by Maria Arnt
At last, she felt like she would burst if she took one more sip, and she pushed herself away. Her vision was hazy, but she saw the mess she had made of Seth’s shoulder, saw the wound heal up in front of her eyes, and the blood sink into his skin like rain on the sand.
Gently, Seth laid her down against the couch. “Are you all right?” He asked.
“Mmmhmm,” she said dreamily. “I just... need a minute.”
“Take all the time you need,” he murmured sweetly and kissed her forehead.
Tanya lay, feeling as if she were floating down a river that wound through the Milky Way. She could almost see the stars around her, reach out and touch their warmth. It was like the most beautiful dream she could ever imagine.
Slowly, she came back to herself, focusing on the painting of Nephthys above the mantle. For the briefest instant, she thought she saw something familiar about her and then shook her head, laughing. It was an old Egyptian painting, it didn’t look like anybody.
“Awake already?” Seth asked, amused.
“Yeah,” she looked over at him. He was fully dressed, including a sharp-looking jacket and vest combo. “How long was I out?” She sat up slowly, expecting to be dizzy, but she wasn’t. In fact, she felt fabulous.
“About 15 minutes. Not bad.” He sounded proud, and she felt a small rush of happiness.
She squashed it and watched him retrieve a pair of cufflinks from his desk. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Yes,” he focused on putting the small contraptions through the buttonholes in his cuffs. “You drank rather deeply, and now I must feed. I’m only the fountain of youth in metaphor,” he joked. “Would you like to come along?”
Tanya thought about it. She could stay here, and waste all her energy on boring training, or she could go out. Not to feed, not to kill, just out. “I guess I could go, if you want company,” she tried not to sound too excited about it.
He smiled, and she fought the urge to bask in it. “I always want your company, Tatiana.”
Deep down, Tanya wondered if maybe she had made the wrong decision.
At Seth’s suggestion, Tanya changed into her little black dress, black pumps, and a thin gold necklace. It was simple and elegant, but she couldn’t help jazzing it up with a little shimmery green eyeshadow. He didn’t comment on the addition when she came downstairs, and she was disappointed. Although whether she was fishing for a compliment or trying to get a rise out of him, she wasn’t sure.
He held out her long felt jacket for her.
“Is it cold outside?” she asked.
“Not for us, but enough that a girl in a short dress and no coat would look out of place,” he explained.
They took the BMW again, and this time she watched the lights slide by, entranced. “Will I have to learn to drive again?” she asked after a long silence.
“Yes,” he glanced toward her. “Your reaction time has improved significantly, so it is easy to overcompensate.”
She nodded. “Cool. I liked learning to drive the first time. ‘Course, my dad taught me...” she trailed off, staring out the window.
“You must miss your parents terribly,” he murmured, and there was such a depth of empathy in his voice she couldn’t bring herself to get angry at him for pointing out the obvious.
“Yeah,” she said instead, trailing the path of a raindrop down the glass with a fingertip. “I was actually hoping I could go visit them some time. “
“You’re not ready,” he said after a moment.
Tanya turned in her seat to glare at him. “I know that. I didn’t mean now. Just... some time.”
“We’ll see,” he said sternly.
She huffed and crossed her arms, annoyed at his need to be a control freak.
“Once you become used to feeding, you may come and go as you please,” he offered. “But your hometown is too far away to make a round trip in one night. Even at midwinter, you would have less than an hour to stay before you would need to start back.”
“Oh,” she slouched a little, “I hadn’t thought of that.”
They drove on, and the silence seemed to hang heavily between them. Tanya started to fiddle with the radio controls, flipping through his preset satellite stations. Classical, Jazz, a late-night talk show that sounded like it would put her to sleep in less than five minutes.
She pressed the next button and jerked her hand back like it was burned as the sound came pounding out of the high-def stereo system.
Seth cursed and reached to turn down the volume, but not before she recognized the music. “Puddle of Mudd?” she asked, surprised.
His eyes widened as if he, too, had just recognized the song. He quickly pressed another preset button, changing it to smooth electronica. She smirked, wondering if she’d ever seen him genuinely embarrassed before. “Never would have pegged you for a rock metal man,” she teased.
Oddly, he seemed to relax. “It suits me in certain moods,” he explained calmly.
Hmm. If it wasn’t the genre that embarrassed him, it must have been something about that song specifically. She tried to rack her brain for the title or lyrics, but the car pulled up to a valet station in front of a swanky lounge before she could remember.
“We’re here,” he announced, sounding relieved.
Seth helped her out of the car, playing the gentleman, and handed the keys to a bored-looking valet. She frowned, thinking how much she would have killed to have his job in high school, rather than wiping down sticky tables at the local pancake house. Once inside, she marveled at the tasteful decor. The pale hardwood floor was broken into a myriad of terraces and islands, each sheltering a cozy arrangement of tables and low plush seats. The music was soft—light jazz on flute and piano—and the conversations low and murmured.
The hostess led them to a niche with seating for four after Seth explained they were expecting a third person to join their party. Tanya was so wrapped up wondering who was coming that she barely paid any attention to him ordering their drinks—he requested some high-end whiskey for himself, and something called an “Illusion” for her.
She sat quietly, listening carefully to the heartbeats around her. There were at least fifty people in the room with them, the lounge was in full swing. Most beat steady and slow, but there was the occasional flutter of excitement here and there. Once, she thought she caught the source when she saw a woman kiss her companion’s cheek, making her blush.
Not five minutes into her study, though, their drinks arrived. Tanya frowned a little once the waitress left, hers resembled some kind of martini, perfectly clear with a lemon twist garnish.
“Go ahead,” Seth seemed amused, “try it.”
She picked it up and smelled it—nothing but the faint scent of lemon. She dared a tiny sip, then another. It had no taste at all and was room temperature. “What is this?” she asked, setting it down.
“Distilled water,” he said simply, and she laughed. “Some patrons choose not to imbibe, but they don’t want to seem unsocial. Thus, the Illusion.”
“I like it,” she smirked. If she had to sit there all night with no drink, it would be really awkward.
“Ah!” Seth stood, and Tanya followed suit automatically, turning to see what he was looking at. A man, probably in his late 20s, was approaching along with the hostess. He had a shock of spiky flame-red hair, carefully styled in a way that was meant to look messy. Dressed in the latest fashion, she wasn’t sure how he had managed to get his skinny jeans on, but she suspected it involved either magic or grease. Or both.
“Dr. Walker!” he called cheerfully.
“Justin, so good to see you,” Seth replied warmly.
To her immense surprise, the two men hugged, and stayed in each other’s arms half a moment longer than was really necessary. At last, they pulled back, although their hands met for the briefest moment.
“How are you? It’s been so long!” Justin asked.
Seth nodded. “Almost a year. I’m doing well.” Tanya was a bit flabbergas
ted to see him so warm and... friendly.
“And no wonder! Who is your gorgeous friend?” He reached for her hand, but instead of shaking it, he lifted it to his lips for a brief kiss. Despite the flirtatious move, she didn’t feel irritated like she usually did when guys hit on her. Somehow, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Justin, this is Tanya. Tanya, Justin is a friend of mine who worked as my intern at the museum a few years ago,” Seth explained. She was surprised and grateful that he introduced her with her shortened name.
“Oh, that’s all ancient history,” he joked, and they both chuckled in response. They all sat, and Tanya noticed that Justin sat rather close to Seth on the banquette. “So you’re the lucky girl who’s caught the professor’s eye...” he mused.
It was the slightest hint of jealousy in Justin’s voice that finally made the pieces click in her mind. Clearly, he had been more than just an intern to Seth. Her face burned red, although she wasn’t sure why. Thankfully, he misinterpreted the response.
“She’s cute,” he chuckled. “Is she always this shy?”
“Not usually,” Seth smiled wryly. “I think we may have scandalized her small-town sensibilities,” he teased.
“No!” she blurted. “I just... I didn’t know...” She would really like to stop blushing, now.
Justin gave Seth a knowing look. “You’re wicked,” he teased.
Seth just lifted a haughty eyebrow. “I try.”
“So how did you two meet?” he asked cheerfully.
Tanya scrambled to come up with an answer, but Seth beat her to it. “At the museum.”
She frowned for a moment. “Oh yeah. I guess we did meet there first.”
“Let me guess,” Justin leaned forward. “You were staring at some dusty old relic, and he just appeared from the shadows and explained it to you?”
“Um, yeah, actually...” she looked to Seth, who seemed caught between amusement and embarrassment.
Justin chuckled. “He loves doing that. Although I’ve never seen him use it as a pick-up before.”
“He didn’t,” she laughed a little. “We... ran into each other later.”
“One of those noisy clubs he likes to haunt?” he guessed.
“No, uh...” she paled.
“A dark alley,” Seth put in. “We literally ran into each other. Several pastries were destroyed.”
Justin shook his head. “A dark alley. How... fitting.” There was a long pause as he assessed her reaction, and Seth’s. “I see. We’re all in the club then?”
“Technically Tanya and I are in the club, you just know about it,” Seth said archly.
Justin’s eyebrows shot upward, and he stared in shock at Tanya for a moment, as if she had just appeared. “I’m sorry...” he said absently, “I’m afraid I don’t pay much attention to female beauty. It’s rather obvious now that I think of it.”
Tanya realized he thought she would be insulted that he thought she was human. She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, no, I’m fairly... new at this whole thing.” She felt so awkward.
At this, Justin turned to Seth with a look of alarm.
Seth just smiled and patted his knee affectionately. “She’s already eaten, she’s just here for the ambiance.”
The puzzle of Justin’s presence suddenly clicked into place. He was there for Seth to feed on, and he knew it. Considering their prior relationship, she realized Seth must have fed off of Justin many times in the past. But they hadn’t seen each other in almost a year. She began to suspect why he hadn’t taken his stylish scarf off, despite the warmth of the lounge. Could there possibly be humans who knew about vampires, and let them feed off them, outside of scum like Jimmy the drug dealer? She let her mind wander on the subject of polite vampire society, sipping her drink and listening to the sound of Seth and Justin’s murmured conversation, mingled with the soft susurration of the heartbeats around them. With a very distant sense of shock, she came to recognize that she was relaxing. In public. It was nice.
She turned to make some comment on it to Seth, only to see that he and Justin were locked in each other’s gazes. Seth’s hand was still on Justin’s knee, and the younger man resembled nothing more than a small rodent caught in the hypnosis of a weaving snake.
“I’m gonna go to the restroom,” she blurted, suddenly nervous. They didn’t even respond. She got up and made her way shakily to the restrooms. As she passed other groups, she noticed that they were frequently composed of amorous couples, and more often than not they were non-traditional sorts. She felt irritation overtake her nerves as she passed into the marble-clad ladies’ room. She would have appreciated it if Seth had told her that they were going to a gay bar to hook up with his ex-boyfriend who knew about vampires and let them feed off him. Any piece of that information would have been helpful.
She was so angry that it took her a moment to realize that now that she had reached the bathroom, there was nothing for her to do there. She certainly didn’t need to use the facilities, and a quick glance in the mirror showed that her hair and makeup were still disgustingly perfect. At least she seemed to be alone...
As soon as she completed the thought, the door swung open and a tall woman walked in. She went straight to a stall, but Tanya freaked anyway and quickly turned on the sink to begin washing her hands.
What am I doing? she silently asked herself. Washing your hands, the peevish part of her brain answered, your mother would be proud. But as she watched the soapy bubbles rinse down the drain, she took the question more seriously. What was she doing? It hit her then how little control she had over the direction of her life lately. Not that she hadn’t been aware of Seth running her life right off the tracks, but it only just now occurred to her that if she agreed to cooperate with him, she could make her own demands in turn.
Well, at least she should be able to, no telling if the bastard would stand for it.
So the question was, what did she want to do? Aside from the obvious impossibility of going back to being human, of course. She stared at her reflection as the warm water coursed over her hands.
The quiet sound of a polite cough behind her nearly made her jump out of her skin. In the mirror, she could see the woman who had entered earlier had finished and was waiting for her turn at the sink.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said awkwardly, and moved to dry her hands. “I got lost in thought.”
The woman smiled knowingly, and Tanya hurried out to escape her assumptions.
When she returned to her seat, Seth and Justin had finally put some space between them. Seth was his usual composed self, although he looked a little smug and there was a flush to his cheeks she hadn’t seen before. Justin, on the other hand, was slumped in his seat, a glass of rosé cradled in one hand. When she came around the table, she saw that his expression was one of dreamy bliss. He traced the fingers of his free hand over the pad of his thumb rhythmically. Although there was no mark to be seen, she would be willing to bet money that was where Seth had bitten him.
She sat down stiffly, feeling very much the third wheel. Justin stayed a while longer, recovering his strength and making small talk. Tanya could see the hand holding his glass tremble slightly, and he kept staring at it like it held all the mysteries of the universe.
After perhaps twenty minutes, he stood, remarkably steady. Seth frowned but stood as well, and they all gathered their coats and made their way out the front of the lounge.
“Take care of yourself, Justin,” Seth said once they were outside, almost a warning.
The young man gave him a brilliant grin, which would have been more convincing if he didn’t look so pale. “I always do,” he said nonchalantly.
“At least let me call you a cab?” Seth offered, but his tone let Tanya knew he didn’t expect him to accept.
“Nah, I’ve got some friends I’m meeting up with a couple blocks away,” he insisted.
Seth tutted, but made no further suggestions, and instead held out his hand for a handshake.
“My young friend,” he replied softly, laying his hand over their clasped fingers, “I very much hope that someday you find someone who means as much to you.”
That was about as much awkward eavesdropping Tanya wanted to participate in, so she turned and took a few steps down the sidewalk, pretending to admire the display in a window. Clearly, Justin was way more into Seth than the other way around. She thought that Justin must not know him very well, that he had fallen more for the Dr. Walker facade than the true monster beneath. Or maybe the fact that he was a vampire had clinched it for him—there were plenty of vampire heartthrobs in books and movies these days. If Justin hadn’t known about vampires before Seth had... dated? Seduced? Preyed on him? Whatever it was, he certainly hadn’t gone back to the unknowing masses since.
She sensed more than heard Seth coming toward her, and she fell in step with him easily. “Well that was interesting,” she said waspishly.
Expecting a witty reply, she looked to him at the end of a long silence. “I’m worried about him,” he admitted, glancing over his shoulder. “It’s considered rude, not to mention dangerous, to go to a feeding with the marks of the last still showing.”
“I noticed he didn’t take his scarf off,” she agreed.
He sighed and shook his head. “I should have left some myself, just to warn the next that he’s becoming a junkie, but hardly anyone follows the old ways these days anyway, and I’d rather not leave tracks right now.”
Tanya had a million questions about “the old ways” and all the things she was realizing she didn’t know about vampires. But the streets were full of humans, pulsing with life, and she wouldn’t know where to start anyway.
They made their way to the valet parking lot silently, each lost in their own thoughts. The BMW chirped as it unlocked, and Seth opened her door.