Sucking in San Francisco (10 page)

Just when things were getting interesting, I was going to meet the nest mates and the witch has to show up. I know Lilith says she lives alone but she might as well have nest mates if she calls them family. I’m very interested in meeting the vampires that surround her day in and day out. She is a unique creature. If they don’t share the same qualities she’ll soon be without them.

I mist back to downtown and mingle with the crowds, walking and thinking. I wish I could talk with Lilith some more. Her energy revitalizes me.

I spend my day and night wandering. Nothing catches my interest. I make a few things collapse and cause a minor fender bender for my amusement but they are only fleeting distractions. I decide to seek Lilith out. I find her at work and listen in on her calls.

I pop into the Hotline as a fly and cozy up next to her. If only she knew I was there. Her aura changes when she is saving lives. It gets little gold flecks in it. Amazing. I soak up as much as I can. I quietly leave before her shift is over. I go back to wandering. It is all I do these days. I have no purpose, no goal. It never bothered me when I was younger. As dawn comes, my longing for Lilith grows and I start to track her energy again.

I find her in Presidio Heights in a high rise condo building. She told me the truth. She does live alone and she is fast asleep.

I manifest into my human body and stand next to her bed. I can’t help staring at her, pale and pure in her slumber. It stirs something deep inside me. I carefully climb onto the bed with her and lay so I can continue gazing at her. I am finally calm and feel at ease with the world in this stolen moment. Being next to her has done that for me.

I spend the entire morning just watching her.

I wake up to a grey day and Aidan in my bed. I scream. Again. His eyes sparkle. I fall out of the bed and slide onto my ass. Aidan only laughs and then he comes over to help me up.

I give him a hard look and go in search of my robe.

“How did you know I was alone just now?”

“Once I’ve been around a person’s energy I can tune into it quite easily when I need to. Then I eavesdrop to find out when they are alone so I can drop in.”

“Can you see me as well? I mean, could you see me…?”

“Can I see you while you are sleeping, while you are undressing? No. I can’t see you. I can only hear you when I have a material form, I have no eyes. But I did watch you sleep. You’re beautiful while you sleep.”

I don’t know what to say to that. It makes me feel slightly violated but excited at the same time. I get butterflies in my stomach and run my fingers through my hair to straighten out the tangles.

I stumble out to the kitchen with Aidan in my wake and open the cupboard to get out my coffee grinder. Before I know it, Aidan summons up a perfect pot in my French press. I get the creamer out and pour myself a cup of my morning elixir. I take it into my living room and settle into my favorite spot, my grandmother’s rocking chair. She brought it over from England when she came to America. It was one of the few pieces of furniture that I kept from my parents’ estate.

“Aidan, you’re quite charming. God only knows what kind of mischief you’ve been getting up to for… how old are you anyway?”

“I’ve evolved with the time. I don’t really know how old I am.”

“Wow! I can understand your phone call much better now. What you must have seen during your life. I can’t even fathom it.”

His coffee is much better than I make and I savor the deep rich aroma before taking a long drink. He sits in the chair across from me.

“It starts to blend together after the centuries. Some things stand out more than others. I have known some great leaders, and lived in great countries that have ceased to be. Terrible things. I have also seen many beautiful things, many beautiful people. I believe truth and beauty is found in what people do. You have those attributes, Lilith.”

“Thank you, Aidan. That’s the highest compliment coming from you.”

“I listened in to you last night at work. When you are helping people, your energy changes. It’s more vibrant with gold flecks in it. It’s one of the most beautiful energies I’ve ever seen.”

I sit in an uncomfortable silence for a minute not knowing what else to say. I’m very flattered and nervous. My hands fidget and I play with my mug of coffee because I don’t know what else to do. To have a jinni compliment you is a big deal, with all he’s seen and done. Somehow I know he doesn’t offer insincere flattery.

“My friend, Julian, the scholar in the family, would like to meet you. Would you come with me and meet my family?”

“No.” He smiles. “Not today. I will sometime, but I think your boyfriend would try to do something and then I might have to kill him and that would complicate things.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Ahhh…”

“Another time then?” I ask.

“Another time. Lilith, be careful of those witches, especially Iris. She is very powerful.”

And with that he pops out of my condo.

I sit for a minute and drink my coffee, thinking how all of a sudden I have two men in my life. Just when I had given up on relationships. I don’t even want a relationship right now. I need to get my own life figured out. My identity. Who am I really?

I admit I am attracted to both Sebastian and Aidan. One is comfortable, sexy and everything you can want in a man. The other is mysterious and dangerous. I’m not sure which is more enticing at the moment, but this whole situation can’t be headed anywhere good. I take a long shower and then put on a Whitney Eve peach halter dress and feel very feminine and flirty when I walk into the manse. Sebastian stares when I join the others in the library so it must have been a good wardrobe choice. He wears jeans and a camel colored cashmere sweater that hugs his well-defined chest. He looks damn fine.

“Lily, that is a delightful little dress,” Helena says.

“Thanks, Helena. I like it. I thought about wearing it Tuesday, but I thought it would show too much if I spun too fast.”

“I think you are right,” Helena agrees.

Sebastian still stares intently. He looks like he is on the verge of saying something then shakes his head a little.

I lean over Julian, who is at his computer.

“Julian, Aidan came to see me this morning. He says he will come back and talk to you sometime soon.”

“That sneaky bastard.” Sebastian gets up and walks over to me. “Are you all right?” Sebastian pulls me into his arms, taking a quiet inventory.

As much as I like the feeling of his arms around me and the sudden wave of heat that builds throughout my body, I have to put an end to it before I lose myself to it. “Yes, Bast, I’m fine, you can let go of me now.”

Sebastian releases me, but not before his eyes darken and his pupils dilate.

“Oh, good,” Julian says after an awkward pause. “I look forward to meeting him. What else did he say?”

“We talked a bit. He told me he has “evolved with time.” Take that how you will, but I think he pre-dates man. He also warned me to be careful of Iris.”

“How does he know when you are alone?” Helena asks.

“I asked him that too. He said that since we had spent some time together he’s tuned into my energy and could eavesdrop when he wanted.”

“So he could be listening to us now?” Sebastian asks grumpily.

“Yes.”

“Great, just what we need, a nosy jinni.”

“I heard that,” Aidan says.

He walks through the door into the library. Everyone jumps. I laugh.

“Much better response, Lilith.” He gives me a crooked smile. “I thought it was time to meet the family.”

“Aidan, this is Helena, Julian, and Sebastian.”

Julian and Helena shake hands with Aidan, Sebastian just nods and Aidan narrows his eyes at him.

“Aidan, it is a great honor to meet you. Lily told us all about you of course,” Julian says, a rare smile splitting his usual quiet reserve.

“It is my pleasure to meet you as well,” Aidan says.

Andrew comes in carrying a tray and Aidan assesses him. Andrew trips. Sebastian catches the tray and keeps cream and sugar from decorating the carpets. I give Aidan a dirty look. Aidan grins. Julian, for once, observes everything that is going on and doesn’t miss the exchange.

“This is fascinating,” he says.

“Aidan, if you’re done being a pest, can we offer you anything to eat or drink?” I ask already knowing he doesn’t eat but feeling like I have to be polite and offer.

“No, thank you. Please don’t let me keep you from your afternoon repast.”

Andrew passes around tea and coffee in some of Helena’s finest silver service while sneaking looks at our guest. Of course since he is trying to be subtle he is very obvious. It’s embarrassing. I finally have to push him out of the room, while Aidan laughs.

“Sorry, Aidan, Andrew is insatiably curious. We try to discourage him when we can,” I say.

“He has a delicious energy, Lilith, don’t apologize.”

“That would be our Andrew.” Helena sighs.

“These energies, do you need them for refueling your own energy?” Julian asks, ever the scholar.

“Yes, I am energy in a constant state of flux always losing or gaining some. Different energies have different flavors if you will. Some are more attractive than others.” He looks over at me when he says this last statement. “Then again people can be attractive for a variety of other reasons.”

Sebastian curses under his breath. Julian looks mesmerized and Helena listens attentively while keeping a close eye on Sebastian.

“You know about the witches, how?” Sebastian asks.

Aidan turns a cool gaze on Sebastian. “Iris and Indio had been doing little pranks around the city that I stumbled upon completely by chance. I started doing a little research into how they happened to come here and found their source.”

“What did you do when you found out they were up to no good?” Julian asks.

“I started following them around. They stir up the most amazing energies when they are trying to cause minor incidents. The problem is, they soon tired of this and began to cause major problems. That kind of energy can be uncomfortable.”

“How did you know they wanted to bind a jinni?” Sebastian asks.

“I heard them talking about it. It was then I knew I needed to stay away from them. I couldn’t risk them finding out what I was.”

“Do you think they have any idea you have been following them around? Where did they get the idea to summon a jinni in the first place?” Sebastian asks.

“I don’t believe they have the slightest clue about me. I don’t know why they decided to summon a djinn. I was a bit surprised myself. Skeptical that they could bring it off, but then they took out half the power grid the other night. I think they are more competent then they seem. If they have the right tools.”

“What about the stakings? Do you know anything about them?” Julian asks.

“I know they were not random. The witches talked of them. I don’t know if they were a part of it, but they definitely knew of them. They are not to be trusted,” Aidan says.

“That’s it!” I say. “Sebastian, you can’t go with Indio by yourself anymore.”

“Cherie, it’s okay. They like me.”

“No. That’s it. No more!”

“Lily, I can not back away now or it will look suspicious,” Sebastian says. “I just need to keep our meetings public in light of this information.” I stare into Sebastian’s eyes for a long moment. Enough time to make it clear I wasn’t agreeing to his plan.

“Aidan,” I say, “is it safe for you to keep an eye on the witches for us? We need to find out who’s killing vampires. We’ll try and figure something out to disrupt the jinni summoning. We’ve thought about mistranslating the text.”

“I’m not sure why I should do this,” Aidan says. “It really has nothing to do with me.”

“It’s your prerogative of course and I want you to be safe,” I say not unkindly.

Aidan nods and disappears. We all stare at one another.

“Do you think he will do it?” Julian asks.

“I don’t know. He’s curious enough that he might. He doesn’t seem to have a love of vampires in general. We’ll just have to see. I hope he will,” I say.

Now I’m watching witches. What else would I do for that beautiful, lifesaving-vamp? She has me in a spell. I would happily neutralize Sebastian, but my luck, she’d know it was me. The parasitic bastard. I can’t stand to think of him so close to her, touching her. The thought of it causes me pain. Unprecedented, but real. The other deaders seem genial enough. I can see their influence on Lilith and hers on them. Julian seems a true scholar. He’s genuinely interested in learning about me. Helena is guarded. She’s an old one and I will have to keep an eye on her. Sitting here in my flat does me no good.

I want to know what Indio and Iris are doing. I don’t want them to hurt Lilith and she has a way of irritating Indio. It’s amusing, but dangerous. Time to pop into the witches’ house and take a little listen. I appear as a fly on the wall.

Their doorbell rings. Indio answers it. Her energy twitches with fear and caution.

“Alexander, what brings you by, cousin?” she asks.

Alexander is a much taller version of Iris - blonde, blue-eyed and blasé. His energy tastes of power and magick - warlock.

“I have another request for you. Since you have mastered the immobilizing spell I gave you so well, I want you to use it on another blood sucker that owes me some money for a spell I did for him.”

“Anything, cousin,” Iris says. She has a gleam in her eye.

“His name is Bertrand and he’s about 140 years old. Be cautious. He will be harder to catch than the others. He is presently at home, here is the address. If you go now you might be able to get him today.”

“Yes, cousin,” the girls answer.

“I want him staked like the others. If you want to play with him first that is fine, just not too long. Remember the spell doesn’t last forever,” he says as he strokes Iris’s cheek. She closes her eyes and shudders at his touch.

He gathers himself to get up and go.

“Thank you, cousin,” Iris says with a smile.

“You’re welcome. Don’t let me down. You know the consequences would be severe.”

Iris shivers.

Alexander leaves and the girls gather up a bag of things, among them a stake.

“Hurry up, Indio. Remember how Alexander enjoys punishing us. I want to please him. Then maybe he’ll teach us more.”

“I’m coming. So far we’ve made him happy, haven’t we? So relax.”

“I can’t relax. You were so much younger when Alexander began experimenting on me,” Iris turns pale. “You don’t remember how horrible it was.”

Even after this revelation they seem excited. So these unholy bitches have been enjoying themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I have killed many vampires, but there was vengeance behind it. This is purely for profit and the joy of causing another creature pain. Apparently their twisted childhood torture has turned them into Alexander’s little monkeys. I fly out the door, as a house fly. They slip into their car and head to the address their cousin gave them. Standing on the street at their destination, they cast a spell opening the door of the vampire’s house.

Bertrand looks surprised but unconcerned when we enter. He is a vampire after all. He has no clue of what he is dealing with. The girls immediately cast another spell. They glisten with sweat as it sets. Their energies spike like a shot of high octane and tastes of corruption.

Iris whispers, “Come here.”

Bertrand is incapable of resisting and Indio and Iris start laughing, Iris a deep lusty laugh and Indio a high twitter.

“Lie down.”

They get their stake out. I can’t believe I’m watching this, but if I disrupt it I will let them know about me. What is one less vampire?

“Bertrand, I know you can hear me.” His eyes are wide with terror. “You should have paid Alexander,” Iris whispers up close to his face.

She cuts him with a razor-sharp athame then and lets the drops of blood drip into her mouth.

“Give me some Iris,” Indio whines. Her sister obliges her by cutting the vampire again. A bright red line opens up across his chest as the blood wells up. Bertrand’s eyes watch in horror but he can’t scream. The girls close their eyes. Their energy becomes even more excited with the vampire blood running through their veins.

After playing with him for an hour, Iris reaches for the stake. She laughs in Bertrand’s face as she strikes it through his heart.

“Now to get our jinni. I know he’s still in the city. I can feel him, Indio. We need his power. I don’t want to ask Alexander for help. He’ll keep him for his own. We must get Julian to translate for us. Then you can have Sebastian and we can kill Lily. We’ll take extra time with her,” Iris gloats.

I pop back into my flat. Can they know I am in the city? My essence is gray from what I just experienced. I have to talk to Julian and Lilith. They can’t translate that text. There are others who could do it, and we’d never know until it was too late. Trusting vampires is not something I am ready to do, but I’m not sure I have a choice. I also never want to watch another creature tortured again. I don’t care if it is vampire or not. I’ve seen it before. I’ve felt it before – it almost destroyed me once – never again.

I’ve been mostly free for thousands of years. It is ironic that I may have found allies who would try and save my life at the very time I would try and end it. Here is one of those surprises Lilith talked about that night on the Bridge. Finding me wanting to fight for my life so that I may spend time with her is an unexpected turn of events.

Everything in me says don’t trust a vamp. But somehow I know I can trust Lilith. Her energy tastes clean and kind.