Sweet Cravings (14 page)

“Yeah. This is Darius’ private room in his mansion’s basement.”

“But how did I get here? I was at the movies and…um…”

Lune shrugged. “Beats me.”

“But why do you have to be here? Where’s Sang?”

She kicked out her legs in a stretch and yawned. “I forgot how annoying you are. Sang, well, let’s see…He’s out somewhere. Probably be back in an hour or so.”

“You guys seem pretty close.”

Lune giggled quietly. “Pretty close doesn’t even begin to describe us.”

“Why?”

She closed her eyes and inhaled. “I don’t think of him as a lover. He’s more like the older brother I lost. If it wasn’t for Sang, I’d—” She stopped. “Sorry, there I go rambling on.”

“Oh, no! Please continue.”

She leaned into the chair, sighed, and then continued. “I was twenty in nineteen seventy. I’d grown up in the worst parts of New York, in an abandoned shed after our parents left us there when I was ten. A couple months before, my older brother passed away after getting shot accidentally by some guy.” Her voice became tense. “I had no education. I had no family. There weren’t places like there are now where homeless people could go, and no one really gave a shit about anyone else except themselves. I’m still ashamed of the choices I made to survive.” She was serious, and the edge in her tone sharpened with distress.

“Just try to understand. Please. I didn’t choose what I did because I wanted to. I did it because I had to.”

“I know,” I whispered.

“I met Sang this one night, when a group of drunks had me surrounded. I’ll never forget how scared I was back then; all those men, at least ten, some with knives, others guns. It was terrifying. So, so terrifying.” She sniffled. “I really thought I was gonna die. But then, he came. Sang asked them what they were doing, and when they couldn’t give him an answer, he knocked the first guy out so quick there was no way in hell anyone saw him move at all. Then the idiots tried to beat up on him, but he just kept knocking ’em out without getting hurt himself.”

“And then?”

“He took one of the unconscious guys by the neck and bit into the front of his throat. For some reason, I wasn’t scared at all. He told me I could come with him if I wanted, and that the decision was entirely mine. So, I went along with him. It wasn’t long after that I met Darius. I didn’t know why Sang talked about that guy so much, like he was a god. He never told me why he served Darius. He’d say the nastiest things about him when he wasn’t there, but seemed so happy when he was. It was Darius who told Sang I should be turned, since living and being near vampires was dangerous. So, he changed me, and I’ve never thought of him as anything other than my savior and friend.”

She stood and yawned. “Ah, that’s about it! See ya later, Lily.”

Lune exited the room with a wave. Well, I should get going too. It’d be pointless to just sit here doing nothing.

“It would have been much better had you not gotten up.”

I turned to find Darius sitting on the couch beside me, pouring a glass of wine.

“God, you scared the shit outta me!” I complained, astonished. He looked fine; better, actually. He wasn’t coughing blood, and his posture was so straight I could tie a pole to his back.

“My apologies. I didn’t know your gods were so foreboding the way you talk freely of them.”

“I’ll let you know, I don’t believe in God. I’m an atheist. And I was talking about how you scared me.”

“Then why not call my name?”

I disregarded my frustration and replied, “It’s a habit. Now, tell me what the hell I’m doing here.”

He took a sip of wine. “May I offer you some Mondavi?

“No thanks. Not that thirsty at the moment. Can you please answer my question?”

Darius set the glass onto the table, retrieved a napkin, and dabbed his lips. “The answer is not always the solution.” He studied my face as if I were an invaluable painting. “Such a lovely, innocent face. I’ve waited far too long to see it before me.”

I shuffled toward the end of the couch. “Here we go again. That’s nice. Really nice. Now. Answer. Please.”

“Your impatience is still ardent. Have you touched your neck yet? Seen your arms?”

“What’s wrong with my arms and neck?” I looked at my arms, which were a bit paler than I’d remembered. Okay…Let’s see the underside. My eyes traveled to my wrists. There were two tiny black crescents on each wrist, like tattoos. Immediately, my hand flew to my neck, and when I touched the right side, a jolt of pain shot through me.

Darius snatched my wrist and said, “I’ve drained all of Wolf’s blood that was in you. Additionally, I gave you those marks as a guide. Should any vampire other than myself, or those that are associated with me, dare attempt to taint your blood, those marks will act as poison.”

Wolf’s blood? I never remembered drinking blood at the movie theater unless it happened while I was watching the movie and trying not to bite the neck of my best friend.

I was infuriated. “What do you mean? You did all that while I was unconscious and without my permission? I can’t believe you’d be so low to do that! Actually, yeah, I can believe that. That’s just—” A cry tore from my throat as he punctured my wrist.

The words, the thoughts, drifted into absence as some abnormal sensation of bliss sparked somewhere inside me. The hurt was replaced by a thrilling ecstasy, the anger condensed into delight. Why didn’t it hurt? Why did, this time, it feel so good? Like I would let him empty me of everything to make it last a little longer.

But he’s the one who ruined everything. He’s using you. You’re being lured, and you’re giving in. Being sucked of blood is enjoyable? This is ridiculous! He’s the one who made you like this.

But at the same time it was so good…so gripping…

I tried to yank my arm but it wouldn’t move. Darius withdrew from my wrist and brought me close to him. Very, very close. “That’s but a fragment of what I can do to you, my dear. Now, you can feel it, can’t you? Being awake and having your blood drawn has shaken that inexcusable need. Drink from me; my blood is yours as yours is mine.”

Without a second thought, I bit into his wrist and swallowed hungrily. He closed his eyes and moaned low in pleasure. Aggravated, I buried my teeth—er—fangs harder into him, expecting a cringe or surprised yelp. Instead, his eyelids fluttered wildly, and he gasped in satisfaction.

Disappointment. Something strange and vicious and feral filled with disappointment. Why was I disappointed?

“We’re sadistic animals.” Darius’ voice was a light whisper. “We crave blood and pain. Vampires are different from the humans we once were. Our strength, our intellect, our power greatly surpasses that of humans. As such, our predatory instincts are greater, and our morals weak. It’s a proud race. A deadly existence to itself and others. It brings me great enjoyment to have my servant, my flower, drink my blood. Your instinct will become angered, because you cannot hurt me. I wonder…do I taste like the sweet nectar to you as you do to me?”

I couldn’t describe the taste. It was good. So good. I wanted it to last. I wanted the sweetness, the greatness, to stay. Needed it.

“Dinner’s ready,” Lune announced unexpectedly. I flinched and straightened my back, fangs still extended.

“We’ll be right out,” Darius replied with a smug grin.

“’Kay.” Lune bowed and left.

“Dinner? Then what was…Why did I…”

“After all that’s happened, a nice, solid meal may prove to be relaxing.” He stood. “You don’t have to eat if you don’t want to. After all, consuming food just makes us feel more human.” Before he turned and exited the room, I was given a sudden, affectionate kiss on the lips.

Pissed, I hollered after him, “I didn’t say you could do that!” Damn it.

I hopped off the couch and started after him. “Fuck!” I cursed when my hip bumped against the edge of the coffee table. A strawberry fell from the teeming bowl, a spot of whipped cream on its side. I glanced around warily, and then ate it. Yes, I’m such a sucker for strawberries.

When I walked through the drape, there was a short hallway with the walls painted colorfully like a garden, thousands of various flowers blooming, unanimously vibrant. Also, there were instruments nailed to the walls, older versions of violins and flutes. It was beautiful.

I smelled the delicious aroma of fried fish, fresh baked bread, and what I recognized as garlic shrimp. At the last part of the hall was an opening, and beyond that, what looked like a dining room. I went into the dining room, where a ten-seat table was set with hot plates of seafood and wineglasses. Darius sat at the very end, surveying the area with a small grin of approval.

“Lily, hey!” chirped Sang from behind me. He was dressed in black cargo pants and a slim T-shirt with a red message in bold letters that read:
Caution. I bite.

“Hey.”

“Take a seat. I just got done makin’ a huge bowl of shrimp.” He gestured to a seat adjacent to Darius.

“Okay, I will. So you’re fine? I mean, you’re all right from what happened at the theater?”

He nodded, black bangs bouncing across his eyes. “I should be the one asking you that. I’m not the one who got shot and slept for a day. Dammit, Lily, ya sure know how to get yourself in trouble. Maybe later you can get in some trouble with me.” He smirked deviously.

“Pervert,” I mumbled and sat down.

Sang took the seat beside me and inhaled, relishing the strong scent of the food. “Lily, you must really like seafood.”

“Yeah. I’ve always loved…seafood.” Did I ever tell them what kind of food I liked? I don’t remember.

“Get some shrimp,” Sang insisted, handing me the bowl.

“Awkward.”

“Hm?”

I repeated, “I said this is awkward.”

It was Darius who asked impassively, “What’s awkward, my dear?”

I held my palms up as if presenting an abnormal crime scene to the police. “This. With everything that’s happened, how can we all just sit here and eat like one big happy family? I was wounded and all that shit happened, and now we pretend it’s all good? Look at this…It’s too strange.”

Sang swallowed hard and uttered, “Lily…”

I rapped my fingers against the table, waiting for a response. Darius answered dryly, “My dear, you think too much about trivial matters.”

“I think too much! There’s a bunch of bloodthirsty vampires out to get me, my life is in ruins, and you’re accusing me of thinking too much! What the hell is that supposed to mean, anyway? You’re the prick who got me into this fuckin’ mess!” Why was I so angry? I didn’t really
feel
angry.

He laughed. “Your temper has increased over the years.”

I snapped, trying to keep my calm, “You don’t know me.”

“It’s really complicated,” Sang whispered in my ear.

“Complicated my ass.” I scanned the center of the table, where all the alcohol was lined neatly, and grabbed a bottle of vodka.

Sang swiped it from my hands before I’d even popped the cap off.

I growled, “I can’t deal with this shit right now. Gimme the vodka.”

“Lily, drinking is not the answer to your problems.” He placed the bottle by his feet.

I teasingly stuck my tongue out at him.

“It seems we have a visitor,” Darius stated, grinning. “Lune, please show our guest inside.”

The door creaked shut, and I heard the faint pattering of footsteps. Sang turned to Darius, worry in his tone. “Who is it?”

“No one to fear.” He took a collected sip of wine. “Am I correct, Risa?”

Lune had come into the room through a door a couple of feet behind Darius’ chair. Next to her was a small girl who couldn’t have been over the age of nine. She had long, dark brunette hair tied into a French braid, and she wore a violet petticoat that ended at little black dress shoes. Her glossy obsidian eyes were prominent against the pale, almost sickly hue of her skin.

“I want answers, Darius. Now.” She spoke in the voice of a child, but the edge of maturity it held was indisputable.

Darius didn’t stand to greet her or even look at her. He tilted his glass and let the wine splash against the rim. “It’s so courteous of you to come here without an earlier notice.”

“Where’s my ma—Shaed?”

“You don’t know?”

“No. A few weeks ago someone locked me in my coffin and put a sleeping charm on it. Yesterday, I was found and let out. No one I’ve spoken to knows, or has seen Shaed for weeks. I thought you might know something. I mean, I know that she was under surveillance for something, and that she always goes to you for help.”

“Ah, so that’s why you didn’t attend my dinner.”

The girl was perplexed. “Dinner? What are you talking about?”

Darius lowered his voice in disdain. “The older, more powerful vampires are tigers fighting over a scrap of meat. They are assembled into a dominant authority, a government, known as the Court.”

“What does this have to do with—”

“Shaed was targeted by the Court. She had the rare ability to see the dreams and subconscious thoughts of others, with or without their knowing. They saw this as a potential threat, and thus kept her under close surveillance. It wasn’t until recently that the Court obtained information which would give them a just reason to kill her.”

Risa? Shaed? What in the world were those two talking about?

I listened so carefully I could hear a plane soaring miles away. To make it not seem that I was listening in the conversation—although I couldn’t help it—I picked at a shrimp and ate it. I’ll admit, the food was really good, and I was really hungry, but I guess this was my business too. Ah, who gives a shit! Sue me if I’m doing something wrong.

Darius gave me an amused grin and continued. “It’s against our ethics code to change children. The act is a grave sin and considered immoral. It’s punishable by torture or in some circumstances, death.”

Risa interrupted, “What about that kid from the hospital? Didn’t this ‘Court’ change him and use him?”

Sang glowered and tried to say jokingly, “Ever hear of a hypocrite?”

“Risa,” Darius resumed. “Shaed’s heart was too weak. Changing you, a diseased child who probably didn’t even have the fortune of one more year of life, was her ultimate downfall. You were their reason to kill her.”