I stared at her. “How do you understand these things?”
The woman watched me coolly. “Know that Marcelle is a gentleman. I am not a gentlewoman. Please answer the question.”
I felt my feathers ruffle. “Regardless of how gentle you are, I am a visiting Council Member and as such should be treated with a bit more hospitality. You wouldn’t want me going back to my board with tales of ill treatment by the Barcelona Council, would you?”
The woman who was not so gentle did not answer.
Marcelle smiled that winning smile of his. “Kim, if you were not a Council level Neratomay, then you would not be questioned now by our Board—you would be punished.”
I raised a brow. “Why should you care what lovers I have? I told you why we were at Epic Cu. Curiosity. That’s it.”
Esmeralda joined the questioning then, speaking in a chilly voice. “You are bound to Alexis. He is the reason that you went to Epic Cu.”
“If you already have the answers, then why do you need me here?” I asked.
The not-so-gentle woman glared at me. “Now it is you who is being rude.”
“Rude? You hold me and my people against our will, and my reaction is not to your liking?”
“You trespass, against our warning, and you try to dictate the treatment you should receive,” a little fat Vampire with a bulbous nose said. Unlike the others, he didn’t seem Spanish. I would guess English. “You are being judged for your crimes, and if found guilty, you will be punished. Your position as a Council Member will not supersede that.”
I was probably not going to talk our way out of this. How the hell was I going to protect my people? I could fight, and so could Tyler and Julie, but Monica and Karen had never had to do anything more than look pretty for Johan.
I looked at the little fat man. I think Marcelle had said his name was Hillson. They seemed so curious about Alexis. Why question me? They already knew that we had trespassed. What did they really want to know?
“Well, if you are not going to let us go, then ask your questions,” I said.
“Did Alexis ask you to come to Epic Cu?” Esmeralda asked.
“No.”
They waited for me to expand. I didn’t.
“Why did you come?” Esmeralda asked.
“Curiosity.” And that wasn’t lying. I was curious about Alexis. Even the weakest Vampire could smell a lie, so I knew that they would know if I lied. My answer wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie.
“Did you come to break Alexis out of his prison?” Esmeralda asked.
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re awfully curious about Alexis? Why?”
As is so often the case with Elders, Esmeralda struck fast. I didn’t see her flinch, but I felt as if someone had hit me with a baseball bat! She smacked me, but it wasn’t a human smack. She hadn’t used her hand. Her power smacked me, and I felt my head snap back as I went flying out of the wingchair. I found myself kneeling on all fours on the floor with blood dripping out of my nose. When I tried to raise my head, a sharp pain stabbed down my shoulders and back. Shit! This bitch broke my neck with that blow!
I sensed more then heard scuffling. Julie screeched. I think she had gone after Esmeralda, and I heard Tyler’s cry of pain. I took a deep breath and put my hand on my neck to hold it in place so I could see what was happening to my people.
“My love …”
A familiar tingling crawled up my neck as if Alexis were about to materialize.
“Alexis?” How could I hear him?
“I am in you. You will need to retreat into a corner so that I can come into you.”
“I don’t know how.”
“I will help you.”
I felt myself grow smaller. I was physically the same size, but I could see a small me sitting in the corner of a neat little room. In my mind’s eye I saw Alexis come sweeping into the room in dark clothing, and he was larger than life. His eyes were ruby red, and he was perfect and without scars. The sight of him took my breath away.
I felt light fingers stroke my neck. Alexis was healing me from within. I jumped as someone screamed. I wanted to jerk away from Alexis’ touch and turn to the sound, but I was only a little figure in the corner and Alexis was in control. For a split second the idea of it scared me, but then my neck stopped hurting and my body was standing.
No. I didn’t stand. It was as if strings were attached to me and I was pulled up smoothly. Alexis spun us to face the ruckus. Julie had been thrown across the room, no doubt by Esmeralda. She seemed to be held down by invisible hands because I could see her struggling to stand.
But it was Tyler that caused my heart to practically knock its way out of my chest. Tyler was holding her wrist and writhing on the floor. Her wrist had been broken badly, and her hand was cocked at a strange angle.
I felt the small me that had been sitting in the corner tremble with rage. I hissed like a pit of vipers. I almost pushed Alexis away but sat back down because I knew he could hurt them much better than I ever could.
And at that moment I wanted them to hurt.
Alexis and I turned blazing eyes at the Council. One of the Councilmen was screaming and running away gripping a smoking arm. At least Tyler had managed to put a hand on him, which was most likely the reason her wrist had been broken. I hoped his ass would suffer tremendously before he turned to ash!
Esmeralda, seeing Alexis and me stand, raised a hand to do more mischief to us. Alexis made a slight shooing motion, and Esmeralda’s hand curled backwards. It reminded me of The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy’s house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, and when her evil sister tried to take the ruby shoes from her feet, they curled up like a deflated party favor. That’s what Esmeralda’s arm looked like, except that hers was filled with blood, bones, and muscles so when it rolled up, blood and bones exploded from her skin like sausages bursting from their casings.
Esmeralda screamed like nothing I’d ever heard before. Initially it was a human sound full of pain, but it soon turned into the sound of an animal being slaughtered.
With the exception of the man running around trying to stop the burning in his arm, the other Council members were stunned into stillness. They stared from Alexis and me to Esmeralda as she writhed on the floor.
Alexis and I strolled closer to the Council and his words thundered through my voice: “And you would not see one hair harmed on my love’s head?”
Marcelle stared at us with bugged-out eyes. “A-Alexis?”
I stood the way Alexis always stood—with his hands behind his back, his head lowered, and his eyes holding all in their grasp. We then glided to the table without walking.
Marcelle’s hands went to his head and he rubbed it, his mouth open in alarm. His hand shot to another part of his head and then another. Strands of Marcelle’s hair began flying from his head. It was happening so fast that he covered his head with his splayed fingers and ran screaming from the room.
Marcelle was an old Vampire. He had probably never gone screaming from any room in his entire afterlife.
Hillson hissed at us showing fangs that were more sabre tooth tiger than Vampire. With barely a movement, only a slight tilt of our chin, we sent Hillson flying across the room before he could jump at us. Alexis made a sweeping motion with his hand, and the rest of the Council went flying across the floor.
The double doors to the Council room flew open, and the Vampires from the party were standing there all hissy-faced. In my little corner I grew nervous, but Alexis smiled at them with his blazing red eyes. He drew in a deep breath and blew the Vampires back out the door.
Someone screeched beside us. It was the sneaky little British man. He had flown at us while our backs were turned, but Tyler had leaped at him and apparently had made contact with his face because his skin was smoking and bubbling.
“Enough!” Esmeralda screamed. Her ruined arm was hanging uselessly at her side. “Alexis, you’ve left Epic Cu and forfeited your bargain with the Elder Council.”
r /> Alexis chuckled. “Esmeralda, it has been many years; centuries in fact, since last we spoke. I see that you are still governed by your ridiculous jealousy. I have not left Epic Cu. As we speak I am staring out of one of the stained glass windows at the stars. It’s such a beautiful night. I love Spain and its dark, sultry beauty.”
Esmeralda grew dark, darker than was natural even with her Latin heritage. She cursed him in Spanish, but somehow I understood every word. “You pig! You bastard! How dare you call this … this Third ‘Your Love’ when we shared a bed for close to two hundred years and you barely even spoke to me?”
“Your jealous fit is but one of the reasons that you could have never been ‘My Love’,” Alexis said.
Esmeralda sprawled onto her little ass as Alexis strolled closer.
“Her nose bleeds,” Alexis said, “your nose bleeds.”
Blood sprayed out of Esmeralda’s nose. She tried to staunch the flow with her uninjured hand and threw some wave of force toward us. With Alexis in my body I could feel her counterattack from a mile away. We knocked it away easily.
Alexis continued as if Esmeralda hadn’t tried to attack. “Her neck breaks, your neck breaks.”
I watched with awe as Esmeralda’s head spun backwards like something from The Exorcist. I wanted to scream at the sight of that. True, a broken neck wouldn’t kill even the weakest Vampire, but pain was pain regardless of whether or not you were human or Vampire—and the sight of her broken neck was fucking bad.
Julie stood over Monica and Karen while keeping an eye on the door. The one or two Council members still present were not hurrying to rescue their Elder.
Hillson had stopped his mewling, and the skin on his cheek slid away. Along with the majority of his face, he had lost the mark that Tyler had inflicted on him. His face might even grow back, but he wouldn’t pass for human until it did. He was much luckier than the first Vampire who had broken Tyler’s wrist. He was nothing more than a streak of ash on the stone floor.
“She missed her plane back to America because of you,” Alexis said. “And as long as she is on this side of the ocean, I can enter her body at will and will wreak havoc on whatever I desire. And still I won’t be in violation of my arrangement. We Neratomay are such creatures of habit. Our rules don’t change with the times. And no Council level Vampire would have ever had the nerve to set a foot on the grounds of Epic Cu. And no Elders would have ever willingly bound themselves to another who wasn’t of their own status … until me … and until my beautiful Kim … until now. So you see, there are no rules against what we are doing now.” Alexis smiled. “My love has taught me to think outside of the box, as she would say.” He frowned. “If she and her people are not back in America by sunset tomorrow, I will return to each of you and you will not like what I will do to you.”
One of the Council members spoke in a shaky voice. “Señor, I mean, my lady, we have a personal jet that can fly you back across the ocean. If you please, I can drive you to the airstrip before sunrise.”
Alexis and I bowed our heads slightly and gestured for him to lead the way. Karen and Monica helped Tyler to walk, and Julie guarded our flanks. As we cut through the ruined party, no one dared to budge. The Council member led us to the same limo that we had arrived in.
Once we were safely in the limo, Tyler threw back her head and groaned. She held her wrist close to her chest.
Alexis grew small within my head, and I grew large until I filled up my own body again. I could still see him within me. Before I had never had the visual, and now I could plainly see him with his hand behind his back watching over us to be sure this was no setup.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked.
“Kim?” Monica asked. “It is you again, right?”
“Yes, but Alexis is still here.” That was for the benefit of the limo driver and Council member riding in the front seat.
Julie stared at Tyler’s wrist. “It’s a bad break. She’ll heal faster than the normal human. Her wrist will need to be set as quickly as possible.”
“Do you think it will hold until we get back to the States?” I asked.
Julie nodded. “Yes, but ease her pain.”
I slid close to Tyler, and she rolled her head to the side. I placed my lips on her neck and sought out her rapidly beating pulse. Within me I felt Alexis stir with interest. I wondered how he fed while imprisoned …
I sank my teeth into Tyler’s throat while concentrating on calm … no pain … no fear …
I forgot, however, to bring up my shields. With Alexis inside of me watching me feed and with the deliciously warm liquid gliding down my throat, I felt a sudden warmth flare between my thighs. I sucked in a surprised breath and almost choked on the blood!
I saw Alexis’ lip curl upward. I could see him so clearly, and when I fed, I was never happier to have him inside of me.
The warmth between my thighs ignited into a full flame. I rocked my hips lightly in my seat but it didn’t help. It only made the pleasure more intense. Alexis’ eyes seemed to gleam in my mind. He was watching me as if he was an Incubus. Tyler’s blood and our passion for each other created a tornado that sucked us in completely. Alexis gently cupped my face, and his tongue sought out my lips and mouth. I gasped at the complete passion the taste of him brought.
I understood then how we could exist in our beach house but be in the real world because we were doing it now. Inside of my mind Alexis was pressing his body against mine and stroking my skin. I could feel him pushing his erect penis against my thigh. I slid my hand down his body to release him from his pants.
Something gripped my wrist insistently. My eyes opened, and the image of Alexis faded.
Awareness dawned on me quickly. I was sucking on Tyler’s neck like a dog working a bone! She was moaning low in her throat. I pulled back carefully. How much blood had I taken?
I belched and was appalled at my gluttony.
Julie released my wrist when she saw that I was back to myself. What I was doing with that hand before Julie grasped it is cloudy, but I didn’t mind it staying that way.
Tyler rolled her head from side to side with her eyes still closed. “Damn, Kim …” she whispered. “You and Alexis would make Deep Throat look like a Disney movie.”
Oh my God! She could see us?
Tyler smiled. “That was so good.”
“Sorry about that,” I said.
“I’m no.” Tyler squinted at me while lazing against the seat. “Anytime you want to invite me to join in one of your sessions, just let me know. Now I understand why you’d travel halfway around the world to see Alexis.”
I turned to look at him.
He eyed me hungrily but didn’t touch me.
~***~
We got to the airstrip about an hour before dawn. Julie and I watched the sky. Tyler was half out of it from my relaxing—and unintentionally erotic—bite, but Monica and Karen were tense and I could taste their fear in the air.
The Councilman leaped out of the limo as it came to a halt. He opened our door and we piled out.
The little man was careful to stay clear of Tyler, who was being supported on each side by Karen and Monica.
“Don’t worry,” Alexis said using my vocal chords and mouth. “I will be on the plane with you for as long as possible. If anything happens to you or your entourage, I will kill every Vampire in Spain.”
His words were chilling but helped to ease my fear. I knew that he would do exactly as he said or die trying.
The little Council member seemed to tremble at the cold words.
Being turned into a Vampire as a Third Generation meant that I hadn’t attained any Vampire knowledge. I didn’t know what an Elder was or what power they wielded. At my most vulnerable moment, I turned to Alexis openly and innocently and he responded. It wasn’t until later that I learned I should have been deathly afraid of him. Alexis’ power was so strong that he could kill with only a thought.
This Councilman was not ignorant of the power
of an Elder. He was afraid. All of us could feel it, and that put my ladies at ease.
We boarded the plane and left the frightened Council member on the ground without a backwards glance. Our confidence that he’d be stupid to set us up seemed to scare him more.
The plane was state-of-the-art and looked like the inside of a high-priced hotel lobby. Even Julie, who had seen it all, was staring open-mouthed. Tyler woke up enough to scope out the plane and directed us to a rear room that was completely windowless. The comfortable seats pulled out into full-size beds, and still there was enough room to hold four coffins.
Julie and I sighed simultaneously as Monica went around and closed all of the windows at the main entrance of the plane. We were now sealed in tight against the sun.
An accented voice came on over a loudspeaker announcing that we would depart in five minutes. The ladies relaxed in the comfortable seats and belted up for takeoff. Karen cursed that she didn’t have any of her luggage, and Monica reassured her that our things could easily be shipped to the States.
Julie bid them good night, and we climbed into the comfy but securely strapped down coffins.
“I hope …” Julie began but didn’t finish.
I nodded. “See you in the States.”
She nodded.
Once the lid was secured and I was comfortable, I felt Alexis stir again. “You can’t come here again. You know that, don’t you?”
“You can’t mean that I’m banned from the entire continent!”
“At least for ninety-nine years. Until I’m free again.”
“What about …”
“Don’t even think her name. It’s not safe.”
“Alexis, teach me how to stay awake in the day.”
“I can’t. It will happen when you are strong enough to withstand the sun. But with our bond you are much stronger than ever before. My love, I need to understand something. What is this creature you turn into?”
How could he ask me? I should have been asking him!
“Alexis, I saw you turn into a creature the night Tony saw us kissing.”