Beryl seemed unwilling to put her legs on either side of his head. He did it for her and draped both legs over his shoulders, switching the work of his fingers for tight, harsh passes of his tongue. That seemed to be what she needed, and she grabbed at his hair so hard that his scalp ached. No need for her to say that she was about to come; he could feel it in the way her thighs tensed around him.
Casimir switched to rubbing her clit with fingers again and waiting for her first cries to fill his ears. Even louder than that, to him, was the rush of blood in her veins as the wave of euphoria hit her. He bit down on her thigh at the same moment, mouth filled with the sweet, heavy taste of her blood. The narcotic from his bite would negate the sting of his fangs quickly, and he continued to draw her through orgasm with his hand, greedily swallowing mouthful after hot mouthful.
When Beryl fell back against the bed, her body going limp, he forced himself to stop. He licked over the puncture marks to make them close, cleaning his lips with his tongue before he sat up. "Was that painful?" he asked, stroking her thigh.
"You bit me?" Beryl sat up, her weight resting against her arms to prop herself up. She looked woozy. "I barely felt it."
"I choose the moments I do for a reason," he chuckled, placing a kiss against her forehead. "It doesn't have to be painful; it shouldn't be, if you know what you're doing." Beryl started to reach for his groin, but he brushed her hand away. "No, no need. I don't have enough blood in me for that."
"Oh, I'm sorry." She seemed at a loss and rose, taking up her wrap again and putting it on. "Please allow me to clean up, then. Do you need anything?"
"Not right now." Casimir lay back on the bed and simply enjoyed the feel of fresh, hot blood cycling through his system. It removed the sluggishness in his limbs, his mind. He wasn't completely strong yet, but it was certainly a start.
Beryl returned a few minutes later. "This would normally be the place where I suggested food, but you have already eaten," she said, gently teasing. "Do you need anything else at the moment?"
"I'm going to sleep for a few hours. Beryl, please make sure you drink a lot of water. You haven't lost much blood, but you may feel light-headed," Casimir instructed, closing his eyes. "If you can eat meat, that's even better." He doubted he would even be able to sleep, but he needed just to lie down and let his body rest. "I will settle up with your mistress soon."
"Sleep well, then," Beryl said and flicked a switch. The blue-green lighting disappeared, leaving Casimir in darkness.
Chapter Three
When Casimir woke up, he barely felt like he'd slept. Sitting and lifting the curtain revealed that it was still dark outside. He got up and could see his clothing, neatly folded and resting on top of his bag. He dressed and stepped out of the room into brightly lit halls.
The Jewel Box seemed busy tonight. He could hear sounds through many of the doors before arriving in the lobby again: some groans and whispers, and even crying. Casimir kept walking. He was sure that if anyone was actually being hurt, Miss Adeline would deal with them.
He entered the lobby, expecting to see Adeline there. She wasn't, but there was another monster sitting on one of the overstuffed red sofas. She looked out of place, her black hair as stark as spilled ink. Her skin was translucent, the walls and furniture visible behind her where she wasn't wrapped in a white robe.
It was her pale blue lips that clinched it for Casimir: she was a snow maiden, and very far from home. He couldn't imagine it would be comfortable, having her icy blood in his system, any more than she would be comfortable in the warm room. He bowed his head to her, and she lowered her eyelashes in response. Hearing footsteps, he turned to see Adeline entering from a small side door.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" Adeline asked, nodding to the snow maiden.
"She is, but I'd think she'd be too cold to want to sleep with," Casimir said. He took the bill from Adeline's worn hands, opening the leather folder to see the datapad inside. It itemized his expenses, and he pursed his lips; the Jewel Box was definitely not a cheap meal. He swiped his card through the reader and signed on the screen with the electronic pen.
Adeline shrugged. "I would think so too, but I'm not going to argue with a paying customer. There are things in this city even colder than her."
He looked at the snow maiden; her expression was placid. Her kind were slow to anger but didn't like to be held prisoner. She wouldn't be in this city very long, and she would leave a trail of frozen bodies in her wake. Even a kiss from an angry snow maiden could literally freeze a man's blood. He mirrored Adeline's shrug and handed back the folder. "By the way, I wanted to ask, do you know of other vampires here?"
Her expression darkened. "There is a small group here. A family, or whatever you call yourselves. One of them came here and drained Garnet, one of my boys, nearly to death. I had no idea he was a vampire; he didn't tell me he was planning on taking blood."
"What happened to him?" Casimir asked.
"To Garnet? He recovered, after a lot of rest. You might have seen him when you came in. The vampire? While he was asleep, we staked him out in front of the building and let the 'family' come and get him. I told them that if they didn't pay a heavy damage fee, the vampire's head was going to stay behind."
Well, they definitely knew how to deal with vampires here. He made a mental note not anger Adeline. "Do you know how many there are?"
She shook her head. "Are you thinking to join up with them?"
"I'm just passing through. Thank you, and please thank Beryl for me. She was lovely." He gave another respectful nod to the snow maiden and walked out into the darkness.
It was an hour or two until dawn. Despite what the old stories said, sunlight wouldn't burn him alive. He could walk around during the day, but there was no advantage to it; the light was harsh to his eyes, and any blood he swallowed during the daylight would make him feel sick.
Casimir walked back to the same place where he had seen both the monster and Mikki. There was only a fleshy burned mess where the creature had been, and he looked around it. No sign of his knife. It must have dissolved, like the skin of his hand.
That reminded him to look at it. It would be easier to examine under a light, but it hurt quite a bit less now, he could see the dark red had brightened to a healthier pink. He imagined that by the next sunset, it would be completely healed.
He saw movement to his right and turned his head to see a lean profile standing just inside of the nearby alley. "You might as well show yourself. I can see you," he called quietly.
For a moment, it looked like the other person was going to move further away, but he stepped into view, still back by the mouth of the alley. "Were you looking for me?" Mikki asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes, but I thought you'd be asleep now." Casimir moved towards him carefully; he had a feeling that if he startled Mikki, he would bolt. "I wanted to say thank you."
Mikki's thin shoulders rose and fell. "You're not the first idiot I've saved. Doubt you'll be the last, either."
"Still, I'm an appreciative idiot." He stopped an arm's length away, looking at Mikki's face. His eyes were so dark they were hard to distinguish from the shadow that fell over him. "I'm Casimir."
"Mikki," he mumbled, confirming what Beryl had said. He lifted his head and frowned. "Do you smell that?"
"I smell burned flesh," Casimir said. "In any case, it's a little early for breakfast, but I'd like to take you out for a meal to thank you."
Mikki's frown deepened. "I smell blood. Let me guess: you're a vampire. Fangs are a dead giveaway, anyway."
"That would be a good guess. Yes, I'm a vampire," Casimir admitted. "But I'm not inviting you out because I was planning on making a meal of you." He raked his eyes critically over Mikki's whip-thin body. "You look like you don't eat enough as it is, and I have nothing else to thank you with, unless you accept sexual favors."
He was teasing, but Mikki didn't look any less annoyed. "Look, I know that is going to make me sound like a dick, but I don
't trust strange monsters. Especially ones that prey on humans… and especially vampires."
Casimir put up both hands. "I was under the impression that there weren't many vampires here."
"There's not, but the ones that are here are assholes. Especially Jared."
"Jared?" He let his hands drop.
"Yeah, he's the leader, I guess. You know him?"
Casimir bit his lip, wincing when his fangs broke through the skin. The human gestures came out sometimes, despite him having long learned better. Doubly so when he was under stress. "It answers a few of my questions," he replied, licking away the faint taste of iron.
Mikki took a step back towards the alley. "Well, you do whatever you have to do and get out. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Don't make a mess."
"I'll do my best." Casimir wasn't going to hold his gun to Mikki's head and force him to come to dinner. "One more thing, though: can you tell me where I could rent a room? I figure you must know where everything is in this city."
He expected Mikki to blow him off, but he said, "If you go past the Jewel Box, there's a brown brick building about two blocks away. It's a hotel. The centaur who runs it is a mean son of a bitch, so watch what you say."
"I'll do that. Thanks, Mikki."
"Yeah, sure."Mikki started to move back into the alley.
"Are you sure I can't take you out for food? I was being serious about that."
Mikki snorted. "Nothing about the idea of a vampire taking me out for food makes me feel good."
"Fair enough, I guess," Casimir said, but he was talking to the empty air. Mikki was already gone.
Chapter Four
Mikki wasn't kidding—the centaur that ran the inn was a mean son of a bitch. He glared down at Casimir from his towering height, a frown etched into his craggy face, hooves scraping sharply against the stone floor. After repeated assurances that he wasn't, in fact, here to feed on centaur, a key was reluctantly tossed at him.
Casimir went up to his room and, after closing the door, laid his bag on the bed. There were a few sets of clothes inside, but what he was looking for was underneath. The stakes came out first—a half-dozen of them, made from an ash tree. He didn't know if the type of wood actually mattered, or if that was just folklore, but Casimir decided not to take chances with it.
He may have lost his butterfly knife to the blob monster, but his Bowie knife was still in the bag. It was as good for intimidation as it was for cutting. Apparently, cowboys used them in the Wild West a few hundred years ago. He wouldn't know; he was only fifty himself.
Wrapped in a shirt was his .357 magnum revolver. Casimir was told it was a Ruger when he bought it, but the brand name didn't mean anything to him. The pistol he carried in his pocket was a 9mm, and ammunition for that was rare. .357 rounds were rarer than diamonds, and probably even more valuable now. He kept it only for desperate situations.
Before he could start putting everything back away, he heard a knock on the door. Throwing clothes over his weapons, he opened the door a crack, then completely when he saw who was on the other side. "How did you know which room I was in?"
"Centaur told me. He said you're an asshole, and I'm an asshole if I knew you. I kinda like him." Mikki stood on the other side, arms crossed. It was the first time Casimir had seen him in full lighting; he was a handsome guy, still young-looking, with a scruff of whiskers across his face. His hair and eyes were just as black as they looked in the dark.
"Beryl said you left this, asked if I knew where you were," he said, holding out a small red journal. The leather cover was cracked with age. "I can't read it, but I figured it's probably yours anyway."
"Thank you," he said, taking the journal. He'd had it since he was still human; it would have been devastating to lose it. "I'm not surprised you can't read it—it's in Cyrillic."
"In what?"
"It's a writing system. It's—it's in Russian," Casimir said, figuring Mikki wouldn't care for the history lesson.
He shrugged. "Wouldn't matter what language it was in. I can't read anyway."
Casimir's eyebrows went up. "You never learned in school?"
Mikki snorted, swiping hair out of his eyes. "What school? I never went. Wasn't exactly priority number one after my parents disappeared."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, slipping the journal into his bag.
Mikki shrugged again. "It happens a lot around here. My sister took care of us. We survived."
Casimir had the feeling that Mikki was acting harder than he really was, but he doubted that he'd ever let that front down for a stranger. "Where are they now?"
"Why do you care?"
"Just making conversation," Casimir said. He pushed the stakes aside and sat down, hoping Mikki would take the invitation to come inside. He'd been traveling for a while; having someone to talk to would be nice.
Mikki leaned against the doorframe. "She met a guy and disappeared too. My little brother doesn't talk to me anymore."
"I lost my family as well," Casimir said.
Mikki snorted. "You're old, right? They probably died from old age."
Casimir bit back on his initial offended reply. "No. The vampire that turned me killed them," he said, expecting another blasé reply.
Mikki looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "… Sorry. That sucks."
"It was a long time ago," Casimir said, calming down at the sight of Mikki showing some humanity. An odd thought when he was, himself, not human anymore. "I'm old, but I'm pretty young for a vampire."
"What's that mean?"
"I'm fifty. Back when I was turned, that would have made me pretty much a teenager. One hundred was the 'mature' year; not a lot of us reach that age anymore." Now it was Casimir's turn to shrug. "Monster hunting, slaying, whatever you want to call it, is a pretty popular career these days."
Mikki snorted again, shaking his shaggy hair out of his eyes. "You think I don't know that? We get at least one dipshit a week showing up to try and make a name for themselves here. Most of 'em get eaten by the damn blob monsters. I thought you were one of 'em when I saw you."
"I don't really see the appeal in chasing after something that wants to eat me," Casimir said.
A spark of interest flashed in Mikki's eyes. "There are things that eat vampires? Besides the fleshballs, I guess."
"Ghouls will eat anything with flesh, including us. Demons don't usually eat bodies, but they would just to spite us. And then we have the problem of vultures following us around and pecking at us if we fall asleep outside," Casimir said, the last part clearly teasing.
Mikki rolled his eyes.
"Are you planning on hunting us?" Casimir asked.
"No way. I just protect my area, get what money I can here and there doing it. I mean, I'd kill you if you were a threat, but there's too many fucking monsters in the world to go chasing them down," Mikki said, shaking his head.
"Why not ask the Jewel Box if they could use a bodyguard if you need money? I'm sure they could use one," Casimir suggested.
Mikki shook his head. "I'll watch out for them, but no way in hell I'm working there."
"I didn't mean selling yourself."
"I know. Still, nope." Mikki seemed to realize how long he'd been standing there chatting, and he pushed off of the doorframe. "Anyway, you got your book." Without so much as a goodbye, he closed the door.
Casimir found himself chuckling as he picked up a shirt and folded it. There was a lot more to Mikki than a scowling face. He would have to ask him to dinner again and hope he accepted.
Chapter Five
Casimir slept the rest of the daylight away and woke at dusk. Beryl's blood was already thin in his system, and his veins were aching with the need for more. He tucked a stake into one pocket and his pistol into the other then headed down the stairs.
The centaur wasn't at the desk, but there was a brass bell set up with a pull cord sitting in the middle of it. Casimir couldn't imagine himself daring to pull it, even if the hotel was on fire.
Casimir bowed to the fox demon. He didn't know what type she was, but given that they all loved mischief, it was smarter for him to be polite to her. She yawned, her bright yellow followed him into the building.
Adeline was in the foyer again, this time wearing a deep purple dress. "Hello again," she said, only glancing up from the datapad she was working on. "If you will give me just one moment, I'll send for Beryl for you."
"No, not Beryl. She was wonderful, but it wouldn't be safe for me to take her blood again when I just did last night."
Adeline smiled and finally gave him her attention. "That was what I was hoping to hear. I'm finished with this bill. Now let me just see who's free. I assume you prefer human?"
"Human blood is the only kind I can drink," he replied. "No disrespect to your lovely monsters. Speaking of, I noticed the fox demon outside. I'm amazed you're able to keep her working for you."
She responded with a very unladylike snort. "She comes and goes as it amuses her. She doesn't even ask to be paid; I think she only decides to work when she has nothing better to do. But she's very popular, so I can't begrudge her anything, even though she's only been here a few weeks."
After few swipes across the surface of the datapad, she slipped it into her pocket. "Ah, there we are. Take the hallway to your left and enter the second door. He will be with you shortly."
Casimir bowed his head in thanks and went where he was directed. This room, unlike Beryl's, was done in dark, sultry reds. An overstuffed sofa stood against one wall, and he sat down on it, sinking into the cushions.
It wasn't long before the young man that he'd seen last night entered, wearing the same red robe. He was tall and lean, with dark hair and eyes. "Welcome," he said, voice quiet but pleasant. "I'm Garnet, and I'm here to take care of you."
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