by Billy Lyon
Once I returned to my living quarters I summoned my maidservant. “Halima, tomorrow evening one of the Asian women will be arriving here,” I told her. “If I am gone when she arrives you are to give her the sleeping quarters adjoining mine and ensure that she has everything she needs to make her comfortable.”
“As you wish.” Halima would certainly obey any command given to her, but a brief look of disgust flickered across her face all the same. I understood her feelings but cared little for them.
The next item of business was the punishment of the foreigners. Akhem, the Captain of the Guard soon arrived, looking exhausted.
“Please sit down,” I said. “Before we start I want to thank you for your actions of last night. When everything is behind us I will ensure that you and your men are sufficiently rewarded.”
“No reward is necessary,” he replied. Your Father was a great man, and it was an honor to take the lives of his murderers.”
“Would you like to help me take the lives of the rest?”
“What do you have in mind?”
As I told him, a wicked smile appeared on his rugged face. When I was finished I gave orders for him to issue a decree that every citizen of the capital city was to assemble in the grounds outside the palace tomorrow at dusk. Once he had gone I undressed and crawled wearily into bed.
14
“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that,” Steven said. “I know I haven’t known you for very long and that you don’t have any reason to believe me, but I promise I could never do anything so horrible to you.”
“I do believe you, Steven,” Anna Marie said, kissing his bare chest. “And I know I can trust you. That’s one of the reasons why I chose you.”
“What are some of the other ones?”
She reached under the covers and took him in hand. “Well, this is one of them…”
Steven playfully pushed her away. “Oh no, you don’t. As much as I like your hand where it is, you can’t start a story as wild as the one you’ve been telling and then just stop. I want to hear the rest before the sun forces us to go to bed, or should I say to coffin. We’re already in bed.”
“Okay, party-pooper, I’ll finish. It’s funny, but somehow reliving everything that happened all those years ago makes me feel better. Is that weird?”
“Not at all. Sigmund Freud called it catharsis, and it’s generally thought to be a pretty good thing. But you’ve got to pick up the pace. The Cliff Notes version from here on out. “What did you do to the Asians?”
“There was a public execution, and all but two were drawn and quartered.”
“Ouch! “Remind me to never piss you off,” Steven said.
Anna Marie laughed, which relieved Steven greatly. Reliving so many horrific events couldn’t be easy.
“So you let two live,” Steven said. “Let me guess. One of them was the hot Asian chick.”
“How’d you guess?”
“I saw you back there at the party, remember? My little vampire queen is quite the freak.”
Anna Marie tried her best to look righteously indignant. “Hey, it was the blood lust!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blame it on the blood. So the girl lived, but who else?”
“Oh, nobody important. Just some guy I picked at random. I sent him packing with orders to tell everyone back home what had come of their plan, and what would happen if they tried it again.”
“Good call,” Steven said, genuinely impressed.
“It must have been,” Anna Marie laughed. “There’s not one single Panda Express within five hundred miles of modern-day Cairo.”
“That’s true, but hurry up and tell me what happened with Little China Girl. Chop-Chop!”
“A pun, Steven? Please tell me you didn’t just use a pun.”
“I didn’t just use a pun,” Steven said with the straightest face he could muster.
“And not just a pun, but a pun/ethnic slur combo! Is it too late to get out of this relationship?”
“Way too late. You already dropped the I love you bomb.”
Anna Marie poked him in the chest. “You said it first.”
“That I did. It’s something you’re going to have to get used to. Me being first.”
“Like hell I will. Okay, here’s what happened.”
Steven pointed out the window.
“I know the Cliff Notes version.”
Anna Marie snuggled down deep into his chest and fell into the past one final time. Steven drew her close and held on for the ride.
“I left the scene of my bloody revenge covered in gore and feeling renewed. Two days before my only concerns were playing the role of dutiful wife and beloved daughter. Now I was responsible for the mass murder of almost a hundred people and had assumed the leadership of my country. A lot had changed.
“When I finally made it back to my rooms I felt exhausted. The only thing I wanted to do was get into a hot bath. Unfortunately, Halima met me at the door with an annoying reminder.
“The prisoner you mentioned yesterday arrived some time ago. She is in the sleeping chamber beside yours as you asked.”
“Thank you Halima. Please prepare a bath for me and tell the Asian woman that I will meet with her in an hour.”
Ten minutes later I was relaxing in water so hot it was almost scalding. I felt better than I had in days.
“Why did you spare my life?” An unfamiliar voice asked.
I jerked up out of the water and covered myself best as I could. The Asian woman paid no attention and stood beside the tub waiting for an answer.
“How dare you burst in here like this? Did my maidservant tell you that I would talk to you later?” To be honest, I remained very attracted to her, and the last thing in the world I wanted was for her to leave, but it was important to at least pretend that I was in command.
“You will leave my presence immediately and pray that when I am ready to receive you I will have forgotten this insult.”
She stared at me for a long time, considering whether or not she wanted to play my game. We both knew who was really in charge and it was most certainly not me. She finally turned to leave, but not before kidnapping me with her stare.
As I became lost in her eyes she stuck her hand into the water and shoved two fingers inside me and slammed them forward to the hilt, pumping hard once, twice, three times. Then she stood and left without saying a word.
I lay there on the brink of the most powerful orgasm I had ever known. It was impossible to remain on such a precipice without throwing myself off its edge, so I rubbed myself until I climaxed many times and wanted more. When I was finally spent I staggered out of the tub and collapsed naked and wet onto the bed. I forced myself to wait thirty agonizing minutes before slipping on a robe and ordering Halima to bring the woman back in.
She walked towards me, holding the pipe and bag I had taken from Yi’s room.
“Sit down,” I said and motioned to the side of my bed. “We need to get a few things straight. First of all, what’s your name?”
“Melei.”
I snatched the pipe and bag out of her hands. “Well, Melei, you need to understand that I will not tolerate you touching my things without my permission. The purpose of my bringing you here wasn’t to simply sit by and suffer your insolence.”
Melei sat down at the end of the bed near my feet. “But that’s the question we are faced with, isn’t it, Amirah? Why did you bring me here?”
I noticed she was speaking my language and asked her how this was possible.
“Well, it’s not magic, I assure you. Before we arrived our leaders thought it would be beneficial to some of us learned to speak your language.”
“So you’re not only a spy, but an educated one.”
“If you want to call me a spy that is your prerogative. If you wish to continue this pointless dance between us then that is your choice as well, but quite frankly, it’s starting to bore me. On the other hand, if you want me to help you give in to your desires,
I will.”
“And what, pray tell, do you suppose my desires to be?”
Melei pointed to the pipe and bag of morphia. “Why did you steal these things?”
“I stole nothing. I took items of contraband from the room of the man who caused the death of my husband and father. I owe you no explanations for any of my actions and that no more will be forthcoming.”
Melei stood. “Then I can serve no further purpose here. Goodbye, Amirah.”
There had been very few times in my life when I felt as frustrated as I was at that moment. All my attempts to get the better of Melei had failed miserably, and I found myself in the unfamiliar territory of being hopelessly outmatched.
“Wait,” I said. “Come back.”
Melei returned and sat back down. “It’s clear to me,” I said, “that you are as stubborn as I, and if our dance, as you call it, is going to end, one of us is going to have to blink first. I’ll be the bigger person and volunteer.”
She took my hand and smiled at me for the first time. Her face became warm summer sunshine. “What is it that you want from me, Amirah? Be honest.”
“I don’t really know,” I said truthfully. “When I saw you in the jails I felt like we were supposed to meet somehow and that you are supposed to show me certain things. That’s why I saved you. Like I said, it’s only a feeling, but it’s a strong one. Does that make any sense to you at all?”
“Yes.”
“Aaaagh!” I screamed. “Is yes all that you can say? I met you halfway, so give me some answers!
“I have been blessed with gifts that allow me to see certain aspects of the future. As such, I have known for some time how Yi’s treachery would end. I have also known about you, and just how special you are. I joined Yi’s entourage simply because it was the easiest way for us to meet. The men and women you killed are not my real family. My true allegiance is to a group of beings more highly evolved than humans. We exist solely for the purpose of indulging in life’s most selfish pleasures. One of the greatest of these comes from the substance you call morphia.”
I bristled. “If you are a user of morphia I want nothing to do with you. It took my husband from me, and its power over him led to my Father’s death.”
“The members of my family are not subject to this power.”
“You lie. Everything I know about morphia tells me it can’t be controlled.”
Melei paused, as she tried to find the right words. “The reason that I, and those like me, aren’t subject to the dangers of morphia is that we cannot die.” Before I could protest she stopped me. “I know. I felt the same way when I sat in your place five hundred years ago.”
The fragile feeling of friendship I had begun to feel for her shattered under the absurdity of this statement. I reached for the bell that would bring Halima, but Melei stopped me. She took my hand and touched it to her lips. Then she gently bit the web of flesh that lay between my index finger and thumb. “I’m not crazy, Amirah,” she whispered.
At that moment I wanted her so bad it didn’t matter if she was certifiable. I watched, mesmerized, as she swallowed my blood.
“It’s all true, Amirah,” Melei said. “I really am five hundred years old, and I have many other mysteries to share.” She pointed to the pipe and bag. “The first step toward true understanding lies here. Are you ready?”
I nodded, and Melei pushed me backwards onto the soft feather bed. As she filled the pipe I moaned, and pinched my nipples until they were ready to bleed.
Melei smiled. “I envy you. The first time is always the best.” She walked to the window and removed a candle from its holder.
“Suck the pipe as I light it,” Melei instructed. “Take the smoke into your lungs and hold it as long as you can.”
“Please hurry,” I gasped. Melei advanced the flame to the top of the bowl. The powder popped and crackled as it ignited, and I inhaled until my lungs felt ready to burst.
“Hold it. Hold it in, Amirah,” I obeyed, and held my breath for what seemed an eternity before finally exhaling a thick, pungent stream of smoke from my mouth and nostrils. My back arched involuntarily and my eyes rolled back in my head as I shook from the force of the mightiest orgasm I’d ever known.
I jerked the pipe out of her hands and screamed. “More! Give me more! I want this feeling inside me for all eternity!”
‘You shall have it.” Melei handed me the pipe and ran her hands tenderly across the length of my naked body as I gave myself to morphia, body and soul.
15
“As much as I hate to say so,” Steven said, “you’re going to have to hit the fast forward button or put the rest on hold until tomorrow night. The sun comes up in forty-five minutes.”
Anna Marie blinked several times and shook her head. “Sorry about that. I guess I got lost in the past for a while. I haven’t thought about those days in so long.”
“It’s understandable,” Steven reassured. “It couldn’t have been easy reliving so many experiences.”
“It wasn’t, but having you with me made it so much easier. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. So hurry up and finish.”
“Pretty much the same thing that happened to you two days ago. Melei told me all about vampires and morphia, and how addiction would destroy my life if I decided to remain human. Of course I wasn’t physically dependent from using just once, but psychologically it was an entirely different story. From that first hit I knew that using was the way I wanted to spend all of my time from that moment on. I was much more interested in the you get to use all the dope you want part of her offer more than anything she told me about being a vampire. I didn’t want to have to worry about how I would get my drugs every day, or whether I would die of an overdose before the age of thirty, so I said yes. The scary part is that I would have said yes to just about anything that would let me keep that pipe in my mouth 24/7.”
Steven remembered holding the axe high above his mom’s head. “I understand completely,” he said.
“So I became a vampire, and Melei and I remained in Egypt for another month. I summoned the men Father trusted most and told them I wouldn’t be assuming the throne, and ordered them to find a replacement. I realize now that it was extremely selfish thing to do, but hey, I was a junkie. Selfishness comes with the territory, right?
Over the next few weeks Melei taught me how to survive as a vampire. Once I had learned the basics well enough to make it in the outside world we simply walked out the front door one night and never returned.”
“Did you go to Asia?”
“Only for a little while. For some reason I had entertained the notion that the other vampires would all be Asian, but even then the clan was ethnically diverse. The humans that surrounded us were all Asian, so every time I took one to feed I could see Yi’s ugly face staring back at me.
I began to ruminate on the bad things that had happened during the latter part of my human life, and became deeply depressed. Melei took notice and convinced the others that it was time for a change of scenery.”
Steven pulled her blonde hair. “Let me guess. You moved to Sweden.”
“Close,” Anna Marie laughed. “It was Norway. To me, Scandinavia seemed as different as a place could be from either Egypt or Asia. I needed a complete change, and that was what I got. Melei was an excellent magician and had already taught me the basics, so together we cast the transformation spells that changed me into the buxom blonde you see before you.
I capped it all off by tossing my old name and taking one that better suited my new appearance. Maybe it was overkill, but the change helped me finally let go of the past. Melei and I enjoyed many happy years together in Norway.”
“What happened to her?”
A shadow darkened Anna Mare’s face. “A religious nut-job killed her about halfway through the Middle Ages.”
“I’m sorry,” was all Steven could think to say. Sometimes, the less said, the better.
“It’s okay. It was all such a long tim
e ago. The future is what’s important now, and spending all my time with you.” She propped herself up onto an elbow and kissed him. “This all feels so right. I’ve never been this comfortable with anyone.”
“Ditto.”
They lay there together, enjoying the last few minutes before sunrise. Steven was just getting ready to suggest transitioning to their coffins when, Eric burst in, looking as sneaky as ever.
“Anna Marie,” Eric stammered. “Please forgive my intrusion.”
“If you knew it was an intrusion then why did you commit it?” Anna Marie asked.
“I…I…uh…It was getting late and I didn’t see you leave the party so I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Whatever else Eric might be, Steven thought, he’s a very shitty liar.
“As pleased as I am for your concern, Eric, you are never to enter my suite again without permission. Do you understand me?” Anna Marie’s voice was as cold as a Siberian snowflake.
“Of course, Anna Marie,” Eric said. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Thank you,” Anna Marie said, her voice sunshine and roses once again.
“Would you like me to show Steven to his coffin?”
“That won’t be necessary. Steven will be sleeping with me, and I’ll be sure he’s taken care of.”
Eric’s reply was another pleasant acquiescence, but if looks were sunbeams, the one he gave Steven would have reduced him to pile of ashes. “If there’s nothing else, then, I’ll leave you. Good day, Anna Marie.”
Anna Marie said nothing. The silence in the room grew and became almost unbearable until Eric finally understood what was required before he would be given leave. “Oh, and good day to you as well, Steven,” he said. “Once again, welcome.”
“Thanks, Eric.”
“You may go,” Anna Marie said, and Eric turned tail and ran.
“You’re so bad,” Steven said, laughing.
“Oh, you know he deserved it.”
Steven rolled over on top of her. “We’ve got twelve minutes left before sunrise. Time enough for a quickie?”
“I think if we hurry we might be able to just squeeze one in.”
