by R. Sullins
His words made my cheeks heat. I knew he meant that I had only recently matured enough to become a woman.
His long forefinger ran lightly over my inflamed cheek. I wanted to hide from my embarrassment. I had no idea why other than this was simply a subject that no young woman should have with a man she was attracted to. Ever. I hung my head down, wishing that my hair was out of the ponytail to help hide my face. It was an embarrassing time growing up. After my period didn’t come on schedule around the age of 12 when all my friends got theirs and even my sister started, I began to feel left out. My mom assured me it was perfectly natural and normal. She called me a late bloomer and told me to enjoy the time I had before having to deal with all that annoyance. It didn’t really make me feel better but I accepted her explanation.
“How long ago?”
I knew what he meant. “I started two weeks ago.” I replied quietly, still a bit embarrassed but now understanding the importance of the event and what it meant for me was eye-opening. I had thought that I would never start but while I was in the middle of a shift at work it started with a vengeance. Luckily one of the other waitresses had supplies handy.
“Hmmm…” He tapped a long finger a couple of times on his chin, looking deep in thought. “So much makes sense now. With you coming into your maturity and the sudden appearances of the revenants.” He looked at me. “Revenants are a common thing, though their numbers are usually fairly low due to each ruler’s policing of their vampires. Here, in the last two weeks, there has been a large number showing up in my territory. I understand if they have been drawn to you, however, the numbers are still quite high. My sentinels have returned each morning with increasingly alarming news about revenant activity. It has been a challenge of late keeping the reports away from the human news outlets. You may be drawing them here,” his face took on a look of carefully controlled rage, “but the numbers say someone is purposely creating these monsters.”
He held out his large hand, “Now come, we will continue your education on vampire lore.”
I hesitantly reached out for his hand and shivered when it completely enveloped mine. We walked to the side of the room where there were a refrigerator and a table with a few chairs around it. I was hesitant to sit down with my sweaty self in the chair but he impatiently gestured for me to do so.
He walked to the fridge and took out a couple of water bottles, placing one in front of me.
“Last night we spoke of the history of vampires, how they began, how they were made. We discussed revenants and the need for Hunters.” He took a deep swallow of water before continuing. “Hunters, as you know, are born with abilities normal humans do not have. They are faster, stronger, heal quickly from nearly any wound. As we spoke of earlier, they don’t fully come into their powers until they physically mature, which, as I understand, is around the age of 21 or so.”
I nodded my head as everything he was saying I already knew. But... “What powers do I have now?”
“As a fully mature Hunter, you will have the gift of foresight, as you demonstrated on the sparring mat. During battle, a type of intuition will come over you. You will likely not be aware of it but you will anticipate your opponent's actions and be able to counter-attack..” He leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the table. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a great deal of knowledge on Hunters, and for that I am regretful. I have had a couple of them in my service over the last few centuries but we were never close, and like most species, they tend to be quiet about any abilities they may have. Because, why tell another monster what strengths or weaknesses you might have, right?” He quirked one side of his mouth up in an almost smile.
I took a long drink of water, soothing my parched throat. “So other than this intuition.” I held up my fingers in air quotes, “you have no idea what I might be capable of?” I crossed my arms and frowned in disappointment. I had started getting excited about the prospect of learning more about myself.
He frowned too. “Unfortunately, that is correct. I can ask some of the other vampire Lords if they know more but I’d prefer not to. Vampires tend to not want to show...weakness to other vampires.”
“Asking questions shows that you don’t know something they might and that means they hold something over you?”
“In a sense. I understand that it may seem ludicrous and shortsighted but when you have creatures that tend to live centuries or millennia there is very little they hold dear more than the knowledge that they have gained and others have not.”
“I appreciate your honesty. No, I don’t think it will be necessary at this time. Whatever abilities I might have will no doubt manifest in short order so it will be a moot point anyway.” I paused, “I wouldn’t want you to have to show your weakness to other Lords.” I bit my cheek to stop the smirk from popping up on my face.
He narrowed his gray eyes on me and growled low but I didn’t miss the slight twitch of his lips. He was a fierce monster but, sometimes, he was all bluster. That didn’t mean I wasn’t still scared of him though.
“So Rhys taught me how to identify a vampire by listening to my “tingle”. He also told me about Power. You have a lot of Power?” I looked at him with my head tilted, looking at him as if studying him would let me see it somehow.
“A vampire's Power comes from within but radiates out at all times. The more Power a vampire has, usually the more control of it he or she has. I hold mine within me unless I feel the need to show it. Sometimes a great show of strength is important.”
“Like flexing your muscles to show who is stronger?”
“Crudely put, but in essence, yes. If I were to push my Power out I would be able to make a disobedient vampire kneel in submission. An alpha wolf would show his dominance to make a lesser wolf bare his neck, it is the same concept. But there is more to Power than simply proving who is more alpha. Someone with a great amount of Power is also likely to have a great number of gifts and abilities as well.”
I sat up straighter. This was what I was interested in. “What kind of abilities do vampires have?” What I really wanted to ask was what kind of abilities he had.
A knowing look crossed his face before he blanked it and went on to tell me about levitation, fire control, telepathy, transfiguration - that one had me thinking hard about the wolf I had seen - atmokinesis, precognition, teleportation, time manipulation. The list was interesting and extensive.
“Every single vampire has the most basic ability to manipulate a human’s mind -compulsion- so they can feed and remove the memory from the victim’s mind. The next most common ability is telepathy and the third is telekinesis. Only those with great amounts of Power will have abilities beyond those.”
“Has there ever been someone with a lot of Power and abilities try to, I don’t know, take over the world or something?” I drank more of my water, trying to wrap my mind around this world I was now immersed in.
“Once, a few centuries ago, there was a vampire that was very Powerful and didn’t like that he was only a king of a small territory. He felt that he should be in charge of everyone. No other Lords or Ladies liked the idea of being ruled, since they had a great deal of Power themselves and already had the Council of elders that dictated rules to the vampire world. They banded together to end the other vampire’s campaign. It was a bloody battle, one that ended up needing Kane to come out of his self-imposed isolation. Once he was done, vampire that thought he could rule over all was dead and the entire vampire race had a new respect for what Power truly meant.”
“Were you one of the vampire Lords that tried to stop him?”
He shook his head. “No. I hadn’t wanted anything to do with vampire policy and authority. I was content to live a quiet life. After that event, Kane came to me and asked me to reconsider. He felt that had I been around then he wouldn’t have even tried the uprising.”
I slowly set my bottle back on the table and tried to control my breathing. All the other kings and queens were unable to control the
one guy but if Crispin had been there he would have been able to stop him?
“You are very Powerful, aren’t you?” I swallowed thickly, rethinking this whole idea of his that he be the one to train me. What if I made him angry?
“He looked me in the eye and said simply, “I am the most Powerful vampire in existence, second only to Kane.”
Chapter 8
*****
He watched the Hunter get into the vehicle with his most trusted sentinel. At first, he had told himself it was because she was an untrained Hunter that had already proven she was incapable of defending herself but, as the days past and she proved how fast she learned and how well she was improving, he had to admit it was because he felt protective.
He never allowed anyone else to spar with her in the weeks he’d been training her. The thought of another male’s hands on her body made his eyes silver and his fangs to elongate. He could also admit to himself he was feeling possessive.
When he had her on the mat tonight, pinning her with his body after an intense bout of hand to hand sparring, both of them breathing deeply, he had felt the intense urge to bite her. Not because he was in need of blood, rather because he needed to see his mark on her. To see her flesh marred with his bite, even knowing it would heal within minutes.
“Crispin!”
He turned to see James walking into his study. He barely controlled a growl at the man that thought he could come in without permission. He had known James and his sister Katerina for close to 200 years now and were there when they were Turned. He helped guide them in their new lives, and because of this, felt an almost kinship with the siblings. Unfortunately, the siblings took advantage of this and invaded his homes whenever they felt like it. Normally he wouldn’t mind so much but currently, with the revenant activity as well as training his new Hunter, he simply didn’t have time for them.
“What can I do for you, James?” Crispin walked over to the cabinet in the corner of the room and poured a scotch for himself and James.
“I heard about your troubles with the ghouls. Nasty creatures those.” He shuddered delicately and took a small sip of the drink he reached for. “Wondered if there was anything I could do to help the situation.”
Crispin looked at him and suppressed a grin. James was the least likely person he would ask to fight a revenant. Other than his sister, of course. “No worries, James. My sentinels are working the problem and my Hunter is nearly ready for battle.”
“Ahh, yes! The Hunter! What a grand surprise. I should like to meet her. She has been looking rather impressive.” The gleam in the man’s eyes was enough to have Crispin nearly shattering his crystal tumbler in his grasp. Both he and his beast wanted to rip out his old friend’s throat for coveting what he had come to think of as his.
“We’ll see.” Was all he said as he turned to look out the window once again.
*****
My entire body was still sore. The effects of physically fighting each night with a being that was so incredibly strong and powerful were playing hell on my muscles. By the time my body completely healed each bruise and pulled muscle, it would be time to start all over again. I couldn’t complain though. It was thrilling to know that I was improving constantly and that I made a formidable opponent. I had hopes that I’d be able to win a match completely one day soon by totally incapacitating Crispin. When that day came I’d know that I was ready for anything else that could possibly be thrown at me. Winning against him was the ultimate goal of my training. Somehow, I knew that when that day came, he wouldn’t be angry. Funny, how to make him proud of me was most important.
I carried a tray of food for a table of businessmen from the kitchen. The men were always good tippers, though they did seem to enjoy flirting with me. I figured it was a bit of fun for them while on their lunch break.
After depositing their orders and making sure they didn’t need any additional items I walked over to the new table that just sat down with the now empty tray under my arm. I was surprised to see that I recognized them from Crispin’s house. They were some of the humans that had started watching nightly as Crispin taught me new moves and then spent the rest of the night sparring with me.
The cute curly haired brunette guy was laughing when he looked up at my approach and smiled wide. “Hey, there new girl!” His eyes were dancing with mirth as he waved playfully at me. His smile was contagious, and I found myself returning it.
“Hello everyone. What brings you here today, aside from the obvious that is?” I pulled out my order pad and placed it on my tray. It was a habit I’d developed, to use the tray to write on, since I rarely took the time to put one down before seeing to my next group of customers. I hated to waste time, not wanting any customers to have to wait too long before being cared for.
“Well, we asked around and found out you were working here during the day and wanted to drop in to say hi. Maybe get to know you.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice and whispered, “You know, human to human.”
I widened my eyes dramatically and leaned forward too, lowering my voice I said anxiously, “What do you mean human?”
He leaned back and widen his eyes fearfully and glanced around the group of three others. I knew he was afraid he said something he shouldn’t as if I didn’t know what really happened in the mansion and who lived there. They all looked back at him in shock.
I laughed out loud and then said, “I’m just kidding guys, I know what Crispin and his men are. But you should totally see your faces.”
Curly hair guy looked relieved and smiled back but the blond sitting across from him looked pissed.
“You shouldn’t call him by his name. We are to call him Sire or Master. He is the king in this area and you don’t have the right to call him Crispin.” Her angry tone was getting too loud for the restaurant and drawing too much attention. I recognized her as giving me an evil glare several nights ago. I’d seen her in glimpses a few more times but she always stayed in a back corner while watching.
I cleared my throat and spoke in a low placating tone, “I know what he is and I didn’t mean to disrespect him. He’s just never told me to call him anything other than Crispin before. I didn’t know that I should have been calling him Sire or anything like that.” Her eyes narrowed at my words, I figured she didn’t like the fact that I was allowed to be so informal with her “Master”.
Curly hair cut in and gave a small uncomfortable laugh. “No worries, the Master will tell you if he wants you to be more formal with him, right Kate?”
So, her name was Kate. And she obviously wanted Crispin for herself yet found out I had a familiarity with him that she didn’t have. Interesting. I understood the glare for jealousy the other night but didn’t realize until now that, though Kate obviously wanted it, she and Crispin were not on as friendly terms as she thought.
I stuck my hand out after setting my pen on the tray with my pad. “Hi, I’m Ivy.”
Curly hair guy took it and gave me a warm handshake, releasing me and pointing to the other humans in Crispin’s care. “I’m Freddy, that’s Amber, Ted, and Kate. We all live in the mansion with some other humans. We are the feeders or food bags.” He laughed good-naturedly while I tried to come to terms with his words. I already knew the vampires used the humans as food but was surprised they were so okay with being called food bags. He laughed again, “Now you should see your face. We made up the term ourselves. We think it’s funny and the vampires get the same look on their faces as you did when they hear it. I think it makes them feel uncomfortable.”
“So how did you guys come to be in the vampire’s…umm…what would you call it? Service?” I looked at each of them, hoping I wouldn’t offend anyone with my question. They all smiled and laughed except for Kate, who was glaring out the window.
“Service is as good a term as any I suppose. We all have different stories but they are all pretty close to the same. I was the kid of a feeder that the Sire didn’t know about. When my mom died and I didn’t have anywh
ere else to go I found the mansion from the stories my mom used to tell me before she died. It was before we moved here. The vampires were pretty shocked when I knocked on the door in the middle of the night holding a suitcase and a picture of my mother. I told them I was 17 and didn’t have anywhere else to go so the Sire let me stay.” He sat back and said with a voice full of hero worship, “I’ve been with him for 8 years now.”
I blinked back tears. His story was too close to my own. I wish I would have had someone who would have taken care of me, no questions asked, when I was a teenager. Freddy looked so relaxed and happy. I forced a smile, determined not to let myself feel pity for myself.
I looked at the other three in turn and asked them curiously, “What’s your guy’s stories?”
Amber was a bubbly blond with a pixie cut and large brown eyes, “I was homeless in the city. One of the sentinels found me one night while I was fighting off an attacker.” A tear trailed down her cheek before she wiped it away and smiled big again. “They took me back to the mansion and took care of me. They never demanded I become a feeder but I wanted to, you know? I was just so grateful they saved me from that night.” The thought of this woman, who couldn’t be older than me but by a year or two, having to suffer through that every night? My estimation of Crispin and his sentinels just increased dramatically.
I turned to the other guy, Ted, who had straight red hair and freckles. He looked like the youngest of the group, couldn’t be over 18. “And your story?”
“Are you going to serve us or just talk all day? God! I thought we came here for lunch, not gossip hour!” Kate’s harsh words jerked me back to my surroundings. She was right. I completely forgot where I was and what I was supposed to be doing. I was at work and had tables to serve. People that probably needed refills. I got so caught up in their stories I completely forgot myself.