Immortal Blood

by James M. Thompson

  “Sweetheart,” he said, deciding to tell her about Pike, “what if there were some way for us to become Normals again? Would you give up all that we have, our immunity to sickness and aging and our long lives, to go back to what we once were?”

  She jerked her head up, staring at him intently. “Ed, is there such a way?” she asked fervently.

  “I’ve heard rumors that there may be a vaccine under development that will do it, but I’m not sure I believe them,” he answered, watching her to gauge her reaction.

  Disappointment filled her eyes and her gaze drifted from him to the mountains in the distance. “Oh, if only it were true,” she said softly, as if to herself.

  Ed’s heart was breaking. Even though he himself had no real problem with what they were and what they had to do to survive, at least most of the time, he knew that if such a vaccine were to become available and if Kim took it, he would also. Life, no matter how long or how short, would not be worth living without her by his side.

  As he pulled her tight against him, he decided to find out for sure just who Pike was—and if he was a vampyre, to ask him about the vaccine. Then, he would have to face the most important decision of his life: whether to stand with others of his race, or to stand with his wife.

  As she snuggled against him, warming him with her love, he knew it would be no contest.

  Thirty-four

  Michael Morpheus, Jean Horla, and Peter Vardalack checked into the Fairmont Hotel in Calgary, reserving a total of four rooms all under assumed names and paying the bill for one night’s stay in cash. Morpheus had decided to have everyone meet in Calgary and then proceed as a group to Banff rather than show up at different times there. He didn’t want to arrive in Banff at the airport in case Nachtman, or whatever name he was now using, had someone watching for his arrival.

  Morpheus had a large suite to himself, while Peter and Jean shared a double on the same floor. By four o’clock in the afternoon, the others had all arrived and were meeting in Morpheus’s room.

  In addition to Morpheus, Vardalack, and Horla, five other vampyres who were committed to stopping the production of a vaccine had come: Christina Alario, Theo Thantos, Gerald Enyo, and Louis Frene were there, and they’d brought along another female from the old New Orleans council who called herself Marya Zaleska, the name of Dracula’s daughter in one of Bram Stoker’s books.

  Marya was very beautiful, with long, flowing blood-red hair fixed in a single braid that hung down her back almost to her well-rounded hips. Her skin was as pale as new drawn milk and her cheeks were covered with a light dusting of freckles that accented her brilliant green eyes. Morpheus was having a hard time keeping his eyes off her, realizing she could almost pass as Sam’s sister. He’d seen her a couple of times years ago in New Orleans, but she wasn’t a regular attendee at the council meetings so he’d never really gotten to know her, a lapse he now intended to rectify.

  Christina, who’d enjoyed Morpheus’s attentions on several occasions and had a mild crush on him, noticed his attraction to the newcomer with some jealousy, and the fact that Marya strongly resembled the Normal Morpheus had chosen as his mate only made it worse. For years, Christina had secretly hoped she and Morpheus would eventually hook up and form a steady relationship. She’d been upset when he’d chosen a mere Normal to be his mate, but had felt better when it hadn’t worked out. Now, it looked like she was going to have to contend with another rival for his affections, if the way he was staring at the red-headed bitch was any indication.

  Morpheus went to the bar he’d fixed in the corner of the room and looked over at Marya. “Would you care for some wine?” he asked, ignoring the others.

  “I never drink . . . wine,” Marya answered in a thick accent, mimicking one of Dracula’s most famous quotes. Then, her eyes sparkling, she laughed and added, “But a couple of fingers of straight bourbon will do nicely, thank you.”

  Christina got up and moved toward the bar. “Yes, I’d like a drink, too—thank you for asking,” she said sarcastically.

  Morpheus frowned at her as he carried Marya’s drink to her. “Don’t be childish, Christina,” he said. “You can see the bar, so if you want a drink, fix yourself one.”

  Christina bit back an angry retort and filled a tall glass almost to the brim with scotch.

  Theo Thantos moved up beside her and whispered, “Don’t let him get to you, Christina, there are others here who appreciate your beauty far more than he does.” He stroked the back of her neck with a long fingernail, causing goose bumps to rise on her skin.

  She turned and looked at him as she took a deep swallow. Thantos was tall, a couple of inches over six feet, had broad shoulders, dark brown hair cut to hang down over his ears, and deep hazel eyes that were boring into hers.

  She smiled slowly. “Yes, Theo, I think you’ll do nicely,” she said, moving her leg so her thigh was against his crotch, where she felt a definite stirring. With any luck, she thought, Morpheus would see them and it might make him jealous, for a change.

  Once everyone had gotten drinks from the bar, Morpheus took a seat on the couch next to Marya, staking his claim for all the other men to see, and raised his glass. “A toast, ladies and gentlemen, to our success in foiling the rogue’s attempt to make a vaccine to destroy our race.”

  As they all drank, Thantos whispered to Christina, “I believe our friend Michael is more interested in punishing his mate for abandoning him than in preventing any old vaccine.”

  Christina nodded slightly, her lips on her glass and her eyes blazing hatred as she whispered back, “It appears to me the bitch showed good judgment.”

  Theo’s lips curled in a small smile as he eyed Christina. He would have a good time tonight, playing on the woman’s jealousy of Michael. He could feel his groin grow heavy as he stared at her, with her long, shiny black hair, pert, high breasts, and dusky complexion. She looked like one of the gypsies from the old country, and Theo planned to see if she tasted as good as she looked.

  “But enough of business for now,” Morpheus said, jovially, his eyes flicking to Marya as he talked. “We’ve time enough for that later. For tonight, we are all strangers in a strange land, so I suggest we go out on the town and see if we can find some people to party with us.”

  Everyone raised their glasses and laughed agreeably at this suggestion, except Christina, who had a feeling it would be Marya who Morpheus partied with and not her.

  “I’ve reserved rooms for you all here in the hotel, but unfortunately, you’ll have to share a room with one of the others. Peter and Jean have one, and,” he glanced at Marya, who dropped her eyes and nodded, “Marya and I will share this one. So, the rest of you can pair up and we’ll all meet back here at noon tomorrow.”

  As the others began to choose partners to share rooms with, Morpheus stood up and clinked his ring against his glass to get their attention. “Please remember, we are in a public place and the walls are not as thick as I’d like, so try to keep your guests from making too much noise as you . . . entertain them.”

  Louis Frene, somewhat more cautious than the rest of the group, stood up. “Michael, what about the . . . uh . . . remains of our dinners tonight? Won’t leaving a number of bodies lying around for the maids to discover cause quite a stir?”

  Morpheus laughed. “I’ve already thought of that, Louis. Peter and Jean have equipped each room with a large steamer trunk and plastic sheets for the beds. When you’re done, just wrap the bodies in the sheets and deposit them in the trunks. I’m told there are numerous places along the road to Banff where we can leave them so that they won’t be found until long after our business up here is concluded.”

  * * *

  After the others had left, Morpheus fixed himself and Marya another drink and sat close to her on the couch. As she drank, he leaned over and kissed her softly on the neck.

  “Would you like to freshen up before we go hunting tonight?” he asked, his voice thick with desire.

  “A shower would
be nice,” she murmured, turning her face to look directly at him. Morpheus was considered quite a prize among her female friends. Good looking, powerful and ambitious, and said to be quite a dynamo in bed. Yes, she thought, a girl could do worse than having Michael Morpheus as a friend. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “That is, if you’ll join me.”

  “Of course I will,” he answered back against her lips. “In fact,” he said, caressing her right breast with his hand. He realized she wasn’t wearing a bra, and he enjoyed the feel of her nipple as it hardened under the thin cloth. “I can hardly wait.”

  He watched with hungry eyes as she downed the last of her bourbon, stood up, and began walking toward the bathroom, shedding her clothes as she walked. By the time she reached the door, she was completely naked. Morpheus noticed that her face was not the only place she had freckles as he quickly swallowed his drink and rose to join her.

  * * *

  By the time Morpheus was undressed, Marya had the water piping hot and steam was billowing from the shower. He eased in behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, pressing his erect penis between the cheeks of her buttocks.

  She moaned softly and pressed herself back against him as he nuzzled her neck, licking water from her skin as he slid inside her.

  “Oh,” she groaned, moving with him, “Does that mean you’re happy to see me?”

  “Very happy,” he answered, wrapping his arms around her and taking a breast in each hand, kneading them gently as he took her from behind.

  When his breathing became quicker and he started to pant with desire, she eased herself off him and turned to face him, pressing her large, pink-tipped nipples against his chest as she kissed him deeply, tongues dancing together.

  “Why’d you stop?” he complained softly, pulling her tight against him and trying to enter her again from the front.

  “Uh-uh,” she cautioned, pulling back just enough to deny him entrance. “I don’t want you to finish yet. Let’s wait until we’ve had our dinner, before we continue.”

  He sighed, disappointed, but thinking the anticipation would make the final joining even more special. “All right, if you insist.”

  He took a washcloth from the side of the shower and began to soap her heavy breasts, pleased when the nipples hardened even more under his hands. “What would you prefer for our meal tonight—male or female?” he asked.

  “I think female,” she answered, groaning a little and pressing her breasts harder into his hands. “After all, I’ve already got a male for the night, haven’t I?”

  “Damn right!” Morpheus said huskily, his hips moving involuntarily as she took him in both her hands and soaped him. “But if you don’t stop that, I won’t be able to wait until later,” he said, his voice thick with lust.

  * * *

  Later, as they lay on his plastic-covered bed with the cooling body of a young, high-school girl between them, Morpheus pulled his bloodstained fangs from the girl’s neck and looked over her flacid breasts at Marya, who was still sucking on the other side.

  “Have you ever considered taking a mate?” he asked, enthralled by her loveliness as she fed. Her milk white skin was now flushed a rosy pink and her freckles were dark red against her skin. Her breasts were swollen and her nipples tight with the desire feeding always brought.

  She lifted her head and licked the last few drops of blood off her lips as she eyed him across the young woman. “No, not until tonight,” she answered, causing his penis to grow even larger and harder as she stared into his eyes with a hunger that had nothing to do with food.

  He moved over the dead girl to Marya’s side of the bed and began to lick her breasts and her neck clean of the blood that had splattered on her, while she cupped his penis in her claws and stroked the hard skin with her nails, making him groan in pleasure until he could stand it no longer.

  He pushed her shoulders back and got between her legs, which she raised and wrapped around his back. He kissed her open mouth, inserting his tongue as he plunged himself into her, almost screaming as her claws raked his back and she thrust her pelvis back at him, impaling him to the hilt in her steamy hot wetness.

  They grunted and moaned and cried as they copulated with wild abandon, raking each other with claws and biting each other until they drew blood, which they greedily swallowed until they exploded together and collapsed in total fulfillment in each other’s arms.

  Thirty-five

  As Shooter drove the Jeep into the outskirts of Banff, he asked TJ, “Did Pike give any directions on how to find the Banff Springs Hotel?”

  “No,” she said, staring out the window, “he said it wasn’t necessary.”

  “Wasn’t necessary?” Shooter asked irritably, “What the hell does he mean by . . . oh!” he finished, pointing out the front window. There, up on the side of one of the mountains surrounding Banff was one of the largest and most impressive structures he’d ever seen. The Springs, as it was known to locals, was huge, with tall, gothic towers on each corner and it seemed to cover half the mountainside.

  “I see what he meant,” Sam said, her mouth hanging open in awe. “I wonder what a night in a place like this costs.”

  TJ, who’d picked up a travel brochure earlier when they’d stopped for gas and got the map, said quietly, “Fifteen to twenty-five hundred dollars per night, depending on the room and the season.”

  “Jesus,” Shooter said. “Who can afford that?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Matt said breezily, “remember, it’s in Canadian dollars, so it’s only about a grand to two grand a night American. No biggie.”

  Sam punched him on the shoulder. “No biggie, huh? One night here would pay our rent for a month, with change left over.”

  TJ grinned at the byplay. “Elijah said he’d already gotten us rooms, and all we have to do is pick up the keys at the front desk. We don’t even have to tell them our names, just that we’re Mr. Pike’s guests.”

  Matt shook his head. “Jeez, the guy must be loaded.”

  Shooter just clamped his jaws shut, not wanting to say anything bad about their host, but consumed with jealousy nonetheless. Not only was the bastard handsome as hell, he was rich as Bill Gates to boot. How can I compete with that on a cop’s salary, he thought angrily as he turned into the drive leading up to the front entrance to the hotel.

  Shooter let the valet park the Jeep, getting a snobbish sneer when he only tipped him a dollar, and the group gathered what little luggage they had and picked up their keys at the desk.

  The clerk checked his computer, and he said, “Mr. Pike requested that you meet him for drinks in the South Bar after you’ve had time to freshen up. He said four o’clock if that was agreeable.”

  “Certainly,” Shooter said rudely, “whatever Mr. Pike says goes.” He took the keys and walked off toward the elevators without another word.

  TJ glanced at the others and shrugged, whispering, “I’ll take care of it in the room.”

  * * *

  TJ waved at Matt and Sam as they entered their room, “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  She followed Shooter into their room and said, “Ribbit.”

  He looked back at her as he sat their suitcases on the bed. “What?”

  “Well, you’re puffed up like a toad, so I thought I’d try toad-talk to you.”

  He took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed, his face flushing a bright red. “Am I that obvious?”

  She sat next to him, taking his hand in hers. “Oh, just a little,” she teased.

  “Did you ever act like an ass, know you were acting like an ass, but not be able to do anything about it?” he asked her, raising her hand and kissing it.

  She considered this for a moment, and then she smiled and shook her head. “No, I think that particular malady is reserved for members of the male sex.”

  “Oh, hell, TJ, I can’t help it. I’m jealous of Pike and his relationship with you and all that you went through with him that I wasn’t a part of. I
’m afraid you’re still in love with him and I can’t do a damned thing about it.”

  TJ sighed. They’d been through this before. “Look, dear, there’s nothing I can say to you about the past that I haven’t said already. Just know that I love you, not Elijah Pike, and that I always will.” She glanced at her watch. “We have about an hour until we’re supposed to meet him for drinks, so why don’t we take a shower and wash the trail dust off first.”

  “Trail dust?” he asked, grinning for the first time all day.

  “Well, how about if you wash my parts and I wash your parts? That sound good?”

  “Better than good,” he answered, jumping to his feet and starting to undo his belt, “In fact, it sounds great!”

  “Well then, you’d better hurry,” TJ said, undoing the buttons on her blouse, “’cause my parts need a lot of washing.”

  * * *

  At a quarter to four, Sam and Matt joined TJ and Shooter in the hall outside their rooms. “Anyone know where the South Bar is?” Matt asked. “I think this building covers about forty acres so I’d hate to wander around looking for it.”

  “I called the desk and they gave me directions,” TJ said, her hand locked in Shooter’s, who had a dreamy, satisfied look on his face.

  As Matt and Sam followed them down the hall, Matt whispered, “I see she got him out of his mood.”

  She winked at him. “Yeah, they took the same kind of shower we did: mutual.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “She tell you that?”

  Sam smiled secretively. “She didn’t have to, I could see it in their eyes.”

  Matt glanced at TJ up ahead of them. “Do you think she could see what we did in your eyes?” he asked, blushing slightly at the thought.

  “Oh, yes,” she said, “I’m certain she could.”

  “The more I learn about y’all’s powers, the more it scares me,” Matt said as they followed TJ and Shooter down the hall.

  “Don’t be scared, darling,” Sam answered, smirking. “But you’d better not ever do anything you don’t want me to know about.”