“Such devotion.”
“He’s earned it.”
“And when he does not?” Richard asked with a raised eyebrow.
“That’ll never happen,” I said with absolute certainty. “Never.”
“I hope for your sake, little one, your faith is not misplaced.”
I reached beside me for Asher’s hand. “It isn’t.”
“Then who am I to stand in the way of true love?” He removed a stack of papers. “You must both read and sign these. One copy is for me, the other for you to keep. Present it if asked.”
“Thank you,” I said, scanning the document. It didn’t matter what it included, if it literally required my immortal soul, I would have signed it. Asher took as little time as I did. We scribbled our names, and that was that. I was his consort. As I slid my copy back to Richard, I realized this whole event was rather anticlimactic. At the end of the night, nothing had changed. It was just a stupid piece of paper.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Richard said, rising, “I must dress. Please enjoy yourselves.” He grinned at me. “And welcome to the family.”
He ushered us out to the hallway before disappearing into a bedroom. “That was easy,” I said.
“Yes.”
I took his hand again, but he didn’t squeeze back. “This is the best birthday ever.” I pecked his stiff lips. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome, mo chuisle.” The moans of ecstasy nearby momentarily drew his attention and a scowl. “We should go downstairs. Join the others.”
“Whatever you desire.”
His mouth twitched again. “Stay close.”
“Always.” I started down the hall, leading him by the clasped hand. “So, who is Alain? Why did you need warning?”
“We did not part on good terms when we last met. If he approaches you, simply excuse yourself and find me.”
“Okay.”
My nerves began to knot my stomach as we descended the stairs. I had no idea what to expect. I was so excited about the consortship, I didn’t dwell on what came after. That I would be surrounded by creatures who wished to literally bathe in my blood. I’d endured my parents’ constant parties with free-flowing drugs, fights, and even sex, not that I knew what it was at the time. If hippies were that wild, who knew what havoc vampires could wreak? I clutched Asher’s hand tighter as we strolled into the parlor. Thirteen and swimming with sharks. Be careful what you ask for.
Shock almost stopped me dead. Most people just stood around chatting and drinking, but quite a few were half a base from rounding home or gang fanging near comatose half-naked models on the sofas or against the walls. One couple engaged in both. It was as if Caligula were the party planner. Asher pulled me closer to his side. “We can leave,” he whispered.
I’d wanted this. This was his world. My world now. “No. Let’s mingle.”
Asher ushered me toward the buffet. I picked at the crab puffs as Asher poured me a glass of water. As I stuffed my face, I noticed Minnie and George whispering and stealing glances at me from the only non-X-rated loveseat. I flashed them a smile, and Minnie blew me a kiss. Asher handed me the goblet as he glared at the pair. He was too busy with his ire to notice the glam rocker wannabe approach. “It is you! Asher! I had heard you had finally returned to the land of the undead. We all missed you!”
“Tobias! It has been far too long!”
The men began catching up, and I was all but forgotten past the intro. As they covered a hundred years of the past, I stood like a lump shoveling appetizers into my mouth. At some point around the 1930s, our hostess meandered over, body bopping in time to the Rolling Stones playing on the record player. She filled her wine glass to the brim, then as she reached for a crab puff, accidently tipped her goblet on Asher.
“Bloody hell! I’m so sorry!”
“It is fine,” Asher said as we all grabbed napkins to wipe his shirt.
“That’s going to stain. Let me show you to the loo to wash it out,” Minnie suggested.
“Very well. Anna?”
I took a step to follow, but Minnie said, “Oh, come on, Ashy. She’ll be fine, ticky mo. She’s among friends. Come on.”
“Stay here,” Asher ordered before he walked away.
The glammer Tobias and I exchanged an uncomfortable half smile. “So, how long have you and Asher been together?” he asked, not hiding his apathy.
“Almost a year.”
“Fascinating,” Tobias muttered as his eyes scanned behind me. “Oh. Please excuse me. I must say hello to someone.” And he walked away as fast as his glittering platform boots would allow. What a wonderful party.
After one more crab puff, I decided to wait for my date in an empty corner. Keep my back against the wall. I barely made it a step before George flanked me. Quite quick on his feet for a man with a limp. “Now, this is a crime against nature.”
“What is?” I asked.
“A beauty such as yourself should never be left alone. Not for one moment. You should be worshiped and adored every second of every day. Asher should be whipped.”
“He’ll be right back.”
“Oh, perhaps he would also enjoy meeting David.”
“Who’s David?”
“Bowie. He is in the sitting room holding court.”
My eyes bugged out of my head. Bowie? The David Bowie? “I-I-I love him! I have all his records!”
“Then I shall introduce you.” George held out his arm like a gentleman. “Shall we?”
We found Bowie in full Ziggy make-up costume sitting on the sofa, vampires and companions three deep around him as he regaled them with tales of antics in the recording studio. It took all my resolve not to fall on my knees and gush like a groupie at the sight of him. “David,” George said when we were mere inches from the legend, “I bring you another adoring disciple. May I present Anna …”
“Asher,” I finished. He held out his hand, and I actually shook it. I actually touched David Bowie. The memory still brings a smile to my face. “This is beyond an honor, sir.”
My new escort glared at the couple to Bowie’s left, and they immediately rose to give us their coveted spots. I spent the next hour holding a conversation, an actual back and forth conversation, with a legend about music and about his life on the road. He was funny too. Wonderful man. About ten minutes in, Asher appeared through the door, scanning the room with concern. I flashed him a smile, which he reciprocated. Lord Richard tapped his shoulder, and, convinced I was safe, they left once more. I was on such a high I barely cared about George’s occasional caress of my hand or odd leer inside my dress’s slit, complete with seductive grin when I glanced his way. I also chose to ignore the gentleman in the corner who stared at me for a full minute before wandering off, only to return every five minutes to repeat the behavior. That is the power of Bowie.
Eventually some man came behind and whispered in the star’s ear that it was time to leave. I almost swooned when the rocker hugged me before departing. It remains a highlight of my life. “He was so nice!” I said to George as we rose from the sofa as well.
“Yes. And he enjoyed you as well, pet,” he replied.
“Really? You think so? I was so nervous. I’ve never met a famous person before.”
“You wound me,” George said with a pout.
“I’m sorry. Why?”
George chuckled. “‘She walks in beauty, like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies, and all that’s best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes.’ I may as well have written it with you in mind, pet.”
“I don’t …”
Not sure why he was quoting Lord Byron, I peered at the strange man, but as his grin grew it slowly dawned upon me. When my jaw literally dropped, he chuckled again. “It is nice to know they still teach the classics to impressionable young minds.”
“You’re not …”
He held his finger to his mouth to shush me. “Dare not speak it, pet. The walls have ears. I could be lashed simply for tell
ing you. Though I do enjoy a good whipping on occasion.” His eyes moved to the slit in my dress again. “Especially if one as beautiful as you were touting the whip.” A flush crept from my chest to my face, which pleased Lord Byron to no end. “But pet, you are blushing like a virgin bride. Surely your Asher has indoctrinated you into the pleasures of the flesh.”
“A lady never speaks of such things,” I said as instructed.
Byron’s brown eyes narrowed. After several seconds of uncomfortable silence he said, “You know it is a gift of mine, spotting virgins. I had it even before my turn. You are as pure as you look pet. I could stake my soul on it.” He moved in closer. Too close. Closer than Asher had ever dared get. I could barely breathe. “Well, if your consort is not willing to relieve you of your burden, may I offer my assistance?”
“I am not a virgin,” I protested far too harshly.
“Pet, you must learn to lie better if you wish to survive among us monsters,” he chuckled. “But do not fret, your secret is safe with me. For a price.”
My stomach knotted three times. “What?”
“A kiss.”
“No. I need to find Asher. Excuse me.” I tried to move, but he grabbed my arm. Hard. “Get your hand off me,” I ordered, my heart beating out of my chest in fright. I’d never felt so young, at least not since Sven’s clients snuck into my room, and there was nothing I could do to stop what came next. I wanted to shriek for help, but knew if I did it’d just prove Asher right. That I couldn’t survive in his world. He’d disappear every night, he’d find someone else, and he’d … no. “Please let me go. Plea—”
“Would you care to dance?”
Thank the universe for that man. I spun around to find the staring man who stood in the corner staring during Bowie time, stepping beside me. He was even more handsome up close, with Mediterranean skin and wide-set dark brown eyes the same color as his long wavy hair, but with a scar that cut through his eyebrow and cheek. This imperfection did nothing to mar his beauty, if anything it added to his roguish air. He didn’t wait for my response, he just took my arm and guided me away.
“Pardon me, but we were in the middle of—” Byron called.
“And now it is concluded,” my rescuer called back in French.
The rogue led me out into the hallway where a man and woman were having sex on an end table, which garnered a disgusted scowl from my companion. I just blushed. “Where is your coat?”
“I don’t know. I gave it to the valet. Why?” I responded in French.
The man headed toward the stairs, past the rutting couple, dragging me beside him. He opened a closet. “Which is yours?”
“Why?” I asked, yanking my arm from his grasp.
“Because it is past time for you to leave. He should never have brought you in the first place.”
“Look … thank you for stepping in back there, but I really had it under control—”
“If you truly believe that, Anna Asher, then your head is not simply underwater, you have already drowned.” He shook his head. “Asher has either grown crueler or stupider with old age.”
“He has not. And who are you to say such nasty things about him?”
“A cautionary tale. One of the countless victims affected by his selfishness and spite.”
“Alain?” I asked, finally able to recall the name.
“He has spoken of me?” Alain asked, surprised.
“Just to tell me I should avoid you. Excuse me.” I attempted to step past him, but he moved to block me. “Please let me pass, or I’ll scream.”
“Scream all you desire. None here will come to your rescue. If anything, they will join in the torment.”
“Asher will—”
“Asher is far too distracted by our host and hostess to give you a momentary thought. But I have no intention of harming you. Quite the opposite. Now retrieve your coat, and I shall escort you to a cab.”
“I am not going anywhere with you. I do not need your help, and I am not leaving. Not without Asher.”
The vampire glared, nostrils flaring. “Foolish girl. He has you mesmerized. You see an angel where only a devil lurks. Did he save you? Pluck you from a life of misery? From some deep loneliness only he can fill? Made you his whole world as you did him?” I was about to ask how he knew but stopped myself. Alain read my face like a book though. A cruel smile crossed his face. “I have known him for seven centuries, ever since he forced this life upon me. And do you know why he did? Why he damned my eternal soul to hell against my very will? Because I bested him on the battlefield. I did naught but wound his pride, and he made me pay the ultimate price. You believe you are special. That he loves you above all others, and at present perhaps he does. But love wanes. Time is a cruel mistress, eroding the luster and excitement of new love and revealing what lies under the surface. It shall reveal who he truly is. Who you truly are. You are young. Your desires will change. He will not. And should you cross him, or betray him, or even wound his pride as I did, he will make you rue the day you ever set eyes on him. I have witnessed it before, Anna Asher, many a time. I would not wish their fates on anyone. So go home. Go anywhere, but get away from him. Before it is too late.”
I stared at the crazed vampire, attempting to find some artifice but only saw belief. Pure, total belief in every word he uttered. This stranger was genuinely frightened for me but I refused to believe. He hated Asher. Alain would say anything to harm him, would even make himself believe to sell the lies. And whatever Asher did in the past, no matter how horrendous, he would never hurt me. Not a hair on my head. And regardless I would never give him a reason to.
“You don’t know me,” I said in a low voice, “and you certainly don’t know us. Now, please excuse me.”
That time he let me pass. Eyes downcast, I hurried past the still wildly shagging couple toward the parlor. He wasn’t there. I checked the sitting room and still no sign. Where was he? Did he leave? There was one room remaining on the first floor where the music, Elton John, played. My own yellow brick road ended in the library, but I couldn’t enter. When I saw him and … them on the sofa, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t blink. I couldn’t turn away from the horror show.
Minnie straddled and writhed on my Asher’s lap, his hands kneading her exposed breasts as their lips embraced with abandon all while Lord Richard suckled her neck in a now familiar way. They broke apart and Minnie’s lips found Richard’s, tasting her own blood in his mouth just as Asher sank his fangs into the pristine side of her neck while his hand roamed under her skirt. My own tender wound pulsed in time to his suckling. I was so angered, so embarrassed, so wounded it proved difficult to breathe. I fled before the tears began.
The wine helped. After chugging one goblet, the embarrassment waned. After two, the fire inside came not from fury but the alcohol working its magic. I still have no tolerance for alcohol but that night with little food in my belly and the blood loss, I was three sheets before that second glass lost its last drop. That still wasn’t good enough. The world was hazy, but the wound still gaped and bled, and every second he continued to spend with them was like a shard of glass reopening it. Why wasn’t he checking on me? Didn’t he care? Had he already gone upstairs with them?
I wanted the thoughts to stop. A few hits on a joint I found helped too. I’d smoked marijuana before. More than twice Sven and his friends insisted I do it just so they could all laugh their stoned asses off as I hacked and gagged. Such was the price of being able to go to bed in the Olmstead household.
It was as if I were floating above myself, watching as this pretty girl stared into space for a full minute before taking another hit. Had I really been astral projecting, I would have noticed my shadow stalking me. When I left the loo, he was leaning against the wall with a sly grin across that cherubic face. The scourge of Regency London. The man who, without his existence, there would be no Heathcliff. No Rhett Butler. No Sam Spade. And the notorious lover was waiting for little old rejected, vulnerable me.
“Well, hello, pet. You—”
I silenced him with a kiss. A rough, savage kiss so hard our teeth collided. I’d only been kissed once by Ralph, which only lasted a few seconds and where I received more saliva than pleasure, so I had no idea what I was doing. Of course, who better than one of the most renowned playboys in history to teach me? At least that’s what I kept telling myself while we continued the lesson. And he did help. Within twenty seconds I’d gotten the hang of it, even learned what to do with my tongue. I might have derived some pleasure in this act save for the fact I was so damn numb and out of it. I could barely physically feel his lips let alone forge a spiritual connection. Any connection. Not even imagining they were Asher’s lips, Asher’s tongue massaging mine helped. Whenever I tried all I could do was call up the image of him and Minnie. When my head started spinning, I broke away first.
“My, my, my, you are full of surprises, my little Lolita,” Byron said before kissing me again. He went a step farther this round, hands moving under my dress. Asher did this to her too. Did she enjoy it? All I felt were hands squeezing me. Not painful like with Sven’s friends, just nothing. The groping went on for about ten seconds before Byron decided to double down. Without a word, he ceased fondling, took my hand, and led me upstairs. If I were in my right mind, I might have understood what this meant, or done more than glance at the pensive Alain as we passed him, but I was too busy concentrating on not toppling in my platforms. It wasn’t until I saw the already rumpled bed I realized his intentions.
Not that I had much time to react before he flung me onto that bed. The weight of him against me a moment later brought back enough sense that I grew frightened. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go all the way. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Byron was handsome, but I didn’t love him. I didn’t even like him. But rage brushed aside common sense. Anything he could do, I could do better. So I said nothing, did nothing, as he kissed me and began taking off my shoes. My tights. I floated up again, watching as he pawed me, as my body did its best to mimic the love scenes I’d seen on film. That’s all it was to me, something happening to another person. I didn’t want to watch anymore. I shut my eyes.
Witch Upon a Star (A Midnight Magic Mystery) Page 7