I was calmer, but he hadn’t answered any of my questions and didn’t look as though he would. “Tell me! It’s only fair!”
He let me go, stood up and began to pace. “The Baron told you a little of our background,” he began. “We were doing well. There were those of us in the movies, some as entertainers, singers, all of the high-profile spots where we could shine at night.” Here he had the good grace to throw me a wry look at his bad pun.
“And where we really made money—and as you know, money can provide privacy—was in the media that covered entertainment. From Picture This we moved into tabloid papers and then, with television...what gave us such a huge jump was syndication. When the entertainment news shows started more than thirty years ago we knew that there was more money to be made. We put together the combination of a nightly TV news magazine and a weekly celebrity print magazine and we could make or break stars. We always have a few of our own stars—Robert La Paz, Charlie DiVinci, Cristal Springer...”
“Are you telling me that they’re vampires?”
“Well, yes. And there are lots more.” He named off another ten or twelve names recognizable in most of the developed world. “We really are about celebrities, though, not just vampires. Better than half of the people we cover on a regular basis aren’t vampires. And that’s where people like you come in. We need a lot of staff to produce what we produce and a lot of those people have to work during the day. Which is dangerous for us.”
This staggered me. The celebrities that he’d named were household names. How could they be vampires? Easily, I realized. If they worked or were seen only at night. If their movies were shot by vampire-headed crews and were all shot indoors. If they wore sunglasses and had parasols carried over them to keep off the sun. If all the photo shoots were indoors and all the “candid” shots were night-time parties.
What had been unthinkable a few weeks ago was now making sense. A lot of people came and went in LA by back doors, underground garages or had drivers drop them off two steps from the front door. Everyone wore huge, oversized sunglasses, big floppy hats, baseball caps pulled low. The public accepted this because this was how celebrities were supposed to look. Except for the pictures at the beach or by the pool, an average reader wouldn’t be able to tell that certain celebs were never seen out of doors during the day.
I lay back on the pillows and closed my eyes. It was a weird sensation to have your entire world, everything that was ordered and normal in your experience, turned completely around. Like believing white was white and suddenly learning it was black. Or day was night. This new reality was so different I couldn’t grasp it fully.
When I opened my eyes, I jumped and yelped. Jean-Louis’s face was less that a foot away and coming closer and he was grinning.
“What! What!” I mumbled, turning my head. Then I realized that this move exposed the side of my neck so I whipped my head back.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
A flash of hurt surfaced in Jean-Louis’s eyes for a second, then he pulled slightly back.
“You’re going to have to stop doing that,” his tone was miffed. “I was only going to give you a good night kiss. I think you need to sleep.”
After a deep breath, I managed, “You’ll have to give me some time. This is still way beyond my comfort zone.”
Lisbet had pulled some sleepwear from a drawer and said, “Did you want a bath? I could draw one for you.”
“No, I’m just going to bed.” I turned to Jean Louis, who was slightly glimmering. “Good night, I’ll see you later.”
He gave me a puzzled look. “We don’t get up very early around here, but there are a few people coming tomorrow—both your kind and our kind—so there will be food available beginning about noon. Most of us will be up and indoors in the early evening. Drinks will be at 8 with a formal dinner later. We’ll screen two or three of the shows—L.A., Paris, maybe Rio—followed by a business meeting.” He nodded at me and let himself out.
I turned to say something to Lisbet who was looking at the spot he’d occupied with longing. Here was an interesting wrinkle. Did she want him? Maybe she was an old lover. Hell, maybe she was a current lover. I wasn’t sure quite how to ask the question but I finally blurted out, “Are you a vampire, too?”
She jumped at my voice. “No. My family has worked for the Baron for more than 150 years,” she said. “A long time ago he offered to give one of us eternal life, but we’re Catholics and know we have it anyway. We’ve stayed loyal to him...well, there was an uncle, or grand-uncle, about a hundred years ago. He disappeared, and no one was ever sure what happened to him. Some say he was killed in a hunting accident, some said he moved away and some said he’d taken up an offer to be an acolyte.”
“Acolyte. That’s an odd word. The Baron used it earlier.”
“It’s what the Baron calls those who are chosen,” she explained. “My family always wears crucifixes, just so nobody misunderstands.” She pulled a small gold one on a fine chain out from her blouse. “Will you be warm enough? I can bring you some coffee and rolls when you wake up, just pull this cord. How do you like it?”
“That would be great. Black, please.”
She went out, softly closing the door, and I was alone for the first time in almost 48 hours. It was 3 a.m. The room was silent. My mind was clamoring. Did I want to stay in this strange new world? I could quit SNAP and get another job fairly easily. It wouldn’t have the cachet, perks or Lord knows the money, but it would be on familiar ground.
I got into bed, turned off the lights and closed my eyes. Safety. Having a routine. Understanding my job and doing it well. Making friends with co-workers. Giving dinner parties. I t was a complete life and the life I’d thought I was leading. Hah. I was really out in the deep end now, swimming as fast as I could with no land in sight. The water was salty, though, and I was aware I could float. It would support me and keep me beautifully afloat as long as I didn’t struggle. Floundering around and lashing out pulled my head under water and made me choke. If I stayed calm and swam carefully, I would be comfortable and make headway.
And maybe the fins I saw were dolphins, not sharks.
I dreamt. Hands were trying to hold me as I hung out over an abyss. I shouted at them to pull me back. Several of them let go and I was falling. But I was falling up. I could see the land and the canyon growing smaller as I rose, becoming part of a much larger landscape. I stopped rising and began to waft over the land, occasionally coming down in some soft oasis, sometimes touching the tops of dark forests with wolves howling in the night. The forests were terrifying, which made the oases unbelievable warm and cocooning so I tried to find them. I reached out to put my arms around the next oasis and smiled.
Consciousness came back. I was wrapping the duvet around me and was smiling when I remembered where I was. Lisbet appeared with a tray a few minutes after I pulled the cord.
“Hello, did you sleep well?”
“I did. I had odd dreams but seem to have made some peace. I saw you watching Jean-Louis last night. Are you in love with him?”
Luckily, Lisbet had set the tray down. She covered her mouth with both hands. “Oh, no! We wouldn’t dare have any feelings like that for any of them!” she said and I remembered her Catholic comment last night.
“You seemed to watch him closely when he left.”
She reddened and put her hands over her mouth again. “I can’t help myself sometimes. There are only a few of them that make me feel like that. They’re just so...mesmerizing...they’re so....beautiful. Particularly when they’re trying to charm you. He was dazzling last night. He’s definitely being attractive for you.”
Jean-Louis did seem chameleon-like. When we were working, when we were in L.A,, he was an attractive man. Well, more than attractive, and he made heads turn. Since we arrived in Hungary, he was even more lovely. Lisbet was right, he was beautiful and it was close to impossible to resist. That may have underlain the decision in my dreams.
I was going to st
ay. I had to take both the wolves and the oases. I needed the adventure, the change that would be mine by staying. SNAP, the vampires and Jean-Louis would be my future.
“You again!” Matthais sneered at the Kandeskys in front of him. “I don’t know why you keep coming into the neutrality.”
“Because it’s neutral,” hissed Simon. “You’re not supposed to be there either.”
“We weren’t,” Matthais smirked, his pale skin translucent in the firelight. “Those were the werewolves and pigs, not us. They didn’t sign the pact for the neutrality.”
“Picky point. We know and you know they’re following orders—your orders. I heard one of the Weres say ‘let’s take him to Matthais’. Did you send out the hunting party?”
Matthais paused. If he admitted he’d given the order for a patrol one night after a full moon, it would be a violation of the pact. On the night of the full moon, the pact allowed the Weres hunting rights in all the forests that abutted Kandesky holdings, a huge tract that covered several thousand acres. Any other time, the swath of land covered by the Pact of Neutrality—land given up by both the Huszars and the Kandeskys—was agreed to be neutral. No hunting, no patrolling, no traps or snares to be set. Only the feral pigs regularly ran through. Anyone else was required to get approval and stay on the paths.
On the other hand, if he denied it, the Kandeskys could tell if he lied, and that would invoke stronger penalties. Vampire to vampire, Simon and Matthais stared, each probing the other’s eyes.
Matthais flinched. “Well, the Were’s asked me to let them run a patrol. They said that last night they smelled an intruder in that area.”
“What kind of intruder?” Belon, the second Kandesky asked. “Are you sure they didn’t just make that up? Were’s don’t tell the truth when their blood’s up.”
Hackles rose on one of the Weres. “Who are you calling a liar,” he snapped. “We smelled an intruder. A shape shifter whose scent we didn’t recognize. We think that some one from another family is poaching on our land.”
“That’s not your land,” Simon’s great eyes slitted in anger. “And if you think there’s a poacher, you need to bring it up to the Intercouncil.”
“The Intercouncil, that’s a laugh. It doesn’t have any power and besides, it’s mostly Kandeskys. Whose side do you think they’d be on?” Matthais had been denied membership and the slap constantly rankled him.
Simon and Belon glanced at each other. They just may have to call this one a draw. They couldn’t prove or disprove the possible poacher. Their arms were aching even after the silver ropes were taken off and the eastern sky showed a tinge of light.
“We’ll write up a report for the Intercouncil. They’ll decide what punishment. I doubt Felix will be happy with tonight’s work,” Simon smiled, tasting a small victory. As he and Belon turned to leave, Matthais hissed, “You’d better be wary. There will be some changes with the Huszars.”
CHAPTER NINTEEN
Downstairs, everything was bustling. The regular staff and the house-demons tore around laying fires, arranging flowers in huge cloisonné urns, carrying linens. I went into the formal dining room and was politely chased out by a footman setting the table for twenty or twenty-five people and at least five courses. “You can get something to eat or drink in the breakfast dining room, or someone can bring you something in the back drawing room,” he said. “The Baron will inspect this before cocktails.”
I didn’t want to be in the way so I grabbed another cup of coffee and went out on the terrace. The day was partly overcast, the pale sun hitting the tops of the trees fronting the forest. It didn’t look as menacing as last night. Sandor came around the corner and slowed as he spotted me.
“You’re up. You don’t look too bad, considering,” he said.
Smiling, I said, “I’m fine. It was a nasty scare but no permanent damage, thanks to you and the other two, what were their names again?”
“Franz and Hermann. They’ve been on the security staff for many years. They were part of the detail that met you at the airport and now they’ve gone to pick up some of tonight’s guests.”
“How many people will be here?”
“I think there are twenty-six altogether,” Sandor said. “Seventeen are staying at the castle for the weekend and the rest are part of the family who still live in this area.”
“Are they all...um...”
“Vampires?” Sandor laughed and his face lit up. He went from looking like a glowering thug to an attractive guy who worked out at the local gym. “No, not all. I think there are about a dozen of you people this weekend.”
The way he said “you people” made be shiver. It set us apart as a minority, not a usual place. It also reminded me of Wells’ Elois. According to the Baron and Jean-Louis though, this vampire family had given up their killing ways for finding food in a much more scientific way.
Sandor gestured down the lawn. “It really is a lovely place to walk,” he said. “At the end of the garden is a beautiful small river with some rapids. The Baron allows fishing, with a permit. This area and down into Slovenia are favorite places for fly fishermen, trout. The Baron will only allow permits for catch-and-release. I think three or four of the guests are planning to fish. If you’d like I can take you down there tomorrow. I’m a little busy right now.”
“I’d love that,” I said. “Not fishing, but looking.”
“There isn’t anyone I can free up right now to go with you, but you should be fine in the daylight if you want to walk a bit. Don’t go too far into the forest, though. We have perimeters and motion detectors, but I’m a concerned after last night. Normally our guests are safe. I agree with Jean-Louis, somebody in the Huszar clan is after you.”
At Jean-Louis’s name my stomach did a flip. “Where is he?” I asked.
“He’s probably just getting up,” Sandor said. “”They all sleep better when they’re on home soil. Stay safe,” and he disappeared around the corner of the house. Damn, they were fast.
The way my life had been since joining SNAP, it suddenly struck me that here I had no one calling me, no pressing meetings, no insistent email or tweets. I didn’t even have my Bluetooth. This was the first time in months I had free time and I didn’t know what to do. I went inside and wandered through beautiful rooms until I found the library. It took up two stories in a turret. The ground floor had a fireplace, two reading chairs and a library table with four wooden chairs. A spiral staircase connected the stories but as I wandered around the cases, I saw that English-language best-sellers and newer contemporary books were at a reachable height. I pulled out two beach-reads from last summer and took them back out to the terrace where I plopped myself down in a lounger.
I didn’t fool myself that this would happen with any regularity, but this was one more perk I bought myself by choosing this life.
I was two chapters into a book and on the verge of falling asleep when Jean-Louis said “Hello. Why don’t you come in and we can have a drink.”
It must have been a little after 5. A chill was seeping into the air and the sun had passed behind the east wing of the castle. In the shadows of the drawing room, he had on his ubiquitous sunglasses and I couldn’t see any expression in his eyes. Lisbet said he was trying to charm me. I wasn’t so sure. We, or maybe just I, needed to clear the air.
“Do we have enough time before we have to change for dinner? I assume we are changing for dinner.”
“Yes and yes,” he agreed. “People are still arriving so let’s go up to my sitting room. I have some wine. Or would you rather have something else?”
“No, a glass of wine would be fine.”
“Good, we’ll have time to talk.” he ushered me up the massive main staircase. Once in his rooms, Jean-Louis opened a bottle of Pinot Blanc for me, one of Bulls’ Blood for himself, poured and handed me mine.
“You look better than last night,” he began. “I hope you slept well”
“I did. I had odd dreams but I’m recovered
.” As he looked at me, I could see him beginning to glimmer.
“I’d thought when we went hunting in L.A. you were interested in me, but maybe I was wrong.”
“You mean with your line ‘I’ve waited years’?” I wanted to be snide then realized he really may have.
“I told you that it wasn’t really a line. Now you know the truth. It has been years.”
“You can’t expect me to believe that somebody who looks like you, who’s around celebrities all the time, hasn’t had his pick of girlfriends. Not only over the years but over the centuries.”
“I have had girlfriends. All of them have been regulars. After a few centuries you know the other vampires too well. You don’t want to get intimately involved with them. You’re the first I’ve worked with, though, and gotten to know first.”
The wine was giving me a glow and his glimmer was getting stronger. His eyes were taking on a dusky violet color and looking through me. I stood up to stop from throwing myself at him and walked across the room.
SNAP: The World Unfolds Page 7
