Zamani

by Angelic Rodgers

  Later that night, he and Olivia called to Liz, drawing her to Washington Square Park. She’d come to Olivia willingly and slid her arms around her neck, whispering to her before she pressed her lips to Olivia’s, nipping at her lower lip, drawing blood. She’d fed from Olivia while Christophe stood watch. When Olivia left them, Liz slowly awoke from her dreamlike trance and saw him for the first time. He was sitting on a bench in a suit with a bottle of wine. He laughed softly as she pulled herself together and started to walk home. He watched her walk out of the park, and then he followed behind at a distance until she made it safely inside the little house she shared with Kirby and Alex.

  As he made his way home that night, Christophe wondered how he could best help her. He couldn’t explain his affinity for her in any way other than they were kindred. He also knew if he tried to take her from Olivia she would destroy him. He wasn’t sure Liz would even be interested in him; at the park she’d taken little notice of him while Olivia was there; it was clear she had a strong hold on Liz. His best choice for now was to simply follow Olivia’s orders.

  Chapter Thirty

  He watched Liz at a distance for several days before deciding he couldn’t stand it any longer. He had to introduce himself. After all, she was kindred, and other than Olivia, she was the only other vampire he knew. He also was tired of being so covert about following her. And Olivia never said he couldn’t interact with her.

  Ai, a graduate student who had done some work for Olivia, was offering tours of locations connected to Alex’s murder. Christophe neared The Ruby, determined to go in and have a drink like a normal person. He saw Ai coming toward the bar. She was leading one of her tour groups, and he was interested to see how Liz responded to her bringing them into the bar. He stood outside while Liz waited on them, not wanting to be really obvious. She was very direct with the tour guide and Christophe smiled to himself as Liz warned Ai that the moment she stepped off the sidewalk onto the property where she lived or did anything Liz could report that she’d take her chance.

  He entered the doorway as Liz turned toward it. As he walked to the bar, their eyes met. He thought he saw an instant recognition there. What he wanted to do was sweep her up and kiss those parted lips, but he restrained himself and took a seat at the bar instead. She eyeballed him for a second and asked to see his ID. He knew he looked young, but he smiled as he showed her his driver’s license. He hoped this was a sign she wanted to know his name, not just that she really thought he was underage.

  She handed the license back to him. “What can I get for you?”

  “If you’ve got ginger ale, I’ll take a ginger and rye. I see that bottle of Bullit Rye there.”

  She nodded and went about making his drink, keeping one eye on him as she did so. As she turned her attention and thoughts back to the bar, Christophe reached out to her mind, hoping to find her open to him. He could read her thoughts with little effort, and he realized that Olivia’s lessons were having an effect. He was acutely aware that she was attracted to him and then that she realized she’d seen him before. He smiled to himself when he knew she recognized him as the man in the park.

  He caught the flash of recognition in the back of her brain. He knew she wanted to ask him where she had seen him before, but that she wouldn’t. She was drawn to him, and the attraction confused her. He recognized that confusion, as he felt it too. The attraction was more of kinship than it was sexual, and he knew if he were to attempt to act on it that it would seem incestuous. Not only would Liz reject him, but he would have to deal with Olivia’s wrath. He concentrated harder, pushing the attraction to the side, and he found profound feelings grief and guilt. He wished there was some way to help her.

  He watched the group at Ai’s table the whole time, not really seeing them, but not wanting to be obvious as he was searched Liz’s mind. He could easily sense Liz’s irritation; Ai annoyed her.

  Ai was a donor but she was not aware of her role. He knew Olivia had visited her. The tour was yet another way for Olivia to keep tabs on the house and on Liz. Olivia preferred to hunt even when donors were involved. If a donor was unaware of their status, she didn’t bother to tell them. She didn’t like feeling beholden to anyone, and in her mind willing donors were seeking something from her. She used them often as unaware spies. He followed Ai’s party out of the bar and watched as they moved down the sidewalk. He’d have some time later to find her. Perhaps after her last tour of the day.

  He felt Liz’s presence behind him before she put her hand on his arm. He turned toward her, as if he was expecting her. When their eyes made contact, he felt the pull between them grow stronger and felt the same rush that he knew she did. He could also see her confusion over her attraction to him.

  “I’ve seen you before.” As she said it, he nodded ever so slightly, and she saw the corners of his pale, full lips curl up slightly, as if he were amused.

  “Yes, you have, and I have seen you. You really shouldn’t walk in parks alone at such a late hour. But, then, I guess you weren’t alone. I was there after all.”

  She invited him back to the bar, but he declined, telling her he’d see her soon. He still had work to do, and he knew that she’d be safe at the bar. His sister’s magical presence there was palpable; even if he hadn’t seen her going into the bar with her drummers and ritual materials, he’d have known she’d been there.

  He followed the group until the tour was done. After Ai was on her way out of the Quarter he approached her at the bar where she ended the tour and bought her a drink. After striking up a conversation and making small talk, he asked if she would like to have some dinner.

  “I know you don’t really know me, but would you like to have dinner with me? I’m really enjoying talking to you.”

  She’d smiled easily and quickly agreed to dinner.

  They finished their drinks and made their way past The Ruby toward one of the less noisy restaurants in the Marigny, Love’s Lost Lounge. Since it was still early and a weeknight, the bar was slow and they were able to get a table.

  After dinner, they strolled back toward the Quarter. He stopped her in the shadows and pulled her close, brushing her lips with his lightly at first. She pulled his face closer, both hands in his hair. He’d never been with an unaware donor before, and even though she wasn’t aware consciously of her status, she was pulling him in. The donors he spent time with at Olivia’s were, as she had put it, more about pacification. They were intensely loyal to her, and they were highly trained. Their minds were closed to him. Being with Ai was intoxicating in a different way than Olivia’s power over him was; it was like the slow warmth of a shot of liquor, rather than the harsh burst of a match being struck. They stood there for a few minutes and he realized he had best take her somewhere before he embarrassed himself on the street. He started to ask her if she would like to come with him, but before the words were out of his mouth, she pulled away from him with a “yes.”

  He’d not had anyone in the carriage house in a long time. Olivia had never been there, as she didn’t want to stir up his grandmother. “No need to start a turf war, dear. She’s willing to let you come and go as you please as long as you are there when she calls. She doesn’t respect you. You are merely useful to her, not essential. Not like you are to me. If she senses who I am, though, you will become a danger to her and useless to me.”

  Christophe knew that his grandmother was suspicious of the changes in her grandson. She was especially disappointed that he no longer showed interest in her apprentice, Marguerite. They had brief, hot affair, which gave Marie some hope Christophe could continue to serve as a helper for Marguerite when she began her own practice and grew more powerful. She supposed it was natural Christophe would cool toward Marguerite once he sensed her approval. Christophe could sense her gaze from the upstairs window as he led Ai into the carriage house. And, as if she whispered it to him as the door shut behind him, he heard her say to herself that Marguerite’s chances were lost.

  Chapter
Thirty One

  Ai led the tour group toward the shotgun house where Alex was killed. Sasha and Steph tried to mix in with the crowd as much as possible. Steph was the one who told her that tours of her neighborhood and of spots where she worked and where Liz worked were becoming popular. Zofia’s lessons had been very useful. Sasha could easily cloak her identity and make people see her as whoever she wanted them to believe she was. That had grown especially important now that Liz was back in town. Sasha felt confident in her ability to disguise herself, even to Liz. Of course, everyone assuming she was dead helped her avoid detection.

  She’d practiced this several times at old haunts, even going into The Ruby during busy nights, including the night of the party where Liz took formal ownership of the bar. She’d been careful to stay well back in the crowd, far from the door and at a good distance from the bar, in the shadows of the more intimate corners. She’d passed Kirby and Mike on the sidewalk several times with no flash of recognition.

  As Ai described the events of the night of Alex’s murder, Sasha had to work at suppressing a reaction. The small tour group hung on every word Ai said, and since she and Steph brought up the rear of the group, Sasha was able to comport herself well while still maintaining her disguise. Neither Ai nor any of the groupies seemed to recognize her. Steph’s hand in hers also steadied her.

  She recognized Ai from school. She remembered Olivia hiring Ai to do some research for her, just as she’d hired Alex. She also now recognized Ai as a donor; she could feel it when she looked at her. Steph and Lucy explained to Sasha some donors were unaware of their status. Little explanation was required to convince Sasha of this; after all, she’d been a vampire and completely unaware until Lucy revealed it to her. In Ai’s case, the likelihood was Olivia had turned her into a donor but left her unaware of her status. Lucy explained that in darker times vampires often did this in order to ensure a steady supply and not risk detection. Zofia had snorted and said it was also just like Olivia to go around messing with people’s lives and not tell them squat all about it. Sasha wondered how Ai would feel if she knew her identity as a donor and if she would be angry for not being given a choice.

  At least she didn’t have to die; as far as Ai knew, she was still the same girl as before—in the bloom of health. She hadn’t been forced to create a whole new life.

  Sasha felt Steph nudge her. She must have sensed she was lost in her thoughts. The group was starting to move, and Sasha could see shadows in the house, the movement of the blinds where someone was peeking out at the group as it slowly started moving down the sidewalk back toward the Quarter.

  Later as they entered The Ruby she looked at Steph and nodded at her. Steph sat with the group while Sasha went to the bathroom. She’d seen Liz behind the bar and didn’t want to have to face her and order a drink from her. She wasn’t ready for that and she was afraid she might let her cover slip. She waited in the bathroom, listening carefully. She heard Liz take the table’s orders, and she waited a bit longer to give her time to deliver them. She heard a conversation between Ai and Liz; she was proud of Liz for standing up for herself, warning Ai to mind her business both in giving her tours and in bringing people to the bar.

  Once things quieted down, she slid out of the bathroom and sat next to Steph, who’d chosen a seat on the side of the table that put their backs toward the bar, for which Sasha was grateful. She felt Liz’s energy behind the bar, but she also felt someone else’s presence. She looked over her shoulder and saw Christophe Garnier sitting at the bar. She’d asked about him after the Halloween ritual, seeking some answers as to his identity and the powerful attraction she’d felt toward him. Zofia had sensed him that night as well, and she’d assured Sasha it wasn’t just that he was from a family of powerful Voodoo practitioners.

  He was kindred.

  Sasha worked extra hard to keep herself closed off. She wondered about his relationship with Liz; from the moment she’d seen Liz at the New Year’s Eve party, she knew that she, too, had been turned, but she was not trying to hide her identity from anyone. Sasha had felt her power emanating from her, but she’d also sensed confusion and innocence. She’d talked to Zofia about it that night.

  “Do you think she knows she’s turned?”

  “It wasn’t all that long ago you were woken up in the morgue. Imagine what your life would be like now if Lucy hadn’t found you.” She’d shaken her head before Sasha could even suggest that perhaps she’d never fed. “Just because Liz isn’t not fully aware of her true identity doesn’t mean she hasn’t instinctively fed when the opportunity arises.”

  Now, sensing the tension between Liz and Ai, Sasha realized that there was an undercurrent of desire there—both donor and Vampire could feel it, but because they didn’t know their true natures they assumed it was simple anger and the heat that came with that anger.

  Christophe trailed them when the group left the bar and moved on to the next tour stop. Sasha could feel him, even though he hung a good half block or so back, pretending to look in shop windows or to play with his phone; she knew he kept Ai in his sights. He was doing a far better job of cloaking himself now than he had on Halloween, but he wasn’t trying especially hard to conceal his thoughts.

  The next bar stop they made, Sasha waited until they were all seated at the table and then headed to the bathroom, brushing her hand along the back of Ai’s chair. She didn’t have to wait long for Ai to follow her. The bathroom was toward the back of the building, and there was an exit next to it that led into the shared alley in the back. She washed her hands while she waited for Ai to make her way down the short hallway; she opened the door and there she was, waiting for her. Sasha smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her to the alley. Ai was glassy eyed and obviously had been groomed for this kind of feeding on demand, as she acquiesced so easily in her trance state. Sasha hated to feed on her unaware, but it was one way to make sure she had access to her and could use her to find out what she needed to know.

  She made the cut quickly and took no pleasure in the short feeding. Ai was completely open to her mind and completely susceptible to Sasha. She planted the idea in Ai’s mind that she should seek Liz out and help her. Help her understand who she is. Let her help you find yourself.

  By the time the group disbanded and Christophe approached Ai for a date, Sasha’s connection with Ai was well established. She saw and heard Ai’s conversation with Christophe in much the same way someone reading a book listens to the radio or TV in the background. Neither of them was aware of her watching them as they made their way to dinner. She left them then, as she knew they’d keep each other occupied for the remainder of the night.

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Ai surprised herself by going home with Christophe. She wasn’t really the type for a one-night stand, but there was something about him she found irresistible. She feared if she didn’t take her opportunity to spend tonight with him she wouldn’t have another.

  Ai considered herself fairly mid range on the Kinsey scale, and Christophe was beautiful even though he was not really androgynous, which was typically what she found attractive. He was muscular but thin, and they fit together well.

  She woke up sometime in the night and found herself alone in the dark. She threw on her t-shirt and underwear and softly made her way down the stairs to the bottom floor of the carriage house. She could see his silhouette and the glow of his cigarette as she came down the stairs, and he exhaled and softly said, “I didn’t want to wake you.”

  She sat next to him and felt goose bumps form as her thigh barely brushed against his. He was only wearing his boxer briefs and the sight of his bare chest in the dim moonlight coming in through the windows added to her excitement. She thought about how smooth and solid his chest was. She wanted to run her hands over it again, over his shoulders, rake her fingernails down his back, feel his weight on top of her. He smiled at her as if he could read her mind, a sassy smirk of a smile. He crushed out the cigarette and stood in front of her, offer
ing his hand. She took it and he led her back up to bed.

  She left him the next morning well after the sun came up; he smiled sleepily as she gathered her things and made her way back downstairs and then out into the world. She needed to get herself put back together and meet Dr. Holmwood at her office later to go over some of the research she’d prepared for her.

  As she showered and got ready to go to campus, she thought about the night before and how Christophe had enthralled her. That was the only word she could think of to describe how she’d felt. It was a familiar feeling, she realized, similar to how she felt in Dr. Holmwood’s presence and in dreams of her. She’d sensed a spark of it with someone in the group yesterday, too, and also when she met Liz at The Ruby. Liz had obviously been angry about the tours, but there was heat there, and Ai decided she wanted to see if she could pursue that. She felt confident after her night with Christophe that she could pull it off. She made plans to follow up her tour visit with a solo trip to The Ruby to invite Liz to come on the tour and see for herself what it was all about.

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Christophe was accustomed to his grandmother and his sister, Vivienne, having epic arguments. When his mother was alive, she’d been a good buffer between them. Back then it was Rosalie who stood up to Marie, ensuring Vivienne had every advantage, including boarding school. While he couldn’t imagine leaving New Orleans for schooling, he still envied Vivienne for all of the attention she received during their childhood and all of the opportunities he never had.

  As the only male in the household, Christophe felt the isolation sharply. He often fantasized about living with his father, Auguste Bellot, but as he grew older he realized it could only ever be fantasy. Auguste had another family, a wife at least, and she would never allow Christophe to live with them. He begged Rosalie once when he was a child, maybe five years old, to know why his father didn’t live with them.