by P. S. Power
People kept coming up to talk to them though, even after the scene that had been caused. Claire held a smile on her face, so he did as well. Hundreds of years in this kind of situation trumped his non-existent skills in this area hands down. Following her lead seemed wise to him at the moment.
They were seated for dinner even though half of the people in the room didn't eat. Instead of food, Humans were walked out for the Vampires and stood beside them so they could feed while the others ate. Claire's eyes widened. Her inner self scrambled to find a way to tell him that by tradition she had to drink at least a little, just as he had to eat some of the food. She hadn't known that they were going to go that far though. It made sense, with this many Vampires in one location it would be hard for them to provide all their own blood subtly. Her inner self tried to signal Zack a bit desperately and explain it all as quickly as possible.
A tall brunette was escorted to the table by the wait staff. Zack focused on her for a moment, picking up on what her inner self made of all this.
The girl standing by the table thought that this was all so cool. She didn't believe that they were real Vampires, but had been paid money to act like it, kind of like an acting gig. The woman they stood her by looked younger than her and her boyfriend seemed out of place in his tuxedo, though the fit said money. Still, they looked cute enough that either one of them could give her a hickey for a thousand dollars. The men that hired her had assured her there'd be no sex involved, at least not for her, and she believed them, though now it seemed less likely somehow.
“Well, Claire, when in Rome and all that. I hope they have something that doesn't have meat in it.” To the girl he added, leaning toward her a little, “I'm a vegetarian.”
Claire smiled, getting his less than covert signal that he understood the situation.
Instead of ordering from a menu or simply being brought a plate, carts, loaded with various dishes came around all at once. You picked, kind of buffet style and the food was placed on your plate. He picked a carb heavy theme, though he did have a slice of quiche that the waiter claimed had eggs and cheese, but no meat of any kind. His plate looked eclectic, but the food worked well together for the most part.
The fact that he felt half-starved didn't hurt.
As he ate mashed potatoes dripping with a pale gravy, Claire sat the girl on her knee and kissed her neck. Then sucked on it. The girl giggled a little, not realizing that she had actually been bitten and blood gushed into the other girl's mouth. She stopped this fairly quickly, not needing the blood at all, but made sure she wasn't the first, or even the second, to stop. He tried to be attentive to what her Shadow told him, since the evening had turned out differently than they had thought so far.
As the dessert carts rolled around he selected a couple off the cart, wanting more, but trying not to seem greedy. He could eat later when they got back to the house. He focused on the hunger and then put it out of mind. Now he didn't feel nearly so tempted, though Zack knew he still had to eat just as much or there would be rapid weight loss. So far he'd managed to keep his weight up to one hundred fifty pounds, though even one missed meal could mean weight loss. He did seem to be building muscle faster though, according to Hilda and Lars.
Some of the Vampires, those with non-Vampire dates, passed their 'meals' over to them for other activities. Sex mainly. The girl still sitting in Claire's lap began to worry as more and more of the blood donors were suddenly having sex. Not all, but enough to concern her.
Claire looked at him and nodded her head toward the girl.
“Would you like to join in, this girl's pretty enough, don't you think?” The near perfect control of her voice made this sound like she hadn't just offered the girl to him to use as he pleased. He knew that she wanted them to put on a show for the others though and tried to communicate the plan to him. He just needed to say his lines and it should seem about right.
“She's quite pretty, but I only have eyes and, er, other things, for you. Plus I've never been big on the idea of public sex.” Glancing up at the girl he added, “You're not offended by that, I hope? I could probably manage it, if you feel your duty requires it. Otherwise I'd prefer not to, even if you are very pretty.”
Her Shadow sighed with relief and she nearly did the same outwardly.
“That's fine. I'm not offended. I think it's sweet. Not a lot of guys would turn down no-strings sex. That kind of makes you special.” She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling a bit.
For the show they had real exotic dancers. Not strippers, they didn't even take their clothing off. It seemed half Cirque du Soleil and half Broadway show. Colorfully dressed men and women, most of them very limber, flipped and twisted, spun ribbons and at a few points sang in various languages.
“I haven't seen a show like this in a long time,” Claire whispered to him. “Definitely the highpoint of the evening!”
He smiled along with Claire, since a lot of the room spent more time looking at them than the dancers.
Chapter forty
They got to the house late, Zack taking Claire through the shortcuts he'd found for them in the cool early morning before dawn.
Patty sat watching a movie that played on the flat screen TV in the corner of the living room. The whole house had been decorated before they got there and if anything, it looked slightly better than home did as far as decor went. Rich and elegant, without bothering to hide that fact from the neighbors.
On the screen he saw a familiar face wearing a skin tight top and swinging a baseball bat at the head of what looked like a small dragon. Courtney had actually looked better sitting on his couch. He realized that she probably had to downplay her looks to make it in the movie industry. Her natural appearance would seem too unreal for most people to accept on the big screen. He hadn't provided a dragon for her to fight though, so it may not be a fair comparison, it seemed rude to him to ask her to come back just for that though, he decided. Plus, he didn't really know where to get a dragon. Lesser Shia maybe?
Patty looked up, far more interested in them and the stories they could share than the woman playing make believe on the screen.
“How did it go?” She licked her lips, sensing the mood as being a little off.
Zack shook his head and went to open some packages of ready-made foods that had been put in for them, though Patty had promised to cook too, he just couldn't wait that long to eat this time. He managed to put together a huge plate of bean and cheese nachos without too much trouble. Using the microwave to heat everything separately, then putting it together on the plate. He poured about half a jar of salsa on it, and failing to find a tray to put it on, simply moved the kitchen table over so he could hear what the other two were saying.
“And then he acted like he was going to grab me but grabbed at Zack instead and tried to hit him. Zack knocked him out, nearly taking his head off in the process.” An admiring gaze came his way.
“Then everything resumed, they had a dancing troop, people had sex with the blood donors. That kind of thing.”
Between bites of cheesy goodness, which he fairly shoveled into his mouth, he mentioned that he didn't think this spat with Forest would be over yet.
“He was there for a reason and failed. I don't know what his normal course of action would be, but I figure he'll take at least one more try, just in case I 'd gotten in a lucky shot. Which, by the way, I kind of did.” Eating more for about fifteen seconds, he then continued talking.
“If he'd just attacked, at full speed, instead of trying to talk first, I'd be dead now. We'd be dead. That Vampire speed is hard to beat. I kind of wish I could have killed him there. I just didn't know what kind of fallout there would be from it, so I held back.” Hoping this didn't sound cold or heartless he added that he thought he could do it with a few dozen direct blows to the head now, after all his practice with Wu-Li.
He had gone through more than half the plate and his stomach still gnawed at him. He'd have to go get more food when he finished, he knew.
His last meal had been way too small.
Claire turned her head a bit to look at him directly. She smoothed her hands down the long red dress she still wore, then did it again nervously.
“In self defense you would have been fine, but it requires clear self defense. If there'd been doubt, which there would have been, because you actually moved first, then a judgment might be made against you. Money probably, since they won't want you dead. But I can't promise that. Things won't be like that if we're attacked outside of a grand meeting though, special rules applied there. Basically, with Vampires, you can kill anyone you want to, if you can manage it. If not then you're dead, so what's left to punish?”
According to the schedule that had been provided, the first session would be held in an hour and a half. Since Claire wouldn't have Zack to take her, she'd rented a car that sat outside. This meant leaving early though, like regular people, she told him.
A lingering cool kiss and a hug for Patty and she headed out, saying she'd be back at about three in the afternoon, to change for dinner and do her makeup.
He got more food and kept eating until he didn't feel hungry any more.
When he finished, he cleaned up and walked back to Patty. Zack waited until the movie had finished and she turned to him.
“Ready for round one?” Her look seemed very serious.
“We may as well, everything's contingent on what happens here. If I can't pass as at least an average looking girl, then we have to come up with another plan. What do we do?”
Gesturing at him, she walked to the bedroom, “Come this way.”
“Now, this won't hurt, it won't feel like much of anything, so don't worry about that. I'd like you to take your clothes off and lay on the bed, please.” She looked away briefly while he disrobed even though she knew he'd be laying there naked in a few moments, intrigued, he asked about it.
“Oh, I hadn't realized I'd done that.” Laughing she sat next to him on the bed. “When people are undressing, especially men, they often feel self conscious, so you look away while they do it so they feel more comfortable. Ninja secrets of the Succubi and all, you know...”
She place a hand on his chest and another on his bare stomach, at the same point they touched when feeding someone else energy. The same spot Zack had been using with them, just below the belly button. She closed her eyes and he decided to do the same, though she didn't say he had to or even that he should.
The process itself felt rather... odd. It didn't hurt really, but he felt his limbs shrink and his groin... flipped somehow. A strange bubbling sensation washed over him for about five minutes then it faded quickly. He felt his chest swell a little and his body began to itch all over, though he didn't scratch.
Then it all seemed fine.
No itching, no sheets rubbing against his back as if his body contracted inward, just normal.
He opened his eyes and looked up at Patty.
“Oh my. Well, I think we can work with this. First things first though, we need to get rid of some hair, so that you can see what's under there.”
The next hour and a half she spent tweezing, plucking, waxing, and shaving, all the while explaining how he could do all of this himself. He looked down at his nude body, the breasts were in the way, bending over slightly Zack could see that he seemed to clearly be a her now. He shut down the feelings of panic and uncertainty. He had a lot to learn and had no idea how long he had to learn it. So everything had to stay in focus, with no doubt or hesitation.
“Now, this is the form you'll always take as a woman. It's put together from your genetic material but some recessives came into play, obviously. Notice your skin color? It's at least three shades darker than your male color and would probably tan darker. Your breasts look to be a nice D-cup. Your hair is jet black, compared to your normal sandy blond. That's why we shaved your arms as well as legs. This will also give you a softer look, so be prepared for people to think you're a little younger than you are.”
She pulled his hair back. Her hair back, Zack corrected herself, with some difficulty.
“I wonder what I sound like.” Her voice sounded fine. Like a girl's. He could work with it.
“Good! Explore your new form and don't be afraid of it, it's just a different part of you, obviously. This may be more difficult for you than for most though...” She finished brushing the long black hair, and took the new girl by the shoulders gently. “Because of this...”
Turning toward the mirror he saw a girl, a woman really. Small, only about five-four he guessed. Maybe shorter. Her skin was an olive color, but smooth, without lines at all, not even the lines he had on his face as a man, and people told him he looked young for his age.
No blemishes either. Perfectly smooth. The hair had grown long and black, hanging straight down the middle of her back. Thin, but not too skinny. About right for playboy really, but not a runway model according to that show Hilda and Libby liked to make fun of.
“I can't judge, scale of one to ten... A seven?” He guessed.
“Hmph! Not likely, try a nine, maybe nine-point-five. This, remember," Patty pointed at the mirror, “is without clothes or make up. What this basically means is that you're gorgeous. Most people get used to the way they look. It sets an unconscious social status for them that they simply learn to accept by the time they're ten or so. This can shift over time, say with late bloomers or people gaining weight for instance, but for most people these changes come fairly slowly. You didn't just change gender, but suddenly got a 'Golden Halo'. It makes things harder than if you were just a six as a girl, too.”
She brushed the hair back exposing the delicate neck line. Looking at her closely the Succubus sighed and touched the skin on her arm as if testing something. Satisfied she continued to probe for a few minutes.
Not being familiar with the term he finally asked, “Golden Halo?”
“It's a psychological effect, which boils down to people unconsciously treating beautiful and pretty people better than average or ugly people. It makes most things about twenty-percent easier for the good looking in any given social interaction. Good looking kids get better grades for the same work in school for instance, attractive people are found guilty of crimes less often, even if the evidence is the same, that kind of thing. On the negative side, some women will be unconsciously biased against you for it. Your face, body, and voice are setting the bar too high, and they subconsciously know they can't really compete. Some will hate you on sight, but those women tend to have other issues and wouldn't have liked you as a man either, most of the time.”
She covered a lot of psychology on the issue, including the fact that he identified with being male. In order to sell this to Demons, and anyone possibly watching, he needed to learn to identify with being female.
“Especially looking like this. People will watch you more closely, even if they don't know they're doing it. Anything out of place will be noticed on a subconscious level. So, from now on, when you're a girl you have to do what we do, what the Alede do. Be a girl. Only that, when you take that form. You can't do this as Zack in a girl's body, you have to become the girl and know that you are her, at least at that moment.”
She patted her arm lightly, trying to encourage her.
“Patty, how did this happen? Is this normal? I mean, I don't look like a girl version of me, I look like someone totally different... Which is good. I can use that, I don't think anyone would guess that this is me... I mean Zack. Don't get me wrong, but this doesn't seem... balanced, somehow.”
Looking at the smaller, dark-skinned girl in the mirror and then clearly checking out her behind, she stepped back and thought for a while before speaking.
“My guess would be it's because of the new feeding we've been doing. As a species we're always 'hungry' searching for sex to feed our energy needs. You not only topped me off today, but have for the last few weeks. I don't think anyone that I know of has ever tried a first time change with as much energy as I had in my system. I'm not even
needing to feed now, after having just done this a few hours ago. Normally I'd be insane with hunger and have to find some sex fast to take the edge off. I think that this is just what happens when you do this with full reserves and no threat of famine. Everything operated at optimum to come up with as perfect a version of you as your genetics would allow.”
Nodding, she considered that Patty seemed to be right. Perhaps they could try it on someone else later, when this current job had been finished. It could be a boon for people wanting sex reassignment, the small woman that had been Zack thought, looking in the mirror.
“Okay. I need a name that fits a Demon in this body. Any ideas? Maybe some clothes too, I guess?” she suggested to the Succubus.
In half an hour they had her dressed in clothing that fit, though Patty decided they'd need to do some shopping before long, perhaps later in the day. To find something that really off-set her eyes. The clothes Patty had that worked for her turned out to be a dress that looked about right for a party, with a neck that draped in the front, not showing much cleavage and having no back to it. She told her she didn't need nylons, though they'd pick some up anyway, so that she understood how to wear them properly, other clothes too, just in case something came up.
Patty had her take down the top of the dress and gave her a course on how to use make up. It took a lot longer than Zack would have thought a few days ago. They'd just finished going over the basics when Claire pulled up.
They went into the living room and sat, waiting for the door to open.
Claire came in and looked around, then stared at her. She walked closer slowly and finally touched her face gently with the finger tips of her right hand.
“Zack?”
Patty nodded at her.
“Hi, Claire. How do you like my disguise?” She held her breath for a second, but tried to keep the flow of energy just as high as normal. It took work, though her new body handled the energy just as well as the old.