by Pace, Pepper
I smiled; a beauty such as me? I doubt that with all those gorgeous models surrounding him. But I thanked him for a wonderful show.
Tony led us out the door.
“Tony, thank you for the outfit. It’s beautiful. I love it.”
He held me with his eyes. “No. Thank you. Come.” He led me back to the Benz, and Mei Wah was waiting at the door to let us inside. I wanted to call Arnitra so bad, but I knew that it wouldn’t be fair to bring her into a situation like this.
Tony’s posture tensed. “I need to tell you something.”
I didn’t like the sudden serious tone of his voice.
He looked out the window for a few moments before turning back to me. ”I wasn’t completely honest with you about something.”
”What?” I frowned.
”About Johan.”
“What about Johan?”
He shifted in his seat to face me so that his knee rested lightly against my thigh. “Because you are responsible for his death, you can replace him on the Council.”
I digested that news. I suppose it was a big deal to the other Vampires, but it didn’t really mean all that much to me. Still, I needed to keep my options open. ”How would it benefit me by being on the Council?”
“I forget that you are a Third Generation and don’t have the old memories,” he said. “The Council is what controls the Neratomay or Vampire nation. Each country is segregated into sectors that are controlled by a local Council. It’s our responsibility to control the Vampire population and monitor the human mood. Each of us has a territory. Johan’s was fairly large. When there’s a problem, his liege rely on him to settle it. Without him there would be anarchy. Therefore if a Council Member dies he must immediately be replaced by his Second or Third in Command. But in the case of a Council member being killed by another, that individual is allowed to take his seat. This is not something that happens often because there are rules against killing a Council member. It’s an automatic death sentence. But if the Council member is clearly the aggressor and it is a fair fight, then the rules change. In your case he ... or we ... were the aggressors. You killed Johan in self-defense.”
”So, why wasn’t I offered his seat on the Council?”
”Because ... you’re a Third. No Third has ever been strong enough to defeat a Council member, so we deemed it an accidental killing, which allowed for Johan’s Second to take his place. I’m so sorry.”
I waved away his apology. “So what am I if not a Council member? I mean, what will be my role in this … Vampire nation?”
Tony’s eyes hooded. “The lowest ranked on the totem pole.”
I frowned feeling slightly ill. “Tell me what it means to be the lowest on the totem pole, and please be completely honest.”
”It would mean that you are the last to be considered and the first to be sacrificed. You have no voice in disputes. A Second will always be above you. You would be watched to make sure you don’t mingle too closely with the humans because Thirds with no memories of our history are our biggest threat. Thirds handle all of our dirtiest jobs from killing humans who are undesirable to testing metal to see if it’s silver. And being a Third means that you will never be more than the lowest on the totem pole.”
That’s some bullshit! I looked out the window.
Tony put his hand on my arm.
I slipped away from his touch. ”And what are the fears of me being on the Council, other than the fact that no other Third Generation has ever been strong enough to do it?”
”My fear is that it was a fluke that you killed Johan and there is no way that you have the strength to control an entire sector. My fears are that the first time Johan’s liege set eyes on you they will all plan your assassination! And I fear that you have no memories of your abilities and therefore have no possibility of succeeding as a leader.”
My heart sank at his words. “So what was that shit you gave me about wanting me to thrive and not just survive? That was bullshit, wasn’t it?”
”No, it wasn’t!” His eyes flashed at me. “I don’t want you to have to take the Vampire scraps. You’re mine.”
My eyebrows rose.
He blinked. “Mine—my liege. I want you to be with me. At my side you will be my equal.”
My mouth dropped open. The nerve! He thought I’d be okay being his possession? ”Oh no you did not!” What in the fuck did he think I was, a fool? Be his plaything and flavor-of-the-month until he got tired of me? How many women gave up the panties and found themselves ass-out as soon as the man got his “taste”?
“Let me tell you something,” I said. “I’m my own woman! I’m not going to align myself with you just so that I have someone to take care of me. I have never been like that. I will choose the man that I want!”
His eyes darkened. “I would have asked you to be in my bed if that’s all I wanted. If that’s all I wanted, then you would have been there last night! I said that I wanted you by my side as a partner, my equal.”
“Until you find the next Kaniji? And then I’m three hundred years old and out on my ass?”
He shook his head. “I would never do that to you.”
“I don’t need the Council and I don’t need to be a part of your Vampire nation. I will do this on my own!”
“Baby, it doesn’t work like that.”
I shook my head in dismissal.
“Listen to me! Thirds can’t leave. As soon as you try you’ll become a Rogue, and that’s an instant death sentence. Remember how easy it was for me to find you? Imagine thousands of Vampires searching for you. You wouldn’t be out there more than a day.”
For the first time since the conversation started I got scared. I had to live under their rules? I couldn’t be—or do—what I wanted? I closed my eyes and rested my head on the back of the seat.
I’m a slave.
”You understand now, don’t you?”
I felt his hand tentatively on mine. I didn’t have the strength to move it. Tony would be my master …
”I’m not going to let you get lost, Kim. You can be at my side ... my equal.”
I turned away from him to face the window.
If I had tears I would have cried.
CHAPTER 6
When we got back to Tony’s house, I got out and headed toward the front door. Mei Wah hurried ahead of me to hold it open for me as I entered.
I went to the living room and folded myself into one of Tony’s oversized wingchairs to wait for him. We hadn’t spoken another word after I tried to cry but nothing came out of my dried-up tear ducts.
Tony entered the living room and sat opposite me in the matching chair.
I inhaled bitter air into my lifeless lungs. “What do I need to know to survive?”
“First you must die to your family.”
”Huh? Why?”
”Because they’ll know you’re dead. That’s why. They’ll know.”
My eyes flickered away but returned to him because he was telling the truth.
“I can handle that for you,” Tony said. “Sooner than later is best.”
I swallowed and nodded reluctantly. My thoughts about my mama, my brother, and sister, my friends... I think I’ll keep them to myself. For once, since this entire thing began I bravely listened and began to accept my fate. Tony spoke to me in a soothing voice, unshrouding the mysteries of what it was to be a Vampire.
I learned that there is the world we know and another world alongside our own. That other world is the limbo we go to upon death if our soul doesn’t go to its final resting place. It’s the place of ghosts. Only Vampires have circumvented the law that keeps the human world separated from the spirit one.
No one knows for sure, but the accepted theory says Vampires are animated corpses possessed by something that has never walked the earth. What exactly animates the Vampires is something that even they do not know for sure.
Travel is done in two ways—using rapid motion or for long distances. Using nothing more than thoug
ht, a Vampire can travel wherever he or she can visibly imagine. And yes, a Vampire must be invited into a home before he or she can enter.
With the exception of the psychic link that masters share with their blood donors and among their lieges, Vampires cannot read minds. But because of their heightened senses, Vampires can read human emotions by the sound of their heartbeats.
Vampires can consume food and drink but at a cost. What goes in must come out. And because the intestines no longer process waste, it generally comes out in an “uncomfortable” way. Otherwise, food has little appeal to Vampires.
Vampires continue to crave sex and relationships.
Animals have a keen distrust of Vampires.
Master vamps generally take blood every day but only need it once a week as long as they do not allow their systems to become depleted and are not undergoing some type of physical exertion. The lack of blood will not kill a vamp, but it would make for an unbearable existence.
Garlic has no effect on Vampires.
Vampires can be killed by mutilation of the heart, decapitation, being branded by a holy item, or caught in sunlight. Other things that would normally cause pain to humans would also cause pain to Vampires—maybe even more so because where humans might die, Vampires continue to experience pain until they heal.
Vampires have a limited control over humans by allowing a bit of what animates their body to slip into humans. It was the way we mesmerize or hypnotize humans. And because of this a human who continually feeds a Vampire can often gain some of the Vampire’s ability while still remaining human.
Vampires are required to take a number of regular human donors who willingly give blood. This cuts down on random human attacks.
Vampires get wealth from their human donors, but Masters are allowed to take financial support from specific targets, a process I found way too complicated to understand. Lower graded Vampires are not to be trusted to do this, so being a Vampire doesn’t mean you will automatically be filthy rich. This is the reason so many lower Vampires are pimps, sucking the life from their victims.
I asked why Vampires didn’t run for president or prime minister and control the world, and Tony told me, “They have.” Tony asked me if I remembered the fall of the Roman Empire. It was decreed then that Vampires must maintain a lower profile to protect their existence.
A Master Vampire wasn’t the strongest thing by far. An Elder was stronger than any Master. To become an Elder, you had to possess a power that could not be defined. No Vampire rules applied to an Elder.
After our long discussion, I relaxed again. But now my curiosity had gotten the better of me, and I focused it on my benefactor.
”Tony, who sired you?”
He stiffened. “Kaniji.”
“Somehow I’m not surprised. And Johan, did he sire her?”
He shook his head. “No. But many years ago I believe they had a relationship. She denies it.”
I thought hard about my next question. “Why do you care what happens to me? You’ve taken an interest in me in a way that seems uncharacteristic for a Council member to have with a Third.”
His brow quirked up and he seemed perplexed by the question. “Because ... you’re my liege.”
My brow gathered. “You didn’t sire me.”
”No, but my second-in-command did, and I sired him. So you are ... part of my family. Even when I first set eyes on you I felt the kinship. Didn’t you?”
I shook my head.
He made an angry, dismissive sound. “Figures. Third Generation ...” He closed his eyes briefly. “But I feel you, Kim. It’s not your fault that you are not linked to me the way I’m linked to you.”
”Linked?”
”Yes. It means that we are connected in a small way mentally. And that’s how I found you. You don’t know how to shield yourself the way Tige does.”
”If you find Tige, what will happen?”
”He’ll be put down. It’s not that I want to. Tige is a Rogue and the rules are pretty firm on the matter. Don’t look at me like that. Tige is my Second, my best friend. I love him! But he created a Third.“
”No, Tige saved me ... sorta.” I explained the events of my turning as I remembered them.
Tony rubbed his chin. “Still, he made another Neratomay, and then he ran.”
“How will it be done?”
“Because he’s my liege, if he’s not killed in pursuit, it will be my choice. He will probably be taken into the sun while he sleeps. It’s painful but quick.”
”Damn, Tony. Tige sacrificed himself for me.” I understood this now. He’d thrown away his existence to save me.
”He’s a good man.”
”Then why should he die?”
”Kim, just because I’m a Council member doesn’t mean I can just make and break rules. There’s another Council above mine. I mess up, and they’ll have my head.”
”Another Council?”
“Council of the Elders. There are Elder Councils all over the world. They sit in on our meetings then report back to their own Elder Council.” He shook his head. “To be called out by them is not pretty. They are incredibly powerful. They control our ‘demons’.” He nodded. “This means that they can do things like knock you across a room without touching you.”
”I think I understand. And Tony, you’re a Master, not just a Council member? You seem too young to be a Master.”
”I am a Master based on my strength and status,” he said. “You can also become a Master when you reach the age of one thousand years. By the time a Vampire is a thousand years old, he or she is controlled and strong. But regardless of the age, a Council member is always considered a Master because in order to get on the Council you have to be powerful.”
”And once you become a Master you can ‘make’ others. How did you get on the Council?”
”I killed my predecessor.” He stood and offered me his hand. “It’s a story that I’ll save for another night.”
I took his hand and stood.
“I want to show you the rest of the house and the location of my quarters.”
The main floor had a smallish, modern kitchen, most likely for his human guests. Comfortable reclining chairs rested in a library decorated in dark wood. A metal and cement stairwell led to a second level where most of the glass was. The floor was either acid stained cement or slate. Plush rugs broke up the surface.
Tony had a huge round media room. He had rows of rounded theater seating upholstered in what appeared to be black chenille and a massive chenille sectional loaded with pillows. I didn’t see a screen, but Tony told me it lowered from the ceiling.
There were only two others rooms on that floor. One was a conservative office with an oversized desk. The other was a room decorated in retro jazz posters. Albums lined the wall on expensive metallic shelves. He had a CD disc changer that held 2,500 discs. Tony assured me that it was filled to capacity. One reclining chair faced a wall of speakers.
”I like being alone when I listen to Jazz.”
The top floor of his house was his bedroom. The stairwell didn’t lead directly to the room. A brick wall with a metal door blocked the entrance into the room. Once he opened the door he led me inside a loft that gave the impression it was sitting on top of the city.
I could see every window on three sides. They were floor-to-ceiling and gave the impression that we were a part of the outside.
I turned slowly. Everything was done in black. Black bed, black slate floor, black wool rugs, black wood and glass tables, black flat screen television suspended from the ceiling, black fireplace, black component system. He turned on a light switch, and though we had been in total darkness, I had no problem seeing anything. When the lights came on it looked as if stars were imbedded in the ceiling. The distant cityscape and natural starlight from outside seemed to meld as one with his room.
”Tony, I can’t believe this room.”
He picked up a remote control, and the sounds of Billy Holiday came from th
e speakers. ”Do you like Billy Holiday?”
”I love Billy Holiday.”
He smiled. ”Kaniji hated jazz. She could only listen to Japanese music. And she hated this room because of the windows. She was thought that at some point the sun would weaken the protective barrier and fry her in her sleep.”
I ran my finger along a black marble sculpture of a warrior’s face. “So you built the suite in the basement for her.”
”No. She did. It was her design. I’m not into the harem look. I did have the gardenias placed in your rooms, though. That was my only touch.”
”It was a nice touch. Thank you.” I could feel the slow building of heaviness in my limbs as dawn approached.
Tony didn’t appear to feel the effects of it as he watched me.
I began feeling a little shaky and lightheaded. Being upset and angry had taken its toll, because hunger hit me hard.
I gasped and doubled over. There was no slight hungry feeling to lead up to it, only a full-blown crippling starvation.
Tony put his hand on my back. “You’re hungry. Why didn’t you say something?”
”I didn’t know.” I straightened up slowly. Why did it crash into me like this?
He began unbuttoning his shirt.
”What are you doing?” I asked.
”Feeding you.” He stopped unbuttoning his shirt. “Would you prefer Mei Wah, I can call him.”
”No, I couldn’t ask him.”
”Mei Wah has already lost blood to me earlier today, but if you don’t take too much he should be okay.”
I didn’t want to do that. I couldn’t imagine putting my lips on that old man’s neck. I liked him and everything, but it didn’t seem right. ”No. Maybe tomorrow we can find—” I felt a spear in my gut. I could not wait until tomorrow. I was starving!
Tony lifted my chin.
My eyes widened at the sight of his shirtless torso. I didn’t know if it was the Vampire in him, but his body was perfect. I could count the ripples in his stomach muscles. His arms were hard and smooth.
He helped me stand. His hands moved to undo the white wrap. This he tossed over the back of chair. I couldn’t seem to stop looking at the contrast of black and white cloth.