by Diana Graves
WHEN I WOKE up it was one in the afternoon and Katie was asleep beside me. Fauna said she woke up shortly after we fell asleep and had breakfast and watched a movie with her, and then went back to bed around noon. That surprised me. Two people who hated each other simply for being born the way they were, shared a meal and a movie—Of course, neither one knew the others feelings. Still, awkward!
That wasn’t the only thing that took place while I slept. Ruy, my mom’s boyfriend and vampire hunter, had called and left a message with Fauna. He asked that I meet him at the clinic in Darkness. He left no other information, and he didn’t answer his phone when I called back. Yay, I just love surprises... sarcasm.
I was dressed and in my car in less than a half hour. If he wanted to meet me at the clinic, it could have something to do with my blood tests! After my siblings and I were attacked, Darkness’s doctor, Tasha, took some samples of my blood so she could determine why Nick and Michael turned into the undead and I didn’t, not completely. I’ve always been told that I was part witch and elf, like Mom, and half human. But, that simply could not be the case. Witches, Elves and humans are not immune to vampirism. Whatever I am isn’t human or anything anybody could recognize. So, you could understand my curiosity. What am I!?
As I drove the labyrinth of roads that led to Darkness, a huge black school bus tore up the road and started riding my ass. Its heavy metal music was competing with my own as it swerved to overtake me. I tapped my brakes and moved off the road, taking some ferns with me. On the side of the bus it read “Welcome to Hell,” in bold, bleeding red letters. The people in the bus were laughing, with their arms out of the windows as the bus sped past me. I was left in a mammoth size spray of dirt. Damn Tourists.
As I entered Darkness I was greeted by a plethora of gothic shops with clever names like: Dark Ally’s Boox, Bloody Mary’s Corner, and Kryptic Krispy Kritters. Trees towered impossibly tall over it all. Everything was as I remembered it to be, a clever mix of Gothic Victorian and the Pacific North West. But, something was different. All the shops that hugged the main street were bursting with humans. A large number of humans in Darkness was a rare thing, a twice a year thing, summer and Halloween. Not too many humans made Darkness their home; orcs, witches, elves and Bigfoot mostly lived among the vampires.
The place was just chock-full of all sorts of cute gothic things. What would you expect of a tourist town? But, behind all the dramatically dark paint and cliché horror novel appearance was something to take serious. I’d seen what vampires could do first hand, and just being in Darkness made my body temperature drop, especially after what Alistair did that morning.
It took a while to get through the town with all the damned pedestrians crossing the street every two feet, but I finally made it to the public buildings at the end of the main road. I parked my car in the diagonal parking spot in front of the clinic where Doctor Tasha practiced, but I never made it into the clinic.
Ruy stood in my path. He was a tall, dark, rustic man. The kind of man who’s lived off the land, killed things with his bare hands, and enjoyed every minute of it. And, as far as the state of Washington was concerned, I was his apprentice. It wasn’t true, just a lie he sold to the police on my behalf; a lie that’s purpose hadn’t yet been explained to me. He stood there with his massive arms across his equally massive chest, and I had to wonder at the logistics of him and my mom getting it on. He was so huge and she was so damn dainty, tall but dainty as all get out. I shook my head to rid myself of that thought and climbed the steps.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the famous Raina Kirkland. Slayer of vampires, immortal’s bane, breaker of hearts,” Ruy boomed.
I blushed. “Whatever.”
“Whatever nothing; do you know how many times a day I hear your name?”
“No,” I said with a crooked eyebrow.
“Well, at least once, but still.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided me back down to the sidewalk.
“So, this isn’t about my blood tests?” I asked.
Ruy didn’t answer my question. He walked us down the sidewalk toward the end of the main road, where the tallest building in Darkness stood surrounded by a large wrought iron gate. The masters of Darkness, Olathia and Melvern, lived in the keep. They were an interesting pair, but compared to Alistair they were fucking saint-like.
“Why am I here?” I asked.
He looked down at his watch. “I guess we do have some time. Master Melvern heard through the grapevine that you were out and about today.”
“Let me guess, did that grapevine consist of Seth, Tristan, Michael and Mato? I said Mato’s name softly. For him, it was love at first sight; for me, not so much. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Mato was the sheriff of Darkness. He believed in me and helped me when no one else would. He loved me for exactly who I was, because his vampire talent let him see deep into the very nature of me, good and bad. And, he loved me. I guess I was intimidated. I’d never even had a boyfriend, never even been kissed damn it! I was almost twenty-two years old and so much a loser, and here was this amazing older than dirt hunk of a vampire courting me! I didn’t trust it. My mom kicked me out of her life, my father (whoever that was) abandoned me, and Tristan wouldn’t have anything to do with me. I guess Katie wasn’t the only one feeling a tad unlovable. How could all the people who were supposed to love me, not, and a vampire who I just met weeks ago be so infatuated?
“No, but close: Damon, Tristan, Michael, Melvern…and yes, Mato knows. You can’t hide from him forever. Eventually you’ll have to confront him. If you don’t want him, just say so.”
I turned red in the face. Did I want him? Yes. Did I deserve him? No.
“So, they found out that I left my aunt’s house and now they think I’m out for good?”
“Michael knew of the deal between you and that demon. You take the boy and he spares you. You’re safe. Melvern thought it fate that you should be freed today of all days.”
“Why?”
“Moondance is tonight. He wants you to join Darkness’s legion, and he thinks he can win you over tonight.”
Great, two bids for my undead loyalty in so many hours. On the bright side, Native American Vampire collectives don’t have the same limitations that the European American ones do, so Melvern and Olathia wouldn’t be killing anyone tonight. At least, not for my benefit.
“Have you given any thought about my offer?” Ruy asked after a moment of silence.
I’d only seen him three times since he let me tag along with him to Seattle on police business, and each time he asked me to become his apprentice for real. My answer has always been a solid no. What made him think I’d change my answer now? “No, Ruy,” I said with a scoff.
“You’re already my apprentice in everyone’s eyes.”
“Because you lied, and you still haven’t explained to me why you lied,” I said.
“Because, it was the easiest explanation as to why I was letting you tag along,” Ruy said. “Anyway, you want to be a bounty hunter, Raina. You have a drive in you. It’s obvious. You have a desire to see justice done—just say yes.”
I looked at Ruy. He was a good actor, but I could tell he was lying, and trying to hide it. He kept thinking, “blue, blue, blue.” It was his way of shielding his thoughts from me. That alone told me more than he wanted me to know. It told me that he knew I could hear thoughts as well as emotions. But, who told him? As far as I knew, Damon and I were the only ones who knew I could read minds, possibly even control them.
“Who told you?” I asked him in a hushed voice.
He didn’t even try to look like he didn’t know what I was talking about. He could lie with his face and voice, but not his mind. He pulled me aside.
“Your mom,” he whispered.
“What? How would she know?” and then it hit me. Mom would know, because she knew my father. My real father! “Did she tell you who my dad is?” She would have me believe that Dan was my father, but if the lack of lov
e between us didn’t prove otherwise, my mysterious blood did.
“It’s not what you think, Raina. Anna told me just enough to convince me to take you on as my apprentice.”
“Part of the reason Mom kicked me out was because my life choices were becoming too dangerous for her. Why would she want me to become a bounty hunter? “
“Because, of what you are.”
My pulse was in my throat. “And, what am I? What did she tell you?”
“She only hinted at it; a danger to yourself and others. She said you needed to protect yourself.” He licked his lips. “She said that—mind reading is just the beginning, and people won’t like what you can do.”
I looked down at the sidewalk. “My mom told you that I was dangerous, so logically I should hunt monsters?”
“I can teach you how to protect yourself from a wide variety of prey, and how to get the edge on them. It’s not the profession Anna’s interested in, it’s the skill set. It’s the quick mind, sound judgment and knowledge. Raina, I’m a world renowned hunter. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people have asked me to train them. You should take me up on the offer.”
I didn’t want to make that decision just that moment. Quick, evasive maneuvers! I smiled at him and started walking toward the master’s keep.
“You have a kid to think about now!” he yelled after me. I turned around. “You can’t expect your aunt to take on you and the boy. You can’t expect to find a decent paying job, either. Not with that disease running through your veins.”
I grimaced at him. He said no more, but walked by me, expecting me to follow. I did, but it was the end of the conversation. His last words were meant as food for thought.
♦
The keep’s outward appearance hinted well at what it looked like on the inside. It was dark, aged, and ominous. The structure was tall, but there were no stairs leading up. When I walked into the keep I was met by a large open foyer and a ceiling that disappeared into darkness. The floor was highly polished dark stone. We crossed the room with echoing steps. Ruy opened a pair of double doors that revealed the entrance to a cave. I bit my lip as Ruy led me down into the earth.
“What is the Moondance?” I asked Ruy as we walked through a cave. It was poorly lit and narrow, with small wooden doors on either side every few feet.
He turned while walking. “It’s a holiday, of sorts.”
“Can I get a bit more information than that?” I asked, and my voice was full of impatience. Between my family and Raphael, I had just about enough stuff kept from me. I wanted full disclosure, damn it.
He stopped and moved to the side. “Come here,” he said, and I came closer, leaving only a foot’s distance between us. With my arms folded under my breasts, I waited for an explanation. “Moondance is a celebration of power and vampire-hood, basically. The celebration varies from native vampire nest to native vampire nest, depending entirely on the master’s personality and gift. This makes Darkness’s Moondance interesting. Two masters means two dynamics. Melvern is all about the mind, and loosing yourself to yourself. Vampires loyal to him go into a meditative state and enjoy their deepest dreams and fantasy as though they were reality. Through his mind, they feel love and excitement like never before. I hear it’s an awe inspiring experience.”
“You’ve never felt it?” I butted in.
“Moondance is a vampire only affair. No humans allowed. If I’m not mistaken, you may be the first living being to experience it firsthand. I’m quite envious, actually.”
“Oh,” I didn’t know what to say. “And, Olathia…she’s a succubus, right?”
“Yes, vampires loyal to her, well, they um, tend to couple up or get into groups and give in to her talent as well.”
“You mean, they have sex?” I asked bluntly.
“Yes, but it’s not just sex. I—I can’t explain it. It feels like your whole body is awakened in a way it never was before.”
That sounded too much like a recollection from personal experience and I raised a brow. “I thought you said Moondance was a non-human affair.”
Ruy suddenly turned five shades of red, “It is.” The look on his face was enough. He didn’t have to say it. It was obvious that he had private relations with Olathia, and who could blame him. She was still the most beautiful and exotic woman I’d ever met. The fact that she was a walking orgasm waiting to happen was a bit too much. I wasn’t even entirely sure I could say no to her if she offered herself to me, and as far as I knew, I was one-hundred percent straight.
“So, half the vampires are sitting about meditating, while the other half are having mind blowing sex in big vampire orgies?” I asked.
“I can only tell you what I’ve been told. I’m not sure how it all goes down exactly. From the way it was described, it doesn’t sound as loose as all that.”
I smiled at him. From how he described it, it sounded like I’d be playing the night out as a spectator only, seeing as how I wasn’t loyal to either vampire.
My mind was pretty much made up already, though. I was going to decline Melvern’s offer to join Darkness. I just didn’t dig the idea of being someone’s legion vampire. The very idea that someone else’s personality would leak into mine, or that I would be someone else’s personal servant forever, without free will, unable to come and go as I pleased, scared the crap out of me. I couldn’t fathom a situation in which I would sign my life away like that. No matter how hard these guys party, it’s so not worth my freedom.
Ruy and I continued on down the cave until we came to a large opening full of tall, stunning limestone formations. Some vampires were up already, setting up lights and laying out candles and flowers.
“How are those vampires up this early?” I asked Ruy in a useless hushed voice.
“It’s not the hour of the day that sends vamps running to bed; it’s the sunlight, Raina.” Duh, I felt stupid. “Well, this is where I leave you. I’m not allowed to stay much longer.” Ruy smiled down at me. He patted my shoulder with one large callused hand, and then started to walk away but stopped. “Think about my offer. You may not think so now, but you need to know how to defend yourself, and you need to support yourself. Sounds to me, like a win-win.” And, with that he was gone and I was standing in a cave full of undead Native Americans.
SEX
FOR A FEW awkward moments I just watched the vampires work away at their tasks. Then I remembered myself and approached one of them. I asked him if I could lend a hand. He didn’t say anything, but he handed me a cloth sack of yellow home-made candles and motioned with his hands that they were to be placed atop the limestone formations spiking up from the cave floor. With a job to do the time passed quickly, and soon the cave began to fill with vampires dressed in cloth and animal skins. Most of them had tattoos, some dark and bold, some elegant.
With all the candles in place my job was done and I was again left standing awkwardly. I felt like I didn’t belong there. I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t speak their language and just a few of them were speaking mine. The place was full of laughter and chatter and music and I felt alone. Fully unwelcomed, I began to make my way out of the cave when I heard a man’s voice in my head.
“You came,” he said in my mind. I looked back through the crowd just in time to watch Master Melvern take his seat. He was on a wooden platform in a huge chair made of deer antlers. He wore soft leather pants and a Native American headdress with sleek black feathers that caught the candlelight as he laughed with his co-master, Olathia. She was just as stunning as I remembered her to be. Her thin, tan body was nude and covered in elegant tattoos. She sat in the lap of another nude vampire, regarding him as nothing more than a piece of warm furniture.
“Are you surprised?” I asked in my mind. He didn’t respond, but he looked at me. His eyes looked stern, almost angry. I didn’t expect that. Why he was angry with me? One name flashed through my mind. “Mato.” I didn’t feel like being badgered about my choices. Mato was a nice enough guy, but I didn’t need a relation
ship to further complicate my life. “I can leave if my invitation was nothing more than a play-date with Mato,” I said in my mind with my biggest of big girl voices. Melvern turned back to his conversation with Olathia like nothing had passed between us.
“Hello!” a lady vamp shouted at me over the music. Her eyes were light brown; her hair was back in a long braid. She was so well fed, she almost looked alive.
“Hello?
“I’m Luyu!” she shouted with a smile. She made her way through the dancing mass of vampires to me.
“I’m Raina!”
“I know!” she laughed, and I laughed with her. The laughter went on longer than it should have. No one said anything funny, but I felt too happy. Way too happy for a woman who didn’t know what she was, who had a demon on her back and a disease running through her veins… I frowned but it took a considerable effort to do so.
“For fucks sake!” I heard a man’s voice in my head.
“Who’s killing the buzz?” asked a woman’s voice in my mind.
“What the hell?” I shouted out loud.
Melvern answered as a cool voice in my mind. “You are all interconnected. Please keep your thoughts pleasant. Your negativity will bring down everyone here.”
“But, Ruy said only those loyal to you would be influenced by your gift,” I thought.
“And, Ruy, the human who has never attended a Moondance, is some kind of authority on the matter?” And, with that I felt a wave of emotions run through my mind. Melvern sent happy thoughts my way. Thoughts of clean open spaces, beautiful sunrises and worry-free days of youth that I’d never known. My whole body reacted to his efforts, and for the first time in a long time I wasn’t hunched over with the weight of the world on my back. I didn’t have the urge to pull out my hair in frustration over the disappointments of my life.
I gave in to the music and danced with Luyu. Others joined us, dancing close and closer and we found a rhythm together. I was surrounded by tan skin, ornate body art and long black hair. I felt hands glide down my body, over my curves and through my hair. I pulled those around me closer. My heart was beating fast and faster, but I could have sworn that when Mato appeared from the masses, it stopped. His golden eyes pierced through my heart, as open and vulnerable as it was in that moment of forced bliss. He walked to me and I held my hands out to him, begging with my eyes for him to love me. Was it really me doing this, or was it part of Melvern's hold on me? In that moment, I almost didn’t care at all. It felt good to be simple; to love without thinking too deeply, without looking into the future for potential complications. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than his arms, his lips, his heart.