4

We stood outside of the club, in a line that never ended. Laura grumbled to herself about us not needing to stand out here waiting, and led us to the front of the line. A large bouncer with huge muscles, and tall stature stared down at them from behind large sunglasses, fang flashing menacingly. “What are you two little girls doing up here? Get back in line where you belong.”

Angrily, Laura flashed the mark she received, and he straightened visibly. “Can we go in now?”

Stiffly he nodded his baldhead to the door, watched us as we went in. I could barely glance around the area before she led me to the check-in. There they made us relinquish our sacred relics, and instead stamped a number onto our skin. I got 666 and Laura giggled, waving off her 754.

Before I could ask about the hefty difference between our numbers, she husked me, and we sat down at one of the front tables of the stage. “What exactly do they do here?”

“Besides really kinky sex acts, they strip, give lap dances, special dances…”

“We’re here to remove that mark, not have fun.”

She gave me a sheepish look. Again, I narrowed my eyes at her, drifting down to the mark. It was a clean perfect puncture, black line connecting the two marks together. I stealthy tried to study it, but she purposely slid her wrist down after feeling my gaze. “Chill out, Jez. You’ll give us away with your tough-girl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer complex,” she whispered, biting her lip. She looked around eyes locking with one of the passing males. I felt the vibrations from where I sat, and it raised the hairs on my arm. Carefully, I looked into her eyes, and saw that she was looking a vampire straight in their eyes. Regardless if she was a slave or not, she was not shrewd enough to be granted permission to look.

Before I could call her on it, someone breezed behind me, held my arms down. “You know, we’re mighty glad you came here, tonight. Saved us the trouble of havin’ to hunt you down, darlin’.” I strained to turn my head, but whoever it was, was holding me down with sheer willpower. They were definitely old, perhaps older than I’ve ever faced—thousand years. “It’s a shame that you and I can’t get to know each other a lil better than this. Alexjander tends to get a bit jealous when it comes someone he’s workin’ with and I try to get in it. But…if you prove yourself worth it, I’m willin’ to put a bid in.”

They had a Texan drawl, but it didn’t sound right. “I don’t care to know you or Alexjander any better than I’m going to have to. If you don’t release me now, I can’t guarantee not killing you when I’m free.”

He hissed and gave a deep chuckle. “You are definitely feisty. Nonetheless, it would not be as fun to let you up so soon when the show is just about to begin.” His voice shifted, was darker, more French than it was. He rolled his words heavily like a deep wine. I shivered.

A heavy beat started, whether in the front or the back I couldn’t tell, but it was loud, hot, and pulsing. Smoke filled the entire room and cinnamon and vanilla suddenly filled the area. I tried to look over at Laura, but I couldn’t. It was the vampire’s will to keep my attention on the stage. Suddenly, my head started hurting until the dim stage lights started, and a figure appeared on the stage, dressed as a law officer.

The room got hot, and the figure started to strip. I could see pale muscles despite the shadows the light cast. My eyes roamed over his built quickly, at frown at what I saw. “Are you getting excited young one?”

I tried to shake my head, but instead settled for closing my eyes tightly. “I’m not going to let you make me watch this.”

“I don’t have to make you do anything. I have let my hold on you go; these is just one of your many suppressed desires, I can feel the sexual frustration pulsing under your skin.”

The sweet ambrosia of the blend of spices lulled, made my eyelids heavy, mouth parted to greedily suck in air. My nipples pressed tightly against my bra, shirt — nails digging into the smooth wooden chairs. My feet planted firmly on the ground, toes curling slightly. I struggled not to give in, shoulder rose in half-tilt. “I will kill you, should I get the open chance.”

The vampire gave to reply, his breath hot over my skin as he swept his lips down my jaw-line, neck, and collarbone. Quickly, I shot the heel of my hand up, rammed into his perfect nose, and cursed as I caught a bad part, the dull pressure on the thumb bone. Whomever it was gave no indication that my hit hurt, but his willpower returned full force, nearly shattering my mind under the intensity. I gritted my teeth tightly, held my breathing and mind still, protecting myself.

As quickly, as the force came, it disappeared, and left me in my chair, perspiration making my bang stick just on my brow. Motionlessness tore through the club, and I surveyed the area quickly. No one was by me, but the audience kept their eyes locked on me, mouths agape, fear in their eyes. I turned to stare at Laura who was just as speculating, shrinking back from me. “Tout bagay anfom?”

She shook her head at me, mouth opening to form words, before shaking her head. “I don’t understand what you’re saying, Jez.”

I pursed my lips, staring at her, as she took me in. “Souple, ban mwen anmwe!”

“Are you sure that you are okay? You seem out of it…” She paused, and I could tell there was something she wasn’t saying. “You’re marked with something, èzzi.” She whispered, pointing to my arm.

I looked down, fearing the worse, but I saw nothing. “Mwen pa genyen!”

“Stop speaking Creole, èzzi, this is serious! Come on, let’s go before Alexjander comes through…”

I had to roll my tongue around in my mouth for a moment, before I could break the words of my ancestor’s language. “No, we’re staying. We have to meet him.”

“You have no protection, èzzi. Do you know what he can do?”

I shot her a glance to shut her up. “Why are you so afraid of him?” After a moment, I stood, took in the faces of the crowd. No one blinked…narrowing my eyes, I studied their chest for respiratory response, but saw none, thoughts racing. “What’s wrong with these people, Laura?”

I heard her briefly whimper, before the room started spinning, and we were in another room. Nauseated, I closed my eyes, focused on solid ground, when I braced against a wall, biting the inside of my cheek. Gathering my bearings, I looked around, realizing I was inside a bedding chamber, and behind Laura stood three imposing figures.

“Laura,” I murmured slowly, watching them, “come here slowly.”

She shook her limp blond hair, and whimpered softly. “I can’t, èzzi, it’s all my fault.”

“What is?”

“If I hadn’t been so adventurous, kept my mouth closed, stopped bragging that I was friends with you, none of this wouldn’t have happened. I made a deal with the vampires, I wanted to be just like them, and I know that you hate them, but I thought you wouldn’t hate me, and we could be immortal together…”

I listened passively, gaze burning into the men behind her, finally understanding. “That was a transformation marking…they are preparing on changing you tonight then?”

She bowed her head. “Yes, don’t hate me, èzzi.”

I didn’t answer her, didn’t dare to. She was my best friend since childhood, understood the reasons why I destroyed these re-animated beings. They were challenging me, I could feel it on my skin, but they remained silent during our exchange. I waited silently, not breaking eye-contact. Wait, eye contact? They weren’t drawing me in? Cautiously, I slid my gaze from the middle man, to Laura’s face. “If you wish to join their legion, I shall look at you as one of them. If I stumble upon you in the street feeding, or in the grocery store, or on my way home, I will be sure to rip your heart out, and force fed it to you. Immoral for a vampire is just you living longer than humans, it’s nothing special. Just means you gives us humans another reason to hone our skills.”

“That is uncalled for.” One of the figures spoke, and Laura shifted restlessly.

I lifted my shoulder, head cocked to the side. “There are a lot of things in life uncalled for.”

“You will not try to stop this decision, fight for her? She is your friend after all.”

“Was. I will not fight for her. She’d much rather be among the undead than to be my friend. Why should I fight for her? You can have her.” I rolled my shoulder, hands on the hidden knife sheath on the inside of my arm, waiting. “I am leaving now.”

“You will not.”

“And why is that?”

“Because, you are marked to us, my brother and I.”

--

author's note: lots of reviews gets more chapters.