Then years of care prevailed. Years of protecting the lives of mortals that nourished me. I shoved back from him and kneeled on the floor pounding my leg. I was off him, but he lay before me, easy prey, and I wrestled with my self, as always, craving more. I wanted it all.
But all wasn’t necessary and all would kill him.
Beneath Ev’s goading was a guy I liked and had allowed into my life. If he had won with his imbecilic manipulation, I had won, also. But I had taken a lot. Eight gulps? Nine? Yes, at least nine. He would certainly feel that amount of loss. Although, young and healthy, he should be fine. And he took a knock on the head when he fell, so a little dizziness would seem natural.
Meanwhile, what? Give the brainy fool a glass of orange juice like donors at the blood bank? No OJ in my cupboards. My gums were swollen with his blood. I smoothed my tongue across them and sat on the couch and talked myself out of thirst and into rationalization over feeding from him this second time. I looked at the sprawled body, the invitation lying right there on my carpet. Ev was under deep, ensnared and mine. Dessert? No, I'd already taken dessert.
Still, I wasn’t finished. A few trickles flowed down his skin. I leaned over him for the healing bite and saw the red jaggedness of the first attack on his neck. I'd been incensed and the taking was crude, amateurish, not the normal clean punctures, although they were visible, too, just in front of the seeping slash. A line of blood slid towards his shoulder and I lifted a fresh drop with my finger and touched it to my tongue, debating which way I would clean this tasty mess from his skin. Best to opt for safety.
I got a wet paper towel from the kitchen and wiped the blood from his throat and shoulder, then spat and smeared saliva across the open wound. This wouldn’t heal in seconds like punctures do, so I’d have to keep him out for awhile. A deep, controlling breath and one more insertion of fangs to speed healing, then I went to my room to wait, out of sight of that inviting gash.
Minutes passed while my saliva worked its magic. I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling fan, and pondered the things Ev had said and the way he acted today. We both won here and we both lost. I got to feed, but he succeeded in compelling me to it. He manipulated skillfully. It didn’t matter whether he truly intended to hack into Henna’s personal life. The threat was all it took and Ev knew it.
I’ve pried into her life, of course. That was different. That was me. And I’ve never hacked deeply. Not that I wouldn’t. It just hadn’t happened yet. Now that I thought of it, I liked the fact that she has a corner of privacy. Well, I liked it right at this moment, anyway.
I moved back to the living room and sat on the couch watching his flesh heal. Too much time had passed, which he would realize when I gave him back to himself. I should have thrown him out of the house, but the his blood surging through my flesh told the truth. I was glad he pushed me to it. Glad he gave me the flimsy excuse to drink.
The wound closed and I was on a high, almost glowing inside, sated with the very source of life. I simply couldn’t feel mad at him. And I couldn’t feel regret. No more talk, no issues. I was filled with red bliss and just wanted to roll in that bliss.
But his experiment had a aspect I didn’t know about. He said he would tell me, win or lose, so I lifted his inert body to the chair, checked his skin, now clear and spotless, then released him to consciousness.
Astonishingly, he wasn’t upset. His words stumbled out. “You did it.” He struggled to sit upright. “I felt you slam into me, but I never hit the ground.” Attempt to swallow. “Guess I was hypnotized by then.”
“Mmm. You got your test.” My voice was flat, masking the slithering heat inside. Hunger is decidedly uncomfortable, and I was feeling overwhelmingly comfortable.
More faltering words. “Yes, I got my test. And so did you.”
What? I glanced sharply at him. There was a small rip in his shirt that I didn't notice before. Yet, his face was almost cheerful. “What was this all about, Ev?”
“Ah, the thing I set up.” He started to sit forward in the chair, but his head bobbed slightly and he leaned back, fingering the small bump above his eye. “Okay, little swollen here.”
“You hit your head when you fell. You’ll live.”
He cleared his throat and blinked. “No headache.”
“Yeah.” I had to admire his spirit. “Everyone feels great. Now talk. The test you set up?”
“Okay.” Another throat clear. “I told you about doing all that research. Part of it was on self-hypnosis, so I practiced giving myself suggestions, like people do when they want to stop smoking. I did it every day, because I didn’t remember anything that happened at the track and my logic says I should. Can I get a glass of water?”
“I’ll get it.” Didn’t want brainy boy to lurch around all dizzy, and he did need to - umm - replenish his bodily fluids. I dropped a few ice cubes in the water and brought it to him.
He drank half the glass then absently touched it to his forehead. “Anyway, I gave myself the suggestion that I’ll remember this time. If the suggestions work, I can pull the memories out.” Ev suddenly grinned at me, delighted with himself. Probably inviting me to be delighted, also. Delight wasn’t where my head went.
I was beyond alarmed. No human ever remembers a thing. None of Louie’s women, with years of contact and countless feedings - not one had a glimmer of memory. But Ev? Could he pull it off?
I had no idea what to say. A corner of me wanted to erase his entire brain. I stared at him, passionless, while I contemplated my safety and his demise.
Ev watched me. “Gotcha, didn’t I? I’ve never seen you shocked before.” He leaned his head back, looking at me through half closed eyes. Definitely not as energetic as when he arrived. Well, duh! A healthy portion of his energy was streaming through me, and I wanted him to go away so I could dissolve into the pleasure of it.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll tell you if I remember what happened.”
“What makes you think anything happened? You banged your head. That’s it.”
“I don’t think so, but fine. Maybe I won’t remember. However,” he said formally, “be sure that if it’s in my subconscious, I’m going to drag it out. I’ll let you know, since you’re the catalyst for the experiment. By the way, thanks.”
“I knock you to the floor and you’re out of it for twenty minutes - and you thank me? Better see another shrink, Ev. You're screwed to the gills.”
He pursed his lips. “You think I'm eccentric.”
“Yeah, but eccentric is interesting. What if you don’t like what you remember? Still going to be thanking me for the experiment?”
“What’s not to like? I’m sitting in a chair, so you must have moved me or told me to move myself. What else? Did you probe my mind for dirty little secrets?” He shrugged good naturedly. “I don’t have any dirty secrets. No hidden fetish.” He rubbed the side of his neck. “Apologies for the hacking threat.”
“Don’t remind me.” I wanted Ev to leave, but he posed a distinct problem that I hadn’t yet resolved. And to be realistic, there was a crucial issue. Let him live or destroy him. Or.... I pictured Ev stalking prey and reading books in the dark and forgetting nothing. I pictured him sensing Henna.
Ev was still flopped in the chair, mentally as sharp as ever. “I couldn’t figure out how to make you do it, except if you were mad enough.”
Yeah, well his hacking comments were nothing, now. It was the possibility of remembering that made me clench. “I’m sorry I ever started with you, Ev.”
“Don’t you want to know the results? Especially if I succeed?”
“That’s the real reason you came here, isn’t it. You purposely riled me, just to get your way. You were determined to use me even when I wanted no part of it. Why should I have anything to do with you anymore?”
He raised his hand to stop me. “I see your point, Brecken, but the chess idea was real. I didn’t want to trick you. If you recall, I did ask for your help first.”
“When I said no you should have accepted it. I didn’t have you pegged for a sneak.”
“Yeah, I plead guilty on that. More apologies.” He sagged back in the chair and drained the glass.
There he sat, weakened by me, although he didn’t understand that. Here I sit, invigorated by what I took from him. His apology was ironic.
There was no choice. I’d have to keep an eye on him to see what he pulled from his subconscious. I wish I knew how that worked. Wouldn’t it be good to know? I suddenly felt willing to be a part of this. Angry and endangered? Absolutely. But interested in the results.
“Apology accepted,” I said. “Just one more thing. Call it my contribution to the experimental goals. If you do actually remember something, I'll take you under to see if I can remove that memory.”
“I’ll consider it.”
“Not asking, Ev. That’s how it will be.”
He slapped his knees. “Agreed. Here’s the base line. I remember nothing at all right now, except you hit me pretty damn hard. Next thing I knew, I was in this chair.” He walked to the door, absently rubbing the healed gash and the no longer existent punctures. Just like on the track, his body knows even if his consciousness doesn’t.
A complex guy Ev is. Mortals age and die, or become ill, or have accidents. Or die in war. A small percentage are killed by their loved ones or friends. I’d hate to be that kind of friend.
Chapter 46
“Russell,” I imagined my wife saying, “You are one clever vampire.”
“Yeah, Megan,” I whispered to the sweet image in my head. “That’s right.”
I was in Alina’s darkened living room with Dagger in the other chair, a quiet Huntington Beach neighborhood outside. “I'm good and my plan is good,” I said to Dagger. “It'll work.”
Dagger blew smoke at the ceiling. “Might be hard to pull off.”
“Only if that ass Brecken catches Alina in the act.”
“Do it yourself, Russell. Fast, wham bang and gone.”
“Nah, the vamp's older than dirt. He'll know if I go anywhere near Claremont again. That superior crap, saying I could stay in Azusa, but nowhere else. Too bad I couldn't find Henna's address.”
“Living with someone else, like you said she did up in Venice.” Dagger flicked his cigarette ash on the carpet. “No problem about her car, if she drives the same one.”
“Yeah, unless she lends her car out, like she did to Luci. Can’t figure how to check on that, so I’ll take my chances.” I watched him puff smoke circles. Megan wouldn't like him much, but he was good for my plans. “I'm going back and stay in Azusa after I take Alina to show her Henna. The vamp already knows I got a place there. Gave me his snotty permission.”
“Easy fix.” Puff, puff. “Send in Alina on her own. The one singing is gonna be Henna and Alina can follow her home.”
“Hey, Dagger, now that's using your head. I knew there was a good reason I turned you first.” I flipped my hand towards the hallway. “Vanna and Jose are taking their time.”
“Not their fault they're sick.”
“You're sweet on Vanna, buddy. Helping her while she upchucks. Cleaning up the mess after her.”
“So? Someone has to. Let me feed her.”
“No way, Dagger. Those two are my newbies, not yours. That means my blood, not your new stuff. A couple more days should do it.”
I drummed my hands in a little Latin beat, and looked around the living room. Better have Alina spiff up the place. Couch and chairs looked okay, but Megan always had those throw pillows and pictures on the walls. And a coffee pot. Need to get one of those. The kitchen looked good with those chili peppers hanging there, but Henna needed to feel comfortable, so yeah, the coffee pot. Some mugs on a stand like Megan's were back then.
“Dagger slumped deeper in the chair. “Sure you want to use a human? I can do for you.”
I grabbed up his pack and lit a cigarette. “Don't be stupid, Dagger. You, Vanna and Jose all gotta stay away from Claremont so the vamp doesn't know about you.”
“That why you keep me out of sight?”
“Yeah, that's it.” I sucked deep and flicked my ash. Strong cigarettes, sharp bite inside. “Brecken thinks I'm alone and I want it to stay that way.”
“He's a long ways from here. Anyway, some know about me. And they know about Vanna and Jose.”
I scowled at him. “That’s because you didn't do what I said at first. You went and shot your mouth off, all tough, killer newbie. I'm not worried. When the others are done turning you'll all stay here until the action gets started. Hang out nights at the pier but don't leave Huntington Beach.” I bent over and blew smoke in his face. “In case I need you, I want you all close by. Go back with the others. I need to think.”
“Sure.” He dropped his cigarette on the carpet and ground it with his boot. I watched him stomp across the room like Megan used to say I did. Got to have Alina buy food for Henna. Those cans of ravioli I used to like. And soft white bread and milk. And a TV, so I'm not so frickin' bored. Make Dagger and the others clean up real well before they leave. Dagger’s a pig. A damned big pig, though. Might be the biggest vamp ever made.
I flicked my thumb on the armchair and talked to my wife. “Newbies, Megan, but strong enough for me to call on, in case Brecken finds us.”
Megan's face floated in my head, approving of me. “It’s a really good plan,” I told her wavy face. “With Alina helping, Brecken won't expect it. If he's stuck on her, he’ll probably go looking, but he'll never come here first and I'll get back here real fast. With Henna, sweetheart. No way he'll find us so far from Claremont. Maybe won't even try.”
I ended my cigarette to a new one and closed my eyes to see Megan's face better. “We'll stay here for two or three days while Henna learns how nice I am, then head North. Sweet, eh, Megan? I'll talk proper, like you always told me to. We'll have some long talks so she gets used to me. I'll treat her good for you, darling. Before you know it, we'll be hundreds of miles away and Brecken can suck ass.”
Chapter 47
An interlude after Ev. Like orgasmic afterglow. I’d been holding in, waiting to savor. Now I curled myself around the warmth of living blood and released the heady sensations to mushroom in exotic bursts throughout my body.
My chest barely rose, so gently did I breathe. I sank in quiet torpor while my vampire stretched for freedom and generated memories that both of me enjoyed. To drift - without human dominance - was blissful. But I wondered, from the recesses where my human now crouched - Why was I ultra thirsty these days? I didn't want to think, could hardly do so, with the high rolling through me. But I couldn't hold it back. Let my human do it from down inside. I'm just going to float.
Since Henna, I’ve stepped up to feeding every day or two. It's vampire energy that I provide her and I seem to thirst more as a result. Or maybe I just indulge myself. Yet, by some strange turn, my own power was swelling. I luxuriated in that truth.
Louie has suggested that there's no end to our potential for growth. “However,” he once asserted, “love and good intent seem to be crucial.” His words were seared in my soul. Sheets on the floor in Lake Arrowhead. Don't think about that. Time eased by with me coiled in the aftermath of drinking deep and no contest of wills - a quiet symbiosis of all that I am.
The burr of my phone snapped me from the drifting and I half snarled into the phone. “Yeah?”
“Ooh, look who’s out and sniffing the wind, mon ami. What’s going on?”
“Nothing now, Louie. All delicious a while back.”
“Ahh, I'll call later.”
“No, I can talk.”
“Drinking during the day? Not typical of you.”
“Not atypical, either.” The grump at being interrupted leaked through. Louie was sometimes grumpy himself, but I wasn't speaking vamp to vamp, so I tried for civility. “All good with you?”
“Bien sûr. I called our landlady today.”
“She okay?” I said.
“Improving
. She doesn’t plan on returning to Claremont until July. Right after the 4th, she thinks.”
“Okay I'll give her a call later. When are you coming to town?”
I'm staying away entirely for awhile.”
“Why?”
“Because I think you want me to,” he said. “Henna.”
Louie was right on. I wanted the time alone with Henna. Yet, it was his house, too, and this was Louie, who walked on water. “That's not necessary, brother.”
“She senses us, right? And now you say this vamp Conor is around. No, I'll keep to the background.”
My fangs slipped out and back in, then out again, and I tapped them with my tongue. I was toasty from today’s drinking, so I played with my fangs and decided to tell Louie about Ev.
No matter which of me is in control, I’m always conscious of the requisite to be careful, to set boundaries of privacy, to be convincingly human. I told Louie that I've been pushing those boundaries. Not the first time. Impending danger entices me. Louie shares in that attraction and courts it every time he lives with a woman, clamps on to that woman and drinks. He's careful and yet he's been caught out many times, not always with good outcome for the female.
Pouncing on Ev in my own house was not the epitome of being careful. I told Louie about the mental chess match and the genius brain who was challenging me. I told him of the hypnosis on the track and the repetition in our living room - nothing held back, wanting to savor both experiences again.
I didn’t catch the moment of change. I sensed no struggle in him as he listened to my words about experiments and deep swallows, but it was Louie’s vamp who finally broke in. “Toi, I should meet this prodigy, n'est-ce pas? Could be I’ll play a game of chess with him myself.”
We hung up laughing, two vampires in total synch. My human tsked - then ripped back control.
Barely dusk, Conor close and a second phone call to interrupt my long bout of lethargy. “I know you’re not my shrink or anything, but I don’t know who to talk to except you.”
Silver Page 28
