by Cooper Flynn
“Why don’t you grab sleeping beauty over there?”
Kenzi looked doubtful but bent and grabbed the woman’s arms. With an easy pull she had the woman balanced on a shoulder. The weight was there but not distressing. Kenzi felt a quick thrill pulse through her at her body’s new strength and followed Connor into the darkness of the hall.
They returned just as dawn began to tease the city horizon. From between the high-rises they could see the sky turning pink. Kenzi felt a sense of relief as they entered the apartment and locked the door.
“Let’s get some sleep, we have much to do tonight,” Connor said as he crossed the room to the bed.
He began to strip again with nonchalance that still bemused Kenzi. His lean, muscled form was again revealed and Kenzi found herself glancing to his boxers. She didn’t trust her new body and new instincts enough to know if there was a genuine attraction, or simply the loss of her inhibitions that caused the heat that shot through her. Had she really changed enough to consider sleeping with a vampire?
“Are you planning to sleep standing up?” Connor asked.
Kenzi realized she had been staring off into space for a moment. She turned and looked to the couch and back to the bed.
“You can sleep here, you know we’ll be dead to the world in a few minutes,” Connor said with a smile that acknowledged the joke.
“I think I’ll take the couch,” Kenzi said as she moved across the room. She shed her clothes with mechanical efficiency and collapsed.
“As you wish, sleep well.” Connor said.
Kenzi was grateful for the near-death sleep of her vampire state. For a time at least her mind would be at peace.
Chapter Fourteen
“If it isn’t my new favorite hostess,” Maksim said with a dazzling smile and wink.
Kenzi smiled with an amused expression as she passed her employer in Club Kremlin. The music wasn’t up to the full volume yet as the last of the early crowd was being replaced by the dance crowd that flooded in after midnight.
“I’m only your favorite because you’re still trying to get in my pants,” Kenzi replied.
Maksim’s smile grew. “Exactly! That’s what I like about you; you get to the heart of the matter. I wonder if you’d like to join me and a few friends tonight after your shift?”
“Why not earlier? I have a feeling your party will start much sooner,” Kenzi asked.
Maksim laughed and shook his head. “Work comes first, my dear. Come back to my office when you’re done, I have a friend I’d like you to meet.”
Kenzi’s smile grew skeptical.
“Seriously! I have a friend that I’d think you’d like, she reminds me of you. Nothing kinky, unless you’d like that. There will be just a few of us relaxing over drinks and having a laugh; no pressure.” Maksim’s open hedonism made his manner seem more charming than Kenzi would ever be able to explain.
Kenzi nodded and moved back into the crowd. She’d spent the week slowly seducing Maksim by using a technique suggested by Connor. In conversation she was always cool, but she often let Maksim catch her looking at him, and she kept her expression difficult to read. Now he sought her out nightly, suggesting rendezvous with differing degrees of sexual invitation. Tonight had been the first time he’d offered something more social, and she was inclined to accept.
The week had been difficult. Her hunger still raged and since the couple they’d feasted on, Kenzi had only fed once. Connor had taken her out to a seedy bar on the Upper West Side and let her feed on small-time hood who had attempted to seduce her. While Connor kept watch, she had taken some of his blood in a back booth. In the end he had still needed to intervene to keep her from killing the man. It had taken the edge off, but she had left feeling dissatisfied on several levels. Again her body had burned for physical contact with every nerve-ending on fire with excitement. Connor had not fed, and remained his cool and distant self.
When Kenzi’s shift ended she considered her next move. She and Connor had planned the seduction of Maksim. They needed him infatuated and in full pursuit. She could do nothing that might risk him becoming bored. By checking with the other girls, Kenzi knew he enjoyed playing with his conquests for a few weeks to a few months. Her schedule was tight. They needed to use him to learn where they could find Gabriel before he created anymore vampires. Kenzi also wondered how Connor would react if she consummated the seduction. Apparently he never slept with his victims; instead he prided himself on his iron self-control. How would he feel if his protégé gave into her physical desires? And could she really feel true desire for someone she was using for sustenance and a means to an end?
She found herself at his office before she’d resolved any of these issues. One of the club’s larger security guards nodded to her and let her approach the door. Apparently she was expected. She knocked once and entered, prepared for whatever was happening when she entered.
At least, she’d thought she was prepared. The scene was nothing she’d imagined. Maksim was sprawled out on one black leather couch watching two figures intertwined on the other. A blonde woman lay atop a young man who was stripped except for a pair of black silk boxers, the woman was dressed in a simple red dress. Kenzi started to turn towards Maksim, a quip about voyeurism on her lips when the blonde girl turned.
The first shock came when Kenzi recognized Katerina as the blonde. The second came as she noticed the red smear around her face. Katerina’s face blossomed into a huge smile, the innocent joy made horrific by the bloody wounds in the man beneath her. Red still leaked from a series of holes across his chest, leading to his neck.
“Kenzi! I’ve been so excited to see you,” the blonde raced to embrace Kenzi, who stood stunned. She could smell the blood on the other woman’s face, and the scent drove a spike of desire through her core.
“Kat,” Kenzi whispered, too stunned to say more.
“Come, drink with me,” Katerina said gesturing to the well-formed man on the couch.
“Yes, enjoy!” Maksim said. “He is my gift to you both.”
Kenzi watched the blood streaming in small rivulets across the hairless skin. The young man was obviously one of the muscle-head pretty boys that hopped from club to club. He was attractive in a generic way, but it was the essence of him that made Kenzi feel weak and light-headed. Katerina grabbed her hand and pulled her close.
“Come on, it’s so wonderful,” Katerina said.
“I can’t,” whispered Kenzi, her eyes bound to the red streams that dripped to the carpet.
“Of course you can,” Katerina cupped Kenzi’s face tenderly. “You can have all of this and more. You never have to torture yourself again.” With that, Katerina leaned in and kissed Kenzi gently on the lips.
Without thought or intent, Kenzi slipped out her tongue and tasted the blood on the other woman’s mouth. Katerina pushed forward and opened her lips, letting Kenzi explore the rich, sweet flavor. They were gripping each other so tightly Kenzi knew only the thin layer of silk covered Katerina’s body.
With a groan Kenzi pulled away, almost panting from the need to taste more. “No….” she murmured.
Katerina pulled her down to her knees next to the resting body, and Kenzi saw the young man grin slightly. His eyes were unfocused, as though in a dream or high from some narcotic. He slipped a lazy arm around Katerina and she climbed over him. She grinned back to Kenzi, and this time a feral light glowed from her pale eyes.
“Drink,” she commanded.
This close to the source of her desire, Kenzi was pulled to the pulsing throat before her. Katerina made an encouraging noise as she lowered her lips to the other side. Kenzi noticed the pointed teeth through her fog of yearning. Her eyes drifted to the blood still welling from Katerina’s previous feeding. She dipped her head.
Even as the taste exploded across her tongue and fired her body, she could hear Connor’s voice warning her. If she took the life of this man she would be becoming what she most despised. Even as she heard the voice, she
felt her hands traveling the hard muscles of this new victim. She wanted this; she needed this. Katerina caressed Kenzi’s hair as their eyes met. Katerina’s hand softly took her own and guided her hand to the man’s crotch. Kenzi could feel the rock-hard erection through the soft silk. His hips rose to meet them as he softly sighed.
It was obscene. Even as Kenzi’s eyes met Katerina’s on the other side of the man’s neck, she was both aroused and disgusted. And yet the disgust heightened the arousal. It felt as though the liquid heat flowing over Kenzi’s tongue was pooling between her legs. A red vortex opened in her mind. Kenzi could picture the two of them lost in an orgy of blood and sex, slick with the red fluid as they moved together, every sense seeking to be sated.
Behind them, Maksim chuckled. That laugh brought Kenzi out of the flood of desire that threatened to consume her. The sound of his pleasure filled her with rage; she would not be a powerless addict. With every ounce of her will power she pulled herself from the blood she wanted so desperately.
“You run quite a risk, sitting so closely to feeding vampires,” Kenzi said, fury building in her as she took a step towards Maksim.
“I’m not worried, why would you kill the one man in this town who can supply you with all of these warm, young bodies?” Maksim leaned back and smiled.
“How did you know what I was?” Kenzi asked, still measuring the distance and fighting the urge to rip him apart.
“My friend Gabriel spotted you that first night,” Maksim said.
“My master has been following you since you were turned,” Katerina explained, looking up from her feast.
“Your master?” Kenzi said scornfully.
“Of course,” answered Katerina with an easy smile. “Only humans ever pretend that they are all equal. You never see such behavior in the natural order. Gabriel will explain it to you.”
She spoke with such simple trust that Kenzi was painfully reminded of their past. Watching her closest friend feeding so joyfully while stroking the young body next to her was sickening. Kenzi felt her heart breaking, destroying the ecstasy she’d felt moments before.
“I don’t need Gabriel to explain anything to me,” Kenzi spat.
“Why not? Do you think your new boyfriend Connor can help you? He’s only holding you back.” Katerina had stopped feeding, and now stroked the chest of her victim, who retained enough life to smile weakly. She reached down into his shorts, forcing Kenzi to turn away, but not before seeing Katerina smile widely. She had small but noticeable fangs.
“Where are your fangs, Kenzi? Connor wouldn’t give you them to you yet, would he?”
Kenzi glared, not willing to continue that line of discussion.
“Come with me, Kat. We’ll show you it doesn’t have to be this way. You can keep the best part of your humanity,” Kenzi pleaded.
Katerina laughed, and it rang in Kenzi’s ears as a perverted echo of the simple joy she remembered.
“Why the fuck would I want that? For the first time I’m free. I am free of the pain, the sorrow and the fear that came with Center. I can experience life on my own terms; I no longer have to obey fools who tell me I have to enjoy my pleasures in tiny doses. I finally feel alive!” With that she lowered her mouth back to her victim, who now moaned quietly with whining noises of begging as she pleasured him while she fed.
With a cry of rage and pain, Kenzi pushed Katerina off the young man and lifted him from the couch into a half-standing position.
“No more! He’s coming with me,” Kenzi said as she began to pull him to the door.
She felt him jerk once and go limp, becoming dead weight in her arms. She heard a cough and felt a blow to one of her legs. It began to fold under her.
“I’m afraid not,” Maksim said casually, pointing a silenced pistol.
The man she’d tried to save now had a leaking hole in the back of his head, and Kenzi dropped him Maksim shifted his aim to her head.
“You wasted it!” Katerina cried. “He’s no good dead!” She bent over the body but lost interest as soon as she verified a lack of pulse.
Kenzi looked on numbly as Maksim shifted his aim again and fired. She sat abruptly on the couch just occupied by Katerina. She felt a dull pain in her chest that grew with every heartbeat.
“It won’t kill you, of course, but it will occupy you while we leave and join Gabriel. Why don’t you relax and enjoy the trip?”
Chapter Fifteen
The metal cage sat in the middle of the room. The bars looked to be an inch thick, and reinforced with frequent bands, giving the structure the appearance of an Old West jail. A quick test confirmed for Kenzi that the bars would not yield even to her enhanced strength. The massive iron cage sat on top of a deep carpet with a floral print with bolts driven into the floor. It didn’t seem to have been in place for long.
The whole room felt transplanted from another time. A narrow stained-glass window adorned one wall, though it was now dark. The rest of the space was littered with several plush couches along one wall and littered with upright and over-turned chairs. A low platform or stage sat beneath the multi-colored window. There was no furniture within her cage, so Kenzi sat on the floor. The ache her chest had receded, and her probing fingers felt only a large welt where the bullet had entered.
“I’m sorry about this,” Katerina said as she slipped though the ornate wooden doors at the other end of the room. “Gabriel said as soon as you understand what he’s offering you can come out.”
“As soon as I understand what?” Kenzi asked without emotion.
“He’ll explain everything in a minute,” Katerina said as she stepped lightly to the bars. She stayed just out of reach. “I really want you to come out and join us; it will be a lot more fun.”
“Am I going to be tortured?” Kenzi asked.
“No, Gabriel said it wouldn’t be necessary,” Katerina smiled sweetly and Kenzi felt the painful reminder of a time now lost. “Once you see everything you could have you’ll want to be a part of what we’re doing.”
Kenzi shook her head sadly. “Katerina, have you forgotten everything you learned? Gabriel is a monster! He is a vicious, cruel killer.”
Katerina smiled, and the small, pointed fangs removed any hint of innocence. “Baby, we’re vampires now too. Everything has changed; haven’t you noticed the colors are brighter, and the sounds and smells and tastes are more intense? We are stronger, but it’s more than that; we’re better!” Katerina’s voice was pleading as she held her hands together as though praying.
“Save your breath, precious,” Gabriel said as he entered. His voice was smooth like polished stone and he smiled warmly at Kenzi. He was dressed with an air of elegance. Loose gray trousers of some material that looked like a soft flannel with a white silk shirt hinted at understated luxury. His long hair flowed to shoulder length and combined with his lean physique might have made him look like an artist except for his countenance. His eyes held a dark intensity that was unnerving in the face that held them. There was no wrinkle or sign of aging, but the skin seemed stretched over his skull, as though human expressions were entirely unfamiliar. Even his smile, warm at first glance, became something terrible the longer Kenzi looked upon it. She remembered that face staring down at her as she waited helplessly for him to take her blood, and her life.
Katerina stepped back and assumed a submissive pose with bowed head as Gabriel stopped beside her. “Yes, master,” she said quietly.
“There is no use arguing with you, is there?” Gabriel asked.
“No,” Kenzi said with all of the emotion could place in one word.
Gabriel reached out and stroked Katerina’s face and Kenzi felt her stomach contract at the sight of her beautiful friend leaning into the caress. It was a defilement that clawed across her mind.
“There is no need for arguments,” Gabriel said softly. “Time will convince you, and we are happy to wait, aren’t we?”
“Yes, master,” Katerina said with a look of adoration.
&nbs
p; The two of them stared at her until Kenzi turned away and sat on the carpet.
After they left, Kenzi tried to sleep. She waited for the death-like state to take her for a time, and give her some peace. It came swiftly, and none too soon.
She awoke to find the last rays of the setting sun pouring through the stained glass, filling the room with blue and red. She wondered idly if this had been a church before Gabriel entered, followed a step behind by Katerina. His attire had changed color, but not style while she now wore a flowing green dress of some neo-gothic design. Again they stood just out of reach.
“How are you feeling today?” Gabriel asked with cold interest.
Kenzi did not answer, but simply stared at them as she remained seated on the floor.
Katerina crouched down and gazed at her lovingly.