Four Centuries (Damned and Cursed Book 7)

by Glenn Bullion

  Victoria's eyes dilated and turned red as the warm nectar coursed through her. She fed slowly, enjoying the moment and the sensation. Liz, despite her best efforts, began to whimper and moan. She didn't know what to do with her hands, so she settled on gripping Victoria's shoulder and hip.

  As always, the vampire was in complete control. Never once in her four centuries did she ever harm a mortal from feeding. Not every vampire could say that. She was acutely aware of Liz beneath her. Her quickened breaths, frenzied pulse, even the sweat beading on her forehead. It was entirely possible to enjoy a feeding, enjoy the mortal companionship, and not hurt them.

  Liz squeezed Victoria's shoulder tightly and bit her lip. It wouldn't be long before Liz climaxed. Victoria considered pushing further, a show of gratitude for Liz taking care of her the past seventeen hours. She doubted Liz would mind at all. But there were probably a million reasons why she shouldn't turn the comely flight attendant into a quivering pile of mush in the middle of the empty airplane.

  She withdrew her fangs and held the back of Liz's neck. Liz sighed, a mix of contentment and disappointment, as Victoria ran her tongue over the tiny wounds. The gesture made Liz shiver, but there was nothing sexual in Victoria's movements. The vampire's saliva healed the punctures, not even leaving a scar. The only trace that Victoria was even there was a tiny bit of blood, which she quickly licked away.

  Liz couldn't speak for nearly a minute. Finally, her breathing returned somewhat to normal as she opened her eyes and smiled at Victoria.

  "You didn't have to stop."

  It was Victoria's turn to console.

  "If I didn't, you'd be proposing to me right now." She smiled. "First time?"

  "No, I just…forgot how good that felt. Thank you."

  "No, thank you. I'm not sure how much warm blood I'll be getting in New Delhi."

  Liz was in the middle of straightening her clothes when the sunlight spilling in from the open doorway vanished. Victoria carefully peered around the corner to see the stairs pressed against the plane were covered by a large plastic tunnel, blocking out the sun.

  Denise was halfway up the stairs. She stopped when she saw Victoria staring back at her.

  "Oh!" she said, flinching and putting a hand over her heart. "We're ready for you."

  Victoria gathered her cooler and smiled at Liz.

  "It's been a pleasure."

  "It has," Liz said. "I guess we'll be seeing you again in a few weeks."

  Victoria tried to contain her frown. Weeks. She was going to be away from home for weeks.

  The humid afternoon air struck her as she moved down the stairs, carrying the cooler at her side. A limousine waited at the bottom with the rear door open, as close to the protective tunnel as possible. An Indian man, dressed in a suit, stood in between the limousine and tunnel, holding an umbrella over his head. Low tech, but certainly effective. Some sunlight was still visible, not that it concerned Victoria. But she had to act like it did.

  "Don't worry," Liz said behind her.

  Victoria laughed. "I'm not. I'm not as fragile as I look."

  "Oh, you don't look fragile."

  The Indian man held out his hand as Victoria neared the bottom, gesturing for her to wait. She stayed within the safety of the darkness, just out of the light's reach.

  "Miss Victoria?" he said.

  "Please, just Victoria."

  "Welcome to New Delhi," he said with a nod. No smile, no warmth. Just a firm handshake. "We've already packed all your luggage."

  Victoria smiled in approval, but she wasn't happy at all. She wanted to see her luggage getting moved from the plane. Powerful circle of vampires or not, she wanted to move her own luggage. But she didn't have much choice.

  "I'm Amit," he said, then turned toward the limousine. "As you can see, no windows at all in the back. You'll be completely safe. Are you ready to go?"

  A hand grabbed her gently from behind. The hugs from both Liz and Denise caught her by surprise, but it was a nice gesture. She squeezed them both and flashed a goodbye smile.

  "Okay," Amit said, shifting position. "Uh, I'm sorry about this. I know this isn't exactly…elegant. But I'm going to block the sun with my umbrella here. If you can just…you know, jump into…."

  Victoria laughed as Amit showed some personality for the first time. She simply held up her hand.

  "It's okay, Amit," she said, making sure to say his name correctly. A person's name was important, and should always be treated with respect. A lesson her brother Jack could stand to learn. "Don't worry. You wouldn't believe some of the crazy things I've done to avoid the sun."

  She moved quickly, pushing through the remaining three feet to the door and landing on the seat. The last thing she saw before Amit closed the door was Liz and Denise waving.

  The limousine was more than she expected, and certainly nice, custom-designed for her kind. Instead of alcohol and ice, there was a single bottle of champagne, with a decorative label, that did not contain champagne. Victoria was still riding high from the warm feeding with Liz, and passed on the offer.

  A divider separated the back of the limousine from the driver. Not long after they began moving, a tiny window in the middle of the divider slid open. Amit glanced at her over his shoulder as he drove.

  "Comfortable?" he asked.

  "Very. I have to admit, this is much more than I expected. Do you work for the hotel?"

  The question surprised him.

  "Of course. Is this your first meeting?"

  "It is," she admitted. "I'm just filling in for an old friend."

  "Ah," he said, nodding. "Your kind has been very good to our hotel. You've held your meetings there since I was a little boy. The entire top floor is yours, for your business. I think you'll find it very pleasant." He reached into his coat pocket and handed her a card. "I also live two blocks from the hotel. My address is on there, and so is my cell phone. For your stay, I'll be your personal assistant."

  "Oh, wow. Amit, really, I appreciate it. But I don't need a personal assistant."

  "Maybe not," he said, laughing shortly. "But I'll be available if you need me." He reached for the sliding window. "We're entering a little of a sunny zone here. So, for your protection—"

  "Wait," she said. "Leave it open a little. I'll be careful. I've never seen New Delhi before."

  "Certainly."

  She took in the sights as best she could as Amit navigated the streets. New Delhi was beautiful. Ironically, it reminded her of Baltimore in some regards. It had the potential to change every block. A rough neighborhood one moment shifted into a tourist attraction the next.

  "What do you think?" Amit asked, as he waited at a light for several bicyclists to pass.

  "It's beautiful. I wish I could really take it in during the day."

  That wasn't a lie. For her stay, she was a normal vampire, hiding from the sun.

  "We've come a long way," he said. "We have roads, running water, and something they put in recently, I forget the name…I think it's called the Internet?"

  Victoria frowned at Amit, confused, before he let out a hearty laugh. At that moment, she decided she liked him.

  "I joke," he said. "I'm sorry. I have to get at least one good one on you newcomers, mortal or not."

  "I'll remember that, Amit. Payback's a bitch."

  "Indeed, it is."

  They drove for nearly another forty-five minutes until Amit entered the underground parking lot of a very large hotel. He grabbed a phone hooked to the dashboard and made a call in a language Victoria didn't understand, and she understood many. After parking near an elevator, the doors opened to reveal two young men in matching uniforms, a cart in between them.

  Amit circled around to the back of the limousine and opened the door for Victoria. He offered his hand, a gentleman's gesture. She certainly wasn't a frail, old woman, but she accepted, allowing him to help her.

  The look on the hotel employees' faces were priceless when Amit popped the trunk to reveal six l
arge sets of luggage.

  "Sorry," Victoria said. "A girl's gotta have her clothes."

  Amit laughed and gestured toward the elevator. The two employees started loading her luggage onto a cart.

  "They'll take your things to your room. I'll get you checked in. We already have a more…window friendly path for you."

  "Actually, if it's all the same, I'd like to keep my luggage with me. I don't mean to offend. But I've had a few problems with my luggage before."

  Amit nodded graciously, and said something to the two men. They nodded in return and vanished into a nearby stairwell. Amit pushed the cart into the elevator.

  "Please," Victoria said. "Amit, you don't have to. I can push my own luggage."

  "I'm sure you can, but I won't let you."

  It took Victoria a moment to realize she hadn't yet stepped into the elevator.

  "Victoria? Are you okay?"

  "I am. Just…getting my courage up."

  Amit said nothing. He simply waited patiently, smiling.

  The ride seemed to go on forever. She gripped the guards on the walls, her legs completely frigid.

  "Uh, does this thing ever stop?"

  "Well, you are on the top floor."

  Finally, after what seemed like years, Amit was swiping a card through an electronic lock and pushing the door to Victoria's room open. She trailed behind, helping to guide the cart of luggage in a straight path.

  Like everything else to that point, the room was beyond her expectations.

  There were windows, but they were completely covered by shutters. A king-sized bed, refrigerator, living area, large flat-screen television, hot tub. It was more of a high-class condo than a hotel room.

  "Hopefully, this will suffice," Amit said.

  "Uh, yeah. Suffice, it will."

  "The shutters are electronic, with full control in this room." He gestured to a panel near the bed. "All controlled over there. You are completely safe. They will not open unless you want them to. The refrigerator is well-stocked."

  Victoria toured the room as he gave the tour. A piece of paper sat on the bed. She quickly skimmed it as Amit bragged about the entertainment system. It was an itinerary, written in several languages.

  It wasn't difficult to follow at all, but still made her heart sink. Meetings. Meetings from six in the evening until midnight. Every day.

  "Holy shit," Victoria muttered.

  "Is something wrong?" Amit asked.

  "No. Just…how much is there to talk about?"

  Amit smiled.

  "The conference room is one hall over. Like I said before, this entire floor belongs to your party. We will not enter these rooms unless you call for us. So, please don't worry about your privacy. You have my number?"

  "Yes," she said, gesturing to her purse. "I have it right here."

  "Is there anything else you need?"

  There was nothing. She found herself wondering if she was supposed to tip Amit. As old as she was, and all she'd done, she was in completely unfamiliar territory. Amit wasn't exactly just someone dropping off her luggage.

  He read her mind.

  "Don't worry about gratuity, Victoria. I'm more than well-compensated."

  "I appreciate everything you've done."

  He bid her farewell, with yet another reminder to call if needed.

  Five minutes later, Victoria had every suitcase opened, spread about the floor. She looked through her blouses, dresses, shoes, underwear, bras, everything. Satisfied nothing had been tampered with, the next item on her list would have made anyone, mortal or vampire, pause and stare.

  She found the largest, barest wall, and took a picture with her phone.

  Smiling, she emailed it to Kevin. Everything about Kevin amazed her. But his ability to create portals was breathtaking. With just a printed picture, the witch could literally travel the world. Kevin used them to save gas, visit his girlfriend, even go on vacation.

  They were also the perfect escape route.

  Victoria didn't think she'd need to escape New Delhi, but nothing bad ever happened from being prepared.

  The first gathering of the vampires wasn't scheduled until the next day. She had another day to kill. The hot tub was speaking to her from across the room. In no time at all, she was naked and enjoying the steaming water, sipping on a glass of blood. Classical music, Mozart, blasted through the entertainment system, echoing through the room. She'd met Mozart once. He tried to seduce her.

  "I guess things could definitely be worse," she said aloud.

  CHAPTER 4

  The first hour of the first meeting was fascinating.

  There were somewhere between twenty to thirty vampires total. Victoria had seen some of them before. Slowly, they trickled into the conference room. She was one of the earlier arrivals, conducting business on her laptop while waiting. The conference room itself was large, with a round table and projector mounted overhead. Like everything about the top floor of the hotel, it had been customized for them. There were large windows, protected by shutters, that wouldn't be opened until much later in the evening. A refrigerator in the back was filled to the brim with bottles of blood.

  Vampirism had the ability to reach across all walks of life. The supernatural beings surrounding her were a mix of young and old. She herself was four centuries old, in the body of a thirty-year-old. A vampire she recognized across from her was merely one hundred years old, but in the body of a sixty-year-old man. She stared longer than she meant to at another member of her race that resembled a fifteen-year-old girl, yet moved with the confidence and grace of a being much older.

  The appearances would have also provided a provoking character study. Everyone was beautiful, of course. But some vampires chose to embrace their appearance, their pale skin, while others wore spray-tans. Was it to blend in with the young mortals around them that worshiped the sun and a darker complexion? Or were they truly unhappy with their skin?

  Victoria loved herself exactly how she was.

  Not long into the meeting, a vampire several seats away made his way to the phone in the back of the room. After a quick, hushed call, a young mortal woman arrived to the conference room. He excused himself, and fed from the woman right out in the hallway, complete with the muffled sounds of sex and an orgasm. Every ear in the room belonged to that of a vampire. Victoria knew she wasn't the only one who heard, yet no one else even flinched.

  After the first hour, the fascination began to wear off.

  Victoria waited for something interesting to be said. And she waited. And then she waited some more. They talked about issues that she knew were important on some level, but she simply didn't care. A pack of werewolves destroying a small town in Australia. A vampire claiming to be a God to a tribe in Africa. A psychic who lived in Wyoming that could apparently project his consciousness out into the world. A mind-reader in Brazil that had accidentally discovered the existence of the supernatural, and was threatening to go public.

  The talking went on and on, and the hours passed. No one addressed Victoria, asked for her input on any matter. How did Bradley survive this, year after year? How did he not fight his way across the room, open the shutters, and burn away every last ounce of boredom? The only thing worth paying attention to was the beautiful New Delhi skyline, and the delicious blood from the back.

  Finally, midnight came, and the meeting ended. Victoria watched in amazement as the other vampires gathered their laptops and bags, slowly making their way out of the conference room. She realized that was six hours they were never going to get back.

  "Bradley," she muttered under her breath. "If you were still alive, I'd kill you."

  *****

  Things didn't get interesting until night number six. Victoria had settled into a nice routine. During the meetings, she honed her solitaire skills, flying through game after game. She would stop occasionally to send emails, surf the Internet, watch cat videos with the volume muted. Afterward she toured New Delhi, taking in the sights and culture, wi
th the occasional sip from a mortal in a back alley. The hot tub was also a frequent stop, helping her keep her sanity. She called Amit very rarely, only for advice for a new tourist. The only unusual break she had in the proceedings was a quick witch-sponsored trip back to Baltimore, for a Halloween party at Alex and Cindy's house.

  She was in the middle of browsing through a website for Alex's new business, Demons LLC. She wished Alex and Cindy had come to her about starting a business. There were so many things she could have helped with, so much knowledge she could have given. She would have even helped them fund it. Alex and Cindy were more than capable, Victoria knew, but she wanted to be involved.

  The vampires continued to speak, almost talking over each other at times. There were some heated moments over the past few days.

  "I don't think that's the best way to handle the riots."

  "How would you know how to handle a riot? The closest you've ever been to conflict was Watergate."

  Victoria snickered. Vampires had unusual ways of insulting each other. Their age, wealth, even their creator, nothing was off-limits.

  "At least I could afford to fly here. You rode for four months in a cargo ship."

  She continued to browse through DemonsLLC.com. Kevin had designed the site, and did an adequate job. But it needed more spice. She would look into hiring a professional when she returned.

  The fighting continued for another five minutes, until it finally died down. There was awkward silence. Only the sounds of various laptops, Victoria's included, were heard.

  "Are we ready to talk about something serious?"

  Victoria sent a picture of her hotel room to Tiffany, Jack's adopted daughter. The young child was emailing now, under Jack's careful supervision.

  "Please, Mr. Dougherty, if you have something to say, just say it."

  "Okay. I'm still waiting for my people to get back to me. So, I can't really be certain—"

  "Mr. Dougherty—"

  "Alright. I think…I've found a witch."

  The entire room went completely silent, including the laptops. Vampires turned and looked at each other, apprehension in their eyes. Victoria did the same, just to follow the crowd, but deep down, perhaps felt more fear than anyone in the room.