Twice Bitten (32 page)

It’s the eyes that frighten me most. Like two matching kaleidoscopes where the color morphs between every brilliant shade of blue one can imagine and pure gold. Impossible to read accurately, I worry sometimes about the monster that lies dormant behind those eyes, behind the serene and fatherly façade. I’d never want to be the one to awaken it.

As for Huangtian Dadi, his appearance was similar to Gustav’s—at least in the sense of lifeless skin tone. Unlike Gustav, however, this ancient vampire likes to wear makeup. I’m sure of it. Even from where we stood, I detected rouge upon his cheeks and chin. And, if I was wrong about that—which I’m not—Huangtian Dadi has a fetish for eyeliner.

Even so, it would be most foolish to underestimate the ruthless soul that has commanded subservience among his undead Asian peers for the past twenty-eight hundred years. Chanson and Armando took considerable pleasure in detailing this vampire’s barbaric rise to power after our return to our quarters that night. (Huangtian Dadi and Gustav decided to allow all five of my vampire companions share my room with me for the duration of our stay in the palace.) The reigning Lord of the Dragon Masters who turned Huangtian Dadi into a vampire at the time was known as Cao Guojiu. Cao Guojiu has since been destroyed—some legends say by Huangtian Dadi himself during his rise to power in China two millennia ago.

“Greetings to you all!” Gustav exhorted us, his rich, mellow voice easily traveling across the room from where he sat. This morning, he also carried a long golden scepter in his lap that was embedded with jewels similar to the throne he sat upon. “Our gracious host and fellow vampire ruler—Huangtian Dadi—and I have gathered all of you here to outline our course of action in response to the latest aggressions by my brother, Ralu Izcacus. It is imperative that we follow our new plan precisely, and that we all be ready to migrate to a safer vantage point at a moment’s notice.”

He paused before going on, studying the crowd before him. I’m not sure if he expected a reaction of some sort, but for the moment, the throng remained quiet. The proverbial pin dropping on the floor and being the only thing heard would be quite apropos. Satisfied that he had our attention, he lightly nodded his head and then scanned the room…for me.

“Txema Ybarra…do you like your accommodations?”

Naturally, everyone turned to look at me, as if they were synchronized zombies in a horrid B-movie. Even Chanson turned to study me, and I could tell she had no idea that our leadership’s conversation would include direct dialogue with me.

“Um..yeah, they’re pretty decent.” I nodded slightly while I looked around. George Romero would be so proud. No emotion—just a room full of the undead staring back at me. Mind you, the grand hall was already cold, and my flimsy coat was failing miserably to keep me warm. But, the vamps as a group were sucking even more heat from my personal space. “I guess the only thing lacking from my room is some decent TV. Since I don’t have HBO, I’m gonna miss the latest episodes of
True Blood
.”

I’m not normally a bitch or some spoiled ingrate. But sometimes irreverent thoughts are impossible for me to keep locked up in my head. I didn’t think anyone present would laugh—although I heard a stifled chuckle escape from Tyreen. Like I said, it just comes out.

“What is
True Blood
?” Huangtian Dadi’s voice sounded surprisingly smooth and melodic—sort of like Gustav’s, the first time I heard his. It must be the tone of genuine surprise for the older vampires. He looked over at Gustav and then back at me again.

“It is a United States television program that features vampires, witches, and shape-shifters,” said Gustav, before I had a chance to respond.

He eyed me seriously, as if trying to decide if he should rebuke me for my smart mouth or not.

“So, it is ‘make believe’?” Huangtian Dadi sought to confirm with Gustav. I was entirely excluded from the conversation. For that matter, so was everyone else. “It sounds interesting. But what do the good citizens of the world think of such a tale? Perhaps they might gather their torches and pitchforks, as they used to do for all of us, and still do for Ralu in some places in South America, from what I understand!”

The crowd loved this, as uproarious laughter spread throughout the hall. How Republican of them all, to ridicule the one TV show I found it hard to live without in order to further ingratiate themselves with our ‘Boy George’ looking host. But I did learn one thing. It appeared that Huangtian Dadi had a better outward sense of humor than Xuanxang did. This could come in handy later on.

“Perhaps, indeed!” Gustav agreed. “Well, Txema, as I mentioned earlier we have created a plan to deal with Ralu’s ever-increasing aggression. The enjoyment of your present accommodations might be a short term consideration.”

He looked over at Huangtian Dadi and nodded.

“We have other locations deeper in the mountains, and we must advise that if it becomes necessary to move on to higher ground then we shall do so with only minimal notice,” said the Chinese Emperor. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do,” I said, when actually the answer should’ve been ‘not so much’.

I was weary already from the travel, and instinctively knew my pregnancy’s physical demands might get to the point where moving at a moment’s notice would be damned near impossible. Maybe he was talking about moving in a couple of weeks, which would be less problematic.

“Good, then we will proceed as planned!”

Huangtian Dadi sounded pleased, and like Gustav, his eyes began to morph. Only in this case, the colors in his version of the kaleidoscope eye syndrome were light brown and dark purple.

The two oldest vampires any of us would ever see stood up in unison. Everyone in attendance seemed to assume the meeting was adjourned. For the second time that night, we had experienced a gathering that lasted all of five minutes. It seemed pointless, especially since nothing earth shattering was revealed. Couldn’t this have waited until a later time?

“I’m sure that all of you are wondering why we bothered to hold this meeting so soon. Am I correct in that assumption?” said Gustav, which made me do a double take…did he just voice the precise thought in my head?

The murmur that had just begun suddenly died away. If this was a means to regaining everyone’s attention, it worked like a charm.

“We wanted to be sure we could easily assemble everyone at one time in one place, and with very little distractions,” said Huangtian Dadi, while Gustav looked over at me again. Wearing the slightest of smiles, I had no more doubt about his continued voyeurism into my head. The older vampires still had full access to my private musings, which brought me immediate dismay. “You may all leave now!”

And with that quick and to the point salutation from the Chinese Emperor, the vampires began to flit away en masse. But two vampires approached my little band of guardians who had immediately moved to form a protective circle around me.

“Bravo—very good!” said the first vampire, an older male whom I recognized from just two nights prior. “You all must feel it, too.”

I remembered his name was Kazikli. Dressed in a traditional tuxedo and black cape, he nodded to everyone and then bowed before me, his distinctive gold tipped wizard-like cane he carried in one hand and a black top hat in the other. Behind him was a female vamp that I had already begun building a friendship with: Nora Sterling.

“Hello, darling!” she said, and stepped forward to give me a hug. The scent of Hyacinth wafted toward me.

I always like her hugs since she wears enough clothing to ward off the normal vampire chilliness they all carry with them. That night she was dressed in a formal evening gown, and the pair reminded me of an old photograph depicting one of the rich white-haired couples who went down with the Titanic. Only in this case, Kazikli and Nora appeared in the prime of youthful adulthood—just that their matching flowing hair was white.

“You are such a stunning beauty in that cheongsam, Txema!” he said, as he approached me after my embrace with Nora was finished. He gently took my left hand in his gloved right one and lightly kissed it, sending a chill through my arm and tingles up and down my spine. A scent similar to spiced apples embraced my nostrils. “But you are not safe here…and yet I believe things will work out for you and your little one to be.”

Such an odd statement…but one that struck a true chord in my heart. I knew very little about this ancient vampire—a longtime confederate of Gustav, and one who engaged in an angry protest with our European King in regard to Ralu’s growing power. That happened just two nights ago—less than a few hours before my Relance de sang took place. It happened in a similar grand hall inside Racco’s castle, and at the time Kazikli struck the floor with his cane, sending out streams of purple plasma energy across the hall’s floor. It forced many younger vampires to scurry out of the way. And Kazikli was right about Ralu, who later attacked the castle right before my conception ceremony had ended.

“Then why in the hell are we here?” Tyreen ignored the immediate abhorrent expressions upon Garvan and Armando’s faces. Even Nora and Chanson looked uncomfortable. Raquel, however, looked slightly amused. As if she was learning to genuinely admire Tyreen’s spunk more and more. “We need to do whatever we have to do to make sure Txema and her unborn child are
completely
safe!”

I thought for a moment Kazikli had taken offense, and prepared for some dire punishment to be leveled at the nubile vampire—perhaps the end of Tyreen’s brief existence as an immortal. He shares the same light blue eyes as Nora, but they grew darker. Yet, unlike the other older vampires I’ve encountered, this one bears an air of humility—despite his preference for formality in dress and outward demeanor.

“I would have chosen some other place of refuge,” he said, pausing to cast a cautious look around him. Then he continued in a softer tone. “It was never my decision—despite the fact many of us have been actively following Ralu’s determination to eliminate your bloodline, Txema. It may take some time to secure a better place, so you will need to be patient and careful. Be
very
careful. Never wander too far from where Chanson and your other guardians can rescue you. Do you understand me?”

“Yes…I do,” I said, and then looked over at everyone else.

They all eyed me seriously. I mean, what else could I say? I didn’t believe I could ever outfox, outrun, or hide from any of them. Hell, they always had come to my rescue—even when I was almost killed by Ralu’s warriors when my dorm at UT was attacked.

“Good,” he said. “All of you must make sure never to let her out of your sight. Agreed?”

My guardians all nodded emphatically to him. Even Nora nodded, although as far as I knew, my safety was not her direct responsibility.

“Then perhaps what’s coming will pass us by as a non-event.”

“What do you mean?”

Chanson posed her question demurely, as if afraid of offending this particular vampire. I sensed she revered him as much as she did Gustav.

He allowed himself one more cautious glance and then motioned for us all to draw closer.

“A war among the higher races of vampires,” he whispered. “That’s why we must make sure we have nothing to fight over amongst ourselves or regrets that can’t be fixed. Protect Txema, and perhaps bloodshed among our kind will be avoided.”

The gravity of his words weighed heavily upon my heart, and I was scarcely aware that both he and Nora had disappeared in a flash as they exited the grand hall. Before I could voice a single question about what just happened, Chanson whisked me out of there, as she and the others raced back to my bedchamber—my tenuous safe haven.

Chapter 4

I stayed up until an hour past dawn, and didn’t attempt to sleep until the last of my nocturnal companions, Tyreen, was safely tucked into her casket and quietly at rest. I started thinking about a lot of things, and became fixated on one subject: all my ‘firsts’.

I believe we always remember the first of anything—whether that’s a first tooth lost, first day at school, first kiss—you name it. I had experienced quite a few ‘firsts’ in the past three months. Everything from my orientation at the University of Tennessee, to my first basketball practice with the legendary Pat Summit, to meeting my first serious boyfriend, Peter Worley. Oh, and don’t forget my very first roommate, Tyreen Davenport—now also the first human friend turned to vampire.

But, as I watched the sunlight creep in under my bedchamber door, I considered all of the recent ‘firsts’ that were not so pleasant. Don’t get me wrong—I loved my first near-fling with an immortal human in the French Pyrenees—Racco St Germain. I loved his castle as well as the helicopter trip we took to go skiing in the Pyrenees—all firsts. Even the trip over the Atlantic on his expensive yacht was an overall enjoyable experience and another definite first.

What kept me awake, though, were the recent necessities that came with being the last of my kind—which in a very real sense is another ‘first’. Before two weeks ago, I had never had anyone dislike me enough to want to take my life. The fact I was the target of a ruthless murderer bent on wiping out my inherited bloodline was most definitely an unpleasant first. Ralu had killed every distant cousin of mine that bore the same birthmark that Chanson and I share. We are the last ones, and since she is a vampire, I’m left as the only viable option to keep our heritage alive.