The Meridian Gamble

  I tap a finger against my lip in a coquettish way, and lean in to Marion to whisper.

  “If I had to guess. Which I do …”

  And it works. Jennifer breaks her composure, and looks to Tom, to see his reaction to my subtle flirtatiousness. It’s like she can’t stop herself. Perhaps she’s a bit jealous, but her eyes are also filled with adoration, and I can tell it’s hard for her to look away from him for too long. She’s in his thrall. It’s the same way Bernard looks at Marion, and I remember what Adam said about the bite controlling them.

  And it gives me a chill, to think they’re being manipulated in that way.

  “Tom is a vampire, and Jennifer is human,” I tell Marion, continuing to whisper, in a voice that’s so soft only certain people in the room will be able to hear.

  And she smiles at me.

  “How do you know this time?” she says.

  As I watch Tom, his grin widens just a bit. And Jennifer looks between us, wondering what’s being said.

  “Because he’s listening to us. And she can’t hear a thing.”

  The room slowly breaks out in applause, much to my surprise. Adam laughs, and leans over to give me a kiss on the cheek. I’m in shock, not quite sure of what’s just happened.

  “Well done, Meridian. You’ve guessed perfectly,” Marion says. And she turns to the others. “I assume the appropriate funds will be traded by morning.”

  Tom and Lina nod their heads. And from the way she glares at me, I can tell at least one of them is annoyed over the loss.

  The game is over as quickly as it began, and I’ve seemingly passed the test. Two doors under the second floor landing suddenly swing open. They’re silver with round windows cut into them, like the kind you would find in a restaurant. And waiters come out and stand in a row, which signals that our meal is about to be served.

  “Everyone? If we’re ready?” Marion says.

  We go to sit at the long onyx table, and it’s strange. The couples are all seated far apart, at pre-arranged places which everyone seems to know. And we’re not spaced across from each other, but rather, just a bit offset. Like everything in the vampire tower, I wonder if there’s a meaning to it. Marion and Bernard are across from us, just a bit to the right, and Lina and Angel are also on that side, further down to the left. Tom and Jennifer sit on our side, one or two spaces down from Adam, who sits between us. And I get the feeling that he’s positioned himself that way, so he can protect me.

  The waiters set tall thin flutes in front of us, filled with a green almost liquid, or foam. And I’m afraid to think what it is. They likewise pour glasses of red wine for us from silver decanters, though the ones set in front of the vampires seem deeper in color, murkier. And I wonder if it’s blood, or if that’s just my imagination.

  I lift the flute, and look to Adam questioningly.

  “It’s an amuse bouche, to stimulate your taste buds. An asparagus mousse, I believe.”

  And from across the table, Hook Nose smirks at me, in contempt. Like I’m supposed to know what amuse bouche is. Does she think I have it with every meal? What she probably thinks is that I have a commoner’s taste, which is absolutely true.

  But I try the green goop, and find that I like it, whatever it is. The taste is light and tangy, creamy with just a hint of lemon and a salty flavor that perhaps comes from soy sauce. And it does exactly what’s intended, it seems to make my tongue come alive.

  Before I can finish, the waiters bring another course, plates of yummy wontons. There are six of them, arranged with orange and red sauces drizzled over them in an artful manner. But it’s not just a pleasant presentation, the wontons themselves look tasty. They’re not overly fried wrappers with specks of meat inside. Rather, the filling is generous, the size of a meatball, just like the ones from my favorite Chinese restaurant that’s just down the street, Tom E. Wong’s. And I immediately dig in. There’s nothing I like better than yummy Chinese appetizers. If I have to endure the rigors of a vampire dinner party, I at least deserve this treat.

  Marion looks across the table, to Tom.

  “So, Tom. Why don’t you tell us something about our business?”

  “Well, we’re thinking of investing in a car company,” he says, with a politician’s perfect grin.

  And Marion’s delicate features sour, as she wrinkles her brow.

  “Oh, no. Not a car company. They’re far too high profile,” she says. “It will bring too much scrutiny to our endeavors.”

  “Not if we buy it through one of our subsidiaries,” Tom says. “Plus, the humans aren’t innovating fast enough. It would be nice to have cars that are designed to our specifications.”

  “Ones that float, perhaps,” Marion says, with a laugh.

  “From a safety standpoint, it would be helpful,” Adam says. “To build them around our unique defensive needs.”

  “Boys and their toys,” Jennifer says, smiling.

  “I think they just want new ones to play with,” Marion says.

  “The company is headquartered in Paris. You can visit when we go for Jennifer’s show. And it will give you an excuse to go back more often. Perhaps you’ll like that,” Tom says.

  “Perhaps,” Marion replies, seeming to thaw on the idea, just a bit.

  Paris. That’s it, I can hear it now. Marion definitely has a slight Gallic accent. It’s something in the way she extends her “e’s” to sound like “ee’s.” And it’s puzzling to me. I know she’s immortal, so why would she have an accent at all, given the amount of time she’s lived on the planet? Did it come from an extended stay in France? Or is it all calculated? Does she speak that way because she knows it’s insanely attractive, and will lure those around her into falling for her charms?

  And what was it she said, about Jennifer having a show? Suddenly, I realize it, why Tom and his mate seem so familiar. It’s not from the past. I’ve seen them in this life, in the society pages. She’s a designer with an up and coming company, Jennifer’s Eve, who’s married to a handsome C.E.O. I’d never really paid attention to him, other than to drool at his pictures, but I remember now. How could I forget?

  He runs Omnicom.

  And I blurt it out in my excitement.

  “Oh my gosh, Jennifer. You’re that Jennifer, from Jennifer’s Eve?”

  “Yes, I am,” she says, smiling.

  “I love your clothes. What I can afford of them. I have one of your dresses.”

  “You do? That’s so sweet.”

  “Well, we’ll have to send you the whole collection, after it debuts in Paris,” Marion says.

  “Absolutely! And in the meantime, I’ll messenger over a few outfits. Maybe some smart suits for the office,” Jennifer says.

  And I feel a pang of excitement. The only thing I like better than Chinese food is new clothes. And I can picture Staci’s eyes bulging out when she sees me traipsing around Creative Quorum in a pricey new suit.

  “What is it exactly that you do, Meridian?” Jennifer asks.

  “I work at an advertising agency, in Administration. Basically, I’m a glorified secretary. It’s pretty boring.”

  “I’m sure it has it’s challenges,” Marion says.

  “Challenges, yes. Tedious ones,” I say, with a laugh. “But trust me, it’s not worth mentioning.”

  And Lina leans over from her side of the table.

  “Oh, no, please tell us more,” she says. “We’d love to hear all about your … How do you say it? ‘Nine to Five?’ In fact, we want to learn everything there is to know about you.”

  And as she smiles at me, her grin becomes more of a sneer.

  I’m not sure what this broad’s problem is, why she seems to hate me so much. And I can’t imagine why she wants to hear about my dull job.

  Adam reaches out and grabs my hand underneath the table, squeezing it tightly. It feels like he’s giving me support, and I know something is terribly wrong. But I try to respond to her anyway.

  “Well, what can I tell you?” I say. �
��Most of my day is spent corralling the mail boys about the company …”

  And then it begins, the attack. I can feel the energy at the corners of my mind. It’s the same electricity I felt before with Adam, and a few moments ago, when Marion was communicating with the others, setting the terms of my guessing game. Only now, it’s focused on me.

  The static crawl starts at the base of my skull, in the back, and slowly climbs about the edges of my brain. And I instantly know what’s going on. Lina is trying to invade my psyche, and the bitch is making me talk to distract me, trying to make me slip up. And I’m not even sure if anyone else at the table knows, save for Adam.

  I start blubbering on about the company, and it’s a good thing I’m so used to complaining about my job, because I don’t have much to give to the conversation. I can feel the attack getting worse. The buzzing grows as it tries to force its way in, and becomes so strong, my teeth feel like they’re chattering. And I’m starting to panic. What if Lina can breach my mental defenses, or at least gets a glimpse inside, and announces to the rest of them that I’m Saga? Will they strike me down, right here at the table? Will Adam be forced to stand between us?

  But I remember what my new boyfriend said, about my mind being invulnerable. And I have to trust him. He wouldn’t have brought me here unless he felt I could meet the challenge. So I calm myself, and try to breathe deeply. And I begin to imagine myself building bricks up around my mind, to form a wall that will make it even harder for her to invade, all the while offering them details of my petty existence.

  In the real world, I launch into a story, one I remember quite well about Edison, the pint-sized lothario from Creative Quorum.

  “So at one point, he was dating three of the girls who worked as temporary assistants at our company. And I decided to throw a wrench in his plans. So I managed to shift all of them into assignments on the same floor, the one he delivered on. And after a few days, it got so bad, he was sweating every time he went out on a run, and was begging me to move him to another floor. He almost had a nervous breakdown, trying to juggle having lunch with one, coffee with the other, drinks after work with the third so that none of them knew what was going on.”

  “So what finally happened?”

  “It was great. They did figure it out. And when he invited one of them to lunch, they all met him there, and broke up with him at the same time.”

  And a few of the others laugh. And I’m glad that they find it so amusing, because inside, my head is throbbing.

  “I think I’d like to meet this Edison person. I could teach him my own lesson about respecting women,” Lina says, feigning outrage, pretending as though she’s not attacking me.

  “Don’t be so mean,” Tom says. “He’s just a child with too many hormones.”

  “Plus, I still need him to do his mail runs. So please don’t eat him or wipe his mind,” I say to Lina, staring her down. “Or try.”

  And she smiles back at me, giving me a gentle nod. And finally, her assault stops, and I feel a sense of relief. Because I’m about to cry.

  But Lina slowly looks to Tom and then Marion, who stare at me with quizzical expressions. And the telepathic attack begins again, only worse. The energy that was bombarding my mind increases by three, and I want to scream.

  It’s buzzing all about my skull, but only at the edges, trying to force it’s way in. Somehow, my mental wall is holding, and I can tell that they haven’t invaded my mind yet. But it feels like my brain is being squeezed in a vice, and I sense that the bricks are buckling.

  But that’s not going to happen. I fight back. I imagine they’re made of gold, and are fused together with pure light instead of mortar.

  Thankfully, I don’t have to talk. The waiters interrupt my story, bringing in more plates, filled with salad that I recognize. It’s chopped with a hint of reddish dressing, Chinese Chicken Salad, another of my favorites. And next to it, in front of each of us, they set down little sizzling metal plates with perfect filet mignon medallions resting on them. I don’t hesitate to dig in, uninterested in whether or not the rest of the table wants to hear more about my dumb job.

  And I smile at Adam, because I suspect he must have done this for me, had them provide Asian treats, knowing that I seemed to like them so much. Or at least I choose to think that. The salad is delicious, even better than the one at Tom E. Wong’s, and I decide to just focus on the mundane sensation of it dancing on my taste buds as a way to fend off my psychic assault. Let them find that in my mind, if they can get through. And as I eat, a thought comes to me, as my brain is on fire. I quickly push it away, in case they can hear its echo, but not before I embrace it for one strong moment.

  I look to the vampires and realize they have no power over me. I am Luminos, and whatever they do to me, I will survive it. The fact that I’m sitting here now is proof. Even if they learn my secret and tear me down, I’ll be back.

  And a sudden calm comes over me. I look to Marion with a smile.

  “I think I’m going to need more of this salad,” I say, in a flippant way. “It’s quite delicious.”

  “Of course,” Marion says. And she waves to an attendant standing by the doors. He quickly leaves, and returns with more salad, far quicker than I could have imagined.

  “Mmm, I’m going to enjoy this,” I say to her again. “Or at least try.”

  A guilty expression flickers across Marion’s face, and she nods to me in understanding. She looks to the others, sternly, and with that, the attack ceases as quickly as it began. And it’s one of the greatest sensations of relief I’ve ever felt in my life.

  The other humans seem just a bit confused. They have a dim understanding that something is going on, but none of them seem to know what. I’m guessing there are no psychic sensitives amongst this crew. Tom and Marion’s faces relax, and only Lina has a slight look of disappointment. Her continued irritation is palpable. I try to savor my salad, but somehow, I suspect I’ve only delayed the inevitable, and that she’ll never give up.

  And a strange thought pops into my head. It’s insanity, but I decide to take their game a bit further, which is the last thing they would expect; that I would go on the offensive. I don’t even know what makes me think I can manage it, but I did it once with Adam, so it might work with Lina. I close my eyes for a moment, and imagine a place where our minds can meet.

  I picture that the bricks I built up in my brain actually did construct a wall, around a castle. And I can see it for a moment, resting in a barren landscape. The grass that surrounds it is parched and blackened. It looks as though the structure has been at the center of a war, one with pure evil. And for a brief moment, my mind goes to this place, and I connect with the Astral Plane.

  And sure enough, I can see Lina there, skulking around outside the wall, trying to find some crack through which she can sneak in. She wears a forest green cloak, one she might don to slip through the shadows. Tom and Marion are in the distance, and even Adam is there. And they have on gleaming silver armor, the kind knights would wear.

  They haven’t truly given up, or perhaps the vampires’ psychic powers are so strong that they always have some link with the Astral plane.

  I peek over the side of the wall, which I stand on top of, and Lina looks up in shock.

  “Moo,” I say.

  And I tip a cauldron of hot oil over the edge, and she desperately leaps away, as it splashes around her.

  In the real world, Lina gasps in shock. Her head snaps back, seemingly breaking our connection. And she holds out her hand, in discomfort.

  A bright red blister forms before my eyes. It’s a small oval on the back of her hand, yet large enough so that everyone can see it. And Lina stares at the burn in shock.

  “Oh, I … I seemed to have scalded my hand on the plate,” she says, covering. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

  Angel takes a closer look, cooing in distress, and Lina takes a quick sip from her glass. And now that I can tell that she’ll truly leave my mi
nd alone, I try to finally enjoy the food in front of me

  From across the table, Marion smiles.

  “I had no idea this would be such an amusing dinner party. We’ll definitely have to do this again.”

  But the waiters come in to clear away the finished plates, and I can tell something else is going to happen. From across the table, Lina shoots me a quick smile, and I realize I was foolish to think she would ever give up. She’s an immortal, after all, and has an eternity to plot ways to punish her foes.

  “Are we almost ready for the main course?” she says, with delight.

  “Of course.”

  Marion raises a finger again, and a small ripple of excitement crosses the table. The vampires’ faces light up, even Adam’s. Their heads turn toward the restaurant doors, as two sets of waiters enter, each carrying what looks like a large board with something on top of it, draped in a cloth. At first, I think they’re roast pigs, and that our delicious feast is continuing. And then it hits me; this isn’t our feast. This is the vampires’ meal.

  The waiters are carrying in humans.

  I turn to Adam, but he says nothing, and simply stares me down. And I wish that I could communicate with him telepathically, the way he and his “family” talk with each other. It seems like he wants to say something to me. I ponder trying to go to the Astral Plane, to connect with him in that way, but I don’t have the energy to try it one more time, and I’m sure the others would catch on.

  The waiters set the boards on the table, and remove the sheets that are covering the victims. I can see now that it’s a man and a woman, both naked, draped only with pieces of gauzy cloth that barely hide their private parts. And they’re absolutely beautiful, two of the most perfect physical specimens I’ve ever seen.

  The woman has long brown hair that hangs straight, and lies fanned out beneath her, and I realize that she’s being offered up in an appealing way, like our food. She has bangs that creep over a mask that covers her eyes, but what I can see of her face makes me think she’s supermodel perfect. She has full, pouty lips and a perfect button nose, and there isn’t so much as an ounce of fat on her body. If this seemingly perfect female specimen has any flaw, it’s that her breasts seem just a bit too pneumatic and large for her frame. And I can see the hint of her pink, pointy nipples through the flimsy fabric that covers them.