“Forget it,” Raina said, touching Serenity’s elbow to get her attention. “Let’s just go somewhere else. This guy’s just being another racist asshole.”
“I beg your pardon, madam?”
“You! You’re being a racist asshole,” she repeated boldly in a more firm, louder tone of voice as she drew closer to the desk. “You had her reservations on file and as soon as you saw that we were vampires, you decided to delete them and play dumb about it.”
“Actually, madam, that is not the case at all,” the man stated flatly. “As a matter of fact, this hotel does not, as a policy, discriminate against anyone on the basis of any race, including vampires. In spite of what you are insinuating, we are, in fact, fully booked this evening. But quite frankly, if I did have any reason to refuse your reservations, it would not be on the basis of your race but for the fact that I am required as the general manager of this hotel to take the safety of our other guests into consideration.”
Raina blinked at him, stunned. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am absolutely serious, madam,” the man insisted firmly. “The last major hotel that hosted the House of Fallamhain became a virtual slaughterhouse. The property damage, alone, cost thousands of dollars, and their public image and business reputation was affected dramatically by what happened.”
“Yeah, it was affected, all right,” Raina agreed bitterly, “because a bunch of people have turned that place into some kind of a vampire Mecca. I know. I’ve been there. The place looks better than it did before, and they’ve already had thousands of tourists pour through there to take a tour. I’ve heard they’re even talking about making a museum on the site, too.”
Serenity nodded and looked to the manager with a satisfied smirk. “If anything, I would say that what happened there was a boon for their business. But I can assure you that nothing like that will happen now.”
“I’m not about to take that risk. I’ve been watching the news, madam. I know what’s going on with you people,” he said. He somehow managed to make the words “you people” sound filthy and degrading. He gestured rudely at Raina, pointing right at her face. “Someone has put a price on your head, and everywhere you go, people are dying all around you because of it. I’m sure you’ve already forgotten about it, yourself, but don’t think that I didn’t make note of the fact that your driver, an innocent bystander to your affairs, was killed during that last big event you had over in London. It’s a miracle there weren’t more people killed or wounded as a result of what happened there. If someone is trying to kill you, madam, then I’m sorry but I am not about to place the lives of my guests or my staff at risk by letting you stay here.”
“So, you lied just a moment ago when you told us you didn’t have her name on file,” Raina said more than asked. “You really did just delete her reservation.”
The manager had a very calm but resolute look upon his face, almost smug. “I do sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, madam.”
Raina and the manager locked stares for a few moments before she finally turned away with a frustrated sigh.
“I would think that you would understand that concern more intimately than anyone else here,” the manager continued in a lower, stern voice. He paused for a moment as Raina looked back at him over her shoulder through a veil of her own hair as a few strands slipped forward into her view. “I know what happened to your parents. I don’t think that anyone in this city has forgotten about that. So you, of all people, should understand the concept of collateral damage. You know what can happen when innocent people get caught in the crossfire.”
There was a general stillness and silence amongst everyone as Raina stared at the manager for several long, hard moments. At last, as her vision began to blur and her throat tightened painfully, she looked away. Serenity put a hand upon one of her shoulders, and Sophie instinctively moved close, touching her other hand.
“That was a terrible, cruel thing to say,” Serenity scolded him in a rather hushed tone.
“No … no, he’s right,” Raina finally said, turning to gently brush away the Elder’s hand. She nodded at the manager. “You’re right. I guess people do have a habit of getting killed around me. I’m like a walking bull’s eye. These people with me, my friends, they’re aware of that and they’ve accepted that risk … presumably, anyway. But innocent people are innocent people. I don’t want anyone getting hit by bullets that are meant for me.” Her voice was practically strangled, but she forced herself to stand up straight and keep her composure in spite of her misty eyes and overwhelming emotions. “What I said to you was completely out of line. I’m sorry.”
“That’s quite all right, madam. I understand,” the manager said, clasping his hands together and straightening his shoulders with a very satisfied look.
Raina turned briefly to a visibly stunned Serenity before beginning to walk away. “Let’s get out of here.”
“But … but, your grace…”
“For God’s sake, just let it fucking go,” she half-sobbed as she stormed toward the front door.
“Have a safe evening, madam,” she heard the manager call out behind her.
Raina put on her sunglasses and struggled to contain herself as she burst out into the early night and began to pace about with her arms folded tightly under her breasts. She did not cry. She could not afford that, not now, not in public. Hadn’t she humiliated herself in front of Serenity and everyone else enough, already? The last thing she needed right now was for some lucky camera-toting parasite to snap a photo of her in the middle of yet another emotional meltdown. She could control herself better than this. She was more mature, more stable than this, wasn’t she? Well, ordinarily, yes, and she had kept herself in order … until her parents had been brought into it.
Serenity was right. It had been a terrible, cruel thing to say. But even so, the man had gotten his point across effectively. He wasn’t being a racist, as she’d initially figured. He just didn’t want to be legally responsible for anything that might happen. And Raina certainly didn’t want to be the cause of anyone else’s death, either. Too many people had died because of her, already … including her parents. What right did she have to put anyone else through that?
While Lord Gerald asked the valet to bring back their cars and reload their luggage, Serenity and the others gathered around Raina. Serenity tried to embrace her, but she shrugged her off immediately.
“Don’t,” she said firmly. “Please, just don’t.”
“I only mean to comfort you,” Serenity said softly. “I know how deeply his words hurt you.”
“I’m dealing with it. I’ll be fine,” Raina insisted. She closed her eyes for a moment and sniffed back her emotions. “I appreciate it, though. Really.”
“I’m very sorry, your grace. This is entirely my fault. If I had made it clear from the start whom we were when I made those reservations, none of this would have happened,” she explained sadly, trying unsuccessfully to take hold of Raina’s hand. “We’ll find another place to stay. Gerald, dear? Could you…?”
“Already on it,” he replied as he held a cell phone to his pointed ear.
“Thank you.” Serenity moved to stand directly in front of Raina. “It’s not your fault. Remember? We discussed this. You’re blaming yourself for things beyond your control.”
And there it was. The opportunity for anger that Raina had sought as a means for escaping her sorrows presented itself at last. Anger was easier to deal with than sadness. Anger could be controlled and channeled, but sorrow could only be bottled up and stored deep inside where it could slowly leak and slowly corrode her soul from within. Raina took that anger and made use of it. It wasn’t hard, because that resentment had been waiting for a moment of release for a few hours, now.
“Stop it, all right? Just stop with that shit,” Raina hissed angrily. “Stop trying to pretend that we’re so close, because we’re not. We’re not friends. We’re business associates.”
“But … last ni
ght…”
“Last night? Everything between us last night was bullshit, Serenity. I spilled my guts to you because I thought you cared, because I thought you really were trying to help me. But the whole time, all you were really trying to do was win my trust so you could use it. You need me to trust you so you can get me to do what you want,” she told her. “You know what you are? You’re a puppet master. You seduce people so you can get inside of their heads and make them do whatever you want. You’re manipulative, you’re deceitful, and you’re only concerned with your own agenda … which, in other words, means you’re just like everyone else in the IVC.”
Serenity stared at her blankly for several long seconds, silent and still. Everyone around them had become still, as well, equally shocked that Raina would suddenly lash out like that at her. Raina could sense the swirl of emotions racing through Serenity as they stared at one another, and she could feel that her words had hit home.
Serenity was hurt, honestly hurt, but at the same time she also seemed to realize that she had been caught. The guilt was there, ready and flaring up immediately. As it did, Raina knew that she wasn’t simply unloading her own emotions on the gorgeous blonde High Court for the sake of being mean. Her suspicions had proven to be grounded firmly in reality, after all.
“I … I don’t know what to say,” Serenity stammered after a few seconds. “I’m shocked that you would even think to say something like that.”
“Well, I’m shocked that it even needs to be said because it’s so fucking obvious!” Raina countered viciously, nearly standing face-to-face with her. “You’re all the same, all of you uppity, aristocratic, holier-than-thou Elders! You all got to where you are today by fucking and killing your way to the top. You must think that because I’m new to the scene, I’m too stupid and naïve to figure it out for myself. You think that you can treat me just like all the other people you all have fucked and killed over the years. I am not your puppet, Serenity. I’m your leader. I’m the bitch that pulls the strings in this game. So, don’t you dare think for a second that you can get in my head and fuck with my emotions. Don’t expect that you can sweet-talk your way up my skirt or pretend to be my friend or my lover, just to get me to do your dirty work.”
“That’s not true, Rain— … your grace, that’s not true!” Serenity protested, reverting to formality as her voice began to break with emotion. She actually dropped to her knees before her upon the red carpet under their feet, clasping her hands together in pleading. “I swear, I wasn’t trying to use you! I only want to help you!”
“Help me?” Raina echoed, raising her voice slightly. “Are you saying I’m weaker than you? That I need your help because I’m not capable of helping myself? Are you saying I should depend upon you? Is that it?”
“No, your grace! I didn’t mean it like that!” Serenity said with very real tears trailing from her eyes now.
Raina felt something inside of herself growing, something bad, something dark, and even more horrifying was the realization that this pleased her on some level. She realized that what she was doing, the way she had so suddenly and strongly turned against Serenity, probably looked atrocious and seemed unjust and unwarranted. But really, thinking of it even as she was doing it, she realized that this truly was justified. She had every right to be this angry with Serenity, to convert her sorrow into a productive rage that had a legitimate use. Serenity had been trying to use her, was still trying to manipulate her, and Raina was sick to death of being used and manipulated. She hated dishonesty. She hated the lies. She was even beginning to hate Serenity on some level, simply because she was so fake. Her New Age religious virtuousness, her supposed concerns for Raina’s well-being, her efforts to appear so much different than everyone else in the IVC, and now their very friendship … all of it was bullshit. She was simply glad that she had been awakened to this reality before too much damage could be done.
She suddenly remembered the length of steel that was strapped across her back. With a terrible, dreadfully foreboding sound of metal dragging upon metal, Raina drew the sword and took it into both hands. Serenity’s eyes went wide with fear and she began to sob as she pleaded for her mistress to spare her life. The world began to become very, very small for Raina in that moment. The sounds of anything around them became irrelevant, the presence of anyone else nearby now oblivious. The universe now consisted only of Raina, Serenity, and a cold length of sharpened steel in Raina’s hands. It was the same feeling she got in the highest moments of sex, except her intentions had far less to do with orgasm and far more to do with bloodshed.
“Please, your grace! Please, please … blessed Goddess,” Serenity bawled, literally crawling toward Raina’s feet, beseeching her. “Please don’t kill me! I meant no wrong! I never meant to offend you!”
Raina flipped the sword about to reverse her grip upon it, raised it up, and brought it back down swiftly, stopping it abruptly. The tip of her blade hovered just above Serenity’s left shoulder blade. With just a quick downward thrust, Raina could impale the treacherous High Court, skewer her heart with a length of sharpened and silver-coated steel, and end this beautiful but dangerous creature’s life.
“I could kill you right now,” Raina said aloud, perhaps more to herself than even to Serenity. Hearing those words spoken somehow made it that much more real. “I should kill you.”
“No! Blessed Goddess, no! I beg of you!” Serenity wailed, touching the toes of Raina’s shoes with her fingertips and caressing her feet almost reverently as she sobbed.
“I should kill you, Serenity … but I don’t think you would even understand why. It would be pointless,” Raina told her. “What good is it to punish someone when they don’t even know why they’re being punished?”
“I lied! I’m sorry, your grace! I’m so sorry! I lied to you!” the blonde cried. Raina took half a step back and raised her sword higher, not trusting her as Serenity lifted her head to look up as she spoke. Tears streamed down her cheeks, glistening wetly and making the subtle glitter of her makeup stand out even more. “I should have been honest with you! I should have just told you everything right away!”
Raina tried not to let her surprise show as she glared at her. “Explain.”
“The woman you’re supposed to meet tonight,” Serenity said, just barely managing to regain a measure of her composure, enough that she didn’t blubber when she spoke. “I know more about her than I said I did. I know who she is. I know her name. I know what she looks like. I know where she lives, where she works, what kind of car she drives … everything! I know, and I’m sorry, I was keeping that all from you because I wanted you to need me!”
“You wanted me to owe you, in other words,” Raina said for her. “You wanted me to be indebted to you.”
“Yes! Yes, and I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, your grace!” she sobbed, falling back into tears for a moment. “I wanted to create a Debt of Blood because … because I just wanted to taste you. I wanted to know … your blood … because you are the only one. You are the only one of your kind. I wanted to be the only one to know how you taste, because … because then I would understand.”
“Understand what?” Raina asked.
She was beginning to wonder how much of this was really truth and how much of this was simply nonsense that Serenity was making up as she went just to save herself. The flood of emotions from her and those within herself were simply too overwhelming to sort out and make into anything intelligible.
“I want to understand your power. I want to understand what makes you … who you are,” Serenity tried to explain. “If I made a Debt of Blood with you, and if I could taste your blood, then I would know how you became what you are, and … and then maybe I could … maybe…”
“Maybe you could be as powerful as me?”
Serenity bowed her head and bawled, “Yes … yes, that’s right … and I’m so, so sorry…”
“That’s bullshit, Serenity.”
“No, I swear!”
�
�This had nothing to do with you wanting to taste my blood. This is about forcing me to start trading favors with you,” she sad. “A Debt of Blood doesn’t necessarily have to be paid with blood, and you know that.”
Duchess Serenity only kept her head down and sobbed unintelligibly in reply.
It made perfect sense. Serenity was ambitious. She aspired not only to be something more than what she was, but to be better than everyone else. She was a vain, perhaps greedy thing, and she had already made her reputation as someone that did whatever she could with whomever she needed to in order to make her way to the top of the heap. As an Elder of the IVC, she was so very, very close to the pinnacle now. Raina was all that stood in her way of becoming Grand Duchess, herself. She aspired to be in her place, but she had banked so heavily upon one method of conquest that she hadn’t planned on ever needing to master another. She had slept and seduced her way to where she was, and she had figured it would be just as easy to do this with Raina as it had with everyone else before. Perhaps only by a few strokes of luck, she had been wrong. Her ascent to ultimate power had failed. And because she lacked the skills necessary to defeat Raina in the only other common way that those of the High Court knew, she was now groveling at Raina’s feet as she was but a few inches away from certain death.
“Like I said before,” Raina mused, “you’re a lover, not a fighter.”
“Yes … yes, I am,” Serenity confessed with a sob. “Please, your grace. Please don’t kill me.”
Raina looked down upon her for a few moments. Her breathing eased. She began to gradually become aware of the rest of the world again – the ambient sound of the city’s evening traffic, the presence of others as they formed a carefully distant semi-circle around the High Court pair. She realized just how insane all of this was, how mad it was that she had gone from a state of self-pity to a point at which she had been ready to take the life of another person in a fit of sudden anger.
The Darkest Colors- Exsanguinations Page 40
