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Blood
an anime tangent by Lianna Skywalker
Inspired by 'Blood' (Created by Oshii Team/Production I.G/SVW·SCE·IG PLUS·IPA) and DC Comics' Tangent imprint (created by Dan Jurgens)
with thanks to James King for the use of his universe
Said that I'm just fallin from grace
You'd never know it to look at me
under the Dracula moon
Love comes down any way it wants to
Doesn't ask for your permission
open up your arms or it will break you in two
Joan Osborne, 'Dracula Moon' (Relish)
The regular beat was deader than a doornail tonight, but Erika kept her calculatedly seductive pose firmly in place and waited patiently. Generally, Wednesday nights were slower than others, being situated so perfectly between Sunday and payday, but always a john came along after poker night or a domestic spat, and no one could resist the charms of a gorgeous black-haired girl who also happened to be a vampire.
All the other girls on the block understood the particular problems and advantages of being a vampire hooker -- there was no keeping secrets among the working girls, and no judgment. There was the skill of luring a man with a single glance, but a slow night meant more to Erika; for the other girls it was no money, for her it was no food. A few times she'd been forced to lurk in an alley and pounce on some unsuspecting fool, a pulp-fiction vampire stereotype of which she was not in the least proud.
This was better than anything else a vampire could do, from her point of view. The attentions of the Nosferatu were not as pleasant as Christopher Lee movies and Anne Rice novels would have the fantasy enthusiast believe. The dominant expression on her victims' faces was of agony, and their cries of horrified pain. She was a basically kind-hearted girl, but she took comfort in knowing she was dealing pain to the low end of humanity.
Tanya, a girl with improbable orange hair and tottery heels, staggered over and tapped her on the shoulder. 'Looks like a slow night,' she said sympathetically. 'Maybe you ought to try it the sneaky way.'
'Ten more minutes,' Erika replied. 'Last time it was a little kid. I still hate myself for that.'
'Suit yourself,' Tanya said. 'Or -- ' she leaned closer, pushing her hair away from her neck -- 'you could take a little of what you need from your good friend Tanya...'
'No, Tanya,' Erika said firmly. Tanya always offered herself... Erika didn't have a problem with lesbians, but the constant pushing was getting annoying. The only way to shut her up would be to grant her misguided wish, and sometimes it was damned tempting, but she was a friend. Erika hoped someone staked her like a Hammer vampire before she started tearing up her friends.
A huge, '70's-vintage gray van pulled up to the curb a moment later. A drunken kid poked his head out of the window. 'Hey, ladies, wanna take a ride on the luuuuuuuuv machine?'
'Great, college kids,' Tanya muttered through a blinding smile. 'I always like getting paid by kids with chains on their wallets.'
'That's just because it makes it harder for you to steal them,' Erika whispered. 'Looks like a big group -- why don't we both take this?' She strolled two steps closer, fixing the leader with her wide black eyes. 'How about two of us? Or are you man enough to take this on?' She accented this statement with an indescribable undulation of her slim hips. The van door shot open with three sets of hands yanking furiously.
----------
They'd parked the van in the deserted lot of a bar called The Indian. Tanya worked quietly near the back, the driver lay halfway out of his seat with a tired, semi-conscious grin on his face, and Erika crouched over the biggest of the boys -- she always picked the strongest of a group in order to do less damage. She hadn't had sex with him -- in fact, she rarely even took her clothes off. Once a man was in her embrace, he had little choice in the matter.
There was a stifled cry from the back of the van, and a moment later Tanya sat up, struggling into her skimpy top. 'This one's finished,' she panted. 'He must have drunk a whole keg to be that impotent.'
'I'm done,' said Erika, furtively wiping blood from her lips. 'Let's leave the pretty boys here and call a cab.'
'Wait, wait!' Tanya cried. 'We need a fare!' She struggled over to Erika's victim and began rooting in his pockets.
Erika laughed. 'Come on. Let's go before someone comes to check on us.' With some difficulty, she hauled open the van door and the two hiked across the yellow-lit parking lot to the bar.
----------
'Hi, Erika.' Brandon the bartender waved from behind the counter. Her johns parked regularly outside The Indian, and so she'd become well acquainted with the bartender and the pay phone inside. 'Done for the night?'
'Just got finished,' Erika said, dropping a quarter in the phone. 'They'll be there for a while.' She dialed a number and waited. A seductive female voice said, 'Year's End Escort Services, how may I serve you?'
'Liz, it's me, Erika. Is Jenny there?'
'Erika!' the receptionist squealed into the phone. 'How's business outside?'
'Absolutely lovely. Can I talk to Jenny?'
'Hold on just a second. I'll patch you through.'
The phone clicked twice. 'Hello?' a young voice said.
'Hey. How's work?'
'Great!' Jenny said excitedly. 'I broke two grand and never even took my bra off!'
Erika smiled a little bitterly. Jenny was so young, turned at the age of fourteen two years ago, and so perpetually cheerful. The innocence was the first thing to go. 'Look, I'm done for the night. Why don't you come on home too?'
'Sure thing.' Jenny hung up. Tanya took the phone and dialed a cab from memory.
'Was that Jenny?' Brandon asked eagerly. Erika smiled. Brandon was one of Jenny's most fervid admirers.
'Oh yes.'
'Did she get the flowers I sent her?' he said, trying desperately to sound casual.
'She loved the flowers,' Erika assured him. 'Just don't get too attached. She might decide to make you a permanent boyfriend.'
----------
'I'm home,' Erika announced, as the door swung shut behind her. The apartment was a mess, as usual -- where was that man?
'Oh, darling, sorry for the mess,' a voice drawled from behind her. She turned and was greeted by a pudgy apparition in red leather and fishnet stockings. 'My last customer was simply a beast, so I had to catch the midnight showing of Rocky Horror to cheer me up.'
'Steve, you're going to have to stop spending money on that stupid movie,' Erika scolded. 'I mean, I like movies too, but I don't dress up and go see them every night.' She opened the fridge door and took out a bottle of Evian -- the only thing any of them could drink. 'Aren't vampires supposed to be dignified? '
'The Rocky Horror Picture Show is not 'that stupid movie',' Steve sniffed indignantly. 'It's a complete audience experience. A state of mind.'
'Which would explain why your mind is so warped?' She sighed. 'For God's sake, Steve, take off that ridiculous outfit and act normal for a change.'
'And normal for a homosexual vampire prostitute would be what, exactly?' Erika hurled a throw pillow at him and he ducked.
'Here's something you can do. Tell me if you know where Jenny is.'
'That there is a good question,' he mused. 'I haven't seen the little whore since she left.'
'Just because she works in a bordello is no reason to call her a whore. If I called you a fat little pervo bastard, what would you say?'
'Thank you?'
'Be serious. She should have been home an hour ago, at most. Did she leave a message on the machine?'
'Hold on, I'll check.' He headed for the phone, but before he could press the answering machine button the phone rang. 'Maybe that's her,' he said, and picked up the receiver. 'Hello?'
Erika watched as his expression cycled from expectant to pleased, and then rapidly through shock into dismay. 'Yes... yes... yes. Right away.' When he put down the phone Erika saw disaster in his shaking hands.
'Jenny's been arrested,' he said softly. 'There was a raid, and they got her. They got her.' He put his hands over his face. Erika sat down on the couch hard, stunned.
'We knew something like this might happen someday.' She shook her head slowly. 'But Jenny... she's so young... she can't get out by herself! We have to help her!'
'Right!' Steve exclaimed. 'We'll go now! Right away!'
'One thing, Steve.'
'What's that?'
'PUT SOME FUCKING PANTS ON!'
----------
The San Francisco 7th Precinct station was fairly new, but only a few years of sweating, spitting criminals passing through had given the walls the dirty yellow tinge of all police stations. Erika and Steve (dressed in respectable Dockers and polo shirt) arrived to an especially full block -- the bordello Jenny worked at employed thirteen other girls and two bouncers.
'Let's try doing this legally first,' Erika whispered to Steve as they stood waiting for an officer to assist them. 'We don't want any trouble.'
'All right, but if they give us any trouble - I mean any trouble... '
'We'll do what we have to.'
A bored officer sauntered over and looked them over with one eyebrow raised. 'Which one's yours?'
'Jenny Spencer,' Erika answered. 'What's the bail?'
'We're holding these little whores without bail.' The officer smiled. 'We figure they'll tell us about some suspected drug deals, customer names, that sort of thing.'
'That's totally unreasonable!' Erika cried, shocked. 'The bail shouldn't run more than a thousand dollars, tops!'
'You would know, wouldn't you, sweetie?' the cop said. He gripped one of Erika's arms and leaned over her, grinning. 'Why don't you step into the office and we'll talk about that bail.'
'Steve...' she murmured. That was all he needed. In two steps he crossed the distance and drove his shoulder into the cop's side. The force of the blow slammed the cop into the wall, where he slid down to the floor, semiconscious. Steve was on him in an instant; there was a rustling sound and a strangled cry of pain. The officer behind the duty desk gave a startled yell and sprang out of his swivel chair, fumbling his gun out of his holster as Erika turned toward him. To his credit, he would have been successful had his assailant been human. He shot her three times before she came over the desk at him and pinned him to the floor.
Fortunately for the officers, both had fed that night, and neither wasted time unlocking every cell on the block. Women in skimpy clothes rushed out of the office in a flood.
'Erika! Steve!' A slight blonde girl with streaked, teary mascara fought her way through the crowd to them. Sobbing, Jenny ran into Erika's arms, clutching her desperately. Steve put his arms around the two of them and soon all three were crying, alone and together in the shattered prison.
----------
'You're sure you're going to be okay?'
'I'll be fine, Erika.'
'Maybe you should stay home...'
Jenny laughed merrily and patted Erika's arm. The events of two nights ago seemed to have left no mark whatsoever. 'Don't worry, Mother.'
'That's right. I'm just an old fogy.'
'Older than most.'
'But I can still pass for twenty-five.'
Jenny looked at her watch. 'I'd better get going in case I get lost on the way to the new place.'
'I'll walk with you.'
'Erika!'
'Just to the corner...'
----------
Before Jenny was out of sight, a long black car pulled up at the corner. All the girls' heads turned, but Erika was closest, and she made it to the window first.
'Hey baby,' she said familiarly. The young black man behind the wheel cleared his throat nervously. 'You lookin for somethin tasty?'
Tanya snickered behind her. Erika ignored her and leaned further into the car window, presenting a gleaming white expanse of cleavage.
The man smiled a little oddly. 'Yes, I am.' He reached over his shoulder and opened the back door. 'Hop in'
----------
He didn't want to spring for a hotel room, he said, and truthfully the backseat of his car was big enough for a menįge ą trois; they parked in a deserted back street almost narrow enough to be called an alley.
'I've never... ah... had a prostitute before,' he said apologetically, staring out the window at the dark empty street.
'It isn't any different than having anyone else.' She hoped he wouldn't chicken out. Of course, with her, it would be different -- but he didn't need to know that.
He clambered through the gap between the two seats and landed awkwardly next to her. His arm went around her waist and he pulled her close with a strength that surprised her. He was almost as strong as a --
His lips were on her neck.
'Oh no.' She shook her head in disbelief. 'Oh no.' His mouth opened, she felt his cold breath on her neck, and as her teeth grazed her skin she grabbed his lower jaw and forced him away.
'Don't even think about it,' she said coldly. He gaped at her, his lips pooched out by her fingers and thumb, his sharp canines clearly visible. She grinned at him with no warmth, showing off her own pointed teeth.
'You're a vampire!'
'And you're an amateur.' She shook her head. 'You honestly didn't notice?'
'It was dark. What clan are you in?'
It was her turn to be confused. 'Clan? What do you mean?'
'You don't know? But all vampires are in clans.'
'I'm not. Wasn't aware they existed.'
He wrinkled his forehead. 'But the one who turned you should have brought you into his clan -- '
'Well, he didn't,' she snapped. 'I don't see that it matters.'
'Oh, but it does matter!' He didn't notice that she'd turned away from him, or the tension in her face. 'My clan -- the High Vampires -- it's the most powerful clan ever! And I work for the prince!'
Prince? she thought. This boy made her nervous; he had the enthusiasm of a near-fanatic. Still, if the High Vampires were as powerful as he said, maybe she could get her own clan -- such as it was -- off the streets.
----------
'Master?' Blade peered around the doorjamb cautiously.
La'avar looked up from the chess problem laid out on his table. 'I've already fed tonight,' he said crossly. 'What do you want?'
'I found a vampire with no clan allegiance, master. She might know others that we could bring into the clan.'
The prince gestured dismissively, but his eyes gleamed with interest. 'Bring her in.'
----------
Her first thought on seeing the prince of the High Vampires was of an ancient silent film, the first of the vampire movies. Nosferatu. The count in the movie had the same bald head, the batlike face, the hunched and twisted body. But this man moved with a grace halfway between a dancer's and an animal's, descending from his throne to greet her in a courtly manner that went oddly with his physical aspect.
'Welcome, my dear. So good to see a new face here among the ancients.' His voice was harsh in timbre but warm and friendly in tone. 'I am La'avar, Prince of the High Vampires. And you are...?'
'Erika,' she said, offering her hand. She expected a formal handshake and so was a little shaken when he bowed and pressed his lips to her fingers.
'Charmed.' He stepped back, still holding her hand in both of his, and seemed to inspect her. His eyes pierced her, making her feel naked, more than naked, exposed to the skin and to the soul.
Then he looked away, over her shoulder. 'Blade.'
'Yes, master?'
'Bring us something to drink.' He peered at her solicitously. 'Have you fed yet tonight?'
'No -- ah -- sir.' He was imposing, but she'd be damned if she'd call him 'master'.
He waved at Blade. 'Go.'
When the younger man had left, La'avar turned his gaze back to her. 'If I may ask -- how did you meet my servant?'
She cleared her throat, then cursed inwardly at herself. No point in dissembling. 'I'm a prostitute,' she said bluntly. 'It's the best way I've found to get food and money at the same time.' She felt a wrench of embarrassment and looked at her feet -- she'd never had to explain it before.
La'avar put his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up. She felt a brief twist of revulsion but willed it away -- his expression was kind. 'There is no shame,' he said softly, 'in doing what you must to survive.' She leaned away, almost unconsciously, and he removed his hand, sensing her discomfort.
'Am I to assume then that my servant was -- ah -- ' He gestured with both hands. 'What is the word -- '
'Patronizing me? No. He wasn't going to be my customer.' She considered. 'At least, I don't think so.' Tilting her head, she showed him the scratches on her neck. 'He tried to feed from me... and I was planning to do the same to him...'
La'avar laughed. 'Somehow, I can see him making that mistake.'
'I should have picked up on it -- but then again he isn't exactly pale.' Something had nagged at her since she'd met him, nothing major, but a resemblance vague enough to be annoying; she suddenly recognized it. 'Did he name himself after that dumb Wesley Snipes movie?'
'Oh, yes.' La'avar shook his head. 'I've been meaning to speak with him about that -- ' Footsteps sounded outside the door. 'Hsst!' he whispered. 'No more talk!'
Blade -- it really was a silly name, Erika thought, and he didn't look a thing like Wesley Snipes -- reentered, carrying a gold pitcher and two goblets on a matching platter. She stared.
'A bit extravagant, yes,' La'avar said, taking both goblets and giving one to her. 'Silver would be more reasonable in price, but -- ' He smiled and raised his cup to her. 'To new friends.'
----------
Jenny pushed open the heavy wooden door and entered cautiously, easing it shut behind her so it wouldn't thud. Her boss had given her the rest of the night off after she'd netted three grand in as many hours. After the events of the past week, she was grateful for the break. It gave her a chance to come here.
She walked down the center aisle of the old church, feeling misplaced as always, remembering the old legends, the celluloid images of vampires recoiling under the shadow of the crucifix. Under those laws, she should not have been able to pass the doors at all. She was grateful that not all of the legends were true.
She stopped at a niche where a dozen votive candles burned feebly before a softly smiling icon.
'Holy Mary, Mother of God,' she whispered, reaching up to touch the cupped hands. 'Pray for us now... pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death...' The candles glimmered, and she blinked back sudden tears. The Virgin would never pray for her. The hour of her death would never come. Her tears fell, and extinguished a candle.
'Are you all right, child?' a voice asked from behind her. She whirled, expecting to see the elderly parish priest, but instead there stood a pale handsome young man, perhaps ten years older than her, with closely cropped black hair and incredibly dark eyes, dressed in a black suit with a Roman collar.
'Are you a priest?'
He looked closely at her. 'In a way. I was ordained, but -- ' he smiled broadly -- 'I think if they knew what I am now I'd be defrocked.'
Jenny gasped. 'You're one too?'
'Sure.' He regarded her, then asked the same question that had confused Erika earlier: 'Which clan are you in?'
'Which what?'
'None, obviously. What's your name?'
'Jenny. Why?'
'Jenny, do you have anywhere to stay this morning?' He was looking at her with pity -- patronizing her, as if she was a child -- and she glared at him.
'I can take care of myself! Just because I look young is no reason for you to -- '
He backed off, holding up his hands. 'Sorry. Sorry.'
She softened. 'I have a family. So you don't need to worry. But thanks anyway.'
'A Family?' he asked, wrinkling his brow. 'But you're not a Patriarch.'
'A what?' she said again. 'It's not a clan, it's just a family -- me and Steve and Erika. They're vampires too.'
'I get it now. Oh -- where are my manners -- my name is Saint. And I would like you to visit us -- it's rare that we meet new vampires with no affiliation.'
'Sure.' She looked up at him; he was indeed handsome, even if he was ten years older than her in appearance and God only knew how many in years. She smiled, and, gratified, saw him smile back. 'I'd like that.'
----------
When they entered the Patriarchs' mansion, a phone was ringing somewhere in the depths; Jenny, remembering, struck her forehead with the palm of her hand. 'Can I use your phone? I've got to call home.'
Neither of her roommates was home. She left a message explaining that she'd be late and hung up. 'I don't want them to worry -- what with what happened two nights ago -- ' She stopped dead, realizing her error.
'What happened?' Saint asked.
'Um...' She floundered, sick with shame, her clothes suddenly feeling too skimpy, her makeup too thick. She'd only just met him, this gentlemanly priest, and already she'd made the stupid, stupid mistake of having to confess her sins to him --
'I don't sleep with them!' she cried suddenly, clenching her fists. 'I don't -- I never -- I -- ' Her sudden anger failed her and she burst into tears, screwing her fists into her eyes like a child.
Strong arms went around her, and a hand stroked her hair. Saint had the innate ability to comfort the distraught that marks the best priests. She felt herself relaxing.
'You're a prostitute?' he asked. Even that ugly word sounded kind in his voice.
She nodded against his chest. 'I got arrested two nights ago,' she whispered. 'I hate it. I hate it.' Her eyes glared up at him with mixed defiance and self-hatred. 'But I have to do it. I'd like to see you come up with a better way.'
'As a matter of fact,' he said, 'I have.' He took her hand. 'Come with me.'
----------
A young woman passed them in the hallway. This in itself was not surprising; what was surprising was that, although the woman was pale, she was obviously alive. Mortal.
'That woman -- she was -- ' Jenny stammered, craning her neck over her shoulder.
'Indeed. One of the Family members. They stay with us voluntarily to provide us with what we need.'
'Voluntarily? I've never heard of anything like that.'
'Always voluntarily. And it's rare -- as far as I know, we are the only ones who do it. We don't hunt anymore -- our Families allow us to avoid harming the innocent. And the members carry silver coins to keep us from -- ' He stopped abruptly, suddenly looking old. ' -- from harming them,' he finished hastily.
'Are you all right?'
'Fine,' he said shortly. 'I'm just fine.'
----------
'Don't you get worried sometimes?' Jenny asked.
'Not really.' Lianna, the woman Jenny had seen in the hall, rubbed her neck gingerly. 'It's not the most pleasant thing in the world, granted, but -- '
'Yeah, but don't people die?'
Lianna shut her eyes. 'Once,' she said softly. 'It was before I came here. And she was -- well -- unstable. It was suicide.'
'How could you know that?'
'You know about the coins, right?'
'Yeah...'
'She didn't use hers. He -- hadn't fed for a week. She must have known what she was doing...' Lianna sighed. 'Long story.'
'God...'
'Yeah.'
An awkward silence, both women studying their hands or their clothes, anything to avoid making eye contact. Finally, Jenny cleared her throat. 'Do you think they'd let me join? Me and my friends?'
Lianna shrugged. 'Sure, I think so -- it's a pretty small clan, and what with the High Vampires gaining power by the day -- '
'High Vampires?'
'Scary bunch.' Lianna shuddered, partly in jest, but with an undertone of real feeling. 'Literally bloodthirsty -- they kill for pleasure, like mortals were just game animals. The prince is the worst -- used to be a torturer for the clan. If you heard half the things I've heard...' She shuddered again, with no artifice. 'Stay away from them, kay? You and your friends. You'll be better off.'
Jenny nodded; she wasn't looking to hurt more people. With luck -- and the Patriarchs -- maybe she and her friends would never have to hurt unwilling people again.
----------
'You spoke with her,' Saint stated. 'What did you learn?'
Lianna rose from her seat beside Mason and surveyed the room. She was the only mortal there; the lack of other Family members signaled serious business. 'She's interested in joining,' she began. 'She also implied that her roommates -- Steve and Erika -- would be interested.'
'Is her interest genuine?' Celeste asked; her voice was idle but her eyes were sharp. After the disaster of a few months ago, she was suspicious even of those closest to her.
'There's no reason to suspect -- ' Saint started.
'Oh, hush.'
'Both of you, hush,' Lianna said, taking perverse pleasure in rebuking the two vampires as if they were naughty children. 'Celeste, I understand your concern, but I didn't see anything that would really reinforce it. She's younger than me, even, and it didn't seem like she'd had much experience in subterfuge.'
'Her youth almost makes her more of a risk,' Mason put in. 'My contacts tell me, pretty reliably, that the High Vampires are conducting something of a recruitment drive -- trying to create as many vampires as possible, probably trying to produce manifestations of the Powers too.'
Biblios looked up from his notes. 'My sources report the same thing. But they also say that this -- drive, as you call it -- only began a few months ago, and Saint tells me that this Jenny girl has been a vampire for about three years.'
'If she's telling the truth,' Celeste snapped.
Saint leaned forward. 'She confessed to me that she works in a brothel,' he said, his voice soft but carrying. 'If she's telling the truth about that -- and you can have her followed, Celeste, if you like -- then I don't see why she would hide anything else from us.' He looked around. 'Now, if there are no other comments, I'd like to close the matter until we can further review it. It's been a long night for me.'
'I agree,' Mason said. 'So if anyone objects to adjourning the meeting, I'll stick their heads in the toilet and flush it.' He grinned. 'Anyone?'
There were no objections.
----------
Steve unlocked the door and entered a dark apartment. For a moment he was afraid that someone had been arrested again, maybe both of them even, but then he saw the blinking answering machine light and dismissed it. He paused at the mirror in the hallway and peeled off his fake eyelashes, grateful that he was able to see himself in contradiction of the old rules. It would be hell trying to do your makeup if you couldn't even see yourself.
He sat down on the couch and kicked off his stiletto heels, reaching down to massage his aching feet. Stiletto heels, he firmly believed, were not made for real beings; they were some kind of Inquisitional torture device. The same thing went for corsets, fishnet stockings, and clothes made of leather or vinyl -- all of which he wore on a regular basis. One had to keep up with the current fashion or one would be passed over for a teenage drag queen with a Marilyn Monroe wig and an Elvira dress.
The door burst open and Jenny rushed in. 'Steve! You'll never guess who I met! He's a vampire but he's a priest and him and these other people they have this thing where they don't hurt people unless they want it and they might let us join, we could get off the streets! We could -- '
Erika came through the still-open door as Steve was still blinking at Jenny. 'You'll never guess what happened to me! This guy took me in his car and he tried to bite me and he took me to the leader of his clan and apparently they're really powerful and we could get off the streets! We could -- '
Steve gripped his head and shook it back and forth. 'Stop, stop, stop!' he cried, adding the fake effeminate lisp that always cracked the girls up. 'You two are going to give me wrinkles if you keep up with this!'
'You go first,' Erika said.
'No, you go.'
'No -- '
'Erika! Just talk!' Steve shouted.
'Okay. So there's these clans of vampires, okay? Which I never knew, but this guy picked me up and once he stopped trying to drink my blood -- that was funny, believe me -- he was really nice even though he was kind of dorky and he took me to meet the prince of his clan.'
'Prince?' Steve asked. 'Don't you mean the artist formerly known as?'
'Bad joke.' Jenny groaned.
'And this prince was really weird-looking, but he was so charming. And he told me a lot about his clan -- they're really powerful, they're called the High Vampires -- '
'The High Vampires?' Jenny gasped. 'Lianna told me about them!'
'Who's Lianna?'
'She's a Family member -- oh, you wouldn't know what that is -- she's a mortal and she lives with this clan of vampires and lets them feed off her, there's a lot of them who do that, and she told me that the High Vampires were led by this really freaky guy who used to be a torturer -- '
'But Prince La'avar was so kind to me!'
'Maybe it was an act,' Jenny said. 'Maybe he was like, you know, trying to brainwash you or something...'
'Look, you two,' Steve said. 'Let's go slow with this, okay? They probably both want recruits -- they're probably both hiding something. Right?'
The two women relaxed. 'Right,' Jenny said. 'Like, I got the idea that the Patriarchs aren't very powerful, you know...'
'And there's something creepy about La'avar... I couldn't put my finger on it at all...'
'See? There's no reason to fight.'
'Oh, don't look so self-righteous, Steve. You're just as much of a bitch as the rest of us.'
'Yeah, but I look better in fishnets.'
Erika looked at Jenny. 'He's starting to think he's the boss again.'
'How long has it been?'
'Three days.'
'Too long.'
They tackled him.
'No! No! GAAAAAAAAH!'
For a vampire, Steve was extremely ticklish.
----------
Erika had promised herself that she would ask some serious questions of La'avar this time... about his clan's past, their philosophy, and most importantly his plans for it... but she had found herself instead eagerly spilling out her own life's story. La'avar was a perfect listener: attentive, helpful, eager... probably too eager, she thought ruefully. She managed to stop herself in the middle of an involved narrative about how she had first become a vampire. La'avar frowned slightly.
'Is something wrong, my dear?'
'Um, no. But I hadn't planned on spending the entire time blathering on about myself.' She offered him what she hoped was a charmingly sheepish smile.
'But you're much more interesting than anything I could come up with.'
Erika laughed, feeling the blood she'd drunk from his golden goblets rising to her cheeks. Was she actually blushing? It had been ages. 'That may be,' she said, taking a sip of blood to recover her composure. 'But I really need to know more about this clan if I'm going to consider joining.'
A brief shadow crossed La'avar's face, leaving even as she marked it. 'Of course,' he said indulgently. 'I'll tell you whatever you want to know.'
She shut her eyes a moment, forming her first question in her mind, and La'avar smiled to herself. He would tell her everything, surely. Everything he wanted her to know.
----------
'Are you sure he's dangerous?'
'Very,' Saint said emphatically. Jenny flinched. He leaned forward suspiciously. 'What's wrong?'
'It's Erika.' Jenny pressed her full lips together in a distressed line. 'She met him last night, and she's really excited about it, you know, and --'
She looked up in surprise when Saint's hands closed on her shoulders. 'Are you sure?' His black eyes probed hers, searching for a lie. 'Are you very sure?'
'Yes,' she said, confused. 'She said the High Vampires, and La'avar --'
Saint released her and sat back in his chair. 'Best not to overreact,' he said to himself, his eyes closing. 'It's probably not too bad... yet...'
'What's wrong?'
Saint looked at her sadly. 'Your friend is in a lot of danger right now. You have to make sure she doesn't get involved.' He shut his eyes again, and she had a sudden terrifying thought: this was what he would look like saying mass for the dead. 'If it's not already too late.'
'What do you mean?' She leapt to her feet. 'Erika can take care of herself!'
'Not with La'avar, she can't.' He rose and took her hands. 'It may still be all right, but -- is she pretty?'
'Beautiful.'
He winced. 'That's bad. Very bad. She might still be all right... but if La'avar takes a fancy to her... she won't be leaving alive.'
----------
she was a January girl
she never let on how insane it was
in that tiny kinda scary house
by the woods, by the woods, by the woods, by the woods
Tori Amos, 'Black-Dove (January)' (From the Choirgirl Hotel)
Erika stood still as the door swung shut behind her, feeling inexplicably frustrated. She honestly couldn't think of any reason she should be frustrated, and that made her all the angrier. But La'avar was the perfect gentleman. So charming... so courteous... so --
'Lost... lost...'
She whirled, for a moment thinking that this castle harbored ghosts along with whatever other secrets it hid, but the girl in the gauzy white robe was real; undead, to be sure, but real all the same. She paced slowly along the hall, her small feet bare and silent, her fingers trailing along the stones of the wall.
Erika cleared her throat. 'Hey.'
'Lost...' The girl's steps neither quickened nor slowed. She was thin almost to the point of emaciation, the thinness enhancing her delicate Asiatic features, her dark almond eyes huge and glistening.
Erika ran after her lightly and touched her shoulder. 'Hey. What's wrong? What --'
The girl turned. And now Erika saw in those beautiful eyes a madness that eclipsed all thought; a madness born of agony and nurtured by misery. The girl was indeed lost; her mind in a last desperate reach for sanctuary had fled completely. There was nothing left.
The girl smiled. Her eyes had the blank shimmer of water laid thinly on asphalt. 'Lost,' she said, almost joyously. Erika recoiled and the girl turned away, beginning again her slow glide down the hallway.
Erika shuddered. Eyes of a madwoman. What had happened to her?
----------
When she opened the door to the apartment Jenny dashed at her and threw her arms around her waist, nearly bringing them both to the floor. 'Whoa, tiger,' Erika said affectionately, shutting the door behind her and patting Jenny's head. 'Miss me?'
'Oh God I'm so glad you're home!' Jenny gasped. 'I was afraid he got you!'
'Got me?' Erika saw the shine of water on asphalt.
'Yeah, he's *dangerous*, listen, you can't go back there --'
Erika gently pushed the younger girl away and headed for the couch. 'I won't,' she said, sitting down and kicking off her stiletto work shoes. 'Not after tomorrow night.'
'No!' Jenny cried. She rushed over and fell on her knees before Erika, grabbing her hands and looking earnestly into her eyes. 'You can't go back at all!'
Erika felt a laugh coming on and stifled it. Sweet Jenny,always so emotional, so dramatic. 'We'll talk about it tomorrow,' she promised. 'Right now I need some sleep.'
'Please.' Jenny watched Erika walk away. 'Think about it...'
'Of course,' Erika agreed absently, but she already knew she was going to go back. She'd say no, so sorry, but she wasn't interested in joining; and he, oh so politely, would express his regret, but would she still visit? And she'd say yes, of course.
What could be simpler?
----------
The servant who answered her knock was short and stocky, with pale skin; he didn't speak at all, but she felt his eyes on her as she entered.
'Where's Blade?' she asked as she followed him down the hall.
'Who?'
'Blade. Tall guy, black, kinda skinny --'
'Nope. Don't know him.'
'You're certainly more talkative.'
He grunted and stopped so abruptly that she almost ran into him. He knocked on the throne room door.
'What?' La'avar's voice snapped. Both Erika and the servant flinched.
'Master? It's the woman... you told me to let her in...'
'Oh!' The voice lost its harshness. 'Yes, of course. Send her in.'
The servant opened the door and gestured her in. As she passed, she noticed that the door frame was splintered in one place, as if someone had taken a crowbar to it.
'La'avar?' He sat slumped in his throne, one hand to his forehead. She felt a stab of apprehension. 'Where's Blade?'
'Dead,' he said indifferently. His hand dropped to his thigh and he regarded her with tired eyes. 'Things have been... bad here since you left last night.'
'Are you all right?' She took a hesitant step forward.
'All right?' He smiled. 'Oh, I'm fine. Very much so -- now that you've come to stay with me.'
She shuffled her feet. 'Ah... actually, I wanted to talk to you about that...' His eyes were on her, and she swallowed. 'I've decided... um, no offense to you or anything... but I'm not going to join her clan.' She let out her breath, relieved -- it'd been a little harder than she'd expected, but not much. 'So I'd probably better go, since you've got, uh, problems or whatever to deal with here --'
La'avar rose from his throne. 'I don't think you understand,' he said softly. His smile widened. 'You're not leaving.'
'But I --'
La'avar raised his hand. 'Wolf?'
Erika was utterly confused -- was he asking if she wanted a wolf? -- and then strong arms went around her waist, cutting off her breath, and something burned her wrists and she saw the gleam of silver. Cuffs and chains, held by black gloves on the hands of La'avar's servant, who had come up behind her without her even noticing.
'Wolf is his name,' La'avar explained calmly. 'It's also his best trick. Show her, Wolf.'
The servant released her chains and stood before her, eyes cast down. His body quivered, shimmered, and then with a ripping of fabric a huge grey timberwolf stood in a heap of destroyed clothing, panting. The black gloves were still on his paws.
'Quite good, isn't he?' La'avar said. 'Unfortunately, he goes through clothing rather quickly. Wolf?' The animal raised its shaggy head. 'Go to your rooms. I won't make you change back in front of her.' He smiled wickedly. The wolf nodded in thanks and trotted out of the room.
'You can't do this to me,' Erika said weakly as La'avar approached. The silver was making it hard for her to stand, let alone speak.
'Of course I can.' He stroked her cheek with one finger, making her flinch. 'You don't have any choice -- you haven't since the moment you entered my palace.'
'Please...' She swayed on her feet.
'My little lost child is lost to me forever,' he whispered. His eyes seemed to swell in her vision, gleaming sadistic black rimmed with blood red. 'But now I have you.' She was falling into those eyes, drowning. 'And I will never lose you.'
Erika collapsed. She felt his arms catch her, felt his hand gently stroke her hair, and as she lost consciousness she had one clear thought: I'm dead.
----------
'Saint! Saint!'
Lianna opened the front door. 'Jenny -- what's wrong?'
'I gotta see Saint,' Jenny gasped, tears spilling down her cheeks. 'Erika's gone -- missing -- she went to the High Vampires last night and she didn't come back --'
Lianna blanched. 'Oh, God. We don't have much time.' Grabbing Jenny's arm, she whirled and raced with her into the Citadel. 'Saint!'
----------
'It's a trick,' Celeste declared. 'They want us to put ourselves at risk for some complete stranger --'
'La'avar's not that stupid,' Saint said. 'He wouldn't expect us to fall for something like that -- so he didn't plan it. But he'd definitely take advantage of it.'
Jenny, alone in the center of the floor, trembled. 'So you're not going to help her?'
Saint sighed. Looking around at the hastily gathered Patriarchs, as if to share the blame with them, he said, 'I don't see how we can.'
'But you have to help her!' Jenny shrieked. 'He'll kill her!'
'If she's lucky,' Mason muttered.
Lianna heard him and bowed her head for a moment. Then she rose and went to Jenny.
'I'll go.'
Mason was out of his chair in an instant, clamping his hand on her arm. 'You will not! I'm not letting you within a mile of that bastard!'
She shook him off and glared at him. 'You want to discussit? We'll do it in private. But I'm going.' She turned and stalked out of the room, Mason following close behind.
----------
When she heard the door slam she turned on him. 'You do *not* tell me what to do. You ask, or you suggest, but you do *not* give me orders.'
'Then I'm going with you.'
'Will you stop thinking with your hormones?' Lianna ran both hands through her hair in exasperation. 'This is not some goddamn action movie! This is real! And you can't even argue that I'm weaker because I'm a woman. *You're* weaker -- you're a *vampire*. You're vulnerable to something I put in my spaghetti sauce, for Christ's sake.'
Mason gave a harsh laugh. 'So you'll be just fine, right? Unless he puts a stake through your heart. That'll kill you just as easily as me.'
'I'm going. And you're not.'
Mason grabbed her shoulders. 'You're not going.' His voice shook. 'I'll stop you -- I'll lock you in your room -- I'll tie you to a fucking *tree* if I have to, but you're not going!'
He stopped, the echoes in the hallway making him realize that he'd been shouting at the top of his lungs. Lianna stared up at him, astonished.
'Why are you being like this?' she whispered. 'What's wrong with you?'
'If he kills you, I'll die,' Mason said hoarsely. 'I... I love you.'
'Mason -- ' she said helplessly. They stood for a moment, unable to move; then somehow he was kissing her, her lips incredibly soft and warm on his, as her arms slipped around him her mouth opened and he tasted her, and the taste of her was exquisite.
Then she stepped back, her eyes solemn; her warm fingers brushed his cold lips, and then she was gone.
'Come on, Jenny,' he heard her saying in the throne room. 'We have to go *now*.'
A stream of people passed him, exiting the room, but Mason didn't watch. He only stood in the dark, eyes closed, and felt her lips on his.
----------
The front door of the High Vampires' palace was locked, but the lock was of the old-fashioned kind, like an illustration from Alice in Wonderland, and Lianna picked it easily with the smallest blade of her Swiss Army knife.
'You done this before?' Jenny whispered curiously.
'I lose my house keys a lot.' Lianna smiled disconcertingly and disappeared into the darkness of the hall. Jenny shook her head and followed.
'Where are we going?' Jenny whispered. In the darkness she suddenly felt the press of fingers on her lips. A breath of warm air tickled her cheek.
'Don't talk,' Lianna whispered in her ear, her voice barely audible even at such a close distance. 'Not safe.' Jenny didn't think it would ever be safe to run around in this building that stank of death and misery, but she kept quiet and kept close behind Lianna just the same.
A low, reverberating growl rent the silence. Jenny gasped. A light flared above her and she saw Lianna with a Zippo lighter upraised in one hand, and a torch burning in a niche in the wall. The growl repeated, louder this time. An enormous wolf crouched in the middle of the hallway, ready to spring.
'Back! Get back!' Lianna shouted. With one arm, she shoved Jenny behind her; with the other she reached into her jacket and, producing a small cylinder, slashed at the air. A cloud of yellowish dust filled the air, bringing with it a pungent reek that made Jenny's eyes water.
The wolf growled and staggered backward, wheezing and choking. Jenny could have sworn that it sneezed. Then, with a whimper, it collapsed to the floor. As they watched, it shuddered, shifted, changed. Lying curled before them was now a stocky young man, stark naked.
'What...' Jenny breathed.
Lianna took the torch down from the wall. 'A Return,' she said grimly. 'This is worse than I thought.' She prodded the limp figure with the toe of her sneaker. 'Luckily he'll be out for a while, and I doubt La'avar has any more shape-shifters hidden about.'
'What was that you threw on him?'
Lianna grinned sheepishly and held up the small jar in her hand. 'Garlic salt.'
----------
La'avar selected a silver knife -- medium size, thick blade -- from his worktable, frowned at it, tested it on his glove, then laid it back down. He wouldn't need silver for this first job -- it was simple enough for a child.
Behind him, Erika struggled in her chains. He'd switched her from silver to a silver-iron alloy: strong enough to hold her, but weak enough to leave her completely conscious. He wanted her to be awake for this.
'Let me go! What do you *want*?'
La'avar picked up a long steel knife and smiled at his reflection in its blade. 'What do people pay you for?'
'You bastard!' she shouted. 'If you touch me I'll -- '
'You'll what?' Casually, he slipped the point of the knife under the hem of her tank top and flicked his wrist upward, slitting the fabric expertly from bottom to top. She cursed at him and struggled, but he ignored her and cut the straps of the top, sending it sliding to the floor in a little pile of nylon. He lay the flat of the blade across the tops of her breasts and smiled at her, running his fingers over her skin first above, then below the knife. 'I don't think I heard you... were you threatening me?'
Erika shuddered, weeping. 'Please,' she gasped. 'Don't do this to me.'
'You shouldn't have told me about the man who Turned you,' La'avar said thoughtfully. 'How he held you down... how he took what he wanted... first your blood, and then your maidenhead, isn't that right?' She nodded, eyes shut tight. 'And if I did this... well, then, that would just bring back all those old memories, wouldn't it?'
'Yes... please don't...'
La'avar smiled. 'That sounds *wonderful* to me.'
'Back off, you son of a bitch.'
'Jenny!' Erika screamed. The prince whirled to see two women standing in the hall, two women who could have been sisters with their blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. The torch Lianna held gave a light that made them seem both ghostly and incredibly real, alive, vital. Both held stakes ready in their hands.
'This has been my week,' he said with a smile, casting aside the knife bowing as if he were in a royal court rather than a torture chamber. 'Beautiful women just seem to... appear out of nowhere!' He smiled more broadly, holding out his hands; then he suddenly snatched up a silver dart from the table beside him and hurled it at Lianna.
She caught it. It stuck into her hand but produced only a little blood. La'avar gaped as she tossed it aside.
'I'm pale -- but I'm not that pale.' She raised the stake. 'Let's go.'
To Jenny, watching for an opportunity to slip past, it was the famous death match of cobra and mongoose: the ancient sacred serpent, the young hot-blooded upstart. They circled each other, eyes locked, bodies darting and feinting; then with a rush they closed and Jenny dashed past to where her friend hung from the wall.
Lianna swiped with the stake at La'avar's throat. He seized her right wrist and twisted, trying to loosen her grip; she clutched it all the tighter and with an angry shout backhanded him across the face with her left. He howled and shoved her away, clapping his hand over his cheek. She held up her left hand, where a heavy silver ring gleamed on the middle finger. 'A trick I learned from Mason.'
La'avar frowned. A slash of red marked where she'd hit him. 'I know you -- or at least I know of you. Mason saved you from --' he snorted --' my dearly departed servant Tobin, didn't he?'
'Yeah. And I've been wanting to have a talk with you ever since.'
'Really?' He tilted his head in a parody of polite interest. 'Then by all means -- speak.'
She stepped forward; with one and she grabbed his collar, with the other she drove the stake at his chest -- -- and missed. He pivoted aside neatly, seeming to flow sideways, and the follow-through of her stroke sent her tumbling. La'avar shot out a hand before she hit the floor and seized her hair, yanking her head back sharply. His teeth flashed and then plunged into her throat. Lianna shrieked.
A length of heavy chain whickered through the air and smashed into the back of La'avar's head. He gave a strangled yell and dropped Lianna. Turning, he confronted Erika, who swung the chains that had imprisoned her hands and bashed him full in the face.
Jenny dropped to her knees beside Lianna. 'Are you okay?'
Lianna groaned. Her hand clamped over the wound in her neck, she let Jenny help her to her feet. 'I don't think I'm dead...' she muttered
Erika grabbed their arms. 'Quick!' she cried. 'He's coming to!'
Helping the wounded girl between them, they hurried from the castle.
----------
Mason paced across the floor of the antechamber, furious at the world. He'd gone and confessed everything, like an idiot, and she'd *still* left him, and if La'avar so much as touched her --
The door crashed open. Jenny and Erika limped in, supporting a girl whose head hung loosely and whose shirt was soaked with blood.
'NO!' he screamed.
At the sound of his voice, Lianna raised her head. 'No,' she agreed. 'You can't get rid of me that easily.'
He ran to her, taking her gently from the two women. 'Are you all right?' He felt for her pulse with shaking fingers. 'You're not --'
'No,' she said. 'I don't think so -- least, I don't remember dying... I think I'd remember that, don't you?'
He laughed, nearly hysterical with relief. She was so warm in his arms. 'I'd better get some bandages.'
'And some disinfectant,' she added. 'I feel *filthy*.'
----------
cause it's a bittersweet symphony that's life...
-- 'Bittersweet Symphony', The Verve (Urban Hymns)
Mason left the meeting with a smile on his face. Not only had Jenny and Erika agreed to join the clan, but Celeste had -- grudgingly -- apologized for her suspicion. Well, 'I'm sorry I was such a bitch' was a somewhat odd apology, but he knew she meant well.
The music coming from his rooms startled him a little. He shut the suite door behind him and listened. It was coming from behind the hidden door in the wall. He touched the panel and it swung open silently.
A rush of violins greeted him and he gaped in fascination. Lianna, in a sleeveless white top and jeans, was dancing. Her bare feet touched and floated, leading steps that were free and lovely like no dance he'd ever seen. Her eyes were closed as she raised her hands above her head and spun, her back arched and her face glowing with pure joy, and he felt something swell within him in response.
Suddenly she darted forward and caught his hand, pulling him into the room, into the dance. His initial shock faded into stunning sweetness as his body took up the dance, as they whirled across the floor in something like a waltz but more exotic, light and graceful. She laughed up at him and he smiled back, spinning her and then pulling her into his arms tightly as the music rose. Her eyes sparkled up at him and it was the most natural thing in the world for him to bend his head and kiss her. She was light in his arms and he lifted her and lay her gently on the bed.
And what they did then was sweet, piercingly sweet, with no bitterness at all.
---
