Sunset Strip: A Tale From The Tome Of Bill (11 page)

“Have a seat, my dear,” Marlene cooed. Barlow dragged over one of the chairs from the table I’d broken and Kara sat down. She was a pretty thing. Pity she was a fucking dumbass.

“Looks like I owe someone a wager,” Marlene said. I cocked my head to the side, confused. She explained, “I always thought you were a smart one, Lucinda. I figured at the very least it might take three, maybe more, tries to lure you out here. Sad to say either I was wrong about you, or your traveling companion - the one currently skulking outside - was quite persuasive. Stephen, take some men and invite her in. Be careful, though. I have a sneaking suspicion she’s more than meets the eye.”

Chapter 19

I gave an easy shrug. “Guess my thrall was a bit overeager.”

“Thrall?” The doubt was obvious in her voice.

“Of course. If I’d just brought her as a snack, I wouldn’t have had to party earlier. Do you mind, by the way? My ass is starting to go a little numb.”

Marlene released a breath and her concentration slackened. “Very well. Just behave yourself or next time I’ll make sure that’s the least of your worries.”

“Point taken.” I shifted in my seat, finding a more comfortable position.

I heard movement behind me. I turned my head to find Christy being escorted into the building. Three men surrounded her. Judging by their lack of coverings, I’d guess they were human...most likely the daytime bouncers. I also had little doubt they were what I claimed Christy was: thralls - weak-willed people given multiple deep compulsions over time, gradually having a cumulative effect until they were beholden to a particular vampire or coven. It was a subtle art that required a lot of concentration, something that, in all honesty, I’d never tried.

The men marched Christy up to the table and remained next to her. I couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t asked to sit. Her eyes immediately turned toward our quarry.

“Kara?”

I let out a deep sigh. “Way to go, Mata Hari.”

“You say that as if the cat wasn’t already out of the bag, Lucinda,” Marlene purred, sounding extra smug. She turned to Christy, then glanced back at me. “Cute. If she wasn’t hiding her true form, I might offer her a job.”

What the...?
“True form?”

“You can drop the glamour, witch.”

“She’s not a...”

“Oh, please. I smelled her the second she walked through the door.”

Before parting ways in the casino, I’d discussed my plan with Christy. Outside of the glamour, she wasn’t to use any obvious magic - like, say, disintegrating someone - unless necessary. Though the existence of mages was known amongst vampire-kind, not too many of us state-side had been exposed to them. Before recent events, the surviving wizards and witches of the world had been keeping a very low profile, having been all but wiped out just a few centuries ago. I’d been counting on Marlene not being familiar with them. Christy would, thus, be our ace in the hole when the time came to get nasty.

She had played her part perfectly - keeping an eye on the casino exits and following me when I left - all with the intention of being caught. She hadn’t done anything to give herself away, which meant Marlene was somehow in the know.

“How...”

“I said to drop the glamour,” Marlene snarled.

Before either of us could react, one of the goons plowed his fist into Christy’s stomach, doubling her over.

Once more, a flicker of emotion passed through me where there should have been nothing more than an icy center. I found myself rising, ready to dole out some hurt to her attacker.

“Don’t try it unless you want me to convince you otherwise again.”

Her last compulsion was still a fresh memory. I forced an expression of neutrality back onto my face and made myself comfortable again.

Christy let out a whimper of pain. Her form shimmered as the glamour dropped and she filled out her dress.

Marlene sniffed again. “A pregnant witch, no less. You do run with an interesting crowd these days, Lucinda.”

“I can’t help but notice you keep calling me that.”

“And I’m sure you can’t help but notice that I’m in a position to call you whatever I so please.”

I gritted my teeth and took it, despite wanting to smash hers in. “How’d you know about her? I didn’t think many of our kind...”

“You silly girl, this is Vegas. Half the stage magicians on the strip are the real deal and most of them are regular customers.”

Oh. Yeah, I guess that’d do it. It really had been a long time since I’d been here.

Marlene’s focus immediately turned back to Christy. In a flash, her claws extended and she placed them at the still stupefied Kara’s throat. “Be good.”

I glanced down and saw an angry red glow had begun to surround Christy. She looked at me, hot death flashing in her eyes, and I gave my head the subtlest shake I could. Powerful as she was, this was a losing battle...for now. God help this place if anything happened to her baby, though.

Fortunately, she still had her wits about her. The glow persisted for a moment longer before subsiding.

Marlene retracted her claws, but kept one hand on Kara’s shoulder. “That’s a good pet. A woman in your condition shouldn’t get herself too worked up. Now keep quiet and let the superior species converse.”

That’s one thing about most vamps - when they have the upper hand, they’ll just keep on pouring salt into the wound. I usually found it to be an endearing trait, but I could see how it might get on one’s nerves.

“Are we about finished with the games, Marlene?” I had a feeling if she pushed Christy enough, the poor girl would let loose with everything she had. I kinda preferred not sitting next to her when that happened. “Let’s cut the bullshit. You obviously know why we’re here. What do you want for the girl?”

“Ooh, so we’ve moved on from posturing to negotiating, have we? Fine, I’ll play along. I’m sure you’ll appreciate that I hold all the cards so my price might be a bit inflated.”

“Are you going to wait for me to die of old age, or are you going to name it?”

“I don’t think old age is going to be a problem for you, child. First, though, tell me what this girl is to you.”

“She’s nothing.”

“If she was nothing, you wouldn’t be here.”

True enough. “She’s important to the witch.”

“We’re getting closer, but I’d say we’re still not there. Tell you what - I’ll give you one more try. Give me a straight answer, or I’ll gut this pretty little thing here.”

She meant it. I knew what a vamp of Marlene’s age was capable of. Even if Christy somehow managed to nuke this place, she still wouldn’t be fast enough to keep Kara’s innards from spilling onto the floor.

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “I know her brother and kind of owe him one. This is me squaring my debts.”

“You know,” a voice called from behind us, “it’s funny to hear you say that, when you owe so much more to others.”

Christy and I turned our heads to watch the newcomer step from the shadows. I had been so focused on what was happening around me that I hadn’t heard anyone else enter.

“You son of a bitch!” Christy spat. “Is this how you repay Kara’s love? You drag her here to this den of wolves?”

I could only stare, my mouth agape as she continued her tirade. Earlier, Marlene had said I looked as if I’d seen a ghost. Now I really was seeing one.

“Mark?”

Chapter 20

1979

I raced through the still dark streets, trying to get as far from the nightmare I’d left behind as possible. With each moment, it felt more and more like a bad dream, but with each passing step, the guilt began to weigh on me.

By the time I reached the edge of the Strip, I’d half-convinced myself that the whole affair had been a bad dream brought on by my subconscious. In some ways, Jeff was a monster, but he hadn’t flashed a set of fangs and killed me. That was stupid. Obviously, the cocaine mixed with the inherent guilt of having cheated on Mark had done a real job on me.

I stopped in my tracks, realizing I needed to see him. Whether it was to confess and beg forgiveness or just to be with him, enjoying the normalcy of our lives, I wasn’t sure. I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

It was sometime after four AM. He’d be home, most likely asleep unless he had the breakfast shift today - I couldn’t quite remember his schedule. My head was still fuzzy and I was getting hungry. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind if I snuck something from the refrigerator of the small apartment he rented.

A few catcalls rang out as I turned the corner to his street. I looked and saw some drunken tourists whistling and waving at me. One, wearing a gaudy floral print shirt, pointed a finger toward his crotch.

Fuckers! They’d be hard pressed to whistle once I had torn their throats out...

What the hell? Did I actually consider
killing
those people just for being assholes? As if I even could. Still, that was weird. For just one small second, an overpowering rage bubbled up inside of me. Combined with the hunger eating away at my midsection, it was oddly overpowering.

I needed to get my head on straight. Fuck my job. I’d call Marlene later today and tell her I was sick. After that, maybe I’d contact Uncle Colin and let him know what kind of person his friend was. He’d probably be cross with me, but I had faith that he wouldn’t associate with someone like that if he knew their true nature.

At last! The squat building where Mark lived came into sight. I took a step, then nearly doubled over as my stomach cramped up. It felt like my organs were getting ready to digest themselves. I needed to get something inside of me and fast. I couldn’t understand it. Sure, I’d only had a salad for dinner the night before, but that wasn’t different than most days. I wasn’t a big fan of meat and had the feeling too many dishes of pasta wouldn’t be amenable to my current job.

Maybe it was the drugs again. Did cocaine speed up your metabolism? I had no idea. I was nothing more than a dabbler at best.

It was only then that I realized I could make out every little detail of the building. Come to think of it, how could I have seen the shirt on that tourist? On the Strip, that was easy. It was never dark there. Once past the casinos, though, the glitz petered off. Hell, here on Mark’s street, it was downright gloomy, yet I could see everything as if the sun was shining high in the sky.

My stomach growled again. I hurried on, opening my purse and digging out the key that Mark had given me some months back. He’d been dropping subtle hints about moving in together, but I’d been pretending to ignore it. Now, though, racing to be with him, I wondered if perhaps I’d been hasty. Maybe this ordeal was a wakeup call for me. I might not love him, but he’d never hurt me...maybe that was enough.

I let myself in, not bothering to turn on the light. His apartment stood before me in perfect clarity. My stomach cramped again. Food was my top priority.

“Lu? Is that you, darling?” Mark called from the bedroom. Immediately, all thoughts of the kitchen fled my mind. It was strange, but suddenly I needed him more than anything.

The entire apartment was awash in his smell. I took another breath, letting his scent fill me. I licked my lips, feeling a minor prick of pain as I did so, but barely noticed it.

“Lu?”

“I’m here,” I whispered, kicking off my shoes. It was only a few steps to his tiny bedroom and I practically tore my dress off heading there. My need for him was overpowering. How could I have strayed? What could I have possibly seen in Jeff? The hell with Pandora’s Box and everything else in this godforsaken town, I was never leaving Mark’s side again.

“You’re up early,” he replied groggily as I entered his bedroom. “Is something wro...”

“No,” I replied, tearing the sheets from atop him.

I straddled his hips, leaned down and plunged my tongue into his mouth. Our bodies pressed together and his heart beat loud and strong through his skin.

He pulled back from my kiss for just a moment, “Whoa, Lu, you’re ice cold. Been hanging out in a freezer all night? You might want to tell them to turn down the AC at...”

“Enough.” I urgently pressed against him again. He smelled so good. His pulse raced as he became more excited, not that I needed anything to be able to tell - he was definitely responding to my attention. I crushed his mouth with mine, wishing us to be together as never before.

“Mmmrph!” He again pulled back from me. “Ow! What the hell, Lu? You got a razor blade in your mouth?”

The smell of blood filled my nostrils...
his
blood.

He started to gently guide me off of him. “I love it when you’re aggressive, but maybe we should...”

I snarled and grasped his arms. My nails dug into his skin, and I easily overpowered him.

“Jesus Christ! What are you do...”

I didn’t hear anything further. The scent of him, the sound of his heartbeat, the taste of him still in my mouth - it all filled me with an animalistic need. A small part of me realized what was happening and tried to cry out, but it was too late. When I pressed myself against Mark again, it was teeth first.

* * *

I drank in great swallows, enjoying the ambrosia as it flowed into my mouth in spurts. It was incredible. All at once, everything unpleasant in my life receded into complete unimportance. How could something taste so good? I had never in my life imagined anything so wonderful.

I took another swallow and shuddered as the equivalent of a dozen orgasms racked my body. My other times with Mark had been good, but never so satis...

Wait...Mark?

I seemed to remember something about him. Hadn’t I been intent on joining him in bed? Perhaps, but that had been before. Now there was nothing but the blood. Full as I was, I found myself hoping it would never stop.

Sadly, though, it didn’t last. What had been a fountain slackened into a tiny trickle, weakly pumping as the heart behind it slowed.

...Heart?

I sat up, reluctantly pulling my face away from the wound I had created. Almost instantly, the euphoria receded as I saw the now vacant eyes of my lover.