by Jon Herrera
Chapter Eight
"Ok, Wil.” Sally said and crossed her arms. "Why did Carlo give you an Elf?"
"I wouldn’t speak to my Master that way if I were you.” Katie said and opened her eyes wide. Sally could see the crackle of green power behind Katie’s pupils. "Bad things happen to people that my Master doesn't like."
"Don’t threaten Sally.” I said and flashed power in my eyes.
Katie frowned and knelt on the floor again. She wrapped an arm around my leg. She blew out a breath and leaned her head against my thigh. The temptation to reach out and stroke her head was almost overwhelming. Sally caught my eye and shook her head as my hand reached out of its own accord. I slid my hands into my pockets.
"I think we need to have a little chat.” Sally said and untied her apron. "Outside."
Sally waved at someone in the back and tossed her apron on the counter. She led us out the door. Katie followed behind me with her head bowed. Sally walked up to the Dodge and took a deep breath.
"Knock off the slave and master bit in public.” Sally said and let her voice go cold and hard. "I'm not a vampire, but I have been around Wil long enough to pick up a few tricks. Don’t test me or you will regret it."
"Yes, Mistress... Yes, Sally.” Katie said and slumped out of her stiff subservient pose. "You two are no fun at all. Did you even see the customer’s faces in there? That was priceless."
"How old is she?” Sally looked at me and lost a bit of her hardness.
"She told me 214.” I said and looked at Katie.
"I'll believe the 14 part."
"Hey.” Katie said and pouted out her lower lip. "Be nice."
"Says the submissive.” Sally said and leaned in until her face was only an inch from Katie's. "Stop drawing so much attention to yourself."
Katie made a show of keeping her lips pressed together.
Sally smiled at Katie and then looked toward the Coffee Spot. A couple of cars pulled into the lot.
“Are you planning on tying her up and spanking her?” Sally said and rolled her eyes toward me. “My blog commenters have told me about this kind of behavior. Seems to be popular with a lot of vampires. I can deal with it if I have to, but can’t she act like a normal person in public?”
“Our relationship hasn’t advanced to that level yet.” Katie said and batted her eyes as she strove to look pious. “He’s only owned me for an hour.”
"Did she say you own her?” Sally said and gave me a serious look. "We’ll talk about this later."
"Bye bye.” Katie said under her breath, but Sally heard and waved at her as if she were a small child.
"Back in the car.” I said as I opened the door and slid behind the wheel. "I think I need to talk to Fedor about all this."
THE VAMPIRE CONSULATE was on the other side of town. Katie fiddled with the radio the whole way over. It was a relief to turn off the engine once I parked in the Consulate’s lot.
I walked in with Katie in tow and found Gerald sitting behind the reception desk. He was reading a magazine with a close-up of an automatic handgun on the cover. He looked up when he saw me and smiled a little when he saw Katie.
"Well, hello there.” Gerald said in the kind of soft voice that men use with women who look like Katie. Like every other woman who looks like Katie, she ignored him. She looked around the room like an interior decorator deciding what to replace first.
“You work here?” Katie said and wrinkled her nose as if the place had some odor I hadn’t noticed. “Who’s your style adviser? Boring Government Offices Are Us?”
"Fedor in?” I said to Gerald. He still had a hopeful look on his face, which crumbled with a scowl when he turned toward me.
"He said not to let anyone in.” Gerald said and turned a page of his magazine. "But then, I'm not really a receptionist, I could have gotten that part wrong."
We walked around the desk and I opened the door to Fedor's inner sanctum. It was dark and thick scented smoke filled the room. Katie made a show of waving her hand in front of her face; I stood still and listened for any sounds. Somewhere near the room’s other end, someone let out a low moan.
"Is this something I want to see?” Katie said and stepped in front of me. “Maybe we should just stay back here.”
The ring on my finger throbbed for a second and I pushed past Katie to enter the room. I flashed to the front of Fedor’s giant Empire desk. The smoke was thicker here. An open package on Fedor’s desk was hissing and there was still a small stream of white smoke fizzing out of it. Katie pushed ahead of me, but I pushed her aside. I had completely forgotten that she was a Goddess. I had completely forgotten pretty much everything.
A hand reached out of the smoke and grabbed the front of my shirt. It was Jackie, the receptionist, who was naked and lying on her back on Fedor's desk. I’d never seen Jackie naked before and that was a great tragedy. Katie tugged at my other shoulder, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the Tableau vivant in front of me. Jackie’s face rolled toward me and she wet her lips. I recognized that look of lust from a few days earlier when she was in the midst of a Vision.
Jackie smelled... wonderful.
I wanted nothing more at that moment than to sink my fangs into her. After that, maybe, I would think of something else to do with her.
"I'm not sure Sally would like it if you fucked the Boss's piece of ass. And I'm sure the Boss wouldn't like it.” Katie said as she fanned the smoke away enough for me to make out Fedor. He was leaning back in his chair with Jackie’s arm gripped tightly in his hands and her wrist in his mouth. His eyes were shut and he was clearly lost to the world now.
Katie pinched my arm hard enough that it hurt and I shoved her away harder than I should have. She crashed into the wall. A few of the countless knickknacks of Fedor's Empire Age fetish bounced soundlessly on the thick carpet.
Jackie’s fingers were crawling toward my face and I was leaning in toward them. Her flesh made my nose twitch and my throat longed for the feel of her blood. There were hints of sunlight, moonlight, and things I couldn't quite understand. Things I now wanted more than I had ever wanted anything before. I was dimly aware that the smoking box was gone. There was a crash of glass from somewhere behind me.
None of that mattered.
My mouth pressed against Jackie’s skin and oh my God, her skin was just amazing. My lips were touching paradise. All it would take was a small nip to let that ambrosia flow into my mouth. It filled my mind. I parted my lips and let the points of my fangs scratch the barest surface of her so warm flesh. The taste of those first few drops was transcendent. I sucked in a little sip.
Then I was flying through the air. I collided with something large and hard, I tumbled over it, and fell out of a broken window. A moment later, I saw a blurry shape that looked like a man fall out of nowhere and land beside me. Another shape of someone I couldn’t quite make out kicked that cardboard box away. The box was still pouring out a steady cloud of smoke as it skidded down the sidewalk.
"Get off of me, you bastard.” Someone said, but they were talking from a good ways off, and there was no urgency to move. I also couldn't have moved much in any event. The fresh air was helping, but it wasn't helping fast.
"Damn.” Raoul said from somewhere nearby or maybe not so nearby. "That was some good shit."
"Only for vampires.” Izumi said and there was a bit of pity in her voice. "You have many enemies, Master Walengrave. We want to be your friends. Will you now tell us about Kilestra? Tell us where she is."
"Oh, sure.” I heard myself say, but the words kept echoing around in my head and I couldn't be sure they actually made it out. "She has a number of places she likes to hide out. I'd look in the main sewage treatment lines first."
A demented sounding laughter filled the air. I realized it was mine. Then there was a sharp toed boot crashing into my ribs. Was Izumi kicking me? I seemed to remember that Raoul had been shot in the leg not too long ago. Pity that. I was just starting to warm up to Izumi.
"Hope you’re ha
ppy now, you ruined my Letter Jacket.” That strange, disembodied voice was sounding a lot more familiar now. It sounded like Gerald. The crumpled figure on the sidewalk beside me groaned and shifted a bit.
A noise was getting closer, it sounded like human police. Our Security Attaché preferred the sound of British police sirens. Then I heard another loud siren like sound. It was a woman screaming, it sounded a lot like Izumi.
"Please give me permission to kill these two, Master.” A voice close to my ear said loud enough to rattle my brain. I turned my head away from it, but a strong hand grabbed my face and turned it back. An Elfin face dominated by glowing green eyes stared back at me. "I have been bound to you. I can't kill them without your express permission."
"Then don't kill them.” I said through a throat thick with lust and longing for that paradise I had been denied. "Let them go, they aren't important."
There was a growl like a lion whose kill had barely escaped. Then the sound of feet hobbling away as quickly as they could. I forced open my eyes and saw a man and a woman moving toward a Suburban. I took a deep breath and rolled away. Something was sticking me in the back.
"Get away from me.” Gerald said and tried to move. But since his body was a crumbled, bloody mess, he was having no luck. I looked around and saw the pile of rags was Fedor. I pulled him over and he flopped like the bag of skin and bones that he was. I couldn't help but notice the smile on his face.
"Katie.” I called out into the night. The flashing lights of several police cars screeched to a halt nearby. I heard many excited voices across the littered sidewalk. I felt Katie's presence, though. She knelt down beside me and looked into my eyes. She was crying and her tears sparkled with red and blue and white from the police strobes. "Is Jackie alright?"
A BIT OF time passed unnoticed.
"Word of this gets out and you might as well lay out on a chase lounge and wait for sunrise.” Sargent Jones said as he looked over his notes. "You’re some weak ass Master of the City, Wil."
"It’s more of an honorary title.” I said as I held an Icepack to my aching head. "And I don't think there's anyone who wants to take over Fort Worth anyway."
"Of course not.” Sargent Jones said and flipped his notebook closed. He put it away on his Batman-like utility belt. "Otherwise, someone might try to kill you."
"I'll be fine.” I looked over at the ambulance where Jackie was sipping orange juice and getting something in an IV drip. She caught my eye, and then pulled the blanket she was wearing open and showed me her neck. She was still naked under the blanket. The Medic stopped her from taking it off. I could touch his mind and make him go away. I was sure I could. Katie stepped forward and blocked my view.
"Those two knuckleheads will be heading down to lockup. After we get them out of the hospital.” Sargent Jones said and nodded at The Captain. “I think they’ll be safer with us. The woman says one of your bodyguards was about to kill them, but you stopped her. Thanks for that. Saves me some paperwork."
"Katie?” I said and tried to look around her. “Could you step aside?”
"I'm here, Master. I'm not going anywhere.” Katie said from where she stood between Jackie and me. I could smell Jackie and feel her warmth. I was finding thinking a lot more work than normal.
"You need me to call you a witch doctor or something?” Sargent Jones said and then shook his head. He looked my way again. "You’ll want to get him home pretty soon. Sunrise isn't far off now."
"Could you please bring Jackie over here?” I said and rubbed at the tears blurring my vision. “And where is Sally?”
"I was talking to Sally.” Sargent Jones said and walked off.
I heard Jackie moaning as the medical tech did something to her. I forgot about everything else. Katie kept me from rushing to her side.
"Yeah, thanks for asking about me. And no, we will not bring Jackie over here.” Sally said as she took one arm and Katie took the other.
I was drowsy and just about dead to the world when my human and my Elf brought me back to The Mansion. They laid me in my crypt. I took a deep breath and let it out. Not strictly necessary, of course, but a habit I have never fully given up over the years. Then I was gone.
WHAT SEEMED ONLY a moment later, I was alive again. I took a deep breath and found that I felt almost normal. I raised an arm and saw that I was wearing nothing but a thin nightshirt. Judging from the style and the garment’s threadbare state, this was something Mother had packed away during the Victorian Era for just such an emergency.
I patted my body here and there to make sure I had healed during the day. But then, it wasn't my body that had suffered the most damage. I did a few math problems and did my best to recall the events at the Consulate. It was all pretty clear, right up until the moment Katie and I entered Fedor's office. Then things got a bit fuzzy. Not missing, just blurry like a street seen through a rain-streaked window. Was that really Jackie on Fedor's desk? Just thinking about it brought back an echo of pain. I shook my head and sat up.
"Hey.” Katie said from where she sat in a dim corner of the unadorned room. "This is a pretty depressing room. Bare walls and a single coffin on a pedestal. Looking up, there’s a domed ceiling with a faded and ignored mosaic. And the only place for a faithful protector to rest her weary bones is on the cold, hard floor."
"I don't spend any waking time in here.” I said and crawled out of the coffin. "And I've never needed a protector, faithful or otherwise."
Katie stood up and followed me out of the crypt and into the common room. I found fresh clothes laid out on one of the sofas. A cloud of steam accompanied the sound of running water. I looked over at Katie as she quickly peeled her clothes off.
"Now hang on there, Katie.” I said and put my hands between her growing nakedness and myself.
"Quit being such a prude.” Katie said and grabbed one of my hands and pulled me toward the bathroom. "The tub is just about full and the water won't stay hot forever."
I let Katie lead me into the bathroom. It smelled like salt and lavender. I took off the night-shirt and stepped into the bath. The water was hot and silky and brought a sigh to my lips. A hot bath always did, but I still tend to prefer showers. I like to think of myself as a busy vampire with more important things to do. Katie turned off the water and sat between my knees. She leaned back against me, letting out a low moan. This felt very good.
"A less trusting person might be jealous at a time like this.” Sally said from the doorway. "At least I didn't catch you with Mother. Again."
"Hey Sally.” I said as Katie methodically went about the business of lathering my feet. She then scrubbed them with the loofa. It tickled a bit.
“I think there’s room for both of us.” Katie said and smiled at Sally. “I think I could make you feel pretty good as well.”
"Maybe later.” Sally said and looked at Katie with more interest than I would have expected. I felt a warmth of lust fill the small room. I looked at Katie and she smiled at me and then at Sally. I pushed a thought at her to stop it. She rolled her eyes and let the magic go.
“Were you whammying me, little elf?” Sally said and sat down on the toilet. I seldom needed it, but the many people in my life found it convenient. "You are full of surprises.”
“That I am.” Katie said and I saw a twinkle of green in her eyes.
“Did your little moppet tell you you've been dead for four days and nights?" Sally said, turning her attention back to me.
"I guess she was waiting to spring it on me later.” I said, more than a bit distracted by Katie’s expertise with a slick soapy hand. "Did I miss anything interesting?"
"I got that job with the Vampire Commission.” Sally said. I tried to keep a straight face while Katie twisted and turned her flexible body. She moved this way and that against me as she worked to clean this or that part of my body.
"Andy was arrested and released for lack of evidence in shooting Raoul.” Sally said. “Fedor is still dead to the world. He seems to be healing
and I hear he looks a lot better now than he did three days ago. Kilestra is still in the wind. And those two dimwitted Hunters were arrested and released. They swear they didn't have anything to do with what happened at The Vampire Consulate. They just happen to be nearby when Katie tossed you, Fedor and Gerald out the window. Gerald is still with us. And sad to say, appears to be recovering."
I let all this info sink in. It was hard to think. As I was jostled and scrubbed and rinsed like an old car getting detailed for the first time. Sally watched and bit her lower lip. She clearly had thoughts about stripping down and joining us in the tub. I let my own thoughts drift that way for a bit as well.
Katie drained the dirty water. She stood up and used the removable shower head to rinse herself off. I stood up so I would no longer be eye level with Katie’s naturally hairless, and therefore less than private, parts. She turned the water on me and wiggled in a fascinating way as she moved the shower head around.
"I think you've done more than enough.” Sally said and tossed one of the thick white Turkish towels at Katie. She caught the towel in midair with one hand. Then returned the shower head to its holder. She winked at me as she stepped out of the tub and pulled the glass shower door closed.
I reached over and turned the water to full cold. I took a deep, trembling breath and my thoughts came back into focus. After a couple of minutes, I turned the water off. I slid the door open. This time I was the one that got a towel in the face.
"I see it hasn't taken you long to get used to the idea of owning an Elf.” Sally said as she watched Katie, now dressed in a black leotard, briskly rub my body dry. Katie tossed the towel over the shower door. She helped me into my clothes with the ease of a 19th century manservant. I found it easy to allow myself to be guided in dressing. I could understand why some vampires had manservants as a part of their Chosen.
"I never knew you missed the old days so much.” Sally said and watched Katie's hands flash through their paces. "Will Katie scrub my back and lace up my boots when I move in?"
“If I tell her to.” I said and looked at Katie, who gave me a little smirk.
“It would be my honor.” Katie said as she ran a brush through my hair. “I live only to serve.”
Sally opened the door and motioned for us to leave. I followed Sally up into the main house and then into the sunken living room. This was one area that still needed a little work. Half the room had dark wooden paneling, smoky windows, and hand knotted rugs. The other half still showed whitewashed stone walls and parquet floors. Sally led me to a white leather couch that faced a pair of high backed overstuffed chairs.
“We have other things to talk about.” Sally said and sat on the sofa’s edge. “Jake decided to take over the Vampire Consulate while Fedor‘s been out of commission.”