Four Centuries (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (10 page)

Like everything else to that point, the room was beyond her expectations.

There were windows, but they were completely covered by shutters.
 
A king-sized bed, refrigerator, living area, large flat-screen television, hot tub.
 
It was more of a high-class condo than a hotel room.

"Hopefully, this will suffice," Amit said.

"Uh, yeah.
 
Suffice, it will."

"The shutters are electronic, with full control in this room."
 
He gestured to a panel near the bed. "All controlled over there.
 
You are
completely
safe.
 
They will not open unless you want them to.
 
The refrigerator is well-stocked."

Victoria toured the room as he gave the tour.
 
A piece of paper sat on the bed.
 
She quickly skimmed it as Amit bragged about the entertainment system.
 
It was an itinerary, written in several languages.

It wasn't difficult to follow at all, but still made her heart sink.
 
Meetings.
 
Meetings from six in the evening until midnight.
 
Every day.

"Holy shit," Victoria muttered.

"Is something wrong?" Amit asked.

"No.
 
Just…how much is there to talk about?"

Amit smiled.

"The conference room is one hall over.
 
Like I said before, this entire floor belongs to your party.
 
We will
not
enter these rooms unless you call for us.
 
So, please don't worry about your privacy.
 
You have my number?"

"Yes," she said, gesturing to her purse.
 
"I have it right here."

"Is there anything else you need?"

There was nothing.
 
She found herself wondering if she was supposed to tip Amit.
 
As old as she was, and all she'd done, she was in completely unfamiliar territory.
 
Amit wasn't exactly just someone dropping off her luggage.

He read her mind.

"Don't worry about gratuity, Victoria.
 
I'm more than well-compensated."

"I appreciate everything you've done."

He bid her farewell, with yet another reminder to call if needed.

Five minutes later, Victoria had every suitcase opened, spread about the floor.
 
She looked through her blouses, dresses, shoes, underwear, bras, everything.
 
Satisfied nothing had been tampered with, the next item on her list would have made anyone, mortal or vampire, pause and stare.

She found the largest, barest wall, and took a picture with her phone.

Smiling, she emailed it to Kevin.
 
Everything about Kevin amazed her.
 
But his ability to create portals was breathtaking.
 
With just a printed picture, the witch could literally travel the world.
 
Kevin used them to save gas, visit his girlfriend, even go on vacation.

They were also the perfect escape route.

Victoria didn't think she'd need to escape New Delhi, but nothing bad ever happened from being prepared.

The first gathering of the vampires wasn't scheduled until the next day.
 
She had another day to kill.
 
The hot tub was speaking to her from across the room.
 
In no time at all, she was naked and enjoying the steaming water, sipping on a glass of blood.
 
Classical music, Mozart, blasted through the entertainment system, echoing through the room.
 
She'd met Mozart once.
 
He tried to seduce her.

"I guess things could definitely be worse," she said aloud.

The first hour of the first meeting was fascinating.

There were somewhere between twenty to thirty vampires total.
 
Victoria had seen some of them before.
 
Slowly, they trickled into the conference room.
 
She was one of the earlier arrivals, conducting business on her laptop while waiting.
 
The conference room itself was large, with a round table and projector mounted overhead.
 
Like everything about the top floor of the hotel, it had been customized for them.
 
There were large windows, protected by shutters, that wouldn't be opened until much later in the evening.
 
A refrigerator in the back was filled to the brim with bottles of blood.

Vampirism had the ability to reach across all walks of life.
 
The supernatural beings surrounding her were a mix of young and old.
 
She herself was four centuries old, in the body of a thirty-year-old.
 
A vampire she recognized across from her was merely one hundred years old, but in the body of a sixty-year-old man.
 
She stared longer than she meant to at another member of her race that resembled a fifteen-year-old girl, yet moved with the confidence and grace of a being much older.

The appearances would have also provided a provoking character study.
 
Everyone was beautiful, of course.
 
But some vampires chose to embrace their appearance, their pale skin, while others wore spray-tans.
 
Was it to blend in with the young mortals around them that worshiped the sun and a darker complexion?
 
Or were they truly unhappy with their skin?

Victoria loved herself exactly how she was.

Not long into the meeting, a vampire several seats away made his way to the phone in the back of the room.
 
After a quick, hushed call, a young mortal woman arrived to the conference room.
 
He excused himself, and fed from the woman right out in the hallway, complete with the muffled sounds of sex and an orgasm.
 
Every ear in the room belonged to that of a vampire.
 
Victoria knew she wasn't the only one who heard, yet no one else even flinched.

After the first hour, the fascination began to wear off.

Victoria waited for something interesting to be said.
 
And she waited.
 
And then she waited some more.
 
They talked about issues that she knew were important on some level, but she simply didn't care.
 
A pack of werewolves destroying a small town in Australia.
 
A vampire claiming to be a God to a tribe in Africa.
 
A psychic who lived in Wyoming that could apparently project his consciousness out into the world.
 
A mind-reader in Brazil that had accidentally discovered the existence of the supernatural, and was threatening to go public.

The talking went on and on, and the hours passed.
 
No one addressed Victoria, asked for her input on any matter.
 
How did Bradley survive this, year after year?
 
How did he not fight his way across the room, open the shutters, and burn away every last ounce of boredom?
 
The only thing worth paying attention to was the beautiful New Delhi skyline, and the delicious blood from the back.

Finally, midnight came, and the meeting ended.
 
Victoria watched in amazement as the other vampires gathered their laptops and bags, slowly making their way out of the conference room.
 
She realized that was six hours they were never going to get back.

"Bradley," she muttered under her breath.
 
"If you were still alive, I'd kill you."

*****

Things didn't get interesting until night number six.
 
Victoria had settled into a nice routine.
 
During the meetings, she honed her solitaire skills, flying through game after game.
 
She would stop occasionally to send emails, surf the Internet, watch cat videos with the volume muted.
 
Afterward she toured New Delhi, taking in the sights and culture, with the occasional sip from a mortal in a back alley.
 
The hot tub was also a frequent stop, helping her keep her sanity.
 
She called Amit very rarely, only for advice for a new tourist.
 
The only unusual break she had in the proceedings was a quick witch-sponsored trip back to Baltimore, for a Halloween party at Alex and Cindy's house.

She was in the middle of browsing through a website for Alex's new business, Demons LLC.
 
She wished Alex and Cindy had come to her about starting a business.
 
There were so many things she could have helped with, so much knowledge she could have given.
 
She would have even helped them fund it.
 
Alex and Cindy were more than capable, Victoria knew, but she wanted to be involved.

The vampires continued to speak, almost talking over each other at times.
 
There were some heated moments over the past few days.

"I don't think that's the best way to handle the riots."

"How would you know how to handle a riot?
 
The closest you've ever been to conflict was Watergate."

Victoria snickered.
 
Vampires had unusual ways of insulting each other.
 
Their age, wealth, even their creator, nothing was off-limits.

"At least I could afford to fly here.
 
You rode for four months in a cargo ship."

She continued to browse through
DemonsLLC.com
.
 
Kevin had designed the site, and did an adequate job.
 
But it needed more spice.
 
She would look into hiring a professional when she returned.

The fighting continued for another five minutes, until it finally died down.
 
There was awkward silence.
 
Only the sounds of various laptops, Victoria's included, were heard.

"Are we ready to talk about something serious?"

Victoria sent a picture of her hotel room to Tiffany, Jack's adopted daughter.
 
The young child was emailing now, under Jack's careful supervision.

"Please, Mr. Dougherty, if you have something to say, just say it."

"Okay.
 
I'm still waiting for my people to get back to me.
 
So, I can't really be certain—"

"Mr. Dougherty—"

"Alright.
 
I think…I've found a witch."

The entire room went completely silent, including the laptops.
 
Vampires turned and looked at each other, apprehension in their eyes.
 
Victoria did the same, just to follow the crowd, but deep down, perhaps felt more fear than anyone in the room.

"Where?"

"In the United States."

"The United States is a big place.
 
Can you be more specific?"

Dougherty checked his notes.

"Uh…my sources say Portland, Oregon."

Victoria kept her emotions in check, but internally breathed a huge sigh of relief.
 
Kevin was safe.

"Is it a half-blood?
 
Or…Heaven forbid, a full-blood?"

Another vampire spoke up.

"Don't be foolish.
 
Full-bloods are extinct.
 
We haven't even heard of one in a century."

"All it takes is two witches to have a child."

"There are better odds with the American lottery."

"Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen.
 
This is urgent, and must be dealt with immediately."

"Agreed," Dougherty said.
 
"The stories I've heard…I'm afraid to even think what one could do, mixing their magic with modern items."

The room was quiet a moment, to contemplate that terrible thought.

"Do any of us even have experience with a witch?"

Everyone glanced at each other, until a few sets of eyes fell on Victoria.
 
Several more followed, until everyone at the table stared at her.
 
She was aware of the sudden attention, and wished she could shrink into her seat.

"Victoria.
 
What would you recommend?"

She took a drink of blood, to clear her throat, and pushed her laptop aside.
 
She'd opened her mouth to speak when a vampire rose to his feet, cutting her off.

"I'm sorry," he said.
 
"Are we interrupting your card game?"

Victoria raised an eyebrow, surprised at the venom in his tone.
 
It was Walter Mars, from New Zealand.
 
He'd been a heavy instigator over the past week, combative and condescending.
 
When there was conflict, he was often at the center of it.

"What is she doing here?" he asked.
 
"The only reason she's here is because Bradley isn't, God rest his soul.
 
She's contributed nothing at all, offered nothing.
 
And now we want her advice?
 
Because she killed a witch a century ago?
 
Am I the only one who thinks that's insane?"

"Bring up something worth my attention, and I'll gladly speak."

Walter's eyes shot open.
 
"How dare you speak to me that way."

Victoria was ready to retort once again, but didn't need to.
 
A stern, steady voice spoke.

"Do you even know who you're talking to?"

The room focused their gaze on Terry Miser, an older vampire who kept quiet himself over the past week.
 
He stared directly at Walter, his eyes full of contempt.

"Victoria has accomplished more in the past five years than you have your entire, miserable life," he said.
 
"The vampire virus, created by mortals?
 
The one that caused that brief, but terrible destruction in the eastern United States?
 
Victoria stopped that."