Silver

by Pieslak, Dixie

  I felt a slight pull as the Silver left me, felt renewal as my power replaced itself. I've never fed anyone before, but Louie nourished Sonja over countless years and his instructions were precise. This wasn't identical to those times, but similar enough. And amazing.

  Blasting vampire black in anger was one thing, but this was Silver from my human side, though vamp in origin. Louie instructed me that the difference in delivery was profound yet subtle - akin to the difference between thinking and meditation. Our dark energy is intentional and must be thrust, while this could only be freed to flow. It moved on its own, released not through will, but relaxed permission, though I am able to guide it. So I released and guided and watched in deep stillness as she unknowingly accepted.

  Unreal to see it permeate her body. Like a black hole sucks in light, she absorbed the Silver flow, but this black hole - Henna - suddenly began to give off a colorful aura that filtered to the patrons, commanding all attention. No one spoke, no one drank. She sang and customers slanted towards her, some with eyes half closed, some mouthing words as they moved in rhythm to her song. Christina set her chin into the palm of her hand, absorbed in the music and Henna.

  I was incredulous.

  Some might call it talent, others might suggest hypnotic force, but it was neither of those. Rather, it was the girl herself, beaming out her own charisma, infused and empowered by vampire Silver. She sponged up what I trickled her way, and converted it to her own self, as though she were thirsting and the liquid to quench was there at last.

  What in the world? I was born to analyze and I immediately did.

  All humans have energy. When they gather in groups, they become a type of entity with the power to sway and be swayed. Sports fans impact the success of athletes, and enthusiasts at political rallies both inspire and are inspired by the candidates they support. Concert goers encourage bands to greatness with mere flickers of flame held high. It is cyclical, the masses inspired by the individual - and the masses in turn propel the athletes, speakers and performers to greater heights.

  Such was the effect in the room before me. The group listening to Henna was captivated and their approval boomeranged to exalt her. Such consuming focus was a switch from the casual listening typical at this and every other club or bar. Obvious to me that the difference tonight was my gift of energy. I had expected something, but not this and not so soon. Once again, Henna has altered the game.

  Watching the results of my experiment was vaguely disturbing, yet minutes passed and songs moved to new songs and I continued to trickle out at her. Like a blooming flower in the sunshine, Henna absorbed then converted my energy and used it much like I do.

  It was ever more mind boggling and I could hardly contain myself.

  Because I'm a human controlled vampire, my body creates an endless quantity of Silver, could pour out a deluge, but the whole scene urged me to crash through the window and whirl her away for myself. If she charmed the humans, it was nothing to what she was doing to me. Without her knowledge, I was able to impact her with my very self. I could fill her, actually enter her, and I wanted to do it again and again.

  But that was dangerous. I was hidden right now, but her searching ability was also being fed and would increase exponentially. Henna remained a menace to me and I must, must, must tread carefully near her.

  Henna finished the set and I slipped away to Amie's porch, mind dancing with elation and abject confusion. How could this female take from me when it is I who do the taking? How does she change my energy in order to use it? And why do I want more contact instead of dodging this girl who could possibly discern my nature and reveal what I am?

  I phoned Louie and filled him in. Experiment, impossible results. He was equally mystified.

  “You can't stop now, Brecken.”

  “I agree and I won't. I have to figure out how she does it.”

  “Obviously she’s more unique than you thought. We didn't plan on her being able to use your Silver. Was she aware of what she did?”

  “I've noticed she sends out her own vibes when she performs, but I don't believe she realized it was different this time. I trickled at her for forty minutes and no one seemed to notice that she glowed. Have you ever seen that before?”

  “Mm, with us, of course. And a few others like us.”

  I scoffed. “Naturally. But we're more than human. She isn't.”

  “Perhaps we're making a mistake. Do you want to stop the whole thing and get rid of her? Compel her to leave or compel Jeff to fire her. Free up your life again.”

  His suggestion went against every urge in me. “Hell, no. I'm going on with our plan. Get her to spend time with me. A few dates and I'll know a lot more.”

  “A few dates isn't the answer. The truth is, you want her. Try courting, Brecken.”

  I snuffled. “A bit old isn't it? Courting in this century?”

  “Oui, mon frère, even in this century. Courting is seduction filled with romance, flirtation, gifts and respect. Low on sex, high on passion and craving, which will be decidedly agonizing for you personally, Brecken. Be mannerly, yet obvious in your desire. For a modern female you'll need to keep her guessing. Turn the girl on to you. Make her want and expect more than you give. Control her awareness as you wish, but if you crave the girl herself, let her see both desire and tortured restraint. You know how to do this.”

  “That all sounds contrived, even if it's genuine. Yes, I know how, but unlike you, I no longer bother. ”

  “Ah, that's because you eschew entanglement. Get entangled with this one, Brecken. Be sure to feed your Silver to her often. See how things go.”

  “What if she senses what I'm doing? She could decide to follow after me again. Bite into me and not let go. I might have to rip her away.” I was talking to myself but aloud too, and Louie responded.

  “Obviously, you could throw her over, roll her under. Turn her into one of us, for that matter. Since our kind has the ultimate power, the risk is nothing. You can hide from a human anytime and anywhere, brother. Just be sure to remain well fed.”

  Court Henna? Difficult enough to control myself in her presence, although I did manage adequately at the coffee shop. Just - yes, keep well fed.

  Chapter 22

  I hate to wait, although I'm good at it, oh yes I am. A long morning run, Ev itchy to talk about something, me dodging that conversation. My landlady not getting better and her cats spitting hate as usual - but I was on a jittery high. Tonight I'll ask Henna out, no mind blitz. Or maybe half and half. I need to get through today, though.

  Some novelists need a break between books, but with me it's the exact opposite. Finishing a novel excites me to start a new one. Plus, writing would help me avoid obsessing over Henna.

  Wrong! But Mark finally called. “Hey.” He said. “Tonight is on.”

  “Good. How about the Village Tavern? Julie might be there.”

  “Julie and I are over, Brecken. But the Tavern's good. I drive, right? See you around 9:00.”

  I shifted, my body not quite its usual self. After sending out to Henna, excess Silver flooded me, ready to nourish her again. I’ve spent a lot of my life twisting and thrashing, but nothing remotely like now, since she came to town. Part of me wanted to shunt it off, pick a fight, kill something. But a larger part of me wallowed in turmoil, although the drinking again from humans gave me the edge to not do something foolish.

  I fretted, knowing I’d see her this evening, sit in the same room and catch her eye, for sure talk with her between sets. I intended the simple move I'd tried earlier. Invite her for coffee in the morning.

  Yet I have the afternoon, and writing is out, so I made a leisurely drive down the #15 freeway to visit Frank and Babs in Fallbrook. They rested easy with another case of wine. I floated on the best of highs.

  Mark was on time. Tables and booths were taken, so we leaned at the bar and Henna's voice rose through the din. But then, I'd heard her before we entered and for me there was no din. Only her.


  A song, then another and another. Magnetic pull, yes, but she wasn't searching. I couldn’t tell if she noticed me and I wanted her to. I dared not lower barricades to attract notice, but there are other ways. Mark moved on a girl and the two of them disappeared. As predicted, I’d walk home again tonight.

  I eased around the room greeting students I recognized. A normal guy, mingling in a crowd of normal patrons. What could be safer? And all the while I watched her not notice me at all. Not notice or not look? Did ‘not looking’ equal noticing? My friendly monster grunted in frustration.

  During break Henna stayed on the platform talking to people at a nearby table. She scanned the room and I shivered with wanting to reach out. But normal, non-scary guys don't send waves of vampiric energy across the room into another. They really don't.

  When frustration became intolerable, I left. From my hidden window I watched her act no differently.

  She seemed quite calm, perhaps uninterested. That last thought slammed into me and I hissed. The last thing I am in this world is uninteresting.

  So I'm like a child, big deal. I prefer negative attention to no attention. Should I do something dramatic? How about gripping her face between my hands and compelling her to look at me? How about taking her mind and making her my own? Juicy thoughts.

  In the end, I slipped back inside, cornered her at the bar and calmly invited her to coffee on the morrow. So simple. She said yes and that three letter word changed everything. False starts, rejection, yelling and mistrust - none of it mattered. Of her own free will, without compulsion, Henna said yes.

  My experiment was still on of course, but keep things light. No probing questions, no threatening moves. This would be courting, so no touching at first. However, a guy reacts like a guy. My body hummed, jumpy at the image of her in my arms and I gave myself a mental slap. Light and slow. Tantalize, make her want me. Allow things to develop the old fashioned way.

  I followed her home and, while she stirred in sleep, I released the wispy Silver, satisfied that at least some of me was in her room, slipping into her bed and under her skin.

  In the last hours of darkness, I drove to Mount Baldy, chased a few field rats through the brush then squatted on a decaying roof and gave vent to an ancient urge. Childish, but a good release. As recounted in legends of old, I shrieked power to the heavens while morning's glow crept into the listening sky.

  Chapter 23

  Henna

  I told my cousin everything. Well, almost everything. The whole week was somehow confusing and it was no surprise, I told her, that Brecken came into the Village Tavern and invited me to morning coffee. In spite of the way I tried to ignore him, the idea excited me and I accepted. Again he invited and again I accepted. He wasn't the one from Venice, yet I still felt odd things that were difficult to ignore. Even so, it was nice to sit under the outdoor heaters on the coffee shop patio and do fun talk, without prodding into each others’ lives. I asked him a few questions though, which I didn't share with my cousin.

  Probably shouldn't be so hot with all the questions. Let him reveal himself. Besides, there’s no hurry. He must have felt the same since he asked nothing serious of me, either.

  It was exciting in that girl/guy way, but I told Christina how the black dog growled every day at him and, at odd moments, I still felt stalked and had a sneaky feeling that I wasn't in charge the way I'm used to.

  “I'm worried about this guy,” my cousin said. “Maybe I need to meet him.”

  “That might not be an issue anymore, Christina. We've had coffee three times and I decided seeing him every time he asked wasn't playing hard to get, so two days ago I told him “No, thank you, I can't.” I didn't tell my cousin it was like swimming through cement just to tell Brecken I wouldn't meet for coffee.

  “Henna, why the hard to get shtick?”

  “Call it woman's instinct?” I started clearing the dinner plates. “Anyway, he didn't stay for my performance. I say no and he goes all quiet and leaves. Mad or what, who knows. It's confusing.”

  Then Christina had a business trip and I was on my own. Come on, just a guy. Have coffee with him or not. What's the problem? But I couldn't stop feeling watched and believing it was Brecken.

  A good beginning, getting closer, and then sassy Henna said no. I pushed at her mind and she said no again. Pushed harder. No, no. What the hell?

  Where did I go wrong? This was hardly the first girl I've been out with. I scowled. Just the most challenging. So I've walked away. Let her moon over my disinterest. And forget coffee. I'll try something else and damn it, that girl will not keep me out of her head. No more persuasive push. Battering ram until she agrees to see me. Of her own accord, naturally.

  Christina was still gone and I felt lost in her immaculate kitchen. Should I micro leftovers or maybe a frozen burrito? That didn’t sound healthy and I need to keep healthy. As if I'd ever been sick. Why doesn't Brecken ask me to dinner?

  I knew why. I said no to coffee, exactly as planned, but I think I blew it. Before, he stayed to hear me sing. Now - gone. Or at least not in the Tavern. I couldn’t say he wasn’t around but he quit asking.

  I peered into the refrigerator, remembering how he bumped into me last week by the bar. It wasn't as accidental as he made it appear and chills went through my skin when he touched me. Touched? More like embraced. It felt good to be sort of in his arms. I probably should avoid any more of that, considering how it affected me. I want to see him again, though. Maybe he's lost interest or maybe he's a player.

  Never mind. I'll think about it in bed or tomorrow when I’m jogging. What a joke. While I slurped oatmeal and milk for dinner, I thought some more. Thought all while getting ready. And in the car as I drove to the Tavern.

  What if he didn’t show tonight? What if he never came again? The thought bothered me a lot. I wanted him to hear me sing. I wanted him to know me.

  Wanted him to know me? Huh?

  Before I got out of the car, I gave myself a pep talk. Forget him, Henna. Things that begin fast, end fast, and if this ended before it began, so what. Remember, you've always used vibes, positive and negative. Use them tonight when you sing. Who cares if he comes in.

  Last deep breath. Don't look for him, don't feel for his presence. Stay cool. Here I go.

  “Hey Jeff, full night tonight.” Subtle look around the room. Not there. My shoulders dropped a little.

  “A good crowd. No pressure, Henna, but let’s win over some new customers tonight.” He set my tea on the counter then turned towards the other end of the bar. Jeff was business savvy, yet remembered to be personal. He was chatting it up with a female customer and I enjoyed watching his WOO strength. ‘Winning Others Over’ is what Jeff does best. I can too, when I choose. Like tonight.

  No more fussing about Brecken. I would WOO and entertain. The more people enjoyed my music, the more they came back and the more likely Jeff would offer an extended contract for the summer. Double win. The best kind.

  Then suddenly I sensed him and wheeled around, too quickly, dang it. He was in his spot and smirked. Then his face became soft and he smiled with a small wave of his hand.

  My stomach dropped. How did he get in here without me feeling it? My stomach rolled. Focus Henna. Control yourself and control this room.

  I checked out the crowd. This was my stage and I intended to sing and WOO the listeners, so I performed and sent out vibes that said enjoy me, enjoy the music and come back often. But I couldn't help it. My eyes slid sideways to look at Brecken. His smirk was back but tonight he was just a little different. There was eagerness about him, so maybe he was enjoying my music. Or wanted to ask me out again. My stomach fluttered and wouldn't stay still. Dang it.

  I pulled my eyes from him and settled on the table in front of me. WOO. The set was fluid. I had the crowd and knew it. At break, my tea was ready and waiting. I breathed in the scent of orange mango and suddenly he was beside me.

  “You know what I enjoy most about your music, Henna?” Brec
ken whispered all too close in my ear. His cool breath trickled over my neck and shoulders. I could feel the goose bumps slide up my arm.

  He didn’t wait for me to answer. “Every night is a surprise. One night the passion from your soul and words carry the weight. The next night it’s the composition of the music that touches deep.”

  He leaned closer and I had the feeling that he was sniffing my hair. What? No, I must be wrong. But he was still there, inches away. I do my best to make each performance different and few notice, but he notices. Scoot away, Henna.

  His lips were just a whiff away from my skin and turning would be ever so risky. He must have noticed his words affected me because he continued, soft breath dancing on my skin. “Your music draws the crowd. They watch you so intently and I watch you, too. You control us when you sing, Henna. You control me.”

  He used my control word? For a moment I couldn’t move because my traitor mind could only think of his lips by my neck and how their nearness made me feel vulnerable. Move away, Henna. Why didn't I obey myself?

  “Here's the rules,” I stammered. “No touching the help.”

  He chuckled and continued speaking in that smooth way. “Who's touching? I must go, but think about a walk with me on your day off. Don't answer now, just consider it. Sorry to miss your second set.” He used his fingers to brush back a curl that had fallen across my eyes. I sensed him step back and turned to look. He was gone.

  A few long moments and my composure was back. But I needed that tea. I closed out the noise and went over what just happened. For starters, how come I let him stand so close to me? How did I let him have that affect on me? His looks may take my breath away - but wasn't he the one I sensed near my house at night? How come I felt like I was trying to convince myself?

  The rest of the evening was great and Jeff’s grin stretched from ear to ear. Yeah, we won some new customers tonight. I mingled for a while then kind of sneaked out.