“But I didn’t save him. When she realized what I had done, she returned. She returned for him — the child that could not die. Her child — and mine.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’m not sure I could have helped him, I didn’t know what I had become. Could I have eased the way for him? I was never to know, she took him away.”
“So how did you manage?” I stared a hole in Tom, who had yet to say a word. Men!
“For a time I refused to feed and grew weak. The others, my friends at the temple, came to me in my weakened state. They thought I was a god now, and offerings needed to be made. They offered me their blood, enough to sustain me. After I quenched my initial thirst,” Raf gulped, “I found I needed only a very small amount of human blood. I tried to atone for Senh. Over a period of time I discovered that in tiny amounts my blood could be curative to most diseases and injuries. I gave back what I had stolen, blood and life. The people began to bring me their sick children, their injured or ailing family members, I would give them my blood and they would be made well. I never made another like Senh.”
“I’m not sure I’m getting this straight, Raf honey. Are you saying you were the first vampire?” Raf nodded solemnly. “Okay. But if you didn’t make any more after your brother — where did they all come from?” My eyes got very round as the thought struck me at last. “Oh, Geeze Louise! Your brother?”
Raf continued slowly, “Lilitu hadn’t known what the outcome of her little experiment would be. She wasn’t happy with my power or the fame that grew around me. She was a god! I had been a mere mortal, a lesser being, a lesser man even, in her eyes. Now the people worshipped me. She wouldn’t risk making others like me. On that at least, we agreed. But my brother fed and she realized those he turned, burned with the same hunger. She could control them through their need. They would worship her. I was powerless. As I could not heal Senh, I could not heal those he turned.
“For centuries they tormented me. She would choose from among those closest to me and my brother would feed and turn them. They, in turn would feed. Whole families were wiped out. Entire villages! More and more vampires walked the darkness. But again Lilitu was surprised. With each generation born of her creation, she was revered less. As gods often are, she was weakened by their lack of devotion.
“Senh of course was quite mad by this time and became careless. He began to feed upon my priests. I came upon him as he fed and in that instant I knew I had to destroy the creature I had helped create. We struggled. I was far stronger and subdued him easily, but to what end? I stabbed him, he healed. Broken limbs mended. As we struggled, a censer overturned, the rugs blazed from the burning oil. Senh’s clothing caught the flame and his torment finally ended.”
“Raf I’m sorry. That’s horrible. How dreadful for you.”
Raf smiled for the first time all evening. “It was a relief, Doll. I hated myself for a long, long time. It took me centuries to realize I had done the only thing I could to release him.” He shrugged. “No one knew what killed us. Everything was just trial and error. Sometimes people just got lucky. A new vamp, there’s a scuffle and he falls, and is impaled on a stick of firewood. It kills him and is remembered and passed on. Like the fire. Over a period of time more methods were tried and added to the list. There were far more things that didn’t work.”
“So what happened when she found out?” I had to ask, although I was pretty sure I knew the answer.
“Ever seen a god go nuts? Many people and vampires died at her hand. When her rage cooled slightly, she decided to lay the blame where she felt it was due, at my feet. I learned from my earlier mistake. You cannot reason with a demon. So I did what any sane person would do. I hid. I hid for a very long time, until one day, someone heard my whisper.”
CHAPTER 24
I did know the answer. I looked over at Tom who wore a slightly crooked smile; his eyes rimmed in red. I patted his hand. “Gotta love vamp ears.” My smile was a little quivery, too. “So, here’s my question, is the bitch vindictive enough, powerful enough, to lay a curse on you that would hold this long? The kind of slow torture even you might not recognize right away?”
Raf nodded.
“Sick bitch! Well, we’ll just have to find a way to fix this won’t we?”
Raf’s tale hadn’t taken long to tell but it seemed like an eternity to me and probably seemed even longer to Raf, who relived it. As if living through it once wasn’t enough! Tom was moved by Raf’s account … as was I … moved to tears, moved to anger, moved to violence. I’d love to get my hands on Lilitu!
“Honey, you need to eat something. I know that took a lot out of you.” I urged Raf to take the bottle in my hand. “Tom’s drank two since he’s been up and you haven’t had a thing.”
“Doll, I’m fine. Better than fine!” Raf beamed back at me he picked up my hand, turned it and kissed the exact spot on my wrist he had bitten the night before. He gave me a wink. My face heated.
“You don’t mean — you didn’t — well, you only took a sip. You must need more.” I stammered, more than a little embarrassed with Tom privy to the discussion. Sure he knew, but still … . Crap, being human sucks sometimes.
“Red, is so your color,” Raf laughed. “I told you I don’t need much. The real thing is so much more … ” he sought a word.
“Concentrated?” I offered.
“Wonderful!” he gushed. “From a willing soul who knows and cares for you — its — amazing!”
Well shit! I teared up. “Oh,” I managed to choke out as I plopped my butt back on the sofa. It seemed so very bizarre to me that my little blood offering could generate so much joy and enthusiasm, much less nutritional content. “Tom still has to drink RR.”
“Connie, I’m nowhere near as old as Raf. With age comes strength. And remember, I was — made differently. But truthfully, even with me, a little taste of you goes a lot farther than this stuff.” He grinned and added, “The difference is like the sun and the moon.”
“But you must be careful,” Raf cautioned me. “Don’t let us get greedy. And by us, I mean Tom.”
“Hey!” Tom argued ineffectually.
“I mean she might get carried away in the heat of the moment. And in that same heat you might forget yourself … ” He shut up before he made it worse. We both glared at him.
“Raf’s afraid you’ll get anemic and weak if we take too much blood in too short a time,” Tom clarified.
“I’m fine.” I lied. I was always tired and ravenous. I also had a nagging feeling I’d forgotten something, but a lot had been going on. It would come back to me. “So if the real deal is all that and a shake, how come you don’t just, well you know? There’s got to be enough willing donors.”
Tom cleared his throat. “Several reasons, at the moment the most important is we must keep the government on our side. The blood replacement lets us do so. When we get the donation centers up and running and our patents in place, we’ll be safer.”
“Sweetie, I said willing donors. Why should the government care?”
“Because we have something they want and one slip up will let them bypass all the new laws. How often has someone screamed rape after consensual sex? Remember, it’s illegal for us to hypnotize a human. The law would side with a human whether they lied or not.”
“You mean someone would let you bite them and then say they were forced?” The guys nodded. “The G men would come haul you off and do what?” I waited for the other shoe.
“Doll, we told you our blood can make you stronger, heal injuries and diseases when taken in moderation. If you over indulge there can be severe consequences. When was the last time you saw your government do anything in moderation?” Raf gave it time to sink in. “Now, imagine an army who took an untold amount of vampire blood. Even we don’t know what would happen if a soldier given large doses of our blood was killed in battle. Would he reanimate?”
I had visions of gore and of every zombie I had ever seen. I gulped, “What’s stopping them?”
Hey, I know our government, and ours is the good one.
“You are,” Tom said. “As long as we are in the limelight and doing well for the United States citizens, we’re safe. As long as we are indispensable, we’re safe. The blood substitutes allow us to live among you without being considered a threat.”
“But come on guys, you know other vamps have sweeties giving it up.”
The boys looked at each other. “She’s right,” Tom said. We have no reason to expect we are the only ones.”
I was about to lose it! “Guys, the law states it is perfectly acceptable between consenting adults in the privacy of their homes. As long as no one is getting bitten on the street corners, it’s okay.”
“Until someone … ”
“Until someone says they were forced. I get it, really! So we’re good. All we need to worry about is a vindictive demon bitch and the U.S. Government. Lovely. I think I’ll take demon bitch for two hundred.” I will never again say my life is dull. “I think I need a drink.”
“We didn’t mean to upset you,” Tom said as he poured me two fingers of Southern Comfort.
He must have read my mind! I don’t drink often, a glass of wine now and again, but when I say I need a drink, I don’t mean something fruity with an umbrella in it. I drained the glass in two gulps, winced and relished the sweet burn as it ran down my throat. Raf’s eyes grew big and round when I tapped the lip of my glass. Tom gave me another shot.
“Let’s see.” I took a big sip. “We probably need to have Bianca in to do — whatever the hell she does to see if there is a spell, curse, hoodoo, on you.” I pointed my finger, glass in hand, at Raf. “Y’all know her better than I do, so you’ll have to tell her what you think she needs to know. I’ll keep my lip zipped. Then we’ll see if we can fix it. I got a couple of things I need to discuss with her, but they’ll keep.” I took another slurp. The warm glow in my chest was nice.
“Can’t see there’s a lot we can do about the other but keep on, keeping on. I’d say Tom’s award should do the job pretty well. Finishing the jail put you in the hearts and minds of all law abiding Arkansans and the fear of God into everybody else, so, yea you!” I drained my glass and Raf took it from my hand. I turned on my heel and started toward the stairs. “We have to go get Willy tomorrow. Becki should be callin’ about the corpse,” I said to no one in particular as I reached the foot of the stairs and began my climb. “Gotta re-opening to plan in our spare time.” I turned to look over the balcony, “I am going to take a bath. Someone should perhaps check on me to make sure I drown properly.” I waved. “Tootles!”
The warmth of the bath soothed my body as the smell of Raf’s roses soothed my soul. I relaxed. Nope, not a care in the world.
I slid under the water only to be pulled back to the surface. Hmm? I tried it again, slowly sliding down the tub until my head went under the bubbles. Hmm, so warm! The bubbles were brushed from my eyes and arms wrapped ’round me pulling me into a hard, furred chest. Mmm!
Surely he wouldn’t let me take advantage of him in my present condition? Like hell! I sidled up against him, wiggling my posterior and was rewarded with a groan. I giggled. Oh dear. I was giggling drunk. I knew from past experience that did not bode well for the state of my head when next I woke. Whenever, that might be. My days and nights were so confused at this point. I barely knew which end was up. Oh — that end! A reminder I had initiated something my tub mate apparently wanted to get back to, was poking my rear. When a tongue flicked in my ear, followed closely by some suggestions I found rather interesting, I lost my train of thought entirely and allowed myself to be lifted from the warm water. I giggled as the foamy water sloshed over the side of the tub, giggled more when Tom laid me on the bed, foam and all. I was practically hysterical when I pulled him down on top of me.
So I’m a happy drunk. Sue me!
• • •
I lay very still in the bed, thoughts racing through my brain. I expected to wake with a hangover and the prerequisite headache. Instead, I woke alarmed. Okay, panicked, might be more accurate. The events of last evening were clear as crystal and I could not believe I did that.
What might that be, you ask? I will start with the highlight. I bit my lover. Not just bit, oh no, I drank his blood. I was afraid to move for fear I would barf blood on the bed.
Oh gag! So I lay still and thought less disturbing thoughts, like my last period was — ah, hum? I needed my calendar, which required me to move. I was still thinking — so not a good idea! Well, at least now I remembered what had been nagging me. Woohoo.
I remembered the four fingers of Southern Comfort I drank, and now regretted bitterly. I remembered the subsequent romp in and out of the tub. Oh yeah. I remembered it all clearly, vividly in fact. I also had the not unpleasant, taste of molasses in my mouth. Well, that’s as close to a common description as I could come up with, thick, sweet, and with an irony aftertaste.
Vamp blood is different from human blood. I haven’t tasted a lot of that mind you. But who hasn’t stuck a bleeding digit in their mouth from time to time? No, vamp blood was neither salty nor coppery, but sweet and irony. It also isn’t thin, but thick, again like molasses, and not totally dissimilar in color. I guess not having a beating heart to pump it around or working lungs to oxygenate it changed the color and consistency. I honestly have no idea how vampire physiology works. Or doesn’t. I mean by human medical standards they’re dead. No heart or brain activity equals dead, right? Yet they exist, they function physically and emotionally. I was clueless. No surprise there.
I remembered the exact moment I decided to bite Tom. It seemed like a good idea at the time. He was very into what was going on — in fact he went little nuts when he felt my teeth against his femoral artery. Oh, I’m sure I didn’t bite deep. I don’t have fangs after all. But I brought blood! He went right over the edge. Apparently one other thing gets a vamp off. Go figure. It was really a power trip for me. I admit it. I grinned like a possum even now, just thinking about it … when I wasn’t about to hurl.
So maybe the squee factor wasn’t so high after all. If he enjoyed it so much, how bad was it really? I love molasses cookies. My stomach settled with that revelation, so I crept out of bed. I have no idea why I crept. Everyone else in the house was dead to the world, literally. Even Raf wouldn’t be up at eight A.M. Which begged the question, why was I? I wasn’t the least bit tired although I had less than four hours sleep. I would never accuse Tom of being an inconsiderate lover. No siree!
I found the towel by tripping over it, picked it off the floor and wrapped it round me. I made a brief stop by the bathroom for a robe, to brush my teeth, wash my face, and take care of necessities. From there I went to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. I got my purse from the entry table and dug out my calendar. Today was Saturday, August fifteenth. I turned pages, going backward, looking for a red circle. None in August. None in July. I started my job at the salon the holiday weekend. I gulped and squashed the image when Randy popped to mind.
Where the hell did he come from? Raf took care of him.
I turned the page again, to June. A red circle was drawn around the fifteenth. My birthday. I was two months late. I did some rapid math in my head as I poured a cup of coffee. I took a gulp without thinking and burned the shit out of my mouth! I hurriedly spat it in the sink. I should have been ovulating the week I started to work at the salon. I sat down. A myriad of thoughts spun through my head. I found the phone book and looked up the number. The clinic was open until noon on Saturday.
The receptionist said they had a full slate as well as some walk-ins. She said I would need to make an appointment for next week. I told her to put Dr. Andrews on the phone. Reluctantly, she did. Jimmy’s mom sounded pleased to hear from me. She told me to come in at noon. She would stay and wait for me, which meant I had two and a half hours to kill.
The pot of coffee went down the drain, along with the rest of my cup. I didn’t need to be more nervous and frankly, my stomach
couldn’t tolerate it anyway. I went upstairs, showered, dressed and applied my makeup then waited an hour. I called Bianca, got her voice mail, left a message saying we needed her professional services and asked her to call back later. I figured that would give me enough time to get back. After rereading the same line over and over, I closed the novel and did some laundry. Hopefully no one would be wearing pink underwear as a result.
Finally I gave up trying to keep busy, got my purse and keys, left a note for Raf to tell him I wouldn’t be gone long. Then I made myself stick to the speed limit, a good thing since there were two troopers on I-630. When at last I walked into the clinic’s lobby the nurse took me straight back to be weighed, measured, my blood pressure taken, and given a cup to fill. They put me in an exam room to wait.
Dr. Andrews, Nancy, came in after an eternity. Not one to mince words she opened with, “Well your pregnancy test is negative.” I broke into little, bitty pieces. She patted my shoulder until the waterworks ended.
“I take it, that’s good news?” I managed a nod, not quite trusting speech. “Well, I want you to strip and put this gown on. I’ll do an exam just to be on the safe side. Then we’ll go from there.” She didn’t leave the room, as was the norm so I assumed she had let the nurse go. She did however turn her back to assemble her tray of gadgets. By the time she popped on her gloves and warmed the speculum, I was on the table in my paper gown. “You know the drill,” she said as she positioned the stirrups, “Scootch down.”
“Scootch is a medical term?”
“Absolutely.” She inserted a finger and mashed on my lower abdomen. I counted the pinholes in the dropped ceiling. The speculum came next and had cooled slightly. She apologized when I jumped.
“No problem. Nerves.”
“You can sit up now.” She helped me get repositioned and handed me a tissue before busying herself. “Go ahead and dress,” she said over her shoulder. “I found no sign of pregnancy. I’ll draw some blood so we can confirm it and make sure you’re not anemic or anything of that nature.”
Midnight Sun, Inc. (Crimson Romance) Page 20
