by M. Cheykota
“My sire has a very… unique method that he chooses to implement with his new fledglings.”
“What is so different about his method and what does that have to do with me?” I ask impatiently.
“This is very difficult for me to discuss, ma chatte. I must ask for your patience.”
“I’m sorry, please continue.” I lower my head in embarrassment.
“After my sire turned me into a vampire, he left me in a dark room for days, refusing to feed me. My blood thirst was so bad that I could not see, think or hear anything but the rush of blood in the bodies of those in the building. Once the blood thirst was so far beyond control and I was nothing more than a vicious animal, he brought in humans for me to feed on.” He chokes out before he lets go of my hands and turns away from me.
I remember what happens to a vampire’s victims when a vampire loses control of his blood thirst from stories that Austin told me. Their attacks are similar to what I did to the woman earlier this evening. They completely mutilate their victims until they are unrecognizable. Usually, their sire or the Vampire Council terminates the vampire because they lose their sanity. The vampire turns into a rogue vampire, a vicious outlaw.
“The humans are often tied up and gagged.” Christien explains angrily. “He would leave their eyes unshielded so they can watch their fate. By then, it did not matter to me who they were. My blood thirst was all I was. I was nothing but a vicious monster. It was horrible. When my blood thirst finally subsided, I looked around and saw body parts and pieces all over the room. Blood was everywhere. All over me, the walls, the floor, even the ceiling. I remember walking through the carnage in confusion as my sire came into the room. He told me, ‘I thought you might have wanted what was left of your human family with you on this monumental occasion. Apparently I was mistaken.’ Then he left the room.”
“Oh God!” I gasp, unable to hide my shock.
He continues quietly. “I turned and looked again at the remains all over the room. I could not remember what the humans looked like when they brought them into the room. I could not… no, would not believe someone would be as cruel as to bring in someone’s loved ones for a blood-crazed vampire to feed on. I was looking for anything I can recognize from my human wife and children. I could see shreds of clothing but nothing looked familiar. I would find hair but it was soaked with too much blood to differentiate if the color was the long, honey blonde hair of my wife or the golden strands of my daughter. After getting on my hands and knees, digging through the carnage, I found a ring. I wiped it off the best I could and recognized it immediately. The wedding ring I had given her had belonged to my mother. It was a family heirloom.” He stops his recall, stands and begins pacing the room.
I watch him walk back and forth across the room in silence. I want to go to him to tell him how sorry I am. Kill the son of a bitch sire of his after making him feel the pain of his dick and balls grow back painfully after I repeatedly cut them off.
Christien stops pacing and returns to the seat next to me. “I confronted my sire after confirming with other vampires that it was truly my family that I slaughtered. I attempted to kill him, but at the last moment, multiple vampires from our line prevented me from doing so. I fled, barely escaping with my undead life and began plotting for revenge. I was a fledgling but thankfully, other masters took pity on me and sheltered me because of our mutual hate for my sire. I would kill any new vampires he had created at the first opportunity. I figured that if I could weaken his support structure, I’d weaken him. He was an old vampire, nearly 1200 years undead at that time. He has accumulated a lot of power over his undead years. Even with all the power he has gained, he is still not as strong as he could be. I eventually decided to leave France and go to Canada to begin a new life. I did not forget or forgive what he had done to me. I have nearly wiped out his ligne de sang in revenge for what he did to my family. Not all of his current vampires have been with him long, besides the two vampires you saw today. I am the oldest, strongest and most powerful of his line now. Since he does not have very powerful vampires in his line anymore, the other lignes de sang do not consider him a formidable adversary. The other master vampires consider him a joke among them. He enjoyed the power he had when I was a fledgling, tormenting other masters just because he could. Since I have destroyed his most powerful vampires, he has been trying to regain his power. A little over 24 years ago, he received a large power gain with no explanation that anyone could find. Also at the same time, two other vampires, the ones you saw earlier today, also receive more power. Soon after the increase in power 24 years ago, he challenged another master vampire and lost. He barely escaped with his undead life. I have been searching all over the world, looking for information on how they could achieve that much power so quickly. I have been unsuccessful in finding anything useful until I heard that some have seen him throughout the United States over the past 25 years. That is what brought me to America. I had heard that he lost two strong vampires in an attack seven years ago. No one knew more information than that, so I came to investigate the story myself. There had been rumors that he was looking for someone that could give him the power he needed to restore him to his former glory.”
“Christien, I find all this incredibly fascinating and horrifying, but I’m not sure what all this has to do with me.” I interrupt.
“I can see your patience is running thin, ma chatte petite, so I will get to the point. When you kissed me and shared your blood with me, I immediately felt better and noticed my power begin to feel stronger and change.”
I stare at him, unblinking. “Describe what you felt to me.”
“We can talk about that later. For now, may I continue?” He smirks at me.
“Yes of course. Again, I’m sorry for interrupting.” I nod, giving him back my full attention.
“When my powers strengthened, I knew what you were. There have only been legends and stories of those who had roamed the earth that could give a vampire more power than they naturally accumulate. Only angels have that property in their blood. My sire could have only received more power by draining the blood of an angel 24 years ago.”
My blood chills. I find it hard to breathe. I stand up and start pacing as Christien was before.
He couldn’t mean my mother. My aunt always told me my mother died in childbirth. I did not have details or any information other than her name so I could not find out what truly happened. Seven years ago, my mother finally confessed to me who she was, but only said that vampires killed her and my father, Jacob. The vampire that forced me to kill my aunt admitted to killing my mother. So, could Christien’s sire and the others be the same vampires that killed my parents? Is that why he came to my aunt’s house? Was he looking to kill me in the same way he killed my mother? He admitted that much to me. That Indian vampire’s name was Hassan. Could his sire and my mother’s murderer be the same person?
I turned to Christien, barely containing my emotions. “What is your sire’s name?”
“Hassan.”
Chapter 26
“Son of a bitch!” I exclaim angrily.
“Pardon me?” Christien replies with a look of confusion.
“Hassan is the name of the vampire that killed my parents. He told me right after he caused me to kill my aunt. He said, ‘The only good thing about your mother was her blood and I drank that down to the last drop.’” I repeat coldly, mimicking the tone in which he confessed his sins.
Christien nods in confirmation. “That does sound like something he would say. He is cruel, sadistic, and mad. The Vampire Council should have killed him long ago, but since they do not feel he is a threat, they do not act.”
“So, your crazy sire killed my mother and your family. Now you think he’s looking for me to drain me dry to get more power?” I repeat aloud, confirming my own suspicions.
“I am not sure of his plans for you, but it is not a coincidence he is here in Arizona. How he found out I am here is quite a surprise. I am not certa
in if he is looking for you or me, but after today, I am almost certain he will be coming for me again.” Christien thinks aloud.
I look up at him. “You never really explained why he wants you alive or what happened after I left.”
“Let us return to your friend and we can all discuss what happened and what we are going to do next.”
He escorts me back into the sitting room where Roman is waiting with clenched fists. I walk over to him and hug him. I am not sure if it was for his benefit or mine. Roman seems to relax and return my hug.
“Are you okay?”
I nod. “Yes, I’m fine Rome.”
We all sit down. Roman sits directly across from me in a chaise lounge and Christien sits down beside me. I see Roman is tensing up again and I move a little away from Christien.
Christien notices my movement. “Why do you move away from me, ma chatte? I will do nothing to harm you.” He states almost in a hurt tone.
“Maybe it’s because you and your kind want to eat her. She should be even more cautious than she is. You should be grateful that we are here at all.” Roman snarls, his eyes turning the golden wolf color they get when emotions run high and the wolf inside is about to surface.
Christien starts to respond but I interrupt him. “Just hear him out Roman. He has some things we need to hear. I have learned a lot about who Christien is in the past hour we have been talking. He is a vampire, but there has to be at least one that doesn’t want to drain me. Maybe he is that one, maybe not. There is something about him that is different, Rome. I know I am losing my mind in regards to Christien. I will not deny it anymore. I don’t know why and I don’t have the time right now to find out so I need you Roman. I need you to be who you are and take care of me. I need my friend here with me so I don’t do anything too stupid.”
“Preventing you from doing something stupid like falling for a vampire?” He says with disgust.
I think about his reaction for a moment before responding. “Is this about who he is, or what he is?”
“What are you talking about Jess? For as long as I have known you, there has been one rule. ‘Never date a vampire.’ Now you sit here defending him as if he is your mate.” Roman says practically shouting at me.
“I know my rules better than you Roman. I don’t need you to tell me that I am in danger by being here. I know he is a vampire. I am not sure what is going on with me lately, but I do know that if I am going to get through it, I will need both of your help. Can I count on you Roman? And you Christien?” I look at them both.
Christien is first to respond. “You already have me, ma chatte. I am already yours.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Roman asks Christien dubiously.
Christien shrugs. “Take it however you like, Loup.”
Roman stands and I am in front of him before he can blink. “Roman, please. I really need you to keep me from falling off the deep end.” I whisper to him.
“Then I fear that I am already too late. But you have me anyway.” Roman nods and retakes his seat.
I ignore the comment. “Good because we have a lot to talk about and I am hungry.”
Christien has his chef prepare a meal for us. As we are eating, I have Christien tell Roman about Hassan and his power quest. I can tell that Christien surprises Roman by how forthcoming he is with information about his sire.
“So,” I ask after the dishes are clear from the dining room table. “What can you tell us about what happened today? How did you escape?”
Christien responds smiling. “After that incredible kiss you bestowed upon my lips, I was taken inside the warehouse. Hassan was there with five vampires less than 500 years undead. I consider them young in vampire years. They are not truly masters and have little resistance to sunlight. Hassan asked me to rejoin his get. I declined. He had the vampires attack me. He expected me to be weak and did not think I would be able to defend myself after receiving the report from Demetri of how drained of power I was. I killed all five vampires easily and I was aiming for Hassan when he ran. He was able to escape with his oldest vampires, Demetri and Jacques. As soon as I was sure that no one was following me, I came to you. Although Demetri and Jacques are not as powerful as I am, they make up for it in skill and brains. They are both good at what they do and it will not be long before they figure out what happened, how I recovered so quickly, and who or more importantly, what you are.”
“Damn it!” Roman curses. “We got to go Jess, now!”
“Wait!” I tell Roman and turn to Christien.
“Why are you so confident they’ll know who I am?”
“I am only speculating, but I think they believe they are getting close to finding you once again. I heard about Jacques frequenting clubs catering to non-humans throughout the city and asking around about unique female vampires. I was following Jacques the night we met. He already left the club shortly before you arrived. I left to follow him, but I lost his trail. I returned to the club to see if I could speak to some of the others to whom he spoke. When Jacques saw me in the club, I imagine that is why he left and when you received a contract on me.” Christien looks to me to confirm his statement.
“Why doesn’t he just capture you himself?” I ask curiously.
Christien smirks arrogantly. “He would know he is no match for me. Jacques is very smart. He knows I would never harm anyone only meaning to capture me. I will ultimately defend myself against someone trying to kill me. I am certain there was a ‘no kill’ request on the contract?” He asks, looking at me for confirmation.
Roman also looks at me.
I nod. “Yes, there was a stipulation on the order not to kill, but capture. They wouldn’t have known that I would have spelled silver shackles though. How did they expect someone to deliver a dangerous vampire alive to them?”
Roman joins in the conversation. “They would have done their research to find the best assassin in town in case they were needed. Naturally, since I was out of town, they chose you.”
I roll my eyes at Roman. “Keep yourself in that fantasy world of yours Rome. I am the best in town.” Without waiting for Roman’s retort, I return to questioning Christien. “They still wouldn’t know I would have been able to succeed.”
“You admit you are the best, ma chatte. Without a kill order, they would be confident that I would not fight you or you could get lucky.” Christien responds and smiles at me.
“Lucky, huh?” I give him a challenging look.
His lips twitch in amusement. “That is how you were able to capture me without a fight is it not?”
“Why didn’t you fight me? I thought you would have put up more of a fight. You hardly even argued.” I ask curiously.
“I have told you repeatedly, chatte, that I will not harm you. I keep my word. When you pulled your gun on me, I was aware of what to expect. I will admit those spelled silver shackles of yours were quite an unexpected and extremely effective surprise.”
“Thank you.” I mentally pat myself on the back for the backward compliment.
“So, what do we do now?” Roman asks.
“We need to find and kill them before they find her and drain her dry.” Christien states plainly.
“Where do we look? Do you know where they could be hiding?” I ask.
“You are not looking for anyone. You are staying here where my get will guard you. Roman and I will find Hassan with the help of others in my get and dispose of them.” He says while staring at Roman.
Roman nods his agreement.
“Oh, no you don’t!” I argue, glancing at each of them in turn. “I am not staying here cooped up like some frail, helpless woman while you boys go out and have all the fun.”
“Jess, you are in serious trouble. They have already come after you once when you were 17 and clueless. They have been preparing for this since before you were born. Christien and I can take care of these vampires. You can barely function when Christien is around you. You will not be at your best if you come with us. Yo
u will have a better chance defending yourself if he is not around you.” Roman explains.
I blush at Roman’s observation.
“I agree with the Loup. It will be sunrise soon. Demetri and Jacques are not powerful enough to be out during daylight very long, so I suggest we all rest. I had my servants prepare a room for you upon our arrival.” He says while looking at Roman.
Christien looks at the door and several good-looking men enter the room. I gape at the barely dressed men and quickly turn away. I notice Roman straighten and smile appreciatively, as the men enter the room.
Christien introduces the men. “They are here for your entertainment and pleasure.” He says looking at Roman. “They are willing donors in case you have the need.” He says looking at me.
Roman smiles and nods his thanks, immediately calling over a hot looking, brunette man he has been watching since they entered the room.
“They will show you to your room.” Christien finishes.
I suddenly feel tired and drained. I have not been sleeping well so I decide that I should go to bed after I get a pint of blood. I walk to one of the other men standing in a line watching me. I frown, feeling uncomfortable. I stop and turn towards Christien, who is watching me with clenched teeth.
“Don’t you have bagged blood anywhere?” I ask Christien.
Catching him off guard by my question, he hesitates before responding. “I maintain a group of willing donors so I have no need for bagged blood. Does he not meet your approval?”
“He’s fine I guess. It’s just…” I stumble over my words.
Roman finishes my thought for me. “She does not like to drink from the living unless it is absolutely necessary. She finds that it is too intimate.”
I lower my head in embarrassment, cheeks flushing, and move to stand in front of the fireplace.
