The Meridian Gamble (54 page)

I shake my head in disgust.

“Even if you’re willing to kill
her, I’m not. You may be able to forget that she’s your friend, but I can’t.
There has to be another way.”

Roland stands, and moves to the
door, seemingly finished with us.

“If you and Adam can come up with a
better solution, I will listen to it. But we need to act quickly. Your human
lives are over in the blink of an eye, and Marion will not remain fooled for
very long. You will not be safe. I will come back here tomorrow, and we will
make our decision on how to proceed.”

He walks toward the door, but
before he leaves, Roland pauses.

“And I am sorry for hurting you,
Meridian,” he says, giving me an earnest glance. “You were right, it was a
mistake. I should have believed you.”

“I know,” I say, coldly.

“I only pray that you live long
enough to forgive me.”

It’s strange the way he puts it,
and I say nothing more.

Roland looks to Adam, and gives him
a small nod filled with tension. He goes out the front door, and closes it
behind him. And when he’s gone, I breathe a sigh of relief.

I go to the bag of Chinese food
that’s sitting on my kitchen table, and grab it. Adam looks at me
questioningly, but I put a finger to my mouth, motioning for him to be quiet.
And I listen at the front door, waiting for the ding of the elevator outside.

I open it, and the coast is clear.
The elevator doors have closed on Roland.

“I don’t want this in my home,” I
say. And I don’t care if Roland is still close enough to hear me, through
layers of concrete and metal doors.

Adam follows me down the hallway,
and I hurl the bag down the garbage chute. He seems pleased with the gesture.

“You must be angry if you threw
away Chinese food.”

“You have no idea.”

I want to laugh, but I can’t. And I
just shake my head. And he follows me back to my home.

“This is a nightmare. I don’t want
to pretend to break up with you. And though I’ve always wanted to go to Paris,
I hardly want to go there with him. In fact, I never want to see Roland again.”

“I know, Meri. But we need to take
action, and hard decisions will have to be made.”

“Why can’t we just be together? I don’t
understand what’s so difficult about that.”

“They’re not going to let us just
live out your life. If they would, I would be content with that, if it was your
decision. I would wait for you to return time and time again,” Adam says. “So
we’re going to have to find a way around them. This time it’s going to work out
for us, I swear it.”

He kisses me so sweetly, it makes
me feel guilty for ever thinking of Roland, at all. But Adam steps away for a
moment, and it’s the last thing I want him to do. It concerns me.

“I hate to leave you, but there’s
something I must attend to.”

“You’re not leaving town again, are
you?”

“No. But Marion thinks there’s a
small cell of Luminos in Greenwich Village, of all places. Which is impossible,
I’ve tracked all of their activity in this city. I almost think she’s purposely
wasting my time. But I need to pretend to honor her leadership, so she doesn’t
suspect a rebellion.”

And something clicks in my mind.

I realize that there is no way out
of this impossible situation, not without someone I care about getting hurt.
But there is one thing left for me to do. I almost feel like Marion is sending
me a message through Adam, without him even knowing it. And even if she’s not,
it doesn’t really matter, because I’ve made my decision.

“Wait here for me, and we’ll work
it all out when I get back.”

“Okay. I’ll be here.”

He gives me another kiss, and this
time, I make it linger even more than I usually would, because it really might
be the last one I ever have from him. In fact, I’m fairly certain it will be,
at least for this lifetime.

That’s what I’ll miss the most, not
even the sensation of our making love, which is spectacular enough. It’s his
kiss. It’s everything I ever hoped for when I imagined a perfect dream lover.

When Adam leaves, I ponder the idea
of ordering some Tom E. Wong’s to replace the food I threw away, which was
tainted by Roland’s touch. But it’s too late, I don’t want it anymore. He’s
ruined what would have been my perfect last meal. And it doesn’t really matter,
I don’t even bother to try to think of another treat. For some reason, I’m not
that hungry.

Instead, I pick up my cell phone
and dial the number for Jennifer, Tom’s Chosen One. I should have called her a
long time ago, it would have been fun to have a famous friend, at least for a
little while. And I should have gotten Staci the hook-up for her new job. But
screw it, she’s always bragging about her connections, let her get ahead on her
own.

The phone goes to voicemail, and I
try to think of someone else I can call. The main line of Omnicom, and ask for
Marion? I don’t even know her last name. But luckily, Jennifer calls me back
right away.

“Meridian? Hey, what’s up? It’s
Jenny.”

“Oh, hi. Listen, I’m sorry to
bother you, but I need a favor. Do you have a number for Marion?”

“You want to call Marion? Why?”

And the bullshit rolls off my
tongue. It amazes me what I can come up with under pressure.

“Well, I’m planning a little
surprise for Adam, and I wanted to get her advice. You know how hard it is to
shop for men, especially these men.”

“I could help you out if you like.
I know some incredible stores …”

“And that would be fantastic,” I
say, trying to sound enthused. “But actually, he mentioned this special brand
of Bolivian cigars that he likes that Marion knows about, and I wanted to ask
her the name. Only if you feel comfortable giving me the number, of course. I
don’t want to impose …”

“Don’t be silly! Here it is …”

Her cell phone goes quiet, and I
can tell she’s looking through it to get Marion’s number. Finally, Jennifer
comes back on the line, and reads me the precious digits.

“Thanks.”

I’m good at memorizing numbers and
don’t even write it down. After I say my goodbyes to Jennifer, I quickly dial,
not wanting to forget. And I’m surprised when Marion picks up the line. I’m
even more surprised that she seems to know who’s calling.

“Hello? Meridian?”

I don’t even want to know if it’s
some psychic ability or a security measure that lets her know who’s dialing her
cell. I have too much else on my mind.

“Marion, hi. Listen, I need to
speak to you right away. Can I come over?”

“Of course. I’m in my quarters.”

“Um, I tend to get lost in the
tower.”

“Don’t worry,” she says, full of
courtesy. “Just use the same elevator you take to Adam’s place, only go to the
59th floor. I’ll meet you there.”

“Great. I’ll be there in a few
minutes.”

I hang up and leave right away,
while I know Adam is distracted for a bit.

And as I leave my apartment
building, I feel guilty on so many levels. I should have gone to the office
first and put things in order for Roy Thompson. Then again, he hasn’t been the
best boss, even though I’ve worked for him forever. Let him deal with the mess.
I don’t even think to call my bitch sister in California, but I should at least
say goodbye to Staci, my sister from another life. I should definitely write
out a note for Adam, but maybe it’s better this way. He had my soul to live
with for 100 years. He must know how I feel by now.

Every step that I take, I’m
terrified that the Luminos will jump out at me, which might not be a bad thing.
But if I go to them, Adam and Roland will keep looking. Even worse, they’ll
eventually find me, and I’ll be stuck in the same predicament. This will be
better. And when I get to the steps of the Omnicom building, I take a deep breath
and go inside.

I walk right past the guards in the
lobby, who don’t seem to look my way. There are office workers waiting at the
elevators, and I pass them also and go to the service door that leads to the
upper floors. Security seems lax, but it’s probably quite the opposite. I’m
probably being watched. I know there are hidden cameras everywhere, and Marion
has undoubtedly given the command that I’m to be let through.

I go to the freight elevator and
ride it up to the almost top of the building. And when I get out, Marion is
waiting for me there.

She’s wearing one of her more
casual outfits, simple blue jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, with a sexy gold belt.
And we laugh when we see each other, because, once again, we’re practically
wearing the same thing, minus the waist accessory. She doesn’t have on much
make-up, but her hair looks radiant. It’s shiny and falls straight to her
shoulders, just a bit swept under at the ends. The cut probably cost hundreds
of dollars, to be styled to such casual perfection, and for a split-second I
wish I had dressed up for my dramatic last moments. But then, I always feel
underdressed around Marion.

She smiles and gives me a hug when
she sees me, but I react stiffly.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of a
visit?”

“I’m afraid it’s not going to be a
pleasant one. I have something serious to discuss with you. Is there a place we
can talk?”

“Of course,” she says. “Let’s go to
my suite.”

Marion leads me through a new
labyrinth of corridors, more white ones with little markings that scare me,
because I’m truly at her mercy. I’ll never find my way back. And as we walk
along, Marion turns to me.

“Meridian, you have me scared with
all this talk of seriousness.”

“I thought you never got scared,” I
say.

“Sadly, I do, all the time,” she says.
“When you dodge death as often as I have, you begin to get a bit paranoid. You
fear an attack around every corner. It’s one of the many downfalls of living an
immortal life.”

“Really? But you always look so
calm and collected.”

“It’s a facade, like everything in
this life. I act that way, perhaps hoping that if I pretend long enough, I’ll
be that person some day. But it’s a fool’s errand. The world is too full of
mischief for anyone one person to control it completely.”

She smiles, but it’s tinged with sadness.

“You’d think I would have given up
by now. But I suppose being immortal is not quite the same thing as being
wise.”

And I feel sorry for my old friend,
for a moment. It’s odd to feel pity for someone so rich and powerful, and I
can’t help but to wonder how many neuroses these vampires develop over time,
and how severe they become. I wonder how much money a shrink would pay for a
glimpse into their psyches.

We reach a new corridor that’s more
personal, and must signal a branch of the vampires’ housing, as it’s also
filled with artwork and antique furniture. But this one is painted beige, it’s
a brighter hallway than the one outside Adam’s room, and has lots of recessed
areas where the pieces are displayed. There are little statues and delicate vases,
and I almost feel like I’m in a museum. I wonder if there’s some significance,
if different wings are meant to hold different works of art they’ve collected
over time. Or maybe it’s more personal, and what’s displayed belongs to the
vampires who live there.

Finally, we get to a set of double
doors, which Marion opens for me with a smile.

“I’m sorry, it’s so rude of me not
to have invited you here sooner, but life can get so busy, sometimes,” she says
with a smile. “But I think you will like my little place. We seem to have
similar tastes.”

She opens the doors to what looks
like a room from a palace in Versailles. It’s huge, and there are two high
backed chairs and a velvet sofa surrounding a low table on which tea and scones
have been set out for us, along with some other treats. The table has clawed
feet, which I always find amusing. They make the furniture seem alive.

Beyond the sofas lies a long dining
table with a chandelier hanging over it, where she must hold her private
gatherings. And the Parisian theme continues on the wall, where a huge painting
hangs, one at least 15 feet long that depicts women in elaborate gowns and men
in powdered wigs who may have been in Marie Antoinette’s court. And it’s a
wonder to behold.

Thick curtains frame glass doors that
lead to a patio outside, which freaks me out, just a bit. I could never step
out on such a high floor of a building, and I wonder for a moment if the
vampires can fly.

But Marion’s right, I do like her
home within the tower. It’s exactly where I would want to live if I was a
vampire queen. I only wish I wasn’t so nervous, so I could better enjoy it’s
beauty.

“I was just telling someone that
I’d love to visit Paris some day. This reminds me of it.”

“You’ve never been? Well, we’ll
have to arrange a trip for you.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s
going to happen for me in this lifetime,” I mutter, in a tone filled with
remorse.

“Oh, don’t say that,” Marion says.
“One never knows what life will bring. Please, sit.”

She offers me a place on one of the
sofas, and Marion takes the chair to my right. She graciously pours me a cup of
tea. The amber fluid smells delicious, like a mixture of lavender and
chamomile. Unfortunately, I’m not in the mood to drink, unless it’s something
much stronger, and I set the cup down on the table without tasting it.

Marion has her own beverage. She
lifts a little flask from a bucket of ice, and sips from it through a straw.
But when she sees that I’m not drinking, she sets hers down and faces me.

And I decide to get right to the
point.

“Marion, I’m Saga.”

She turns her head away from me,
and sighs in frustration.

“Oh, Meridian. I was so hoping you
were not going to say that, though it hardly comes as a surprise,” she says,
shaking her head. “The boys are such terrible liars. But, why? Why are you
telling me this now?”