by Jackie Ivie
“We...just met.”
“In this lifetime, perhaps.”
“Come on, Takeshi. Enough with the cryptic stuff. I’m not a follower of Confucius. He was much too misogynistic for me. I’m not a Buddhist. They’re too passive. I don’t believe in reincarnation, either. I’ll just stop. There’s a long list of things I don’t believe. I just want some answers. Okay?”
“You are my mate, Christine. And a vampire only gets one.”
Damn it. He said the ‘V’ word. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. He’d stuck the word out in the open. Now she had to deal with it. This was going to get sticky. She’d dealt with crazy people before. Her adoptive mother had been certifiably insane. She’d learned the other words for mental conditions. Delusion. Psychosis. Schizophrenia. Christine’s heart felt like a caged animal beating at its bars. It hurt. She almost winced.
“Look. Um. Takeshi. I’ve heard of people who play...at being vampires. They dress up. Have their teeth fixed. Go to secret parties. Bite each other. Drink...blood. It isn’t real.”
“Perhaps not. But I am not one of them. I truly am a vampire.”
“Vampires are not real. They don’t exist.”
“We do. We have for millennia.”
“No way. Wait a sec. Did you just say...we?”
He nodded. He had spikes just starting to emerge through his lips. Two of them. Where his canines would be. A strange warmth started to permeate the cabin. Creating an almost physical presence. Sensitizing.
She shook her head. It didn’t clear anything. If anything, the air about her appeared to have a haze filtering through it. Weird.
“I am not the only vampire in the world, my love. I belong to a league of them.”
“League?” Why wasn’t anything making sense?
“Yes. I am with the Vampire Assassin League.”
“Oh no. No. This is insane. I’m having a dream episode that keeps getting more entangled and engrossed. And it just won’t end. You’re telling me you’re...dead?”
“Undead. Hai.”
“What about the...um. The...oh, I’ll quit vacillating here, and just say it. What about the...sex? Well? I did not make love with a dead thing. Or maybe I should say undead. Whatever. Oh. Dear. I think I’m going to be ill.” And her voice really should be sounding more assertive. Not breathless. Anticipatory.
“Oh, watashi no ai. I say it wrong. I am not undead. Not anymore. Finding you has changed me. I have been reanimated. Everywhere.”
“No. I can’t believe this. I can’t. I just...can’t. Vampires don’t exist. They don’t. They can’t. If they existed, there would be reports. Something tangible I could look at.”
“There are many reports. In any number of tomes. Allowing a reader to infer what they wish.”
“Books? You’re talking about...books?”
He shrugged again. She really wished he’d cease that. It moved all kinds of portions of his chest. And the strange haze in the cabin acted like a glaze of oil. He was already the most physically striking man she’d ever seen. He didn’t need the enhancement. But this was impossible. She was seeing things that couldn’t exist and sensing things that had no basis in reality. Christine straightened in her chair. Folded her arms. Tried to find the expert negotiator side of her personality.
“That’s fiction, Takeshi. It isn’t real.”
“Only to the skeptical mind.”
“Well. You’re dealing with one. Total skeptic here. If I can’t see it, touch it, taste it...well, you get the picture. How long is this flight? I-I...really wanted this to have a different ending, and...”
Her words trailed off. Her mind went on hiatus. She couldn’t finish. He smiled as if she’d said something amusing. The gesture put really long, white, sharp-looking fangs on display. They looked pretty damned real, too.
Oh shit. Oh shit. Those fangs should be frightening the hell out of her. They didn’t. For some reason, she felt even warmer. More intrigued. Interested. Enthralled.
“The flight duration will not matter, watashi no ai. We are mates. There is no end for us. Our union is forever.”
“Forever?” Why didn’t that sound as bad as it should?
“You do understand? I am not playing a game. I am telling you the truth. I am a vampire. We exist. Humans are not aware of us because we do not wish to be seen. Is it so hard to comprehend?”
She was in the grasp of something sensual. Earthy. It wafted about her like incense smoke, blending with the odd haze. She was surprised she actually nodded.
“Ninjas have the same reputation. Just because you haven’t heard or seen them, does that make them nonexistent, as well?”
“Ninjas existed. They are a historical fact. They are not figments of someone’s imagination.”
“Ninjas still exist, love.”
“Are you going to tell me there’s a league of ninjas hiding in plain sight, too?”
“That is not my secret to divulge.”
“Takeshi, please. I can’t handle this.”
“It is difficult for me as well, watashi no ai. I have had the greatest gift delivered. Without warning. Or preparation. If I use poor words it is because it means so much to me. I only get one mate. One.”
“Don’t I get a choice here?”
A look of devastation swept across his features. “It...was not wonderful for you, too?”
Oh. Shit. His voice cracked. Went really low. He turned his head aside at the same time. Her eyes immediately filled with tears. Which was patently ridiculous. She couldn’t feel anything for him. They’d just met. And he was a delusional psychotic. They had no future.
“Um. I...think I need a time-out, Takeshi.”
She didn’t know where she found the fortitude to say it. It didn’t come from the physical realm. She didn’t know if she had enough strength to stand, let alone move.
“Time-out?”
“By myself. To think.”
“I am not so certain I should allow it.”
Her back went straight. She didn’t believe he’d said what she’d just heard.
“Allow it?” she asked.
“Oh, watashi no ai. Forgive my words. Please. If I fail at meaning it is because it means so much! Don’t you see? I am nothing without you! You are the center of my world. The reason for my being.”
“Takeshi. I need time. Alone.”
“Time? Oh, love! If you only knew how much of it I suffered through before finding you! And you want me to spend more without you? You do not know what you ask! I already know what the world contains without you, Christine. It is a landscape of complete and total loneliness. Total darkness.”
On cue, the cabin lights went out. An odd hissing sound came next. Takeshi was instantly standing in the midst of the cabin with Christine in his arms. She didn’t know how. He moved so quickly. One hand was wrapping the black silk about her, cocooning her against him. The other held her in place. The cabin was murky dark. And it was tilting rapidly and markedly. Takeshi kept angling to compensate. She decided right then that she didn’t care about anything other than how it felt to be near him. Close. Protected. Secure. She nuzzled her nose against his neck. Listened to his heart beat.
Or was it hers?
The intercom buzzed on.
“Hi back there! This is your pilot speaking. Sorry to interrupt, but we appear to have problems.”
“Hunters?” Takeshi asked.
“More like technical issues. When you fly experimental aircraft, you get experimental results. We don’t have much time. This baby fueled by hydrogen?”
“Hai.”
“Then we got less time. So. Here’s your options. Right now you can have a bad landing on a too-short glacier...or you can have a spectacularly bad landing into the side of a mountain. And I wouldn’t take too much time deciding.”
“Option one,” Takeshi answered.
“Good choice. Out.”
“We’re going to die!” Christine cried out.
“Not possible, love. I told
you. I’m already dead.”
“Well I’m not!”
And the jet slammed into something.
CHAPTER TEN
The ninja inside took over.
Takeshi’s entire existence had been spent for one thing - turning his body into a weapon of precision, timing, and skill. He’d molded himself into a being of grace and strength; speed and skill. He’d learned to utilize every gesture. Use every sense. He’d been one of the Aka-Sourah Clan’s best at ninjitsu even before he’d been turned. But vampirism gave him the upper hand. He’d used the vastness of time mastering every form of martial arts, every weapon, all maneuvers. He could disable or kill with a finger.
He just hoped it would be enough.
His multi-million dollar, experimental stealth jet slid along an uneven surface, randomly jerking as it collided against obstacles. The air was alive with a cacophony of sound. Screeching metal. Burning brakes. Throbbing engines. Unsecured items became lethal projectiles. Kitchen cutlery. His tea sets. Random toiletries. And then the furnishings started ripping free of moorings, adding a groaning sound to the mix. Takeshi leapt and spun, dodging every oncoming item. He didn’t use his eyes. He didn’t need to. His hearing was acute. He evaded everything with precision. Timing. And Christine proved the perfect companion. She became an extension of him, her movements only a hairsbreadth of time behind his.
The cabin started disintegrating next. Debris clogged each breath. His hand-hewn and oiled mahogany paneling peeled away in strips, revealing the outer skin, and when that sliced open, he saw sparks. Moon-caressed ice fields. What could be mountainside. Star-filled sky.
All a blur.
They weren’t slowing quickly enough.
He ran the plane’s specs through his mind, while his body continually dodged items coming at bullet-speed. He knew the specs by heart. He’d studied and approved them. Takeshi attended every board meeting. Members of his board were hand-chosen. Well-paid. His meetings were all scheduled for midnight. Tokyo time. It was a good hour for business with the other directors. No one balked. They were scattered about the globe. Everyone connected wirelessly.
They needed to exit the plane. That gave him options. If Vaughn was the pilot he claimed to be, the man was releasing hydrogen as they slid. That’s what he needed this time for. Hydrogen wouldn’t combust if it wasn’t contained. It would dissipate and become harmless. Hydrogen rose two times faster than helium. Six times faster than natural gas. That meant Takeshi couldn’t take Christine airborne. The air above them would be filled with hydrogen gas. Asphyxiation would be the main trouble.
For Christine.
And that he’d never allow.
The runway ended. The front of the plane dipped. And the plane started falling. Christine’s cry accompanied Takeshi’s dive toward the tail section, smashing the wall that led to his bedroom suite. The place was a riot of confusion. Everything was slammed up against the back wall. That included the mattress. Takeshi smirked before pivoting, slamming his shoulders against it and that buffered their launch out through metal, and softened the landing as well.
He couldn’t have planned it better.
The mattress had been a gift of fortune. The bedding still upon it, an even greater prize. He unfurled Christine from him with sure hands. He refastened the silk around her. It would help against the elements. Vaughn hadn’t been exaggerating. They were on a glacier that glistened blue-white with moon glow. It was probably cold. He couldn’t feel it. He tucked Christine between the mattress and the sheet. She was shaking. He didn’t know if it was shock or cold.
“You’re...leaving me?”
The words reflected her tremor. Takeshi’s heart constricted.
“I will be right back.”
“But—?”
“I have to get Vaughn. The pilot. He may be hurt. Worse.”
“You’ll...come back?”
“There is no question of that, watashi no ai. You are my mate. I will always be there. Always.”
“You promise?”
“Hai.”
“O...kay.”
Takeshi didn’t waste another second. He knew where they were. The plane had crashed into the sea or Lopp Lagoon, at the 65th parallel. Bering Sea. Late fall weather. He hadn’t much time. In this temperature of water, hypothermia would occur within minutes. Prior to that, a human would go into the function disability stage. Their muscles would weaken. They’d lose coordination and strength. The first moments were the most critical however. That’s when cold shock happened. Even a half-turned human would be breathing hard and fast and deep. Drowning was a real possibility.
And that’s if Vaughn wasn’t injured.
The jet was easy to locate. It hadn’t completely submerged yet. But the cockpit was completely underwater. The water was dark with blood. Vaughn was wearing a breathing apparatus. Smart man. He was still conscious. Grievously injured. And stuck. The entire nose appeared to have compressed onto him, smashing his chest. Pelvis. Legs. Takeshi peeled metal open, ripped through the seat belt and pulled the pilot free. It took eight seconds. Felt like a thousand. Another moment they were out of the water. And then he had the man atop the mattress, right beside Christine. She gasped. Sat up. And was watching.
He didn’t look toward her. He didn’t have time. He yanked Vaughn’s mask off.
“Vaughn-San! Vaughn! Can you hear me?”
“Yeah.”
The pilot’s voice was weak. His pulse even weaker.
“I heard you were half changed? Is that true?”
“Pretty...much.”
“You ready to finish, then?”
“I can re—. Re. Re.” The man coughed. Blood frothed from his mouth before he finished. “Recuperate.”
“No. Apologies. Vaughn-San. You’ve lost too much blood.”
“I get a choice?”
“Hai. You can die.”
The man chuckled. More blood gushed out.
“Shit. I always...thought I’d get...a hot female. Rocking hot body. Legs to die for. You know. Like Sasha. But no. Not...me. I gotta go and get the ninja.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yeah. Do it.”
Takeshi concentrated. Felt his canines tingling just before they started reacting. Elongating. To razor sharpness.
“What...are you doing?” Christine whispered.
“Changing him.”
“Changing?”
Shock colored her voice. It dragged at him. He didn’t dare look in her direction. Everything was working against him. He didn’t have time to explain. Or comfort. Or mute what she was about to see. Takeshi sliced his wrist with a fang, starting a blood drip. Placed it against Vaughn’s lips, and waited. The man was really weak. His sucking motion was barely there. And then it strengthened. Started draining fluid. Faster. More. Takeshi lowered his mouth to Vaughn’s throat, stabbed in, and started feeding. Sustenance flowed to replace what he was losing. Vaughn’s pulse started dying. Getting weaker and slower. And then ceasing altogether. He ceased sucking. Breathing.
And then he ceased living.
Takeshi pulled away, licking the puncture wounds closed on Vaughn’s neck, and then doing the same to his wrist. He didn’t look toward Christine. He wasn’t just leery of doing so. He was terrified. And so he placed both hands on his thighs and waited. Something must have gone wrong. Had he taken too much fluid? Perhaps he hadn’t given enough. Vaughn wasn’t moving. He looked dead. Inert. Lifeless. The moon glow above them showcased it. The dead silence amplified it.
And then Vaughn’s eyes popped open.
The relief was instantaneous and massive. It almost cancelled out the sound of Christine gagging.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“You’ve reached VAL Headquarters, where the doorway is death and we provide the bouncers. Name your poison.”
“Is Akron in, please?”
“Depends on who is calling. You sound familiar. I can’t quite place the accent. Want to give me a hint?”
“To what, please?
”
“Identity. Reason for calling. Pertinent details. Otherwise, you might want to hang up. For your own safety and convenience, of course.”
“Isn’t this the Vampire Assassin League?”
“Yep. Your turn, bucko.”
“My name is not Bucko. It is Takeshi Asourah. Of the Aka-sourah Clan.”
“Takki! Why didn’t you just say so? I’ll alert the big guy.”
Takki? Takeshi shook off any reaction. He could be offended at the lack of deference later. Honor to his ancestors would have to wait. He had too many troubles at the moment.
“Hurry, please.”
“What’s the big rush, my man?”
“I need transportation.”
“Not a problem. We have just what you need. I just need coordinates. Let me activate the Abyss Link...bring up the global connections. Transportation for two. Coming up.”
“For three.”
“Three? All right. That’s it. I was already a tad annoyed about your current good fortune. And now you gotta go and add in a ménage?”
“A what?”
“Look it up.”
“Nigel.”
Akron’s voice boomed through the speaker in answer. Takeshi almost dropped the telephone receiver. It was bad enough using archaic equipment. Listening to decibel tones that would cause hearing loss to a human made it unnecessarily worse. He’d found the base in deplorable condition. That was unacceptable. There should be bottled water. Rations. Blankets. Something of use for a fire. Privacy. And then there was his newest trouble. Takeshi had never turned a human. He hadn’t known that newly-turned vampires didn’t have much control. Vaughn was sending off all kinds of mixed signals. The man didn’t know how to use his hypnotic powers. His increased energy. His hyperkinetic abilities. He was pacing back and forth on the opposite side of the enclosure, his fangs on full display. And he kept eyeing Takeshi’s mate with an expression guaranteed to grant him a short afterlife.