Twice Bitten (37 page)

You might think that after such an unpleasant experience the night was ruined. I know I did…but within a minute of this asshole leaving, the party was back in full force. The music and celebration among the rest of the vampires seemed even more fervent with joy than it previously had been—as if they wanted to make certain nothing else happened to fuck up this Christmas Eve party.

Even the mess made when my food went flying into the air had been cleaned up, and Garvan soon walked me to a small table where he and I could sit and visit. Mercel brought another serving of roast and vegetables, and an even bigger helping of raspberry chocolate cheesecake.

“Sorry for the unpleasantness,” said Garvan. “Like I told you before, they don’t all hate you. Most of them are deeply concerned about what happens to you and your baby to be, Txema. But don’t ever venture outside alone again—at any time. I hope you understand that from here on out it will be far too dangerous, and with so much to lose. Others will be waiting for you to slip up.”

“And, then what?”

I hated coming across so flippantly, but my blood sugar had dropped to where my extremities were going numb, and my right hand had begun to shake. I didn’t wait for an answer, and dug into my food ravenously. It tasted fantastic, and I resented the fact my body wouldn’t let me savor this moment. I’m sure I looked like an animal in my gorgeous gown, only one step away from eating with my hands instead of the delicate cutlery Mercel had provided.

Garvan smirked sadly and shrugged his shoulders.

“I won’t be able to protect you. None of us will be able to do a damned thing…. I’ll be left to cry tears of blood whenever I think of you.
Every
day. Until eventually sorrow turns to anger and then rage…as the last of our kind becomes extinct, and the unchallenged reign of Ralu begins.” 

Chapter 7

I’m sure most folks would assume after such a statement that the night would’ve become a complete bust for me. It almost did. Luckily, Garvan lightened up after sharing the biggest glimpse into his soul that I’d seen up until then. The very things he fears as an ancient vampire are not that different from those of us still human. All of my entourage likely fears the same things, and it would not surprise me if Gustav himself has similar misgivings.

Contrary to what some of my reviewers said of my first installment—the journal that became
“The Vampires’ Last Lover”
—I’m not a heartless, self-centered, and shallow bitch. I may very well act like these qualities now and then, but, on the inside, none of them define me. That night I didn’t delve into the deeper meanings of Garvan’s words to me. But I did put forth an extra effort to let him know that I cared deeply about him…and in ways that could mean much more between us down the road, once my child safely entered the world.

That seemed to be enough for him. It at least lifted his countenance to where he wanted to dance and play like the other jovial vamps having fun on the dance floor. We had a blast dancing together, and along with our immediate friends too. Dancing with vampires is a really different experience, since several times I was sent airborne by one—Garvan or Armando—and then caught gently by Franz or Chanson. And, just like with the girls I used to dance with in the clubs back in Richmond and Knoxville, Raquel, Tyreen, and Chanson danced with me sans the guys. I even danced the ‘Charleston’ with Armando where we nearly crashed into Nora and Kazikli. At least we had fun laughing about it.            

Everything was strange in that way. But it was such a blast!

We partied well into the night, but by 3:00 a.m. our host’s security guards moved in to stop the festivities. Gustav stood before us, along with Huangtian Dadi and Xuanxang—the only time I saw either of them that night. After a brief Christmas benediction, Gustav dismissed us all.

The air outside seemed colder on the way back to our bedchamber, but it felt plenty warm once we were ascending the stairs to our floor. The door to the room had been repaired and the window had also been effectively boarded up, so the frigid air from outside could no longer reach us. The comforting soft hum and warm air from the third floor’s hidden furnace greeted us through the vents outside the room.

It was even warmer inside the room. After I changed out of the lovely evening wardrobe provided to me by my vampire friends, I crawled under my bed’s covers. I felt more content than I had since I encountered my first vampire—Garvan—in my dorm room back in Tennessee in early November.

“We will always take care of you, Txema,” said Chanson, tenderly. “What happened yesterday won’t ever happen again if you’ll stay within the reach of our protection. Merry Christmas to you, and know that we’ll always love you as our own.”

She and the others stood around my bed. Not creepy, but more like guardian angels watching over me. I wondered briefly if her admonishment was directed at my earlier conversation with Mercel that night. However, exhaustion had already gotten the better of me, and my conscious awareness began to fade out.

“Merry Christmas to you, too, Chanson…and to you Garvan, Tyreen, Armando, and…Raquel. I love all of you, too….”

As I exited into the world of dreams from the one filled with vampires, I heard each of them echo my Merry Christmas wish followed by a faint ‘we love you, Txema!’

I slept soundly and didn’t awaken until mid afternoon, Christmas Day.

***

For some reason, the Himalayan world seemed different to me, upon rising from my bed that afternoon. All sorts of possibilities seemed at my fingertips, and I felt a sense of empowerment. The decision was mine to get the hell out of that place if I wanted to bad enough…or stay with my vampire friends. My biggest fantasy was that I envisioned flying back to Europe with Franz and Mercel, and then being whisked away to Milan to meet with Racco and confront him for being such a fucking coward.

That was definitely a fantasy. Here’s what reality had in store for me that afternoon.

After getting dressed for the day, I hurried downstairs. By then, the late afternoon sun was already creeping down upon the higher peaks, and it would be dark within an hour. Not enough time to safely search the entire complex for Mercel, I assumed my worst-case scenario was to await Franz’s arousal from his daytime vamp-nap and then ask him discreetly to take me to Mercel.

I felt certain that Mercel wasn’t staying in the same building as me. If I was going to find him, I needed to do it quickly. No way in hell would the nervous Frenchman venture outside without Franz or someone else from Racco’s staff accompanying him. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Mercel sought further protection inside Franz’s casket until dusk!

On the odd chance I might miss seeing either one, I skipped the rice and poultry meal that had been set out for me. Knowing I had less than half an hour to search the other buildings before dusk, I set out in earnest to find Mercel.

He wasn’t inside the other buildings, where the empty echoes from my calls to him went unanswered. Still, I didn’t panic. I searched around the perimeter of the complex, being careful not to come too close to Huangtian Dadi’s personal chambers. I heard a menacing growl from a darkened alcove just inside the main gate to his private realm.

I became more and more convinced that my original assumption was mistaken, and that the pair was hiding someplace inside the main building. Until I found the spot where Racco’s helicopter recently sat. The chopper bar tracks and footprints in the snow had already started to melt, which told me that it had been gone for several hours.

Damn it—they left already??!!

Incredible despair rushed over me, despite the fact there were those who truly cared about me, like my immediate friends upstairs. But in that moment of truth, I wanted real human companionship over the ‘almost’ version offered by my vampire companions. 

I cried as I prepared to step back inside the main palace building. All the while I couldn’t ignore the feeling I was being followed, watched and studied by someone…or something. The feeling was unquestionably predatory. It stayed strong until I was safely inside the main palace again.

I went back upstairs and waited for Chanson to awaken, since she was normally first among the five each day. Tyreen was usually the last to awaken, as I’m sure she still needs the most rest to ensure she grows up to be a healthy and successful vampire. Yes, that’s me being cynical yet again. The rest of the group wakes up randomly, and I knew I wouldn’t have long to speak with my main protector in private. 

“So Franz did leave last night after all?” said Chanson, once she cleared the blood-shot redness from her eyes. Normally she bounces right up, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

“Yes, he did, and Mercel and the rest of Racco’s staff are gone, too!” I was unable to mask my disappointment.

“Oh, dearest Txema…you mustn’t stress about this. When the time is right, you will see them all again. I swear!”

She came over to where I sat, on the edge of my bed, and wrapped her arms around me. I wanted to cry more about it, but I felt so angry I wouldn’t let it out.

“I’m not so sure it will ever happen…I felt someone watching me outside. I’m feeling more and more that I am not welcome here! It gets worse
every
day!!”

“Txema, that’s why you mustn’t venture outside—
ever!”
Chanson scolded me, and I could tell she was trying to hold back her anger. “Didn’t you listen to what I told you last night?”

“I heard what you said, but I wanted to make sure I got to tell Franz and Mercel goodbye before they left.” I hoped she’d forgive my lie if she ever found out I wanted them to take me away from this hell-hole—the beautiful but stale palace that was draining the very life out of me day after day. How could it possibly be beneficial for my baby girl—both with a stressed-out mommy now and an uninspired parent by the time she arrived? “Now they’re gone, and I’m sure Gustav made sure I won’t see them again for a very long time—if ever!”

Chanson was taken aback by my accusation toward the vampire lord she fervently serves. Not that she wanted to hit me right then, but she pulled away to study me, as if trying to define the secrets held tightly in my heart by my tensed-up body language. She shook her head slowly before addressing me again. By then, most of the others had risen from their daytime slumber and were intently listening to our conversation.

“Okay,” she said finally. “We need to find some good Western distractions, so you can deal with this Eastern society. Something to read…maybe some games to play, movies to watch, whatever else you can think of.”

“If that old codger in the library had parted with his personal porn flick collection when I asked him to do it last month, none of this would’ve happened now!” teased Armando, placing the back of his long-nailed fingers against his forehead as if he might faint. He’s such a playful drama queen. 

“Actually, that does give me an idea.” Chanson’s pale countenance lit up. She stood up and moved to the door, listening closely. When satisfied it was safe to discuss what she had in mind, she moved back to where I sat and motioned for the rest of the vampires to gather around us. “I think if we took turns each night to procure a collection of these things from the neighboring big cities, we could have this problem fully worked out before the New Year arrives.”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make life easier for you, Txema,” said Garvan. “My only question is with so few big cities remotely close by, it might mean a longer journey to procure everything. It might be best to return to France, since I know I can definitely obtain everything you need from there.”

“I could join you and make sure we get it all done in one trip,” said Raquel. We both know all the boutiques, book stores, and music stores.”

“I’ll bet we can find one of those electronic book readers—or better yet an Ipod and Ipad like she lost, or whatever the hell else she needs!” exclaimed Garvan.

I believe we all knew long before him that this sounded nothing like what he intended to say—me with my mock indignant look and everyone else grinning and shaking their heads in amusement.

“What did I—oh no, that’s not what I meant at all, Txema!”

“Sure you didn’t!” I countered, trying to keep my forced frown from lifting. This was too much fun!

“No, I-I swear…all I want to do is find a way to keep you happy!”

“And to shut you the hell up, Txema, you biiiittttcchhh!” added Tyreen, with the same diva attitude she used to pull on Johnny back in college.

I couldn’t keep from laughing, and they all joined in with me. It felt even better than it had the night before when I laughed heartily with Tyreen. But, this time we all shared in the experience, and it was better—even Garvan sheepishly joined in.

“Well, we all know what will create a lasting solution, so now it’s time to figure out a plan so that we don’t get caught or make Gustav look bad,” said Chanson, once the laughter died down. There were a few knocks resounding from the thick stone floor above us, demonstrating once again that not every vampire from France brings a fun and warm disposition. She motioned for us all to move closer to her as she lowered her voice to a whisper. “A schedule that involves Txema not leaving her room for meals and such might work. Perhaps we can make everyone else think that Raquel and Garvan are up here playing nurse maid to some pregnancy ailment Txema has, while the rest of us make a show of ourselves each night to further sell the notion that we are all present and accounted for. What does everyone think of that idea?”