The Vampire's Seduction (25 page)

I cleared my aching throat. “What are you doing here at this time of night?” I asked hoarsely.

“I was worried about you and William, what with Reedrek on the loose and Olivia gone, so I came to check on you.”

“Where’s Renee? Isn’t it past her bedtime?”

“She’s upstairs with Deylaud and Reyha, doing her math homework. She’s fine.”

I felt ashamed all over again, knowing that I’d just had wild, evil vampire sex under the same roof as Melaphia and her precious little daughter. An aching tenderness for those two crushed my chest and sent more tears rolling down my face. I’d lose them one day, just like I’d lost Melaphia’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. For all their power and glory, they were not immortal as I was. I’d known each of the women in Melaphia’s lineage, going back as far as when my existence as a vampire first began. I’d held them just after they’d come into the world, and I’d stood brokenhearted by the side of a weeping William as they’d died in his arms. They were as close as I’d ever come to a family, and yet I was not of them and they were not of me.

“You should take Renee home to bed now. I’ll be all right.”

“I’m not leaving you here to deal with this alone. Besides, there are things I have to do.” She inclined her head toward the corpse. “For her.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s complicated. Long story short, I have to do my stuff—say some incantations over that poor girl so her body won’t be inhabited by any spirits that happen to be floating around.”

“I don’t sense anything. I’m pretty good with the spirits too, ya know.”

“Does that spirit happen to go by the name of Jack Daniel’s?” She ruffled my hair.

“Very funny. I mean spirits as in ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties and things that go boo in the night.”

“That’s ‘bump’ in the night.”

“Whatever.”

“I know you’re sensitive to the dead, but all the same I’m going to do the spells. It’s the least we can do for her, isn’t it?”

“The least and the last,” I mumbled. “Can I help?”

“You can put Shari in that extra coffin. Who knows if Olivia will come back. If she does, we’ll get her another one. You can’t help with the rest of it. I have to go upstairs and consult some texts and prepare some ointments. Then I’ll come back and take care of Shari a little later tonight.”

“Is William out looking for Olivia?” I pulled on my jeans and gently lifted Shari’s body into the coffin.

Melaphia took a moment to cross Shari’s arms over her torso. Then she made the sign of the cross. I had to look away as she closed the lid. “Yes. He left me a note saying where he was going. He also had a list of things to do for the party. And there were instructions for you, too.”

“What now?” She knew I hated William’s damned shindigs and all the extra work it took to put them on.

“You’re not going to like it.”

“I don’t doubt it.” I picked up the rag that used to be my shirt, inspected it long enough to make out that it was a total loss, and flung it into the fancy trash can against the wall. “So? What did he say?”

“He wants you to quit drinkin’ and help me with the party preparations.”

“Crap. As if I don’t have enough on my mind already.”

“That’s not the worst of it.”

“Oh, no.”

“He wants you to take his place as the grand host.”

I could feel my head throbbing again. “What the hell? Why?” If vampires could get hangovers, you’d think they could at least get relief from an aspirin or sex or something. There was no justice.

“He said he had business to attend to.”

“Geez Louise, what is he thinking? I can’t run this party! I can’t be William—standing around in a monkey suit, remembering all those society jackasses’ names, making high-class small talk without putting my foot in my mouth. It’ll be a nightmare! Besides all that, some of those Eurovamps he’s been importing are coming in from all over the Americas. What am I supposed to do with them? I’ve never been invited to mix with those other vampires. I know next to nothing about being a blood drinker. I feel like somebody’s redheaded stepchild all the time. It’s embarrassing.”

“Look, I’ll be there to help you. But that’s the least of our worries right now. I think the real reason William wants you to host the ball is that he’s afraid he might still be tied up with this Reedrek, maybe even still trying to get Olivia back. Or worse.” For the first time I could see how worried Melaphia was.

Worrying about William was something new for both of us. Nobody, and I mean nobody, had ever been a threat to him. He was king of the jungle as far as Melaphia and I were concerned. Ten feet tall and bulletproof. Now I was sorely afraid that nothing was ever going to be the same.

It was my turn to comfort Melaphia. I took her gently by the shoulders. “Try not to worry. I’m going to go out and find William. Together we’ll beat this guy, this—thing. Everything is going to be all right. You’ll see.”

“You’re not going anywhere. You’ve been through hell tonight already and you were up most of the day. You’ve got to rest. I want you to get in that coffin until William gets back. You don’t have any idea where to look for him anyway, do you?”

I started to protest, but I realized she was right. Looking for William now would be like looking for a painted minnow in the Savannah River. Besides that, I was feeling really strange. Strong, but strange. “You’re right, my sweetheart. As usual.” She let me hug her to my chest. Her fuzzy hair tickled my chin. I let her go and tugged one of the twisty dreadlocks that she had pulled back in a scrunchie. “You take such good care of us, ya know.”

“Yes, I do. And I will for a long time. I’m going to send Reyha in to keep you company so you won’t be alone. I’m sure William will look in on you when he gets back. Now, get in that box. By the time I’ve made my preparations and come back down to work with Shari, you’ll be sawing logs, or killing hogs, or whatever you vampires do in your sleep.”

“You’re the boss. Kiss Renee for me.”

“I will. When all this settles down I’ll bring her by, as long as it’s not a school night, and you and William can spend some time with her. Take her to a movie or something.”

I figured the happy talk was to reassure the both of us. Might as well hope for the best while you’re planning for the worst. “I can’t wait to see Renee,” I told her.

We squeezed each other’s hands before she turned to go back upstairs, and I watched her until she was out of sight. I went over to the bar and mixed another blood-and-booze cocktail. My headache was waning but I still felt really weird. On one hand Melaphia was right; I could tell I needed to rest. The undead body clock is a funny thing. You have to get that beauty sleep or you really feel the effects. But at the same time I also felt . . . strong somehow. Like I could bench-press a cart horse.

As I finished my drink, Reyha entered the vault, wearing something slinky and pink. I set down the glass and she linked her arms around my neck.

“Melaphia said I should keep you company,” she said.

“That would be nice. I’ve had a hard day’s night.” I stroked her long, pale hair over and over for several long moments. Then I climbed into my black coffin and she settled down beside me, nestling her head against my chest.

“Say goodnight, Reyha,” I said.

“Goodnight, Reyha,” she replied.

William

Reedrek sang under his breath. “A-hunting we will go, a-hunting we will go, hi-ho the dario, a-hunting we will go.”

For the immortal life of me I couldn’t figure out why he’d become so cheerful. I was sure he had my destruction in mind—sooner or later. But now that he held my attention, he seemed perfectly content. I didn’t trust him for what the moderns term a nanosecond. I blocked his good humor from my mind and concentrated on my own anger . . . and on fear in the world at large.

My particular dinner bell.

With me at the wheel of the mayor’s vehicle, we were cruising the streets of one of the more unfortunate areas of the city. It was probably the first time this particular SUV had been down these streets of run-down houses, every third one abandoned. Hopeless street dwellers wandered in the darkness, ever the bait for one monstrous killer or another. Tonight would be our turn. I searched deeply for my anger. Feeding on that eclipse of the heart would serve me better than the blood of innocents.

I kept my mind on business. I couldn’t afford the luxury of worrying about Jack or what might be happening between Shari and him in my absence. Jack was a big boy now—it was time for him to act like one.

Finding the dark emotion I’d been searching for, I shut off the vehicle lights and coasted to a stop in front of a dilapidated three-story flophouse. Huge oak trees hung over the yard, blocking any view of the upper levels. The door was boarded up, along with the first-floor windows, but there were humans inside, scrabbling around like rats. And someone was drunk and furious.

I stepped from the car and let the wave of fuming rage wash over me, drawing it in with my breath. I’d spent a long time resisting my anger fetish, only setting it free during my darker days. Tonight I would free it out of necessity, in order to lull my sire into thinking he had me back again.

Reedrek smiled. “Shall we?”

I nodded my assent. Before we reached the porch stairs, a gunshot sounded from somewhere inside.

“Even better,” Reedrek said. “It amuses me when they fight back.”

As easy as plucking peeling paint, I cleared the boards from the front door. “After you,” Reedrek said with a courtly bow. I didn’t bother to argue the social niceties of guests going first. The anger was tugging at me like promised sex.

A long, dark, dank-smelling hallway split the house in two. A termite-rotted stairway dangled stairless on our right. Down the hall, several floorboards were missing and as we entered the less-than-human things scurried through the thicker darkness below. I could see several pairs of small red eyes blinking from corners, from holes in the walls, and I could feel the faint warmth of their beating blood. This was not a place for man nor beast; yet here we were, a bit of both.

Shouts echoed from one of the rooms at the far end of the hallway. Then another gunshot blast sounded. Before one more conscious thought, I found myself standing in the doorway of the last room. The dim kerosene lantern and the small fire in the hearth seemed bright after the gloom of the hall. There were a few pieces of broken furniture and a spoiled mattress. The room stank of sour clothes, urine, and wine. There were other bullet holes in the walls, from other nights, I suspected. The man with the gun was too drunk to realize we had even entered the room. His staggering attention was set firmly on the woman and two children huddled next to the fireplace.

“I tol’ you to fix me some supper, bitch!” The man waved the gun in their direction and kicked at the crushed cardboard box at his feet.

The woman pulled the children closer, shielding them with her body. “There’s nothin’ to cook,” she managed in a low voice.

“Find somethin!” he ordered, making an attempt to hold the gun steady. “Or I’ll—” Suddenly he noticed me. “Who the hell—”

My sire’s eyes were already on the children. He had a predilection for the young and innocent. I looked at the woman. “Run!” I hissed, and bared my fangs. The woman, realizing she had one slim chance, grabbed the children and disappeared into the doorless dark.

With a look of regret, Reedrek turned on the man. The drunk managed to get off a final, ineffectual shot before Reedrek took the gun from his unresisting hand and tossed it over his shoulder.

I was surprised at how quickly the killing instinct returned to me. Hunting by twos is very much like dancing or having sex. No need to rush. There is a giving and a taking, with polite pauses for the other to find the perfect bite. Then, the sucking. Reedrek settled on one side and I took the other, spinning the victim up in the air. The man managed one last gurgling, angry scream as our mouths nearly met in a bloody kiss—fang to fang—with only his throat holding us apart. Then there was sucking and silence—no muss, no fuss. One of the victim’s shoes deserted him, hitting the floor with a plop. The smell of fresh urine wafted around me. I blocked everything from my senses except the lure of blood. There were other humans upstairs, more gushing warmth if I chose them. I could feel their quiet fear. But no anger, only resignation.

Then I heard the sirens. Some Good Samaritan had called the law.

It takes a solid five minutes for one vampire to completely empty a body of blood. Two can do it in less than half that time without wasting a drop—presumably because competition makes the hunger sharper and showing off is ever a dangerous temptation for the undead. We finished just as the police lights flashed down the hallway. I thought it rather brave of them to face those dark rooms and someone with a gun, being that their mortality meant they could pay for their jobs with their lives. If they had known that we—unkillable with their weapons—were there, they might have turned back. To live another day.

Reedrek shoved the boards out of the window and vaulted into the dark shrubbery. I was left holding the victim, staring at the very obvious puncture wounds in his throat, feeling the rush of the kill. An old habit of self-preservation rose through my blood euphoria. Savannah was my city, after all, and I’d spent a good two hundred years protecting my place in it. There would be no time to make the body disappear. Even if this night was to be my last, I would not deliberately cause a public uproar over the rumor of vampires. Jack at least had to go on in Savannah. Or so I hoped. So, out of necessity, I tossed through the few cooking utensils near the hearth until I found a piece of a knife. It was missing the hilt but it would do nicely.

As a policeman yelled down the hallway, “Everybody out!” I pushed back the victim’s head and slit his throat ear to ear, cutting through the fang marks. A human coroner who knew his business would notice the absence of arterial blood on the victim but he wouldn’t easily attribute it to vampires. It was the best I could do on such short notice. I dropped the victim and the knife, picked up a relatively clean piece of discarded clothing, and followed Reedrek outside.