The Meridian Gamble (17 page)

I pull back, and look at him.

“But really, it’s just a feeling
when it comes right down to it, something you’re either blessed or cursed with.
Of knowing that someone is ‘the one,’ and that no one else can ever take that
place.”

He stares back at me so intensely,
his eyes shift back and forth just a bit, practically shaking. The green and
gold flecks feel like they’re about to burn through me.

“I’ve been so stupid, to let you
slip away, time and again,” Adam says. “But not this time. There’s so much we
have to catch up on. I have missed you so badly.”

And I kiss him. I don’t care about
vampire dinners anymore, I don’t care about scary carvings on the bed. I pull
Adam toward me, desperately wanting more. But I’m confused, as he pushes me
away.

“I can’t,” he says, apologetically.
“I can’t kiss you, or I won’t be able to leave this room.”

“And that would be awful,” I say,
with just a hint of sarcasm. “Forget about the dinner. I’m not ready to meet
more vampires. They won’t care.”

“They will. We have to, we’re
expected,” he says, solemnly.

And Adam steps back. He looks into
my eyes, seriously. And I know it’s a refusal.

“Meridian, we have to go now. And I
have to warn you, there are things you may see here tonight that will be …
upsetting.”

“Things like what?” I say, full of
fear.

“You’ll have to wait and see. But I
promise, nothing will hurt you in this place. And we can come back to the safety
of my room later,” he says.

“You’re scaring me.”

“Just know that I will always keep
you safe, just as you said. And that I wouldn’t show you any of this unless it
was absolutely necessary.”

Without waiting for me to respond,
he takes my hand, and leads me out of the room with just a bit more force than
he’s shown before now.

We’re back in the curved hallway
again, which finally ends at a set of double doors that are nearby. And the
circular motif is repeated, at least to a degree. The doors are curved at the
top, forming a half-circle. And they seemed to be carved from some ancient
wood. In fact, I suspect they have been removed from some other structure so
they could be incorporated here in the tower, and I can’t help but wonder how
old they are.

And like the frame on Adam’s bed
and the artwork on his wall, there are figures carved into the doors, forming a
relief. It’s the scene of an ancient battlefield, filled with warriors on
horseback clashing with foot soldiers carrying spears, as bodies lie at their
feet, littering the landscape. And at their forefront is a woman cloaked in
armor overseeing the war from the back of her steed. For a moment, I think it
must be Joan of Arc, but the carvings are so detailed I can almost detect a
familiar pout to the girl’s lips. It’s the same one that belongs to the woman
from the pictures in the hall.

Their leader. The one who designed
this circular maze. But it’s more than just recognizing her face. I realize
that I know her. The past returns to me once more, but only when I’m not really
trying.

“Marion,” I whisper.

It’s her name. And Adam looks at me
in surprise.

“I didn’t tell you that,” he says,
smiling.

And yet, I know it all the same.

“Come on. Let’s go meet Marion.”

And he opens one of the large
doors, placing his hand on my back, as he ushers me inside.

We enter a huge room that’s
rectangular in shape, finally something that isn’t round or curved. To the left
is an expansive wall made up entirely of windows that gives yet another
spectacular view of the city. To the right, there’s a long onyx table that’s
been set for the night’s festivities with plates that glisten with gold
embellishments. A small staircase looms over the dining area that goes up to a
second floor landing filled with bookshelves, and a door leading to God knows
where.

Past the table is a lounge with
sofas and more bookcases, and I can see several couples milling about there.
Even from a distance, they look like beautiful, well-dressed people, and I
already feel outclassed. My palms start to sweat as we approach them, and all I
want to do is run and hide.

A woman at the front is talking to
a tall African-American man. She has brown hair that falls in gentle curls to
her shoulders, a different cut from the long hair in the paintings. But it’s
not enough to hide her identity. I know in an instant it’s Marion.

As we get closer, I can hear bits
of their conversation, and it sounds like they’re talking about a Broadway
show.

“I don’t know why they insisted on
adding music to the story. The songs are pretty, but they would have been far
better off simply letting the drama unfold onstage …”

They’re talking about a musical.
It’s funny to me, that vampires see musicals.

We pause for a moment, so as not to
interrupt the discussion, and it gives me the chance to examine Marion, to try
to test my memory. I’m nervous, wondering if the past will come flooding back
into my mind. And as I stand there, expectantly waiting, I can’t help but to
try to figure out what it is about her that captured the imaginations of so
many artists over the centuries.

She’s lovely, certainly, though her
beauty seems simple enough. Her hair has an attractive sheen, and she has a
trim figure, like any other woman. But her voice has a pleasant lilt with a
slight accent I can’t quite place, and she has green eyes like Adam’s that
sparkle with a mix of intelligence and mischief. And as I look more closely, I
see that her skin is flawless, like porcelain, and her ruby lips form a perfect
Cupid’s bow.

And I quickly realize that Marion
is anything but simple. It sneaks up on you, but soon, I can barely look away from
her visage. Her features combine with some kind of alchemical magic that makes
her absolutely stunning.

She wears a beautiful necklace
encrusted with diamonds and emeralds that compliments her eyes. It hangs in the
opening of a beige, silk blouse, which Marion wears with flowing black balloon
pants, and with horror I realize they’re exactly the same as mine. When she
finally turns to me, we stare one another up and down, realizing our outfits
are almost exactly alike, save for her flashy jewelry, which is far more
expensive than anything I have on.

I feel silly and awkward for a
moment, but she breaks the uncomfortable silence. Marion rolls her head back
and laughs, delighted by the surprise.

“Marion, I would like you to meet
Meridian,” Adam says.

“So you are Adam’s new friend?
Well, I certainly like your style,” she tells me. “It’s so good to meet you,
Meridian.”

She gives me a warm hug, and when
she does, it finally triggers something, a memory. It’s not some bit of
information like I thought it would be, but rather, an emotion. When we
embrace, I feel like I’m greeting a long lost friend.

She turns to face the two couples
who stand behind us, on the other side of a large, red velvet couch.

“Everyone, I would like for you to
meet Meridian.”

Two of the women seem to be
together, one with dark hair and a little blonde, and Marion faces them first.

“Meridian, this is Lina … and
Angel.”

            Lina
is interesting looking. She’s the taller of the two, and has a hooked nose that
one would almost call ugly, at first. You wouldn’t think the vampires would
immortalize such a feature, but on her, it looks distinctive, striking even,
and gives her an almost regal appearance. She nods to me when Marion says her
name, and offers a sugary smile.

“Sweet, Meridian. We’re all so
happy to meet you. Welcome to our home,” Lina says.

The blonde girl next to her is a
slip of a thing, dressed in a gaudy rainbow-colored top, and tight leggings.
She almost looks too young to be here.

“Hey, I’m Angel,” she says,
offering a casual wave.

The other couple are both
preppie-looking and attractive, like something that just stepped from the Ralph
Lauren catalogue, a man with sandy blonde hair who’s a real cutie, and a woman
with straight chestnut locks that fall to the middle of her back. They seem
familiar somehow, but I can’t quite place it, and again, I wonder if it’s
repressed memory.

“Tom, Jennifer … this is Meridian.”

“Welcome, Meridian,” Jennifer says
in a friendly way.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Tom
says, with a toothy grin.

“And, of course, this is my
companion, Bernard.”

“It’s good to meet you,” the man at
her side says.

Bernard looks distinguished in his
grey business suit. I’m guessing he’s maybe a college professor, or perhaps a
Wall Street guy. And I’m curious about his relationship with Marion. He’s so
much bigger than her, and I wonder if that’s her thing. Maybe it has something
to do with being a powerful woman, to want to seek out a man who can dominate
you on some level. Or maybe she simply loves him, in the same way the heart leads
us all where it wants.

He offers a friendly handshake, and
seems to notice that I’m dissecting them with my eyes.

“I know what you’re thinking,”
Bernard says, with a knowing smile.

“You do?” I say, in surprise.

Is he another human with telepathic
gifts?

“You’re wondering if I’m a vampire,
and who here is human,” he says. “I wondered the same thing when I first
arrived.”

“No, I know you’re human,” I say,
with a chuckle.

I blurt out the words, without even
thinking. And the slightest look of hurt flashes over his face, which Bernard
tries to mask. Marion’s head darts my way, and her brow knits with interest.
And I can sense the others watching me.

And I realize I’ve made a terrible
mistake. I’ve walked into a trap.

“How do you know I’m human?”
Bernard says.

I want to say it’s because he’s
old, and not a perfect physical specimen. There’s the slightest hint of grey on
his temple, and though Bernard is hardly ancient, he must be in his mid 40’s.
Even though we met an elderly vampire in the hallway outside, Adam said that
Nicodemus is the exception to the rule, one I suspect they don’t often make.
And Bernard is past his prime. It means that Marion didn’t want to turn him, or
at the very least, she won’t want to now.

And somehow, I instantly know it’s
a cause of concern amongst the humans, whether or not a vampire master will
change you. And that they delude themselves into thinking it might happen some
day, even when they’ve clearly been passed up. But I need to give him an
answer, and luckily, I can come up with good bullshit at times, especially if
it means saving my hide.

“Your hand,” I say.

“My hand?” Bernard responds, with a
laugh.

“When we shook. It’s warm, but it
doesn’t have that extra bit of heat a vampire’s would.”

And Bernard smiles, seemingly
relieved by my answer.

“That’s true, their body
temperatures do run hot. That’s very perceptive of you, Meridian.”

“Well, done,” Marion says, smiling
giddily. “In fact, we should make it a game.”

My heart skips a beat.

“Pardon me?”

“That is, if you don’t mind, Meridian.”

“Well, if we’re going to play a
game, we should wager,” Adam says.

“And what would the prize be?”

“You know what I want.”

“And you know I can’t give that to
you, Adam,” Marion says, gravely.

“Fine, if you want to be boring,
then make it money.”

“Shall we say five?”

“Ten,” Adam says, without missing a
beat.

Ten what? Ten ensorcelled human
lives to drain? Ten thousand dollars?

But Marion pauses, and her
expression becomes a playful, sidelong glance. And Adam stares her down with a
smile.

“Actually, I’m not sure I want to
bet against her. Meridian seems like such a smart girl. What do you say, would
any of you like to take up the wager?”

And before I can do anything about
it, they’re betting on me. Marion stares at the others in the room, saying
nothing. A weird buzzing begins to fill my mind, and I can tell they’re
communicating telepathically. It’s similar to what I felt when Adam tried to
read my thoughts, only now, with two or three of them in the discussion, the
sensation is far stronger.

Marion watches me from the corner
of her eye, being careful not to look at anyone directly, so I don’t get any
clues as to whom she’s talking with. And finally she turns my way.

“Well, Meridian. Go ahead,” she
says, smiling. “Let’s see if you can guess who else in the room is a vampire.”

And I feel sick. I look to Adam and
glare at him for a moment. I could drive a stake through his heart for bringing
me into this. But he only smiles back at me, seemingly just as delighted by
this game. And he watches me carefully as I look about the room, studying my
reactions.

And I just don’t know what to do. I
don’t know if he wants me to confuse them as to whether or not I’m Saga. Maybe
I should fake it, and purposely try to guess wrong. But Adam has money on the
line, something, whatever “10” is. Hopefully not millions. And I can’t let him
down. So I take a deep breath, and begin to more closely examine the other
couples who stand before us.

I start with Lina and Angel.

Lina has on baggy black clothes, a
silky ensemble that I suspect hides a thin frame. Her outfit is black, matching
her hair, and she has on thick gold jewelry that looks like it could have come
from an Egyptian temple. And I wonder if she wears it because she was alive at
that time.

She clearly seems older than Angel,
who’s almost her polar opposite. Angel has a casual style that makes her seem
even more youthful than her tiny frame already does. I notice she has a
necklace made of seashells over her bright top, and her funky clothes look like
they could have come from a thrift store. But I wonder if this is all a trick,
some vampire deception she’s practiced to make her seem young and unassuming,
to mask her true nature.