Soborgne kept asking what the vision was about, but Jenda wouldn’t tell her. She told her friend that she would have to be patient and wait for later, when they were all gathered. She was afraid of what Soborgne’s reaction would be when she found out that Jenda saw her as the woman in the statue. She would have to wait them out. Thankfully, just when Jenda thought she could take no more, they reached the donor area.
Matteo wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, but he was secretly excited about getting to watch Jenda feed. He wasn’t into voyeurism, as Soborgne suggested. He was just curious. Jenda was so gentle and compassionate, and he knew that she would be tender with the donors, but even so, he liked to see the beast in her eyes. He liked to see the proof that she would really be his for all of eternity. It sometimes seemed to him that her appearance was the single thing altered in her by the change. She remained so human, despite the fact that she was unquestionably a vampire now.
First, he watched over Soborgne. Today he did nothing to coach or admonish her to be careful with her fragile charge. She asked her donor to kneel in front of her again, but this time there was no cruelty. She was gentle and swift. Matteo helped her to lay the boy on the settee and she placed a soft kiss to his cheek. Her lips left a small smudge of red lipstick that she almost wiped away and then decided to leave as proof of her gratitude.
Matteo offered to let Jenda go next, but she insisted that he must go before her. Soborgne was already in the waiting area chatting politely with Rene. Jenda started to join the two women, but Matteo stopped her. “Observing a vampire while they drink is an extremely private thing. Watching over newly made fledglings for safety is one thing, but once a vampire passes that initial stage it is rare unless done by a bonded coven or mated pair. If you would like, Jenda, I welcome you to come with me.”
She had no words. His speech humbled her, so she simply nodded in agreement. She did not hesitate. If it would prove to him how much she loved him, she would gladly join him. Not to mention, her curiosity to see it done was too much. Jenda’s experiences in watching others feed were during times of anger. She wanted to see what it would be like without the violence.
They entered the small room together. The donor who awaited them was perhaps twenty-nine, but still had a youthful glow about her. Her dark eyes widened as she saw the two vampires enter. Jenda was not sure how much the donors knew about the feeding habits of vampires, but it was obvious that the girl was surprised.
Covering for what she obviously thought was rude behavior, the woman curtsied and began to apologize. “Forgive me. I thought I was to serve you, sir. I didn’t realize I’d be assisting the young lady today.”
Jenda thought to herself, “Oh that was it. Women didn’t usually feed from other women.” No wonder the girl was surprised.
“No apologies needed, my dear. A last minute change in plans is all. If you are willing—and please feel free to deny my request—I would like to make this a very special appointment.” Matteo beamed his best smile at the woman and she instantly grinned back.
“It is my honor.” Smiling brightly back at Jenda, the girl added, “You have chosen well, sir. She is a beautiful girl, and I think she will bring you many blessings.”
Matteo pulled Jenda into his arms and kissed her lightly. Looking deep into her eyes he said, “I agree with you completely, madam.” The love in his eyes was enough to keep Jenda from feeling embarrassed to be in such an intimate embrace in front of a perfect stranger.
The woman stood with her eyes cast to the floor, but still smiled wickedly until Matteo released Jenda. “Now then, how shall we arrange ourselves?”
The woman sat in a simple chair in the center of the room and Matteo stood behind her. Jenda was beginning to wish that she hadn’t agreed to partake in this particular bonding ritual. She felt a little uncomfortable standing here watching the preparations. The whole thing seemed so manufactured and strangely business like. She didn’t quite see the romantic aspect he insinuated would be there.
As Matteo’s head bent to the woman’s neck, his eyes locked with Jenda’s. Even through the red of blood lust, she could see the love for her burning in them. He gently let his fangs sink into the main artery of the woman’s neck and Jenda heard her soft sigh as he began to drink. Her own fangs lengthened to a fine point and the hunger was gnawing at her as she watched, mesmerized. Both her regret and her happiness grew in matching bounds with every second.
Unexpectedly, Matteo raised his head and the woman beckoned to Jenda to come near. Matteo gently lifted the woman’s wrist and placed it to his mouth. At first, Jenda thought he had only placed an intimate kiss there, but when he drew her arm away from him, Jenda could see the blood welling up from two tiny wounds. Matteo shocked her further by offering the woman’s wrist to her. At first, she hesitated, but the temptation was too much. Her hunger won out. With a final glance to the woman, who still smiled encouragingly up at her, Jenda took the offering.
The experience only lasted a moment, but it seemed as if it were a lifetime in heaven. The sensation was awe-inspiring. Jenda instantly felt her body synchronize with that of the woman’s, and she felt the swoon, but something new happened. As Matteo resumed drinking from the woman as well, Jenda could feel his presence. They gently floated together on the river of images casting from the woman’s mind. Jenda had never felt so close to anyone in her entire life.
It ended all too soon. The woman lay sleeping peacefully on the settee and Jenda stood speechless. The hunger inside her was not sated and she still felt the burning in the back of her throat and the ache in her jaw. Her body was telling her she needed more, but her mind was still lost in the envelope of sensation that she had just shared with Matteo. He kissed her again and the flavor of the woman’s blood on his lips made her dizzy.
He escorted her to the next cubicle and there she found her own donor. She did not register his face or any other details. Having only fed enough to tease her, she was too hungry. The only thing she knew was that he stood there offering her sweet release.
She went to him immediately as Matteo observed from the corner of the room. The boy didn’t have the chance to stand up from the settee before she snared him in a tender embrace. She was not forceful and she caused him no pain, but she did not spare him a second. Within minutes, she finished and she and Matteo were on their way to collect Soborgne.
10
Jenda was absolutely giddy as she and Soborgne began their makeover. She felt bad for her happiness. Soborgne always had dozens of boys chasing her back in Indiana. She looked fire hot and behaved ice cold, something boys apparently found irresistible. Now Jenda had the passionate romance of a lifetime and her best friend did not have someone to love. Of course, as best friend, it was her duty to kiss and tell. Therefore, that is what she did the entire time. She was so excited, she barely had time to gasp when Soborgne pulled the towel from her hair and she saw that her mass of red curls were the color of eggplants.
Jenda couldn’t stand her hair to be short, even for a day. Her unruly mane always puffed up and out, making her look like a clown when it was short. Instead of a cut, they dyed it and used massive amounts of mousse and gel to style it. To add to the purple hair, Soborgne artfully applied some temporary tattoos to Jenda’s face. She carefully created a small dotted line reaching from the corner of Jenda’s eyes up her cheekbones and ending in a delicate swirl on her temples. Jenda refused to allow Soborgne anywhere near her eyes with a pencil or brush, so she did her own mascara. She came close to mastering the same look as Soborgne, but not quite as dramatic since the tattoos added an extra touch all their own.
Her outfit was basic, just like Soborgne’s. She chose a red tank top, a pair of low-slung black jeans, and motorcycle boots. The girl’s talked about the first day they met and how envious Jenda was over a pair of boots that looked a lot like the ones she was wearing now. Their laughter ended in sentimental sniffs, but both girls vehemently refused to ruin their make up while shedding tears for a life
lost.
Jenda did not wear much jewelry, so she left off the accessories, except for a pair of emerald earrings that she hoped were not real. After all, they were splurging on Matteo’s account. At last, she looked herself over in the full-length mirror. She barely recognized herself. This exotic and slightly scary woman in the mirror was a stranger. Her stomach twisted a little when she thought about Matteo’s reaction. She hoped he would like it.
Her fears were soon relieved. Before Jenda could enter her and Matteo’s suite, Soborgne insisted on announcing her as the new and improved Jenda. He stood near the window, awaiting her entrance. As she walked into the room, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He didn’t expect his reaction to be quite so emotional, any more than Jenda did.
Taking a moment to look her over, he whispered in a low and breathless voice, “Baobhan Sith.”
He wanted to force Soborgne from the room. He wanted Jenda all to himself. She was bewitching in her costume. She couldn’t know how much she looked like the Irish vampire women who had battled beside their men in clan wars with their faces painted in almost the same way. She had no idea what this costume was doing to his senses right now.
She still stared at him nervously. She could tell that he wasn’t disappointed, but his scrutinizing gaze was starting to make her feel a little edgy. Finally, Soborgne broke the silence. “Ok, we get it—she’s hot. Now quit drooling on yourself and tell her so. I would like to do something at least half entertaining before we are off to our lesson.”
As they set out to find Patrick, their joined laughter rang through the halls. Once they found the right hallway, it wasn’t hard to locate him. They could hear a loud stereo and a loud smashing sound. Following the noise, they found themselves in a large gymnasium.
“Wow, is there anything this place doesn’t have?” Jenda was impressed with the top-of-the-line equipment that lined the walls of the room.
In typical fashion, Soborgne replied, “Yeah. No fast food.”
Another loud boom sounded and their heads jerked in Patrick’s direction. He stood in the center of the gymnasium with his back to them. He was facing a row of what looked like wooden practice dummies, or at least what was left of them. It looked as if someone had used a sledgehammer on a few of them.
The trio watched as Patrick stood perfectly still, the tension in his body causing the muscles in his back to ripple. They waited for a moment, and then the dummy directly in front of him cracked loudly before splitting almost in two. The girls gasped and Matteo looked unimpressed. This was, apparently, a familiar scene to him. The girls were amazed and moved in closer to examine what was going on. Patrick must have heard or sensed their approach because he turned around and smiled brilliantly.
“There ye are. I was startin’ to think that maybe you wouldn’t be comin’.” He froze for a moment, taking in the girls’ new looks. “What do we ’ave here? Ye two look as if yer the fairy people come straight from Tara to bless the Lady’s court. Jenda, me girl, how is it that you become more beautiful each time I see you?”
Apparently putting aside his earlier bout with Soborgne for the sake of second chances, Patrick surprised them all by smiling at Soborgne in an easy way. Despite his lack of comment, it was obvious that he approved of her new look the most.
Matteo was too much of a gentleman to let the tinge of jealousy he felt show. Instead, he simply laughed and gave Patrick a manly slug on his arm. “Hey, Patrick. With that silver tongue of yours, you ought to have a string of women.”
Patrick eyed Soborgne once more before responding to Matteo. “Me own dear sweet mother use to say that I had a silver tongue, and that the devil take me for it. I guess the ole girl was right in the end because jus look at her little boy-o now.”
Everyone, even Soborgne, laughed at his off-color remark. Jenda even caught Soborgne eying Patrick’s well-muscled abdomen that gleamed with sweat. A small amount of relief surged through Jenda—her friend seemed to be getting back to her old self. Soborgne was always the tigress on the prowl. Confidence exhumed from Soborgne in every situation. Jenda never saw any guy make her nervous. Sometimes that was an admirable trait, but occasionally it got Soborgne in over her head. Jenda had a feeling that if Soborgne tried to play games with Patrick, it would be trouble.
“Now it is time to turn you wee lasses from fairy folk into warriors.” Patrick led them to the dummies. “I will be givin’ ye the choice. Ye can start with learning to use those beautiful limbs, or ye can start with using yer minds.”
Despite his distaste for Patrick’s wording, Matteo suggested they begin with some fight training. The girls had time to learn how to develop their extra senses and budding gifts, but it would take much more practice to fine-tune their bodies. Teenage prep school girls were not accustomed to fighting off the spawn of the devil.
“Right you are, boy-o.” Patrick decided, to Soborgne and Jenda’s dismay, that the physical part of the training would be first. “Ye can work on building yer minds anytime, but ye must be shown how to use yer bodies properly. A Dracul or another vampire can be a very powerful enemy, and if ye donna know how to kill ’em they will ’ave no problem doin’ ye a favor and releasing yer soul back to the Goddess.”
“To the what?” Soborgne’s face showed her surprise as she blurted out the question.
She had meant to remain cool and detached towards Patrick, but wasn’t doing a good job. How could she? His bare chest was gleaming like alabaster under the bright lights of the gym. Every muscle, line, and droplet of blood-tinged sweat was highly visible.
“The Goddess, me lass. I come from a time when yer God was no more than a whisper. My clan worshipped the Goddess and my belief still be with her.” He kept talking in that deeply accented and lyrical voice and it was maddening. The man was damn near irresistible, and the bad thing was she knew that he knew it.
“Oh, okay.” Soborgne wanted to slap herself. First, she showed interest in something he said, then she listened to him, and now all she could muster as a response was two words. What the world was going on with her?
She made a commitment to herself right then. No matter what happened, she would not allow herself to be attracted to him again. She forced herself to remember the day in the hallway when he had attacked her. She knew exactly what he was doing to those dummies because she was once the object of that searing pain. The memory burned bright in the front of her mind like a branding iron. Soborgne mentally steeled herself and, with more aloofness than she felt, turned her back to him and rolled her eyes.
Patrick paid her no mind and, with Matteo’s help, began to spread some heavy mats across the floor in front of the dummies. Once they had spread out the mats, he gestured for the girls to come stand in the center. “I will be havin’ Matteo attack me as if he is Dracul or another vamp that’s after me arse. Ye jus watch, and then ye can take turns attackin’ each other.”
Jenda agreed happily, but Soborgne just shrugged. What happened next, though, broke through her careful façade of nonchalance. At first, Matteo and Patrick circled each other for a moment like the boys on the wrestling team back home did, but then all resemblance to play or sport was gone. Matteo launched himself towards Patrick with his fangs bared and hands in the shape of lethal hooks. Almost too quickly for the girls to see, Patrick stepped to the right and out of the way while landing a punch to the side of Matteo’s head. Matteo landed with a surprised thud on the mat.
“Come on now, Pat, you didn’t tell me we were playing that rough.” Matteo’s eyes gleamed with enthusiasm as he jumped to his feet. “Bar rules, is it?”
The girls had no idea what that meant, but Jenda was getting uneasy and Soborgne licked her lips in anticipation of getting to see these fine specimens shed some of each other’s blood. She dearly hoped Matteo cleaned Patrick’s clock for him.
“Aye, Matteo, have ye ever known me to play any other way?” Patrick looked smug and took his fighting stance again.
This time, Matteo didn’t leap for Pa
trick. He stepped forward, a blur of movement, and punched him hard in the chest. Patrick flew back several feet and landed on his butt. Matteo did not give him a chance to recover. He was there almost the instant Patrick hit the ground. His hand snaked out fast as a cobra, something long and sharp in his grasp, and paused less than a centimeter from Patrick’s chest. Jenda gasped when she saw that it was a stake pointed directly at Patrick’s heart.
The whole scene took less than twenty seconds, but those twenty seconds were amazingly realistic for both girls. The power and force with which each man struck the other, even in play, was immense. It showed Jenda and Soborgne just how quickly they could lose their lives. After the live show, Matteo and Patrick worked together to explain to the girls the ins and outs of fighting.
They worked on rules, techniques, and kills after the demonstration. The goal seemed to be to drive the four ways to kill a vampire into their minds, as if each way were a stake itself. Matteo quizzed them on it while they were fighting, telling them that it would help them learn to use their mind and their bodies simultaneously. He was relentless in his efforts to teach them how to survive.
“Jenda, how do you kill a vampire?” He was no longer her lover or her friend. All kindness was banished from his voice.
“Exposure to the sun.” She was out of breath and her distraction caused her to receive a hard punch to the ribs. If she didn’t know any better, she would think Soborgne was enjoying this.
“Why is this not an effective method in most cases? Tuck in your elbow, bend your knees, and don’t hold back. Soborgne isn’t your friend right now, she is your enemy.” He shouted questions and instructions, one right after another.
“Can’t expose your opponent to the sun unless you can be in the sun. Doesn’t count for us though.” Her broken sentences were all she could manage. She ducked a punch aimed for her face and felt her own fist connect with Soborgne’s jaw.
“Plus, exposure takes too long for Elders. They’ll kick your ass while they turn crispy.” Soborgne’s cockiness got the best of her and she found herself sprawled on the mat from one of Jenda’s leg kicks.
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