Chapter Twenty-Three
“How did this happen to you?” Raven asked sleepily. She’d woken up twenty minutes ago when Connor had slid inside her again. Actually, she’d heard him shooing Fang off of the bed, and then he’d slid inside her. Now, they were both lying sated in the bed with her head resting on his back as she traced the many scars. “Not the scars. I mean, I’m curious about those, too, but the vampire part was what I was really asking about.”
“My mother was an elementary school teacher,” he began with no emotion. “The year it all happened, there was some flu outbreak in China. It had everyone terrified of a pandemic killing off half the country, so the government ordered it for everyone without religious objections or a medical waiver. The Moon virus was added to the flu vaccines in certain areas. As you’ve already heard, the virus reacts differently during pregnancy. Instead of turning my mother into one of the crazed turned vampires, she became a blood whore to be used by the humans.”
“What’s a blood whore?” Raven asked. She felt foolish not knowing, but she hadn’t been part of the human world in the early days of the Moon virus. Her father had told her some of it, but not everything. He’d always insisted some things were too ugly to revisit.
“That was the term used to describe people who sold their bodies for blood. I always thought slave was a more accurate term because we didn’t have any choice in the matter. In the beginning, the people who weren’t crazed, like my mother, trusted the government and the other humans to take care of them. They had this horrible disease and assumed no one would let them suffer. The government wasn’t sure what to do with them and didn’t believe they wouldn’t suddenly become crazed killers.”
“I suppose that makes sense since it was all new,” Raven said hesitantly. “What did they do?”
Anger flashed in Connor’s eyes, but he quickly masked it. “Since they’d just released the virus into all the prisons, they had a lot of open places to put the vampires they didn’t know what to do with. I was born on the floor of a prison cell with no medical intervention. No one wanted to risk exposure to the virus.”
Raven gasped “That’s awful!”
“Yeah, well it got much worse,” Connor told her. “Shortly after I was born, it was decided we weren’t human, so we didn’t have the same rights as humans. They were still afraid we’d go out and start biting people, or so they said. The government forced us to live in communities we couldn’t leave. They assigned people to oversee our care.” Connor let out a bark of laughter which startled Raven. “Sorry. I’m still amused they referred to it as our care. There were all sorts of lines about how it was for our protection, but essentially, I lived in a rundown little house with no electricity because they figured we didn’t eat real food and didn’t deserve heat. By the way, we can eat human food, and my mother had a hard time adjusting to not having it. Many of the original vampires did, and it drove some insane because they believed they were starving.”
“You just got moved from one prison to another,” she remarked, rubbing her cheek against his back. “Did you at least have running water?”
“We only had running water because they wanted us clean. In fact, we were required to be clean at all times. They provided us with clothing. Since none of us were human, the people who managed the communities were allowed to sell our bodies. They avoided using the smaller kids because it might have looked bad for them, and there were already some groups protesting the way we were treated. Most of us were free from being used until we were at least thirteen. Some weren’t so lucky. Simon attracted people early on. I’m not sure about the details because he’s never talked about it, but he was only twelve when he was forced to start taking clients. He still doesn’t really like being touched. Don’t assume they just fed us until we were old enough to use. They didn’t care if we died. Most parents didn’t even care. My mom took in a lot of extra kids, which meant she had to work really hard to keep us all fed.”
“What happened if the children didn’t have anyone to take care of them?” Raven asked, not sure she really wanted to know the answer.
“They were taken away,” Connor replied without looking at her. “I heard some were used for experiments, but I don’t know if that’s true. If someone was taken away, we never saw them again. Hopefully, they just killed them. I’m sure it would have been better that way.”
“What caused the scars on your back?” she asked.
“One of my regular customers liked to beat the hell out of me with a whip,” he replied and there was just a faint edge of anger to his voice. “She wasn’t the only one, but she did it weekly and liked to leave my shirt on for the beatings. I heal fast and don’t easily scar, but they had to tweeze out the fabric while I was healing, and some days they had to reopen the wounds to get the fabric out. On the worst days, I had another customer tear up my back before it had time to heal. She loved sending her friends my way when she was done with me.”
“That bitch!” Raven snapped.
Connor laughed at her temper. “Would it help if I told you Shelby put a knife in her when we revolted?”
“Yes,” Raven admitted. “I’m surprised you aren’t irritating my hand with a day’s worth of stubble.”
“No one knows why, but vampires don’t grow beards or mustaches. That’s your strange vampire trivia for the day.”
“That is weird, but I suppose it explains why I’ve never seen one with a beard,” she mused. “You were part of the original revolutions?”
He nodded. “I don’t know which ones were first, but I guess we all got fed up around the same time. Good thing or it might not have worked. There were a lot fewer humans at that time, and the military had been thinned out by the virus. Basically, the remaining military was dispatched, but it was too much for them. I’m guessing the government sent small units to areas like this with the intention of sacrificing them. There are still some mostly human controlled areas, but they killed off all the vampires there. They’ve become religious zealots who believe their god cursed us. They don’t attempt contact with the rest of the world to avoid exposure to sin. I suppose most of the humans in your settlement would like to kill us all, too.”
“I think it’s time to end the war between you and the humans in this area. In some ways, you’re on the same side,” she stated. “You already have trade agreements with some of them. Why not try making peace with the rest?”
He snorted. “I’m not suicidal, Raven.”
“But if the people in the human settlements knew what you were really like, they wouldn’t want to kill you. Part of the problem is most humans don’t know any of what you told me. This knowledge could help mend a huge rift. Life could be safer and happier for everyone.”
He rolled onto his side and pulled her against his body. “They would never give us a chance to prove ourselves. Look how hard it was for you to accept us, even with total immersion. I’m not saying all settlements are like that, but yours still is.”
“I could help,” she insisted. “I could tell them you aren’t what we believed.”
He shook his head. “What do you suppose they would do if you came back telling them how good vampires are? What would you have done if Muriel had come back with the same story?”
Raven’s hope deflated. “You’re right. They’d probably think I’d been brainwashed. I can’t go back, can I?”
He shook his head. “Do you want to go back?”
“Not if it means leaving you,” she admitted. It was the first time since she’d met Connor that her mind and body were in agreement.
“That’s good,” he began, pulling her closer to his side, “because I don’t think I could let you go. I considered telling everyone I’d drained you dry and sending you back, but I would’ve ended up hunting you down again. You’re like an addiction I should give up, but I can’t.”
“How did you end up with so many humans living in your settlement?” she asked, to move away from talking about them. It was too much, and she wasn’t ready yet.
“Did they all move here from human settlements?”
“Some came from nearby human settlements. Others are children and grandchildren of the original humans who lived here with us. Before you ask, no, we didn’t kidnap humans to use as food. Most of this area had been infected, so it was a dangerous place. We had the human military and turned vampires trying to kill us. We did have one major advantage over other areas. There was a city close to here called Berkeley where they didn’t allow the forced vaccinations. They had voluntary clinics scheduled for a week after the virus was released in other places.”
“I don’t see how it could be beneficial to have more humans around when humans were trying to capture or kill you.”
“There were a lot of humans who were sympathetic to our plight. They helped hide us and donated blood. When we were strong enough, they fought with us for our freedom. Our main government doesn’t allow humans to be part of any legal decision-making process, but I give the ones here as much say as possible.”
“I’ve never seen them at one of your big meetings,” she challenged.
“That’s because we’ve been meeting about fighting,” he explained. “Since vampires are superior in that area, it makes more sense for us to handle it. Vampires are stronger, faster, and we can heal from wounds that would kill a human. We’d be foolish to put the humans out there when they’re more likely to get killed.” He paused and grinned at her. “We sure know how to make pillow talk, don’t we?”
She laughed.
Connor’s face sobered. “You are so fucking beautiful when you laugh. I wish you did it more often.”
“It’s just taking time to get used to things,” she admitted. “I’ve spent years thinking all vampires were the same, and now, I find out they’re not. I was terrified when you brought me back here.”
“I know,” he admitted. “I was a real ass that first day, and I’m sorry.”
She waved off his apology. “I never would have guessed a month later I’d be naked with you.”
“I hoped you would,” he told her.
“I guess, I kind of did, too,” she confessed. “If I’d never lived with humans, I would have had you in me that first day.”
“Damn humans,” he grumbled. “Does this mean you aren’t going to fight me next time?”
She gave him a playful smile. “I’m not sure I fought you much these last,” she counted mentally, “four times.”
“I’d offer to make it five,” he said with a yawn, “but you have truly worn me out, little nymph.”
“You really are going to have to work on your stamina.”