“Well, I’m one,” I said mockingly. “What’s the other?”
Theo glared at me, showing his teeth. “Don’t trivialize this”
He’d had teeth as ordinary as mine, but now his incisors were as long as my finger. Yipe. Thoroughly chastened, I shut up and waited for him to spill it to me.
“The other,” he said after a long pause, “is the Ruler of the Vampires for the United States.”
The title was said with such reverence and fear that I took his next words very seriously. Something that would scare Theo had to be pretty fucking scary.
“He’s come before a few times and always creates a problem. This year it will just be worse.” He glanced pointedly at me and then away.
“Because of me? Why would I being there make him act worse?”
“He’ll have to meet you as Danial’s date. I can exert authority over anyone else, but I can’t touch him. He is more powerful than Danial, and as Ruler of a country, his word is law.”
“You’re worried you can’t protect us?” I squeaked out.
“I don’t have the power to protect you from him.”
His words came out flat. I felt sick and took a deep breath. “Then what’s the plan?” I asked shakily.
“Danial will be with you. Don’t leave his side for any reason unless I’m with you. I’ll be in a position to watch the both of you most of the time. But you can’t separate. You’ll be safe with him.”
“Check. Anything else?”
“You may be required to perform as hostess. Trust Danial. Do whatever he tells you to do. I can’t tell you more. Danial’s never brought a date to these parties before.”
My bad feeling grew. “This sounds like more than a meet and greet, Theo.”
“Its okay, Sar. It’ll involve some blood drinking ritual, but it won’t hurt you. Danial wouldn’t let that happen. Relax.”
I thought I might vomit in his lap, but I closed my eyes. Theo gave up on comforting me after he saw how upset I was and drove the rest of the way in silence. Abruptly, he turned down a dirt road that was no more than a break in the underbrush. As we continued down it, the SUV hit a large bump. Theo sped up, now driving on blacktop.
We pulled into a clearing a minute later. Theo drove up to a small well-lit house with a wraparound porch and a rocking chair by the door. When we got out, Ghost and Darkness gratefully raced around to stretch their legs. I grabbed my bag from the back seat and followed Theo onto the porch. He opened the door for me, and I walked in, calling for the dogs. They came in hesitantly, sniffing here and there.
The front door opened to a small rust-colored entryway. I was glad Danial had gotten a few pumpkins. The two chairs were antiques, but comfortable, not the huge, heavy overstuffed ones. A stone bench dominated the room.
Theo cleared his throat and made a point of looking at his watch. I ignored him, taking off my muddy shoes for a quick look around. I’d wondered what kind of place Danial called home, but had imagined something huge and imposing, a place I wouldn’t be comfortable in. This home had a lived-in look that said it was more cozy than showcase.
The hallway opened to a small dining room with a table and six chairs. They were delicate but sturdy, the bark of the trees they’d been carved from varnished. A corner hutch contained small woodcarvings instead of china.
The great room had a twenty-foot ceiling and many windows, and it had been a dark color—
“Sar, we have to get going!” Theo yelled from the entryway.
I jumped and backtracked. “I’m ready. Can I leave the dogs in the great room?”
“Put them wherever; we need to go. Aran will look after them.”
He sounded urgent, so I hurried, getting the dogs settled down on their blankets. I reached into my bag and pulled out the red velvet box. Opening it to check that the choker was still inside, I slipped it into my pocket and shoved on my shoes. With a last goodbye to the dogs, I followed Theo back to the Expedition. I gave the house one last look in the mirror as he drove off.
“Is it what you thought it would be?”
“Actually, yes. Danial said he didn’t spend much time at home. He wouldn’t have a huge house then. But it’s much cozier than I expected.”
He didn’t say anything. I lapsed into silence, my anxiety returning. We drove another twenty minutes, and then pulled into a steep, wide driveway. The Expedition climbed laboriously until we reached the top, entering a well-lit parking lot. There were several cars of all makes and models, and some limos with drivers by them. I saw one huge RV with at least three guards near it. The vampire king’s ride?
“Duck down,” Theo commanded.
I scooted down in the seat as he drove around to the service entrance. From the size of the building, I imagined we were at a conference center, although I hadn’t seen any signs. But I could have missed them in the dark.
He left the engine running, got out, and hustled me towards the door, which opened before we reached it. A woman appeared, dressed in silver. She had long dark hair worn up elaborately, with ringlets cascading down to frame her blue eyes. Her dress was in the style of the early 1860s, with a petticoat and lots of lace. She was beautiful, more than I was.
She noticed my awestruck look and laughed, a low rich sound that made me relax. “Hurry,” she said. “The party is going to start in about ten minutes. Most of the guests have arrived and are looking forward to meet you.”
“Can you take her inside, Tatiana? I’ve got to get ready myself.”
“Sure thing, Theo. I’ll help her get ready.”
Theo went off as Tatiana led me through a maze of corridors. We reached a fair-sized dressing room with a full-length mirror. She sat me in a chair and bustled about, grabbing makeup brushes and hairpins.
“Shouldn’t I dress first?” I said in a small voice.
She paused, looked at me, and then burst out laughing. I did, too, nervously.
“You’re right. Stand up and take off your clothes.”
“All of them?”
“All of them.”
I did as she asked. When I stood in front of her with nary a stitch, she looked me over.
“Where’s my dress? Shouldn’t we be hurrying?”
“I’m going to make you one.”
“In ten minutes?”
“More like one.” She waved her hand. I was suddenly dressed in a shift. It was light, lacy, and see-through. Hopefully, it was just the first layer.
She held her hands apart, fingers extended, and slowly pushed in just a little with her hands. I felt the shift tighten and conform to my body, the top tightening to push up my breasts and pulling in my waist. She turned behind her and brought out an aquamarine gown from a bag. Next to hers, it was perfect in its simplicity. No hoop skirts or yards of fabric making it difficult for me to move, especially when I was already nervous enough. It had long sleeves, a wide off-the-shoulder neckline, a tucked waist, and full skirt falling to the floor.
When she slipped it over my head, I understood why the girdle was necessary. The heavy cotton gown clung to my body like a second skin. It would have revealed everything I wore beneath. The girdle gave me clean lines.
I admired myself in the mirror. “You’re amazing.”
“I was kidding about the dress. That takes more than ten minutes of work.”
“That’s okay, I love it!”
She instructed me to sit down and quickly brushed on some foundation and blush. She darkened my eyebrows and put mascara around my eyes. She added darker eye shadow and a dab of lipstick.
“That’s it for the makeup. You’re so fair that anymore would be too much,” she said, giggling. “We have another minute or so. Let’s see what we can do with your hair. Danial wants it left down, but I think we can do a little something more with it.”
That was an understatement. I had washed it earlier in the day, but after sleeping in the chair and the ride in the car, it had straightened in spots. Half was curly and half was flat.
Tatiana stood behind
me. She put her hands in my hair on either side of my brow, and pulled it up and back. My hair magically lifted, the curl returning. She pulled her fingers all the way down to the ends, and my hair fluffed up the way it had been at the beginning of the night.
“Sorry, but it’s not permanent. Hold still.” She grabbed some hairspray and gave it a good shellacking. I coughed, but I let her do it. It was better for my hair to be stiff than having it look slept on. Some nights, au naturale just wasn’t glamorous enough.
“You look lovely,” she smiled and put her hand on my shoulder.
“Thank you,” I said gratefully. “Can you show me how to do that with my hair? I’d really appreciate it.”
I thought she might refuse, but she just said, “Sure. Come back to the club sometime and I’ll show you. It’s easy to learn.”
Then it clicked. I’d heard her name before. “You were there that night,” I said, turning from the mirror to look at her, “At the Haunt.”
“Yes. I cater events in addition to running that club. I do Danial’s Hallows Party every year.”
“I knew he had to have help.”
I laughed, and she joined in. There was a knock at the door. “Come in,” Tatiana called out.
Danial stepped into the room. If I’d thought he was handsome before, I’d been mistaken. He was dressed to match me in a shirt made of a slightly darker shade of teal. It was heavy cotton also, but was cut in a swordsman’s style, with ties at the wrists to keep billowing sleeves out of the way of swordplay. Completing the outfit were a pair of black leather pants and a belt of artfully twisted leather. A small gold nugget shone in his left ear. His hair was shockingly different; it had returned to shoulder length. Someone—Tatiana—had done it. It was sultry and windswept, sculptured to set off his beautiful features. I drank in the sight of him and was pleased to see him do the same to me.
“She’s ready,” Tatiana said. “Good luck to you both out there. I’ll check with you throughout the party. Tell me if there is anything that comes up that needs attention.”
“Okay,” he replied, still looking at me.
She walked out, closing the door behind her.
“You look wonderful,” Danial said.
“You look very good yourself.”
He smiled back and produced a box from his pocket. “Please wear these.”
I opened the velvet box to find a pair of gold nugget stud earrings like the one he was wearing. I put them on and handed him the choker to fasten around my neck. The metal made a soft clink as the ends came together.
“I’ll take it off tonight, after the party, if you wish.” He ran his hands down my shoulders to enfold me in his arms.
“I trust that you will.”
His expression softened and his lips found mine for a second gentle kiss. “Good. We’ve got to go.” He led me out of the room and down a hallway.
“Wait, who are we supposed to be?”
“We’re Robin Hood and Maid Marian,” he said, his hand resting on a sword at his hip that I suspected was not a prop. The handle was too plain, made functional, something the real Robin of Locksley would have used.
“Didn’t Robin Hood use a bow and arrows?”
“He used anything he had to in order to get the job done,” Danial said as he hurried me down another corridor. “He was a well-thought-of thief, but I’m better with a sword than a bow any day.”
Sweet, but I’d still prefer he had a gun. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to play 007? I could have been a Bond girl, and you could have carried all sorts of weapons.”
“You’re hysterical, Sar. See me laughing?” He rolled his eyes at me. “The idea is to be in costume. I customarily forbid anyone to dress as paid killers.”
I gave him an odd look and opened my mouth to reply, but we were suddenly before a pair of doors. I forgot my curiosity as I clutched his arm and pasted a smile on my face. The door opened as if by magic.
There was a sea of faces before us but no one was looking at me. I let out the breath I’d been holding. This wasn’t so bad.
“Danial Racklan and his guest, Sarelle,” came over the speaker system. Every eye in the place turned to look at the two of us. Danial smiled. I did as well, telling myself to follow his lead.
It was the largest conference room I’d ever been in. There were at least two hundred people, if not more in the vast hall. Exits were along both walls on either side of us. Against the far wall were tables piled with an assortment of food and drink. A long bar ran the length of a portion of one wall to my left with three bartenders. There was loud laughter and joking voices. Either someone played a harp or music was piped in through loudspeakers. The soft sound under the cacophony put me at ease. My courage finally got up off its duff and kicked in. I could do this.
Danial guided me into the closest throng and we were surrounded. He introduced me to the first of his guests, a couple whose names I forgot as soon as they were mentioned. They made small talk about this and that, and then thanked Danial for helping before drifting away.
This interaction was repeated throughout the night by several attendees. Only the manner of job and involvement of the guest varied. Danial was excellent at his job, as the glowing praise attested. The only disturbing thing was how vague some of the guests were about what it was Danial had done for them. That favor you did me, I appreciate you taking care of it. Let me know if you need anything. That kind of talk was enough to make my danger signals flare, though I smiled and pretended all was well. There didn’t seem to be any supernatural beings there, aside from Danial’s guards near every entrance, and that was strange. I filed that away to ask Danial about later.
I looked around several times but didn’t see Theo. Danial didn’t once let go of my hand, even with only humans around us. The night wore on, and I was starving before long. Finally, we made it all the way across the room to the food. I tried the meat, crackers and cheese, and pasta, leaving the fancier foods alone. Danial didn’t eat himself but enjoyed feeding me. I was embarrassed at the way people watched, but I relaxed after the third bite of food, and began having a good time. The large glass of Shiraz helped.
By the time we got to the dessert table, I was stuffed and glad for the girdle. Danial called Tatiana over for a piece of red velvet cake to save for later. When she passed by with it in her hands, I remembered I’d forgotten to compliment her on her good work.
“Thanks again for the dress and for your help getting ready.”
“You’re welcome. Have a good time.” She continued on.
“I love your dress, too. What’s that material?”
“Spider webs,” she called over her shoulder.
How cool was that? I’d thought the material looked familiar. Maybe she’d make me a dress like that if I asked her.
Danial and I began to make our way back across the room. By that time, I’d become more confident. Another glass of Shiraz helped, coupled with some of the guests leaving. But most of my confidence came from Danial’s support.
It felt great to be there on the arm of a handsome man, to be thought of as beautiful. It was better than being a fairytale princess or a woman who’d survived terrible luck to win the jackpot. I felt like I belonged there, because that was how Danial treated me.
As soon as I’d relaxed, Danial encouraged me to speak my views on any subject he and his guests discussed. At first, I was shy, unwilling to say much. But before long, someone raised an issue important to me, and I spoke up, giving my thoughts.
Afterward, I whispered to Danial, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to monopolize the conversation back there. But reforestation is important to me.”
“Don’t apologize,” he replied. “I didn’t invite you here to be a pretty face who echoed all my answers. I value your opinions, even if I don’t always agree with them. Say what you want to. You’re my date, not my employee.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Come on, we have a lot more people to see.”
Our first problem of the night wasn’t what
I’d expected. A squat little man in a fancy Armani suit came up and thanked Danial. He introduced the young woman on his arm as his wife, but I knew it was a lie. She was a tall, slinky blond with hair as long as mine, although hers was straight and a lot lighter. She was dressed in a flashy sequin belly dancer outfit that outlined her curves. She had on heavy makeup and glitter in her hair. When she slinked over to Danial, her ‘husband’ became annoyed, but Danial was enticed. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked. She ignored me completely, and I rolled my eyes. Danial squeezed my hand.
“I want to thank you for what you did for my Arty,” she said in a breathy voice.
“You’re welcome,” Danial said with a charming smile. “Thanks are always appreciated.”
Art took this as an excuse to get himself a drink, and Barbie—or whatever her name was—stepped closer to Danial. He gave another squeeze, then let go of my hand. I took a step backward, running into Theo as my temper began to flare.
“Shh,” he whispered. “Watch.”
“Let me thank you in my own way,” Barbie said throatily to Danial, and without preamble, gave him a large open-mouthed kiss.
He took her by the arms and pried her off him, still smiling. “Enough.”
“I know what you are,” she said, looking into his eyes. “And I’m into it.”
“Are you?” he said, and I heard a note of irritation. “How into it?”
She took his question for an invitation and kissed him again. This time, he kissed her back, turning her body so he was facing me, so I could watch him. She was enraptured, but Danial kept his eyes opened to watch me watch him kiss her. He winked at me and suddenly kissed her harder. She recoiled, but he held her to him, still kissing. She frantically pushed at him, and I felt my heart race as I remembered fighting to get free of him when he’d first taken my blood.
He let her go suddenly, and she stumbled back, her eyes full of fear. She put her hand to her mouth and a drop of blood came away. Danial gazed at her with disdain, blood on the edge of his mouth. He rubbed his top lip over the lower one and the blood disappeared. Her eyes narrowed. She stepped toward him, her hand coming up to slap him. He caught it easily, stopping her, still giving her a slight smile.
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