by Martha Woods
“Only you can directly manipulate the power that he would have stored in him, and really in any vampire who drank from you. Everyone else can only use it to power another action that they are doing, basically he’s nothing more than a very powerful battery that we can use, but that original magic is only specifically controllable to you.”
“How relieving that not any random ham and egger can turn me into a magic powered bomb, only one woman is capable of doing that.” Vincent smiled, pushing himself up to sit and wrapping an arm around my waist. “I am glad that I can say that while you are still here.”
“Yeah, how romantic.” I rolled my eyes, not bothering to hide my happiness that everyone was still here. Even Mika. “How is everyone else? They must be fairly tired from everything right?”
“Faye is laying down in one of the other rooms, she took the lead in this ritual seeing as how she was the only ‘pure’ witch that we had access to here. With a few days rest and food she should be good as new, just a shame that she can’t heal herself the same way that we can, one simple drink and I feel almost born again!”
“If that’s all it takes then why is Vincent still so worn out?”
“Oh, it’s the most adorable thing, he refuses to drink from anyone except you now. I even had people offer themselves willingly to him, but he still refused. You’re blood really is something special, I don’t blame him for doing so.”
“It’s not just the taste Mika,” He said, “I made a promise of loyalty, whatever it is that entails.”
“Not even to rejuvenate yourself after such a long night?” She clicked her tongue, amusement dancing in her eyes, “Love really will tear you apart, won’t it? And here I thought the three of you were so good with sharing.”
He grinned. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice?”
“Hardly, you know as well as I do that eventually I get what I desire, no matter how long it takes or how old the two of them get, eventually their curiosity will get the better of them. Assuming of course, that it isn’t already…” She cocked her eyebrow at Damon, flicking her tongue lightly across her lips and purring, “How about you? You’re already with one vampire, why not be slightly more adventurous?”
At first, he only stared numbly at her, though he soon got his faculties under enough control to shake his head, sliding closer to me and wrapping his arm around my waist right below Vincent’s. “No thanks… I… I’m good.”
“Hmph, for now at least…” She winked at me, blowing a small kiss through the air before turning on her heel and starting to walk away. “Don’t think I’ll forget about you either Amy, you’ll come along. In time.”
“I’m sure I will Mika, have a good night. Or day, whatever.” I grinned to myself, actually grateful that she was still her overly flirtatious self, some things just shouldn’t be changed you know? Hedonism was the defining factor of her entire personality, who would I be to deny her that essential part of herself? Plus, I would be lying if I said that having her relentlessly coming onto me at every available opportunity wasn’t an intense confidence boost every time she opened her mouth. What can I say? It’s nice to know that you’re wanted.
“She’s relentless, isn’t she?” Damon shivered next to us, very clearly still not used to how… forward vampires could be when they weren’t attempting to murder you. “Are they all like that or...?”
“Well, you’ve met Mika, you’ve met Joseph, you’ve spent enough time in the bedroom with me…” Vincent snorted, shrugging his shoulders and patting Damon on the back, “Eventually you just decide that life has pleasures to offer you if you just… go for them. If you constantly deny yourself pleasure, then what is the point of being alive forever?”
“Fair point.” Leaning back into his chest, I let the tension leech out of my body in a few heavy exhales. “She used to be one of those sources of pleasure for you, don’t worry I’m not saying this to make you feel bad, just the opposite… are you really ok with just being with the two of us? Obviously, I think that feelings can be shared between more than two people, it would be pretty shitty of me to deny you that with all that you’ve given me after all.”
“I’m fine with what we have Amy, more than fine actually. I’m the most genuinely happy that I’ve been in decades.” He hummed to himself, flicking through memories in his mind that were no doubt good. “I won’t deny that myself and the occupants of this house have made some good memories over the years, even with all the strife that they involved, but I won’t explore anything else that the two of you won’t join me in.”
“Oh,” I said, “Wow, you’re talking about…”
“Something that likely wouldn’t happen for years, if it even happened at all.” He smiled, squeezing our hands and breathing deeply. “She’s right, there are decades ahead of us, and life is very long, if you decide that your lives want to involve something new then I’ll join you in something new if it doesn’t then I’m more than happy to stay by your side through that as well. I’ve lived a very long time, but this connection is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I don’t intend to ever give it up for any reason.”
“That’s a pretty big promise,” Damon said, “And I hate to be a total downer but… humans don’t live forever, eventually, we’ll… well, you know.”
“There are ways to prevent that,” He replied, “Though even if that didn’t come to be I think I should remind you that I’ve lived a very long time. I don’t want to say that I’ve gotten used to losing people, because it’s not something you ever really get used to, but I’ve learned to accept it and move on. If things end up that way, if you both decide that you want to live your natural lives and have that be the end of it, then I’ll continue on and remember everything that we shared together, for as long as I have left.”
I didn’t have any words to say to that, it was more profound than any love confession I could hope to give and more filled with promise than anything that either of us could give. I guess a life as long as his gave him an advantage on knowing the right thing to say at any given moment, which normally I would be tempted to consider cheating, but given the situation, I was willing to overlook a little bit of an unfair advantage.
“I… don’t know if either of us would take that leap, I don’t know for sure that I wouldn’t, but I also have no clue on if I would. But even if we don’t, if eventually we fade away and leave you behind… I promise that we’re going to spend every moment that we can with you, making sure that every day that we have is a memory that can be cherished.”
Vincent inclined his head, obviously noticing how drooped my eyelids were getting but not wanting to interrupt me while I spoke. We did always like to hear each other talk, it was only polite to let them finish before we started in with our own, but fortunately, now I was already done.
“You two look like you’ve seen better days, matter of fact I’m fairly certain that we’ve all been in better shape than we are right now.” Slowly, with all the gingerness and care of someone who was one bad gust of air away from breaking, Vincent stood up, offering his hand to us both and flicking his head at a nearby door. “There is a bed in there that’s far more comfortable than any of the couches out here, I think it would be a good idea to rest up while we have the chance. We haven’t gotten the opportunity to talk about what exactly happened out there, but I’m guessing that our job is far from over.”
“Yeah,” We said, “You could say that.”
“All the more reason to rest now, none of us are in any condition to run, let alone do something as strenuous as fighting whatever foe is left for us to eliminate. Come, a few hours and we will talk about this over something to eat.”
“A little rest sounds good…” I looked over at Damon, standing to his feet and letting out one of the most satisfying grunts of the last few weeks. “I take it that you agree?”
“I feel about ready to pass out for the next few weeks, hell yes I agree. The sooner that I can close my eyes and get some focus off my
ribs the better.”
“Then come on,” Vincent said, pulling us towards the room and smiling gently, “There’s no time like the present.”
Chapter 5
The few hours that we had of passing into complete unconsciousness were among the best that I’d had in recent memory, none of our aches and pains bothering us as we just focused on bundling up close and letting sleep overtake us. Sure, there was the overhanging anxiety of what state the city was going to be in when we woke up, but all of that could be put at the wayside for the time being.
When we awoke it was to the smell of something delicious drifting under the door, me being the first of us to rouse from slumber given how plain hungry I was after everything, even more so than the vampire who had been used as a magical conduit and the hunter who had been fighting and beaten quite badly the previous night. Well, whatever the reason was I wasn’t going to turn down a possibility of free food, which if it was the same quality as the bottles of near ancient liquor that they had stored in the cellars here was almost certainly going to be a treat.
“Hey, Vincent, Damon, wake up…” Light shoves to their shoulders weren’t waking them, they really were completely wiped from what had happened. Not that I could blame them, but right now they were standing in between me and free food because I definitely wasn’t going to go without them. So here I would have to stay, pushing and shoving at their limp, unconscious forms hoping that sooner or later I would get through to them.
“Dammit, wake up!” That finally got their attention, tired groans pushing out into the open air while they tried turning over onto their sides away from me, in the vague hope that I would give up. Not today, rest was only one of the things that they needed, a full, healthy meal was the next. Well, Vincent needed blood primarily, but I wasn’t going to be able to give any to him on an empty stomach, that just wouldn’t be healthy.
“Just one more hour,” Damon groaned, laying his hand on my wrist to stop me from pushing him any longer, “Comfortable here.”
“You need food, actual food type food, then you can come back and sleep for however you want alright?” Stepping out of bed, I grabbed their wrists and pulled them upwards, the two of them standing shaky and tired eyed in front of me in maybe one of the most adorable displays they’d given me. “Come on, it’ll only be for a little while.”
Practically leading them by the hand, we stepped out into the main room and followed a corridor deeper into the mansion, led by the smell of meats and sweet pastries that I hadn’t smelt since I was a little girl, memories of days spent at my grandparent’s house and sitting at the table while they prepared a plate of freshly baked sweets, my heart almost bursting in my chest from the rekindled feeling. Whoever they had working for them clearly had this as a passion, you couldn’t produce such a wonderful smell as that by just going through the motions, you had to have a spark of inspiration and care that you put into everything that you did.
“Wow,” Damon said, sniffing at the air, “That… smells really good.”
“The humans that they house here are often very talented in many ways,” Vincent said, sighing deeply with a content expression on his face, “Food is another expression of artistry, it’s nice to see that they haven’t neglected to preserve that.”
The main dining room was already set out for us, a long table practically overflowing with food and a seat for each one of us, everyone else looking just as tired as we did but practically salivating over the thought of getting to eat proper food. Fighting for your life was tiring, you wouldn’t be able to do much if you didn’t recharge your energy every now and then, and the best way to do that was through good sleep and better food. But the banquet laid out in front of us… roasted beef and lamb, bowls of salads and pasta for each of our tastes, dishes from Italy and Russia, I had a feeling that the humans weren’t the only ones who had given their hand to preparing the food tonight. Indeed, going by the look of recognition and the quiet smile that Vincent gave to himself, he was familiar with some of these dishes.
“Mika,” He said, turning and regarding the woman who I hadn’t even heard approach us, “You shouldn’t have.”
“We wanted to though, that’s all that matters,” She laughed, “Don’t look so surprised, we may not need to actually eat any of this but we haven’t forgotten how to prepare a good meal. We were all human once upon a time after all.”
“It looks great Mika,” I said, pulling her in for a quick hug, “Thank you for taking care of us.”
“How else am I going to make a good impression?” She asked, smirking and taking her seat next to ours, “It’s fairly obvious that relentless attention is getting me nowhere slowly, maybe if I plied you with food you would be more receptive to our charms.”
“Getting started without me my love?” Ivanka sat herself down in Mika’s lap, winding her arms around her neck and whispering something into her ear that drew a surprised and devilish smile from her lover. “You can’t neglect telling them that I was involved in tonight as well?”
“Of course, of course, what is mine is yours after all.” Sweeping her hand across the table in front of her, drawing particular attention to a delicious beef dish steaming in the middle. “Ivanka prepared a beef stroganoff tonight, and for being out of practice it’s very good. The perfect thing to get your strength back after such a strenuous night.”
I had to admit they were correct there, heavy foods like that were always good for the heart and the soul, and if I planned on feeding Vincent after this I would need all the strength I could get. But the smell alone… that would have convinced me anyway, I would definitely have to ask them for some tips on how to become a better cook, who better to teach me than someone with a few centuries of knowledge?
Our plates were loaded in no time at all, and I would have to admit that my table manners were not… exactly the best they had ever been, but one bite of that stroganoff and I was lost to my primal instincts, all thoughts exiting my mind aside from the need to keep eating. It was only after I turned my head and saw the two of them watching me with a bemused expression that I realized the spectacle I was making of myself, forcing myself to slow down and actually properly enjoy the flavor of the food rather than just filling myself with it.
“So,” Damon said, “I don’t think I’ve ever properly asked you two about yourselves, what’s the deal?”
“What’s the deal?” Mika asked, “You’re going to have to be more specific.”
“Well you two are really close and all, was that before or after you were turned?”
“That came after, quite a long time after actually.” Ivanka raised an eyebrow at the question. “Why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering, you know, because back when I was still running with the hunters I was always taught that vampires didn’t feel anything for anyone, even other vampires that I fought against told me the exact same thing, that they were heartless and didn’t care for anyone but themselves.” He pointed at them with his fork, tilting his head in interest. “But the two of you, and Joseph by extension, clearly you all care for each other. Quite a lot actually, I rarely ever see one of you without the other two somewhere close by. That kind of throws a wrench in the whole ‘vampires don’t care’ thing, right?”
Everything that he was saying sounded exactly like what Mika had told me once herself, she had seemed convinced then that vampires couldn’t really feel anything for anyone, that feelings were a weakness that they had overcome with their transformation. She’d even ridiculed Vincent for what he felt for me, but even then, I didn’t know how to tell her that what he felt for me it seemed she felt for Ivanka and Joseph, and by the look on her face she was remembering all of this too.
“The way we feel things is… complicated.” Yeah, that was an understatement alright. “It has been a long time since any of us living in this house saw something approaching genuine love between a human and a vampire, we’re well acquainted with lust, between both humans and our fellow vampires, but lo
ve is something that we’ve fallen out of touch with.”
Ivanka nodded along, the look on her face so much more serious and understanding than I’d seen from her before. “We feel things so much differently and so much more intensely that it’s hard to see emotions the same way that we used to, everything that we feel takes on the same fire as a raging inferno, something like love may be extreme and monumental when you’re an ordinary human being, but that level of passion is what we feel for everything now.”
“So… you still feel love, but you don’t initially realize it because you have nothing to compare it to, because of the way you feel everything changing so fully?” Damon hummed, leaning on his elbow and regarding them closely, “How do you feel now? Now that you’ve been watching the three of us for a while now and have some level of understanding over all of this?”
“There is… comfort in having a word to attach to what it is we feel for one another, it always felt deeper than loyalty, deeper than just simple pleasure, but love…” Mika laughed, “That was a word that I thought had been lost to us a long time ago. It’s nice to see that it wasn’t.”
I couldn’t help the smile that came to my own face, the fact that things were improving to this degree, in such a way that I hadn’t anticipated when I’d sought to ease hostilities between everyone all that time ago… it made me feel proud of something that I hadn’t even intended to do. “How are things going between the three of you?”
“You’ve been here enough times to see, we’re closer than we have been in years. Or at least, now we know that we’re closer, we’ve been like that for a while.” Mika smiled, leaning her cheek against Ivanka’s shoulder and pressing her lips to the skin. “Now that we know that it isn’t just loyalty mixed with lust… we can be more comfortable with what we do. Really we’re not changing from how we’ve been for the last years of our relationship, we’re just letting ourselves name what it is.”