The Meridian Gamble

by Garcia, Daniel

  “To the airport,” Roland says, with a sense of urgency.

  And we drive away, signaling the end to my trip to Paris. Sure enough, I didn’t get to enjoy it one bit. And I wonder if I’ll ever see the city again in this lifetime.

  But, more importantly, I wonder what kind of new dangers I’m about to face.

  Chapter Fourteen: Nikki

  “This place is amazing, I can’t wait for you to see it. We rented it for the film shoot, but now that it’s ended, we’re staying on a few weeks to take in the sights. In fact, Nivina and I are thinking of buying it as an investment. The sequel will probably shoot down here, and we’ll still have an awesome vacation getaway.”

  “Sounds like you’re quite the businessman, Lenny,” Roland says with a smile.

  “You don’t become a producer in Hollywood by age 28 without being savvy, brah,” Lenny says, with a cocky smile.

  He opens the door, and the sight we’re greeted with is an impressive one. The penthouse apartment is on the 20th floor of the building, and the view of the night sky is quite nice.

  I’ve never been to Mexico City before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the luxury here rivals anything you’d see in New York. The apartment itself is mostly one big space, with a sunken area that separates the living room, and a gleaming steel kitchen next to the big windows that look out over the city. There’s lots of leather couches and modern artwork on the wall, and even a couple of samurai swords that are mounted for decoration.

  Our hostess, Nivina, rushes past us and goes to the kitchen. She takes out a bottle from a mini-fridge that seems dedicated to chilling wine.

  “Thank God Lenny had his assistant stock the bar before we got down here,” she calls out. “Say, Meri, do you like sushi? There’s a great place that delivers. I should order us some.”

  “Sushi sounds fantastic,” I say.

  “Go ahead and put your things in the guest room, and I’ll order us some.”

  We go down a long hallway, and Roland smiles at me, mischievously. He seems pleased with our latest catch, as am I.

  We picked these two up at a bar, one of the hottest places in the city, and they were just perfect. Young, rich and brimming with entitlement issues. Lenny is a movie producer still in his 20’s, and Nivina is his girlfriend recently turned wife, a blonde made over to perfection by the best plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills. She’s gorgeous, but the unfortunate side effect of all the work she’s has done is that she looks generic. Nivina has the same puffy lips and Botox riddled forehead of every other Tinseltown blonde you see in the tabloids, which she no doubt hopes to make some day.

  She actually loves him, Roland told me, after scanning their minds. But it’s mixed with more than a bit of avarice, a relief that she no longer has to struggle with an acting career that never quite took off, and can live off his wealth. She’s thrilled that she actually landed him.

  And it’s weird that they’re acting like we’re their best friends in the world. But it was necessary for Roland to implant the idea in their minds, so that we could quickly get off the streets. And now Lenny and Nivina are convinced that he’s an art dealer they met back in L.A., and that I’m his devoted girlfriend, at least of the moment. And that it’s all good fun that we’ve hooked up again, in Mexico City, of all places.

  The guest room is pleasant enough, though it looks as if it’s the one spot in the house that hasn’t been renovated. There’s simple white furniture, and full length mirrors over the closet doors that remind me of the 70’s, for some reason. But the bathroom is wide and spacious, and I plan on enjoying the tub later.

  After Roland has fed off them.

  “Do you like it? I can convince them to let us have the master bedroom if you want.”

  “Nah, let them have it,” I say. “It’s the least we can do.”

  I throw down my suitcase by the bed, and I should unpack, but I decide to leave it for later. I’m starving, and the thought of good sushi is just too appealing.

  I come out to the living room, and Nivina is sitting on one of the couches, already drinking some champagne she’s opened. We go to join her, as Lenny futzes about in the kitchen. She really is a beautiful girl, and I can see why he’s crazy about her. Lenny looks at her with such love in his eyes. She has pretty blonde hair that falls in curly locks, and Nivina wears a dress with sheer fabric in a floral pattern that shows off her figure, especially her expansive cleavage, which puts even mine to shame.

  And I wonder if Roland chose her because he only chooses to eat the finest.

  “So Meridian, what is it you do, again?” she asks, questioningly.

  “Oh, I still work at the advertising agency. Creative Quorum.”

  “Aren’t they in New York?”

  “Wow, you know advertising?” I say, just a bit surprised. And I realize I should have lied. “Yeah, I’m in the new L.A. office.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know they have an L.A. office.”

  “No one does. We’re just opening it up. That’s why it’s new,” I say. “Kind of a secret.”

  She seems confused for a moment, but the look goes away, and it quickly turns to a smile. She stares at Roland and I with an almost flirtatious gaze.

  “You guys are so much fun. I’m glad we ran into you again.”

  Roland leans over to me and whispers, as though she can’t even hear us.

  “Nivina is thinking naughty thoughts. She’s under the impression that we had a three-way back in L.A.”

  And he turns back to her.

  “Nivina, dear. Why don’t you come over here for a moment? I’ve a secret of my own to tell you.”

  She giggles, and crosses over to the couch we’re sitting on. Nivina stands in front of Roland, and he pulls her onto his lap, playfully.

  Roland brushes her hair aside, exposing her neck. And the fangs pop out of his mouth.

  It would shock me, but this is hardly the first time I’ve seen him feed since we’ve been on the run.

  “Do you mind, Meridian? I need to keep my strength up if we’re to survive. And it will make them easier to control.”

  Them. He means to feed on both of them.

  “Go ahead,” I say, almost casually.

  He buries his face in her neck, and Nivina begins to groan in an erotic way. And Roland wasn’t kidding about her being a naughty girl. She begins rubbing a hand over her exposed leg, and slowly slides it over his crotch, massaging him. But he bats it away, and finally pulls out of her.

  But Nivina still groans in ecstasy, and the rush of the venom and her loss of blood combine to make her pass out. Or maybe it’s something Roland does, so we won’t have to talk to her anymore. Lenny comes over with a tray of crackers and cheese that he’s been preparing, and a few little bowls, for us to mix the soy sauce for our sushi. He looks to his love, alarmed. Roland grabs one of the napkins he’s brought and wipes away the blood that’s dribbling from her neck. And the wounds quickly seal.

  “Is she okay?” Lenny asks, full of concern.

  “Oh, she’ll be fine. It’s just the effect of the champagne. Plus, I made her go to sleep.”

  “You made her go to sleep?” Lenny says, in disbelief.

  “Well, of course. I wanted to save some of my appetite for you,” Roland says. “Why don’t you come over here?”

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Lenny says, resisting him.

  “Take off your shirt,” Roland says in a commanding tone, one that’s almost a bark. And I can feel a little spark of energy, no doubt because he’s upped the strength of his psychic influence.

  Lenny rethinks his resistance, and with a giggle, takes off the thin sweater he’s wearing, and the T-shirt he has on underneath. He stands bare-chested before us, offering himself for inspection.

  “Well, do the pants too,” I say.

  He looks to Roland, as if for permission, and Roland blasts him again.

  “Do as the lady says.”

  Lenny slowly steps out of his pant
s, and he just has boxers on now. He’s cute, though not my type. I don’t like little squirrely guys, but Lenny does have a taut body. Yet, he’s also a pretentious little jerk who’s been bragging about his success and money non-stop since we’ve met him, and I’m not entirely against the idea of seeing him humiliated.

  “Now come to me,” Roland commands.

  He reaches out, and Lenny gives him his hand. Roland pulls him onto his lap, just as he did with Nivina, and Lenny lands there with a childish giggle. But Roland pauses before biting him, and turns to me.

  “His mind is much more difficult to control than the woman’s,” Roland says. “This one needs the bite, so he’ll be more fully under my sway.”

  “How is that going to affect him?” I say.

  “He’s going to have quite the crush on me for a while,” Roland says. “And he may have a bit of confusion over his sexuality. But it’s nothing that wouldn’t have hit him later on in life.”

  And Roland bites down on his neck. He drinks for a moment, and the doorbell rings. After a few long drinks, Roland pulls away from him.

  “Lenny, be a good boy and go pay for the sushi.”

  “No. I don’t want to go,” Lenny whimpers in distress, no longer the least bit concerned over Nivina. And Roland sighs.

  “I’ll get it,” I say. “You go ahead.”

  “There’s money in my pants,” Lenny says, absentmindedly pointing to where they lie on the floor. But he turns his head back to Roland, offering his neck once more.

  I grab the wallet, as Roland sinks his teeth into Lenny again. I pay for the sushi at the door, trying my best to block the view of what’s going on in the penthouse from the delivery guy. I give him a generous tip. I’m sure Lenny would have wanted it that way.

  As I go back to the table, Roland finishes eating, and he tosses Lenny aside, onto the floor beneath the couch where Nivina rests. And I set the beautiful tray of sushi our host’s money and success have bought on the table, taking off the lid.

  “Well, at least I don’t have to share,” I say.

  Roland laughs, and he pours us both glasses of champagne.

  We’ve been on the run for several weeks, maybe more, almost two months. And I remember everything; every minute of my life as Saga, the Luminos training, the tea parties Caroline attended. I remember digging in the dirt for roots and picking fruit from the trees as a cavewoman, all the while longingly staring at Adam, the version of him from the past. It’s all come back to me during our journeys in South America.

  We started in Rio de Janeiro, at a luxurious hotel, where I spent several days lying in the sun, decompressing from my adventures. And Roland was kind, he didn’t press me in any way. But the Elders refusing him permission to transform me threw a wrench in his plans. He’s been negotiating with other vampires, trying to find a house he can join that will allow him to transform me. But he hasn’t had much luck, perhaps because of our notoriety. It’s all he can do to be sure his contacts are loyal enough that they won’t report our location to Marion.

  After we arrived at the hotel, he was forced to leave me for several days, and then several days again. It made me nervous, especially since we could be chased, but Roland said it was necessary. And I knew he was off making deals with other vampires. Since I was afraid to leave the hotel on my own, I stayed by the private pool on the patio of our suite. But there wasn’t much else to do, so I began revisiting the past.

  It’s become strange, how easily I can go back and sift through it. I don’t pass out for days, like I did before, and I can just sit and meditate, and touch on it again. I feel like I can remember Saga and Caroline’s childhoods better than my own.

  I only wish I had experienced more lives, so I could have developed more skills to defend myself with.

  At some point, after returning from one of his journeys, Roland looked off into the distance, staring at nothing at all. And though I was becoming accustomed to the hotel in Rio and the idea of staying there for a while, that one look changed everything.

  “We need to leave,” Roland said.

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. It’s just a glimmer. But we cannot be too cautious if we are to be safe.”

  So we stole a rickety car and drove off. Eventually, we arrived in a beautiful mansion in Argentina, where the pattern started again. Roland disappeared to find a phone where it was safe to call, or to go negotiate with other vampires. And sometimes, when we were together, he would train me to fight, showing me skills that he claimed even the Luminos could not teach.

  And I would think of Adam. Roland says that we may need him eventually, but he’s asked me not to contact him. And it’s difficult. I want to meditate and go to the place where he will find me, the cottage we share in the clouds. But I just can’t do it. Roland’s trying so hard to protect me, and I know that soon enough, we’ll have a course of action, and I’ll be able to see Adam again. I only hope he can forgive me by the time that happens.

  And then, when we decided to leave Argentina, we would up here, in a penthouse in Mexico City. And it’s strange, not knowing how long I’ll stay, or where I’ll find myself next.

  After enjoying the sushi that money from Lenny’s wallet provided, I clean up a bit, and put what’s left of the meal in the refrigerator. Who knows, maybe our hosts will be hungry when they wake.

  Roland lifts Lenny from the floor and drops him on the couch heavily.

  “Is he going to be okay?” I ask, even though I know the answer. Roland is an expert at this, and wouldn’t have wanted to kill him. He hardly needs them wandering around in his mind.

  “They’re fine, I barely took a sip. Better to save some for later,” he says, winking at me.

  And I’m not really sure if he’s joking.

  We get up and go to our bedroom.

  This is the hardest part of our journey, the intimate moments. And though Roland hasn’t pressured me, I see the look of love in his eyes, the one I knew from the past. And I know he wants me to succumb.

  And maybe I want to, in my own way, despite what I tell myself. Because tonight, I put on a lacy nightgown, after washing my face in the bathroom. And when I come out, he’s lying on the bed, in just a pair of sweatpants. And his eyes are locked on what I’m wearing, though he doesn’t say it, what I know he’s really thinking.

  “Shall I sleep here? Or on the couch?” Roland asks.

  “You can sleep here,” I say.

  “Good. I’d much rather hear your snoring than Lenny’s.”

  I stare at him in shock, but he only smiles.

  “I do not snore,” I say.

  “Oh, trust me, you do. You always have.”

  And I go to my side of the big bed.

  “Never tell a woman she snores when you’ve trained her to kill vampires. You’d think an immortal would be smarter.”

  In an instant, I grab a pillow, and with my best ninja cry, I hit him in the face with it, which Roland tolerates with a bemused expression. And it’s ridiculous, like a kitten attacking a lion.

  But his expression quickly changes, and he looks to me with great seriousness.

  “Meridian, we need to discuss something. How do you feel about Asia?”

  “Is that where we’re going next?”

  “That’s where we’re going to stay. For good. The Asian vampires have responded to me. They will allow me to transform you, if we join their house.”

  And I feel slightly confused. A part of me hoped that none of the vampires would have us, that I wouldn’t be allowed the transformation. It would have been easier that way.

  “But it will be very difficult there,” he continues. “They are different from the other vampires, and aren’t afraid of the judgment of the Elders. However, it will be as if we’re starting over, like young ones. We will be in service to them. We will be their assassins for a very long time, but at least, we’ll be together.”

  “And that’s it? Our only option?”

  “That or kill Ma
rion.”

  And killing Marion is starting to seem like a better plan.

  But I don’t know what to say to Roland. He seems so earnest in wanting to help me, so desperate to save my life. But there is no other way to say it other than to simply let it out.

  “Roland, I don’t think you should transform me.”

  “But I must. The vampires of South America are giving us a certain degree of protection within their borders as a courtesy to me, but it won’t last forever. Others will come for you as long as you’re here. Marion will not stop. They will kill you, or do worse, because you are Luminos. Even Vincenzo might hunt you down out of some twisted sense of revenge. The blood is the only way to protect you.”

  “There’s another option. You can take me back to the Luminos.”

  He says nothing for a moment, gritting his teeth, ever so slightly.

  “Is that what you really want?”

  “No, I don’t want to go back to them at all, especially with what they’re doing. But they might be able to protect me, and give me the chance to stop whatever it is the Elders have planned.”

  “If you won’t join me in my immortal life, than would you do it for Adam?”

  And I’m taken aback for a moment, hearing Adam’s name.

  “No, I won’t,” I say. “Whatever it is that they want, whatever they have planned for me, it’s tied up with Adam. I know it.”

  “How so?”

  “It’s something the ugly one said, about my never giving up until the bitter end. And he’s the one I’m not giving up on. I keep coming back here, to find him or save him somehow. And it’s a mistake. I should have stayed away, because my feelings for him could destroy us all.”

  His eyes shift down and away, and Roland can’t look at me.

  “So it really is him? The one you love and want to save. It’s not me and it never will be, I’m just fooling myself.”

  And I reach out my hand, and touch his face.

  “I would gladly spend an eternity with you, Roland. Maybe you are the one I’m meant to be with. Because whatever I have with Adam is wrong. It’s dangerous, and it could bring about a truly horrible end. But I just don’t see how becoming a vampire will help me destroy the Elders. I don’t see how dragging you down with me will help. And it’s because I care about you that I don’t want to see that happen.”