Authors: John Conroe
I must be a double moron, because I decided to correct her.
“Actually, her first word was 'swallow,' ” I said.
Her palm slapped the dashboard like a gunshot, making me jump despite myself. “I knew it! She gave you her blood! Hah!” She was really excited now. “Don't tell anyone else that! And don't even think about it near Nika!”
“Why?”
“Because, my slow to understand friend, no one...NO ONE has ever tasted Tanya's blood. no one but you! That proves it! Absolutely proves it!”
“I'm not following any of this.” I admitted.
“Vampire blood, when shared with a human, does a lot of things. If the vampire has taken blood from the human, then shares their own, it creates a bond. The human also gets improved health, better senses, faster reflexes, greater strength and other stuff. Depending on how much blood is taken, it usually wears off anywhere from several hours to several days, unless more blood is shared. Tanya, as the only born vampire..the only Full Blood, has probably the most potent blood of any vampire, even the Elders. It has been guarded, her whole life, like gold, better than gold. And she
chose
to share it with you. She’s never given it to anyone.”
That explained the extensive cleanup efforts and burned clothing. It also explained why I had recovered so quickly without a transfusion. And probably why I had broken so many personal weight lifting records today.
“How much did she give you?”
“Just what she wiped onto her finger. Maybe a couple of CC's?” I answered.
She looked at me blankly.
“What? I watched the tape of your fight with the demon yesterday. You moved a lot faster than most humans, but that amount of blood should not
have affected you so much. Hmm…
I wonder?” She tapped one long black fingernail against her bottom ruby lip in thought.
“It's like you two were made for each other.....” she mused. “Anyway, back to
my original point. Tanya has C
hosen you. You’re it! She's not going to change her mind....ever.”
We were at a stoplight and I was so overwhelmed by the conversation that she had to remind me to drive.
“What does that mean...chose me?”
She sighed. “Tanya has decided that you are her life mate. Her beloved. You are hers, now and forever.”
“What? You can’t choose a lifemate after knowing someone for twenty minutes! That’s crazy!”
“No, Chris, that’s vampire. And I know Tanya, probably better than even her mother.”
“I knew you weren't a waitress, but what exactly is your role?”
“Galina made me..Turned me if you will. But fifteen years ago, she gave me to Tanya. So I am hers. I used to be more a keeper, but now that you woke her up, I'm her assistant, her confidant, sister, friend and all around right hand.”
“Galina
gave you
to Tatiana?”
“Chris, you have to understand, vampires belong to their sires, the ones who turned them. The vampire world is all about relationships, covens and families. There are very few unaffiliated vampires in existence. We simply don't thrive or survive without support systems and networks. Living for centuries is not bearable without close connections with fellow beings. Not to mention being caught alone by our enemies. Tanya is of her own line, due to her unique nature. Galina gave me to her to give her that anchor that we all need.”
“What happened to Tanya? Fifteen years ago? She killed her own nursemaid by accident, didn't she?” I guessed.
“Oh, Northern, I have to apologize. You are quicker than you look. Yes, Tatiana's vampire minder wasn't paying attention and she was feeding on Belina, her human nursemaid. Something frightened her, we don't know what, and she never stopped her feeding. She was devastated. She really loved Belina.”
“That's why she thinks she's evil, isn't it,” I guessed again.
“Yup.”
“What happened to the vampire who was minding her?”
“
She
was me. I volunteered to be her minder.”
Another question occurred to me. “Lydia, what were you doing waiting table last Friday night?”
She smiled in the dark interior, the instrument lights reflecting off her teeth.
“Nika
heard
Vadim when he saw you in line. Something about you caught his attention,” she said. “ I checked you out myself when you came in with your friends. There was definitely something that caught my attention as well. So I took the table to keep an eye on you. Looks li
ke I was right. You’ve
really shaken things up.”
After a moment I pushed on.
“So Galina is ....threatened by me?”
“Tatiana Demidova is viewed like royalty throughout the vampire world. Born vampire. Abilities from birth that take centuries to develop. Galina's position has more to do with the status of being her mother th
a
n anything else. She's only about two hundred and seventy, or so.”
Lydia explained.
“Suddenly, her little girl is awake and learning again, making decisions, growing mentally, interested in business, life and chasing boys. Well, just one boy.” she teased. “And, the Elders are coming to see for themselves. She's panicking. Kinda stupid really. If she drives you away, Tanya will only follow you. She must be in denial. Hmm. Don't worry about it. Let me handle it. You just keep the demon things away from Tanya.”
Watching me, she continued.
“Now it's my turn to ask a question. How do you feel about Tanya?”
I couldn't answer, my emotions were too raw and unfamiliar. Elation, wonder, sun hot happiness mixed
with fear of disappointment
into a confusing jumble. Lydia was watching my face and she nodded. “Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought.”
“Okay, my original mission, before we got sidetracked, was to give you some Tanya pointers. First, she's
extremely
worried about you. Protective AND territorial. Her feelings are cement, but she is worried if you will feel the same way. I think you do. But just keep doing what you
’
r
e
doing. She came home floating this morning and hasn't taken that damn sweatshirt off since.”
She paused in thought and I threw in a question.
“When you say protective, is that why she got in Arkady's face? What if he had pushed it, she might have gotten hurt.”
Lydia snorted in amusement. “Please! Arkady would never attack her. He worships at the alter of Tatiana. But if for some reason he lost his mind and did? He wouldn't have lasted a nano second.”
“She's a good fighter?”
“Chris, I don’t think I have the vocabulary to describe just how good a fighter she is. For the last fifteen years, all she has done has been to study and to practice fighting. She’s a natural, and she’s faster and stronger than any other vampires except the Elders. Every day she fights as many fighters as Vadim can plead, bully and bribe into sparring with her. Whips all of them. And now that she’s got a
boyfriend
, she kicks all their asses in half the time. Like she’s been holding back, but now has places to go, a guy to see. Matter of fact, I think she’s been on hold for awhile and now is making up for lost time. She even cracked a joke
yesterday;
at least I think she did?”
“No way. What was the joke?” I asked.
“Well, when dusk hit, she shot straight outta bed and raced downstairs. She
knew
you had been in the house. When I caught up to her she had cornered Deckert and four of his guys, demanding to know who had hurt you. She smelled your blood and was ready to go to war. I got her calmed down, and Deckert reassured her that you only scraped your face fighting the demon thingy, but by then one of Deckert’s guys had pissed himself. Pretty understandable really, ‘cause she was scary as hell. Never seen her do that before.”
She grinned in the darkness.
“Anyway, Tanya apologized and then offered to buy the guy new pants, but they would be black or navy so the next time the piss wouldn’t show up so much. Then she smiled. Of course, they didn’t know if she was joking or not, but I laughed.”
“That is sorta funny. The guy pissed himself? Really?”
“Oh Northern, you have no idea what she was like. Do me a favor and don’t get hurt. And don’t flirt with other girls!”
“Ah, I don’t flirt. And girls don’t flirt with me.”
“Hmm, I’m not so sure about that, but don’t be surprised if they start.”
“Why?”
“Never mind, just trust me.”
I was already trusting her with my life, what more could I do.
We were at my building and I found a spot to park not far from the door. Lydia leaned over and pecked my check, then was out of the SUV in a blink. “Alright, go be nice to my girl.” I started to nod, but she had faded into the dark.
Tatiana was sitting in my leather chair, wearing jeans and the NYPD hoodie, paging through one of my books,
The Hobbit.
She bounced to her feet when I came in, a little smile on her face.
“Hi
zayka
” She said. “Hi right back at ya” I replied with a grin. “Er. What’s a zayka?”
“It is a bunny.”
“A bunny?”
“Is term like …’honey’.” She said.
I guess that was okay. Then I studied her some more. She was paler, circles under her eyes and a nervous sort of edgy look about her. She froze while I thought about it for a second.
“You’re hungry, aren’t you?” I guessed.
She didn’t answer for a moment, then gave a little nod and said, “A little.”
I couldn’t believe I was about to do this, but it seemed natural.
“Okay, let me change and then you can ..er..feed?” I wasn’t sure how to phrase it.
She started to shake her head, but I jumped back in.
“No really, Tanya,..zayka, if you
’
r
e
hungry and my blood is especially good for you, then we feed you. Simple as that. I got lots.”
I tried for light but it was such an odd thing to say that I didn’t get it quite right. I changed out of my uniform and gear, putting on nylon wind pants and a red
Fall Out Boys
tee shirt.
She was nervous, but I had settled myself down while changing and I just asked, “Okay, what’s the best way to do this, or maybe I should say, what’s your preferred way.”
Her eyes got wide, her pupils fully dilated and she licked her lips nervously.
“Oh, you haven’t done this in a long time, right? Why don’t I sit on the futon and you can lean back on my chest and feed from my wrist?” I suggested, holding up my right arm. She nodded and so I got into a comfortable sitting position, my feet on the floor and she sat next to me, her legs out on the futon, my right arm around her.
She looked at me and asked, “Are you sure?” and when I nodded she gently pulled my arm to her mouth, her eyes on mine and bit. I felt a sharp pinch, like the doctor always says you’ll feel, just before he jabs you with a spear sized needle. The tiny pain was gone in a flash and I felt heat radiate up my arm and through my chest, down my torso, pelvis and legs. It was nothing like the night at the club. Waves of feeling rolled from my wrist through the rest of me, the sensation completely pleasurable. Really pleasurable. In fact, I was glad she was only leaning on me and not sitting on my lap, or she would have instantly known just how much I liked it.
I could thoroughly understand how vampires could find willing donors. Thinking back to my one night at the club, I could now see that some of the clubbers had been there just for that reason. Tatiana was drawing blood very slowly and while I could feel the blood flow out, it didn’t create the panic I had felt the other night. It seemed like a long time, but it was only four or five minutes, when she finished, licking my wrist. I was breathing hard, my pulse racing. Her saliva healed the punctures instantly. My left wrist didn’t even have a pink spot from her first feeding. Her cheeks were flushed and she smiled, stretched, arching her back in a lithe motion, and then kissed me.
Soft at first, the kiss built its own momentum and we spent quite a bit of time exploring each other’s lips. She smelled of jasmine, lilac and musk. She tasted clean and coppery from my blood. It was entirely new for both of us and I think that mutual lack of experience kept us from being self -conscious. Suddenly, she popped up with an “Oh!” and zipped into the tiny kitchen, returning with a big glass of orange juice. Nothing would do, but that I had to drink the whole thing down before she would return to her previous spot.
We were having the teenager experience that we had both missed out on. The kissing continued and she seemed pretty good at it. I mentioned that. “Oh, Lydia showed me how.”
That
image stuck. She asked more questions, this time about Hellbourne, so I filled her in.
Basically, I knew of two kinds of demon. The ones that settled in a location, like a house and then went to work on the inhabitants. Feeding on misery, pain and anguish and then creating more by manipulating one or more inhabitants. I opened the browser on my laptop and found a recent article of a guy that suddenly went nuts, killed his wife and kids, then himself. They happen daily and almost always are the result of a house bound demon.