So, with our psyches lingering in quiet introspection, we rode the muzak filled elevator to the lobby and hailed a taxi. All the while, Lucien sensed my unease, intermittently squeezing my hand compassionately. Regrettable as our moral atrocity was, we had to proceed in order to survive and my single, solitary option was to climb on board. One of the many repercussions of our escape, the underlying price of my freedom.
As the cabbie drove, Lucien's eyes scanned the dark city streets, his tension increasing along with mine. However, his angst was a tiger-like deadly force eager to leap to my defense rather than nervousness over our impending meal. Nonetheless, it added an extra layer of baggage to the uncomfortably silent drive that, in the end, wound up being uneventful.
"Here we are, Club Trance," the driver's gruff voice bellowed from the front seat, jolting me from my reverie as the car's squeaky brakes lurched us to a halt. "Your total's twelve fifty."
Promptly, Lucien slid a twenty through the plexiglas partition that separated us from the cabbie. "Keep the change," he boasted, exuding confidence. Then he motioned for me to stay in the car, so he could survey the area. A few seconds later, he gave me the all clear and helped me onto the curb.
"Listen, girlie," Lucien said, stepping close enough to whisper in my ear. "Once we're inside let's find a table that's out of the way. I'll check our surroundings to ensure it's safe, after that we can scout for a donor. Okay?"
"Sounds fine to me." I mean, what else was there to say? He already understood my stance on the whole donor situation. Regardless, I begrudgingly yielded to my lot in life and moved toward the end of the line at the entrance of the club.
"No, no, we'll be cutting," he chortled, placing his palm on my lower back to guide me in the opposite direction.
"But we..."
"Don't need to wait in lines," he chimed in, finishing my sentence with a sly grin. "Come on, I'm aware that you're on one hell of a downer kick. Nevertheless, being a vamp's got it's perks. I saw the Lord we can't name do this tons of times. It's easy."
And so, upon reaching the bouncer at the door, Lucien merely looked him in the eyes and calmly said, "We're VIPs, you'll let us in now." And the guy complied, no questions asked.
Seeing him go all Obi-Wan Kenobi on the bouncer, helped me recognize that I'd taken the long route with the woman at the hotel. When I'd convinced her to check us in, I supplied her with an illusion that she chose to mistake for reality. It would've been a lot easier to simply give her a command. Huh, go figure?
"Now, that's enough thinking and stressing," he chided as his eyes darted about, nonchalantly investigating each nook and cranny for possible attackers. "This place has a good vibe; don't you agree?"
"Yep, that's why I chose it. I've always had fun here," I affirmed. And there's plenty of food. Sigh.
At 11:00pm, the club was jam-packed with sweat drenched partiers. Bass from a techno song vibrated everything, including the smoky air, and laser lights flitted above our heads creating a frenzied mood.
"Check it, most of 'em have Amelia's fashion sense!" he chuckled loudly, not trying to withhold his amusement. "I thought we'd stick out like sore thumbs."
Frankly, with the wig and hot pink fishnets, we did. But whatever. Ignoring my inner negativity, Lucien led us to a large oval booth in the far corner which was already occupied by a group of grad student types. They were happy to move, though, after a mild suggestion. And, in a flash, we'd arranged ourselves with his arm across my shoulders, appearing to be nothing more than a happy couple out for a night on the town. Little did they know.
"There aren't other vampires," Lucien mused. "And I don't see any slaves. We're safe here for the moment."
"Well, a bit of good news at least," I replied caustically. "So, um, are we gonna hunt now?"
"It'll be easier on your conscience if you started thinking of it as finding a donor, that's what they taught us in school anyway. You see someone of interest?"
"Why do I have to pick the person?" I whined, cringing back in horror. "And how can you be so calm? What if our half-baked scheme of a joint feeding fails and one of us takes on a new blood slave?" Screw being bonded to anybody else...
"I can remain calm because of my training," he explained. "And, truthfully, supposing our plan doesn't work, wouldn't you prefer choosing the person you might end up being bonded to?"
"Well, yeah, but shouldn't we both have a say? Seriously, there's as much of a chance of 'em becoming yours as mine."
"I'm your soldier. Therefore, it's your decision regarding who I take on as a slave. And please don't object, I prefer it this way. Your happiness must come ahead of mine."
Totally annoyed, I didn't respond. Instead, I simply shook my head and groaned silently to myself. More vampire hierarchical crap, exactly what I needed.
A dozen songs played before I ultimately centered my gaze upon a tall, twenty something gyrating in the middle of the dance floor. She was glittery, colorful, and absolutely adorable. Her short, bleach blond hair was virtually white except for the light blue tips that were haphazardly sticking up in all directions. Skinny jeans and a care bears mini-t perfectly accentuated her thin frame while a pacifier hung on a string of multicolored plastic beads from her neck.
Catching on to my visual scrutiny, Lucien gestured her way. "That one, are you sure?"
Was I sure? Hell no. But did we need food? Yes, unfortunately. "Well, she's cute and isn't here with anyone. She's been dancing by herself ever since we arrived."
"That settles it then, I'll go retrieve her," he declared, patting me gently on the knee. "No worries, girlie. Just wait for us in the front so we can walk together to the alley. I won't leave you unprotected for long."
"Okay." Honestly, I was at a loss over how to reply. The alley, jesus. We were actually gonna do this. Acquiescing to my fate, I stood and drifted toward the exit like a zombie. Body numb. Hands shaking.
Upon leaving the building, I paused on the sidewalk several feet from the main entrance, accompanied by my troubled thoughts and a cold chill from the fall night. What if our contrived plan went wrong? Or we hurt her and she began screaming? Or we drank too much and accidentally killed her? Damn.
Standing there, time passed slowly, feeling as if hours went by in a mere five minutes. Nonetheless, Lucien and our radiantly smiling victim eventually emerged from the club. "This is Dawn," he announced in a sing-songy voice, making a show of our introductions. "She's going to hang with us, to cool off from dancing in the club."
"Hi, I'm Lu..."
"Lucy," Lucien interjected, apparently preferring I didn't share my real name. Then, latching onto both our arms, he pulled us to the side of the club. "This way, there's less noise around here."
"Where, where are we going?" Dawn squeaked, her upbeat mood faltering as we turned the corner and entered the sparsely lit alley. "I, uh, I can't remember why I wanted to come out here. I'm supposed to meet my friends in..."
"No worries, we'll escort you inside in a few," Lucien reassured in a flat voice. Seconds later, he handed me one of her wrists and met my nervous eyes. "Are you ready, girlie?"
"As much as I'll ever be," I choked, inhaling a whiff of her scrumptious scent. God! Please don't bond her to me! Please! And so, without further hesitation, Lucien followed my lead and we pierced her delicate skin in perfect unison.
And, boy, was it a rush! Feeding with him, drinking in that tantalizing delicacy while simultaneously piggy backing off of Dawn's pleasure. It felt as though euphoric waves were sucking me away into an ocean of bliss. Lucien's lips on her skin inseparable from my own. Swallowing as one. Energy surging as one. And somewhere, amidst the awe-inspiring rapture, he intertwined his fingers with mine. An intimate touch, not that of a friend or a bodyguard.
As a result, I suddenly became extremely turned on. Freakishly strange for a girl who's not a lesbo. Regardless, my nipples grew hard and a warmth started tingling deep within me. We focused on our connection, ignoring Dawn's presence. Our mind blowing closene
ss. Our indescribably sensual link.
Shortly thereafter, we perceived her weakening. Yearning for the dreamy haze to continue, we both drank several more gulps before releasing her in a flood of reluctance. Unsurprisingly, I had to brace myself on the brick exterior of the building for a moment, breathing and waiting for the intensity to subside.
Meanwhile, Lucien abruptly transitioned the mood back to business. "You should go in ahead of me," he directed. "I'll stay here until her bleeding stops, so she doesn't spaz on us. Still, begin searching for another. I'll be close behind you."
Dubiously, I peered down at Dawn, who'd toppled lifelessly onto the ground. "You think she bonded to either of us?"
Shrugging noncommittally, he squeezed his lips into a thin line. "I don't know, girlie. Either way, I'm not planning on sticking around to find out."
Chapter 19
Back inside, I found our booth still vacant. Good, I didn't really feel like pulling mind tricks on anybody. Actually, I preferred crawling into a hole and hibernating. I mean, I'd chomped on some random chick for god's sake. Moreover, I'd been party to her manipulation, her blood rape. And the fact that the whole ordeal turned me on made me wanna hurl. Yep, puke all that ill-gotten nourishment right up.
Just then, a wiry frat boy cleared his throat, alerting me to his presence next to my table. "I got rolls, you need any? Double stacks are thirty and regulars are twenty."
"Huh?" I squinted at him blankly. What the hell was he talking about?
"You know, ecstasy pills. Want one?"
"Oh, um, no thanks," I replied automatically. However, I immediately began reconsidering. Seriously, why not give it a try? The dancers always said ecstasy was the bomb. It might loosen me up to the point that I'd feel okay with finding more helpless victims. And drugs can't kill immortal brain cells, right? Hmm. Whatever, even if they can, screw it. Life sucks regardless.
"Hey, hold on!" I called out to the dealer who'd already moseyed on. "I may have changed my mind. Tell me, though, what's the difference between double stacks and regulars?"
Promptly, he turned back in my direction with his eyebrows arched. "You're kidding?"
"No, I'm not. I really don't understand."
"Okay, folks looks like we got us a first timer!" he jeered, breaking into series of boisterous laughs and not stopping until my cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment. "The double stacked pills are hundred percent pure, unadulterated MDMA. They're also stronger. The regulars contain a dash of DXM, not as clean of a high."
"Uh-huh. Well, I guess I'll take a double stack." After all, if I was gonna do drugs, I might as well have the best.
With dollar signs in his eyes, the frat boy nodded in approval. "Excellent choice. You're in for a fun ride!"
"Believe me, anything will be an improvement," I grumped, pulling several crumpled bills from my pocket and exchanging them for my very own little white promise of happiness. It even had a butterfly stamped into the top of it. How cute.
As my supplier strode off, I took a deep breath and downed the tablet. I hated swallowing pills dry, yet I conveniently lacked a drink. It would've been easy to snag a bottle of water from the bar, nevertheless, I refused to waste the time. I needed to get this show on the road before my sidekick returned; he'd definitely disapprove. But oh well.
And so, I waited for Lucien as the pill scratched its way along my throat. All the while, thoughts slowly creeped into my mind, causing me to wonder what complications were taking my protective companion so long. It'd been around ten minutes since I'd split from in the alley; he wouldn't have left me alone for this amount of time without a reason. My heartbeat quickened. Damn, the girl better be alright.
Lucien, apparently sensing my unease, reached out through our bond. "No worries! Dawn's fine; she's inside the club somewhere. I'm in the bathroom, be there in the sec."
Whew! I wiped the proverbial sweat from my brow. "Okay, I'm at the same table as earlier."
"Be with you soon."
Relieved, I sunk into the sturdy leather of the booth, allowing my nerves to settle. And, a couple songs later, he slid into the seat beside me. By then, the ecstasy pill had started kicking in. Yay! Double yay! "I feel so good! You should totally take one! I don't know where frat boy went, but I'm sure we can find him."
Lucien's eyes surveyed me in trepidation. "Frat boy? Oh no, what did he give you, girlie?"
"An ecstasy pill!" I bubbled, excitement erupting from my every tingling pore. "This is such a wonderful place, all warm and cuddly!" Scooting closer to him, I proceeded to run my fingers through his hair. "So, stiff, need somebody soft..."
"I leave you alone for less than a half hour!" he growled, grimacing angrily. "It's too dangerous for you to be doing crap like this! You must keep your wits about you. In case..."
"Quit being such a spoilsport, I hunted with you didn't I? Now I'm having a little fun!" I moved my fingers down to the soft texture of his mesh shirt. "Can I kiss you?"
Abruptly, he shifted away and peeled my hands off his body. "No! You aren't in your right mind. It's not that I wouldn't enjoy it, or that I haven't contemplated it, especially after earlier. I'd just rather take a step in that direction when you're sober."
All I could do was giggle in response, shifting my focus onto the music. And, for real, it sounded freaking awesome! So, I closed my eyes and let my consciousness spread wide, frolicking with the electronic melodies. I pulsated. In and out. And the colors, the beautiful laser light iridescence. I loved them. I loved everyone. All the people dancing. All the people sitting. And I yearned to touch them. Oh, and my coat. It was furry beyond belief, the cuffs soft against my face.
"Girlie, hey! Luna!" Lucien yelled, snapping his fingers in front of my eyes. "How much did you take? You're really out of it."
"Only one tiny butterfly," I blurted, batting my lashes at him innocently. "You should go find my pusher and buy..." My words trailed off, interrupted by another flood of giggles. Pusher. "I've never felt this, well, this utterly fantastic! I should've taken ecstasy years ago!" Then I reburied my face in my coat. "Soft, so soft."
"A butterfly? You're not making any sense. Does that mean you ingested one pill?"
Ignoring his totally annoying stress-fest, I held my furry sleeve up to him. "See! There's glitter; it's magical! I'm a pixie!"
In turn, Lucien shot me a skeptical sneer and patted me on the knee. "Okay, girlie. I'm glad you're having a good time," he chided, speaking in the kind of voice you'd use with a toddler.
"I love this song!" I marveled, lost in my own world as I floated away with a Bob Marley remix. It was thick with synthesizers, warping my awareness. "Yeah, the sun's shining! We gotta go dance!" I shouted, jumping up and down in my seat with sudden eagerness.
Gradually, a restrained smile inched across his lips as he shook his head in defeat. "While you're doing that, I'll be looking for another donor. Still, go have fun. I'll watch from a distance, ensure your safety."
"Cool! See ya later!" I bubbled, leaping forward and skipping onto the dance floor.
Giddy with enthusiasm, I joined the crowd, my movements flowing along with the music. In less than a minute a sheen of sweat covered my body, requiring the removal of my coat. And just as I was readying to discard it on the floor, Lucien miraculously appeared, nonchalantly taking it off my hands. After which, he wordlessly about-faced and vanished into the partying throng. He was so nice; I loved him! I loved everyone!
Dancing, my consciousness expanded out. And out. And out. Until I began to hear voices, familiar thoughts that weren't my own. Vampires, hundreds of them. We were bound by a thin filament of white light. And it carried me further. And further. Thousands of them. I felt their emotions, heard their inner whisperings, knew their hunger.
And somehow I recognized that I'd connected with every vampire in my territory, the entire United States. I also comprehended that the link went both ways. They could feel my presence, the love I had for them. It was as if the seemingly endless bliss surging
through my soul, needed a place to vent. They helped absorb it, relieving me of the overflow. So, I danced more, losing myself in the synchronicity of the universe.
Then, as a unexpectedly as the euphoria came, it abandoned me. Breathless, needed to slow down, spread awfully thin. The room spun while each beat from the electrified base rattled my balance. Weak, don't understand. Instantly crouching, I closed my eyes and shoved my fingers into my ears to muffle the stimulus. I wanted the nightmare to end, willed it so. And nothing happened. Shit! Shit! Shit!
"Lucien, where are you? Help me!" In hasty desperation, I propelled the message from my mind to his. And, of course, he responded in a flash. Within seconds, he'd hefted me off the floor and escorted me from the club.
The cool night air shocked awake a teensy speck of sobriety within me; the lack of noise and blinking lights didn't hurt either. Still, I felt as though something was wrong. Shivering, petrified. Weak kneed, I collapsed onto the ground in the alley where we'd left Dawn merely an hour earlier. She was no longer there. The poor innocent girl. Jesus, what had we done?
Placing my coat around my shoulders, Lucien flopped down next to me. He squeezed me in tightly against his warm body and started rocking me gently from side to side. "Everything's gonna be alright, girlie. You're safe. Nonetheless, I can feel you more strongly than usual. A bit ago, the energy you were emitting was amazing, although, out of nowhere the vibe changed. Now all I sense is your fear. What happened?"
"I can't, I can't think. Too many vamps. It's all muddled..." A couple of minds slammed their doors on me, cutting their white light cords with force. A slap in the face. Foggy. A random idea here, an unwanted emotion there. I couldn't discern who they came from and my temples throbbed at the consequent enormity.
The Chalice (Luna Vampire Series) Page 17
