She paused after each word as if to emphasize each one and her voice was beginning to sound dangerous.
“Yes!” Desiree acquiesced. But the other woman only squeezed her wrist tighter.
“Yes! Yes!” Desiree repeated, now beginning to panic.
Her face was a mask of pain. She tried to claw the woman's hand away but it was like trying to remove a nail from a block of wood with her bare hands.
“Say it!” Meilin demanded.
“I will only.... owwww! I will only let, let you feed on me Meilin!” Tears streamed down her face and for once she neither noticed nor cared. “Only you, I promise Meilin! Only you! Only you!”
When she let her go Desiree clutched her arm protectively, her mouth open in a silent cry. She couldn't even move her hand. both the wrist and hand were a mass of dark bruises. She knew without a doubt that several bones were broken.
They sat in silence for a long while before Meilin spoke again. This time her words were calm, almost apologetic.
“I did that for your own good you know,” She said. “You would not like it if too many knew what you are. Trust me, you wouldn't like it by one drop or river of blood.”
She took her gently by the injured appendage, gripping it along the arm just above the bruises and raised it to her mouth.
“Now watch, let me show you something.”
She proceeded to feed on Desiree and all pain left her in a flood. She floated among cottony clouds and swam in oceans of giant marshmallows. When she opened her eyes, her hand was completely fine. No broken bones, no bruises, no pain.
Desiree opened and closed her hand experimentally.
“You will always heal 10x faster than a normal human,” Meilin said conversationally. “But with my assistance, you will heal near instantly. When I drink from your neck you will never be in any real danger. I can control my urges despite how amazing you taste. Besides which, your body replaces what is lost as fast as I could take it.”
She turned and looked her in the eye. “But if multiple people knew about you; if they taste how sweet you are…”
“I believe you,” Desiree conceded. Even if you behaved like a jealous lover. “But telling me would have been better than... that.”
“I don't think so,” Meilin shot back. “I saw the look in your eyes. The eagerness. I will not have you whoring yourself about. I will not have you lose yourself.”
She sounded so earnest that Desiree had nothing to say. What could she say really? she had wanted it. She STILL wanted it and that scared her down to her marrow. She had a feeling she didn't want to know what Meilin had meant by ‘losing herself.’
“I need to find a place to rest until nightfall,” Meilin ironically blurted some time later. “This daylight is taking its toll.”
They ended up pulling off the highway somewhere in central California to stop at a Holiday Inn Express. Desiree gathered her new clothes while Meilin took a medium sized, expensive looking piece of luggage from the trunk. They booked a large room with a heck of a view, but with only 1 large bed despite all the other furnishings.
“Order whatever you want,” Meilin said, tossing her a room service menu from one of the dressers. “But don't bother me until nightfall.”
With that, she stripped down to her underwear. Standing in front of the open window with zero modesty, she closed the blinds. The room became much darker, almost complete except for the low illumination of two lamps and climbed into the over-sized bed.
Well, I guess she doesn't use coffins.
Desiree laughed at the thought. Meilin sleeping in a coffin would be like some rich movie star like Tom Cruise or a singer like Adele sleeping on a futon; completely beneath them.
Desiree took a quick shower and then ordered two of the most expensive meals on the menu. When the man brought the food on a huge cart, she tipped him two 20’s. The man was surprised and his mood visibly perked up as he asked if she were someone famous.
“Yes,” She replied as she shut the door in his face.
She chuckled to herself. This is fun. She could most certainly grow accustomed to this.
A few hours later she found herself at the pool area. She only sat with her feet dangling in the cool water, she had no swimwear. The California evening was perfect. It was about 80 degrees with a slight breeze and the sun was less than its own height above the horizon. Other than the elderly woman relaxing on a lawn chair and the 2 kids she was watching play in the pool, the place was a ghost town. She marveled at how well the children were behaving. At how quiet they were being.
I got kidnapped by a beautiful vampire who seems to be a decent person. Why not well-behaved children? There is always a first for time for everything I suppose.
As the sun began to disappear below the horizon, she pulled herself lazily to her feet. Meilin would probably be up and ready to leave soon.
She was in the corridor that led to the room they shared when a blur to her left materialized into a dark-bearded man. He had a hand around her throat before she had time to react and a second later a woman joined them.
“Meilin, the woman you arrived with, she is in her room?” Asked the woman. She had a strong accent Desiree couldn't place. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and seemed to shine in the light of the hallway. Her blue eyes glittered with intensity.
“Answer or we will kill you here and now and check for ourselves,” The man threatened in a gruff voice.
Desiree nodded, not sure if she could have spoken. The man was gripping her throat very tightly.
“You are her pet?” She asked, looking down the hall to the room. “She feeds on you?”
Desiree decided to feign ignorance. “What?” She asked, making her face look confused.
“Check her,” The woman barked.
The dark-haired man checked her over. His rough-handed search was surprisingly thorough considering how quickly it was conducted, the very definition of efficiency. He looked at the woman and shook his head.
The woman looked surprised for a moment before her features relaxed. Desiree smiled inwardly at the small if insignificant victory.
“She smells good,” The man murmured. “I think I want her.”
Desiree tried to shy away from him, her face a canvas of pure revulsion. He held onto her tightly, keeping her close and chuckling softly, obviously enjoying her unease.
“No, we will take her,” The woman began. “No, wait. Wound her first.”
The man raked at Desiree’s wrist and a line of blood splattered to the ground. The man threw her over his shoulder and began to carry her away from the room, leaving an unmissable trail of blood in their wake. She opened her mouth to cry out but the woman struck her on the side of the head and all went black.
Desiree came to all in a rush. She quickly realized that she was in some thickets and tied hand and foot with her back against a tree. She could hear what sounded like cars speeding by not far away. Why didn't I wake up groggy? She was gagged with some foul-smelling cloth that gave her the constant sensation that she needed to cough.
She wasn't trying to get out of her bonds long before she noticed a shape coming closer in the darkness of the trees. She steeled herself for what was coming and gasped in relief when she saw that it was Meilin. She started talking frantically as soon as Meilin removed the gag.
“It's a trap Meilin,” She said, coughing all the while. “There are at least 2 of them, a man and a woman. You have to get out of here!” She warned. “But free me first of course.” She added a split second later.
Meilin never took her eyes away from her surroundings. She kept watching even as she worked on Desiree’s bonds.
“You think I don't know it's a trap fool Girl? They would hardly have left a trail of your blood for me to follow unless it was a trap.”
She yanked the last bit of the bindings away.
“Then why did you come?” Desiree asked, completely at a loss.
Meilin looked at her dumbfounded. Then she
barked a laugh, though it held no amusement in it.
“Do you think me without any honor? You are here because of me.”
“Honor?” A feminine voice chimed in, and Desiree knew it for her most recent captor. Do I still consider Meilin my captor? “What honor is there in an Uvarii?” The blonde woman stated in disgust. “What honor can there be in traitorous trash such as you Meilin.”
The woman's accent overemphasizing the ‘Y’ sound in the name so that it sounded like ‘Mayyylin.’ She appeared from the opposite direction Meilin had come with the same bearded man at her side.
Desiree raised her chin at the insult as if it were directed at her.
“Enough honor that you knew she would come to rescue me despite being outnumbered and knowing it was a trap. Which is more than anyone could say for…”
“Hush, Girl,” Meilin chastened in a low tone. She then raised her voice to be heard by all.
“What do you hope to accomplish here? You are children compared to me. You do not stand a chance. Run home and brag to your Elder that you survived a meeting with me. Run cur!”
“Do you think so much of yourself? I heard your head was too big for hats,” The blonde woman said with a laugh. “But don't worry your pretty little head for me. I brought another friend.”
She gestured to their left and 2 more men stepped out of the shadows.
“It has been a very long time Meilin,” Stated a short but muscular man with a rather distinctive salt and pepper beard. "Very long indeed."
Beside him stood a handsome black man, clean-shaven and hair cut low, not unlike her father's. His pale green eyes stood out in contrast to his dark skin.
“Shit,” Meilin mumbled.
“Ever the coward Ivan,” She added aloud, with every hint of the unease in her previous statement gone.
In a flash, the blonde woman and the bearded man were on them. There was a blur of movement, too fast for Desiree to follow but it ended with the bearded man flying away and Meilin holding the blonde woman by her right arm and her neck. Meilin strained and the blonde woman began to scream until her head came off like the cap to a bottle of Pepsi-Cola. Her body fell to the floor now an ashen gray.
“Kill the human,” Ivan said to the man at his side and walked steadily down to Meilin. Meilin motioned for Desiree to get behind her but the black man was on her before she took a single step. Meilin went for him but was cut off by Ivan.
Desiree dropped to a crouch, picking up a leg sized broken branch and rose, swinging it in a wide arc. She hit nothing but air. The Vampire batted it out of her hands and then grabbed her by the throat. Desiree struggled but he lifted her effortlessly into the air and bashed her once and then twice into a tree. Her limbs went slack.
The next thing she knew, he was biting her neck. She tried to concentrate, tried to fight off the feeling of euphoria, but she quickly lost all sense of where she was.
Suddenly she was falling to the ground and landed heavily on her butt. The vampire was staring at her with such a look of astonishment that she nearly laughed. By the time she got to her feet, he had grabbed her by the throat again. This time she grabbed the hand with both of hers and twisted sharply. The maneuver broke the hold and she held on to the limb the way her father had trained her. She continued to twist until it drove the man to his knees. Once it locked, she placed her knee on the elbow and applied pressure. The arm snapped like a twig. The man fell back groaning in pain.
“What are you?” He asked wide-eyed.
Desiree answered by picking up the branch and hitting him in the head with everything she had. He collapsed as if his entire skeleton had suddenly dissolved.
She turned back to the others and found Meilin and Ivan fighting fiercely, with both taking blows here and there. They moved so fast that Desiree had no opportunity to step in to help. Meilin wore a look of sheer determination, Ivan’s face showed stark disbelief.
The contest continued at its gruesome stalemate when the dark-bearded man appeared out of nowhere and in moments the two had Meilin by both arms and she couldn't move. They twisted her arms until her head lowered as if she were kneeling in prayer. Ivan slowly raised his hand as if he were going to chop at her neck but Desiree plowed into all 3, knocking everyone to the ground. She held onto her branch and swung it furiously and repeatedly at Ivan’s head. She landed three or four good shots before a backhand she never saw coming sent her tumbling away to roll over and over before coming to rest at the base of a tree.
Meilin tumbled to the ground, rolled over once and was on her feet. As quick as she had been, the bearded man was faster and struck her across the face, drawing a line of red from hairline to chin. She caught his next blow and countered with three strikes to the face and chest. He staggered back dazed. He came at her again but his attacks seemed like they were in slow motion to her. She easily caught his arm and with a twist had him on his knees. She raised her foot and stomped down hard as she wrenched his arm with all her might. His head and arm came off with twin popping sounds.
She looked up just in time to see Ivan strike Desiree with a lucky blow that sent her flying away. She rushed to her side and turned her over gently. She was still breathing, but shallowly. She bent down and drank from her neck. Her eyes opened wide, just as they had done every time she had given this child her kiss. A flood of vigor and strength washed over her. Her senses became sharper, her reflexes faster. The wound on her face began to knit back together. She knew that she could stand the daylight longer, go longer without sleep, go longer without feeding and was oh, so much more powerful.
Before she could finish her kiss, however, she felt an explosion of pain. She was struck across her torso with such force that it lifted her into the air to crash into the tree. She grunted as she hit and tried to recover. She got her bearings just as Ivan wound up for another massive swing of the branch Desiree had used on him. It caught her on the side of the head and her vision went black for a moment before popping back into focus. She felt precious blood running freely down the side of her face. She got her arm up in time for the next blow and heard dual snapping sounds. Half of the branch fell at her feet, but her right arm dropped uselessly to her side. She felt Ivan grab her by the neck and lift her to her feet.
“You should be dead,” He was saying, but the words seemed to be coming from far off. “You should be dead 2 times over!”
She replied by slamming her forehead into the bridge of his nose. Ivan clutched at his face and blood spurted in a fountain from between his fingers. They traded heavy blows and she was not sure who had gotten the better of the exchange. His face was a bloody ruin, with one eye fully closed. She didn't want to know how she looked.
She punched at him again, but with only 1 arm, she was incredibly predictable and he caught the blow. He raised his hand to strike her again when she noticed a small figure ducking behind him on all fours. She rushed forward and took the brunt of the blow, but her momentum sent them both tumbling over Desiree’s back to crash to the ground with Meilin on top of him. He moved to try and push her away with his hands and she was so dizzy that she couldn't stop him but suddenly the hands were wrenched away. Desiree had locked both hands over his head. She held them by the wrists, secured between her legs. Desiree was screaming something but she couldn't make it out.
What was the fool girl going on about now? And why was her hair such a mess? I told her that I would not be embarrassed by her with my family. I am going to take you as blood friend and you need to look the part. She put her hand to the side of her head, swaying from side to side. Uhh, my head is spinning.
“Meilin please!” She heard Desiree scream. She looked down and saw the girl struggling mightily with Ivan, and he was pulling free. Gathering all her remaining strength, she punched down with all the leverage she could muster. There was a thud and her hand came up clutching a human heart. Ivan shuddered until she gave the heart a squeeze and it burst like an overly ripe melon. Both the heart and Ivan turned to an ashen gray before fading
away like dust on the wind.
Meilin tried to rise but the world reeled and she ended up on her back instead, staring at the beautiful California night sky. She reached out to try and touch the stars but only one hand obeyed. She smiled anyway as she pretended to scoop some into her hand the way she had done as a child so many centuries ago.
Suddenly there was a face blocking her view of the heavens. It was her Suvy, her blood friend. She smiled broadly. She was such a pretty child.
“My sooovy.” she crooned drunkenly. She reached up to touch her face but again the arm would not comply. She tsked in frustration.
“He’s gone!” Desiree was saying. “He’s gooone!”
The girl seemed frantic.
“Who’s gone?” She replied soothingly. “I am sure they will return soon. Calm yourself.”
“The other vampire! He's gone. The black man. I broke his arm and thought I knocked him unconscious, but now he isn't there.” The girl licked her lips nervously. “He... he fed on me.” She admitted in a near whisper. “I tried to stop him but he fed on me. He knows what I am. He knows Meilin. He knows about me.”
The news brought her to the present.
“We must leave this place.” She said. “He will be back, and with more. They won't let you escape easily.”
She fished clumsily at her side before giving up in frustration.
“Find my purse and get the keys. Make your way north into San Francisco. When we reach the gateway, we will be safe.”
Her eyes rolled back in her head and she began to lose touch again.
“Feed Meilin,” Desiree pleaded. “Give me your kiss. You need the strength.”
She moved her wrist to Meilin’s mouth and the woman clutched at her hand with her good arm, but her eyes closed without drinking. She tried to shake her awake but it was fruitless.
Desiree did as instructed and scrambled to find the keys. When she returned with the purse, Meilin was still lying there with her eyes closed. Desiree hurried to check on her and sighed with relief when she saw that the vampire was still breathing. She bent over to pick her up and carry her out.
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