Fire Nectar (3 page)

She put her feet up on the desk, took another sip and
clicked on the link. Apparently Mr. Numbers thought he could get away with
murder because he’d made it look like a burglary, but he’d done a poor job. On
top of his ineptness in crime-scene cover up, he’d made a very stupid mistake.
He’d forgotten that his boss had not one, not two, but three phones.
 

The article went on to explain that whereas in some cases
three phones indicates a girlfriend on the side - this was not the case with
Rimaldi who was happily married. (They say third
time’s
the charm) Rimaldi, a producer with three decades in the business and who was
very much in demand, had one phone for business, one for his team and extended
family, and apparently one for those he loved the most.
 
On all three, being as meticulous as he
was, he kept a schedule. On the third phone – the private one – he
kept notes like those in a journal. The private notes left in the overlooked
phone read: Fire my no-good-thieving accountant and send his sorry ass to
prison.
 

She read on to discover that the meeting had been
scheduled to occur at the same time and date of the murder. Alleged suspect
brought in, questioned, charged, released on bail until trial.
  
Dani smiled. “Bail, huh?
 
I’m going to make you wish you stayed in
jail, Gene.” An echo only she could hear bounced back.
 

Just then her phone rang and a photo appeared of Anjelica
laughing, covered in paint-covered clothes. Was it really 8:25pm? She’d slept
late. Stupid depression. She debated whether or not to answer it.
 
“Hey Anj.”
 
She scratched her left foot with her
right toe, feet still on her desk.
 
There was no itch.
 
But it
felt nice to scratch, anyway.

“Hey Dani, what are you up to?” she asked, and Dani guessed
accurately from her tone and the sound of country music playing in the
background that she was probably in the middle of a good painting.
 
Anj only sounded this happy when she was
inspired and working.

 
“Just eating
dinner,” Dani said, sipping from the chalice.
 

 
“What are you
having?”
 

“Veggie burger and fried rice,” she lied. “What are you
up to?”

 
“I’m so glad
you went vegetarian, Dani.
 
Next
step – vegan!
 
But I’ll take
what I can get.
 
Me? I’m
flyin
’ high right now. I just finished a new piece. I hate
to say so myself, but I’m going to say it anyway. It’s beautiful.
 
I feel really good about it and you know
I rarely say that and guess what.
 
I’m covered in paint, which I know you
loooove
.
Take a moment to visualize this picture and consider this - I won’t clean up…
if you’ll come out with us tonight.”
 
Dani smiled.
 
She had been
right. Anj was working and living in the warm glow of inspiration.

 
“I just went
out last night,” Dani said flatly as she stared at Gene the accountant.
 
What a name.
Hmm.
Probably short for Eugene.
Yeah. He had to go.
 

“So, you can come out again.
 
I feel like I don’t see you very much
anymore. Besides, I
wanna
celebrate.
 
Come on,
”
 
Anj
cooed through the phone. Dani
dragged the ‘pen’ across the tablet, going back and forth with the cursor’s
arrow on Gene’s two-dimensional neck.
 

“Alright. I’ll come out with you, but let’s go someplace
new.”

“Um.
 
A new place?
 
I’m
kind of out of the loop. Maybe we should ask Stewart. Hold on.
 
I’ll get him on conference with us.” Dani
heard the silence of being put on hold, and waited.
 
Gene. She read more about him as she
flipped through articles.
 
He lived
in
Bel
Air.
 
Jagoff
.
 

Stewart’s voice interrupted, “Oh shit – we got her
to go out again?
 
Are pigs
flying?
 
Is the mother ship back?”

“There’s no “we” Stew. Anj talked me into it, solo. Let’s
give credit where credit is due,
”
 
Dani
said dryly.

 
“You know you
love me,” he said.
 

 
“I do.
 
How could I not?” They did help her
mood.
 
A bit.

 
“So, Stewart
– we need a new place.
 
Dani
wants someplace new.
 
She won’t come
out if we don’t…”

 
“Princess.
 
Well, there’s this new place in Culver
City we could go to.”
 

Dani blanched.
 
“Culver City?”

 
“Yeah, Culver
City is really blossoming.” Anjelica replied.

 
“Don’t ever
say that again,
”
 
Dani
and Stewart said in unison.

The only time Culver City had blossomed, in Dani’s
opinion, was in the late 1930’s.
 
Dani had lived Los Angeles then, too
-
 
prior
to Moscow, Verona, San
Francisco and Paris.
 
She’d lived
here with Elizabeth and she’d been happy, until Moscow.
 
One night in LA she ran into a writer
acquaintance who frequented The Culver Hotel who was upset because the place
had been turned upside down by the munchkin cast of
The Wizard of Oz
.
 
Her ears had perked up at this.

MGM hired little people from all over the world and set
them up at the medium sized, brick encased,
quaint
hotel in the heart of Culver City.
 
What they could not have anticipated was that the little people had
never been around that many others of their kind, and they went nuts.
  

Dani and Elizabeth together went to see the unusual
spectacle for themselves. They were not disappointed. When they opened the door
and entered the foyer a naked dwarf with a bottle of Jack Daniels streaked
past. He was one of many, running naked in the hallways, shameless, free and
ecstatic. Dancing on the banisters. Making out, groping, hot for each other
without a care as to who saw them.
 
Punching, getting into fights. Running out onto the street wearing
lingerie. It was a once in a lifetime, you’ve-got-to-see-this event. Now THAT
was a fun time, very entertaining to a couple
of
 
immortal
friends who thought
they’d seen it all.
 

Since then Culver City had been, well, Culver City.

 
“Culver City
is lame, Anj.”

“It used to be, I know,” Anjelica said.

Stewart took over, “It is coming up in the world, I don’t
know about ‘blossoming’ but you know how it is.
 
It gets too expensive in other areas -
people start moving outward – then all the businesses follow.
 
There are some great little restaurants
there now.”

 
“Totally. And
there’s this bar there that I want to check out. The bartenders breathe fire or
some such craziness.
 

 
“I have no
idea what that even means.
 
I’m in,”
Stew announced.

Dani swung her feet off the table. “They
breathe
fire?”

 
“Yep. They
breathe fire,” she insisted.

“What’s it called?” Dani asked, interested.

Anjelica searched for the name, “It was something like
fruit or honey or…oh yeah… Nectar. That’s it.”

16 June 1812

“But why does everything glow
!?
”
Daniella spun in slow circles, staring first at a speck of dust she could now
see suspended before her. Then the sheen of ornate fabric on a chair caught her
eye and she knelt and touched it. It looked alive! The wall then beckoned and
she reached out and ran her fingers along the pattern, “It’s textured!” she
gushed as though she were touching a baby’s cheek, and not a cold hard papered
wall. Her gaze caught sight of a new marvel, her hand. “My skin!” She held out
both arms in front of her, the gloves long ago abandoned and forgotten on a
table betwixt them. “My hands! They are so… so soft! Touching them against one
another, it’s like a gentle kiss…” And then she started to kiss them, making
little noises of delight.

Lady Elizabeth Jendring laughed and crossed to where
Daniella stood kissing her own hands. She took those hands into her own and
held them tight.
 

 
“My dear.
Watching you
so,
makes me remember what it was like
when I was turned.” Eyes round, Daniella listened, rapt, massaging Elizabeth’s
hands for her own enjoyment. Elizabeth continued with a smile at her foundling,
“I know it is hard to focus that enlightened mind of yours but know now that
the troubles which plagued you earlier this very day are gone forever. They
will not darken your brow again. You need no longer fear worldly concerns. You
may do what you wish, go where you please, learn what you will.
 
I will teach you.”

 
“But… why?
Why have you given me this gift?” Daniella asked as her hands furiously
massaged the amused Elizabeth’s.
 
A
sound in the kitchen captured her ear and her head swung round to listen.

Elizabeth’s smile widened and she leaned forward, her
voice a sensual whisper as she said, “Daniella, focus your mind for a moment
for I have something of utmost importance to share. Are you listening? You can
never again go into the sun. The night is your new home and it will keep you
safe.”
 

Elizabeth removed her hands and motioned to the candles
in the lanterns around them. Daniella saw them for what may have well been the
first time.
 
So bright!
 
Elizabeth continued, dramatically
walking away as she hoped the feeling of abandonment would drive the point
home,
 
“Never, do you hear me, my
love?
 
And fire… fire,
Daniella.
 
It too is your most
deadly of enemies.
 
We can heal from
anything except fire. Ash cannot be healed.
 
Never test me on this.
 
Promise.”

But she had lost the attention of her audience.
 
Daniella stared fixated, a prisoner of
the flame’s flickering beauty, its forbidden heat.
 

 
“Daniella!”
firmly interrupted the elder, her tone hitting its mark.
 
Daniella pulled away and faced her.
“Promise me,” Elizabeth ordered gently as she crossed back to Daniella and
kissed her on her full lips.

 
“I promise.”
said Daniella obediently, her voice thick, returning the kiss that felt like
heaven.

2012

Stewart and Anjelica were already at Nectar when Dani
arrived.  She made her way gracefully through the heavy crowd and surveyed
the surroundings. Monochromatic naked lady wallpaper adorned the bottom half of
the walls while a mirrored strip covered the top. The usual display of liquor
across the back bar wall was split in two sections by a statue of a devil which
sat in the middle, a nasty smile on his face. 1970’s light fixtures hung from
the ceiling with a rain lamp dripping oil complete with naked lady in the
middle added a nice kitsch factor to the corner where it hung.  The music,
oddly, was heavy metal.  She liked the place immediately.

A man in his early twenties with several piercings and a
baseball hat blocked her way in an attempt to flirt. “Not happening,” she said
and stepped around him.  Just then the lights went out.  She looked
at the guy who’d stopped her, his attention diverted in the direction of the
bar.  She followed his gaze.

The music stopped and a man’s voice yelled out from
behind the bar, “Alright, kiddies. Don’t try this at home.” People started
whooping.  In the darkness she keenly saw two bartenders dressed in jeans
and black t-shirts facing each other behind the bar – each with a shot
glass of Bacardi 151. They dipped their index fingers in, emptied the rest into
their mouths and held it, lit their fingers on fire and with all of their
power, blew the booze out of their mouths onto their lit fingers. Two huge
bursts of flames cleared the 10-foot distance and met in the middle in a
fantastic explosion.  The crowd went ballistic.
 

Dani didn’t move. She couldn’t. She stood frozen,
staring, as the crowd whooped and hollered around her. She could not move.
Seeing fire barely controlled, exploding in giant bursts dead center in front
of where she stood, incapacitated her. For the first time in over a year she
felt something.
 
Terror?
 
Maybe.
 
But another word for terrified is
“thrilled.” Electric shocks ripped through her and the wall of fog lifted.
 
She could not believe it. Jolting her
out of her walking-sleep, the lusciously dangerous
fire
 
made
her feel powerfully alive
again.

The lights came back on. The hip crowd resumed their
normal chatter. Some enthusiastic customers ordered more drinks in celebration
of the show. Anjelica, still wearing her paint covered jeans and t-shirt as
promised, spotted her and waved her over.

Dani forced her legs to walk. She was afraid it would go
away. That the numbness would return to take her down. She wanted to cry it
felt so good. Every sensation in her body heightened, she was back to normal.
The revelation stopped her cold and she touched the wall for balance. Could it
have been years?
 
It had to be at
least a year – but had it been longer?
 
How long had she been asleep?
 
She didn’t know.
 
Walk, Dani, she thought, you look like a
crazy person.

The bearded guy in his twenties seated beside Stewart
looked up when Dani arrived.
 
She
looked a little nutty with her eyes dancing like that. He got up to give her
the seat.
 
She took it without
thanking him and he looked over his shoulder once more at her as he left.
 
Stewart and Anjelica exchanged a smile
and asked, together, “Did you see the fire?”

“I did,” she answered.

 
“I hope they
do it again,” Stewart added. Anjelica nodded.
 

“Will they do it again?” Dani almost demanded. They
shrugged and couldn’t help but look at her hand.
 
It was stroking the bar counter.
 

 
“Feel
something you like, Dani?” Stewart coughed.
 
She stopped stroking immediately.

 
“I’m fine.”
She struggled to act casual.

“Good. Because you
kinda
look
like you’re rolling.”

 
“I don’t. Do
I?” she demurred, a cute smile tugging playfully at the corners of her mouth.
On drugs?
How hilarious…is that what it looks like to them,
she wondered, admitting that she really did need to be more careful. It was so
difficult not to enjoy these feelings though. All she could think of was that
the numbness was gone. Her skin felt amazing again, and what a relief to care.

 
“Yes, you do,
”
 
Anj
agreed.
 
“Are you?”

 
“Now you
wouldn’t have dropped any E before you got here, would you?” Stewart asked.

 
“Yes. I
did.
 
And then I added some crack
and a dash of heroin.
 
Because it’s
Tuesday.” She smiled back, enjoying the joke.

 
“That’s not a
no,” Anj laughed, trying to figure out how much was true. “
Annnnnd
it’s Thursday.”

Daniella’s smile widened, showing all of her gorgeous
white teeth, and she tilted her head in a way that could only be called coy.
“Tuesday is funnier. I love your outfit, Anjie. So this new painting is in
orange?”

Anj pointed to several splotches as she added, “And some
yellow and red. But mostly orange, yes.”
 
She beamed.

 
“Oh my God.
Why didn’t I think of it?
 
It’s so
obvious and
sooooo
crazy overdue.
 
You hooked up with someone,
”
 
Stewart
announced.

“That’s it!
 
She’s glowing!
 
Sex. Of
course! Better than drugs,
”
 
Anjelica
said.
 

“Totally,” Stewart agreed.

But their voices had faded into the background, replaced
with a very distinct heartbeat. It arrested her
attention
as it got louder and louder. She turned her head and locked eyes with a
bartender making his way toward her.
 
He was one of the fire blowers. His eyes were a very light blue, in
stark contrast to his shoulder length
hair which
was
ash-black.

She clocked him, making note of the details. Scottish
descent.
Prominent masculine nose.
Controlled beard.
Wait. No. It wasn’t so much
controlled
as it wouldn’t
grow in places.
 
No growth shadow
beneath the skin. Charming.
 
Around thirty-four years old.
Very stocky
build.
 
Maybe a bit heavier
than he should have been but his swagger made it insignificant. He walked like
a man who knew he was a man.
 
He
looked like he should be holding a sword and not a bottle. His eyes were
confident until he looked at her.
 
When he looked at her for the first time, his heart skipped a beat.
 
She could hear it.

 
“Well,
hello,” he said. Their eyes held, a thousand thoughts passing between them.

Anj and Stewart watched.
 
This was better than the fire, Stew
thought.

 
“What can I
do for you?”
 
the
bartender asked.
 

 
“So much,”
she answered with a smile.

He laughed and corrected, “What can I
get
for
you?”
 
Someone
called,
“Excuse me!” to him from down the bar.
 
He ignored them.

 
“Jameson,
neat.”
 
He raised his eyebrows. She
watched him walk, bend over, grab the bottle and the glass with the deftness
that came with years of experience. He placed her drink in front of her, and
left. He’d been able to remain detached… he wasn’t pulled in by her presence.
Rare. Few could do that when she directed her focus on them purposefully, and
they’d all been vampires. But she had smelled him. He was most definitely
human
 
Mmmm
. Yes, very. He had a nice smell. No cologne,
just soap. Irish Spring? Yes, that was it. On top of that he smelled of sex and
sweat. Interesting.

 
“Yo! Earth to
Dani!” The crowd noise, the old AC/DC song “Live Wire” and Anjelica’s voice
slammed into focus. She started, surprised.
 
Dani turned to them, embarrassed as she
remembered she had an audience.

 
“First the
bar. Now the bartender,”
teased
 
Stewart
, his naughty grin
taunting her.
  

“I have never seen you react to a man like that. Ever!”
Anjelica said, having just as much fun. “And I have NEVER seen you blush or
be
 
embarrassed
.
I’m so happy we got you to come out again! Look at your face. You look like a
kid. Right now I can imagine exactly what you looked like when you were a
little girl.”

“Uh-huh. You look really youthful all of a sudden. Sex.
Better than Botox,” he said, swirling the straw in his drink to make the ice
melt more.
 
Stewart always looked
great. His classic go-to was dark jeans, a white t-shirt and an expensive
blazer.
 
He always wore a watch even
though most people checked their phones for the time.
 
Being punctual was a quintessential
“Stewart-ism.” He felt you saw more if you arrived early. But the best thing
about him was his wit. He was very, very funny.

Dani grinned and shrugged her shoulders.
 
“Hmm… it’s just, he looks like a
Viking.”

“Which apparently Dan likes,” winked Stew. “Me, I like my
men more Neil Patrick Harris.
 
Tidy.
Well Dressed.
 
Thin.
 
Blond.”

Anjelica smiled and
added,“Yeah
,
he looks like he could have been in Lord of the Rings.”

“Completely!” Stewart agreed. “See now there’s my point exactly.
I loved the blond elf.
 
Not the
little delicate one they traveled with - who was cute but somehow wasn’t
cutting it for me - but the one who was with Cate
Blanchett
in the forest.
 
He was so gay and so
gorgeous. What’s his name?”
 
he
asked Anjelica.

“I don’t know. Look him up on IMDB.” He pulled out his
phone and opened the app and Anjelica continued, “My favorite was
Boromir
.
 
He
came galloping into the movie and my pants fell right off.”

Daniella let her gaze travel back to the bartender and
she caught him watching her with a slight frown. He turned away. Well, well,
well. She smiled, shifting focus back on her friends.

 
“I can’t find
him.
Too many people in the film.
 
I’ll have my assistant look him up.

      
____________________

It wasn’t hard to find exactly where Gene lived in
Bel
Air.
 
The
Internet made that as easy as finding where the nearest Rite Aid was. The
depression had her again and she was sick of it, so she decided to have some
fun with Gene. Dani stood smack in the middle of his mansion’s backyard out in
the open beneath the clear sky. If he looked outside he could easily spot her.
When the numbness had been there, she would have wanted “easier.” Not tonight.
People don’t expect someone to be in their backyard so they rarely look. She
stood comfortably still, biding her time and savoring the anticipation as she
watched him walk from room to room.

He looked like an accountant. He wore khaki slacks and a
light blue button-up, with the two top buttons open. The tie had been discarded
on a table by the door when he walked in a half hour before. She knew this
because she’d been there and witnessed it. She didn’t mind taking her time with
this.

His prescription glasses had no style what so ever.
 
He sometimes pushed them up on his nose
when he was really distracted and thinking. Let’s hear it for the truth in
stereotypes, she thought. He looked anxious as he called one person after the
other, hopelessly. One thing he didn’t look like was a killer. But he was one.
She knew it.
 
One killer can spot
another, especially after two centuries of practice. She watched him continue
to hang up and dial.

It had been over 6 months since her last live meal. The
personal deal she’d made with herself was two a year.
 
That’s it.

These past few decades of technological advancement had
changed things dramatically for vampires. Forensic science made hiding cause of
death much trickier. Plus there was a large influx of vampire awareness. Many
believed vampires to be real, not good. Also, computers tracked nearly ever
human’s existence - and disappearance from said existence – so vampires
had to be careful.