Me? I was perturbed. I stayed away from vampires as a general rule. They tended to like my carotid artery a bit too much for me. I could feel their energy, and it never sat right with me.
I mean, I stayed away from most supernatural beings, with a few exceptions like Nikki, whose demonic side was unnaturally happy, except for nights like tonight. Dissension night. And family members like Ralph, because he got it. He understood.
We always felt like prey.
As a whole, we weren’t really aggressive either, which evolution-wise didn’t help us.
A grand black door opened, and we went inside.
A vampire fell in step in front of us, and Kieran followed.
It was an old house, with a ballroom on one side and a room with a fireplace on the other. A grand stairwell wrapped up in front of us. We bypassed pretty much everything, going to the back of the house, which seemed to take forever because I was clocking forty vampires that we passed. They were looking down at us from the second floor, and staring at us as we went past, then coming out to congregate in the hallway.
Creepy as fuck.
The room we were shown into looked like a large hall that had more pillars holding up the ceiling. A podium with three large stairs was at the back of the room, complete with a throne. The chair was big enough to sit four people, and the back of it almost touched the ceiling.
A lone body lounged on the chair. Gee, overkill much?
I couldn’t tell if he or she was a female or male. He had feminine features, so her face looked soft, but the energy was masculine. They rose, and as their eyes saw me, they lit up. “You’ve brought me a gift, Kieran.”
She had a soft, feminine tone, and she clapped her hands together. “I’m so excited. And it’s a newly born energist. Even better.”
Kieran didn’t spare me a look. “For you? I thought she’d been sent from you. I found her in my nightclub.”
She paused, her head cocking to the side. “You own the new demon bar, Bass. Such a trite establishment. I don’t know why you’d want to own that building.”
“Right. Because you wouldn't want to own the opening for where the demon masters submerge? I have a hard time believing that.” He stepped aside and nodded to me. “She came to me in the oddest chain of events, and since at the heart of it was one of yours, I was sure she was a present from you.”
What?
The vampiress still didn’t move. She seemed almost like a statue, and she touched her chest with a dainty hand. “Please, Kieran. I’m riveted. Tell me more.” As she spoke, she turned her hand, and one of her nails cut her own skin. She drew a line down between her breasts, leaning back in her chair. Blood began to pool out, and with a flick of a wrist, she was descended upon by three other vampires. All who sucked from that trail of blood, and as they sank their teeth into her, she gasped, grasping the back of one of the vampires’ heads.
The sexual and hunger-filled energy rolled off all of them, and as the first wave of her energy rolled over me, her eyes were studying my every reaction.
She did that on purpose.
I had to steel myself against how my own creature started stirring, awakening again, but she only wanted Kieran.
He was right. One taste and she wouldn’t be sated with anyone else. This was going to be a dilemma, indeed.
She’s testing you, seeing how I react to you. Quell your beast.
What’s her name on the throne?
Quessadiline.
Quesadilla just climaxed up there.
The ripples of it left her body, but a fourth vampire joined the tasting, and as he did, he moved to crawl up her body. She leaned farther back, holding the back of his head now as he positioned himself between her legs.
“Should we give you a moment?” Kieran’s voice almost sounded bored. “Or should I take this as an insult to my visit?”
The fourth vampire thrust inside of her at his second statement, but as fast as that happened, the four vampires were thrown away from her. She pulled at her clothes to cover her and sat up. “I do apologize. I couldn’t help myself. A little fun with your new pet, Kieran.” She fluffed her hair and relaxed back. “Now…tell me how you feel she was a gift sent by myself when I insist she’s a present given from you.”
“Your vampire seduced her boyfriend.”
Wait. What?!
He kept on, “And she did this at a time when this energist would find them.”
Is this true? I asked him.
He ignored me, his jaw tightening. “And she was given persuasion by your vampire to pack her things, to leave her boyfriend, and to go and see her best friend, whom you insured was working at my nightclub tonight. On a night you knew I’d be there. So, yes, Quessadiline, I do fully believe that this energist was a gift from you.”
“Why would I send you an energist? They’re like toys to us.”
“They’re also used as weapons of distraction, and you knew I had kept two others with me centuries ago.”
My knees gave out at the reminder of how old Kieran was.
“You were hoping to distract me tonight because I know that while I took the time to travel to see you, you sent thirty vampires to attack Bass tonight.”
A hard glint appeared in her eyes, and Kieran was right.
I saw it. The satisfaction that rolled off of her was pure evil.
She smiled slowly as she preened. “Why would I do that tonight? Of all nights?”
“Because you knew four of the six masters would be above earth today, and it was your first move against taking charge of the underworld.”
Kieran was calm. I pricked at the inside of his head, and he shoved me out. Okay. Maybe he wasn’t totally calm, but he was giving that impression…at least his energy was all calm.
Quessadiline stood up from her throne, and she stepped to the edge of the podium.
A cruel smile teased over her face. “Maybe I have done all of that, but you said thirty before, Kieran.” A pause. “Try three hundred.”
A wave of smug and sick triumph flared around the entire room, and I could feel others’ emotions join in from the hallway. They were all listening to us. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know much about vampires on purpose, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if there wasn’t a telepathic connection between them all.
She threw her card down.
“No, Quessadiline. I said thirty because that’s how many I left alive.”
Kieran just swept the whole deck.
11
She/I
A snarl erupted from Quessadiline before she attacked.
After that, it was pandemonium.
I had no idea what was going on, but it was all happening at the same time.
Kieran met Quesadilla, as vampires from around the room launched at me.
Not aggressive: me.
Them: very aggressive.
I noticed more vampires streaming in from the hallway, but I was snatched backwards and looked up. Kieran had a hold on me.
Fight!
I don’t know how. I mean, I threw a fork at the vamp bitch who seduced my ex.
Let your creature loose.
How?!
I had no clue how he was holding Quesadilla off, but she looked frozen in mid-air. It was remarkable, and he was doing the same with the other vampires. No one could get to us, but whatever hold he had on them wasn’t going to last. They were breaking through, inch by inch. That much I could feel. And everyone here was immortal…but I wasn’t.