The deal we make with each other is simple. If the blood bank is low on A-positive blood, he asks me to find donors that are A-positive blood. My nose is sensitive enough to distinguish a human’s blood type just by being near them. When Tyler tells me the blood type of the donors he needs, I go to a very public place like a shopping mall or movie theater and just walk among the humans. If I smell someone with that blood type, I enter the person’s mind, implant the urge for the person to donate blood at American Heart Blood Bank, and have the person put Tyler’s name down as a referral. In return, he keeps me stocked with bagged blood. This is a win-win situation for all. The blood bank does not question how Tyler always finds so many donors, because they are more than happy with the results. They never run into shortage problems like other blood banks, which greatly improve their ratings as a preferred blood bank.
I am twenty when I meet Tyler. He is a little over a year older than I am.
The meetings between Tyler and I are mostly businesslike until the day he offers to open a vein for me. Unknowingly, my powers have been growing and what should have been a simple feed with a friend turns into so much more. While I am feeding, I enter his mind. Some strange new power overwhelms me and I make some kind of link to his mind. That is when I make the decision that I should not drink directly from another human again unless necessary. Tyler and I are still friends, but I always feel this weird feeling or connection when he is around me. It is too intimate. I have no idea what I have done or how to undo it. Tyler doesn’t seem to mind our special connection and occasionally I’ll see him staring at me with a look that is much more than friendship.
As lonely as I am, I can’t resist being friends with Tyler, despite that strange connection.
Sometimes, we just hang out at his place, thinking of ways to make and spend money.
Jokingly during one of our many discussions of moneymaking schemes, I make a suggestion about selling my blood because it has unique qualities that can heal human diseases without turning a person into a vampire. I was vague with the details about why my blood is unique, but he’s used to my evasiveness now so he doesn’t try to ask more questions. That night, we came up with the idea to harvest my blood and sell it on the Black Market. Brainstorming, we realized we could make billions on my blood if we can figure out how to sell it anonymously.
Unfortunately, Tyler and I haven’t found a way to get into the Black Market and remain completely anonymous. We decide that we would start storing away a few pints of my blood every week. As an employee of the blood bank, they have trained him on how to draw blood and he has all the equipment at work to do it after hours. When we do figure out how to make a profit from selling my blood, we will have the blood already available. I will continue to stockpile my blood in my basement without anyone’s knowledge until that time comes.
Chapter 12
Five years later…
Blixen has become one of my favorite hangouts since I stumbled into her bar years ago running from Jalik. The food is decent, the club is smaller than the other clubs nearby, but the new spacious floor plan does not make me feel claustrophobic. The cashier is off to the right, just inside the door. Blixen recently added a tall reception desk enclosed by safety glass that the cashier can sit behind and not worry as much about her safety. There is a small area in front of the reception desk for security to check people for weapons. Blixen has even added small shoebox sized lockers for people to rent while they are inside the club. After the reception area, the double doors that separate the club from the reception area remain closed until security allows the person entry.
Once inside, tall, round bar tables fill most of the main or upper floor of the club. The entire club is dark and slightly musky from so many bodies crammed together. The upper floor is most popular for voyeurs looking to catch a show on the dance floor but want to stay uninvolved. There is a bar at the back of the upper floor so the voyeurs don’t have to go downstairs to refill their drinks.
A wide staircase goes down to the lower level. When I first came into the bar years ago, there was only one floor. Blixen closed the place down and renovated everything.
I will be first to admit the new layout is much better and caters to more people.
At the foot of the stairs, the railing prevents people from spilling their drinks directly on to the huge dance floor that dominates most of the lower level. Only underneath the upper level can someone find a table or one of the limited plush booths nestled against the walls. Blixen recently created a VIP section for those who want to reserve tables, but seating is very limited and very expensive.
Near the back of the lower level on the left side, opposite of the VIP area on the right side, is the bar. There is a guarded stairway between the bar and the VIP section. These stairs lead to the specialty rooms Blixen added upstairs in the back during the renovation a few years ago. The laws in Arizona are a little more lax in regards to what can and can’t happen at a nightclub. For a large monthly fee, Blixen members can have access to the upstairs fantasy rooms for encounters in which they would like a little more privacy. Each of the five fantasy rooms has a unique purpose.
The voyeur room has large windows on every wall for people to stand, or sit on stools, and watch the action inside the room. The room itself is simple. There is a king-sized bed in the middle of the room along with a couple of chairs and a sturdy table. There are also a couple of small tables near the bed to hold bowls of assorted condoms. The room could be anyone’s bedroom at home.
The orgy room has an orgy size circular bed in the middle of the room. The back wall is a mirror so anyone inside the room can see anything happening anywhere else in the room. There are no doors for the orgy room. Anyone entering that room understands that it is open sex, meaning anyone can have sex with anyone. People who come to this room are usually courteous about people who are not into same-sex sexual activity though. Again, condoms litter the room over multiple surfaces. This room is popular with Weres closer to the full moon when their sexual activity is the highest.
The mirror room is a room exactly as it sounds. The walls and ceiling are mirrors. Candles sparkle throughout the room on mirrored surfaces to dance off all the reflective surfaces around the room. The king size bed has satin sheets and fluffy pillows to create more of a romantic feeling. Condoms hide in multiple mirrored objects around the room.
The black room is for the people who enjoy pain and/or blood with their sex. Dominance toys line three walls. Instead of a bed, swings and chains hang from the ceiling. Adjustable cuffs hang from the final wall. The room is often dark with only a dim light for seeing. The tables hold an assortment of condoms. Security searches everyone after leaving this room for concealed weapons.
The vanilla room is similar to the voyeur room without the windows. The far wall has a long mirror to allow the occupants to see everything if they turn their head towards the mirror. The design is simpler than the other rooms. The bed is in the middle of the room covered with an abundance of pillows of every size. Two nightstands holding bowls of condoms flank the bed. There is a couch against the wall near the foot of the bed. Near the head of the bed, there is another doorway, leading to a large bathroom with a Jacuzzi style tub and a large glass shower. The countertop is wide, black marble with dual sinks near each end. Bowls of condoms are on the sink, near the tub and just outside the shower stall.
Blixen has every room cleaned and sanitized after every use. Everything from ceiling to floors, beds and equipment are changed or cleaned thoroughly. Sometimes, if someone shifts during sex, Blixen will have to change out the mattresses or furniture if someone damages them beyond repair. Although vampires, Weres, and shape-shifters can’t catch diseases, humans occasionally visit the rooms so cleanliness is mandatory.
Blixen caters to all types, human or not. If a human sees something they should not have witnessed, someone grabs a vampire bodyguard. He will modify their memory and send them on their way. The club has some regulars, like me, but mostly the club caters to humans with exotic tastes. Vampires, Weres, witches, Shape-shifters, Fey, and other types of beings I have learned exist come here to unwind. Humans are not aware of our existence so a club catering to our kind is desirable and a well-guarded secret. Humans who are looking for a wild time or people that have a crazy fetish, but will not tell our secrets, often come to Blixen. As one would guess, a lot of politicians and rich men frequent this club, which is another reason why I am a regular.
Hey, I have an expensive shopping habit I need to maintain. If the men want to part with their money so I will hang on their arms and be their escort at the club, what kind of woman would I be to refuse it?
In addition, the owner of the club, Blixen, does not mind if we hustle there, as long as there are no drugs involved and we don’t kill anyone in the club. ‘Bad for business’ Blixen says.
Blixen may not look very dangerous in her 4’11” human form with a pixie like face, short blonde hair, and curvy figure, but I have seen how vicious she can be. She once shredded a Werelion with her tiger claws then hung his dick from the ceiling as if it was a disco ball, just for patting her on the ass when she was in a bad mood. No one has tried to pat her on her ass since.
Tonight, I am here to meet one of only two people I can consider a friend, even though we have a business arrangement together. Tyler, my good friend and the only human I trust, is meeting me here at the club to bring me my weekly allotment of blood from the blood bank where he works.
Tyler and I have still been drawing pints of my own blood once or twice a week since we met and store the pints in the large basement warehouse I have created under my house. Tyler does not know where I store my blood. He is only aware that I store it somewhere.
Tyler has been trying to find a way to sell pints of my blood anonymously on the Black Market for years to people desperate for cures to diseases and willing to pay for it, unfortunately, without success.
I look at my watch. It is 6:30pm.
Where is he?
I am just about to get up from the bar to call him when he walks in the front door. I wave him over to me and he joins me at the bar.
“What took you so long?” I bark out at him.
“Easy now, it took a little longer for me to get the blood out of there this time. More security since the blood business is doing so well. It is getting harder to get the blood out of the building with all the checks and balances. I think I might have to introduce you to someone else at a different blood bank.”
I stare at him, carefully watching his body movements, hoping this is a joke.
Since Tyler knows me so well, he knows what I am thinking. “This is not a joke. I had to get a supervisor’s signature to get this blood out of the building. The only reason they did not give me a harder time is because I have so many referrals and they trust me. The bad thing about it is the paper trail. I can only do so much without them becoming suspicious Jess, so stop looking at me like that.”
“Do you think paying the supervisor to keep his mouth shut will help?” I offer willingly.
“I don’t know.” He responds honestly. “It could work or backfire on us. I don’t think we should chance it until I know for sure. I left a message with one of my associates at Clearwater Blood Bank to give me a call. I will meet up with him and see if we can work something out with him first. I would like you to be there so you can do your vampire mojo on him if he does not want to get involved. I am confident he will be interested in the money since he has been complaining that he is strapped for cash lately. If we can’t work something out by then, surely you can feed off willing donors for a couple of days, can’t you?”
“It’s easy for you to suggest that I feed off donors. You don’t understand what it’s like.” I whine.
“Come on Jess. I am doing what I can. Just give me a few days to work something else out, okay?” Tyler responds encouragingly.
“Okay. Let me know when you want to meet up with your friend. Hopefully I won’t be stuck on a job or something.” I stop my complaints while taking the cooler of blood from him. “Thanks for the blood by the way.”
His grin turns mischievous. “Maybe you should try finding someone Jess. There’s got to be someone crazy enough to give you a try.”
“Ha, Ha! Aren’t you the funny guy?”
“Really Jess.” His expression turns solemn. “When was the last time you went out on a real date, meaning one that was not financially driven?”
“I prefer my dates to be financially well off and willing to support my habitual shopping.”
Tyler laughs. “Alright then. If you change your mind, I’m sure I can find a guy that may be brave enough to take you on.”
“No thanks. I am
so
not into blind dates. In addition, I have seen your taste.” I shiver mockingly. “No offense, but I can find my own dates.”
He takes the cooler and calls back to me while walking towards the large freezer behind the bar. “You hustlin’ or playin’ tonight?”
I smile deviously. “Why do you ask?”
“Cuz if you’re hustlin’, you might wanna be a little careful. I heard some big shot politician is gonna be coming in tonight so there’s supposed to be a lot of cops millin’ around.”