by Cas Martin
'I never realised that I would need a photo for proof, but I'm glad now that it was taken. Evidence that I mean what I say.'
'How did you know him so well?' Elizabeth looked at Monica, not Elverez, a question in her eyes. Monica shrugged. As much as she would like to offer comfort, she was equally bemused by the turn of events.
'Like I said, we had very similar interests. He was allied with Monica's predecessor, but that was more political, although the two of them got on well enough. That was how I met him initially. But an actual friendship grew between us.'
'There's so much about him that I don't know,' sighed Elizabeth.
'He wanted to protect you, that was his only reason. He lived a life of dangerous uncertainty and he didn't want that for you. It was his big fear that one day you would be drawn into this against his will. Unfortunately that is exactly what happened. He tried to prepare you as well as he could, without ever mentioning the V word,' Elverez smiled.
'Sometimes I wish he'd prepared me better.'
'There is a reason behind everything in this life, that is what I believe. And now you are here in the flesh. Every time I would meet with your father he would show me the latest photographs of you, tell me how you were doing, all your accomplishments. One thing I can tell you Elizabeth, is that he was so very proud of you. And he did have complete faith that if all his worst fears came true, then you would be more than up to the challenge.'
'He clearly had more faith in me than I do.'
'It's understandable you feel somewhat shaken in light of recent events. Plus, the fact you are wearing a scarf on this rather warm night indicates that you've had a run in with a pair of fangs yourself. That can always leave one feeling a bit uncertain, I'm told.'
'What—' Elizabeth began but Elverez held up his hand to cut her off.
'I don't need to know. I don't want to know. That is not what I'm here for. Besides, the fact that Monica is sitting there looking so delightfully healthy tells me all I really need to know.'
'Elverez,' Monica said with a warning tone, sending the older man a look that said he should not continue the conversation.
'Monica, don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to play games. But word is out about what happened last night, and by all accounts you should not have survived to the morning. That you have is a great relief to me, but you know you should be in the early stages of recovery. Weakened. Yet, look at you. Practically glowing. Everything happens for a reason.'
'I don't understand.' Monica was confused and uncertain, and once again felt incapable of performing the role which had been thrust upon her. She was too young and inexperienced to understand it all. It was hard enough to live with what she'd done. Dissecting it for deeper meaning felt too raw to even attempt.
'How did she taste Monica?'
'Elverez!' Monica was both horrified and embarrassed. Elizabeth looked at the door like she was ready to bolt.
'Unique?'
'Yes,' Monica admitted reluctantly, feeling more and more uncomfortable with the way that this conversation was going.
'She is.'
'What do you mean?'
'It will all become clear in time. But never forget the power that you received from Elizabeth's blood. One day that knowledge and strength may save your life. But anyway, onto more pressing matters.'
'I think our current conversation is pretty damn pressing,' said Monica.
'Not to mention,' pointed out Elizabeth, 'I'm sitting right here while you're discussing my tasty, tasty blood. How about a little sensitivity?'
'I'm sorry,' apologised Elverez, with a hint of a bow. 'I forgot there should be a sense of decorum about these matters. My interaction with humans has always been somewhat unusual. But anyway, as I was saying, we have more pressing matters. Like your little encounter last night.'
'It was a set up.'
'I agree, and one that you walked straight into. Willingly, it seems. I have to tell you Monica, you are playing a dangerous game.'
'It's not a game.'
'I know, but your enemies are powerful. More than that, they are amongst you, which makes things even harder. You are acting on superstition and hunches, rather than solid facts.'
'Without any proof it's hard not to.'
'I know, and people aren't helping you like they should. You are the head of this family, and you should have its full resources available to you. Yet people are deliberately holding you back.'
'I think I know who you are talking about.'
'Yes, you do. I'm talking about Ivan.'
'Surprise, surprise.' Regardless, she was startled by his candour. Direct accusation was a dangerous move.
'I can confirm your suspicions. As you have struck up an alliance with Elizabeth, I feel it is my duty to advise you both. I feel I should look after her the same way her father would have done, and how he would have wanted me to do in his absence.'
'So what can you tell me?'
'I can tell you that Ivan was behind the attempt on your life last night. He has an allegiance with another vampire, not of our family. I'm not sure if the name Marcus Alexandrias means anything to you, but it should. He's dangerous, ruthless and completely without conscience. They plan to kill you Monica. You are preventing them doing what they really want. They were prepared to let you live while you were in the dark, but now you have become a more pressing problem.'
'If Ivan kills me, then he is punishable by death.'
'Oh, certainly. If there is proof that it was him and someone wishes to follow through on that particular trial and punishment. I'm not sure right now if there is anyone willing to do so. They are far too afraid of him. I hasten to add that he is too clever to openly be a killer. When he removes you, his plan is to become the head of the family. He won't be playing by the book, but he will be counting on the fact that you will.'
'What do you mean?' Monica didn't like the sound of this. Everything she believed to be true about herself was being unravelled, piece by piece.
'We have our rules and regulations, most of which are punishable by death. All of us flourish or none of us flourish. That is taught from the moment we come into this world, and very few ever break those rules.'
'I know all that.'
'I know you do. But have you realised yet that you must become one of those who steps outside the boundaries if you want to survive? The leader of a family betraying our entire history is unheard of. That is why Ivan doesn't expect you to do it. He is probably so certain you will not want to risk your reputation that he hasn't even considered what would happen if you did.'
'What are you saying I have to do Elverez?' Monica wasn't sure she wanted to hear him say it out loud.
'Sadly, I am suggesting you kill him. Before he kills you.' Elverez held out his hands in a helpless gesture. An awkward silence filled the room. He was voicing the unthinkable.
'I don't want to kill him. No matter what he does, he is part of my family. Our family. I have already killed this week, and I don't want to do it again. I don't want to become one of those vampires. It's one thing to kill outside our own family even, but to kill within it? It's impossible.'
'Do you see what I mean? It is ingrained into you. I have told you that it is what you must do to save your life, but your first instinct is to deny it. Your instinct not to break away from the culture is stronger than your will to live. Of course, that is whilst we are talking about it rationally, in the safety of this house. The reality is, if Ivan turned up here now to kill all of us, you would save yourself, and would not think about the effects of killing him until after the deed was done.'
'Yes, but—'
'No buts. You are going to have to come to terms with the fact that ultimately it is going to come down to you or Ivan. This has gone too far now. Too much has already been done for there to be any other outcome. You have to kill him, and you have to start sowing the seeds of your plan to do so sooner rather than later.'
'This all sounds so wrong.'
'I knew yo
u would not want to do it. That is why I asked you to come here, so you could face up to it now, rather than wait until it is too late. I'm sorry that it has to be this way, but there is no alternative. I will give you any help that I can, but ultimately, I am going to be doing my best to survive through all this myself. I have lived long enough to know it is going to be messy, and I have no intention of dying just yet Monica.' He sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. 'If you want to do the same, then I suggest you start thinking quickly.'
47
For the first five minutes of the drive away from Elverez's house, Elizabeth was lost in thought. Seeing a photo of her father living his other life had been an unsettling surprise.
'So,' began Monica, 'what do you think? Give me the human perspective on this one.'
'I don't think the human perspective is going to be much different from yours.'
'Me either. I guess I just wanted to know what you were thinking.'
'How do you feel about killing Ivan?'
'I'm not sure.'
'I've never met him, but he's apparently tried to kill me a couple of times, so I can't really say I'm feeling any love for the guy.'
'Understandable. You don't have the family tie to him that I do. My whole role is to keep him, along with the rest of the family, safe. Killing someone is not keeping them safe. Even if I detest the man.'
'True, but look at it from another perspective. By killing him will you be keeping the rest of your family safe? Is it one of those things where it comes to sacrificing the few to save the many? God, I can't believe we're talking about this as though it's some theoretical concept.'
'It doesn't seem real enough to talk about it any other way.'
'I'll be there to help you though. We all will, me, Garth…' Elizabeth trailed off, her thoughts returning to David. He should have been in this with them. When Dennis had spoken to Monica earlier that day, he had been unable to retrieve David's body. The sickness hadn't really left Elizabeth since, no matter how hard she tried to bury it somewhere deep inside.
'Thanks,' Monica said after a while.
'I just wanted you to know that it's not just you and Dennis against the rest of the world.'
'I really do appreciate it.'
'Good.'
'Clearly,' began Elizabeth, touching the bruise on her neck to test the soreness that remained, 'my father's journals have something pretty damn important in them. I have to confess, I'm intrigued.'
'Me too.'
'They've been gone for such a long time now, whoever has them must have read them a couple of times over. Whatever is in them is no longer a secret. So what makes them so important to everyone?'
'Perhaps your father used some kind of code and they haven't been able to decipher it yet?'
'It's certainly a possibility. He would have worried about the journals someday falling into the wrong hands.'
'Exactly. So, if whoever has them doesn't know what to do with the information, then it would explain why Ivan is still interested. He's a smart man. Both in terms of his intellect and his political connections. If anyone could unlock your father's journals, it would be him. Which would explain his alliance outside the family. If they have the journals, and he has the knowledge, it's a natural unity.'
'Good for them, very bad for the rest of us.'
'At least Ivan doesn't actually appear to have them yet. We still have a chance.'
'Are you prepared to kill Ivan for them?'
'Elverez is right. The alternatives are far, far worse. For all of us.'
'It's a shame the news you lived spread so quickly. If the rumour had spread that you hadn't survived last night, then we might have gained an advantage.'
'Nice idea, but when the leader of a family dies, the elders in that family know. Automatically. Don't ask me the details. I'm clearly not an elder and was never intended to be. The machinations of the family are lost on me most of the time, and I suspect it's another thing they are determined to keep me in the dark about.'
'Sucks being you right now, doesn't it?' smiled Elizabeth. Anything to lighten the mood. Murder wasn't a fun topic and her life had been far too full of it over the past twenty-four hours.
'Ha ha, very funny. Worst pun ever,' grinned Monica.
'Sorry, I couldn't resist.'
'You're right though, this is getting boring now. How about we take the night off?'
'I like it. I'm bored of being hunted down all the time, I might take the night off. Great philosophy.'
'I think so. In fact, I insist. And I happen to know exactly where to go.'
'Ooooh, I'm intrigued.'
'Lucy Landrey is playing at the Cobra Club tonight. That could be fun.'
'In case you haven't noticed, Lucy Landrey is one of the biggest celebrities in the world at the moment.'
'And? We're still going. I mean, if you want to?' That hesitation, ever so slight, was back again.
'Of course I want to. But not everyone is at your beck and call.'
'Of course they're not. Doesn't make any difference though. You'll love Lucy. Actually, you probably won't. She's a bit of a nightmare diva at times.'
'What?'
'Didn't I mention?' grinned Monica, 'Lucy Landrey is one of mine.'
'What the hell? Are you serious?'
'I'll explain when we get there,' chuckled Monica, and Elizabeth thought it was the first proper laugh she'd heard in weeks.
48
Elizabeth was still sitting in stunned silence when they pulled up outside the Cobra Club. Monica climbed out of the car and handed her keys to the valet as Elizabeth looked down at herself, dirty jeans and borrowed shirt. Her jaw dropped even further as Monica walked to the front of the queue and smiled at the doorman. Elizabeth did a kind of double step to catch up with her, feeling Monica's inferior for the first time since she had arrived.
'Miss Carletto,' bowed the doorman and moved the velvet chain to let her pass. He then promptly stepped in front of Elizabeth. 'Nice try, Miss. Back of the line.'
'Actually,' smiled Monica broadly, 'she's with me.'
The doorman turned and raised a quizzical eyebrow, but moved aside and let Elizabeth walk by. The two women went inside and Elizabeth knew it was the coolest and trendiest place she had ever set foot in. A man in a sharp suit came over and led Monica to a booth not far from the small stage where a set of decks was waiting for Lucy Landrey.
'Two martinis,' said Monica taking a seat.
'Coming right up,' the man nodded and disappeared just as fast as he had come.
'Monica, this is amazing. Though I can't believe you ordered my drink for me.'
'Sorry, but the martinis in this place are really something special. Trust me on that one.'
'Okay, just this once. But,' she leaned in and whispered, 'just because you've fed from me once doesn't mean that you can treat me like your date.'
'It was twice, and I thought we weren't talking about it?'
'We're not.' Elizabeth stopped when the man returned with the drinks. There was a tense pause while Elizabeth took a sip. Monica was right. Part of her had hoped the martini would be little more than average. Instead, it was bloody impressive. Monica was not going to pass up the opportunity to gloat.
'So?' she prompted.
'It's not bad.'
'Liar, admit it.'
'Okay, it's a damn fine martini.'
'Told you.'
'Stop being so smug and tell me what the hell is going on here.'
'It's something of a family run business.'
'What?' whispered Elizabeth. 'The Cobra Club is a vampire lair?'
'Don't look so alarmed. No it is not a 'lair' as you so delicately put it. We just happen to own the building and the license, and the ability to be very cool.'
'Clearly you missed the bit where I told you to stop being smug.'
'Sorry, but I haven't really had the chance to have much fun lately.'
'Point taken. I can't believe that Lucy Landry is a…' Eli
zabeth trailed off, wondering if she was ever going to stop being surprised by the way her life was turning out.
'I know, I was amazed when I found out as well. All of a sudden she was this international star. I could tell she was a vampire of course, some things you know just from looking. But I assumed she was from another family. I remember thinking that it was tough luck for them because even though she seemed really cool, I got the distinct impression she was a bit of a handful. Then at a family get-together she was there and I realised she was one of us. Then a while ago she became my problem.'
'She can't be that bad, surely?'
'You've seen how often she's in the tabloids. The paparazzi love her. Which means I virtually have to have a whole team on her, keeping her under surveillance and clearing up after her messes. The whole reason we have managed to survive and integrate as much as we have is because we don't flaunt what we are. That means having some sense of restraint. Not just with how we feed, but how we live the rest of our lives.'
'And being in the spotlight is a bad thing I would imagine.'
'It's not just being in the spotlight. I mean, in some ways, in the business world I am very much in the spotlight. It's not the spotlight itself, but how you behave in it. I don't think I have to explain to you now, but the feed, the blood – that can be a pretty amazing high. For most of us, that's enough. No other high could even come close to competing so there's no point even trying. But for Lucy, the blood isn't enough. I don't know if she thinks the drugs and alcohol make it even better. True, we have a higher tolerance than humans, but ultimately we end up feeling the same way. And in the quantities she indulges in, it always leads to trouble. Messy, dangerous over-feeding, crashing the car with someone inside bleeding quite obviously from a bite on their neck, that kind of thing.'
'Oh my god.'
'I know. Absolute nightmare. She's young, she's powerful, she's famous and she doesn't give a fuck.'
'I can see how this is a problem for you.'
'The upside is that she's an amazing performer, and when she's actually dry and on stage it's great to watch. It's the only reason why I put up with all her shit, quite frankly. And tonight, you get to see it all up close and personal.'