I smiled. “Sure. You want to test an idea?”
“Yes, but I don’t know where my kind gather around here.”
I knew exactly where vampires congregated in the area. “There’s a club in Cambridge. Goth night is every Wednesday. And on Fridays it’s either fetish or goth, depending. Considering it’s Thursday, we can go tomorrow, or even next week. It’s up to you.”
“I’d rather go on a less crowded night, just to make sure. And besides.” She paused. “We’ll have to dress the part, so we need to go shopping.”
I laughed, wondering how she could go from being pissed to being in a great mood in a matter of seconds. It didn’t matter because even if she didn’t have typical PMS, I was sure there was some type of vampire equivalent. I was not about to ask her, though. If she wanted to shop, then I knew just the place.
“Sure, when do you want to go?”
“How about tomorrow, in the afternoon?”
“Sounds great, but there’s one thing I’ve been wondering. How come you can be in the sun? Vampires are supposed to fry in the daylight.”
Veronica laughed. “Don’t believe everything legends talk about. Some of my kind can’t go into the sun. Those that indulge in the beast can’t stand the light, but those of us who fight our nature can be out in the sun for hours at a time. We are not immune to it though. Eventually, the rays will eat away at our skin like acid. I can go in and out of the sun for almost a whole day, taking an hour or two inside to look at clothes or something, but after three hours of direct light, I’m toast.
“I was at my limit when I brought you back. What you saw was nothing. When I placed you on the bed, my wings had burnt off. There wasn’t any skin on my back—it was all gone and had eaten away to the bone. I almost died bringing you here.”
“Oh!” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. All of my anger and mistrust drained away. It didn’t matter what happened before. Veronica would always protect me, and she’d proven that.
I smiled, noticing the beauty of the night. It was a wonder she was alive, considering she’d been born in the late eighteenth century. I couldn’t imagine her in those times. She was a creature that transcended time as she held me captivated. Veronica was something special that walked into my life, and I would keep the promise I made to her in New Orleans. I’d bring her back into the light as well as discover the true meaning of the night.
My name is Brenna
.
We stood outside The Black Rose in the new clothes Veronica had purchased last week. Once again I adjusted the red corset as it conformed to my body.
“I hate breaking these damn things in. It takes forever,” I bitched.
“It looks wonderful on you.” Veronica reassured me.
“Thanks.”
I glanced down at the rest of the outfit. I wore a black mesh ballroom skirt and a black velvet top. The red corset went over the whole thing. Veronica chose to buy a white vinyl ball gown, which clung to every curve of her as well as squeaking when she walked. Both of us wore flat black shoes. She wanted to get boots, but I talked her out of it, considering if she got blisters she’d heal, but I’d be stuck with them.
“Veronica, how are we going to get in? My ID is in New Orleans. It’s not like I planned on coming to Boston.”
“Not to worry,” she grinned, her teeth elongating.
“Can we see some ID?” one of the three bouncers asked. He was shorter than the rest, pockmarked and had red curly hair. The look he gave us made me feel like dinner.
Veronica glanced at me, her eyes burning red a moment, and she giggled. She turned back to the bouncers and stared each of them in the eyes. The air grew thick as she took hold of their minds like fishes on a hook. The energy around her contracted. As she let them go, the atmosphere returned to normal.
“You don’t see us. We’re not here, just ghosts.”
The bouncers went blank and let us pass. The redhead even opened the door as we strolled into the club without paying. I glanced back at the cashier and saw her vacant expression as well, and then she snapped out of it, asking the next customer for money. Veronica tugged on my arm, pulling me into a room off to the right, which had a dance floor with rainbow strobes lights and Industrial music playing. A few people jumped up and down to the beat. I curled my nose at it, hating the type of music the room played.
“You need to change now,” Veronica said.
I laughed as if reshaping my aura were as easy as changing clothes. I didn’t think Veronica understood how much concentration it took to get into the part. Once there, I could hold the ruse easier.
I nodded, focusing my aura. The energy expanded around me so I got a full sense of the room. I was in every corner at the same time. My nostrils flared as the familiar energy surged through me. The thrill of the hunt ignited in me as I realized how much I missed the façade. If there were any real vampires among the mix, they’d never suspect a thing. I’d entice the humans, making them my prey. Each one would love me, coming into my waiting arms, until—
“Brenna!” Veronica shook me out of my haze.
A snarl formed on my lips, but the urge left me as the coolness of Veronica’s hand fell against my shoulder. The thoughts cleared from my mind, but the old longing to hunt still rippled through me.
“Are you all right?”
I nodded, scanning the incoming customers, wondering if they were vampires. It was strange because now that I deliberately projected the vampiric ruse, there was something missing, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Veronica had to be my guide in the situation.
“Are there others in the club?”
She looked across the main entryway and into a small salon where the dancers sat and drank. I followed her and took in the scant clothing of some of the patrons. One guy with frosted blond hair wore vinyl pants held up by leather-spiked suspenders. His nipples were pierced with inch long barbells. Next to him was a woman with long, braided brown hair. She wore a red velvet cloak that covered a red vinyl nurse’s uniform. It was the third companion in the group Veronica pointed to.
“There, the one in the red miniskirt. She’s one, and very old.”
I spotted the vampire who faced us. The woman looked to be no older than twenty. Her hair was the color of a streaked sunset. She had a drink in her hand. I wondered how old she actually was. My shields wavered a moment as I lost my concentration, and it was then she stopped in mid-sentence and stared at Veronica and I. My breath caught in my throat. This was the test. If she found out, then I’d be bait, and Veronica would—well, I didn’t know what would happen to her, but it’d be bad.
The other vampire raised her glass and motioned for us to join her. The gesture reminded me of the very same one I had used to acknowledge Veronica just two weeks ago. How fast things had changed.
Veronica looped her arm through mine as all the muscles tensed in my body. I felt like I had been spiked into the floor and there was no way anyone could move me.
Just relax. Don’t let her sense your fear or she’ll be curious. Let her think you’re my child and just learning to be what you are. It’ll explain a lot. Now smile
, Veronica whispered in my mind.
I nodded internally, allowing my muscles to relax as we crossed the room. I plastered a huge smile on my face, hoping it would hide the uncertainty that burned inside me. I had no idea how long the ruse would work and my energy would remain smooth and not falter, revealing what I truly was.
“You must be new in the city,” the other vampire said. Her voice held no hint of an accent. Her lips were as red as her miniskirt. The lipstick contrasted with the olive tone of her skin. The energy around her was ancient, older than Veronica. Outwardly, she was younger than I first thought—eighteen, sixteen even. Her eyes told a different story. This woman had seen centuries, millennia even.
“Yes,” Veronica answered. “Raven thought this would be a good place to observe the meat.”
The ancient vampire’s gaze fell on me. Her mind sliced through mine. She knew everything about me in a second. I didn’t think she sensed I was a phony, but assumed I’d just been turned because of the humanness about me that she couldn’t stand. She hated the cretins she fed on, fucking and playing with them. The image of the beast within her flashed in my mind. It was twisted, everything Veronica was not. This ancient one could not stay in the daylight more than half an hour or she’d ignite like dried wood. Her mind left an imprint as she withdrew from my thoughts. I assumed I’d passed the test because I was still breathing.
“Yes, this place has a certain atmosphere that draws many of us. It’s neutral territory. We do not fight here, and many mortals are already marked, so you must be careful not to take one that is.”
“We’ll be careful. Come, Raven.” Veronica tugged on my arm, steering me through a small passageway and into another dance room. This one played music I was more used to. Good old-fashioned goth.
Veronica grabbed a stool at a side bar and I sat next to her. She gazed around the room and then back at me. The muscles in her face relaxed. I could almost see the tiny hairs along her arms lying down.
“She’s old. She’s a bitch. She almost didn’t buy you were just a youngling. I thought she’d tear you apart for a second.”
“Maybe we should go then. I mean, if you think it’s not working?”
“Nonsense. I think your disguise will work on many. Most others don’t inspect minds unless you’re considered a threat. I don’t know why she did that to you. Those that are possessed by the beast can do strange things. Especially vampires that only crave power and domination. I didn’t expect that she would do that. Most of the others couldn’t care less about you. They just want blood. She’s right; this place has an atmosphere that draws others of my kind here. I wonder why? How did you know about this club, anyway?”
I grinned. “It was a frequent hang out of mine in college.”
“I’m surprised you weren’t picked off.”
I hit her hard on the shoulder. “Hey!”
She laughed. Her laughter was genuine. It was the first time I’d known her to be completely comfortable in public.
Her hand came to rest on my knee. I glanced down at it, hoping there was something more to the gesture.
I traced the veins of her wrist, admiring all the differences about her, remembering when I first met her. The attraction I held for her was nothing sexual. She intrigued me more than anything. I deeply wanted to help her, but after seeing inside her soul, things had changed. I had changed. I caught myself falling in love. Veronica caught my finger with her other hand, applying some pressure to my knee with the other. Her eyes swirled, going from black to red to something in between. They pulled me in. They weren’t hypnotic, just alluring. At first I assumed it was her other half close to the surface that made her eyes dance, but it was all the emotions surging through her. They overwhelmed her senses now that many of her walls had come down. So much had changed in such a short time, I didn’t want to hurt her, but I wanted her.
I leaned in for a kiss, her breath hot upon my lips, but a song came over the speakers that drew my attention away from her.
The lyrics were about vampires dancing in a moonlit garden. I smirked and watched as people gathered on the small dance floor. I grabbed Veronica’s hand, pulling her from the stool before she could protest. If she didn’t want to dance, she’d have stopped me with a minute portion of her strength. She didn’t. She came with me, joining the small throng of people. She looked at the others dancing, not knowing what the moves were. I laughed and gave myself over to the beat.
The fogger filled part of the club with smog as it mixed with the already thick cloud of cigarette smoke and sweating bodies. I twirled, ignoring the boning in the corset and the fact I wasn’t able to breathe. It had been a long time since I just enjoyed the music. Opening my eyes, I checked on Veronica and saw she had also fallen into the beat.
Dancing in a goth club was not the bump and grind of regular clubs, nor was it the jumping of the rave scene. It was melodic and slow. The hands and body told a story as music filled the senses, caressing the insides, infiltrating the brain, and ruled for the duration of the song. I lost my balance a few times, but caught myself, falling into a belly dance step. It didn’t matter what I looked like. No one watched me.
I shifted through one song and into the next, as the number of people dwindled from the dance floor. The beat of the next song moved up a notch. It was harder to find a rhythm in it. Some dancers decided to take their one-man show to the top of the stage or inside a small cage on the outskirts on the dance floor. The ancient vampire set her drink down and came to the floor, her movements pointed and exact. She’d heard this music before and knew how to manipulate it and those around her. She pulled the tune into her, drawing attention to herself, and drew focus from those humans in the crowd who might become her next meal. I was spun into her web, but Veronica grabbed my hand and gave me a sharp yank. I looked into my companion’s eyes, finding the strength not to lose myself again.
I stretched my arms out to her, welcoming her into my dance space, but she shook her head. I wasn’t going to let her get away. I moved within the beat until I was inches from her, encircling my arms around her waist and then pulling her to me so our breasts touched. The coolness of the vinyl slipped beneath my fingertips, as I struggled to get a grip on her. Veronica tensed a moment, but I never took my eyes from hers until our bodies moved in time.
One of her hands traced my shoulder blades, igniting my hunger for her. Her nails traveled along the back of my neck, then the side, passing over the punctures she’d given me. It seemed my immune system had taken to healing them fast. Maybe some of her ability rubbed off on me. More likely the wounds were never bad to begin with. We danced together through the rest of the song and into another. I was losing my breath and about to suggest that we stop or at least I sit down, when she tensed against me. This time it was not because I had touched her. It was something else. I heard a low growl building in her throat. Her other half had broken free.
Her nails cut small holes through my corset. The sharp pain of flesh tearing as her claws went into my skin seared me, but I held my tongue. I tried to turn around, but she wouldn’t let me go.
“Veronica,” I whispered.
She didn’t hear me. The muscles in her face twitched.
“Veronica!” Still nothing.
I sighed and gathered my mental strength. I hoped she was distracted enough not to have shields in her mind or I would never be able to get through. I would be torn to shreds before she realized what happened.
Veronica!
I yelled, finding a small opening in her barriers.
Her beast jumped once my thoughts penetrated her mind. Then it retreated and Veronica let me go, realizing what she had done. She backed away an inch or so, and I was able to turn and see what had set her off.
A man leaned against a pole wearing black skintight pants and a black leather vest that exposed his pale chest. He had short spiked black hair and a silver cross dangling in his right ear. He was familiar somehow. I had seen him before, but not in Boston. I thought a moment. I had seen him in New Orleans, right before I spotted Veronica. He had invaded my thoughts, demanding my attention. I knew when I looked at him. He was something different, and he had let me have Veronica. He was another vampire. That was why I recognized him.
“Veronica, he’s okay. I’m sure he means no harm.”