Vampire Mage: An Urban Fantasy Harem (The Vampire Mage Book 1)

by Joshua King

“She's not sending you to him so he can give you the once-over, and then tell her whether he thinks you two are a match. This isn't like when a girl sends her best friend over to infiltrate the group of guys so she can get the intel on whether a certain one likes her. If that was the case, she wouldn't have a problem bringing you out and putting you on display at a banquet. There would be plenty of people to tell her what they thought. There has to be a specific reason she wants you to talk to Malakan. She said he would be able to give you the answer.”

  We walked by another group, and their conversation stopped as they watched us pass. I glanced over my shoulder and saw them staring at me, their eyes trained on me intently. Shaking my head, I forced myself to focus.

  “I told you I needed to tell you something,” I said.

  “Go ahead,” Ashe said.

  “I heard Aurora, too.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me.

  “You heard her, too?” she asked. “As in, you were standing there in the room with me, and you heard the same things I did? Because I already knew that.”

  I shook my head.

  “No. I heard her. Like I told you I heard you.”

  “You heard her thoughts?”

  Ashe sounded stunned, and I nodded.

  “Yes,” I told her. “When we first went in, she wanted me to touch her. Then she was convincing herself to stop thinking about me. When we left, though, I heard her, but I wasn't looking at her. I don't know if she was actually saying it, or just thinking it. She said she would only accept the answer from her trusted friend.”

  Ashe stopped, and turned to search my eyes.

  “She said that?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “What do you think it means?”

  “Remember how I said Aurora has never second-guessed anything in her existence?”

  “Yes.”

  “She knows something. She might not want to say it, but there's something on her mind. She just wants to hear someone else say it.”

  16

  Neither of us knew what else to say. Even though I could see the seriousness in Ashe's eyes, and I knew that the revelation carried weight, I didn't know enough about what it all meant to respond. Instead, we just started walking again. All around us, I could see people staring at me. Women walking out of buildings would stop in their tracks to watch me pass, and a few even fell into step behind me for a few paces before peeling off. The hunger was building inside me again, and I was enjoying the attention they were giving me. We walked toward another group, and I saw them all turn to face us. They let Ashe go by, but before I was able to pass them, three women stepped out to stand in a line across the sidewalk. I paused in front of the wall they had created with their bodies and smiled at them.

  “Hello,” I said, letting my eyes trail up and down each of them.

  One of the other women from the group suddenly reached out for me. She grabbed the belt loop on my pants and pulled. The movement was so unexpected that I stumbled slightly, giving her and another woman the opportunity to take hold of me and push me up against the wall of the building behind them. As soon as I was standing with my back against the cold brick, all of the women swarmed in around me. Their hands roved my body, and I couldn't even tell which of them was touching me. The woman who had been in the middle of the line across the sidewalk stepped up in front of me and crushed her mouth against mine. Her tongue plunged into my mouth and tangled with mine as if she was trying to taste as much of me as she possibly could. On either side of me, two other women kissed along my neck. I could feel their tongues slip out of their mouths and glide across my skin. Two more women pressed up close to them and reached around them to slip their hands up into my shirt to feel along my stomach and chest.

  Not to be outdone, the woman kissing me loosened my belt just enough that she could shove her hand down into my pants. At this point, my cock was already hard, and her hand stroked along it eagerly. She moved her head out of the way, and another of the women took the opportunity to kiss me. I noticed she had a distinctly different taste than the first woman. Neither of them tasted like Ashe, or what I remembered of Aurora. It was like a new sense I was developing. I could discern the flavor of each of these women, and it only made me hungrier for more. I pulled my mouth away from the woman kissing me, and turned my head just enough so another could catch my lips. The combination of the different tastes, the tongues on my neck, and the confident, willing hand around my shaft was intoxicating. I had been shocked at first when they pushed me against the wall, but now I was losing myself in the attention. This was like sex in surround sound, and I couldn't get enough of it. My body and my mind were welcoming it, drinking it in, and feeling as though this was the way life should be. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt like I was in my own skin.

  As suddenly as I had been swarmed by the women, I felt them step back from me.

  “Get off of him,” Ashe commanded.

  She pushed the woman in front of me away, and reached to pull me away from the wall.

  “Why?” one of the women asked.

  “He's not here for you,” Ashe replied.

  “What's that supposed to mean?” another of the women asked.

  Their hands grabbed at me, as if they were desperate to keep me close. One stepped up behind me and I felt her arms go around my waist and run along my chest and stomach. They slipped down further to stroke over my hips and between my thighs.

  “It means get off of him.”

  “But he's just so delicious,” another woman said, stepping up closer so she could run her tongue up my neck.

  “We're just looking for a little snack,” the woman who had been in front of me told Ashe.

  “Find somebody else,” Ashe commanded.

  She pulled me away from the women, and we started at a fast pace down the sidewalk.

  “That was even more ridiculous than in the park,” I said.

  “And it's just going to get worse,” Ashe said. “Aurora completing the change will take some of the edge off, but you're going to keep getting this type of attention. Until we figure out what in the living hell it is about you that is drawing all of this attention, we're just going to have to deal with it.”

  “One of them said something that brought up a question,” I said.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “That woman told you they just wanted a little snack,” I said. “How exactly do you deal with that when you're here?”

  “I don't think I know what you're asking,” Ashe said. “They want to snack on you the same way I do.”

  “That's not what I meant,” I said. “What do you do about food here when you're away from humans? It's not like you're going to call for delivery. Somehow, I sincerely doubt Ty is going to swing through Solomon's and collect a few humans for take-out to bring here for everybody to drink blood from. So, what do you eat?”

  “Drinking blood isn't exactly the same thing for vampires as eating food is for humans,” she explained. “Humans need to eat every day, but that's not how it is with us. We need it, obviously, just not as often. We can go for weeks between feedings. Some of us are even so disciplined that they can go for a few months at a time and not have to drink blood. Even if the time for a feeding is getting close, we don't necessarily have to go hurt anyone. There are ways now to comfortably and reliably acquire blood without having to go on any violent forays into the human world.”

  “How convenient,” I said.

  Ashe nodded.

  “Yeah, the wonders of the modern world. Who would have thought technological advances came to the supernatural folk as well? What we really need is sex. Sex works for us the way people assume blood does. We need it intensely, and regularly. Our appetites can be insatiable, and the longer a vampire goes without, the more unpredictable and unhinged they can become. They can get physically weak and the abilities they have can start fading. They become ravenous. Frequent sex to satisfy our lust is the only way to keep us fulfilled and
alive. Fortunately, we have worked out ways to simply be able to take care of those needs amongst ourselves, to an extent.”

  “But you still like to sample the goods elsewhere,” I said.

  She looked at me, and I saw a flicker of concern in her eyes.

  “You haven't been taking care of yourself. You're going to need your strength to get you through this. I think I know somebody who can help.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Her name is Stephana. She lives nearby. She's one of the vampires I told you about who still eats human food. She always has. She says she believes continuing to eat human food even after the transformation is beneficial to a vampire. She's also older. She's been around a long time, and she was older when she was changed. She is very wise, and knowledgeable about the city and its inhabitants. I'll bring you to her. She'll be able to help you, and she might be able to lead us in the direction we need to be going.”

  We continued down the sidewalk, and she gestured toward the crosswalk. We both looked both ways and then started across. The sound of muttering followed us, and we both looked over our shoulders to see the women who had cornered me following several paces behind us. Two other women saw their pursuit and joined them, and I saw several men glare angrily at me.

  “What are we going to do about them?” I asked.

  “We need to get off the streets,” Ashe said. “Give everybody a little time to cool off.”

  We rushed the rest of the way across the street and down the first block. Cars filled the space behind us just in time to keep the women from following closely behind. Ashe noticed this, and took the opportunity to grab onto me and pull me into a small clothing store.

  “Going to do a little shopping?” I asked.

  “We're going to hunker down in here to get away from some of the attention you're drawing. We’ll keep going when things have died down.”

  17

  As soon as we ducked into the shop, Ashe began flipping through the racks of clothing as if browsing the store’s selection. It was a good cover for the confused looking woman standing at the cash register, but I wasn't sure how long we were going to be able to keep up with the ruse. The shop wasn't very big, and the selection of clothing was limited. Particularly for me. Unless, of course, I decided to begin wearing floral prints. In that case, this would be the perfect place to broaden my wardrobe.

  I followed along behind her, flipping through the same racks she was, and occasionally holding out an article or two toward her. We hadn't been in the shop for long when the door opened. The cluster of bells hanging above the door rattled almost violently, signaling the entrance of three men. I looked over at Ashe and saw her nodding in the direction of the changing rooms. They were on the other side of the small shop, and we needed to pass through an almost completely empty section of floor. We moved as quickly and subtly as we could and dipped into one of the changing rooms. She eased the door most of the way closed, and we moved our faces close to the gap to watch the men. It didn't seem like they had noticed our run for the dressing room, or if they had, they didn't care.

  The men moved slowly through the racks. It was obvious they were searching for something, but they weren't looking at any of the individual articles of clothing. Instead, it seemed like they were looking into the displays themselves. It took me a few seconds before I realized I only saw two of what had been a trio.

  “Where's the third one?” I asked in a low whisper.

  Ashe leaned closer, her eyes darting through the store to try to find him. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a flicker of movement through the slats in the dressing room door. Instinct tightened my muscles, and I touched Ashe in warning. A second later, I planted my foot in the middle of the door. The kick sent the door flying open and into the man who had been standing on the other side. He stumbled backwards as the door slammed into him, falling into a rack of clothes. Ashe and I burst out of the stall and into the shop. The sound caught the attention of one of the other men. He turned toward us and came at me as Ashe and I tried to rush out the front door. His eyes were wide and bloodshot as he ran toward me. I drew back my fist and sent it exploding forward. I made contact with his jaw, feeling the crunch of his teeth breaking and his jaw dislocating, the spittle flying through the air. Suddenly, he was on the ground, several feet back from where he had been when I had hit him.

  I sensed the second man only an instant before his arms wrapped around me. He was trying to wrestle me to the ground, and I didn't want to know what would happen if he got me there. The strength I had been trying to summon in the park was rushing through me, making me feel even more powerful than I had during my fight with the Shade. The man grappling with me was far larger than I was, and if I was still human, I would have folded instantly under his strength. But he was no match for the power coursing through me now. I crouched down and exploded back upward, my arms breaking free of his grasp before I spun to face him. His black eyes were fixed on me, and they were wide with surprise. He hadn’t expected me to break free from his grip. He recovered quickly, swinging his fist at the same time as me, and we each landed blows on the other’s face.

  Beside me I heard Ashe grunt, and I looked up to see her direct a kick into another man's stomach. He rocked back, but continued to pursue her. I grabbed the rack of clothes closest to me and shoved it toward him. He didn't fall under the pressure of the rack hitting him, but it was enough to distract him and allow Ashe time to get several feet away from him. By this point, the man I'd knocked over with the door to the dressing room had dragged himself out of the tangle of sweaters he'd fallen into and was coming toward us. The woman who had been standing behind the cash register when we came in wasn't standing there anymore, but I could hear her whimpering. She must have crouched under the counter to avoid the fray. Massive fights breaking out in the middle of her shop was probably not something she experienced on a daily basis, even if she lived in the Underworld. Part of me felt bad for luring this type of attention into her store, but I didn't have much attention to spare for that line of thought. I had to focus on the three men who were coming at me from different angles.

  The harder I fought, the more I was able to tap into the strength inside me. I could feel it radiating to the tips of my fingers, and I let it explode as I lashed out at each of the men in turn. Ashe held her own as we made our way through the shop. Clothes flew in all directions, and I heard the shattering of glass as a rack I slung out of my way smashed into the mirror hanging on the wall. The sound inspired me, and I grabbed the man in front of me with both hands. Growling as I called forward all of my strength, I lifted him into the air and threw him ahead of me. His body crashed through the huge window at the front of the store. Bits of glass rained down, and I watched him crash onto the sidewalk outside.

  This was enough to shock the other two men into backing off. One of them made eye contact with me, glaring at me as he backed away, then he turned and ran out with the other man. They grabbed their fallen companion by the back of his shirt and dragged him several feet down the sidewalk before he was able to regain control of his feet enough that he could get them under him. I watched them until they were out of sight. People were rushing toward the shop from outside, and I turned to see the woman behind the register slowly stand up from where she had been hiding. I looked over at Ashe, who was standing with her hands on her hips.

  “So much for keeping a low profile,” she said.

  Concerned onlookers had started spilling off of the sidewalk and into the shop. They were so dumbstruck by the mayhem and damage that they weren't even paying attention to us. I didn't know how Underworld worked, such as if there might be a police force, but I did know I didn't want to be there if they came. My time was already so limited. I couldn't waste any of it sitting around in some supernatural jail cell. I backed up a few steps, and Ashe came along with me. When we had disentangled ourselves from the worst of the damage, we turned and ran. We burst through the door that led to the back storeroom and ran d
irectly for the exit. We kept to the alleys, and neither of us said anything until we were several blocks away. That's when the exhaustion hit me.

  I slowed and stopped. My back hit a brick wall, and I leaned my head against it. Dragging in breaths, I tried to clear my mind. The same drugged, groggy feeling I'd had yesterday came back, and I felt like all of my muscles were totally empty of fuel.

  “Just give me a second,” I said.

  “The fight weakened you,” Ashe said. “You still don't have full control over your powers, and exerting yourself that much drains you. You can't keep going like this. You need to rest. Let's get to Stephana's place.”

  I peeled myself away from the wall and followed her, forcing myself forward through the weakness and the pain in my thigh, which kept growing stronger.

  18

  The pain in the punctures in my thigh had gotten so intense by the time we got to the brownstone that I was limping. I dug my fingertips into the skin around the bite to try to lessen the pain, and forced myself to keep going in. Each step felt like I was fighting my way through water, and it was getting harder to move the further we went. I gripped the handrail beside the steps and used it to pull myself up the stairs. When we got to the door, Ashe pressed the buzzer.

  “Yes?” a voice said through the intercom.

  “It's me,” Ashe said. “I need help.”

  The door clicked, and Ashe opened it. I knew it was just a little further, and I pushed through the pain. When we finally walked into a precisely decorated apartment, I tipped over into an overstuffed chair.

  “What's going on?”

  I looked up and saw what appeared to be an older version of Ashe come into the room. It was strange to see, and I wondered if the exhaustion had somehow gone to my brain and I was starting to imagine things.

  “This is Hayden,” Ashe said. “Aurora bit him.”

  “As she does,” the woman, who I could only assume was Stephana, said wryly.