Exsanguination

  “Before I say what I came here to say, I want to demonstrate something to you,” she casually walked to the little girl and squatted down in front of her. The child’s parents looked on in alarm.

  “You needn’t be afraid of me – I mean you no harm. Come close to hear a secret.”

  The girl leaned closer and, while looking into her eyes, Vanessa whispered a few moments then she smiled and nodded. Standing up, she began walking back to the front of the church, the young girl racing to keep up with her. As Vanessa looked down at her, the child took her hand with a smile.

  Her father’s voice rang out. “Rose! You get back here this instant!”

  “No!” the girl shrieked, bringing murmurs from the congregation.

  Her mother ran up to the front and grabbed the girl’s arm. As she started to pull her, the child twisted and sank her teeth into her mother’s forearm. The woman cried out, pressing a hand against the wound. Vanessa squatted down. “Rose, never mind what I said. Go back to your parents now.”

  The girl walked with her mother back to her place as if nothing had transpired.

  Vanessa spoke loudly. “I am not here to make peace with you people. I am here to warn you. Dozens of your number have already died as a result of attacking us but I’ve reached a decision. When one of you tries to kill one of us, I’m not going to end his or her life. I’m going to cause that person to begin a new one,” she reached out her arm toward Azar who walked forward from the back of the church.

  When they reached the centre, a woman called out. “Oliver! It’s Oliver!” This resulted in a good deal of muttering and smiles.

  “Here’s one who wasn’t killed although he and his conspirators attempted to kill us.”

  The woman who had called out his name jumped up and ran to the front.

  “Oliver! It’s me! Don’t you recognize your mother?”

  “Go away!” he yelled at her and moved to stand behind the Azar.

  Vanessa continued. “This, of course, was Oliver. It was Azar who decided to spare his life when he was captured. Now she owns him.”

  “You can’t own a person!” an angry voice cried out.

  Vanessa smiled. “If you’re a vampire, you can. You saw it,” she extended her hand to point at the girl she’d compelled moments before. “For a few moments, I owned Rose.”

  There was a good deal of grumbling.

  “So, the next time we’re attacked, we won’t kill, we will take slaves in the same way we did in the country of my birth. Those of you who would consider violence, know that you will become my groundskeepers and repair people. You will do precisely what you’re told to do, smiling all the while, and it will eat at your insides, gnaw at your hearts. A special message to you married men who might consider some sort of attack. If you’re captured in an aggressive event, your wife and children, if any, will be

  without any means of support. We do not pay slaves.”

  She pointed at the pastor and her eyes narrowed.

  “You. You’re going to be watched. One more time, speaking out against vampires and I take you. You’ll be pastor turned stable-boy, shovelling manure for the rest of your days,” she could see the fear in his face and, in fact, most of their faces.

  Followed by Azar, Vanessa began the walk to the back of the church. When she reached Rose, she stopped and smiled at the girl. Lifting her chin, she kissed her on the forehead and then turned to her mother and frowned. “You will not punish this child for biting you. Should I learn that you did so, you’ll have far larger teeth sinking into your flesh. Clear?”

  The woman nodded quickly, horrified at the thought.

  Out in the Escalade, Phillip looked at Vanessa. “Do you think the police would have anything to say about your new policy which, by the way, I’m totally for?”

  “The authorities will be inclined to look the other way. They won’t want more trouble than they’ve had from us.”

  He nodded. “I suspect you’re hoping for more attacks.”

  “Actually I’m a bit conflicted. No one wants to be attacked but the idea of a couple dozen groundskeepers, some footmen and a few parlour maids is nice.”

  “Since women seem less inclined to mount armed assaults on us, you could wind up with some pretty stocky, ugly parlour maids,” Phillip chuckled.

  “Oh, Phillip, the days of footmen, carriages, grand balls and parties . . .” she sighed. “Oh, if I could take you back.”

  “Miss it, eh?”

  “Mmmm . . .” Vanessa nodded, a faraway look in her eyes.

  “I’ve dressed Toady up as a maid a couple of times,” Azar announced. “It made him cry.”

  Phillip looked over into the back seat. “You are really cruel, you know that?”

  Azar shrugged. “I have no problem tormenting those who would harm me or the people I love.”

  “Tell me, how much of his memories have you erased? How much of him is really left inside him?”

  She cocked her head. “I’ve erased nothing – not the tiniest of memories. That would take the sting out of some of the instructions I give him. Toady is quite torn. On one hand, he hates me with a passion and, on the other; he worships the ground I walk on. He grew up in a very strict religious family and all of their tenets are deeply ingrained in his mind and emotional makeup. Would it make you feel better to know that I use him largely for creature comforts? Warming my feet in bed? Massages? The only demand I make that really brings him into conflict with his church background is that he service me sexually. That usually sets his head on the edge of exploding,” she paused and held up a finger. “Appropriate, though, for someone who would have had Vanessa’s home and a number of us exploding.”

  Phillip nodded.

  “You know something?” Nikki piped up. “You people are really thinking small ball.”

  “What do you mean?” Vanessa frowned.

  “Azar has her Toady, you are looking forward to turning irate churchgoers into servants, and my brother is worried about the feelings of terrorists,” she sighed.

  “And?” Vanessa’s eyebrows went up.

  “You should be thinking about using compulsion on members of Parliament and other officials. It might be wiser than offering them immortality.”

  Azar leaned forward. “She’s smart, this one. If you want, I’ll put some of my thoughts together for you to look at.”

  Vanessa nodded. “Yes, please do. The MPs come under the best and brightest program although most of them are neither. Compulsion won’t be used on them – they’ll simply be offered immortality.”

  The following evening, everyone was drinking leisurely in the drawing room when Vanessa approached Azar.

  “I want to do two things.”

  The middle-eastern woman’s eyebrows went up and she smiled. “Only two?”

  Vanessa chuckled and nodded. “First, I want plants in as many churches and mosques as possible. I want to know, in advance, where problems may crop up so we can address them before they grow.”

  “I’ll spread the word and get people in place. What do you want to do about troublemakers? Kill them?”

  The taller woman shook her head. “Only if we feel we have to. Humans are far more useful when under compulsion rather than dead.”

  “Good point,” she glanced at Toady, who was looking longingly at her. “He’s become quite twisted now, you know.”

  “How’s that?”

  “It’s rather bizarre. Some of the things I have him do that used to tear him up inside, he’s finding enjoyable in some odd fashion.”

  “He’s losing his religion,” Vanessa nodded thoughtfully. “Nicole used to be very religious.”

  “Oh, no, I’m not going to believe that. She’s a stone-cold killer!”

  Vanessa nodded. “She is now.”

  Azar coughed slightly. “So? The second thing?”

  “That requires a bit of tracking. There are a lot of members of Parliament. I want each one approached and be offered immortality. When each one is tu
rned, I want vampire-friendly bills created and passed.”

  “I’ll see to it,” Azar smiled and then sighed. “Imagine how wonderful the world would be if every last human was under compulsion.”

  “More peaceful, I would imagine,” she paused. “Phillip was having a bit of a hard time with it, calling compulsion slavery.”

  She shook her head. “Only vaguely similar. In the case of slavery, you have to use threats and beatings to extract obedience,” she wagged her finger back and forth. “Not that I’m, in any way opposed to threats and beatings,” she smiled. “Compulsion, as you know, stems from controlling an inferior mind. Less violent and usually more effective,” she cocked her head. “So Phillip is giving you grief over it?”

  “Not since I shared my blood with him.”

  Azar whistled softly. “That set him on a different track?.”

  “Completely.”

  Phillip walked up. “Talking about me?”

  Vanessa smiled. “Mostly about other things.”

  “Ok, I’ll bite. What kind of things?”

  Azar spoke. “About what the world might be like if all humans were under compulsion. Don’t you think it would be nice, Phillip?”

  He smiled and nodded. “When do we start?”

  Both women registered surprise at his eagerness to subjugate every human on the planet. It showed on their faces and Phillip shrugged. “No more wars, no more terrorism, no more unemployment . . . what’s not to like?”

  Vanessa frowned. “And it wouldn’t bother you? No more free will for humans?”

  Robert refilled his wine glass and Phillip took a sip. “Humans would still have free will. Look at Toady,” he inclined his head in the man’s direction. “He can choose which side of Azar’s chair to kneel by. He can choose any one of a number of possible orders in which to eat the items on his dinner plate. On balance, he can’t choose to steal or harm someone. So,” he held up his glass, “if you think about it, free will is something that one has in degrees, even when under compulsion.”

  Azar laughed and looked at the woman next to her. “Your betrothed is something of a philosopher, Vanessa, darling!”

  “That’s me. Aristotle, Plato, and Plutarch all rolled into one,” he frowned. “Seriously, though, I’ve been giving this some thought. In a few years, we could close every prison in England!”

  Vanessa patted him on the shoulder. “Why don’t we start a bit more modestly before we take on the world? Besides, I’ve no intention of putting the entire human race under compulsion. It’s too difficult to track.”

  “Huh?”

  “Compulsion can get quite specific. If you have a thousand vampires putting a thousand humans under compulsion and some of the humans have conflicting instructions, they could wind up killing each other. No,” Vanessa shook her head, “there will be limited compulsion.

  He sighed. “It seemed a brilliant idea for a moment.”

  “By the way, Azar, if you need a workspace, my office is open to your use. You’ve a lot of work ahead of you and I can’t imagine trying to conquer the human race from your bedroom.”

  “A good point. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen your office,” she smiled.

  Moments later, Vanessa opened a door on the third floor and Azar gasped.

  “Oh, Vanessa! This is magnificent!”

  At the far end, on a dais, was an ornately carved ebony desk that had, for its top, a thick slab of black, highly polished marble. Above it was a large crystal chandelier. Central in the room was a long, beautifully crafted ebony table that could be the centrepiece of any boardroom. Spread about were soft chairs, a sofa, multiple occasional tables, a piano and a bar. Built into the walls were bookshelves that were lined from one end to the other by old volumes. What really had Azar’s jaw hanging was the architecture. In general, the style of Smythe House would be considered to be Georgian but this room couldn’t have been more different.

  Multiple columns extended from the floor and spread out to become a vaulted ceiling. It was completely Gothic in appearance. The carpeting, woodwork and furniture were all quite dark in appearance.

  “It was a pet project of my dead husband’s and, I must admit, it’s rather grown on me.”

  “This is one of the most breath-taking rooms I’ve ever seen,” Azar said softly, almost reverently. She shook her head. “I’ll make my calls from the morning room. I’m sorry. To use my mobile in here would denigrate the beauty that is all around me.”

  “Nonsense,” Vanessa laughed. “I use my mobile in here all the time.”

  Azar closed her eyes. “I’m imagining what this house would look like if it were renovated entirely in the Gothic style.”

  “I can’t begin to think of what that would cost me.”

  XXXVIII

  A week later, Nikki came into the drawing room, doing a happy dance with Owen close behind her.

  “I’m gonna be rich! I’m gonna be rich!”

  Vanessa chuckled. “And how are you going to go about that?”

  She set her laptop on a table and opened it. “Have a look.”

  Vanessa looked at the screen for a moment and rolled her eyes. “You’re serious? Vampire Connections?”

  “Bringing species together for love and fun,” Nikki responded. “What’s wrong with that?”

  She sighed. “You’d better screen the humans well. I don’t want to hear about dead vampires.”

  “Oh, of course. This may really work out well though. We verify that the vampires signing up are, in fact, vampires and that the humans are sincere. What this will offer is a whole new channel for blood donors. After your demonstration on national television with Susan, I suspect there may be thousands or tens of thousands of humans who consider the possibility of being snacked on quite alluring.”

  Vanessa nodded slowly. “I suppose but, if something goes wrong, it’s on you. I suppose you’re going to charge to make these connections?”

  Nikki grinned. “That’s where the rich part comes in. I really need to pay my dad back for clearing my credit card. I’d like to have your approval.”

  Vanessa thought for a moment and glanced at Phillip. “What do you think?”

  He shrugged. “I’m fine with it as long as it doesn’t backfire in some unforeseen way.”

  She turned back to Nikki. “Alright.”

  “Yay!” she pumped her fist in the air. “I’ll tell you, Owen is an Internet nerd,” she continued excitedly and then developed an unsure look. “I want to set up a twitter account for you as well as a YouTube channel if you’re okay with that.”

  “No,” Vanessa responded flatly.

  Nikki frowned. “Why not?”

  “I want to limit my public exposure. I don’t want it and don’t need it.”

  Her shoulders slumped. “Alright, but I do have another idea. Can we talk about privately?”

  Vanessa shot Phillip an inquiring look and he shrugged.

  “Let’s go to my office,” she stood up.

  As they walked into the large room, Nikki gasped. “Oh, my God, this is beautiful! It’s how I imagined architecture as it might relate to vampires. Gives me delicious shivers.”

  “Azar thinks I should renovate the whole house in this fashion.”

  “Oh, I’m all for that.”

  “Yes, well, I’d consider it if my funds were unlimited,” she poured drinks for both Nikki and herself. “So, what was this idea that needed discretion?”

  “Well, I didn’t know how Phillip might react to it.”

  “I’m listening,” she eyed Nikki with scepticism.

  “You remember what you did for Susan, right?”

  Vanessa nodded slowly.

  “What if we opened a kind of clinic? As an example, an oncologist could refer a terminal patient to this clinic if the patient was willing. The patient would go to the clinic and be fully informed of the repercussions of being turned. If our interview indicated that he or she would be a good fit, so to speak, the turning would take place. Ve
ry quickly, everything would change. Suspicious looks would become smiles and nods. Instead of questions like what the hell are we going to do about these vampires, humans would be talking about how wonderful we were. The whole idea might need some tweaking but I think it’s basically a great public relations move,” Nikki held up a finger. “We could call it holistic since we’re not dispensing medical advice or drugs.”

  Vanessa stood up and walked to a bell pull at the side of the room. Robert entered in a flash, smiling.

  “Yes, my lady?”

  “Tell Azar I want to speak with her.”

  As quickly as he arrived, he disappeared.

  Nikki grinned. “I think Robert likes his new life.”

  “I know he does,” she smiled, “and you’d be amazed at how many young women flock around him at the clubs. We used to see a rickety old man and they now see a distinguished looking, incredibly well-mannered vampire.”

  Azar entered the study and Vanessa filled her in on Nikki’s idea. She looked at the shorter woman.

  “Do you remember when I said I thought you clever?”

  “Yeah . . .” she responded hesitantly.

  “Well, it appears I was wrong.”

  Nikki looked wounded.

  “You’re damnably clever, girl!”

  Nikki’s worried look changed to one of delight.

  “So you think it’s a good idea?” Vanessa asked.

  “Absolutely. Let’s set it up – get a building or such and turn some eager nurses to staff it. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll have a flood of patients in no time at all. If it’s more than the nurses can handle, I’m sure there are plenty of our people out there who would love to have a full feeding instead of a snack.”

  “So no injections, you think?”

  Azar shook her head. “Make it as pleasurable as possible for those who would otherwise die a miserable death.”

  Nikki frowned. “I thought you didn’t like humans.”

  “I don’t. I’m just thinking of what the public reaction will be to this whole thing.”