The Moon Rises (48 page)

Long after leaving Anton, Gigi felt a strange
unhappiness cling to her. Only talking with Finn on the phone helped to settle
her bad mood. While Gigi pretended to be in high spirits, Finn must have known
better. He accused the kittens of making her sad and asked for her to put them
on the phone. His request and the cats’ subsequent excitement over hearing his voice
sent Gigi into hysterics.

Finn had her translate his words because he
believed the kittens could understand her like they couldn’t understand others.
At first the kittens licked at the receiver. Yet when he accused them of being
bad kitties and making mommy sad, they hissed at the phone which only made Gigi
laugh harder. By the time she calmed down, Gigi was in the best mood and she
remembered why she loved Finn. He wasn’t a powerful Alpha or Master Vamp, but
he knew how to make her smile and he was always there when she needed him.
Dependability was an underrated quality, Gigi sensed.

Later during the first half of her shift, Gigi
worked the witch floor with Justine who didn’t pay her much attention. Even
after Gigi saved her, Justine found her inconvenient to have around. Nolan
never flirted with Gigi, but he found reasons to talk with her at the bar. He
mostly asked questions about her recent experience with the flying monster.
Justine listened to him and must have known he was only asking for his mother,
but it did little to erase her frown.

By the time Gigi switched to the Vamp floor, she
was thrilled to be away from Justine. While she wanted to be friends with
Justine and Dahlia, they didn’t make it easy. Males wanted to have sex with
Gigi more than with them which made the blonde their enemy apparently.

Simon didn’t want to be Gigi’s enemy though. In
fact the Master Vamp immediately requested for her to join him at his booth.
When his hand found her thigh under the table, Gigi scooted away.

“Ah, someone’s found a lover,” Simon said with a
grin as he moved closer.

“I can’t talk about it.”

“With me you have no secrets. I am your confidant.”

Gigi grinned, mostly because Simon was giving her
his most devious expression. Finally she laughed and he returned his hand to
her thigh.

“I am in love,” she told him and he nodded solemnly.

“It won’t last.”

Gigi’s smile faded. “Don’t say that. He’s all I
want.”

“Because he’s all you know. Once you know me, you
will forget all about the Were.”

“Maybe it’s not a Were?”

“Oh, I know neither Spencer nor Nolan would have
made a move so quickly and no Vamp would dare court my sweet Gigi. While Tobin
might spend much of his free time masturbating to thoughts of you, I can’t
imagine you being so gaga over him. No, it’s a Were.”

“It doesn’t matter what he is. I love him and I’m
happy.”

“Good. I want you to be entertained until I can
make you my bride.”

“I can’t be your bride, Simon. I’m in love with
someone else.”

“Yes, for now. Once I can make you mine, you’ll
have no need for him.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“How would you know?” Simon asked with a smirk.
“First love always feels eternal, but rarely is.”

Gigi felt a stab of panic because she didn’t know
as much as Simon, but she did know she never wanted to lose Finn.

“I want to keep him.”

Simon’s smile faded. “Calm yourself. It could
take some time before I can make you my bride. Until then feel free to enjoy
your doggie toy. In fact when you are mine, you can even keep him as a lover. I
am not the possessive type.”

Gigi didn’t know what Simon saw in her
expression, but he threw his head back and laughed loud enough to startle the
other Vamps who became very still. They even halted their crotch dancing while
their master enjoyed a good chuckle. When he settled down and the crotch
dancing resumed, Simon wrapped an arm around Gigi.

“To be so young,” he whispered in her ear. Simon
kissed her cheek softly then pulled his arm away and smiled. “Don’t be so
serious. Did you think I would stop desiring you once you gave your virginity
to some dog?”

“Yes.”

Simon smiled wider. “I haven’t been a virgin in
hundreds of years, yet you still desire me with your every breath.”

Gigi couldn’t help laughing at Simon’s
confidence. “You’re the third person who’s talked about their virginity to me today.”

Simon eased back in the booth, looking wistful.
“Ah, I remember my first time. It might shock you to know I wasn’t a perfect
lover the first time out. I believe it took a total of three times for me to
attain perfection.”

Gigi laughed again because Simon was being
utterly serious. “What were the first two times like?”

“Good and better. Third time was excellent. I’m a
quick learner.”

“You started off with good. I think that’s
supposed to be impressive.”

“I’m sure you were quite good your first time.”

Blushing, Gigi rolled her eyes. “I made a lot of
weird noises.”

Simon laughed. “I look forward to hearing them.”

“Even if I ever did become your bride, I doubt
I’d still make weird noises. I’m a quick learner too.”

“No, please don’t give them up. I love weird
noises. My last bride Amelia was often too silent for my taste. I had to frequently
stop to check her for a pulse. It ruined my rhythm.”

Gigi leaned against him laughing even though she
knew the other Vamps including Dahlia were glaring at her.

“I’m making them mad,” Gigi said once she calmed
down.

“They fear you.”

“Because of my blood?”

“Because you swore to rule them with an iron
fist.”

“How would they know that though?”

“I put it in the monthly newsletter.”

Gigi leaned her head on her arms as she laughed.
She felt Simon’s hand slinking around her thigh, but he was teasing quite patiently.

“Are you really my confidant? Can I tell you anything?”
Gigi asked Simon whose lips were nuzzling her hair.

Pulling back, Simon studied her. “Of course. If I
weren’t completely serious about making you my bride, I would view you as a
threat. At the very least, I would want you off the Vamp floor. Yet here you
are, attaching yourself to me.”

Gigi ignored the part where he blamed her for the
fact that his leg was pressed against hers. His hand was still on her thigh,
now just making little circles with his fingers.

“What is it, Gigi?”

For a moment she thought to ask him about her
plan, just to tell someone so she would feel less alone in her quest. Instead
Gigi shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I just want you to know how much I
care for you.”

Simon frowned. “Are you in trouble?”

“No. I’m just feeling safe here with you. I like
being with you even though I love someone else.”

Unconvinced, Simon said nothing, instead studying
her for the rest of her shift. When it was time for her to leave, Simon forced
the other Vamps to turn away. Once eyes were off them, Simon took her hand and
pressed it against his chest.

“You are mine. Never forget this fact. If it aids
you in remaining safe, feel free to share this information with others. Do you
understand?”

Gigi nodded as she stared into his too green
eyes. When he let go of her hand, Gigi caress his face before the Vamps began
to move normally. Taking a deep breath, she smiled and pulled away slowly. Once
she stepped out his reach, Simon released the other Vamps.

Gigi walked away, knowing Simon’s eyes were on
her.  Some part of her wished she could have shared her plans, but she knew he
would try to stop her, just as Finn would have. This task was hers to complete
and she had to compete it alone.

The house was big and pink with an overgrown lawn
and baskets of dead plants hanging from the porch. Gigi walked up to the front
door and turned the knob, never considering being stealth. The master already
knew she was coming for him.

The house smelled bad – like rot covered up with
too much potpourri. Gigi covered her mouth as she walked further into the
house, finding a home without care. Everything was old and left to decay.

Past the foyer and down a dark hall music played.
Gigi followed the sound of it until she reached an atrium. The room was dimly
lit and filled with a several empty metal tables and a line of shelves along
the wall. Gigi’s hands were tingling painfully now and she knew the monsters
were near, but she wanted their master
.

Sensing movement behind her, Gigi turned to find
a half dozen black creatures creeping into the room. Some were bear-sized bird
monsters, some just little rotted rats. They hissed at her, trying to
intimidate her. Yet Gigi had killed them before and she was willing to die to
kill them again.

“You’re a persistent little bitch, aren’t you?” a
voice echoed from the dark hall Gigi had just exited.

A figure approached and the monsters in the
atrium backed away respectful of their master. Gigi felt a hint of fear, but
she was mostly excited. This creature was the one who took the girls – took
Sara – and Gigi wanted her friend back. Once she found Sara, Gigi wanted payback.

A female entered the atrium and Gigi frowned,
having always assumed the necromancer was male. All the monsters on TV were
male – human freaks who stole girls away in the night. The female necromancer
smiled slyly.

“I underestimated you. That was my bad, but your
mistake was thinking you could come to my home and challenge me.”

The necromancer was young, not much older than
Gigi. She had long red hair and fair skin like Ella and bright green eyes which
reminded Gigi of Simon. The female wore a long red robe which when she moved
revealed pink pajama shorts and a tee underneath. The master of the monsters,
the necromancer Gigi wanted to kill, was just a young female getting ready for
bed.

“What are you?” the necromancer asked as she
leaned against an empty metal table which rattled when she touched it. The
noise startled her monsters who hissed at Gigi. “My creatures tell me you smell
human, but you clearly aren’t. They say you have no scent of magic. So what’s
your secret, bitch?”

Gigi realized this necromancer couldn’t be the
one who healed her and tampered with her memories.

“I want my friends back.”

“Oh, do you?” the necromancer sighed. “I’m afraid
you have nothing to offer me in return.”

“Are you a necromancer or a witch? I thought
necromancers were all male?”

The female sneered. “I am no filthy witch.” Her
beasts hissed at Gigi for angering their master. “Witches are evil and stupid.
While I might be evil, I’m not stupid. I hate witches even more than I hate
you, bitch.”

“If you hate witches, why do you take humans?”

“Because all the magic in witches makes them
taste like shit. It’s like eating poison, but your friends have just a hint of
magic from working at the sluthouse. Think of magic as ketchup. A squirt gives
food flavor while too much drowns out the natural allure of flesh. Witches have
too much magic and a standard human is a bit bland, but your friends were just
right.”

“You ate them?” Gigi balked, panicking at how
Sara was gone. “Why would you eat people?”

“Because I can and because the witches made me
crazy. Witches are terribly evil and they steal children just like the
folktales warn. They stole me when I was a tiny thing, still innocent and sane.
They experimented on me and planned to harvest me, but witches are stupid and I
destroyed them. I now use my magic to make a family for myself,” the necromancer
said, waving her hand at the creatures who gazed at their master with dead
eyes. “I didn’t let the witches kill me and I won’t let you.”

“You don’t seem crazy,” Gigi said as a hot
emotion burned up from her stomach. “You’re just like the witches who hurt you.
You’re evil because you kill innocent people and you’re stupid because you let
me find you.”

The necromancer smiled as if she sympathized with
Gigi. “You’re truly stupid, aren’t you, bitch? I sensed as much the night in
the alley when you just stared at my child and didn’t run. You tried to save
the foul dog who left you to die then you apologized to me for interfering. So
much stupidity in such a small package. If you weren’t so stupid, I might keep
you around and rip you apart slowly, just to see what you are. Yet I’m worried
your stupidity might be contagious.”

Gigi’s hands no longer tingled as she tightened
them into fists. Noticing her anger, the necromancer grinned.

“You have no magic in you while I am only magic.
I have more magic than those witches who tortured me. I have more magic than
anyone in the Circle. I am god here. You should bow, but you won’t because
you’re too stupid. I can make you bow though.”

The necromancer raised her hand and flicked her
fingers at Gigi who felt the hot emotion spreading to every nerve. The third
rule was to not get angry, but Gigi couldn’t stop the rage. She wanted to
destroy the necromancer. She wanted to destroy everything.