The Executive's Red, #1

by Leeanna White

  “She is not my red. Can you remember being a man Laurie; how we would go out, meet with friends, talk and drink. Did you once see fangs or blood?”

  “So you want us to pretend to be human? That will be very difficult for Maria.” He smirks.

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Look, I just want a nice relaxing night, and for Elizabeth to meet everyone without fearing for her life.”

  “Well it’s done then.” He walks to me, pulls me in, and pats my back. “Happy new year, oldest friend.”

  “Yes. Same to you.” I back away from him, shaking my head.

  Chapter 26

  Elizabeth

  I’m standing outside The Mill in the blustery rain, waiting for Adrien to open the doors. A guy appears right behind me, looking over my shoulder. I have to angle my head high to see him, he’s so tall. He smiles a polite grin, but I’m uncomfortable with him inside my personal space, so I shuffle quickly behind Adrien as he makes his way inside.

  “Mr Knight, which bar do you want me working on tonight?” the man asks, removing his sodden brown jacket to reveal his red crew cut and pasty complexion.

  Adrien mumbles to himself, flicking on all the lights. “I think you’d be better working the forth tonight, Jimmy. We have several covens coming in. So I want you and Kim on forth, and Steve and Lisa on the ground.”

  I press my lips together, examining Jimmy as he goes through the door to the stairs. I can’t figure out if he’s, well, you know. He just looks like the average Joe to me, skinny and unkempt. I stare deep in thought as the door flaps back and forth.

  “Elizabeth,” Adrien calls out to me.

  “Is he?”

  His lips curve with tolerance at my lack of knowledge. “Yes, and a very reliable devotee he is to. Wouldn’t harm a fly our Jimmy.”

  “He seems normal to me.” Crap. That sounded awful; an accidental insult.

  “Elizabeth, stop panicking.” He leans over the bar and pulls out a big bunch of keys.

  I remain still, twirling my hair around my finger, admiring how he flexed over that bar like a gymnast. I note how debonair he looks tonight. He’s dressed in grey trousers with a brown belt, a fitted white shirt, and he has a dash of designer stubble; the kind that leaves his mark on my skin. There hasn’t really been much thought gone into this combination of black jeans, lace cream blouse, and boots I’m wearing.

  “Come, I have something to show you.” He takes my hand and leads me to the elevator.

  The door opens out onto the dark corridor. He switches on the lights and I see the room where I met Laurie and the others for the first time. The knots tighten in my gut as I nervously run my hand over my belly. He told me he kept his paperwork in these rooms, but now I have a suspicion they are used for something else.

  Adrien stops outside the end room on the right, jiggling through the keys. It’s so warm down here; an uneasy heat that’s making me perspire. I really don’t want to be giving off any body odour, not when I’m surrounded by super-sensed vampires. Though, maybe I should encourage the sweat, it might make me less appealing. I pluck out my blouse a few times to get some air on my skin.

  He opens the door then turns to face me. “You will probably have some trouble understanding what’s in these rooms. But you need to see the workings of what we do, and how we have evolved.”

  Shit, I don’t want to see now. Why did he have to warn me first?

  He opens the door wide and enters. There’s a blue ultraviolet light illuminating through the doorway, and a cold arctic mist drifts over my skin. It’s like some giant sterile refrigeration room. I fill my lungs and gingerly step by him.

  I take a lengthy look around. So, it’s not as bad as seeing a sacrificial table with blood soaked stains, but still it’s unusual. A city nightclub with some kind of sterilised storage room, full of steel shelving units containing hundreds of polystyrene boxes.

  I approach one of the sealed cartons. The label states it’s batch 108, dated 24th December, from Manchester. My breath vapour floats over my fingers as I reach out to the lid.

  “Don’t.” Adrien catches my hand before I can see what’s inside.

  “What’s in it?”

  “You already know.”

  “Blood I’m assuming. But why so much; is it all for you?”

  He takes the small box from the shelf and sets it down on a long clinical white desk. He unseals the lid with a scalpel and removes one bag of blood. Curiosity has got the better of me now. I no longer feel like I’m in some vampiric feeding room, but in a scientific lesson with one shit hot teacher.

  I walk over to his back and peer over his shoulder, as he pulls a chrome light down from the ceiling.

  “Every bag is collected, tested for impurities, and goes through several thorough checks before consumption,” he explains, moving the bag beneath the light.

  “All this is for you then?” There has to be over two hundred boxes in here.

  “Of course not. We provide for sang and vigore across the city.”

  “So this is a lab, and you’re like the dealer?” I think hard for a second. “Where does it all come from?”

  “We have paid donors, and we deal with medical suppliers. There’s always too much of one type and not enough of the other. So we scout and pay handsomely for the rare, and in exchange we purchase the excess. Blood is blood to us, so the majority of these bags are common type.”

  He places the bag back into the box and reseals it, then turns to lean against the desk, crossing his arms. I think I’ve pissed him off, calling him a dealer. But that’s exactly what he is.

  “I’m in charge of making sure we can feed safely, without our identity being exposed. The order have very stringent rules in place to prevent a reoccurrence of our dark age,” he says. “Centuries ago, vampires fed freely off the living. But as the body count rose, we were becoming visible. We were being hunted,” he explains.

  In fascination, I listen intently. I want to ask him if it was anything like the movies, Interview with a Vampire, or Dracula, but I won’t. I think he’ll take offense.

  “I’ve seen what happens to those of us who are torn between bloodlust and empathy for what we once were, as demi or devotee. The refusal to feed on human blood, feeding off rats in the gutter, and as a last resort, killing,” he agitates. “This is a way of survival. This is the only way we can coexist.” He pats his knee, requiring I move closer. “That bag is all I need,” he says as I perch next to him. “Maybe a little more after.” He playfully nudges my arm. “You know.” His brow jigs up and down. “One bag a day is sufficient for any vampire. Unless there is an injury to heal, or intoxication.”

  “So, you sell this?”

  “Yes. We have to make some profit.”

  “So, all this is yours, and you’re something along the lines of a mob-boss?” I smile, but his face remains impassive. “Okay, my attempts to lighten this whole thing are dire, sorry.”

  His fingers knead my knee firmly. “Maybe I should ease you into all this a little slower.”

  “No, like you said, I need to know,” I insist. “So carry on.”

  “I’m owned.” He lowers his head. “For now anyhow.”

  “What?”

  “I was sired for one purpose, and that is to serve the order. I and Laurie, all of us were chosen and made executives for a reason.” He stares with a despondency in his eyes. “I run affairs for the order because they are unable to. They cannot walk around like us.”

  “I’m guessing because of the sun?”

  He snickers, amused. “Yes, we sparkle, and once we twinkle we can’t stop.”

  I was being serious. Though, I’ve never actually seen Adrien in direct sunlight, because this country is probably the dullest on earth. I was genuinely implying that daylight must have some effect on them. I raise one brow, wanting more clarity.

  “It’s nothing like the shit portrayals you see in the movies,” he adds. “Fuck, sometimes I wish it was.”

  “So t
he whole stake through the heart thing; the holy water and garlic?”

  He laughs a charming giggle that’s been held back for a long time. He thinks I’m naive, which is beginning to annoy me. He’s never had to explain this stuff to someone as dumb as me before, and is finding it entertaining. I scowl at him until his lips straighten.

  “Right.” He breathes through the laughter. “The sun does affect me. Gives me the most agonising migraine you could possibly imagine.” He points to his temple. “And I burn, fast, turn a bright red colour. But with blood I can quickly heal. I’m like a beacon; a kaleidoscope of colours on the beach I am. It takes a considerable amount of time for the sun to kill an executive, but it is possible. Put it this way, using the sun as a means to interrogate, has been used many times before.”

  “Interrogate!”

  “Elizabeth, stop presuming that everything I explain to you, is dark and evil. Just like a murderer will be interrogated and punished, our kind will also face justice. Justice of a different kind, but still justice.”

  “Sorry. I’m trying not to overthink everything, but it’s kind of hard not to.” I roll my eyes.

  “You can ask me anything. Just don’t think badly of me.”

  “I don’t think badly of you.” I smile faintly. “So the pure ones in the order, the sun can have the same effect on them?”

  “God no. They really do sparkle.” He grins as I shake my head, because I know he’s messing with me. “I haven’t seen Selene in person, or her father, in decades. We communicate via phone, other executives, or as of late, skype.” His eyes circle. “Direct sun starts to melt the skin from their bones if in it for over ten minutes. So they remain in the shadows, living like royalty from the profit we make them.”

  “Nice,” I cringe. “Why do you stick around then, if they remain hidden?”

  He smirks, cynically. “I have travelled thousands of miles. I have ran affairs under different aliases in over twelve different countries. Believe me, an executive is always on the order’s payroll, until they decide otherwise.”

  “It’s unfair.”

  “Yes, but it’s a price I have to pay.”

  “So, you’re immortal then?

  Again his lips curve, nodding his head at my immature question. “It’s all the romantic bullshit that has been written over the years, which makes us seem magical,” he says, annoyed. “We can do things humans cannot, but there is nothing magical about it. It’s a burden,” he adds. “A stake through the heart, shit, if any creature got stabbed in the chest with a pointy stick, I’m quite sure most wouldn’t pull through. I love garlic, though my digestive system doesn’t let me eat much of it. And holy water, I could shower in the stuff.”

  “No eternal life then?”

  “I will live for an eternity, but this body can die if I’m unable to heal,” he explains. “My soul is a prisoner in this flesh, bound to the dark and the order. Even if this body can no longer contain my soul, I will still never be free.”

  “Your soul was stolen, right? You didn’t sell it, make a deal, so why would you never be free?” I ask, because to me he didn’t have a choice in becoming a vampire, it was forced onto him.

  His chest expands as he tilts his view on me. “I did have a choice. I drunk first blood from Selene. She and I are linked forever, and she dotes on those she’s turned. Just like a Mother.”

  “You were chained and infected by her after you died. As you said, new bloods are crazed. You’d have done anything for that blood because you weren’t in your right mind.”

  “Wow.” He sniggers at me. “You really like to pick things apart don’t you?”

  “It’s kind of a bad habit of mine.”

  “Remind me to never get into a serious debate with you. Now that would be an eternal chat.”

  “Well, I think if anyone should be lost forever, it should be Selene. She’s using you. Do you not want to be free?” He looks shocked I asked that. “Maybe you could just go into hiding.”

  “Since scripture began, vampires have walked the earth and have killed countless. Having the order is a democratic must,” he says. “We had to change and adopt new ways, and the order only trust me to oversee it. It’s politics.”

  “I hate politics.”

  “Without politics, I would have turned out a lot different.”

  I push away from the desk, rubbing my arms. I’m freezing and my fingers, toes, and nose have numbed. He notes my shiver and smiles sweetly. He’s only wearing a thin shirt. He should have hyperthermia by now. A perk of being a vampire I suppose.

  He strolls to the door. “Let’s get you warmed up.”

  I follow him out onto the corridor. As he locks up the storage room, the elevator door slides open. Oh crap, it’s Laurie, in his usual starched attire. Not black this time, but navy blue. I look away. His examination strikes me with instant dislike, causing my feet to move behind Adrien for protection. I’ve always been a good judge of character, and there is something about him that frightens me. He always has this evil intent in his eyes, like he’s saying one thing, but thinking another. He has two alter egos, and Adrien only sees one.

  “Adrien.” He swaggers closer, arrogantly. “Been giving Miss Lovell a tour have we?”

  Adrien scowls, confused by Laurie’s insolence. “Laurie, what are you doing down here?”

  “The place is filling up, and we seem to be missing our host,” he replies, his eyes continually finding the need to pick me out.

  “Well I’m here,” Adrien states. “So you can go and tell them I’m on my way. And just for the record, Elizabeth is our guest tonight. So stop being such an uptight arrogant dick will you.”

  “Sure thing boss.” Laurie salutes and laughs, a sinister fake one of course, then heads back into the elevator.

  I wait for the doors to slide shut before I mention my concerns. Laurie is like Adrien. Perhaps he’s one of those energy sucking vigore. The way he eyeballs me, it’s like he’s reading my mind. I really don’t want to be anywhere near him tonight.

  Adrien takes my arms. He gazes down and fingers my hair behind my ear.

  “I’ve been stuck with that conceited idiot for nearly a century. He might always appear to have something constantly wedged up his ass, but he gets the job done.” I hum, still unable to think of anything positive about Laurie. “Ignore him. Tonight I want you to relax. No one will attack you, and no one wants to drink your blood,” he reassures. “We do this tonight, and I don’t have to hide you away anymore.”

  Chapter 27

  Elizabeth

  The doors open onto the fourth floor. The music playing is club background music. There are people (well I say people because I’m not too sure) passing by me without a second glance. This is good. I mustn’t have any blood pheromones emitting from my skin that say, eat me.

  I casually wander across to the balcony rail and look down to the dance floor. But I can’t see anything other than some kind of dusky Perspex screening, covering up the view of the ground floor below. A shield hiding the humans from the vampires.

  I feel a hand between my shoulder blades. “Shit.” I jump back, clutching my chest.

  Great, now I have drawn the attention of a woman who seems to have taken a shine to me, ogling me over her glass of wine by the doors. She’s with another lady, and both of them seem to loiter in a state of sluggish time, with smooth unhurried movements, and mesmeric eyes that take in my nerves.

  “Elizabeth,” Adrien snaps. “Stop being so jumpy will you. I know everyone in this room.”

  Breathe, just breathe Liz. You’re giving off girl in horror flick vibes.

  I smile feebly, swallow down, and take his arm.

  We walk by a group of around eight vampires, absorbed in a light-hearted discussion. They all seem ordinary, well maybe a little classier than I’m used to. I notice the women more, and I feel a tad inadequate in comparison. All have flawless skin and great hair, like they’ve just emerged from a beauty salon.

  “Adrien,
long-time no see,” says one of the women. “Last time was, hmm.” She pauses, thinking. “When you were over here for the construction convention ten years ago.” She takes hold and squeezes his hand.

  God, I’m so not blending in here, hovering in the background like a lost child, and playing with my fingers nervously.

  “Good to see you, Maria,” Adrien says in a refined tone. “That was a good night.” He winks at her.

  I’m unsure how I should act, witnessing her lusty eyes on him. I have this bubbling anger escalating, irritated by the way she keeps fondling his arm. She’s very stylish, in a whorish kind of way. She has long blonde wavy hair, and is wearing a knee-length skin-tight green dress with matching heels. If I were to compare her to an animal, no scrap that, a reptile, she’d be a snake. She begins to giggle all schoolgirl like, brushing her damn painted fingernails over Adrien’s chest and bicep.

  “Oh, Maria.” Adrien turns to me and frowns, because I’m visibly jealous. “This is Elizabeth. She’s the reason for this gathering.”

  “Oh.” She looks at me with dark and dazzling pupils. “Your red, how very, original.”

  I’m not smiling. What does she mean by original; because I’m in this room full of high society vampires? I glare at her as Adrien elbows my arm, wanting me to be more gracious.

  “She is no longer a red,” he explains for my benefit. “She’s with me now.”

  If Maria’s jaw could drop open any more, it would be touching the floor. I have to speak out. I have to show her that despite her being a vampire, Adrien is only interested in me. A human woman. I’m learning that vampires have a certain impassive grace about them. So right now, that is the attitude I’m attempting to pull off.

  I smile exclusively for her. “It’s really nice to meet you, Maria.” I link up to Adrien.

  “Well, it’s wonderful to meet you too. It’s nice to have a change, and she’s so adorable, Adrien.” Wow, that was the most condescending compliment ever.

  “Anyway, it’s been a pleasure seeing you again,” Adrien says. “You and your party are free to drink what you choose. It’s on the house.”