Without turning to face him, Francesca dropped her night-gown and stepped into a pair of knickers.
"You conducted a search of his bike and his belongings." It wasn't a question. "What did you discover, if anything?"
Xavier shuffled his feet. "Everything seems clean."
She nodded as she slid into a shimmering dress. "Good."
Again he shuffled his feet. "I want you to let me talk to him for just a few moments. So that I can ascertain how clean he actually is."
"You want," she threw back at him. "You want what I tell you you want. And right now what you want is to keep out of our way. I don't want you to be anywhere near Fulton."
"But . . ."
Now she turned to face him. "You can leave now."
What in God's name had gotten into that woman? He was her lieutenant. Her advisor and bodyguard.
"You can leave now," Her eyes bored through him.
Xavier had seen that look before and he knew there was no use in trying to argue with it. So he turned without another word and went back outside. He stalked down the steps like an angry storm cloud and thundered across the floor of the main chamber.
Much of the nest had already assembled and set out on the hunt so it was reasonably empty. And those who were forced to remain behind noted his mood and kept well out of his path. The one vampire who was unlucky enough not to notice and who stumbled in Xavier's way was struck by a savage backhand and sent skidding across the deck.
"You look pissed." Gabriella melted out from the midst of the cowering crowd.
His first instinct was to turn on her and relieve some of his frustrations. But when he saw what she was wearing his mood changed. She wore the blouse and skirt he had commandeered for her yesterday.
He gave her a conciliatory smile. "I just got blocked from checking into the Mistress's new companion," he said. Gabriella's eyes flashed at the use of that particular term.
"She dismissed me without a second thought. Just like she did to you."
"I haven't been dismissed," she said too quickly.
Xavier held his hands up in surrender. "Whatever. I was just trying to say I know how you feel and I sympathise."
Gabriella turned away from him. "I don't need or want your sympathy."
"But you wanted and needed those clothes I got for you." Xavier said to her back. "Not to mention the other stuff I supplied so that you could come out here looking like your ravishing self instead of some two-bit tramp."
She turned around and returned to him. She took his arm and led him into one of the side corridors that made this place into such a warren or labyrinth.
"You did this for me?" she whispered.
He nodded.
"Why?" Gabriella asked him making no attempt to disguise her astonishment.
"We haven't always seen eye to eye." He paused. "All right, we've never seen eye to eye. And we, neither of us, we . . . well we're usually a lot closer to being enemies than we are friends."
Xavier was pacing back and forth in front of Gabriella as he spoke.
"But you shouldn't be treated like that. You've always displayed an admirable loyalty to Francesca." Xavier felt like he would choke on his own words. "You don't deserve to be treated like that. Definitely not so she can spend her time with some young upstart."
Gabriella nodded. "And neither do you. All the work you put into running the nest when we are away. Sometimes I think she treats us like we are children. You have been an admirable regent during the Mistress' absences but still she doesn't trust you judgement."
Xavier nodded along to her comments as well.
"But what she did to you was far worse than anything I have suffered," he said. "You spent the last two and a half centuries with her and she forced you to spend last night in that dump of a room.
"If she wasn't the Mistress . . ."
"She is," Gabriella said casting around. "And we should stop this talk lest we be overheard and our comments taken as treasonous."
"I fear that you are correct. That our words would be taken that way even though we are simply stating facts."
Gabriella looked in his eyes and Xavier thought he saw a slight change in how she looked at him now.
"I will see if I can't have a word in Francesca's ear tonight concerning her treatment of you," she said "If she does start to place her trust in you again, where it belongs, she may realise who her loyal subjects are."
Xavier gave a wry smile. "We can only hope."
Gabriella took her leave of him then. She had only gone a couple of steps when he called out to her. "Be careful."
She turned to face him a last time.
"We don't know if this Fulton has any hidden agenda. Watch your back when he's around."
Gabriella gave him a genuine smile that carried right through her eyes. Then she continued on her way to find Francesca.
Xavier smiled and nodded to himself. Things were progressing perfectly.
Chapter Sixteen
Fulton dropped the lid closed with a bang and struggled to lock the chest before Francesca returned. He fumbled the key and dropped it on the carpeted floor. He had just picked it up when Francesca opened the door and walked in.
"You found my little toys," she said laughing.
"A lot of them are not what I would call little," Fulton replied.
Francesca laughed again. "I suppose not," she said. "Perhaps, if you're a very good boy, I'll give you a demonstration. Or if you're a very bad boy I'll get Gabriella to join me and we'll both give you a demonstration, with heavy lashings of audience participation."
"Who's Gabriella?" Fulton asked locking the chest and getting to his feet.
"You met briefly yesterday. But you probably had other things on your mind," Francesca said with a wink and a smile.
Now that he was standing Francesca looked him up and down regarding him.
"Well I feel overdressed."
Fulton regarded her. In a sleek shimmering cobalt blue dress with matching high heeled shoes she did look a vision.
"I should have realised you wouldn't have any fancy clothes with you," She looked at him hopefully. "Do you?"
Fulton shook his head.
"Well that will have to be rectified, but not tonight. I was going to take you to one of my favourite hunting spots, but they have a dress code and you'll never get in looking like that."
Fulton looked apologetically down at the floor between his feet. "Sorry."
"Not to worry," she said. "We can slum it for a change."
"I thought that whole scene was just fantasy," Fulton said.
"Which 'whole scene'?" Francesca asked.
"You know. Well dressed vampires going out in their fancy clothes and mixing with humans. Particularly in the olden days. Palace banquets and fraternising with nobles and the upper class, all that."
"Oh that scene," she said dismissively. "I was into that for a while but I gave up the need for royal companionship. Despite what they say about something in their blood making them superior it just isn't true. They taste no different to anyone else. No, I don't need that anymore but I do enjoy the finer things in life."
"You've forgotten how good a bit of rough can be."
"Hardly," Francesca grinned. "I can be as savage or as bestial in the kill or the sack as anyone. I just usually prefer a more subtle, mentally tortuous, approach to taking my prey. But like all of us when I make the kill I'm all animal."
Fulton swaggered towards her and was about to envelope her in his arms when a young looking vampire, probably a couple of years under eighteen when she was turned -though she could actually be any age-, entered from the door behind Francesca. She had quite short, bleached white hair and she wore a light blouse and a short skirt. Black, knee length boots completed her outfit. Fulton remembered her giving Francesca a more than platonic kiss yesterday.
Francesca either sensed the other vampire entering the room or noticed Fulton looking at her, either way she turned her back on him to greet the newcom
er.
She stepped forwards and they embraced. Francesca leaned forwards to whisper something to the vampire girl too quietly for him to catch.
"Fulton," Francesca said now facing him again. "This is Gabriella."
"Pleased to meet you," Fulton held out his hand to Gabriella.
She looked at it but didn't take it until Francesca bent down and whispered something else. Reluctantly Gabriella took his hand and gave it a quick shake.
"Well, now that's done and we're all friends I think it's time you and I went on a hunt." Francesca said to him.
"You've got to let me come this time," Gabriella begged. "I'll go mad cooped up in here again."
"You know how I feel about this," Francesca said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"This place is becoming my prison."
"Gabriella-"
"Look," Fulton interrupted. "This is not really any of my business, and you can tell me to piss off if you like, but I think you should let her tag along. I can see that this girl," Gabriella positively bristled when he called her that despite the fact that he was arguing in her favour, "she has a fiery spirit. You can't stifle it by keeping her locked away in here."
"I don't need you to fight my battles for me," Gabriella told him. "And don't call me girl, I'm over two hundred and fifty years old. You are the fucking child here."
"Sorry sweetheart." Gabriella gave him a look that left no doubt that she would like nothing better than for him to spontaneously combust right there.
"Okay," Fulton held his hands up in surrender. "You aren't my sweetheart. But you have shown that indomitable spirit that I was talking about."
"Very well," Francesca said at length. "All three of us will go out on the hunt together."
She turned to Fulton. "But from now on you keep your nose out. When I make a decision it's final, not an invitation for you to debate."
"Understood."
"And you," she said to Gabriella. "Stick close to me."
"Always," Gabriella said tenderly.
It occurred to Fulton that there was a time, not very long ago, when he would rather have died than take part in something like this. Something within himself would have resisted this, would have fought against it. But now all he felt was a tiny niggle in the back of his mind. An insignificant little itch that this nights activities should scratch away.
He was out on the outskirts of a rundown housing estate near the edge of the Sheffield district, not too far from the industrial estate and the half converted steelworks where Francesca had established her nest.
Francesca and Gabriella were stalking the darkness with him. Francesca had changed out of her fancy clothes into a pair of black trousers, flat shoes and a thin blouse. She looked fantastic whatever she wore. Fulton had no doubt in his mind that she would still look great even if she was wearing nothing more elaborate than a pile of dirty rags or an old and worn potato sack. The younger looking female vampire still wore the same skirt, blouse and boots she had earlier.
Gabriella was the one in the lead who had so far dictated the direction their hunt had taken. Francesca seemed happy to allow the other woman to lead in this respect and Fulton himself had no inclination to try and cause waves by attempting to assume control. He quickened his pace to catch up with Francesca. As he drew level with her he reached out and placed his hand on her behind. She swatted his arm away.
"Now is not the time."
"It could be."
"You wouldn't be chickening out on me would you? Because a suspicious person might think that you would rather do that to get out of doing your part in the hunt."
"A suspicious person could think that," Fulton answered. "But then if they saw you they would understand my reasons perfectly."
"Flattery will get you everywhere."
A few paces up ahead Gabriella froze. Then she twirled around with a huge grin on her face and a predator’s gleam in her eyes.
Francesca skipped forwards to her. "You have something?"
Gabriella nodded and her grin became mischievous. "Follow me."
She took Francesca by the hand and they capered along together. Fulton brought up the rear. The trio crossed the street and followed an access road that ran behind a long row of terraced houses. The streetlights were in pretty good condition with only a couple of spots where the lights were broken and darkness reigned.
The three vampires came to a halt beneath one of the broken lights and hid in the blackness.
"There's nothing here." Fulton said.
"Be patient," Francesca said. "Gabriella knows what she is doing. "Don't you smell them?"
Fulton took a deep sniff of the air. He could smell the intoxicating perfume of Francesca standing so close to him. There was also the, less intoxicating but still alluring, aroma of Gabriella standing only slightly further away from him.
He took another sniff. There it was.
Beneath the twin scents of the vampires with him, but stronger than the faint background smell of the humans in their houses, he could pick out four distinct human odours. And they were getting gradually stronger as they walked obliviously to their doom.
Then they were near enough for Fulton to see them and match images to their scents. One was a man in his thirties. A woman of approximately the same age walked beside him. In front of the man a young boy, perhaps fourteen years old, walked along with his hand on the side of the pram his mother pushed along. The last scent belonged to the sleeping baby.
"Plenty to choose from," Francesca said.
"I want the-" Gabriella began.
Francesca silenced her with a look.
"You are forgetting you manners, sweetie. Fulton is our guest so he gets first choice."
She turned to Fulton. "Go on then. Choose your victim."
"I want the mother and baby," he said.
"Two for one," Francesca said.
"But I wanted . . . you know that I picked these so that I would get them." Gabriella pouted at Francesca. She glared daggers at Fulton.
"And under other circumstances you would have them. You can still have the other child."
With another venomous look at Fulton she gave in. "Fine."
Now Francesca took the lead as the vampires emerged from the shadows to confront the humans. The family continued walking on. Seeing only three young people out at night, they showed no fear.
All that would change in an instant when the vampires revealed their true selves. Again Fulton knew that what he was about to do should sicken him beyond belief. He knew there had to be something inside him that had become somehow twisted for him to even contemplate going through with this. But despite thinking that this was how he should feel, it wasn't how he actually felt. It was like watching a character in a film doing something they shouldn't. You can see what they are doing is wrong and you know how they should feel and you know how you would feel doing it in their place but you don't actually feel it. You are apart from it, divorced from the action. That was how Fulton felt.
He knew that something terrible was about to happen and that if he was complicit in it, or even if he did nothing and allowed it to happen, he would have become something truly terrible. But he just couldn't seem to bring himself to care. What did it matter if he became a monster? He had already committed horrible atrocities.
What good had his conscience done? All it had achieved was to torture him. But now he was becoming free from guilt. This was who he was, what he was. If they hadn't been interrupted he would have become Francesca's full-time lover and they would have raged around the world wreaking carnage as they went.
He had sought to suppress these instincts. Only feeding when the desire became so unbearable, so overwhelming that he could no longer resist the urges.
But even as he thought all this the little itch at the back of his mind continued to trouble him. It was definitely time that he did something about that.
Fulton was the first to vamp out. He was following behind Francesca and Gabriella and most
of his face was still concealed by shadow. When they walked under the next functional light he was revealed.
The mother screamed and pointed at him. Francesca and Gabriella took that as their cue to transform themselves. The three vampires faced off against the three humans who were frozen in shock.
"It's no fun if you don't run," Fulton said.
"But don't think we won't kill you any less dead if you just stand there," Francesca added.
That startled them out of their inactivity. The father shoved the boy behind him and told him to run. Gabriella backed off behind Fulton and melted into the darkness. The woman struggled to turn the pram around as the remaining pair of vampires advanced on them.
The father stepped forwards and in a display of admirable bravery he interposed himself between the vampires and the rest of his fleeing family.
The fathers actions in the face of such horror tugged at Fulton and added to the niggle he felt. This man knew he faced death but he was willing to accept his fate if it could buy his family a little extra time to escape. To keep them from meeting the same end. There was a time when Fulton hoped he would have done the same. Now he simply waited for Francesca to bat the human aside before stalking the wife and child he had valiantly tried to save.
Burdened with the pram the woman had not made it far. If she had left the pram behind she could have potentially escaped. Her desire to save her baby had sealed both their fates.
He closed up with her easily and could have simply snapped her neck before she knew he was there. But where was the fun in that?
Instead he struck out with his foot to trip her. As she stumbled her weight started the pram tipping. Sacrificing herself to a painful landing the woman put her last effort into making sure the baby stayed safe by keeping the pram upright.
Fulton rushed around her and placed himself between her sprawled form and the baby child. She looked at him from the tarmac. Her chin and hands were grazed and bleeding freely. Some of her clothes had torn. Fulton took a long sniff relishing the bloody redolence.
The woman started to push herself up but as she looked up at him sanding there waiting for her she seemed to deflate. She wept freely and collapsed back onto the floor.
B007XKEWAE EBOK Page 13
