Demon Vampire (The Redgold Series) (22 page)

Zack turned to Kyli. She was manically smiling, excited that she was meeting her idol. Zack thought Kyli was going to save him. A sense of abandonment washed over Zack as he decided to act. Zack realized he had to man up and do the saving for himself this time. “Sorry, it’s a bit weird seeing the fangs at first.” Zack tipped his head down towards Marin and the others. “This is Kyli Waterfield” Zack gestured to Kyli.

Kyli curtsied.

“I’m Zack Giver. It’s a pleasure to actually meet you Demetrius Del Marin.” Zack surprised himself with his courteous language.

“Marin.” Marin said quickly to Zack.

“What? You go by just your last name?” Zack asked.

“Call me Marin, all my friends do.” Marin was calm, and confident. He smiled as he spoke to Zack.

“But we’re not-” Zack was about to say that they weren’t his friends. He was swiftly jabbed in the right side by Kyli.

“-Friends yet.” Kyli interjected. “So we didn’t know. From now on we’ll call you Marin.” Kyli was back in the game and running strong, though still smirking like a giddy school girl within reach of a pop star. She had a lionized view of Marin.

Marin stared at Zack for a second. He was searching for something in his eyes, something that Marin didn't seem to find. He resumed normal banter with the rest of the group. They discussed the concert and other classical pieces that would sound better when played by bloody goblets. They were ignoring Zack and Kyli.

Zack had a question that was bothering him. “What makes the blood sound different than water?” The group stopped talking again.

Zack was making novice chatter that they weren’t used to. Marin had answered these questions a thousand times before at his concerts and events. Zack seemed to be the only one that hadn’t read Marin's explanations of why he chose blood to work with.

“Besides my obvious affinity towards it as a preference. The tone it produces is warm. The first half of the concert is all classical pieces for a reason. When the blood is fresh, it rings as clear notes. As the night slides forth, the tones diminish and the blood allows my songs to pour over the audience in the way they were written.” Marin was explaining the same thing Kyli had told Zack during the concert.

“You mean you write your material with those duller notes in mind?” Kyli was on top of it, perhaps a little too much. She was acting like she had just figured it out.

Zack had to intervene. “You mean you plan ahead? For it to eventually happen that way? So that your music is as dull as it’s originally meant to be. Is that right? Or am I misunderstanding your intentions for writing the second half of the concert?” He didn't understand the common use of comity when meeting new people.

Zack’s comment stunned the group. It was bold. Too bold for him, as a newcomer to say. Any admonishment Kyli could have built Zack up with had been dissolved. Most of them shied away, not wanting to remain in such an area of tension. Over a third of the group left. The others gulped a sip of wine and waited for Marin’s repose. They wanted to watch Marin verbally tear Zack apart.

“Clever boy you have there, Ms. Waterfield.” Marin was ignoring the question.

Zack had won the minute. He had stolen the show from Marin.

Marin refused to drink the last sip of blood in his glass out of protest. Looking at Zack with detest.

Zack waited for Main to respond.

“The blood has lost its taste.” Marin cleared his throat.

Marin turned to put his goblet down on a waiter’s tray. With Marin momentarily distracted, Kyli suddenly punched Zack’s right arm. She gave him a mean look.

Marin focused his attention to Zack. “Zack, there’s something I want to debate with you. Will you follow me?” Marin didn’t seem angry, only fascinated by something he wasn't sharing. “Can I borrow him for a moment?”

“It’s fine with me, as long as you keep him safe Marin.” Kyli let go of Zack’s arm and passed him off towards Marin.

“I will for as long as I can.” Marin's answer was cryptic, yet trustworthy. He was acting as if he was on stage being shy and timid.

Zack knew that Marin was Kyli’s idol. She trusted him, so Zack agreed to follow him. Marin led him to a small hallway in the back. Similar to the one that Zack entered through. A black hall with a dark curtain covered it. Marin lifted the passage for Zack to follow. As the curtain fell into place, Marin stood next to Zack. There was a second hallway that went out to the full auditorium. It appeared to be barred up on the other end so that no one could access it from the stage. It was longer and had gray sound foam attached to the walls to dampen any noise made beyond that point. It seemed not to be used as much. There were small webs in the upper corners near the far door. Zack and Marin walked in, they were more than ten feet from the nearest person. They were alone, no one else could hear them.

“Zack, you have a sharper wit than you let others perceive. I'm impressed.” Marin was complementing Zack.

“No offense Mr. Marin, but you don’t know me.” Zack wasn’t going to be belittled by a stranger even if he was Kyli's idol. Marin didn't have any right to take the liberties he was. Marin was first and foremost in Zack's mind, a vampire.

“I’m telling you the truth, Zack. You are special. And call me Marin, I'd like us to be friends.” Marin said it sincerely.

Zack stepped back. His hands pressed against the wall. “Hey, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not like that.”

“Zack, now you’re misunderstanding. I know what you are. Who you really are. You are a newly virgined vampeal.” Marin put a hint of innuendo to his words. He was provoking Zack. Prying without so much as saying it.

“I don’t like what you’re implying, Marin.” Zack came forward. He cleared his throat. “And I’m not a vampire.”

“I never said you were, and I never asked you to lie to me.” Marin was astute, he noticed Zack's stretching of the truth immediately.

“You never asked me not to.” Zack quipped.

Marin narrowed the gap between them instantly. “You really are smarter than you realize.” He was bearing down on Zack, towering over him.

“I have to go.” Zack turned to the curtain. He headed towards the party. He wanted to be away from Marin.

Marin planted his right arm on the wall, blocking Zack’s retreat. He had moved six feet in a flash. There was no sound, no movement to follow, no other sign of his action other than the fact he was already there. Zack knew what this was. He had seen it before. Zack had been a witness to this display of speed before. He knew, without a doubt that Marin was a vampire.

“You’re coming with me.” Marin told Zack forcefully.

“I can’t.” Zack pushed against Marin’s arm, it was immovable. It was as if Zack was pushing on steel.

“It was not a request.” Marin’s voice changed, it was deep, there was a grumble to it.

Zack didn’t argue, he agreed to Marin’s demand.

“You are smarter than the rest.” Marin said in a devilish manner.

Zack shuttered to think of the extent to which Marin was referring.

Marin took Zack's left wrist. Zack attempted to struggle. Marin's hand was iron, there was no fighting it. He guided Zack beside him to a thin theater control room door in the hall. A small silver decorated door handle was the only thing that appeared to be in normal use in the area.

Marin stood next to Zack. “A fair warning: don’t sweat. Stay calm and collected.”

“Why? And what do you want to discuss in private all of a sudden? What's all this about really?” Zack was unsure of the moment, his trust was diminishing. Zack's nerve was failing him. He wanted out.

Zack tugged at his arm. Marin did not budge. He was a solid obstacle.

“You will-” Marin was interrupted.

At the best possible moment, Kyli burst in. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you two. What are you doing back here?”

Zack looked at Marin, who curled the side of his lip into a partial smile. A subtle signal to Zack to not mention the previous scene to Kyli. “Marin was going to show me something. It has something to do with you.” Zack glared at Marin.

“Is it a gift?” Kyli was twisting her shoulders left and right to be coy and overly dramatic.

Marin returned a glimmer of Zack's glare to him and then turned to Kyli with a fake smile.

“It’s a secret. Marin was about to give it to me when you came in. If you’ll excuse us, I’ll meet you by the refreshments in twenty minutes.” Zack was playing it cool, he knew what Marin could do to him. Zack didn’t want to tarnish the image of Kyli’s idol in front of her face. He was going to man up and follow Marin through the door.

Marin let go of Zack's wrist smoothly enough not to draw attention from Kyli.

“Okay, in twenty then.” Kyli hugged Zack, and kissed him on the cheek. “Marin, can we have a sec? I need to ask Zack something.”

Marin tipped his head to Kyli. “Sure, I’ll meet you on the other side.”

Marin placed his hand on the silver ornate handle. There was a sizzle. The silver was burning him. He opened the door and walked through. Zack saw through to the other side, there were around thirty people inside. Each person was more posh than the most boo schwa in the main room. They looked at Zack with intrigue as the door began to close. He was not one of them and they wondered what Marin was going to do with him. Zack got a bad vibe from the room in general. The door closed shut behind Marin. Zack noticed a small amount of blood boiling on the silver handle. It was Marin's

Kyli pushed Zack against the wall. Zack enjoyed the feeling of Kyli's body against his.

“What are you doing? That’s a room full of vampires!” Kyli put emphasis into her words while she kept her voice down. “You wouldn’t know, but there is a good reason why there are not that many people that know about vampeals.”

“Because their even better at hiding than actual vampires?” Zack was being a smart ass and Kyli could tell.

A fast right palm made contact with Zack's left cheek, the same one Kyli had kissed. The sound cracked loudly in the small hallway, though it did not leave.

“There are vampires in that room, Zack. Not the average street connoisseur, I’m talking old vampires. If you enter that room they will kill you Zack. No one ever hears of vampeals because none of them ever survive long enough to make an impact on history. In our perfect world, most are killed at puberty and the rest are turned into full vampires if they're lucky. Remember our conversation about how long a normal vampeal gets to live? That room spells death for our kind, Zack.” Kyli was mad, she didn’t want Zack going into that room. Even if it was with Marin himself.

It was clear to Zack that if he didn’t meet Marin in that room, he was putting himself in danger and possibly Kyli as well. Zack was being forced into a course of action he did not want to take. He had to brave the room and find out what Marin wanted with him. Zack didn’t know if it had anything to do with Orhn. He had no clue if Marin would keep his word and protect him amongst this threat. Regardless of that, he required the knowledge Marin had.

Zack wanted to be safe. “Kyli, Marin told me to stay cool, what does that mean exactly?”

“You remember the pheromones right?” Kyli placed her left hand on Zack's chest.

Zack nodded.

“Lust, aggression, exertion, and fear. A decent amount of either can provoke a chemical response in your body. It means they can smell you if that happens. If they do, you’re dead.” Kyli reminded Zack.

“But what if I fought them off with my new strength.” Zack argued. “Wouldn't I at least have a chance to get out of there alive?”

“They're vampires Zack!” Kyli pushed Zack into the wall. “You can't even defend against me. How the hell are you going to fight them off? There are thirty vampires in there Zack. You’d be a twig in a wood chipper. There’s no contesting them, you’d die.”

“-But-“ Zack sputtered out.

“Yes, your butt would be dead too.” Kyli added.

“That’s not what I meant.” Zack fought back.

Kyli forced Zack back into the wall. “No, you meant nothing because you’d be dead. You have to understand Zack, these vampires would not want to drain you, or simply strangle you. Those things you could recover from. They would dismember you. Then feed your body to ravenous dogs that they would later shoot and leave for dead in a field somewhere. Vampeals are not a welcome sight in our world Zack. They are a living symbol of infidelity. It means they showed weakness and fell for a human. A vampeal is a breathing, animate monument to a vampire having committed adultery on their kind. They will kill you out of that principle alone.” Kyli put her arms around Zack, showing she cared enough to not let him go. She unpinned Zack.

“This is something I have to do.” Zack was sure Marin was about to offer a connection to Orhn. He didn't have the time to risk. “Marin said that if I’m calm, then I have nothing to fear.”

“We all have something to fear.” Kyli told Zack.

“I will be the Zen master of the mellow reaction in there, especially for you. Nothing will frazzle me, I promise.” Zack was reassuring Kyli without any concrete evidence for his own safety.

“There has to be another way to gather information other than this.” Kyli was panicking.

Zack thought it was cute.