God Touched - 01 (28 page)

“He was Jewish?” Lydia asked. 

Tanya was inspecting at her bracelets carefully.

“No, it wasn’t a death camp.  Some other kind of prison camp.  Mom said that he would never talk about it, but I know he had horrible nightmares about it his entire remaining life.”

Lydia was tapping her bottom lip thoughtfully, and Tanya was turning one of the bracelets over  in her hands.

“So, Tanya, do you like them?” I asked, just to be sure.

  And when she looked up, I suddenly wasn't sure, because she had tears running down her cheeks.

“Whoa, we can take them back if you don't like them,” I said.

“You idiot, she's crying because she
loves
them!” Lydia said.

Tatiana started to speak in Russian and I couldn't understand anything other than the words
sputnik jezni.
  But I could understand that she really, really liked the gift.  The she stopped and her eyes got wide for a moment.  “Oh, I almost forgot.  I have gift for you.”  Her accent was stronger when she was excited.  I thought it was about the most exotic sound I'd ever heard. She danced across the room, scooped up a huge gift wrapped box and glided back to me.  I took the box , which was much heavier than I had expected, and set it on the floor.  Pulling out my ever present tactical folding knife (it's usually an Emerson CQC) I slit the package open.  Tanya's hand beckoned to see the knife, so I deposited it handle first into her grasp.  While she examined the blade, I opened the box, then rocked back, stunned. 

About fifteen thousand
dollars’ worth
of tactical gear sat inside.  Two new Dragonskin vests; one for concealment, the other a full military grade class V heavy armor vest.  Hatch kevlar patrol gloves, Wiley-X ballistic sunglasses, Bates tactical boots, 5.11 plainclothes pants and jackets, multiple LED flashlights, three different automatic knives, along with batteries and other accessories.

Tanya was watching my reaction closely, as I looked back up at her in wonder. 

“You have got to be the coolest girl on the planet!” I said. “This stuff is awesome!  But you spent a fortune.”

She laughed and bounced up and down again, which dropped my I.Q. by about fifty points.  She flicked the heavy box with her foot, shooting it across the floor and into the far wall. 

“Come on, I want to show off my bracelets!” She said.

“Wait!” I held up my hand and then turned to Lydia.

  “What did you get me?” I asked.

She didn't hesitate a moment.  “I designed and commissioned Tanya's dress!”

I looked her in the eyes with the most sincere gratitude.  “Thank you!”

This being only my second time in Plasma, there was a lot I hadn't noticed the first time through. I
had
been pretty busy, after all. The building was rectangular, with the narrow walls being the front and back of the structure. The right hand wall was a common wall shared with the building next door, but the left side contained the door and corridor where I first met Tatiana. This side of the dance floor was private and reserved for vampires only. Of course it didn't have that printed on signs or anything. Despite being a 'vampire' club, the coven was counting on human
ity's disbelief and essentially
the club was a wonderful example of 'hiding in plain sight'. Who would believe the resident vampires of Plasma were real and not just highly trained actors.

But despite the lack of signage, highly visible bouncers kept the area clear of humans. Tonight the exclusive zone was packed with vampires, all wishing to pay homage to their young princess. Tatiana led me straight into this tangle of dangerous predators with complete disregard. It was a stark reminder that the girl I found myself falling in love with was more deadly than most of the others and would one day be the apex vampire. Instantly all attention was on us.  I knew some of the pale, cold faces. Blonde Nika was there, Galina watched me with ice in her eyes, Anton held court at a table near the dance floor, Vadim hovered against the back wall, and Senka stood with two other extremely old vampires in the center, a discreet space around them. The fact that I could gauge vampire age as well as tell humans, weres and vampires apart at a glance, was not something I was comfortable with yet, let alone understand.

Tatiana flowed up to the three Elders, her smile capturing their immediate attention. Three pairs of cold eyes looked me over with interest. Senka spoke first.

“Granddaughter, am I to assume that your radiant smile has something to do with the silver colored bracelets that you are wearing?” she asked.

“Yes, Grandmother. They are gifts from Christian. Elder Fedor and Elder Tzao, may I introduce my
sputnik jizni
, Christian Gordon.”

Fedor was just over five feet tall, slim and boyish looking, dressed in an immaculate black Armani suit. His bronze hair was almost a helmet of tight curls, framing a pair of cold blue eyes. He looked me over, from head to toe, his expression bland.

Tzao was even smaller, well under five feet and petite. Her jet black hair and upturned jade eyes gave the impression of a
kewpie
doll.  A deadly kewpi
e
doll. Her ruby lips twitched slightly in what might have be a flicker of a smile or maybe a contemptuous sneer. Neither offered to shake hands, but I was getting used to that quirk of vampire nature. Extremely touchy feely with 'family', vampires are aloof and disdain physical contact with strangers and acquaintances. Whatever chilly welcome I felt from Fedor and Tzao, Senka countered by giving me a pointed and public hug.

“Tell us about these wonderful bracelets, Granddaughter,” she said.

Tatiana explained about tungsten carbide, demonstrating by slashing at her left hand bracelet with my knife.  Senka raised one sculpted eyebrow and looked over to me.

“Beautiful and practical at the same time.” She said.

I shrugged.  “If they are going to survive Tatiana’s hobbies, they better be tough.”

“Yes dear, your comment and mine apply to all of Tanya’s recent acquisitions.” She said.

Oh, she was including me in that group. 
             

By now a group of younger vampires were crowding around Tanya, admiring her bracelets.  I took advantage of the lack of attention and moved back to observe.  Some, like Nika, seemed sincere, others were fawning butt kissers.  Anton’s redhead, Akilina, was one of the fawners and I noticed she was discreetly trying to move Tanya’s attention and field of view away from where I was standing.  It didn’t work very well, because Tanya simply reoriented herself, keeping me in the middle of her field of view.  Her sapphire eyes touched mine every so often, usually with a smile following on her blood red lips.  While her fans were admiring her jewelry, I was simply admiring her.  Lydia had outdone herself with that amazing spiderweb dress.  A sudden breath of rose and musk announced the dress designer herself, by my left elbow.  I glanced over and met her sparkling emerald eyes.  “Go ahead and admit it!  I kick designer ass!” she said, handing me a frosty Corona.

“ No question that you’re my favorite designer.  Whata ya drinking?  ‘A’ negative?”  I asked.

She looked down at the goblet of thick red fluid in her hand.

“An unpretentious little ‘B’ positive,” She said, laughing.   “So tell me, what was your grandfather’s last name?” she asked.

“Volkov.” I said. “Well, she seems to like the bracelets.  She’s having fun showing them off.”

Lydia sighed.  “Chris, you’re a sweet boy, but a bit clueless.  Her favorite gift isn’t your gift, it’s mine.”

“What are you talking about? “

“Look where you’re standing,” she said.

  I glanced around.  We were almost smack dab in the middle of the vampire space, with a clear six foot zone around the two of us.  I frowned at her.

“She’s got you center stage for everyone to admire, but no touchy.  Your shirt might seem like a joke, but it is really rather a loud statement.  And
I
got the fit exactly right.  Looks like it was spray painted on.” She said in a very
self-satisfied
way.

I had been watching Tanya, but now as I looked around I noticed that much of the vampire attention was focused on Lydia and I. Suddenly feeling extremely
self-conscious
, I looked at the rest of the club.   The tables across the dance floor were all occupied by a rather amazing group of celebrities.  I noticed two NFL football players, a controversial Yankee third baseman and his supermodel date, several rock stars and more than a few actors.  Paige and Kathy were seated at the centermost table, looking dazed as they listened raptly to the handsome actor who had made drunken pirates a favorite with women the world over.  Despite the level of star power on that side of the room, most of the club: celebrities included, were watching Tatiana and her court.  The lead singer of the band started to walk over to the vampire area and Nika suddenly turned to look at her, then leaned in and whispered in Tanya’s ear.  She grinned in excitement, nodded her head and beckoned Lydia to her.  Nika headed to the railing and met the lead singer, leaning down to give her instructions.  Tanya whispered in Lydia’s ear and then gave me a broad wink.  Nika rejoined her and the three of them moved gracefully over to the dance floor.  The club lights dimmed to almost full black, although I could still see quite well.  It had seemed much darker last Friday when Tanya and Nika had danced.  The club patrons started going crazy as soon as the first light dimmed, yelling ‘Tatiana, Tatiana’.  The music came up slowly, the song different from the previous week, but having a similar beat.  Heavy base pushed in regular pulses against my chest and pant legs.  This time I knew what to expect when the spotlight illuminated Tanya, Nika and Lydia.  My attention focused fully on Tanya’s midnight gossamer form as she stood motionless for a moment, then spun into motion.

One of my old martial arts instructors used to talk about moving from your center.  Difficult to master, moving from your center involves the body’s center of gravity and the martial artist’s ability to locate and work from it.   Vampires seemed to have a natural aptitude for harnessing their centers, but Tanya’s was absolute, giving her perfect balance and control.  As she spun in supernatural grace, her electric blue eyes sought me out and her dance became a gift to me and me alone. 

It was then that the vision struck.

Tatiana, the dance floor and the Hellbourne from the Hance lab.  Immediately, my body went on alert and I started to scan the crowded railings, looking for the demon that I knew was in the room.  From the corner of my eye, I could see that all three dancers knew something was wrong.  Tatiana could sense what I felt, Nika could read my damn mind and Lydia was just Lydia.  Perceptive as hell.  I found what I was looking for up on the second level, near the middle of the railing, almost directly above Paige and Kathy’s table.  A blank face leaning over, head tracking the
dancers’
motions below.  I couldn’t understand how he was homing in on Tatiana, as the necklace she wore should have blanked her from his sight.  Then I saw his eyes following the gazes of the onlookers and realized what he was doing.  Virtually everyone in the club was watching the vision made flesh that was Tanya dancing.  The demon was watching them watch her and triangulating her position accordingly.  I could tell the moment he locked her in his sights and as he leapt over the railing, I propelled myself in a forward dive across the dance floor and into a roll.  I came to my feet, grabbed my girl and spun, throwing her back to the vampires behind me.  My luck held, as Senka had moved fluidly into the position I abandoned, and as Tanya landed lightly on both feet, the Elder wrapped her arms around her granddaughter and held her back. All of that I saw and then a heavy weight smashed into my shoulders and back, and a greasy blackness impacted my aura.  Landing on my stomach with my arms and hands against the floor, I pushed off in the mother of all push- ups.  Instead of coming to just the full extension of my arms, I came back all the way to my feet, just in time to catch a blow on my left arm.  But a punch that would have disabled my arm a week ago was now less than a minor annoyance.  For the first time in my life, I was fighting a demon on at least equal terms of strength and speed.  Then he ruined it by pulling a foot long knife and stabbing at my gut.  I didn’t care.  Tanya was safe in her grandmother’s steel arms and I could give myself over to the rage that was bubbling up from my core.  Surrendering control to my fight brain, I let the berserker free. 

     Paige and Kathy told me days later that it was the most fantastic fight scene they had ever seen performed live.  First there was just my blurring dive and artful Tanya toss.  But when the Hellbourne crashed into me, his cloak failed and he suddenly appeared to all the onlookers.  What followed after that was a jerky fast, flickering martial arts beatdown that put Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee to shame.  I remember very little of it, mainly just the incredibly fierce joy of all out combat with a serious opponent.  But I can remember slamming my left palm down on the point of his blade, running it through my hand until I could wrench the knife from his grasp. And the memory is crystal clear of my right hook crushing his ribcage, my left jab breaking his nose, my right palm heel strike cracking his sternum and my left hand knotting his hair, spinning him around and breaking his spine with a side kick.  I felt a slight jab in my leg as I pulled the slick oily blackness from its shell and flung it into the waiting claws of the smoky raptor that I don’t remember calling.  Twelve foot wide wings beat once, and Kirby’s keening cry filled my ears as he flicked out of our world.  What happened next is a confusing jumble of images.  Vadim, suddenly by my side, holding my hand over head like a victorious prize fighter, while the club’s patrons thundered their approval of the night’s entertainment.  The bald giant holding the empty body of the Hellbourne by its neck in an effortless grip, making it look like it was standing on its own feet.  A pain in my left leg called my attention to the syringe that was the demon’s parting gift to me. And finally dimming vision as everything crashed down to silent blackness.