Sanctuary: Book One of Bloodlines

by C. L. Stevens

  Desiree wrinkled her nose in disgust. That made her sound she was an entree or something. Suddenly she had a mental image of a line of vampires, or at least caricatures of them, ordering from a restaurant like Panda Express, except there were little humans standing in the bins instead of food and all were clamoring to be selected.

  “Pick me! Pick me!”

  “I’ll take a 2-entree plate, please,” The first vampire in line stated. “I think I am going to go with double sweet and fire Desiree with half rice and half chow mein.”

  In her mind, all the others in the bins groaned in disappointment as a two-inch replica of herself cheered in approval. It took everything she had not to erupt into laughter and knew that despite her outward calm, the ridiculous thoughts pointed to her being on the fringes of panic.

  “Your blood replenishes almost instantly and can sustain a whole coven in emergencies so says the stories,” Meilin continued. “There is more but you will have to look it up for yourself, for I am no scholar.”

  Desiree tried to digest this information. Well, if she thinks I will be able to “look up” this information at a later time, she probably isn't going to kill me. Oh god! Is she going to turn me into a vampire? She honestly didn't know how she felt about that.

  Desiree thought long and hard about her next question but could not decide what was most pressing. She was not sure what answer would give her the most information. In the end, she decided to hold off asking her last question until something became more tantamount.

  They drove through the night and Desiree noticed early on that they were leaving Oklahoma. For the life of her, she tried to remain awake but found Meilin nudging her out of a sound sleep. Oh my god I hate myself so much. I am too damned stupid to remain awake?! Really? You can't remain awake one lousy night even if your life depends on it?

  “Come girl. We need to get you out of that uniform,” Meilin stated, gesturing unappreciatively towards her Army fatigues. “Those hideous things draw far too much attention.”

  Desiree looked around feeling overly lethargic. She always had been a heavy sleeper, to her utter detriment while in boot camp. It took her groggy mind a moment to realize that they were in another parking lot. A mall?

  She also noticed with a start that it was daytime. At least 10 AM judging by the sun. She was so surprised that she blurted out the question before she knew what she was doing.

  “You can be out during daytime?” She asked dubiously.

  Fuck me! Of course, she can be out during the day you moron. How did the fact that she is currently out during the day not make that abundantly clear to you idiot?

  Meilin smiled and simply said. “Yes.”

  Desiree rolled her eyes, her frustration with herself manifesting in her tone.

  “How? I thought vampires burned to a crisp in direct sunlight.”

  “I have already answered your two questions fool girl. Now here, give me your hand. I am hungry.”

  Meilin reached out and grabbed Desiree by the wrist and she snatched her hand back reflexively. Her hand is cold as ice. But earlier it was soft and warm to the touch. What the hell?

  Seeing Meilin’s less than pleased expression, she spoke.

  “Your hand, it's so cold,” She licked her lips nervously. “Last night they were warm.”

  Meilin didn't answer her unspoken question and Desiree sighed internally. When the woman reached for her hand again, she forced herself not to flinch or drawback. And she was also determined not to close her eyes or turn away, despite her body’s almost reflex action to want to do so.

  Meilin’s full and red upper lip rose as if in slow motion revealing normal if unusually pristine white teeth. But as they slowly came down on the fleshiest part of Desiree’s palm, fangs began to lengthen. They seemed to grow in infinitesimal increments and there was a long pause before the fangs broke her skin. Bright red blood blossomed around the wound before the lips covered it.

  Desiree’s eyes rolled back in her head and she gasped audibly. Not in pain but in ecstasy. It felt… good, she was shocked to find. It felt like getting a good and relaxing pedicure but over her entire body. Desiree was not sure how long it lasted, but when Meilin released her hand, it took Desiree a moment to recover. Meilin eyed her speculatively.

  “So, it is true,” Meilin commented casually, wearing a knowing smile.

  “What?” Desiree asked in embarrassment. She didn't even know why she was embarrassed, but she was.

  “Nothing,” Her captor replied.

  “No!” Desiree took a deep breath and smoothed her tone. “Please. Don't be that way Meilin. Please tell me, what is true?”

  Meilin did one of her signature sighs and rolled her eyes in exaggeration, but in the end, she answered.

  “I can make my prey not feel the pain of my kiss if I choose,” Meilin explained. “But not during the day. Judging by your face, I see that I had no need. I had heard about this but never believed. Guess it is true after all.”

  “Why?” Desiree asked. She only looked at the woman until she responded.

  “I haven't the foggiest. Something about Ablanq being Symbiotic with vampires or something or the other. I don't know the specifics. I told you, I am no scholar. You gain things, I gain things. I don't know the details.” She waved it away as if it were all inconsequential.

  Desiree didn't share the nonchalant attitude. She was fiercely curious. In fact, she had never been more interested in anything in her entire life. Things? What things?

  “Enough questions. Come, my precious little Ablanq. I need to get you cleaned up. I will not have you embarrassing me.” Meilin stated, stepping out of the car.

  “Wait. I need to cover my ha…” She trailed off as she inspected the wound or lack thereof. “It's gone.” She said in shock.

  “You are Ablanq,” Meilin replied as if that explained everything.

  She walked off at a brisk pace and Desiree followed, her mind reeling and spinning with unanswered questions.

  “Well, at least she isn't a messy eater,” She said to herself under her breath.

  Despite saying it so softly and with her head turned away from the vampire, Meilin obviously heard every word because she suddenly burst into laughter. The sound startled her at first, but it was so full of genuine amusement that she found herself laughing as well. Better than crying I suppose.

  They entered the mall and Meilin raced down the nearly empty walkways, dragging Desiree in tow. When they passed some type of food court a problem arose.

  “I'm starving,” Desiree blurted out.

  Meilin tsked, but fished in a small handbag Desiree had not noticed and handed her a hundred-dollar bill.

  “Do not take all day,” She said almost absently, as she peered forward passed the food court. “I will procure arrangements so we may get you presentable.”

  She tsked again in irritation and snatched the glasses the Army had given her from her face.

  “Hey! I need those!” Desiree shouted, trying to snatch them back. Meilin avoided her grasping fingers by just raising them out of reach. She wouldn't belittle herself by jumping.

  “No, you do not, child. Now hurry. I do not wish to be here all damned day.”

  With that, she spun and walked off.

  Desiree couldn't believe she would just leave her alone after kidnapping her.

  “How do you know I won't just leave?” Desiree asked in astonishment.

  Meilin turned back, her face a thunderhead.

  “Two reasons,” The woman retorted, her words dripping venom. “Number 1 is that you gave your word.” She said it as if that should have been enough and Desiree found herself feeling a little ashamed. “And number 2.”

  For an answer, Meilin took something out of her tiny handbag and shook it before her face. Desiree had to get so close her nose was nearly touching the thing in order to see it clearly, but when she could finally read it she sighed. It was her father's driver's license.

  As Meilin walked away, Desiree s
till contemplated running. She had noticed that the address on the license was old, very old. But taking a second look at the retreating woman, so tall and elegant, so beautiful and well-spoken, Desiree abandoned the willful thought. The old address was her grandparents’ home. She had no doubts that if Meilin wanted too, she could get the information from them one way or another. She was who and what she was after all.

  Desiree walked quickly to the food court. Not because of Meilin’s instructions, or not solely at least, she still held to most of her recalcitrant attitude but mostly because she was ravenously hungry. I am hungry enough to eat just about anything.

  Everything was blurred to near incomprehensible proportions. She had a hard time determining what was what even if she was right in front of the shop. She accomplished as much by smell as by sight.

  She chose quickly and after a few moments, she was sitting alone on a bench with her drink and a teriyaki bowl.

  The sliced pieces of chicken on top were not the best quality, nor was there enough teriyaki sauce, which was quite good she had to admit, and she complained about it incessantly, but none of that stopped her from making the rice, chicken, and veggies vanish as if by magic. Nor did it stop her from getting a second bowl.

  What are you staring at, moron? Yes, I am eating two, so what. Maybe you should worry more about how little sauce you put on these things instead of how many I am eating.

  The second helping disappeared as fast as the first, but when she looked up she could see the blurry outline of a woman who could be no other than Meilin waiting off to the side impatiently as if she had been eating an hour or something. Desiree tossed her trash and met up with her.

  “I found something suitable,” Meilin said as soon as Desiree got close enough that she would not have to raise her voice to be heard.

  Desiree didn't reply. She just followed the taller woman, her heavy boots thumping resoundingly while Meilin seemed to glide across the ground without making a sound.

  They suddenly turned into a large department store before Desiree had a chance to see the name on the sign. Two women, one white and one Hispanic and both skinny as a rail intercepted them immediately.

  “This is the young lady I spoke of earlier,” Meilin stated and passed her off like a parcel.

  The two women, obviously employees of the store, each took her by an arm and ushered her away, chattering all the while.

  “Don't worry sweetheart,” The first was saying. “We will get you feeling like a woman again.”

  “You mustn't let a man affect you so honey,” Crooned the other.

  “What?” Desiree said genuinely confused.

  The first woman patted her arm in sympathy, while the other rubbed her other arm encouragingly.

  “Men can be so cruel. But they are not all bad.” They both continued and Desiree rolled her eyes. Bitch what have you been telling them?

  In moments they had her in a large dressing room and she was stripped to her underwear. Desiree self-consciously covered her middle with her hands and was shocked to feel a firm, flat surface. She moved her hands away to reveal tight skin with unmissable muscle definition. She traced the faint lines of muscle with her fingers in awe. She knew that she had lost nearly all of her pudgy stomach during boot camp, but this was something else.

  “What are you, a size 5 or 6?” The Hispanic woman asked, touching her body a bit too familiarly.

  She shook her head. She had no idea.

  She heard a familiar voice as a bundle of clothing was handed through the small gap in the door of the dressing room.

  “Try these,” Meilin instructed.

  And over the next few hours, Desiree was forced to try on numerous dresses, skirts, frilly blouses, push-up bras and barely-there panties, despite making it clear that she preferred wearing good jeans and a modest top. The usual response was…

  “Don't be silly. It looks great on you.” or, “But you look so beautiful, sweetie.”

  Next, they took her to another area where she was waxed and clipped and primped to such a degree that she was sure that these women knew her body better than she had. They covered her face with light make-up and showed her different techniques to use. The two got into an argument about her eyelashes.

  “Take it off. They look fake and trashy,” One of the women complained.

  “But they are REAL. That is what matters,” the other countered.

  “Well, we are going to go with what looks good, not what looks real. Her lashes are so dark and long she looks like she already has mascara on anyway.” The other woman nodded her assent.

  “Now please do something with this child's hair.” Meilin insisted.

  “She looks like she is going to war,” The white woman said in Desiree’s defense.

  “War on what, elegance?” Meilin retorted in disgust.

  Desiree was surprised to see how long her hair had grown over the last 3 months when they took it down from her French braids. Her hair fell a good 5 inches past her shoulders now.

  “Trim however much you need to, in order to get rid of my split ends,” Desiree commanded. “I don't care if I am bald afterward.”

  By the time they were done, her hair just brushed her shoulders, but not for the trimming. They only needed to take a quarter inch off the ends, if that. After they had washed and brushed it, they had flat-ironed and then curled her hair beautifully. When they showed her a mirror she found herself crying. She wiped the tears away but more and more followed as if a dam had broken behind her eyes.

  She wasn't sure if she was crying because of the beautiful face that stared back at her, or because she could see the reflection as clearly as she had ever seen anything in her life. It was all too much. She couldn't help it. She just cried and cried.

  “Now stop that,” One of her fairy godmothers admonished with tears in her eyes as well. “You will ruin your makeup.”

  “He will regret the day he left you at the altar after seeing you now,” The other one promised, smiling broadly, despite eyes full of tears herself.

  Desiree couldn't help but smile at the words. Maybe it's best I don't know what you told them after all.

  Desiree got a glimpse of Meilin through the mirror smiling triumphantly. It didn't even surprise her at all that she could see the vampire's reflection. It was obvious that everything she knew, most of which was from movies, she had to admit, was wrong about her kind. Meilin was indeed smiling and broadly but she certainly had no tears in her huge, exotic eyes. In fact, her smile seemed… proprietary, like a proud mother.

  “No,” She thought to herself. “Like an owner, proud of her prized pet dog who had just won best in show.”

  Desiree’s smile faded away as if had never been.

  She left the store wearing a yellow silk blouse that showed a modest amount of puffed up cleavage, a sky-blue skirt with flower patterns the exact shade of the top and tan, 2-inch heeled sandals trimmed in blue.

  She felt positively radiant, but at the same time completely uncomfortable. The slightest breeze would lift that skirt up to show her scandalous underwear underneath. She walked with the hand holding the tan handbag, not unlike Meilin’s, stiff at her side and the other which held several bags of clothes stiffly on the other to keep the skirt from billowing. It did nothing to help her gait.

  By this time the mall was much busier. Nearly every person, male or female eyed Meilin longer than was polite. The women's stares were not always friendly either. No one gave Desiree a second look if a first look for that matter. I am beginning to see why pretty girls In high school always seemed to have fat friends.

  When they got back to the car, Desiree eyed the vampire as she searched for her keys. While she didn't like the way she looked at her sometimes, that look of near ownership, she couldn't deny how nice her gifts were.

  “Thank you,” She said finally. “For everything,” She finished. Vaguely gesturing to her hair and clothes.

  Meilin snorted derisively.

  “I did it more
for me than you, Girl,” She replied and got into the car.

  Desiree opened the other door and got in beside her, putting the bags at her feet. She shifted uncomfortably and ended up having to raise her butt up to smooth her skirts under her with her hand. She was not accustomed to wearing such clothing.

  “Well thank you all the same. It was still very nice of you.” Desiree insisted.

  There was a long pause as they had hit the highway again heading west before there was a reply.

  “You are welcome.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Desiree dozed off and on over the next 6 hours or so. When she saw the sign declaring that they were entering California she spoke. It was the first words spoken by either since the thank you.

  “Don't you need sleep?” She asked incredulously. “You have been driving a long time.”

  “No. At least not with my little Ablanq beside me,” Meilin clarified. “You give me enough energy to last for days.”

  She smiled. And Desiree smiled back. Desiree found herself raising her hand to the woman as an offering.

  “You can feed or whatever you call it whenever you want,” Desiree said in a sheepish tone. “I don't mind.” She kept her arm extended.

  “No. Not right now.” Meilin’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Who offers…?”

  She stopped what she was going to say as a look of understanding came over her features. Desiree raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

  Meilin suddenly grabbed her roughly by the wrist. The pain and surprise made her cry out. The vampire’s intense stare held her gaze through it all.

  “You will let no one other than myself taste of you. Is that understood?” She demanded harshly.

  Her eyes were angry dark pits that seemed to have no bottom. Desiree felt as if she were falling in with no hope of escape.

  “Let go,” Desiree pleaded, trying to pull free. “You are hurting my arm.” But the other woman held on seemingly effortlessly.

  “DO YOU UNDERSTAND!” Meilin repeated.