I turned to Kaniji. “Thank you, Neco ... Kaniji San.”
Kaniji regarded me with caution. I was so unsteady on my feet I wasn’t sure what she had said.
Everything was booming in my head. Why was it so noisy when no one was talking? I could feel my skin regenerate, and my blinking eyelids were so damn loud! Wait a minute. I’m high!
I closed my eyes and grinned to myself. That Elder’s blood was booming! He was a drug. Oh, and I wanted more …
I glanced at the Elder. His eyes were still swimming in gold, but he was as calm as a cucumber as he watched me, a slight smile on his lips.
The harder I tried not to weave on my feet the more I did. I felt and was acting as if I were totally drunk.
Paul steadied me and raised his eyebrow in a question.
“I’m fucked up.” I hoped I was thinking and not speaking.
His lips formed a big O.
I looked at the Elder again. “What did you do to me?”
”Me? It was you that drank the blood from an Elder, but you taste as good to me as I did to you, Succubae.”
”Succubae? You mean those female sex demons? I’m a Vampire not a sex demon, right?”
”You are a bit of both, more so than the rest of us. Finish this tiresome ceremony, and I will show you what you will need to know.”
I focused my thoughts on Tony: “I need to finish this quickly.”
”Kim, I just can’t believe you did that. Do you know how many people here have wanted to taste from an Elder ... just a taste? And Alexis allowed it ... Yes, we need to get you out of here before something else goes wrong. Have Paul follow you to the front of the table, although, after that show I don’t see anyone attempting your assassination.”
I took Paul’s hand and pulled him after me. When we passed Alexis I could not, even if I had been chained, stop myself from allowing my hand to brush his backside.
I goosed an Elder! I was going to be in sooo much trouble! What was wrong with me?
I received an even bigger shock when Alexis let his hand discreetly brush my fingertips in response. I glanced at him, my body growing hot again instantaneously. I was still high and still horny. His eyes hooded but continued to look cool and controlled.
When I reached the front of the long table I faced the crowd trying hard not to tug at my collar and rub my neck like a crackhead.
I tried to focus on the crowd. Some appeared anxious and nervous while some appeared a bit titillated. Some like Kaniji appeared outraged. But everybody was completely focused on me. I was sure this was the best Council meeting they had ever attended. This might possibly have been the highlight of the century!
”Kim,” Tony said in my head. “You must greet the group. Say, ‘Thank you for your attendance and patronage.’”
I repeated his words, surprised that my voice carried throughout the room as nervous as I was.
”As your ruler, your loyalty will be rewarded.”
I repeated the words.
“And any disloyalty punished.”
Whew. I repeated that with as much fake bravado as I could muster. For the next five minutes or so Tony fed me a lot of words that made me sound like the biggest friggin’ dictator in the world. But I got the distinct feeling that if I was to rule over these hundreds of vamps, I had to be the biggest friggin’ dictator in the world.
Tony paused in feeding me a speech. “Here is where you are supposed to name a second ...”
Paul turned to me and raised his brow.
”I’m stuck, Paul. I’m supposed to name a second, but ...”
”Just repeat after me,” Paul thought.
I had nothing to lose, so with a shaky breath I repeated what Paul fed me.
”Every one of you in this room is connected,” I said. “First through Johan, and now through me. I have no second to name. However, I intend to announce one in seven days. The one who will be named my second will be the one who rounds up the most Rogue Vampires.”
I could not have spoken another word. The noise in the room was loud. My subjects present were talking excitedly to themselves. I could hear some of their questions. I answered them as I heard them.
”Bring them alive,” I said. “Only the living will be counted. House them and protect them until the time of the midnight hour of the seventh day ... uh, Saturday ... arrives.” I smiled at Paul. His idea was brilliant!
Tony didn’t look as pleased as I thought he should. He walked around the table.
”Kim Russell, you have inherited the lands and the people and all belongings in Sector seven,” he said. “You have also inherited the blood donors of the previous council member.”
”Shit!” Paul yelled in my head. “No, Kim!” Paul railed. “No! I simply cannot share you. It’s bad enough with this Tony, guy! But more blood donors? Where the hell am I supposed to fit in?”
The crowd parted, and five beautiful models stood before us. They all were dressed in skimpy clothing, and two had big Pamela Anderson hair.
I grimaced.
”Oh. Never mind,” I heard Paul think.
Tony continued speaking. “This ceremony is finished. Kim Russell, welcome to the Council of the Neratomay.”
I was surprised to hear applause. I didn’t think it meant my subjects had completely accepted me, but it did mean I had bought myself a little more time.
Like a junkie needing a fix, my mind traveled back to the Elder. It was late. He said there was more to tell me ... maybe more to taste.
”Kim, you need to take a feeding from your donors,” Tony said. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
I took a step back, away from them and closer to Alexis.
”No,” Paul said. “I have to feed her, at least tonight.” His expression seemed anxious.
Oh yes, a kiss.
The models shifted in place, their expressions seemed uneasy.
”Paul. Um, would you handle these ladies? Maybe get some pointers since they’ve been at it longer.”
Paul’s mouth opened as if to protest, but he was caught between looking at me and looking at the five models.
Tony glanced at the Elder then back at me. “What is your game, now? Seduce an Elder to gain protection?”
”Please make sure Paul gets home okay, and these ladies.” I turned my back to them and went to the one who made my blood rush—for now anyway.
The Elder glided to stand before me. I didn’t look behind me at the two men glaring holes into my back.
”I am Alexis,” he said. “You have taken my blood. Now I am inside of you and you in me.”
”What does that mean?”
”You will find out soon enough.” He reached out and took my hand.
Then we disappeared.
CHAPTER 10
I felt a slight tugging but for the most part we moved swiftly, the world seeming to flash around us. He was much better at this then I was.
When we stopped, we were standing in a vast room. The floor appeared to be marble, and the ceilings were two stories high. It gave the impression that we were in some great cathedral. Torches gave a warm and bright feel to an otherwise cold room.
The furnishings consisted of a huge four-poster bed cloaked on four sides by a rich red brocade and velvet cloth. Gold cords held the material back to expose a bed piled high with pillows.
Next to the bed was a table that held a challis, an old book, and a jeweled box.
Overly ornate chairs dotted the large room in pairs of two separated by small round or square tables or chaise lounges.
Rugs of all sizes, shapes and colors covered the beautiful floor.
I admired the richness of this place. ”This is where you live?”
”One of my homes.” The sound of his voice made me feel tingly all over. Was he making this happen to me? No, it was the bite. That I knew. I hadn’t felt anything like this until after I’d taken his blood. Now my mouth was watering at the thought of it. I could almost taste him.
Alexis’ eyes had grown
dark but now they were gold again. I wondered if gold eyes were a sign of lust. That thought only made me want him more.
He was still holding onto my hand. I felt my gums tingle at the sight of the fallen blood on his collar from where I had ripped him. His skin was completely healed and smooth. Why then did I want to rip it again and drink long?
”It is the bloodlust.”
Alexis’ voice was calm, but because we were holding hands and maybe because we had shared blood, I could feel his excitement.
”You can read my mind,” I said. “Is it because you’re an Elder or because I’m in you and you’re in me?”
”Both. Because I am an Elder, I can read you. Because we have shared blood, I feel you.”
I throbbed in a thoroughly erotic way. He could feel me? Could he feel that?
Alexis closed his eyes and swayed while I eyed his neck hungrily. I leaned forward, but he stayed me with his hand, eyes still closed.
Why did I want him so badly? It had been the same with Tony. I wanted to fuck and eat! I felt lust with Paul as well, but this was much different. I could feel him in a way that I hadn’t felt Tony. Was it because I had fed from him at the same time that he was drinking me? Our mutual feeding had created some type of circuit.
”It is true.” Alexis led me to the foot of an extra-large chaise lounge. We sat side by side but not touching, although I wanted to touch him. “To give and take blood from a Vampire is a meaningful act. You may give or you may take, but to do both simultaneously is to form a bond.”
Did that mean that I had linked us the way Tony felt linked toward me? Is the way I felt for Alexis the same that Tony felt for me? “Alexis. I didn’t know.”
”I know you did not, for I would have killed you where you stood if you had knowingly linked us.”
”Linked. What exactly does that mean for you and me? How long will it last?”
”I am in you and you are in me.” He shrugged as if the answer were obvious. “As far as the length of time it depends on many factors ... one of which is whether or not we decide to indulge in the taste of each other again.”
With those words I felt my hunger overwhelm my lust. Like a train crashing into me, I grunted in an un-ladylike manner, but the pain soon subsided into a dull but a manageable discomfort.
”I see that you have little control over your Vampire desires and needs,” Alexis said.
I looked at him weakly. “Did you take the pain away?”
”I borrowed some of it, but you will need to feed before the sun rises. Therefore, I will tell you what you need to know in order to sit on the Elder Council.”
I sat up straight then. “To become an Elder? Don’t you have to be even stronger than a master to be an Elder?”
”Yes. And to have survived for at least one thousand years. And then you must pass a grueling initiation and tests to judge your worthiness.”
”Alexis, I’m sure you’re aware that I can’t even lower or retract my teeth without assistance. My Vampire powers are pretty limited. What makes you think I could ever be strong enough to gain a position on the Elder’s Council?”
”Because many of us have forgotten our human instincts. If you survive to be a thousand years old, you will surely gain a seat on the board.”
If I survived ... ”What will you tell me?”
He gestured to the jeweled box beside his bed, and it appeared in his hand. He handed it to me.
”Open it,” he commanded.
I did. The jewels in there had to be worth a small fortune, and they were all of religious in nature. Why would he sleep with something like this beside his bed?
Alexis reached into the box and removed a particularly bejeweled rosary and crucifix.
There was no zap of lightning or smoking flesh. There was nothing. He was impervious to them as well?
”Is it because you’re an Elder?”
”No, although all the Elders on the board can withstand the ward that appears on religious objects and words.” He looked at me sternly. “There are others like you, but they have kept their talent hidden. You revealed yours wisely. However, now it can no longer be used to assist you.”
I nodded in understanding. The box disappeared from my hand.
”If you can walk in the day,” he said, “do not tell any Vampire. Not for one thousand years.”
”Walk in the day? Is that really possible? I mean, well I guess it is. You just said ... but how when our sleep is like death?”
”Our wake is like death, also. Remember that. I will now show you my memories. This is a gift that only an Elder can give. Not even a Master can share his memories.”
”Really? Then I’ll know what every other Vampire knows?”
”You will know what I know,” he responded boldly.
I was confused, feeling there was more going on here than I understood. I wasn’t feeling too sharp. I relaxed and waited for Alexis to work his mojo. I don’t know how he expected me to do this thing when I was half a step away from having an orgasm where I sat, and my hunger was like a big empty pit in my body.
Alexis sat there unmoving.
I felt a tickling in my brain, and then I saw pictures.
No. I wasn’t only seeing pictures. I could smell and feel as well. I was in two places at once. I knew I was on the chaise, but I was traveling someplace with Alexis. I felt that I was in his brain, but I sensed him beside me. The power that Alexis possessed in order to show me something like this staggered me. It was awesome and frightening but exhilarating!
At first only colors surrounded me. But then seamlessly the colors transitioned into sounds and then flashes of memories.
Alexis. Me.
We were the same.
We were a baby and then a child. We played and cried and eventually we loved. He was me. How much time it took I couldn’t say. Time seemed to stand still. One day we were tricked into an alley after a late night of drinking. A beautiful woman had bitten us.
I swooned, but Alexis was at my back and steadied me. Wasn’t I still on the chaise?
I blinked because now we were no more. We were gone, but I could still think and hear and feel. We were joined by something that made us someone new. It wanted to be a human—used to be worshipped as a deity. It took the blood sacrifice. It entered us and lived through us. We were between this world and the world where the darkness existed. We took the form of the donor but could still revert back to nothing. We could move fast when we were nothing. With the donor link we could spread to others, mostly in limited doses. We could seep out of the donor’s body and go wherever we wanted. Just as we animated the donor’s body, we could repair it, enhance it, and manipulate it to our will.
I understood. We were not evil. We were neither good nor bad. We were like a spirit or a ghost but not one that had ever been human. I understood. Some called us a Demon because they did not understand, and they offered blood sacrifice and made a pact to live forever.
Knowing what was in Alexis made me understand even more that I was not like them. I was something subtly different.
Alexis slowly withdrew from my mind.
I was trembling. I was more confused than ever. I understood everything that he had shown me, but it was not totally connected to me. I now knew for certain that I wasn’t exactly like the others.
”Alexis, you said that I was more succubae than most. What did you mean?”
Instead of answering, he showed me flashes of people during a frenzied ceremony filled with music. The people were decorated and nude so that I could not tell their origins. They drank human blood and fell into trances, and then they had sex and drank more blood inviting the others to give them endless life. Eventually their invitation was accepted ...
My shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, Alexis. I understand. We can be so many things, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? Because ultimately we are still the undead.”
There was a hint of a smile on Alexis’ lips. “You interest me. It is not always good to be ...
noticed by an Elder.” He stared off into the distance and I didn’t dare interrupt him. ”You could be my pet.” He still did not look at me. I wasn’t quite sure if he was even talking to me. “You could be my lover.”
“I could be your friend.”
Alexis didn’t say anything. We sat on the chaise together and stared at nothing.
”I will show you something else,” he said.
My eyes turned to him but otherwise I did not move. I wasn’t sure if I should be afraid, but that was only because I was ignorant of the things other Vampires knew. They knew to be afraid of Alexis. Despite everything I’d seen, I had not yet learned that.
He stood, and I was alarmed to see that he was breathing. He hadn’t been before. He strolled away from me, and when he turned he had lost the whiteness that was so otherworldly. His skin was sun-kissed brown, his dark hair golden-tinged just like mine was. His eyes, now, had whites but they were ringed in gold. He was definitely of Arabic descent. Damn, he was beautiful.
”How? How are you doing that? And you have the gold around you the way I do.” Other vamps were white, deathly white, but I was gold.
”This is how I began, too.” Even his voice was different now. “There are so many different hues—browns and yellows and golds and even black. It’s rare, because most are white. We all become white the older we become, which is why the color is preferred … but that is only because the masses don’t know any better.”
He was showing me this for a purpose, not just because he was damn gorgeous as a human. He knew that he already had me at the first taste of his blood. I was missing something major here and needed to focus. I tried to clear my head so that I could think.
”It has been many years since I have touched another Vampire.” He watched me seriously. “There is no need to. When you are a thousand years old, you have made love so many times that it no longer appeals. You find something new. Elders have found something new.”
I watched him, thoroughly confused. That’s when I felt a shiver go down my spine. I arched my back slightly and caught my breath. Something had traveled sensuously and slowly across my skin. ”What are you doing?” I asked.