Blood and Guitars

by Heather Jensen

  “Aurora.” Tytus grinned possessively at me. I fought the childish urge not to make a gagging noise at him. I gave him a cool smile instead.

  “You smell like you spent the evening surrounded by hoards of humans,” Malena said, turning up her nose at Mark and I. “What have you been doing?”

  “Some of us work for a living.” I met her gaze, unfaltering. Thankfully, Mark always smelled like humans because he spent so much time with them at the hospital. No doubt Malena could smell humans on me as well tonight, but she didn’t press the issue, probably because she was anxious to get upstairs to the festivities. While Mark and I waited for the next elevator, I made him laugh by projecting an image of Malena’s dress getting caught in the elevator doors into his mind.

  “She’s right you know,” Mark said to me when the elevator opened again and we stepped inside. “You do smell like humans tonight.”

  “I told you, I met with some clients today,” I said, sticking to the story I’d given him to explain my coming to Miami so early in the day.

  “How’d it go?” he asked.

  “Great,” I said, trying to decide how much was safe to say to him. At some point I’d need a way to explain all the time I was spending away from The Waking Moon. “I just met with the band that’s commissioning me to do some work for their album jacket,” I said.

  “Anybody I’d know?” Mark was even less informed about today’s music scene than I was, preferring classical tunes over top forty.

  “I doubt it,” I said nonchalantly, wanting to change the subject. “How was work last night?”

  “A little too eventful for my liking,” Mark said.

  I raised a curious eyebrow. “Well, come on. Spill it.”

  “Let’s get inside first,” Mark insisted.

  When the elevator doors opened the two of us walked down a long hallway where a pair of vampires stood like sentinels near a set of elaborate double doors. The closest one nodded to us and pulled the door open to permit us entry inside. I’d felt the hum of power from downstairs, but had been too busy trying to locate Mark to fully appreciate the combined power of so many vampires gathered together in one location. Then I realized as I looked around that it wasn’t the number of vampires that made the room buzz, it was the collective age of everyone present. The Elders of the Synod were practically ancient, and their power was almost limitless. It was more than a little intimidating to be in their presence. I glanced at Mark who just looked entirely too star-struck.

  I hoped I hadn’t looked like that earlier tonight at the VMA’s. Strange to think that had only been a few short hours ago. It seemed distant already as I stood surrounded by my own kind in a different world.

  The room was huge with large round tables adorned with the finest linens. The scenery seemed more appropriate for a medieval palace than a banquet room in a modern hotel. I wondered if the Synod felt more comfortable surrounded by décor that related more to their homelands than to present day America. The only oddity was the bare windows, free of curtains to provide an unobstructed view of the Biscayne Bay below and the endless night sky. There was a group of vampires with stringed instruments set up in the far corner. They were playing a classical piece that Mark probably could have named if I’d asked him.

  Antonio approached us then, greeting Mark with a handshake and me with a kiss on the cheek. It was nice to see him. I’d been so out of touch lately, trying to be a part of Trey’s world, that I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed my mentor. Antonio scrutinized me in that fatherly way he has about him, and I rolled my eyes at him, fulfilling the role of rebellious daughter quite well.

  “I’m glad you made it,” he said with his Spanish accent.

  “Like I had a choice,” I teased, smiling at him.

  “The ritual will begin soon,” he added. “I suggest you take a seat now.” He gestured to the large round tables arranged around the room. At the head of the room, near the large windows was a rectangular table positioned on a raised dais, almost a foot off the floor.

  Seating for the Elders.

  Antonio left us then to greet a tall, lean vampire I didn’t recognize. Mark and I made our way to the nearest table with available seats and Mark pulled out my chair for me. Rather than a traditional place setting, sitting at every place was a champagne glass, but they were filled with something altogether more powerful and potent than champagne.

  I glanced around the room, curious about my fellow vampires as they strolled in and casually took their seats. I hadn’t seen an Elder yet, but the first few round tables seemed to be reserved for their slaves, more commonly referred to as the Emissary. These were younger vampires in places of power who represented the Synod and their wishes. It was the Emissary that Mark reported back to on matters of the hospital, informing them of any new vampires he encountered at work, or any humans who had been mistreated by vampires. Mark played an important role in keeping the general population in the dark about the existence of vampires, doing what he could to hide the truth and mislead the humans.

  I was only just beginning to appreciate how hard it must be for him to be surrounded by humans day in and day out while forced to keep his true nature a secret. Too bad I couldn’t ask him for tips.

  “Okay,” I whispered. “What happened at work last night?”

  Mark leaned close and spoke in hushed tones. “This kid –he couldn’t have been more than nineteen – was brought in by his friends. I recognized the energy in him from across the ER and I left the paperwork I was doing to see what was going on. His friends were telling the chief that he’d been acting strange for almost a week. Apparently he’d been eating like crazy, but he couldn’t seem to get full. He was average sized, not somebody I’d expect to see down five or six hamburgers in one sitting. It was obvious this was a case the Synod would want me to take care of for them, so I planted a suggestion into the chief’s mind to hand the case over to me. He seemed quite relieved not to have to take care of the kid, actually.”

  “So this kid was just a new fledgling?” I asked softly, giving it my best guess. There wasn’t anything real special about that. More than likely, he was in denial. His friends had probably dragged him to the hospital because they didn’t have a clue what was going on with him, and he hadn’t had the heart to skip town on them to avoid the problem.

  “Well, it’s not that simple,” Mark replied. “This kid was in bad shape, although he didn’t show any signs of being physically attacked. Then his blood pressure started to drop. The nurse and I set to work on stabilizing him and that’s when I found the two little puncture wound shaped scars on his neck.”

  “Scars?” I repeated. Bite marks should never leave scars. Vampires always eliminate any trace of a bite. Even when we feed from someone we heal the marks ourselves.

  “They were faint, but they were there,” Mark continued. “I didn’t have time to dwell on it before the kid started crashing on me.”

  I sighed, feeling the waves of frustration radiate off of Mark after reliving the incident for me. He was a natural caregiver, which was one of the reasons he’d chosen a profession most vampires wouldn’t dream of working in. His empathetic nature was one of his best qualities, but it worked against him when he was faced with the harsh reality of our world on days like this.

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “The only thing I could do. I managed to start his heart again and bring him back, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough if I didn’t get some blood in him. I sent the nurse to retrieve something for me on the other side of the ER and then I explained to him who I was. He was scared at first, until I convinced him that I could show him what he needed to do to survive. I poked a hole in the blood bag that the nurse had hung and the smell of it set his instincts into motion. He downed the bag and immediately his vitals started to stabilize. I tried to ask him how it had happened, who had changed him, but he couldn’t remember a thing.”

  “Does the Synod know?” I questioned.

  “I call
ed Damir right away and he had a car sent over to pick him up when I signed off on his release, but I haven’t given the Emissary the whole story yet. That’s my next task when we get back to town,” he said. “It’s something I’ll never understand,” he continued. “This kid didn’t seem to have the slightest clue about what to do with himself. He had to have been fighting his instincts like crazy, but why bother changing someone if you’re not going to teach them how to survive it?”

  It was a good question, and one the Synod would want answers to. Creating new vamps without sticking around to teach them how to survive was something the Synod frowned upon - to put it mildly. The abandoned fledgling count was up to three now, and all that had taken place in only two months.

  “I bet they’ll say something tonight.” Mark sat up a little straighter and looked around. “The Synod, I mean. Surely they’ll want to address the problem.”

  Most of the seats were filled now, and Antonio had taken a seat next to a caramel-colored woman vampire he’d been talking to before he’d greeted us. All but two of the seats at our table filled quickly, and those filled only a moment later when two women vampires joined us.

  Mark couldn’t resist introducing himself to the petite vampire with light brown hair that occupied the seat next to him. Her name was Hana, which was fitting of her southern drawl. They chatted for a few minutes and I nodded politely at her when he introduced me, but my thoughts were on Trey. I was mostly sure that I was just being paranoid, but a little piece of me wished he and the rest of the guys were far from Miami right now. What were the chances of this many vamps getting together in one spot without having some collateral damage?

  Chapter 36

  My fear for Trey flew right out the bare windows when the lights dimmed and the music changed to something that belonged to a different era. Everyone got to their feet, and I slid my chair back to do the same. The entire place was quiet except for the music. I noticed vampires in the crowd ahead of me craning their heads around to look at the back of the room. Mark and I followed suit, turning to watch as the three Synod Elders marched stoically through the aisle in the middle of the tables and made their way up to the dais. The Elders were all wearing black robes, the Synod’s insignia embroidered on the back. We stayed on our feet until the Elders had taken their seats. Then in one big wave the entire crowd did the same.

  Mark raised his eyebrows at me, apparently impressed by the display. I wasn’t so sure. I understood the power these vampires held but I hoped it was simply tradition that called for such a pompous entrance. Even the humans at their award show tonight had seemed less … arrogant, somehow. Maybe hanging out with Trey was making me biased.

  I noticed the gold plated name plates sitting in front of each of the Elders. The one in the center got to his feet, holding a glass of blood in his hand. His name plate read Stanislav Vidic, and I realized with a start that the blood-laced wine I frequently consumed was from his vineyard: Vidic Vineyards. Even from this distance, I could feel the power exuding from the Elder of the Synod. It was unmistakable, rolling off of him in waves that even the most inattentive vampire couldn’t ignore. Such was true for all three of the Elders.

  When Stanislav spoke, his voice carried undertones of an accent that had Slavic roots.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, the Synod welcomes you here tonight to celebrate this phenomenal lunar affair.” He paused until the applause died down. “For centuries Vampires have recognized the moon’s influence in our lives, gracefully accepting the gifts she bestows upon us. Let us join together on this evening to witness this beautiful occasion: the lunar eclipse.”

  He began to recite a poem that I recognized, though I’d only heard it once. Antonio had spoken these same words to me on the evening of my first Full Moon ritual. The rest of the Brood had been there, as I was the youngest member. I’d asked Antonio why we didn’t recite the poem at every ritual. His answer at the time had been to assure me that I’d hear it again someday, but that he would not be the one to recite it again unless another vampire joined our Brood.

  I finally understood Antonio’s response. This was something reserved for first rituals, and rituals involving the Synod. In the poem, the Elder recognized the power of the moon and declared our utmost respect for her. The poem wasn’t long, but Stanislav had more to add when it was over.

  “Remember who you are, my children,” he added. “With great power comes great responsibility. We are small in number, but our influence is far-reaching. While we respect those who act as donors, we know where we stand.”

  That seemed an odd thing to say. I was trying to decipher what it meant when everyone got to their feet again, this time raising their glasses. The other two Elders, Dalek Vang and Bylun Falck, did the same. I watched them in fascination as they turned their backs to us and devoted their full attention to the view of the moon, which was eclipsing in the sky just then. She turned a brilliant, deep shade of orange as the light of the sun was concealed.

  As I watched the moon’s magnificent display, I repeated a mantra in my mind, asking for the power to protect my thoughts. Nothing seemed more important than that one skill, considering I was spending a great deal of time associating with a group of humans, one in particular. After a moment of silence, the Elders raised their glasses to their lips and drank. I did the same, and felt the rich velvety liquid burn down my throat and slowly spread warmth to every inch of my body.

  It was over so quickly. For such an anticipated evening, and one carried out so lavishly and perfectly, I was surprised to find that it had come and gone in such a hurry. The room did not clear out, however. Vampires were mingling, making connections and discussing various topics of every night life. Then it occurred to me that Stanislav Vidic hadn’t said one word about the rogue fledglings that were being found in the area. Like Mark, I’d assumed they would broach that topic since such a large group of vampires were gathered together in one place and word would quickly get around about the Synod’s disapproval about whoever was carelessly making new vampires. I turned to mention it to Mark but paused when I realized he and the little brunette vampire that had taken a seat by us were flirting. I stood a short distance away, surveying the crowd and trying to ignore Mark and Hana’s conversation. But despite my efforts, I couldn’t help but notice how well they were getting along. I gave in to the urge to reach into her mind, searching her intentions. I had to protect Mark, after all. I was somewhat relieved to find that Hana seemed to really be enjoying Mark’s company. I also learned that she was a nurse at a hospital here in Miami. No wonder they were hitting it off. They seemed to have a lot in common and no doubt that was contributing to the instant chemistry they appeared to have.

  I was mostly happy for Mark, hoping that he’d take the opportunity to get to know her better. He deserved that much. He deserved more than to just chase me around without having his feelings returned. Despite knowing that, I couldn’t suppress the pang of jealously that erupted somewhere deep inside of me. Feeling jealous about Mark paying attention to another woman would have made some sort of sense, since I was used to being the only girl in his life even if we were only friends, but that wasn’t the problem. I stood there, watching them from a distance. Hana touched Mark’s arm and laughed, and Mark’s face lit up in response.

  No, I wasn’t jealous of this strange vampire who was flirting with my best friend. I was jealous that the two of them were able to stand there and flirt casually out in the open amongst others of our kind without having to sneak off and hide their relationship. As much as I loved Trey, I was suddenly and painfully aware of the fact that we could never have a relationship like Mark could have with this woman. Trey and I could never exist without secrets, lies.

  I turned my head, anxious now to leave this fancy hotel and the painful truth I’d just unburied behind me. Antonio was standing near the exit, talking to Damir Vidic, head of the Emissary. He was vampire I preferred to avoid if possible because of his unending pursuit of me. Damir’s grandfather Stan
islav Vidic, Synod Elder himself, was standing with them as well. Seeing the two of them standing so close, I was amazed at the resemblance. Since vampirism doesn’t usually run in families for obvious reasons, the fact that Damir was the grandson of a Synod Elder wasn’t a normal occurrence, despite how many generations were between them. The story was that Stanislav, who had abandoned his family centuries ago, had reconnected with his youngest descendant and then made him a vampire. For this reason, most vampires in the area saw Damir as an anomaly.

  There was no way to escape the encounter as I approached the exit, so when Antonio beckoned me I approached the three of them with a smile plastered on my face. Damir greeted me, showering me with compliments, and then introduced me to Stanislav. The Elder took my hand, kissing it formally. I met his eyes only briefly, just long enough to feel the wave of power he sent out in an attempt to read my thoughts. He was met with a fortified wall however, and this seemed to intrigue him. Most vampires my age wouldn’t have been able to resist his mental prodding, but my moon-given talent set me apart. He smiled at me then, amused by the idea of it. I exchanged niceties until I was sure it wouldn’t be rude to excuse myself and then I slipped out. I pushed the elevator button and waited impatiently for the doors to open, but not before Damir caught up with me.

  “Leaving so soon?” he asked as he drew near.

  “Not soon enough,” I muttered.

  He was too close for comfort now, but I forced myself not to pull away. I

  wouldn’t let him intimidate me. But Damir leaned down, brushing a strand of my hair away and inhaling.

  “I would have asked if you wanted to go out together and feed, but you’ve obviously already done that.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him as the elevator dinged. “What makes you say that?”

  “Please. The human’s scent is all over you,” he observed casually.