sanguineangels

by Various

  I took a sip and puckered at the tartness. I normally drank something sweeter.

  I threw the dress on the bed and sat next to it, waiting for Brenna to say or do something, but she set her wine down and began peeling off the rest of her clothes. Her pants fell to the floor, revealing smooth, now hairless legs. I held my breath as she turned back toward the closet, revealing the curve of her ass. Passion rose up in me, and I wanted to fuck her until she moaned for me to stop, but I didn’t do anything as she opened up her bureau drawer and pulled out an emerald nightgown and slipped it over her lithe body. She picked up her wine and downed it in one swig. Then she stretched out beside me.

  I yawned. The sun would soon break over the horizon, weighing down my bones as it always did when it was high in the sky, but instead of ignoring the pull to sleep, I decided to give into it.

  I set the glass of wine on her vanity and pulled my pants off as well and left them on the wooden floor. I glanced down at Brenna, who now had her back to me, and slid under the covers. The coolness of the satin leached into my skin and I wanted nothing more than to turn over and take her. Images of how I would ravage her entered my mind, but I held my spot.

  “Brenna?”

  “Ehh?” she asked half in sleep.

  “Nothing,” I whispered, knowing in my heart that there were no sparks between us, except master and child. When she had been turned everything about her had changed, including how she had felt for me. My heart broke and sadness leaked onto my pillow as the sun moved over the horizon, bringing me into sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  My name is Brenna.

  Veronica still slept as I watched the slight rise and fall of her chest. The movement was so subtle I almost didn’t see it. I swept a piece of hair that had fallen across her mouth and brushed it aside, feeling the softness of her lips. The mouth I had kissed when I was human. I remembered the night we shared, before I had lost myself, and longed for everything to be right between us. Veronica thought I didn’t need her anymore, thought I didn’t want her, and that crushed her. She assumed since I had become this new kind of being, my feelings for her had died, but none of that was true. On the contrary they had grown, so much I didn’t know how to contain them in my heart, but I didn’t know how to show her either. I was afraid of the intensity of everything.

  The newness of my lifestyle overwhelmed me and I absorbed all of it, retreating into my own world. I hadn’t noticed, until recently, how much I hurt Veronica. I should have listened to her more carefully, felt the emotions in her heart, but the littlest things held my attention. Even now as I watched her resting, I knew how hard she fought against the beast inside her soul. It was in the way she walked and held herself. She was different. There were times she thought her hard won freedom would fly apart, and she would be two separate things again.

  Both of us were different creatures, each born of the same strain of blood, but molded differently. I knew this by reading her thoughts, which she assumed were veiled. To most of our kind they would have been, but my mental abilities were three times that of hers. My tolerance to the sun was high enough it almost didn’t bother me, but if I didn’t feed, the sun would begin to peel the skin from my bones; as long as I didn’t let that happen I was fine. There were many other things I had discovered in the past week or so since I had become like her, or should I say similar to her.

  I was something outside the race of vampires. I needed blood to survive, to allow me to live through the years while my body molded itself into something that lived forever, or close to it. I had the physical strength of other vampires and was stronger than a human, but I was not the strongest among my kind. The thing that set me apart from all of them was that I had no beast inside of me. In a sense, I retained my humanity. I didn’t have to kill to survive. I could take what I needed and let my victims live where all the others had to kill.

  With Veronica––I didn’t know what to do with her. How could I tell her my feelings when I knew she was going to leave me, abandoning me to be on my own when now was a time I needed her most?

  I stretched and got out of bed, knowing my movements wouldn’t wake Veronica. It was three in the afternoon and she would sleep until the sun set. I threw off my nightgown and went to my closet, slipping on a black dress that clung to my form. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and thought of the last time I had been before the glass. I glanced down at my bureau and saw my fake fangs sitting in an empty contact case. I picked up one of the acrylic teeth, wondering what I’d been thinking when I first put them on, pretending to be the creature I was today.

  I noticed for the first time how different I looked. My eyes had become darker. They were now truly black, with a faint ring of silver separating my irises and my pupils. They expanded as the sun shifted to the other side of my house. The whites of my eyes were almost luminous, the red veins no longer there, and when I turned my head they flashed rainbow color like a fish’s scale. My skin had lost any imperfection, no more scars or freckles. I no longer had to worry about any unwanted hair on my face or legs. My muscles were more defined. I saw their outlines under my skin. I had become something better than what I was and had retained my humanity in the bargain.

  I spied my tarot cards on the bureau’s surface, wondering if I should cut them to figure out what was going to happen. I had the power to divine the future. The voices that guided me through my readings, be they angels or just spirits, had not left me. I still felt their presence. Even as I thought of the tarot, I didn’t need to prove that ability to myself. It would always be there inside of me. For now, I left the cards behind and left the apartment to clear my head.

  I walked through the French Quarter, perusing the shops as if I were a tourist. The scent of jasmine lingered in the air as well as the coppery scent of rain as the clouds moved from light to dark. An oncoming storm, but I didn’t mind the rain. The atmosphere contracted around me, making the air thick and dense. The storm would bring a welcomed relief from the humidity. It would cool off the area, driving tourists inside because they were afraid of getting soaked. For me, it was all a part of nature.

  I came to the café where Veronica and I had first decided to sit and have tea. She had been so scared of what would happen between us that night. She so wanted not to come and meet me at the cathedral that day, but she faced her fears. I, on the other hand, had been so confident at how much I had charmed her when really it was she who had bespelled me. It had all been so different. It was only a few weeks ago, but a lifetime ago for me. I had been something else and had no idea what lurked around the corner of my destiny. I found my fate with her. I wondered if it would have been possible for me to continue on in the normalcy of my humanity, but I knew the answer to that question. I could never dream of going backwards. I loved what I had become. Everything was so wonderful; it made me pity mortals as they walked through life asleep. Not seeing and experiencing the things around them. I would have never known there were so many layers just in the scent of a rose. How first it was the subtle perfume of the morning dew that clung to it, the rusty clear smell of the minerals in the leaves, then the hint of acrid decay as the flower died ever so slightly each second, and finally, the burst of the rose’s own perfume. All of these were things I smelled when just inhaling. But humans, no, they only smelled the beautiful perfume of the bloom. I owed everything to Veronica and was glad she had bumped into my mundane life.

  “Ehh, Raven, long time no see. Where you been?”

  I glanced up. Most people in New Orleans knew me by that name to keep my privacy. Either way, I felt an affinity for the dark bird, even after my changing. I looked over to the counter and saw Gerard. He had worked here for as long as I had been coming in, but he never seemed to age and always looked like he was going to the next frat party.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I said, glancing up at the menu.

  “People’ve been looking for you. Figured you got holed up with some new fling and wanted the time away. You want
the usual?”

  I nodded, anticipating the taste of chai. The mixture of cinnamon, tea, and steamed milk as it slid down my throat like liquid silk. I took the tea and downed a sip, not bothering to let it cool. Gerard took in a breath through his teeth, marveling how I could drink it so hot, but I didn’t notice the temperature. I savored the taste with my enhanced senses. The spiciness of it settled in my nose as the rest of it mixed on my tongue.

  “Who’s been asking about me?” I asked, licking my lips.

  “Well, you know, the tourists referred by the hotels, and some of your regulars. There was this one though. A real looker came in demanding to know where you were. Had black hair, real nice figure too.”

  I nodded, assuming it was Devon. He would find us sooner or later. I assumed it would be later. I was surprised Gerard said he had made a scene. From my encounters with Devon he liked to keep things quiet, like everything was a game to him. Veronica and I were his pawns. But no more. Now it was time for us to checkmate. Veronica knew this. When he came this time, both of us would be ready.

  “A real looker, huh? What did he look like?” I knew how fond Gerard was of good-looking men.

  “Oh, this one wasn’t a man, this was a woman. Real young. Once I told her you weren’t here she calmed down a bit, and said…something—what was it? I can’t remember, but I told her I didn’t know when you’d be back.”

  I looked at him, my teeth lengthening. Why would a woman be looking for me?

  It was unlike Gerard to notice women, even pretty ones. This one must have made an impression.

  “Gerard.” I lowered my voice a pitch so he would fall under my spell. “You remember what she said, now don’t you? You can tell me.”

  His face went lax and he would have fallen if he hadn’t been leaning up against the counter. He looked like a melting candle. I lowered my voice a little more and used less power, to give him back some of his self-control. I was still learning. After a moment, he regained his composure but still had a glazed look on his face.

  “She said that she was staying in the cemetery, over across from Rampart. I thought she was a squatter, but she said for me to tell you she wanted to talk when you got back. It was important. She said something about a black rose.”

  He stopped when I withdrew my power. There was no other useful information stored in him. I felt that when I brushed against his mind with my thoughts.

  “Thanks, Gerard, you’ve been a big help.”

  He blinked, wondering what the hell had happened, and then turned back to his work. I took another swig of my tea and threw it in the trash. I thought about it. A black rose. That meant nothing to me. Why the hell would a woman come looking—? Then it dawned on me. He wasn’t talking about a flower. He was speaking about the club in Cambridge.

  My back itched because my wings wanted to come out. My feet urged to be on the ground to know I was still connected to the earth. I rushed down the streets until I came to the edge of the French Quarter. The cemetery was across the street, surrounded by a ten-foot thick wall. New Orleans had a very high water table, so whenever it rained the buried bodies used to float back into town. Because of that they built above ground crypts. If you got a wall plot, you were baked by the sun until there was nothing left but dust. The remains were pushed down into a collecting bin and someone else took the resting spot. It was an economic deal.

  A clap of thunder broke the sky as a torrential downpour unleashed itself onto the cemetery. The rain plastered the clothing to my skin, but I didn’t mind much as it cooled me off and made me aware of my surroundings. Of course I was in a graveyard, but even though I was one of the dead, I was not going to be buried any time soon. I walked along the beaten paths between the ancient mausoleums. Many of them were nothing more than bricks, but a few of them were still in use. Wind came up from the storm and caught the plastic covering of those tombs undergoing restoration, flapping them wildly in the breeze, adding to the already creepy feel of the graveyard.

  A few tourists squealed. They had been caught in the downpour, and since they were not used to New Orleans weather, they probably didn’t think to carry an umbrella. I smirked as I caught the scent of their irritation. It made my mouth water as I thought of their blood exploding into my mouth, working its way into my stomach, warming me. No, I did not need to give into the urges I felt. I was not like the others and never would be.

  Stopping in my tracks, I wondered where the other vampire would be. Obviously, she wouldn’t let the other tourists see her. I closed my eyes and took in a breath, stopping my heart. I shut out the other noises, smells, anything that would interfere with me finding her. I cast out my mind, leaving the confines of my body and searching for this ancient vampire. Maybe she was as old as the one from the Black Rose. I assumed I’d find some trace of her energy in the cemetery, something of herself imprinted on stones or the environment. But with her being so old, she probably wouldn’t make it easy for me to find her.

  I scanned the whole cemetery. My mind moved in between the gravestones, and even the cracks of the mausoleums that housed ancient corpses. I did find one that was fresh, but I moved on. I weaved around the tourists, who were now venturing out of the cemetery because it had stopped raining. They were nothing, just ants, mere annoyances compared to me. Then I caught something toward the corner of the cemetery, hovering near one grave in particular. Before I decided to reunite my mind with my body, I took another quick scan of the property, including the walled crypts, wondering if maybe she had found some way to move into one of them and share the space with the baked corpses, but there was nothing.

  I sighed and settled into my own body, restarting my heart to warm my skin. I came to the burial ground for nothing, knowing this was a wild goose chase. I figured I should get back to the apartment before Veronica woke so I could beg her not to leave me because I needed her in my life. I began to walk toward the entrance and found myself drawn to the grave of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau. Several offerings had been placed on her tomb, a full bottle of beer, stacks of three pennies, beads, and other paraphernalia that were representations of people’s wishes. I wondered if the believers ever got their wishes granted by the dead Voodoo Queen.

  I traced the carved letters of her name, questioning if this woman was aware of my kind even back in her day. If she had been, did she interact with us? Had she been a great psychic or just a fraud? I knew little of her, except the fact she was a living legend around the city. She had been a powerful sorceress in her day, but also knew the local gossip of the time, so she weaseled her way into the lives of many people, and it made her rich.

  “I wonder how much you really knew,” I said to the tombstone.

  “She knew much about us, little one. She became one of my children, but sadly, she, like most when turned, didn’t remember the creature she had been, and became something else. She lurks around here at times, visiting her gravesite, but remembering only pieces of the life she left behind. Most of her was consumed by the beast within us.”

  I spun around when I heard the soft, enticing voice behind me. I had not remembered the power of the ancient vampire, but maybe that was because I was trying so hard to protect myself from her I didn’t have the capability to see her as I saw her now. She stood before me, her hair now shining purple-black as a raven’s wing in the cloudy sky. She was dressed in a red silk dress, something from the forties. It fell to her knees and revealed pale, skinny legs. Her eyes were large and deep blue. Her lips were red, not from lipstick though, and she was shorter than I remembered. When I noticed her aura it was dark, cobalt blue, radiating light as a perverted beacon. I shivered as a whiff of her power swept over me.

  “You’re not a foolish one, child. I knew that the night we met. You tried to hide the fact you were human, pretending to be undead. You were powerful then. And now, you’re one of the strongest vampires I’ve encountered, and I’ve met a lot of our kind. Unlike Marie and many others, you’ve retained all of your humani
ty, a rarity. You’re very much like me, if you can believe that. I knew the night we met you assumed I was crazy, consumed by the beast. Isn’t that right?”

  I nodded, not really knowing what to say. I still couldn’t believe she had gotten the drop on me. She was probably standing behind me, shadowing me the whole time I had been looking for her.

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m Aria, and I’m here to help you.” She smiled, flashing a maw of uneven fangs.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  My name is Veronica.

  Someone traced the line of my jaw, urging me into consciousness. My first thought was of Brenna, that she had changed her mind and tried to seduce me into reality. It was a good concept after a restful sleep. I smiled as I savored the sensation of the tingling of my flesh underneath her nail as it moved along my cheek, down my neck, and digging into me enough to make me want more. Her thoughts brushed against mine. Without a second thought, I merged mine with hers. Her mental touch was gentle as her fingers were fingers on my clit, working me, making me hot and wet. I kept my eyes closed, not ready to open them, moaning loudly, beginning to come, and at the last moment, icy fingers moved inside me, making me jump. But oh, the ecstasy of the contrast of hot and cold. When I couldn’t hold in my moans any longer, I yelled, giving myself over to the heaven that was Brenna’s touch. All the while I knew everything had been mended between us and that was what made it all the more enjoyable.

  Feeling the light touch of lips pressed against mine and the caress of her thoughts, I opened my eyes. At that moment, Brenna’s mental caress became a leash that tightened around my mind. My hips still bucked against the fingers inside of me. My lips automatically returned the kiss even while I tried to get free from Devon. Then he was on top of me, ramming his cock into my depths. All because he wanted me to know that I was still at his mercy.