“Can you walk?” he asked her, and when she nodded, though just barely, he went around to her door and helped her out. The parking lot of the rest stop was dotted with very few cars, but he saw two in particular that met his needs. In one, a round face looked out and watched them with heated intensity as they lurched away from the car. From the same vehicle, he saw a cigarette flick away into the night through the open window. While carrying Esther to the family bathroom, he looked inside quickly at the lone toilet and sink. It was cleaner than he expected, and he placed her reverently on the seat with her clothes still on, breaking their contact with a delicate kiss on the mouth.
“I love you, mistress, and I serve you now as I see fit. Please, I beg of you, do not judge me tomorrow for what I do tonight.” His voice was clotted with shame.
Her eyes blazed momentarily and she simply held him, showing great care in the way her body rested lightly against his. He drew away, ashamed but anodized by her expression and touch.
“Do what you must. But feed me,” she muttered into his shirt with a voice that was ancient and gritty. Her nature was being exposed, lost in the sea of hunger pangs that gripped her now.
Ethan closed the door and pretended to fumble with his zipper. He leaned casually against the wall and pulled out his wallet, took out a twenty dollar bill, thought better of it, and slipped the folded note back in his pocket.
“Hello, friend. Nice night.” The voice was older, educated. Nervous.
Ethan turned to face him. It was the older man from the silver sedan that Ethan had marked. Cigarette butts had littered the ground outside the open window, and to a practiced eye, that meant the driver had been sitting. And waiting. Perfect, thought Ethan, who merely smiled, saying nothing. Better to let the stranger feel like he was in control, so he intentionally made himself smaller, pulling in his shoulders and letting the bulk of the older man fill the area between them. Brown eyes regarded him under a carefully tousled haircut. It was the look and carriage of a person used to getting their way, no matter how peculiar their tastes might be.
“Mind if I use that toilet? I’d be happy to pay, if you need a little help getting on down the road.” The stranger’s eyes glittered with lust now. He was close to the prize, and his voice grew thicker with each word as his breath shortened.
Ethan made a show of thinking, and then discreetly looked around and held out a hand.
“Twenty dollars gets you ten minutes, but don’t hit her, and no rough stuff.” He puffed up a bit, playing the role of the perverted protector.
With a rough, lewd cough, the customer slapped a bill in his hand, thought better of it and added another, then winked and said, “Don’t wait up, boy.” The door closed with an echoing click, and there was silence for a moment. The quiet continued, and panic began to grip Ethan as his chest grew tight with worry.
What if she’s too sick? Oh shit, kid, what the fuck have you done? The doubt cycled through his mind on a terrifying loop, but then he heard a laugh. It was a small, girlish laugh, tinkling and musical like chimes, and then the glorious, deep inhalation of a diver breaching the surface to suck sweet air all the way to their toes. More quiet, then a thump, and water began to run before a hot air dryer kicked into cycle, three times in all. Then, there was an interminable minute of maddening silence. Esther, please. He prayed, eyes closed tight.
The lock clicked, and the door swung inward. He opened his eyes slowly and let them adjust to the contrast between the yawning dark of the restroom and the yellow light of the outdoor bulbs. Esther stood before him, radiant with health and a coy smile, and held her arms out to him in open invitation. He rushed the step to her and swept her into his arms. He could feel the power pulsating in her body again.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know, I just didn’t understand what to do—” he chattered into her ear, but she silenced him with a wet kiss and he felt the old heat rising in him like a plague.
“I am fine. You saved me.” She looked over her shoulder at the twitching feet that stuck obscenely past the door. “He was . . . necessary.” Her black hair was slick with water from the sink, and her green eyes bored into him with a need that had been dormant for months. “Take me. And then, later on, remind me of how to stay human, promise?”
He kicked the door shut and stepped artfully over the corpse. They shed clothing at a furious rate and she leapt onto him, nimble as a flea. “I swear it,” he said, entering her as she bit his tongue. They slid down to the damp tile, and she rode him up and back in an elliptical that made him contort with pleasure and the agony of remembrance. He finally pinned her to his chest so she could stray no further. When he began to shake, she melded to him seamlessly. In a soundless blooming, he felt her open to him even as they fed upon everything she had just stolen.
“Take of me. There is more to be had,” she said, gentle now that their climax and feeding had ebbed. He let the purloined life and heat inhabit him, knowing she was right.
29
Ariana
Water. Gods, I must have water. This was far from his first recovery after hibernation, but he had never felt such torture. Heat radiated from his body in waves and the bed was a sweat sodden tangle. In places, his thrashing had torn actual rents in the fabric and spatters of blood indicated injuries of an unknown origin. His finger, crabbed from pain, curled weakly around a bottle. He tipped it to his cracked lips, shaking and spilling as much as he drank.
I am not nearly complete. He could feel it, and fear uncoiled in his gut at the realization that his road was far from over. Two days had been the longest rebirth he could remember, although in truth, there were several times during the decade after his defeat that he would awaken dusty, encrusted in old blood, and reeking of decay. He knew those events were blissfully behind him. Those embarrassing episodes of animalistic behavior were the result of a lack of control. Rage at being vanquished made him frail, and that weakness made him kill wantonly and without a plan. Those random bouts of very public butchery were a risk that he had finally brought to heel after a long life of barely contained bestial needs.
But this change was different. He grunted with effort and drew himself upright in the bed, noting that his powerful, deep chest and muscular legs were intact. True, his skin was sallow, but that was to be expected, although the strangely spicy smells emanating from his skin and breath were unknown to him. Is this the final step? Am I now on the verge of godhood, even as I draw closer to correct the one mistake of my life? These were thoughts for later. He drank deep of the bottle and cast it to the floor, kicking the linens away and spreading himself out under the lazily spinning fan.
For now, the Master will rest, he concluded, and closed his eyes once again.
30
Florida
“Father, I’m sorry to bother you, but . . . do you have a minute?” Red stood hesitantly at the door to Kevin’s office, taking the measure of the man from his surroundings. It was an orderly place, but filled with books and pictures that imparted a sense of welcome, rather than ceremony. Red had expected nothing less, and there were no surprises other than a volleyball posed on the shelf that was inscribed with the United States Olympic logo.
“Of course, Red, come on in.” He smiled and gestured at one of the chairs, coming around the desk to take the seat next to it, and turned it to face his guest. Again, not a surprise. Kevin was approachable, and the seat selection made him even more so.
Red wrung his hands for a moment, and then said, “I know that blonde lady who comes to visit you is, well, you’re helping her, and I know you can’t talk about what other people tell you.”
Kevin simply nodded. He took the relationship between clergy and parishioners very seriously.
Red went on, “Well, I can tell things about people, and I think that I probably have more in common with her than you might think. I mean, spiritually, that is,” he added when Kevin raised a brow. “I’m not a Catholic, I don’t even really know what that means, to tell you the truth. I just t
hink that it might be time for me to start doing what she is doing, or something like that. Your church has been really good to me, and I’m fed, have a nice place to stay. You treat me with respect and I can tell you mean it, but I haven’t really done anything about my—”
“Your soul?” Kevin interrupted.
“Yes, that. So, I thought that I ought to talk to you about it,” Red finished and put his hands in his lap.
Kevin leaned forward and gripped his forearm, staring at him even as a smile broke across his face. “Red, I can’t tell you how pleased I am to hear that. Of course I’d like to talk with you. That’s my job, my only job, really, when you get right down to it. All of these buildings are a tool to help me be here for people who simply thirst for God. I am here in whatever way possible to satisfy that thirst, my friend.”
The grin on Red’s face was almost infantile, he was so pleased, but he collected himself and said, “I’m always around in the afternoons, if you get some free time, please let me know, Father.”
“I’ll do that. Starting tomorrow, I’ll make time for you.” Kevin stood and they shook hands after embracing. Red saw himself out, shaking his head at the good fortune of meeting such a kind priest.
In Red’s mind, it had been a masterful performance, and he had been sorely tempted to tell Kevin exactly how massive his thirst had become since he’d seen the blonde visiting the church. I have no doubt I will quench my thirst, good priest, but my desire is for something you cannot give.
* * *
Risa’s laughter drew my attention away from Gyro, who was busy mauling a grapefruit rind in the backyard. “Ring. Oh, you have to see this.” She dissolved into laughter again, and I strolled into the hall, leaving the door open for the beast and his whims. She stood in front of Wally’s door with her arm extended dramatically like a model at an auto show.
“Ta-daaa!” I looked over her shoulder and stifled a snort. Wally and Delphine sat in identical positions, legs crossed and heads hanging lightly in their hands as groans of misery emitted from both of them. Wally dry heaved and Delphine attempted to push her away, covering her own mouth as her chest shook like a tiny bellows. Both of them had smeared makeup and a general pallor of death. Actually, death was a bit too fresh; they both looked several days past their expiration dates. With more synchronized whimpers, they hid their eyes, and Wally settled her head into her hands once again with a daintily painful gesture.
“Please, coffee. And something for my—for everything. Oh, God. Even my toes hurt.” Wally practically sobbed into her hands, and I knew what she was enduring was no hangover.
“Be right back. Do not move,” I said, unnecessarily, since neither woman appeared capable of anything other than grunting. I went into my bathroom and retrieved the nuclear strength painkillers Suma had left me after my last incident with Delphine. Suma’s skills as a physician were nothing short of lifesaving, particularly considering the fact that she saved my hide after my first treacherous encounter with Elizabeth. She then saved my sanity after I had an all-night sex bender with Delphine, in which we learned a few curious things. One fact that stood out was the existence of a near-death experience from relations with an ancient succubus. Another point that I took with me from that intense evening of lust and the hours of agony afterward, was that sex with Delphine could be a near-death experience for me if I didn’t have permission from Wally and Risa. After duly noting both facts, I considered myself girded against her attentions. Wally did not appear to have gotten the memo, and after an evening with Delphine, they were both paying the price. Which I found very curious, since it told me we were all becoming less human, and thus, more dangerous to interact with, at least for mortals.
I ceased such musings and held out two pills to each woman, along with water. Their hands shook like dry November leaves, but they got the medicine down and slumped to the mattress inert, barely capable of complaining via groans.
“Twenty minutes, girls, and you’ll be ready to go. When Suma does me up, I felt like a new man. It was a sort of migraine, you just have to interrupt it,” I pronounced, didactically. I feel the opportunities to impart my moral wisdom are rare enough, that under any circumstances, it’s my duty to help the people I love, even when they’re close to death from a night of high-octane, immortal sexual shenanigans.
Not even a peep from either woman, which wasn’t surprising. I remembered thinking during my post-Delphine sickness that if I had a skyscraper handy, I would have cheerfully jumped off of it if only to end the headache. My body pains were another level of discomfort that I couldn’t even qualify, so I took mercy on both victims of their own lust, and stepped into the kitchen to make coffee. Risa joined me, still bathing in the mirth that only well-deserved misfortune can bring. Her love of Schadenfreude is one of her least becoming traits, but I kissed her and we savored the moment, careless of what such an attitude might infer about our morality.
“They really look like shit.” She snickered, and I pulled her closer, joining in.
“I only laugh because I know it’ll be over soon, but God, it sucks!” I said, commiserating with their situation, but only a little. Wally knew the risks, but as usual, she just didn’t care. It was really one of her best qualities, and there were many to choose from.
Risa grew still. “I think Wally misses us.”
I looked sharply down at her, judging her expression. “Why?”
“I think we’re all in the house, but not in the same place. We all do different things too often, and I think that Wally is the one who ends up being dealt the bad hand. She’s quicker to feel excluded, and I think it will hurt us.” Risa finished with a sigh.
I poured coffee into mugs and digested her words. She was right, but I needed clarification. “Weaker how? You don’t think she’ll leave?”
Risa shook her head swiftly. “No, no. Not that kind of weaker, but yes, a little. No, I mean we cannot be prepared for—whatever. Whatever it is that happens next, you know? There are either three of us, or there are none at all. I think we should address that, and soon.”
It was true. I knew that something was going to happen because at that moment nothing was happening. Long, uninterrupted periods of peace weren’t part of our line of work. A silence meant something was hiding, not that there wasn’t anything to fear, so I tabled that thought and pushed the door to Wally’s room back open with the mugs in hand.
“Coffee, girls?” I asked, with the relentless cheer of someone who feels the exact opposite of the person in front of him. They both looked marginally better, and Delphine had actually managed to put on her lingerie. It was a start.
Handing the mugs to them, I settled to the floor while Risa busied herself pulling linens off the bed. “God, did you bathe in liquor?” She wrinkled her face as she balled up the sheets.
After a cautious sip, Wally admitted with the delicacy of a woman whose head felt like a grenade, “I opened champagne in the middle of the night. It was not a good idea.”
Delphine merely nodded and didn’t look up from her cup, although the color was swiftly returning to her cheeks.
“I’ll start separate showers for you two. You cannot be trusted in such a state,” Risa said soberly, and with a disdainful sniff. “Wally, to Ring’s shower. Delphine, to mine. You may borrow clothes from me to wear home, but if your giant tits stretch out my shirt, I’m making you take me to the mall when it is most likely to be filled with screaming children and elderly walkers, and we will shop for three hours until I find something. Understand?”
The lightly chastened Delphine bowed slightly while sitting, then thought better of it and grabbed her head again. I helped Wally up, who was still magnificently naked, her skin embossed with reddened bed lines in a hieroglyphic of her sleeping positions. It was a regal sight, and I grabbed an elbow to steady her as she attempted to navigate, coffee and all, to my room.
“Can you take her home when she’s ready?” I asked Risa, indicating Delphine with my eyes.
�
�I am quite capable of speaking for myself, you lout.” Delphine spoke with vigor, she really did recover quickly. “And yes, I would appreciate a ride. I’m not at my best. Yet” she said, demurely.
I grinned at her from the door where I still supported Wally, and with a salacious wink, said, “See you later, babe.” She started to roll her eyes, but the pain stopped her mid-gesture, so she settled for a wincing grin. With our charges in tow, we parted, and I hoped fervently that a love hangover was the most serious thing I’d face for some time.
31
Ariana
Darkness and light. But how many times? He struggled to his feet with a chorus of groans and protestations. Every muscle was on fire, each bone and sinew threatened to snap from the most minimal of movements. He had not experienced such sickness at any time in his long memory. He pulled the room phone to his ear, and when the concierge answered, grated simple instructions with an offer of a huge gratuity. He collapsed backward and waited a brief interlude filled with sweating, a renewal of some horrid taste in his mouth, and the urge to vomit, all simultaneously, and yet distinctly different. It was an assault on his body from within that insinuated doubt where none had been for centuries, but his exhaustion sapped him to the point that he couldn’t muster the energy to worry further, so he spread out on the cool tile of the floor to wait.
Moments later, a soft rapping forced him to rise, and he lumbered to the door with drunken steps, crashing into the flimsy jamb and gripping the wood with menace. After a full minute, his breath returned enough that he could open the door slightly, hold out a fistful of bills, and instruct that everything be placed inside the room as quietly as possible. Without making eye contact, the local youth stacked the tubs of ice, wine, and fresh linens, then vanished without a single sound.
Box Set: The Fearless 1-3 Page 60