? Who is your master?" The questions kept repeating themselves over and over in my mind. I wanted to lie, and I knew I could, but to what point. The truth would probably be more believable than any lie I could concoct.
"I'm seventeen. I don't know what you mean by "what house" and I have no master. Now you know my name, could you please tell me who you are?" I saw her ponder both my answers and my question.
"Gloria is my name, child. I am the proprietor of the establishment you chose to wreak such havoc upon. How dare you come in to my house, attack one of my customers, and create problems, the likes of which you couldn't possibly imagine, for me? Tell me child, what am I supposed to do with you now? Call the authorities and tell them you attacked one of my guests and let them figure out what to do with you? Vampires in jail don't last too long. Should I kill you myself? I can tell you are going to be nothing but a huge inconvenience if you don't outright get me killed. Or should I turn you over to the Master of Chicago and let him deal with you?"
I didn't think she really expected an answer so I kept my mouth shut. I watched her stare at me as she drummed her fingers on the desk, leaving small nail shaped imprints in the hardwood. I wish I could set her at ease, I wouldn't be a problem, and I had no desire to cause her trouble, but I didn't think she would believe me. She didn't strike me as the trusting sort.
"Can I just leave?" I tried not to sound too hopeful.
"I sincerely doubt it would do any good. You could probably take out the strongest of the servants I own. I wouldn't put money against myself fighting you, and don't think I have ever uttered those words before. I thought your hunger gave you the strength to snap the v-cuffs, so I fed you. Yet you snapped three sets of them without batting an eyelash. No Ashlyn, of unknown origin and power, I think I shall introduce you to Cicero and let him decide your fate. If I let you go and he finds out I wouldn't even begin to ponder my fate. If I kill you outright, he may be pleased or he may not. Either way it is not a chance I'm willing to take."
She stood and gave a "watch her" motion to my guards and left the room. I considered making a break for it, but I didn't want to call Vegas to see what kind of odds they would give me against ten large vampires. I did the only thing I could think of. I waited. Thank gods I didn't have to do it for long.
Gloria came back into the office and sat back down at her desk. She removed a piece of stationary from one of the drawers of her desk and wrote something down on it. She handed it to one of the larger vampires and stood.
"Make sure she gets there, Demitri. Take two others and don't disappoint me."
"Yes, mistress," he said as he bowed and motioned to my two closest guards.
"Ashlyn, it would be best for you to go without resistance. Should you even manage to escape, Cicero will hunt you down and destroy you. Trust me," she stated in a flat voice to me, like even she fought to keep the fear from her words.
I didn't respond merely nodded. I stood and filed out of the room sandwiched between Demitri and the two others. I had a date to meet the vampire Cicero. Again I felt fear wash through me like a wave of despair.
Chapter 4
We pulled up to another vampire club a few miles away after an uneventful ride in a non-descript cargo van. Didn't these people believe in offices? They could have spiffy names like the vampire offices of Dewey, Bitem, and Howe. The van pulled into an employee parking lot in the rear of the building and my escorts ushered me to the back door. Demitri knocked three times, and the door opened. I gasped at the more impressive muscle standing before me; they stood taller than the bouncers I had seen at Fangloria's.
The vampire wore what looked like a 1920's gangster approved pinstripe suit and hat. I thought it might be a personal attire choice until I saw the two behind him wearing similar outfits. Either I had entered a themed club, or I really stood before prohibition era vampires.