Keiko spent the rest of the afternoon lounging
by Michael’s pool. It was a warm September day and it seemed a fitting thing to
do. However, it was also the only thing Keiko seemed capable of deciding to do.
One impulse said to run, to get as far away from this place and these people as
she could. The other said “Stay! Stay and find out what’s behind the mystery
here.” Neither impulse seemed to win out, so inertia kept her right there
in the courtyard of Michael’s home.
As the hours past, she saw the various members
of Michael’s household trickle home from their various jobs outside. One came
home in a police uniform, another in nurse’s scrubs. Most however were dressed
in ordinary street clothes, giving no indication of their professions. A couple
came out and joined Keiko at the pool, but outside of a few pleasantries, they
said nothing to one another. Keiko was in no mood to converse.
Then, around sunset, a new face arrived. A young
African-American man in his early 20s, well-dressed in designer clothes and
different from the one she’d seen in Michael’s photos, came in the house and
walked through into the courtyard. He made his way across to the bar where he
poured a drink and then noticed Keiko sitting by the pool.
“You’re new here.” he observed. Keiko nodded.
“You one of Michael’s or someone else’s?” He continued bluntly.
That was going to take some getting used to.
“Michael’s.” she answered. The young man nodded, as if understanding a secret
that eluded Keiko.
“Should I be worried?”
He shrugged, as if to say “I don’t know.”
The next person to walk out onto the courtyard
was Michael himself. He spotted the young man and a smile crossed his face.
“Virgil!” he announced loudly. “How long have you been here?”
“Not long. I got a late start out of Virginia Beach this
afternoon.”
“I see you’ve met Keiko.” Michael’s eyes fell
upon her. Although her one-piece swimsuit was far from revealing, she felt
utterly naked under his gaze. It was both frightening and arousing at the same
time.
“Just now.” replied Virgil. “So how long have
you known this one?”
“Funny you should ask that.” Michael said with a
mirthful smile. “Come, I suspect you have much to tell me.”
---
“I wish my report brought better news.” said
Virgil as he walked into Michael’s office. He reached inside his jacket and
pulled out a 3.5” floppy disk. “It’s all there, but the numbers don’t tell the
real story.”
“And what is the real story?” asked Michael as he
sat down behind his desk.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, after the Reign, Max
was able to stack the Primogen council with supporters. They’ve been able to
isolate Damian and our other allies.”
Michael chuckled at the thought of Damian Drake
as an “ally,” but he was the closest thing Michael had to that remaining in
Tidewater.
“Many of these newly ascended kindred are trying
to carve out their own niche. They are not frightened by the legend of Michael
Allens and Max is certainly encouraging them to challenge you on every front.”
“No surprises there.” Michael lamented.
“It’s worse than you think. Like I said, Damian
is now isolated. He’s recently lost control of the local media to one of Max’s
new minions. This ran in the local paper just a couple of days ago.” Virgil
pulled out a newspaper. A circled headline read “Doctors baffled by recent
comas.”
“Damian has a new pet.” grumbled Michael. “And a
slip in the Masquerade like that is probably deliberate.”
“That was my guess as well. Damian’s being
undermined, without a doubt on Max’s orders. Soon Max will have an excuse to
remove him from the Council or even exile him. Once Damian’s neutralized, I
imagine it’s now only a matter of time before someone takes a shot at me to
claim Nightstyles. And when that happens...” The nonchalant way in which Virgil
spoke of his own potential assassination reminded Michael of the power of the
thrall-bond. Life and death mattered little to Virgil, so long as he could
serve Michael faithfully. “Max will decide an absentee landowner is too risky
and he’ll grant Nightstyles and your other properties to some crony of his who
can defend them. Your income will dry up”
“Wonderful,” said Michael sarcastically.
“Another nail in the coffin of my legacy. I shouldn’t be surprised. My own
folly at leaving.”
Michael half-expected to hear Virgil affirm his
self-incrimination, but the thrall-bond would never allow Virgil to even
believe Michael was capable of mistakes, let alone allow him to call Michael
out for them. “So, I am the beast in the night that men fear. Vampires, mages,
and werewolves alike shiver at the mention of my name and yet now I am undone
by something as mundane as being unable to pay my bills. O, how the mighty are
fallen.”
“Is your income stream here so small?” asked
Virgil.
“It could be larger,” Michael conceded. “Most of
the harem work in and around Blacksburg
and I demand only a little of their incomes for room and board essentially. I
could get more simply by asking. I could charge more for the parties or make
them more frequent. But I have a feeling it would be inadequate. The loans to
build this place were substantial. Never mind those additional expenses to keep
the local government out of my business. Bribes get costly.”
“Could you subvert some local businesses here in
Blacksburg?”
“I’ve considered that. But there’s a couple problems.
The first comes from when Mathias cloistered our beloved Princess off in his
dungeon of delights. A power vacuum was created here in Blacksburg, which was filled by a variety of
forces but most recently by the mages. They are hoping to make Blacksburg
like Charlottesville
and I remain a persistent thorn in their side. They would not look kindly on me
buying up or otherwise acquiring businesses throughout the town.”
“And the other problem?”
“The other problem is the Princess herself. When
I marched in here two years ago with my entourage, killing The Djinn, and
seating her upon the throne of Roanoke,
it was very obvious to all the significant power imbalance between us. Deborah
is fully aware I could have claimed that throne for myself and yet I chose not
to in order to keep an old pledge to her. Well, no good deed goes unpunished
they say and now Deborah both hates and distrusts me. She would also not look
kindly on any move that appeared to be expanding my power base. Hell, she might
even work with the mages to see me undone.”
“So, damned if you do...”
“Yeah...” Michael let his voice trail off. “I
knew this wouldn’t last. Sooner or later someone would have come along to
challenge the great Michael Allens just as I not so long ago challenged the
great powers myself. I am part of a predator species and we are just as quick
to consume each other as we do the great masses of humanity.” Michael stood up
and walked over to his bookshelf. He was surprised and mildly annoyed to see
his collection of pictures had been disturbed. Several were lying flat. He
flipped them over in turn and then took the one of Sarah Cobbler in hand.
“On that matter,” interjected Virgil, noticing
where Michael’s attention had been drawn. “I have nothing to report.”
“And why don’t you?” Michael growled.
Virgil got a noticeable look of panic on his
face at Michael’s outburst. “I’m sorry, mi’lord. She refuses to see me or speak
with me. Or at least that's what her messengers tell me.”
"You've had no contact with her at all then?"
"No one has as far as I can tell. She sends her regrets when Max calls her to court and stays in hiding."
"Probably wise of her to avoid that pit of vipers." said Michael,
calming down. “I'm sorry, Virgil. I shouldn't have snapped at you. It just makes no
sense that she makes no effort to contact me. We had so much. We shared so
much. Why does she now ignore me?”
“I do not know.”
“Did the sleep of torpor warp her mind?” Michael
continued his random speculation. There were no answers to be found. Not here.
Not now.
“You could go see for yourself.” suggested
Virgil.
“Max would call a blood hunt on me immediately
for daring to defy my exile.”
“With respect, mi’lord, does that really
frighten you? With your allies here? Mitch, Boar, Julia, even Sammy? You’d walk
in there like an invading army. Damian would stand with you again, even if only
to save his own hide. Yes, Max could call a hunt, but the slaughter would do
more harm than good even if he defeated you. His minions may not fear the
legend of Michael Allens, but Max most certainly does. My guess is he’ll try to
appease you rather than destroy you.”
Michael slumped back into his desk chair as if
struck. “Virgil, I needed a kick in the ass. I think you just gave it to me.”
“I’m sorry, sir, if I spoke too boldly.”
“No, don’t apologize. I needed that. I knew
there’s a reason I left you behind in Virginia
Beach. You have a clarity of vision that my loyal
retainers here lack. I’ve spent these last two years here living like Jay
Gatsby, drowning my sorrows in lust and excess. Feeling sorry for myself
because the one thing I want more than anything else sits by herself ignoring
me in Tidewater. The reason she refuses to talk to you or me or any of us is
shame. Shame at what I’ve become, a pale shadow of the nightmare I once was.
Wasting away feeling sorry for myself has grown old.”
“What will you do then?”
Michael stood up and went back to his bookshelf.
He picked up the picture of Sarah again and cradled it in his hands while looking
at it. “It’s long past time since I returned. Long past time I found out the
answers to the questions that have haunted me these past two years. Long past
time I showed Max and his upstarts who it is they are dealing with.”
Virgil smiled. “When can I expect you?”
“Soon, but not immediately. Max is a canny foe.
While it may seem unwise for him to call out the dogs on me if I show up, that
doesn’t mean he won’t do it. A cornered animal is the most unpredictable. I
need to make sure I have a place to retreat to if I fail. Arrangements
therefore need to be made. I cannot do this rashly.”
“Understood, mi’lord. But remember we’re with
you all the way.”
“I’m counting on it.”
---
Virgil and Michael were not alone. Outside, in
the hallway, Keiko stood by the door and listened. Much of what she heard made
no sense. Words that had no meaning: torpor, primogen, blood hunt. What was all
this? The more she uncovered, the more questions she had.
Virgil walked out of the room. Keiko quickly
composed herself, pretending to be walking down the hall. “Is Michael there?”
she asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
“I am here.” came his voice from inside the
room. “Come in, Keiko.” She gave Virgil a polite smile then did as Michael
instructed. She walked into the room to see him pouring a couple of drinks from
a private stash of liquor. He offered her a screwdriver, the same drink she’d
requested the night before.
“You teased me for my choice last night.” she
commented, taking a sip.
“Your sense of adventure will come in time.”
said Michael.
“I’m guessing your friend there wasn’t here for
adventure. Business, I presume? How boring.” Keiko teased casually, pretending
to only guess at what Virgil and Michael had discussed.
“Don’t pretend you weren’t listening in.” said
Michael bluntly. His vampire senses had easily detected her eavesdropping
outside.
Keiko felt a moment of panic, remembering the
cryptic warnings she’d received earlier about Michael’s dangerous nature. “I
didn’t understand half of what I heard.”
“Nor would you.” said Michael casually. “But you
want to, don’t you?”
Keiko’s face froze with indecision. Did she
really?
“If I find out, there’s no going back, is
there?” she asked.
“No.”
“Will I have to fake my death too?”
Michael chuckled. “It’s bad enough that two
people from adjacent homes in Charleston, West Virginia both died under mysterious circumstances in
Blacksburg, Virginia. Let alone three. Someone would
come looking. That’s a story too impossible to be believed. Besides, you’re a
long way from being in deep enough for such drastic measures.”
“But you aren’t. And neither is Rebecca. She’s
alive too, isn’t she? You told me she died but that was a lie.”
Michael nodded. “Yes. A necessary one and I
apologize for the deception.”
“And Shawn? He survive too?”
“No, he did not.”
“So what’s really going on here? Drugs?
Racketeering? Gambling? Prostitution?”
“You are a bold one. Asking a man you think to
be a mobster what his crime of choice is. You’re close to the truth and yet at
the same time not even in the same ballpark.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“Not yet. We’ve only know each other for two
days.”
“We grew up next door to one another.”
“When I last saw you, you were this gangly
little 10-year old who was flat as a board. I’ll admit you’ve filled out
nicely, but don’t presume our relationship from before has any bearing on now.
Nor does the fact that I know precisely how well you’ve filled out. As I’m sure you’ve
discovered by now, at this house, we fuck as casually as we eat or breathe.”
Keiko frowned. “I don’t believe last night meant
nothing to you.”
“Nothing? No. But was it some earth-shattering
trumpets-blaring moment of revelation? No. It was fun. You got to sample what
you’ve dreamed about for years. It was my gift to you, but don’t read into it
more than what’s there.”
“So that’s all it is? Fun. Except when it’s with
her.” said Keiko angrily. “And I can guess which one: The amber eyed brunette.”
“Her name is Sarah.” said Michael with an ice
coldness to his voice that frightened Keiko to her very core. “And you will not
speak of her in that way again. Yes, we had sex last night, but that gives you
no right to even remotely presume yourself her better.” He paused, his coldness
not abating in the least. “No, you are definitely not ready yet. Your jealousy
is proof. Until you are ready, it’s dangerous for me to trust you. You know too
much now as it is. How do I know you won’t run home to tell the whole
neighborhood that I’m alive after all? Do you know what that would do?”
“To whom? You or them?”
“Or to you?” Michael’s tone carried all the
implications of a threat.
By now, Keiko was angry, frustrated at Michael’s
callousness, and she did not back down. “This isn’t about me or your family.
This is about protecting you. What would good old mom and dad say if they
learned their son was a criminal and a libertine? Good little Sunday School boy
that you once were. All your wealth and power and you’re ashamed of what Mommy
and Daddy will think of you!”
Michael struck her hard with a backhanded slap,
knocking her clean off her feet and onto the floor. His anger evaporated in an
instant, replaced by horror at what he’d just done. Never in all of his years
had he ever struck a woman in that way.
Keiko came back to her feet, nursing her
reddened cheek. “How dare you! Fuck off!” She stormed out.
---
“Keiko was pretty pissed when she marched out of
here earlier.” said Donna. Michael had come to her room, with “that look” in
his eyes. That look that said Make me forget. Now she was on her back
and Michael was thrusting into her vigorously.
“I wish you wouldn’t talk about her. It’s not
exactly a turn on.” said Michael, breaking his rhythm.
“Be honest, lover. I know you wish I was her
right now. I know you’re imagining her while you’re inside me. I’m not upset.
You do this all the time with all of us. Each of us, in our own way, is a
substitute for the ones you really want.”
Michael pulled out, his arousal vanished.
“You’re not supposed to know that, let alone speak it openly.”
“You need more than a fuck right now, master.
You need to talk it out.”
“Are all my slaves so damn bold that they can
dictate to me what I need?” Michael snapped. “Virgil: Go back to Tidewater.
You: Have a therapy session. Keiko is not yet bound to me, so I understand her
defiance. But you?”
Donna shrank from his anger and Michael again
regretted his outburst. “Worse still that you’re right. All three of you.” he
said quietly. “I do need to go back to Tidewater. I do need to talk out what’s
on my mind right now. And I have been treating Keiko like shit. Dear God, I hit
her. I’ve never hit anyone who wasn’t a threat. What the hell is happening to
me?”
Donna sat up and hugged her knees to her chest,
listening attentively. Michael ran his hands through his hair in frustration, then
lay down next to his young lover.
He began to speak. “I’ve lost my way, Donna. I
treat all of you like crap, because I’m pissed that you’re not the ones I
really want to be with. The only reason you put up with it is because you can’t
help it.” Michael ran his hand affectionately across Donna’s bare back. “There
was a time when I saw each of you as individuals, each different, each with
your own charms, advantages, strengths, and personalities. But I’ve lost sight
of that in my grief. Forgive me.”
“Of course.”
“I wish I knew that was heartfelt and not just
the power of my blood speaking.” mused Michael. “I owe Keiko an apology also.
At first, when I realized who she was, I wanted to make her one of you, one of
the harem, as a statement. Now I’ve truly conquered my past. I made that gangly
little brat from next door one of my whores. And one ill-toned statement from
her revealed the lie of all of it. I’m not free of my past, I’m trapped by it.
My parents, my sister...”
“I didn’t know you had a sister.” interjected
Donna.
“Six years younger than me and never much on
my radar. Just a nuisance growing up.” Michael returned from his tangent back
to his main point. “But it’s not just them. Not just my family. It’s Rebecca.
It’s Sarah. Hell, it’s even Deborah. I’m bound by all of them. Held prisoner in
my own mind.”
“Some of them,” Donna began, “I think you truly
wish to be free of. But Sarah? You sought to marry her. Rebecca? You embraced
her, for better or worse, so you could be with her. You see yourself their
prisoner, but the problem with some of them is not your lack of freedom. It’s
that you’re not bound closer to them.”
Michael thought about that for a moment. “You’re
right.” He conceded. “What a different world it would be if Rebecca was here.
Or Sarah. Or both of them. Or if Deborah wasn’t a bitter enemy.”
“Some of
that you can’t change. Some of it you can. That’s probably one of the reasons
Virgil told you to go back to Tidewater. Sarah is there waiting for you.”
“Is she?”
“Only one way you’ll ever know.”
Michael nodded and sat up. “Thank you, Donna.
You were right. I did need to talk this out. And now I know what to do.”
---
Michael walked across campus, towards Slusher
Hall, the somewhat infamous girls dorm that many on campus referred to as
“Slutter Hall.” Michael had more than enough connections in Virginia Tech’s
administration that tracking down Keiko’s dorm room was a simple matter.
Realizing it was the same dorm in which Kris Keller once lived gave Michael
pause.
“Another example,” he mused to himself, “of how
I’m trapped by my past.”
He pushed away those regrets and continued his
journey. The RA at the front door, placed there to keep the wandering masses
out of a girls dormitory, waved him through, “persuaded” of Michael’s good intentions
with a careful application of vampiric charm. He headed up to the third floor
and knocked on Keiko’s dorm.
“Who is it?” came her voice.
“Me. I’d like to talk.”
The door cracked open and Keiko peeked out, but
did not invite Michael inside. “About what?” she said coldly.
“I wanted to apologize.”
“Too late.” She growled and made to shut the
door. Michael held it fast.
“You’re not going to even give me a chance?”
“Why should I?” she yelled. “Your sluts talk
about me like you own me or something. You toy with me with your secrets,
secrets which your one friend says are dangerous. You hit me in a burst of
rage. Why the hell should I give you the time of day?”
“You’re right on all counts. I’ve treated you
terribly. Please let me inside. Let’s talk.” Michael poured on the vampire
charm again, willing his blood to make his voice and mannerisms irresistible.
He figured, probably rightly, that his words alone were not going to do the
trick.
Keiko opened the door. “Fine.” She said,
reluctantly conceding, but conceding nonetheless. Michael followed her inside.
Her room was rather spartan, only a few
photographs of home as decorations. Michael, of course, recognized the house,
having grown up right next door to it. She watched his eyes linger on the photos.
He turned to her.
“The truth is you scare the hell out of me.”
Michael admitted. “Once I realized who you were, all that…” he motioned towards
the photos. “…started coming back to my mind. Everything I tried to forget.
Everything I chose to leave behind. I didn’t disappear by accident. It was a
choice, a deliberate decision to leave my old life behind. The ‘church boy?’
Gone. The bullied nerd? Bye-bye. The disappointment that I always was to my
parents and family? No more. All left behind and forgotten until you showed
up.”
“Was it really that bad?”
Michael nodded. “It’s one thing to be rejected
on occasion.” He said. “But another entirely to find it at every turn. My
parents saw me as a failure. My schoolmates saw me as a target. My friend
David was a friend until he found an excuse for righteous indignation. My only
chance with Rebecca came when her brother offed himself, a chance which
evaporated the moment I set foot on this campus all those years ago. Every one
of them turned on me at one point or another.”
“I wouldn’t have. I used to dream about you.
Thought you were the cutest thing ever.”
Michael chuckled bitterly. “It’s not that I
don’t appreciate the sentiment, Keiko, but think about it. Back then, you were
just this gangly little kid, old enough to start crushing on somebody, but not
old enough to even know what to do with it.” Michael paused. “And yet, why am I
here? Because I fucked up badly enough to come begging your forgiveness. If I
fail tonight, I can add you to the list.”
“At least,” she began. “You own up to the fact
that it’s your fault this time.”
“So what am I going to do to make it up to you?”
Michael asked. “You know, I told you the other night that it didn’t mean
anything. It was just a bit of fun, a roll-in-the-hay and a fantasy fulfilled.
I should have known better. With our shared history, I should have known
better. It clearly meant something to you, but I’ve surprised myself at how
much it’s affecting me. I don’t know what that means, but I know I have to make
amends with you.”
The best lies were half-truths, Michael had once
learned somewhere. And there was a lot of truth in what he’d said to Keiko, but
twisted just enough to dangle her hopes before her like bait. The question was:
would she bite?
“Why don’t you tell me your story? Your secrets?
Show me a bit of trust and maybe I’ll return the favor.”
“Only maybe?” queried Michael. “You see, the
problem with the truth is that you’re not going to believe it. Not without some
sort of tangible proof.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s hard to blame you. This world you live in
is the one we’ve pulled over your eyes to blind you to the real truth.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You sound
like that trailer to that movie coming out next year.”
“I’m not human.” Michael admitted. “Not anymore.
I’m a vampire.”
“Now that’s just insulting. Get out!” snarled
Keiko, her anger returning.
Michael vanished from sight, using the power
he’d stolen from The Djinn when he drank his soul. Keiko jumped in fright,
right back into Michael, where he had moved with vampire celerity while
invisible. Keiko screamed in shock and dismay at his touch and ran for the other side of the room, curling up in a ball in a far corner.
“Told you that you wouldn’t believe me.” He said. “Now calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. If I wanted that, there’s not much you could do about it.” He held
out his hand. “I won’t hurt you.” He emphasized.
She looked at him, then at his outstretched
hand, and then back at him, as if debating what to do next. Michael made no
further movement; he simply stood there and waited. Quietly, she came to her
feet, still trembling with fright.
“You’re…you’re not joking, are you?”
“It’s a tremendous risk for both of us in my
admitting what I just told you. What Corwin told you is right. I live in a
dangerous world. We all do, you just didn’t know it until now.”
“You drink blood?”
Michael nodded.
“You kill people?”
“Too many.” Michael admitted.
“And me?”
“I said I wouldn’t hurt you and I meant that.”
A knock came at the door. “You alright in
there?” It was the RA from downstairs. Someone must have hear Keiko’s scream
and gone for help.
Michael looked at Keiko, curious as to how she
would respond. If she called out for help, expressed in some way that she was
in danger, this would go badly for them all. Telling her the truth was risky
enough, now the stakes had gone even higher.
“I’m fine.” Keiko called out confidently. “I
just got startled by something. No big.”
“Alright,” conceded the RA. “Some of your
friends heard a scream and thought something was up.” Michael listened through
the door to receding footsteps.
“You’d have killed her if I’d opened the door.”
Keiko concluded.
“Not if I could help it. Although, if you had
opened the door, you would have made life a whole lot harder for all of us.
Thank you. My trust in you was not misplaced.”
“So how did it happen? How’d you become this
thing?”
“Another vampire made me into what I am now. As
I said, I chose it. At times, I regret it, usually after I’ve killed somebody.
I hate taking life, so I do everything in my power not to, but sometimes it’s
unavoidable. Most of the time though I live a life far better than anything I
would have had as a mortal. I’m rich,
good looking, and eternally young. Women don’t say no to me. I got so used to
that, I’d forgotten what it was like to have someone walk out on me like you
did.”
“So what happens now?”
“Well, here’s the thing.” Said Michael, knowing
he had her now. One way or another, he had her. “I have peeled back the veil on
a world that you are meant to know nothing about. That makes you a liability to those
who want to keep it secret.”
“You won’t kill me, but they will.” Concluded
Keiko.
“Quite likely. You’re now a potential hunter,
one of those that knows. Many that find out launch their own personal crusade
to eradicate us and that makes you dangerous. But there is an alternative…”
“Become one of your women.” Keiko kept
connecting the dots accurately. “That’s not much of a choice.” She complained.
“I believe I told you that once you knew the
truth, there would be no going back. You’ve now crossed that line.”
“So now I get to disappear. Vanish like you
did.”
“No, I said before that would look far too
suspicious. Other hunters would see the pattern of having you, me, and Rebecca,
next-door neighbors that all disappeared from Virginia Tech and would come
looking. No, you would simply be brought into my protection as one of my
servants. I would not take you away from your family and your past by force. I
did that once. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Rebecca.” Inferred Keiko. “You made her into
one of you, didn’t you?”
“I said I did have my regrets. That would be one
of them. Perhaps the biggest.” Michael went back to the original subject.
“Being one of my women is not without its benefits. You’d be like the other girls,
the ones you met at my house.”
“An endless party. Booze and sex without limit.
I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that. And I’d be yours, whether I’d want to
be or not.”
“I don’t force them and I wouldn’t force you.
There’s no pleasure in that. No joy. No fun. If you want me, you can have me.
But if you want someone else, you can have him. Or her, if that’s your thing. I
don’t care. Jealousy’s not really part of my make-up.” Michael’s tone grew more
serious. “Neither is rape. It’s the big reason I chased those guys off of you
when we met two nights ago.”
“My studies?”
“Nothing there needs to change. You can even
live here, if you like, or we can make space for you at the villa. Your
choice.”
“What’s the catch? There has to be a catch.”
“Well, you can’t tell anybody about what you
know that isn’t already a vampire or a vampire’s servant. They’ll be hell to
pay if you do that. And there is a thing you have to do to become formally part
of this world. You’ll have to drink a small bit of my blood to seal the bond
between us.”
“And when I do that, I’ll have your protection?”
“Yes. You’ll become my servant and be under my
wing.”
“Alright, do it. Before I realize how crazy this
all sounds.”
Michael pulled out the tanto dagger he kept on
his person nearly all the time and cut a gash across his wrist. As the blood
pooled up, he held out his arm to Keiko. She took his arm and looked at the
blood.
“Does it matter how much?”
“Not really. The power is in the act, not the
quantity…although you may find you like it.”
She put her lips to his wrist and began to
drink. Michael sealed the wound after a second or two, letting her lick the
last remnants of the blood from his skin. He looked at her and saw ecstasy wash over her eyes. Michael had never fed one of his servants so directly, but watching it hit her like a heroin rush made him think that might be something to do more often. She came down from her high a few seconds later, her eyes full of devotion. Her third drink and the bond was now sealed.
“Well, now that that’s done, how about we
consummate our new relationship another way?” he asked with a sly smile.
“Whatever you wish…master.”
---
“I’m
surprised your roommate hasn’t returned.” Michael observed, looking at the
alarm clock next to Keiko’s loft bed. It showed 2:21 A.M. “Awfully late for a Monday night.”
“She has a
boyfriend and doesn’t always sleep here.” She admitted. “I guess I’m going to
have to get used to a nocturnal schedule myself.”
“You’re a
college student.” Said Michael. “Par for the course.”
“For now,”
said Keiko, “I think I’ll stay in the dorm. But I’ll be at the villa most
nights.”
“That’s
fine.” Michael sat up. “There is something you can help me with.”
“Whatever
you wish.”
“Tell me
about my family. I’ve been away for the better part of a decade now. What’s it
like back home?”
“I’m not
sure I’m the best person to tell you that. I would basically see your folks go
to work and come home. Rebecca’s folks, same thing. I can’t say I’ve said more
than a few sentences to any of them ever.”
“And my
sister? Miranda would be about your age.”
“A little
older. Two years in fact. Far enough that I didn’t spend a lot of school time
with her. But there is a story to tell concerning her. I don’t know the
details, but I do not that your folks kicked her out of the house a year or so
ago.”
“Kicked her
out? Really?”
“Yeah, I
don’t know the story. My folks thought it was drugs, but I think they were just
guessing.”
“That would
do it.” Michael guessed. “Or she got pregnant or something like that. They weren't terribly forgiving of anything that might taint their good name. That’s all
that ever mattered to them.”
“You really
hate them, don’t you?”
“Mostly.
And I also love them. They gave birth to me. They raised me. Took care of me.
But I was never what they wanted. I was never quite sure what they wanted, but
whatever it was, I never fit the bill. Decent, but not exceptional, grades. Not
good enough. Liked anime and sci-fi and D&D. Too weird. Went to church all
the time. God, I almost drowned in all the church they crammed down my throat.
But I was a little smart for my own good there. I read the Bible. Saw what
Jesus said we were supposed to be about and what we were supposed to do and I
also saw how no one at the church ever seemed to do that. Talk about your
trouble.”
Michael
paused. “I remember a time. I don’t know if you went to church or not, but
there’s this part of the Bible where Jesus says you should give away all your
stuff to help the poor. Well, I decided one day that I was going to do that.
Not everything, but I had a whole lot of stuff that I didn’t need anymore. A
ton of clothes, some old toys, etc. I went through everything I owned and
sorted it out. I made a pile, a huge pile, of things that I was going to give
to the Salvation Army or something to give to others who needed it.
“When my
Dad saw that, he exploded. That was his temper, going off like a bomb. I swear
he was one step away from beating me half to death. How dare I! How ungrateful
I was with all this that I’d been given! Maybe I should never get another
Christmas present ever again, because obviously I didn’t appreciate what I had.
So, I took my pile back into my room and it sat there collecting dust for years
after. Might still be there for all I know.”
“How old
were you?”
“I don’t
remember. Ten, twelve, maybe? Old enough to realize what hypocrites my parents
really were. And to realize that my father was the biggest bully I've ever faced in life. Todd and the
other creeps at school were but a pale shadow of my Dad. I showed him up. I
didn’t realize it at the time, but I embarrassed him. I made him realize how he
didn’t live up to his own moral code and his response to that was to unleash on
me. So it’s not hard to imagine that if Miranda did something to embarrass them
publicly, if she did something to peel back the veil on their lies and secrets,
then I could see them dumping her on the street like yesterday’s trash.
“Deborah
picked well, maybe better than even she knew, when she offered me to become a
vampire. She needed me to be a foot soldier in her fight against an elder
vampire who proved to be very much like my parents. All full of righteous
indignation about this, that, or the other thing. Busy ranting against all the
sins of the world, but like them, also a rampant hypocrite. “
Keiko
listened intently. Michael had never shared any of these thoughts openly
before. He was not entirely sure he could have. Maybe with Rebecca, because
like Keiko, she would have known the people involved. She would have understood
the context. But he’d not had that chance with her, so brief was their time
together as kindred. Now Keiko was here and could be the confessor he hadn’t
realized he needed.
“I became a
vampire to leave all that behind me. To finally be free of all that bullshit.
Problem is I’m not free. That’s why I got so angry at you last night. I need to
find a resolution to this paradox regarding my family and my past. Do I love
them? Do I hate them? I’m not going to find those answers here. I have to go
back home and for that I will need your help.”
Next Chapter
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