by K. M. Liss
Sevi looked at Miche and then back to Cali and began.
“Saba and I are over. There is no chance for us.”
“No! But why?”
“He strayed, with filthy little whores. I had months of drunkenness and then he started smoking drugs. Finally he finished it off by bringing two of his female bed buddies home to our apartment to indulge himself in our spare room. And it's not just that. We have absolutely nothing in common anymore. Not since he gave up his modelling. He's so lazy and unmotivated in life. I should never have married and mated him. Never! I was a fool to think it could last between us. I still love him, as a brother, of course I do. We have shared a lot together. But I don't love or want him in the way I should. Not anymore. We haven't discussed it all properly yet, but he knows I am staying with Miche.”
“I see. So you two are what...? Friends with benefits, something more serious...?”
“Very serious,” Miche cut in. "As serious as you can get.”
“Oh really? It's all a bit sudden, isn't it?”
“Not at all, it's been in the air since I changed. There was an instant and very strong connection between us. I left Sevi and Saba in Naples because I could see where it was going and at the time I didn't want to cause trouble between them. But things have a way of working themselves out, don't they? I was overjoyed when she turned up in Paris and that she came to find me again.” Sevi smiled and sighed deeply with love shining in her eyes at his perfectly simple explanation of their relationship. She squeezed his hand tightly and he squeezed hers back.
“Oh fuck Sevi, what a mess. I mean, I'm pleased for you two, really I am, but what about Saba?”
“He's not taking it well, obviously. I'm hoping we can behave like adults over it. In any case, he made his little whore bed and now he can lie in it. Permanently.” She stuck her nose in the air with an indifference she didn't feel. She was distancing herself from him mentally. She knew that. Because deep down inside, she did still have feelings for him of that nature. Strong ones. But she knew they couldn't work it out, not in the long run. It was best she ended it now. Besides, her feelings for Miche were too overpowering to ignore. She was completely in love with him. Completely. There was no way she could do without him. The fact that he had similar tastes, likes and dislikes, and had ambition and drive was too good to be true. She couldn't wait to share time with him, all alone, doing things they loved together when everything was done and dusted. She was sure their relationship had a lot further to go and it was overwhelming and deep enough already. He made her heart sing and her head spin. Not just with physical desire, but with desperate need and pure want and everything else she could possibly imagine feeling. How she was going to let him go to the villa and all the dangers that awaited him there was wrenching her apart.
She pulled herself together when she realised all the women here were coping. Cali was doing without Nico. The others were without whoever it was they had preferences for. They all had the same feelings as she did, in various degrees of intensity.
Cali showed her to her room, and then came the moment. For her to say goodbye. Cali closed the door and left them to it.
“Don't die!” she suddenly sobbed in distress.
“I'll try hard not to.”
“I won't want to live without you.”
“Don't be silly. Of course you will. Don't talk like that Sevi. It's bad enough as it is.”
“I can't help it. It's how I feel.”
“Look, I do too. You know I do. But let's be sensible. Calm and sensible. I'll call you later and tell you what I can. Maybe Nico does have things under control, hmmmm?”
They stood and kissed goodbye for a while. His lips finally left hers and she felt faint with longing. She wanted to roll around forever on the bed attached to some part of him.
“I must go now. Stay here, please?” He pulled away suddenly, opened the door and left her alone.
She lay down on her bed and sobbed like her heart was breaking. Her eyes stung, and her heart hurt, and her throat was so tight it burned like an inferno. Her chest heaved over and over with distress. A long time later she felt Cali's arm around her.
“Come on old stick. It's not that bad. Let's get drunk together.”
“Oh no. Not drunk... I don't handle it that well.”
“Half drunk then. It'll take the edge off your feelings.”
“Okay, lead me to the bottle Lady Calista!”
* * *
Miche drew up outside the gate and pressed the button. He looked around him warily. Who knew who was out there watching. He announced himself to the voice that answered, and was admitted as the gates opened swiftly in front of him. He drove inside and parked next to one of the ten or so vehicles already there. He got out and gazed at the huge building in front of him. It was quite palatial, beautiful. The Gianni headquarters was certainly something worth protecting.
As he stood looking around, a lone vampire approached him. He was exceptionally good looking, tall and well built, had cropped hair and was immaculately dressed in a white silk shirt and smart black pants. Miche had never seen a photograph of him, but he didn't need telling who this was.
“Lord Nico, I presume?”
“Yes, it is I. Welcome, Michello, to our humble abode. And please call me Nico. We dispensed with titles long ago.” He laughed and hugged him in greeting. “Come, let me introduce you to our band of merry men.”
“You seem very upbeat, considering what could be facing us,” Miche said politely, trying to glean an insight as to why.
“Ah yes, I am indeed. We have a certain advantage over our assailants.”
“And what's that?”
“Later, I shall reveal our strategy and discuss things with you, as I have with the others.”
“Is Saba in there? Because it may not be a very good atmosphere when I arrive.”
“I know something of it, but now is not the time for such issues. Saba has gone to his room, to avoid unpleasantness. That was most thoughtful of him, was it not?”
“Highly thoughtful, I'm sure. So, show me these merry men. I can't wait!”
Nico chucked and ushered him inside the villa and into the living room.
“Men, meet our newest member, Michello, who has arrived to assist us in our battle against the Ristorian devils.”
The men stood up and gathered around him. He looked at them expectantly. Fro greeted him warmly, hugging and slapping his back and calling him old friend enthusiastically, over and over. The others did their best to be generous and welcoming, but he sensed a certain restrained air. Obviously Saba was the preferred one of the two of them. But that was to be expected. After he had completed his round of introductions, Nico took his arm.
“Miche... follow me. Fro and Elijah, would you like to accompany us?” He led them out of the room and into the hallway. He opened a panelled door, which was very well hidden within the wall panelling, and turning on a light, descended the steps beyond. “This is the way to our safe room. Come along, quickly. We have much to tell you.” Miche followed, intrigued at what he was about to learn. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt safer, already.
Once they had made their way down the steps, they stood in a small bare room below. A large metal door was positioned at the end of it, with a number pad next to it. He tapped in a series of numbers and it opened with a whoosh of cool air. Nico entered and Miche followed. This was getting better by the minute.
“This is, as I said, our safe room. We shall wait in here while our plan is in action. That is the restraining cage,” he added, pointing to one side of the room which was fitted with very heavy bars and locks. “We will place our Ristorian friends in this for their recovery. It is completely vampire proof. The bars are titanium and the locks the strongest you will find anywhere. He tapped out a code on the panel by the barred door and demonstrated the huge magnetic bolt mechanism. Nico was impressing Miche no end so far, but he was dying to know, how the hell were they going to get the army in this t
hing?
“Recovery from what?” he asked curiously.
“We have the house and grounds set up with a concealed quantity of 'incapacitator', sleeping gas, if you will. It's a derivative of the type they used some years ago in the Moscow siege, but much more advanced. It is called Forylium. Just a quick inhalation of it will render them unconscious in a matter of seconds and it will last for hours. Plenty of time for us to carry them in and lock them up.”
“How will we escape from 'this' ourselves?”
“We have surveillance cameras everywhere, equipped with black beam laser tripping devices and night vision. No one can get within 500 metres of the villa without us noticing something. In fact a rabbit can't get by without being spotted. It is all the very latest, highly expensive technology, and entirely invisible to everyone but us. The tiny cameras and lasers are all camouflaged within natural things, mainly pieces of wood, rocks, some bird nesting boxes, even a couple of beehives... things such as that. It will provide ample warning. I have three men on that in a rotation, so someone is always stationed looking at the perimeter cameras in our surveillance room. We have male and female dummies positioned in our bedrooms, in our beds, at desks, and lounging naturally everywhere, as you will come to see. Anything observed through windows will look lifelike enough to fool the army sufficiently. We have examined it all thoroughly. As soon as the alarm is sounded, a certain type of music will start to play in the rooms. This will mean an approach is being made. We will all go swiftly into the safe room and from there I will monitor the grounds from the computer link. When I am satisfied the army is inside the villa, and are about to begin their killing spree, I will operate the magnetic door and window locks, activate them all, and once they are locked inside, I will remotely set the Forylium gas free. It is odourless and colourless, and will take them completely by surprise. This will be in active phase for five minutes, in and outside the villa to ensure everyone within our compound is down. All around the perimeter walls as well, just in case anyone remains outside. After that, we can release the doors and windows, put on our gas masks and vests, and retrieve and disarm our enemy. Then I can have a delightful chat with Enrico as to his grievances with us. I am so looking forward to that.”
Michello sat looking at Nico in amazement. This was one smart vampire. He'd covered everything as far as he could tell. He seemed to have outsmarted the SAS.
“So we don't need to shoot anyone?”
“Hopefully not, but we have sufficient firearms to ensure that we can, if something happens that requires us to. I will give you yours in a moment and show you how to use it.”
“Nico, I tell you, I am very relieved about all this. I didn't like the thought of a blood bath, on either side.”
“I know. It is most tiresome that this feud continues to rise again and again. It is becoming such a personal one as well. I do feel for Enrico having lost both his parents to it, but then again, Calista was deprived of both of hers. Sevi's own twin brother was slain brutally, and by our own hands, and I still feel so dreadfully guilty about that. God knows how many other loved ones have fallen with this tit for tat reprisal.”
“I agree. It must end, and soon,” Miche added sincerely. “And what exactly do you intend to say to Enrico to bring about an end?”
“I shall simply explain what happened to his parents, what happened to Calista's, and the type of activities his father indulged in. He needs to be fully informed for anything positive to come of this. Now then, I have one more thing to say, Miche, before I have a private word with you. Nothing is to be mentioned of this. Nothing. Understood? You may say you are quietly confident we can match their assault, when you call and speak to Sevi. I am sure that they are all loyal and honourable females, but women gossip so, don't they? They can't seem to help it, so we must ensure they don't know any details at all. Once they get on their phones, it could be tweeted, retweeted, and all over Facebook in an hour if they knew.”
The other two left, and Nico collected his gun from a box in the corner and handed him his ammo. He looked at it warily. He had never handled a gun before. This was something else, it weighed a ton. God knows how humans coped with them.
“You cannot fire it within the grounds of the villa, because of the noise obviously, anyone could be watching and listening from a distance. But I will instruct you in a minute as to how to use it should you need to protect yourself.” Nico paused and drew a breath and looked at Miche intensely. “But now, I wish to know. What are you doing with Severina? I was the best man at her wedding not that long ago, and Calista her matron of honour. We are very upset about Sevi and Saba's matrimonial demise. Sabato won't talk about it. He has barely spoken at all since he arrived in fact. All I know is that it is over.”
“It is all over. I don't want to go into details right now. Calista can fill you in with all that. But basically, Sevi and he were incompatible. It took a long time and for certain events to happen for her to realise it fully, but now she does and there's no going back. We are together, officially. It's Sevi and Miche from now on.”
“Hmmm, and how much pressure have you being applying to this fortuitous situation?”
“As much as I can, without being too obvious,” Miche replied honestly.
Nico roared out loud with laughter and punched his arm in a friendly way.
“She is a very beautiful and talented woman. And has such a strength of character. I hope you are worthy of her.”
“I feel honoured she has chosen me and determined to make her ecstatically happy.”
“Then all that remains is for me to give you my blessing and wish you good luck. It is not my business to dictate what goes on between members of my household, but for the next few days, until this army matter is resolved, I want you both to remain civil and loyal towards each other.”
“Of course. I feel no ill will towards Saba. However, I cannot vouch for him. His feelings are somewhat different.”
“I will speak to him shortly. Now then, let's show you how this gun works, Michello my brother.”
* * *
Sevi sat and drank wine with Calista and chatted to the women for the rest of the day. She played a little piano on the old upright in the corner of the living room, taking requests for everything from Beethoven to the Beach Boys. She could play anything by ear, she only had to hear it once or twice and she could play it. Miche called to her to say he had met the very charming and capable Nico. He had explained they were all quietly confident with Nico's plan. He wouldn't say any more than that. He'd spoken to Saba and the two of them were in a truce at the moment. Until the situation at the villa was resolved.
At 10 p.m., she decided to make her move. She could be there and back in a few hours if she moved fast. She feigned tiredness and said goodnight. Changing into practical clothing, she left the farmhouse by the window and set off towards the town through the fields. She intended to feed and then get a taxicab, to be dropped nearby her destination.
In less than thirty minutes she was at the end of the road in which the villa was situated. She paid the driver and took his phone number, in case she needed his services for the return journey later. Then she began her long walk down the road, quietly moving in the moonlit shadows. As the lights of the villa came into view, her phone bleeped. She looked at it quickly. It was Cali.
“Where the fuck are you?”
“Feeding.”
“I'll come to meet you.”
“NO.”
“You're there aren't you? You've sneaked off to the villa.”
“Yes. I want to speak to Saba. I'll be back soon.”
“I'm getting a cab and coming to get you. Nico will go apeshit. I'll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“I'll be really quick, I promise.”
Then another text appeared.
It was Saba.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“How do you know?”
“I can see you on my screen. I'll meet you at the gate. Hurry
up.”
She dashed to the gate and he let her in, leading her along the side of the wall behind a garage building.
“So, how are you?” she asked stiffly.
“Okay. What's the matter, couldn't you bear to be apart from lover boy for more than a few hours?”
“It's you I wanted to see.”
“And why is that?”
“We need to be civil. I didn't want the last words that I may ever say to you to be cross ones. You hurt me badly the other day.”
“Oh, I see, and you're feeling guilty now, are you?”
“Are you, more to the point?”
“Of course I am. Sevi... My dearest love. I want us to try again. You know I love you. I always will. I adore you. I went off the rails in New York. So the fuck what? It didn't mean much. It was boredom and frustration with my life, not you.”
“Saba, no... It's too late. I don't want you anymore,” she said in a faltering voice, her heart hurting.
“I know you do. Kiss me goodbye. I dare you,” he challenged so seriously, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her towards him.
“Please don't make....” She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence before he swooped in for a killer kiss. He knew just how she liked them and pushed all her buttons hard. She found herself responding to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing herself closely to his body. They nipped at each other with their fangs, tasting the familiar tastes, and both of them sighing with desire. Then her sense of reason returned and she pulled away.
Oh my God, it would be so easy to melt into him as if nothing had ever happened... but so much has...
“Seems like you still have the hots for me baby,” Saba said softly, his eyes glinting with victory.
“Oh, you are just so, so...”
“What, go on...?”
“Impossible. That's what. We're impossible. I can't live with you. Saba, look, I love you. I really do. But I'm not in love with you, not anymore. Despite any remaining heat between us. I want a divorce and for us to un-mate, whatever that entails. Please? Release me as soon as possible.”