Misty (2 page)

There were only five on the Council, four men and one woman. They were in the room, waiting for him. They were supposedly elected and held their positions until they either retired or were voted out by some unusual circumstances. There were a number of ways to hold a seat on the Council
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inherit from a family who was holding a seat at time of death, appointment by a majority of the sitting Council, a problem of war, a debt or tithe, or some unforeseen reason that hadn’t come up as of yet. The five people now in this room were all beautiful and all very old. If others were questioned, it probably would be hard to confirm how they had obtained their position. But they served well and no one questioned their rule.

The Council might be old, tradition might play a role, but they understood the need to blend and be part of the times. They sat in a large elaborate conference room. No windows, of course, but lots of indirect lighting and expensive lamps left the large room without shadows. Not the things of Vampire movies
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great art on the walls, beautiful hand carved furniture, and glass fronted credenzas with priceless displays of old jewelry and small statues.

The conference table was huge with built in hidden computer display screens below the table and in front of each seat. The chairs were damask covered, deep and on rollers. The five Councilor chairs did have high backs, so that they could turn around and be hidden from anyone who was at the other end of the room.

Chasim rose and spoke for all of them. “As usual, Radames, you have served us well, and we have transferred your payment to your bank in Athens. But we have a surprise for you.” He clapped his hands and a servant came out of a side door. All servants kept their eyes down and never looked at any of the Council or visitors in the face. The servant had a tray with a cover on it. He approached Chasim, who had taken a few steps forward to stand in front of Rad. Chasim took the tray and removed the cloth to expose what lay on the tray. It was a ribbon with a small gold amulet attached to it.

Chasim held out the tray so that Rad could take the small item, but Rad just looked at it for a long moment. He looked at the Councilman. “I know what it is. I can sense it without touching it. It was my mother’s. Where did you obtain it?”

“One of our people got a scent of it in what is now called Iraq. It was buried in the basement of a Museum. The mortals had no idea of its value. He brought it here with several other small items that he recognized as very old and belonging to our community.” Chasim pointed to the woman on the Council. “Sometimes the wars among the mortals turn up strange items. When their own anthropologists and diggers search, we can’t always obtain the items. It’s just as well to let them place ancient articles in protective care. But now and then there are special articles that have meaning for some of us with long memories.” There was a pause with a few quiet chuckles from the table behind him.

“Vasa immediately read it and we decided to give it back to its heir.” He held the small piece of gold out to Rad.

Rad finally took the piece and closed his large hand around the gold, immediately feeling the connection. His mother had been dead for a very long time, but a portion of her lived in this gold and it felt so warm in his palm. He stood for a moment with his eyes closed, absorbing the feel of family from the gold. At last, with his unusual eyes, he looked out at the Council and watched Chasim return to his seat.

He let his crooked smile become a little larger, a little more cynical. “I thank you and I owe you a tithe.” He waited. The Council had indeed given him a very great present, but he knew these people and they put others in debt to them for a reason.

Vasa spoke, in that melodious voice that could call a hundred men to their death. “Well, there is a task that would normally be assigned to someone below your status. But it has come to our attention that it has escalated. We would like you to handle it for us.”

He didn’t say anything, but just stood there, his strong muscular legs apart, one hand low on a hip, the other closed around the small piece of gold, the ribbon trailing out of his fist.

She continued, sitting on her comfortable chair, slowly rotating it back and forth, looking at ease and acting as if there was nothing of interest in the room. “There is a mortal woman. But there is something about her blood. No one has sampled it yet. She donated some at a blood bank. Some Vamps who were trying to not feed on humans stole the blood supply and got her blood. They immediately began fighting over it and killed several of their own kind. They killed a mortal and made a mess of a building that was a blood bank. Blood banks are important to humans.” She hesitated, not looking at Rad. That left him uncomfortable. “We sent a team in to clean up the mess and hide the evidence from the humans. We needed to clean up the minds of some police. We hate getting involved with local authorities. We need to protect her until she donates blood again. We can then get the sample to find out exactly what there is about the serum that makes it so appealing. We need someone who is strong enough to keep others away and also strong enough to resist her.”

He shifted his weight to one leg and looked at each of them for a long moment. He knew there was more to this than a touch of blood. “Suppose I sample her blood? I can tell what might be of use to the Council or to any of our kind.” He watched Vasa carefully. Now she was the one to look uncomfortable, a look that was not normal to this ancient and strong leader.

“She has some talents that are going to surprise you and cause you some problems.” Vasa was still talking for the council, so he looked at her and waited. “She can’t be influenced, compromised or hypnotized. We found this out the hard way. We have only sent one other to observe and protect her, and he immediately thought to influence her to go donate blood. They were in a very public place. She slugged him when he got too close, used mace on him, pushed him down an escalator and ran away while human security guards closed in on him. He was forced to act human.”

Rad’s smile did get larger. He respected a fighter and a female warrior.

“So you are wondering if there is an additional catch?” Vasa knew him very well. A long time ago they had been lovers. He nodded and she smiled also. “Because of her importance, and until we find out how important that is, she must be treated carefully. You can’t force yourself on her. Since you can’t influence her, you can’t have sex, unless she agrees to it. You can’t draw her blood unless she agrees. You read mortals well, so maybe being with her will help give us a lead. Report back on anything that tells us who she is. We have done some research and found she was an orphan. She will be a handful, but perhaps your life has been a little dull lately. Take a plane to America and look after our little girl. Try to play nice.” She dropped her smile and he knew the audience was over.

He nodded to all, turned, and left the conference room. The servant had the door to the elevator open for him. He did not hesitate as he reached the lobby, but quickly left the building to exit into the heat of a summer day in Rome. He had the ability to appear in daylight, but he was not really fond of the hot sun at midday. He put on dark glasses, got into his limo and gave his driver instructions to take him to the airport.

Chapter Two

Misty came out of the store and because she was on the second floor of the mall, she started towards the escalator. She was struck with a flashback. Standing close to the top of the escalators, leaning against the rail that looked down on the first floor, was a tall dark guy. He was in the exact same position as the man who had accosted her several weeks earlier. It had been the strangest episode altogether.

The man had approached her, seemed to know her, but she was positive she did not know him. He was tall and good looking, not the type of man she would forget. He had his hips parked against the railing near the escalators, waiting. When she wandered down the wide marble walkway between open stores and saw him, she had actually smiled. But she was surprised when he had walked up just as she reached the top of the moving stairs. He gave her a warm smile in return and said her name. He took her elbow and said she wanted to donate blood. She had pulled away immediately, but he was unusually strong and as she stepped back he hung onto her arm. He seemed surprised that she was resisting. People were stopping behind her and some were moving around as other people were moving up or down the escalators.

She had looked around, shouted loudly, which was what self-defense classes taught her to do. She yelled help and told him to let go in that same loud voice. She only had one package, so she dropped it and with her free hand she reached into her large purse. The mace was a round can in the bottom and easy to find. An older man had stepped up to ask
what was the problem
and as the man holding her looked away from her, she got the mace out to spray him in the face. He let out a yell, letting go, so she pushed him backward. He fell onto the escalator, rolling downward, taking others with him who started screaming and hitting him. In the distance she saw a mall cop coming, so she just turned around, picked up her package and took off. She pushed through the people who were gathering to see what was so entertaining.

Today she slowed down because of the flashback and because this guy was also looking at her. This guy had a different look about him. Strange
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she had thought at first he had the appearance of the previous man who had accosted her. Very tall, well over six-three or six-four, and since she was five-nine, she was usually interested in tall guys. But he had a look that, although handsome, shouted danger. He had long dark hair and a dark complexion, as if he was Greek or Italian. He had his arms crossed, which pushed out the muscles under the dark tee shirt. He had on dark jeans that fit tight and she was afraid to see any more. Drug lord or gun dealer
—
at least, he had that look. So she just did a short turn and started down the stairs that were to the left of the moving escalators.

As she got down a couple of steps she glanced back and was actually disappointed that he was still standing, not looking over at her but looking down the corridor of shops in which she had first walked. Oh well, it was time she got over the scare of one strange guy. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to get over not being attracted to every man who was in the mall. She went out through the busy exit and a couple of guys held the door for her and gave her the once over. Okay, she felt better. Maybe she should start doing something about herself before she went out in public.

She had not cut her hair in a long time. It was easier to just let it stay long and pull it back as she worked. She was taller than average, and because she worked at home she kept her wardrobe simple, tank tops and jeans or shorts, depending on the season. When the weather was cooler she added sweatshirts or sweaters. She stayed in sandals or shoes she could slip on easily because she often would slide off one or both shoes as she worked on the computer or at the drafting board. Her hair was brown, but in the sun it had red highlights and she thought sometime, when she had some extra money, she might have a hairdresser add some more red to it. She had brown eyes but there were some green flecks in them, not enough to be really called hazel, but there had been a couple of guys who claimed to be fascinated by them. Of course, they also wanted in her bed and were probably just saying anything. She stayed inside on her computers too much to get any tan so she just had a soft pale pink skin that she dusted with makeup when she was in the mood. But at least it was clean and clear.

In her bag of purchases, she had a new tray of watercolors and a couple of tubes of her favorite colors that she always used too much, along with some pens that she liked to use for drawing. She went out to her slightly used Dodge truck. Slightly used was the term the salesman had extolled. Really beat up and hardly able to keep on the road was a better description. She put her packages on the seat beside her, with fingers crossed she put the key in and turned it to hear the grinding noise but no engine noise.

She said a short prayer and tried again. Nothing but grinding. This time she tried a very pertinent curse. She pumped the gas and tried again. Loud grinding. She put her head down on the steering wheel. She heard the car next to her start up and the large engine in the vehicle roared. She rose up and looked over at some type of expensive sports car. The man who had been at the railing on the second floor of the floor was adjusting his seat belt.

Of course! He looked the type to have some expensive type of car that would start up with the touch of a button. Shit. She crossed her fingers and tried one more time. The old engine finally choked and started up. It was just as noisy as the engine of the sports car, just not as sweet sounding. She sat up, looked over and watched as the sports car pulled out and went down the aisle. This allowed her more room to back out herself and then she was heading for home.

For the next few days she concentrated on work, staying at her computer and drawings. She was living on delivery food and whatever was left over in the refrigerator. Her home was half of a duplex. It was divided down the center and was a type of ranch style common from the fifties. Her friends Paul and Terrie, who planned on getting married someday, owned the house and rented out to her. She loved it because they let her do whatever she wanted to it, which was pretty much nothing.

She didn’t have a lot of furniture because her life was the one room with the computer set up and drawing space, with one really comfortable chair. This was where she spent most of her time, doing the work she enjoyed. She had a great bed that she could not afford, but she had splurged after getting paid for a project in cash. She did not want to know why they preferred cash, she just used it to get the best price available on a king size bed with all the bedding and pillows. She had found that she could stretch out and sleep in this bed. She had put up black out curtains so she could sleep any time, depending on her crazy schedule. She had stools in the kitchen so she felt she did not need a table. The few friends she had, she always met at a bar where you could get a bite to eat. The simple life. Actually she got more calls on her cell from salesmen than she did from friends. So far this had not worried her. She had a TV by the computer and one by the bed. Good enough.