She didn't remember ever agreeing to attend the party downstairs, but it would truly be a waste to get all dressed up, then not attend the festivities. She wanted to celebrate the progress she'd made with Mitch. She was positive he would remember his dream and believe her now.
A soft knock came at the door and Lenya responded, "We are coming, Dane. I have only just finished with her. Run along now, my dear friend. I will not let any other man sweep her off her feet before you get the chance. Though, I am not going to say that I won't try." Lenya laughed, and the door knob tried to turn, but she had locked it. She laughed loudly then. "Do you think I would be foolish enough to leave my door unlocked? You know me better than that."
"Non toccare lei, Lenya," Dane said with a growl.
"Oh, protective are we? I already have touched her, and might I say that she enjoyed it as much as I did."
"Lenya, she is untouched!" Dane said.
"Do you think I am ignorant of this fact? Go, go down to the party. We will only be a few more minutes. I promise."
Ciera could hear him huff, then he walked away in defeat.
Lenya stared at Ciera from her relaxed position on the bed. "I would have you seduce me, but I wouldn't want to make him angry."
"I thought you said that you wouldn't try anything again against my will," Ciera said.
Lenya shook her head. "No, that is what you wanted to hear. I said I would like to try it again when I wasn't influencing you. Not that I wouldn't. I always get what I want, Ciera. I want you, but Dane is a very dear friend of mine and I hate to see him unhappy. Taking your innocence would make him unhappy. So, I will suffer, but probably not in silence." She turned her head to the side. "Tell me, would it make you unhappy if I brought him to my bed?"
Ciera could feel the heat rush up to her cheeks. She knew the answer to that, and it was still confusing the hell out of her that the thought of him being with anybody else would make her jealous. "No, why would it?" She said as calmly as she could manage, given how fast her blood was rushing through her veins.
Lenya smiled, then stood from the bed. "Let us go. We don't want to keep the other guests from our beauty any longer. That would just be plain rude."
Mitch was wondering why they were still sitting at the damn table. Shouldn't they be up, practicing shit or something?
"To gain control of your skills," Lazarus went on after a long moment of silence, with his eyes firmly shut, "you need to be in tune with your body. Close your eyes and let everything go. Try to clear your mind of everything and nothing. Push further still when your mind is completely blank.
Mitch didn't know what the hell Lazarus was talking about, but he tried to clear his mind. He thought of a dark room with absolutely nothing in it. He pictured himself sitting in the middle of the empty floor. There was no sound here, no movement, no smell. It was just…nothing. He could hear Lazarus' voice talking, but it sounded like he was far away. It was no louder than a whisper, but he heard the words clearly.
"Good, now go further still, Mitch. Take yourself out of the nothing."
Mitch thought about how to do that for a moment, then he disappeared from the empty, black room. He could still think, but he was nowhere.
"Good," Lazarus said. "Now put yourself back."
And just like that, Mitch was sitting on the concrete of the shadowless room.
"You are doing excellent. I didn't learn quite so quickly. I sense you can do many great things. You could be very powerful if you listen to me, son. Now, without looking, tell me the object on the table in front of you. Picture the table you were sitting at before your eyes closed. There is an object there. Take your time and tell me what it is."
Mitch sighed. How the hell was he supposed to see something that he couldn't actually see? He did as Lazarus said. He pictured himself in the dark room, and a chair appeared under him. The table came into focus in front of him. It was glowing all on its own and, to surprise him more, there was an object in the center of the table, where there hadn't been anything before he closed his eyes. The object was glowing as well, but it was very indistinct. He concentrated on only the object and it began to lose the glowing haziness around it. It was a watch, a lady's wrist watch. He started to reach for it…
"No Mitch, don't touch it yet. Tell me what it is."
"It's a lady's gold wrist watch."
"Impressive, not even I can see the color in clairvoyance. Try to move it with your mind. Concentrate on moving it toward you."
Mitch took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly as he put all of his focus on moving the gold watch to him. A link moved, and then Mitch began gasping for air. He couldn't get enough of the air around him.
"Maybe we are taking this too fast. You don't have to learn everything tonight."
"No!" Mitch said in between two big huffs of breath. "I can do it now."
"Fine," Lazarus said without emotion. "If you will only tell your mind that your body doesn't need air to live, you will calm yourself faster."
I don't need air…I don't need air to live, Mitch thought, and rapidly calmed down. The watch before him, in the nothing room, had gone all blurry again. But as soon as he focused on it, it became a bright shiny gold watch, and this time he could tell there were tiny diamonds around the crystal. He could even see that Rolex was written in the circle of the twelve little numbers.
He pictured it moving toward him, and to his amazement, it was. He didn't stop his focus when it reached the edge of the table. He had a strong urge to touch the soft metal. It fell from the edge of the table into his palm.
The flash of images that went through his brain was overwhelming, and he focused on keeping a grim and emotionless face for Lazarus. Something was telling him that he shouldn't let Lazarus know what he was seeing. He laid the watch back on the table. Clapping brought his eyes open, and he blinked a few times in the lightness of the room around him.
He felt tired all of a sudden. He wanted nothing more than to lay his head on the table and go to sleep.
"You need to feed again. Using your skills will take your energy away." Lazarus stood. "Let us go out. I will show you how to pick your food and compel them not to remember you after you've gone from their sight."
Mitch got to his feet slowly, forcing each foot to move, one after the other, in front of him. He was dreading those damn stairs.
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Chapter 45
At Lenya's insistence, Ciera walked arm-and-arm down the long grand staircase. There were a lot of people in the big house, and Ciera couldn't see Dane anywhere. There were two men conversing at the bottom of the steps, and as if they could feel her presence, they both turned to look at her and Lenya.
Dane's eyes locked with Ciera's, and his mouth fell open slightly.
She smiled as she noticed that Dane was one of the men, and he walked up the few steps she had left, to meet her. Like herself, she had never seen Dane look so dashing. He was wearing a Tux that she was positive had been made just for him. He extended his hand to her, and she released Lenya's arm to take it. He kissed her cheek lightly, then whispered in her ear, "She didn't hurt you, did she?"
They heard Lenya huff, and turned just in time to see her roll her eyes. "I never did hurt you, did I?" She walked down the last few steps, and gave the man Dane had been talking to a sweet smile. "Chester, I'm so happy you've joined us this evening. I would like you to meet Ciera. She is a Finder."
Dane growled almost silently, then hooked Ciera's hand in the crook of his arm, and led her to Lenya and Chester.
Ciera offered her hand, and Chester kissed her knuckles like a perfect gentleman. "It is very nice to meet you, Chester."
"It is always a pleasure to meet a beautiful woman. Although, the company you keep will dull your beauty. You need to be on a man's arm that makes you shine. May I offer you mine?"
She didn't know if that had been an insult or a compliment. Or maybe he was just full of himself. "I think the company I keep suits me just fine. For
it is happiness that makes a person shine, not vanity that makes an individual glow."
Chester nodded once to Ciera in agreement. "I see that you could even make sin look good, my dear Ciera."
Ciera smiled mischievously. "I have done so before, Chester."
Chester kissed her hand again, and tried to hold her gaze with his own, but Ciera wasn't interested. She had enough problems in the men department. "I hope you enjoy the party, then. If you change your mind about my offer, Lenya knows how to reach me."
Dane took Ciera's hand out of Chester's, then put it back in the crook of his arm. "I don't think that will be necessary. You see, Chester, there is a long line of vampires waiting for Miss. Ciera here to choose a mate. You…" He poked a finger to Chester's chest, "... have just put yourself at the bottom of the list by insulting me as her escort." Dane wrinkled his nose, and Ciera knew he did that when he was upset about something. "I wouldn't hold my breath for her to call you."
Chester eyed Dane for a few moments, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly, also a sign that someone would give if they were getting upset about something. But he surprised them by smiling, nodding, and walking away.
Lenya turned to Dane and Ciera. "Dane, I do believe that Ciera is a big girl, and can take care of her own suitors. I would be very thankful of you, if you would not tear my house apart tonight." She smiled then walked away.
"He started it," Dane whispered. Lenya turned her head and smiled, but kept walking. When he looked back at Ciera, she was doing all she could do to keep from laughing. "What? You are the most beautiful woman here tonight, and tonight, you are with me. You may very well be with Mitch in a couple of days, but until then, I have the pleasure of your company, Milady." Dane smiled, then raised her hand to his lips, placing a single soft kiss on her knuckles.
Her heart fluttered, and she was trying her best to ignore it, but as Dane's eyes met her own, she found that ignoring anything about him would be impossible. What the hell am I getting myself into?
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Chapter 46
Lazarus had given Mitch a small amount of blood from his refrigerator. He didn't want him to get his fill of blood before they went out to hunt. He was really anxious to see how good Mitch was at compulsion. Being able to compel a human was a very rare skill, but then again, so were all of the other skills that his son possessed. Most vampires only had one or two gifts. Mitch was already at an advanced level of four different and very rare skills. He needed to know just how powerful his son could be. His dream of taking down the Elders may very well become reality one day.
Lazarus pulled the cruiser over at the corner of Monroe and Grand and got out. Mitch followed closely behind him, wearing his sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head so he wouldn't be noticed.
Lazarus had given him the basics on the way there, so Mitch had two options. He could lure a woman into an alley with his charm, which he didn't think was a very good idea. His mama had always taught him not to play with his food. Or he could sneak up on any human that was alone, and strike. Lazarus had thought that was the best plan. He had told him that was the way he'd chosen most often. Then, after sealing the wounds, he would compel them to forget they had ever seen him. Their symptoms would be no more than a headache and exhaustion the next few days. After all, it wasn't like they were draining them dry. They weren't even taking as much as the Red Cross did when they took a donation from a human.
Mitch decided to go with the second plan. He hadn't ever had much charm, so to speak. He figured if he tried to seduce a woman, he would more than likely start thinking of Ciera again, and then she would show up here with him and Lazarus. If that could be avoided, he was going to avoid it at all costs. He had felt the tingling a little earlier, but he fought it off. He had slowed his breathing and thought about his brand new skills. It was actually really cool to be able to do those things.
They had walked a few blocks, and it was getting late. Three girls and two guys stumbled out of a bar. Lazarus and Mitch had stopped to watch the small group. One of the blond girls stopped to look in her purse.
"Damn it! You guys go ahead to the car. I forgot my cell phone on the table. I'll be right there," she said, and went back through the club door. Her friends kept walking, oblivious to the fact that two vampires were about to take a small collection from their friend.
When blondie stepped back out the door, her friends were nowhere in sight. She looked around nervously, then hugged her arms to her chest and began walking in the direction her friends had gone.
She was only about twenty feet from the alley Mitch had hidden himself in. When she approached, instead of covering her mouth with his hand like Lazarus had told him to do, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. A loud scream echoed in the alley before he could cover her mouth.
He wanted to explain that he wouldn't hurt her, and that she wouldn't remember a thing about all of this tomorrow. But all he could think about with her being so close was the warm liquid running just under her skin.
His fangs protruded, and he was sucking that fluid down his throat before he even knew he had bit her. He had slumped against the brick building with her in his arms. He could feel her fear of him, and he was getting images in his head of people he didn't know. A few of them were of the same guy, but others were of an older couple, then there were some of younger people. He was seeing her life, the girl in his arms, her life was flashing before his eyes. He was taking her life from her. He had already taken more than enough, but her blood was so good. He didn't want to stop.
He fought with his craving for only a few more seconds before pulling back and running his tongue over the tiny holes in the girl's neck.
He turned her to face him. She was no longer scared of him. She was on the verge of passing out. Mitch shook her and she opened her eyes lazily. "Hey, I know you …You're that guy on the news," she said, and Mitch figured she may have drank a lot more alcohol than she had needed to. Her eyes drifted shut again.
"Look at me!" he said, and she opened her eyes lazily to him once more. He focused on seeing beyond her blue eyes, then spoke. "You never saw me here. You walked out of the bar and found this alley. You were too tired to go any further, so you sat down to rest awhile."
She nodded. "I was tired," she said as if she were in a daze.
Mitch looked at her another moment, then looked around him. There was no one in the alley but the two of them. Lazarus had left him to do this on his own, and he had almost killed her. He stood and ran back toward Lazarus' unmarked, leaving the girl in the alley to be found by her friends.
Mitch traveled the two blocks to Lazarus' car in mere seconds. He didn't have time to wonder just how fast he could run. Lazarus had left him to kill that girl, and he was pissed.
The guy was leaning up against the side of his car, smiling. Mitch didn't stop running. He tackled his partner to the ground, only giving one punch to the jaw before discovering he was actually the one on the bottom. Lazarus wasn't fighting back, but he was holding Mitch's shoulders to the pavement. Mitch tried to struggle under his hold, but it was useless, the guy was stronger than he appeared to be.
"Calm down," Lazarus whispered, and his voice wasn't even strained as he held Mitch down effortlessly to the road. "You had to do that one on your own. I will not always be there to tell you when to stop. You did well; she is still breathing."
Lazarus stood quickly, jerking Mitch to his feet as well. He brushed at Mitch's clothes, then his own. "We are not done here. I want you to try your hand at compulsion."
"But I already did. I compelled that girl back there to forget me," Mitch said as he pointed in the direction of the bar.
Lazarus only shook his head. "It isn't the same. Any vampire can make a human forget about them. But only a vampire that is strong in compulsion can make humans do things against their will. I cannot, but I think maybe you can."
"Why would I want to make anyone do something they didn't want to do?" Mitch asked, and he w
as calm now, well ... as calm as could be, considering the circumstances.
"We want to frame somebody for murder, don't we?" Lazarus said with a smile, then began to walk away from Mitch, in the direction of Nelson Park.
Mitch huffed, but put his hood back up and followed him.
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Chapter 47
Ciera had let Dane parade her by all the people in the big house. Every eye in the house had glanced her way at least three times. And she had lost track of the times that Dane had growled. She found his jealousy hilarious. But there had been a few women look his way also, and she didn't find the feelings she was having funny at all.
He walked into the next room and stopped suddenly, then turned and pushed her back out.
"What is it?"
He shook his head. "Nothing that we need to be a part of."
Ciera turned her head to the side and looked at him with disdain. "I'm not a little kid, Dane. I think I can make that decision on my own." She walked around him, and went through the archway.
The sight and smell of the room stopped her in her tracks. "Oh…" she said, embarrassed. She could feel the heat rushing up her face. There were about six or seven couples before her, oblivious to the fact that she was watching them. They were all feeding off each other, and she could see that only one of them had any clothes left on, and that sheer piece of clothing was only a thong.
Dane took her hand and pulled her back out of the room slowly. He hugged her tight to him. "I'm sorry that you had to see that."
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