by Mairsile
“It’s the electrical current I was telling you about. You see, our blood produces an energy that we can send into a human’s mind, into their cerebral cortex, and suggest things to them.”
“Suggest things? Do you mean you control them?” I would kill the bastard who tried to take my control away from me.
Nikki blinked, the only indication that she heard her thoughts. Fearing another fight, she ignored them and said, “Not control - control. I mean, we can’t control your emotions, but we can suggest that you’re sleepy and need to take a nap, or that you feel drunk, or you—”
“Oh, shit!” Lilah exclaimed, leaning forward and glaring at her. The vague, blurred vision of her stumbling in the sand came to mind. Of her holding her up because she couldn’t stand. Of her standing beside her as she threw up. “You’ve done that to me before, haven’t you?”
“Oh, shit,” she sighed. Damn my mouth! “Um, yes. I, uh, had no choice. You were shouting that I was raping you.”
“And were you?”
“No, damn it. I told you I would never—”
Lilah shook her head. “Still, you took advantage of me through my mind.”
“Damn it, Lilah, I’m trying my best to be honest here. I think that I’ve been very understanding and constrained with you. And trust me when I say that I’m not that way with anyone else. If I wanted to, all I would have to do is touch you and compel you to have sex with me and you would only remember it if I allowed it.”
She gasped, shivering at the thought. “You… you haven’t done that to me, have you?”
“No, unfortunately you and I have never had sex. I told you, I am an honorable person. But when I’m with a woman, if she’s willing…because I always ask first. If she’s willing, then I use my compulsion to enhance the sex with her while I bite her. The woman enjoys a prolonged orgasm while I feed on her blood, and she remembers it as the most sensual climax of her life. In order for me to live, I do feed from humans. I have no choice if I want to stay healthy. But I never drain them to death and I never take without asking first. If their mind tells me they’re willing then, and only then, do I bite them.”
Lilah listened to her, examining her face as she began to understand her reasoning. The thought of her drinking blood from a woman was sickening, but the vision of her making love was intoxicating. In a way, she pitied her. In a way, she envied her.
“But, Lilah, I hadn’t considered my ability to hear your thoughts as mind molestation until you just mentioned it.”
Well, that’s something, at least. “And will that make a difference in the way you use it now?”
“I promise, it will with you. I want us to be friends without manipulation.”
“Friends, huh. I get the feeling that it’s more than that. You said earlier that ‘I would never harm the woman I love.’ Care to tell me exactly when you decided that you were in love with me?”
And the shit just hit the fan. She slid off the bed and sat on the floor, subconsciously submissive. “Um… three years ago.”
“How? I didn’t even know you then?” As soon as she said it, she realized what she was saying. “Oh, my, God! You did something to me, didn’t you? You made me forget. Why? Why would you do that?”
“To keep you safe.”
“Safe? From who?”
“From me,” Nikki said sadly. “From my world. My work is very dangerous, and I didn’t want you to be hurt or used against your will. Not every vampire has my code of honor.”
“Look, this is all bullshit,” Lilah retorted. All her talk of vampires was ludicrous and yet she knew deep down that it had to be real. Her head began to pound, and she couldn’t sit there and listen to one more word. She jumped up and walked to the door, then she turned back and said, “I don’t believe a word you’re saying. I’m going to bed, and when I wake, this nightmare will be over.” When she turned around again, Nikki was standing in front of her.
Her fingers were on her cheek before she could protest, and she invaded her private thoughts with her influence. She watched as her green eyes swirled with dark specks of energy and as her mind calmed and she opened it to her, Nikki whispered breathlessly, “Dream of me and remember, Lilah Rose.” While her touch held her captive, she stole a kiss from her lips, and then she released her.
Nikki knew that she couldn’t bring back the memories she had erased, because they were Lilah’s memories and her compulsion had driven them to a level that even she couldn’t reach with her influence. But in her dreams, they would be revealed and through her dreams, they would be made real. It would take time, years perhaps, but those memories would come back to her eventually. And, although she wished it would be instantaneous, Nikki reminded herself that a year to a human was a day to an immortal. The only problem with that rationale was that it was another day of her life that she couldn’t be a part of.
Lilah blinked away the caress of her influence, frowned at her and walked out, leaving her standing in the doorway, berating herself for doing the very thing that she had just promised her she would never do again.
Chapter Thirteen
November 9, 2016
da Polenta Ranch, Texas
The sun rose at 6:51, and the immortals had long since retired for the morning. The three humans sat in the kitchen, sipping coffee and ignoring their steak and eggs. The morning sun was shining brightly without a cloud in the sky, but inside the house it was dark, both visually and emotionally. Leonard looked pensive, Dorothea clutched her crucifix, and Lilah was lost in thought.
“We’ve been up all night. Why don’t you girls try and get some sleep?” Leonard suggested. “It’s going to be a busy day and a long night.”
“You’re right, Dad. I’ll take a nap after breakfast,” Lilah said, looking down at her cold steak and sighing.
“I won’t need a siesta. I slept very well,” Dorothea stated. “I don’t remember when I’ve slept so well.”
Leonard and Lilah exchanged glances, a knowing smile on their lips.
Buck walked in from the back door. “Mind if I get a glass of water?”
Startled out of their reverie, they looked up at him. Dorothea jumped up and retrieved a bottled water from the refrigerator. As she handed it to him, she examined his face, particularly his mouth, with a keen eye. He smiled at her and thanked her for the water before he walked back outside.
“He’s not a vampire, Dorothea,” Lilah said. “Vampires can’t be out in the sun. They’d burst into flames and die an excruciating death.” Lilah put such emphasis on the explanation that Leonard gave her a worried look.
“But what if it’s storming and you can’t see the sun?” Dorothea asked, sitting down beside her again.
“We could improvise,” Lilah admitted. “A stake through the heart, maybe? Never mind. Nikki said that wouldn’t work.”
“The sun is still in the sky whether we can see it or not,” Leonard interjected, shaking his head. “Look, I know this has been a shock to both of you, but we’re not going to kill our friends.”
“Chupacabra,” Dorothea corrected him.
Leonard gave her a stern look. “Are you going to sit there and tell me that you could kill Beulah?”
Dorothea inhaled sharply. She had not considered that Beulah might be one of the undead. She had always looked normal… but then, so had her husband. “No, señor.”
“No, I didn’t think so. These are people that we’ve known all our lives. They’re like family.”
“Family like great-uncle Harold, who likes to walk around buck-naked and picks his nose all the time?” Lilah asked, suddenly shivering at the vision.
Leonard chuckled in spite of himself. “But we still treat Harold like family. The point is that in all the years we’ve known them, have they ever once tried to bite either one of you?”
Dorothea shook her head. “No, señor.”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Lilah dodged. “But they can mess with your minds and make you forget half your life if they wanted to, s
o who knows what they’ve done to us.”
Leonard sighed. No amount of arguing was going to change their minds. He would just have to let them adjust on their own. But Lilah’s last comment concerned him. He was going to speak with Ludovico about it. If someone had been messing with his daughter’s mind, Ludovico would put a stop to it. “After the funeral tomorrow, I want you two to go stay with Cousin Louise in—”
“I’m not leaving the colt, Dad,” Lilah proclaimed. “And there’s another mare out in the field that could give birth at any minute. I need to be here. Besides, I’m not about to leave you here by yourself.”
“I won’t be by myself, Lilah,” Leonard reminded her. “Our friends will be here.”
“I will stay also,” Dorothea announced and kissed her crucifix.
Leonard’s face flushed red, and his eyes slanted with anger. He slammed his fist on the table, surprising the two women. “You both are leaving, end of discussion,” he said through clenched teeth. Then he stood up and walked out the back door.
*
Lilah pulled off her blue jeans and shirt and unfastened her bra. She tossed them on the bedside chair and then climbed into bed, pulling the sheet over her naked body. A kaleidoscope of thoughts ran through her head at first, but she pushed them to the side and tucked her hand under the pillow. Soon the cobwebs filled her head, her breathing slowed, and she slipped into slumber.
“Is this seat taken?”
I looked around at all the empty seats in the library study area and realized that I was about to be hit on. My eyes met hers, and I smiled, looking her over. She was deliciously handsome in a brooding sort of way, except she was dressed all in black leather, and that was a turn off. Too dark and intimidating. A colored vest would make all the difference. But her eyes drew me in, and her smile melted my reserve. I was ready for a break anyway. “Help yourself.”
“What are you studying?” she asked as she sat down.
I patted the six-inch-thick book lying beside my laptop and smirked, “The rise and fall of the Roman Empire."
“Ah, you’re a history major,” she said.
She moved her hand a little closer to the book… or was it my hand resting on the book? “No, I’m studying to become a veterinarian, but I have to take a semester of history for some reason.”
She smiled, a brilliant, alluring smile, and her hand moved closer still. “Was it not the Romans who recognized the value of the souvetaurinariis, the origin of the word veterinarian?”
Smart and studley. “Right. They were charged with keeping a pig, a sheep, and a bull healthy until the Ambarvalia where they were sacrificed to the deity Mars.”
Her eyes glistened with excitement. “Yes, the suovetaurilia was one of the more important sacred rites of the Roman religion.”
I was totally intrigued by her intelligence. “They said a prayer as they led the three animals around the farmland and then they sacrificed them to the deity.”
“And if Father Mars was pleased with their offerings, their farm and animals would produce ten-fold.”
“And if he wasn’t pleased, they would have to repeat the whole thing again,” I said, feeling sorry for the animals.
“And if the farmer was poor, he could wipe out his entire livestock trying to please the god of farmers.”
She laughed, an aura of self-confidence with a twinkle of mischievousness in her eyes. She pulled her hand back, which I was a little disappointed by, and leaned back in her seat. I was hoping that she would ask me out, but instead of waiting, I blurted, “Want to continue this conversation over a cup of coffee at the student lounge?”
“You read my mind,” she replied with a wide grin.
Lilah woke with a start and sat up. The memory of the dream was already starting to fade, but the feeling that something wonderful had transpired still lingered. She just wasn’t sure why it was wonderful or what about it felt inspiring, but she laid back down, hoping to have that dream again.
*
The sun set at 5:31 and by six o’clock, Beulah was in the kitchen, looking for Dorothea. She was feeling nervous, something she had not felt in a long time. The da Polentas owned plantations, mansions, and major metropolitan businesses throughout the South, but this ranch in Texas, bought as a tax write off, was her favorite place to get away to, because of the people. A ranch full of stockmen provided endless entertainment for her. She loved to watch the cowboys in their tight blue jeans and large belt buckles, roping steers, breaking horses, baling hay. It was her own personal stud farm, not that she was ever physically unfaithful to her husband. The ranch was her favorite feeding ground. If she was hungry, she’d satisfy her need with a quick bite to the cowboy’s neck, but if she just wanted to play, she’d seduce the cowboy with her influence, remove his belt buckle and bite him just above his manhood. A slow, tantalizing drink of the thick, iron-enriched blood was so much better than sex to her. But that was because she was faithful to her mate, who after hundreds of years, was not that exciting in bed anymore. But somewhere during her visits, she fell in love with the Dupree family and their housekeeper. They represented normalcy to her that she had craved ever since she had been turned.
“Señora Beulah!” Dorothea gasped when she saw the vampire. Remembering what Leonard told them, she stopped herself from grabbing the crucifix hanging from her necklace.
“Good evening, Dorothea. I, um… I’ve come to help, if I may?”
Dorothea stared blatantly at Beulah’s mouth, expecting what, she wasn’t sure – fangs, blood, a forked tongue. Beulah smiled at her. A large, teeth-revealing smile just as it had always been.
Exhaling, Dorothea smiled back and met her eyes. “Gracias. I was just going to put some tea on to brew and make some finger sandwiches.”
“I’ll make the tea, all right?” Beulah asked, already reaching for the cabinet.
“Sí.”
The two women worked in silence for a few minutes with Dorothea stealing glances over at the immortal. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, “So, I heard that the sheriff was having an affair with the barmaid at the Cowboys Cantina.”
Smiling gratefully, Beulah replied, “What? No. That old fart couldn’t get it up if his life depended on it.”
“He could if the barmaid was twenty-three and bonita… pretty,” Dorothea replied.
The two women laughed and chattered on with their gossip, each grateful to have the normalcy of their friendship back in place.
*
For the first hour, Lilah played the dutiful hostess, greeting old, gray-haired women at the door and graciously accepting their dishes of food. Some of the people she knew and was grateful for their knowing hugs. Young children ran around underfoot, laughing so happily that it made Lilah cry more. After a while it all became too much and she had to get away, so she walked upstairs and leaned on rail overlooking the living room. She watched the people she didn’t know who tried to look sad even as they laugh at the latest gossip. A few men looked bored, standing in line at the bar that Ludovico was manning. Lilah didn’t know most of the people and she didn’t really want to. She was only there to see Rebecca’s mother, then she was going to the barn and hide out.
Even though she had taken a nap earlier in the day, Lilah closed her eyes and yawned. When she opened them again and focused on the activity below, Nikki was standing in a corner, smiling up at her. She blushed and quickly turned around. She looks so good in that purple leather vest and blue jeans. So much better than all that black. Wait, why did I think that? I’ve only ever seen her blue jeans. No. Stop. Stop. Stop thinking, she can hear you. She had a flashback to her dream that morning, and she was there, smiling at her. Although she couldn’t remember much of the dream, it felt vaguely familiar at first, but then completely different from anything she had ever dreamed before. It felt real, comfortable, exciting. And she didn’t want to wake up. But when she did, those feelings didn’t go away. They were just as tangible as they had been in the dream, and she could feel them stil
l when she looked into her smiling eyes.
“Are you hiding up here?” Beulah asked as she ascended the last step of the stairs.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Lilah replied, eyeing the woman not much older than her mother was when she died. How old are you really? Do you have fangs?
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you how very sorry I am about your friend, Lilah,” Beulah said sincerely, holding her hand out to Lilah.
Lilah shuffled her feet and moved her hands behind her back as she leaned against the rail. “Thank you. That’s very kind.”
Surprised by the sudden standoffishness, Beulah tried to understand it. She had watched the young woman grow up. Sent presents to her on her birthday and at Christmas. Sent her to Europe as her high school graduation present. Held her at her mother’s funeral. Now Lilah was afraid of her and to say it didn’t hurt would be a lie. “Okay, well, I’ll see if Dorothea needs any help.”
“Wait, I’m sorry,” Lilah muttered. “I’m not, um, I’m a little confused. Please, just give me some time, okay?” Can you read my mind too? Say no, please say no.
“Of course. Take all the time you need, honey lamb, and if you want to talk, about anything, just let me know.”
Was that a yes you can or no, you can’t?
“We’re your friends, Lilah. That has not changed.”
“Everything has changed,” Lilah said dejectedly as she sat down on the bench against the interior wall.
“I know, child, and I’m sorry,” Beulah said softly, sitting down beside her. “This is not the way I wanted you to learn of us. In fact, we tried our damnedest to keep you and Dorothea from finding out.”
“Why?”
“Your mother requested it. She wanted you to have a normal childhood and had planned to tell you after you finished college next year, but…”
“But she died before she could tell me,” Lilah said, and then frowned. “Why didn’t my father say something?”