The Meridian Gamble (48 page)

I wave in their direction, like an
idiot.

“And that’s …”

But before he can give me a brief
bio of the other new vampires, Lina’s girlfriend Angel comes bounding up.

“Adam, Meri. Hi.”

“Hi, Angel.”

“There are hot dogs. The ones on
the right are vegan. They’re yummy.”

“Would you like one?” Adam asks.

“I’d love one,” I say. “Regular,
though. I had vegan for lunch.”

“Those are good, too. They get them
from a special butcher, so they’re not made of all the gross parts of the
animal,” the little pixie girl tells me.

“I’ve always dreamed of eating a
hot dog without having to worry about what it’s actually made of,” I say,
trying to keep my cool. “This place has made so many of my fantasies come
true.”

Adam looks back at me and smiles,
as he goes to the counter to get my food. When he’s stepped a few feet away,
Angel moves closer. My heart sinks for a moment, and I’m worried that she’s
going to tell me some secret, confess that she’s a Luminos spy. This place is
too full of secrets, and it seems like one always pops up when I least expect
it.

“I’m glad I got the chance to see
you again, Meridian. Oh my gosh, I love that name, it’s so cool. Anyway, this
might be the last time we talk for a while. I’m going to be undergoing the
transformation soon. See, they’ve already fitted me with my collar.”

“Your … collar?”

Angel pulls open her shirt,
revealing a flat, silver piece of jewelry that hangs low on her neck, which she
seems almost proud of. It reminds me of one of the chokers that Lina wears, and
I realize I’ve seen it before, on the young vampire we passed when I first
visited the tower.

“It’s a kind of tracking device
they put on the new vampires,” Angel says. “But it’s more than just that. They
can explode it remotely, just in case you get kidnapped by someone. Which is
kind of scary, I suppose. But I know Lina won’t let anything happen to me.”

“I’m sure she won’t,” I say, unsure
of what to think. And I wonder if Angel even knows about the Luminos, and just
how seriously the vampires take threats to their security. But she must, by
now.

“Anyway, I probably won’t see you
for a few years. They have to keep you isolated for a while, the cravings get
kind of bad. But you’re the only one who would tell me what was really going
on, Meri. And I wanted to thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome. Though I probably
should have kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t my place to let you know.”

“I’m still grateful. And don’t
worry, I won’t ever eat you after the change,” she says, letting out a small
chuckle.

And I’m surprised, because there’s
a certain snottiness to her demeanor.

“Oh, I’m not worried,” I tell her,
returning the smirk on her face. “Not one bit.”

Because if she tried, I would use
every ounce of my Luminos skills to snap her neck.

It makes me angry for a moment, to
see the way this sweet girl is already being corrupted by the vampires. She’s
developing their sense of arrogance, and it’s hard to think of it as a good
thing, or stop myself from being a bitch about it, even if it means hurting
her. But I regret my words just a bit, as Angel looks sad and confused,
surprised that I’m being confrontational in my own way. Lina looks over, and
she leaves Tom and Jennifer to approach us.

And again, I’m amazed at the way
Caroline’s … my journey through past lives has changed me. Because Lina no
longer seems like a scary vampire who hates me, even when she’s defending
Angel. She feels like a sister, one I care about deeply. It’s different from
the cold relationship I had with Marjorie in Caroline’s life, or even the way I
interact with my real sister in California, the one who’s so snobby she barely
acknowledges my existence. And now, I can’t fight back the pangs of missing
Lina that arise. I long to tell her who I really am, even though it would be a
mistake. But I have to restrain myself.

“Meridian, we still haven’t gone
out for that lunch we’ve talked about,” Lina says.

“Let’s go this week, for sure. To
celebrate Angel’s good news.”

“That would be great,” Angel says,
brightening. “I want to have pizza before the transformation, while it’s still
my favorite food. Just in case that changes.”

And suddenly, we’re all friends
again. For some reason, I reach out and touch Lina’s arm. She’s wearing her
signature black, a long sleeved T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, with some
tight black pants. And the moment we connect, she looks at me in shock.

And she knows. Somehow, some way,
she knows who I really am. It must be something in the touch or the look in my
eye. And even worse, the two creepy twins look over for a moment, as they pick
out candy from the concession stand. But my sister is good. The surprised expression
only flitters across her features for an instant, and her face becomes an
impassive mask once more.

She takes another sip of champagne,
and gives Angel a sweet kiss.

Adam returns to my side, and hands
me a hot dog with just the right amount of ketchup, some drizzled cheese and a
dash of bacon, and it’s absolutely perfect. And he’s holding a container of
strawberries for me. It amazes me, how he knows exactly what I like. I almost
don’t believe him when he says he can’t read my mind, even though I’m fairly
certain that it’s true.

I take a bite of the hot dog, and
concentrate on its yumminess, trying once again to block out any secrets it
might be dangerous for the vampires to discover.

Lina stares at Adam, and smiles
wickedly.

“Are you excited to see the movie,
Adam?”

“I suppose,” he says, in a
non-committal way. “Meri wants to see it, which makes me more interested.”

“I love Cameron Diaz. She’s my
favorite,” I say, stupidly.

“Marion’s guest list is quite
interesting. It should prove to be a fun night.”

I can feel Adam bristle, though his
face shows no reaction. And I worry, at least for a moment. For some reason, I
think Lina’s talking about the Elders, because they’ve shown themselves in each
of my past lives. And more than anything else in the world of the vampires,
they frighten me. But I forget them, momentarily, as Bernard and Marion enter
the lobby.

Marion is wearing a knockout dress,
and it kills me that I didn’t dress up. It’s bright red and sleeveless, cut
just above the knees, with a red and gold belt around the waist that would make
me look blocky. Though she’s not much taller than I am, Marion can pull it off
with the elegant lines of her physique. I almost think that she coordinated her
look to match the theatre, but her outfit has none of the almost cheesy quality
of the decor. It looks like it was designed by Chanel.

“Hello, everyone. I’m so sorry I’m
late, but we can start now,” Marion announces to the room.

Arie and Lenore rush to her side,
and she gives them each a quick kiss.

“My darlings,” she says. “It’s so
good to see you.”

They seem particularly close, and I
wonder if Marion transformed them. Which doesn’t make sense, because the
vampires only get to change one person at a time. And I’m curious how they both
were made vampire at once, if it was through some special circumstance. I’ll
have to ask Adam about it later.

She likewise turns to Tom and
Jennifer, and hugs them both. And finally, Marion turns her attention to me.

“Meridian, it’s so nice to see you
again,” she says. “Tell me something, do you like silly romantic comedies?”

“Of course, I do. I’m a woman,” I
say.

“We’re all romantics at heart,
aren’t we?”

And we both laugh.

It’s funny to me, that a woman who
is rich and powerful and immortal can still seem down to earth, in her own way.
That a vampire who is thousands of years old can still find joy in such a
simple thing, like a romantic comedy. And I can feel it, the part of Marion’s
personality that appealed to me, her fun-loving nature. Though my memories are
still murky, I know on an emotional level that this is one of the things that
fostered our friendship in the past.

And I look to Bernard, and he seems
so happy to be with her. But I notice that his hair has a bit more grey than I
thought, than what I remember from the night we met, and I know in my heart
that he’s past the age where there’s still hope that she will ever transform
him. I wonder if Marion will drink him to the point of death, to carry him with
her forever. Or however long it lasts. The thought is ghoulish, but I know from
experience that there’s something tragically romantic about it at the same
time.

And I suddenly shudder. Lina said
something about the guest list, and I wonder if he’ll be offered to the Elders
as a sacrifice if they come here tonight. Or perhaps Jennifer? At least it most
likely won’t be Angel, since they’re about to transform her. And the Elders
will presumably spare me, since I’m part of their grand plan -- “the one who
will lead them.” That is, unless they don’t recognize me. And I wonder if I’ll
have to scream out that I’m Saga at the last moment, to save myself.

I try to brush off the chill that
sneaks up on me, and pray that I’ll have the good fortune to never meet those
foul creatures again.

The guests start to file into the
theatre, but before we go in, I grab a tub of popcorn from the concession stand
counter, and a Coke.

“Do you want anything?” I say to
Adam, who’s still at my side, shadowing me.

“No, I’m fine,” he says, almost
wincing in pain. And, again, I know something is wrong. It concerns me, but I
can’t address it without tipping our hand. So I link our arms and try to be
brave, as we walk into the theatre together.

We go inside and it’s smaller than
I thought, like a multiplex theater, maybe one of the bigger screens. For some
reason, I was expecting Radio City Music Hall, though this place is still
fairly large. There are maybe 100 or 150 seats, perhaps 200 with the balcony,
though I can’t say for sure, I’ve never been good at guessing such things. And
it’s all plush, with velvety chairs that are a bit more padded and comfy than
you would normally find at the movies.

There are two aisles on either side
of the middle group of chairs, just like in a real theater, and looking up at
the screen, I wonder if it’s digital or the projection kind. I’m guessing
digital, I’m sure the vampires’ little private screening room is filled with
the latest technology, since they love to have the finest of everything. In
fact, I’m shocked that there aren’t priceless paintings on the wall.

I always like to sit toward the
edge of the row, in case I have to go to the bathroom, or maybe it’s just a
claustrophobia thing. But in this case, Adam takes the end seat, presumably to
protect me in some way. Which works, since I won’t mind climbing over him, especially
if it gives me an excuse to brush up against him. Marion and Bernard are in the
row behind us, sitting next to Nicodemas and his nanny. Tom and Jennifer are in
our row, further down, and the two scary twins are sitting toward the front,
like unruly teenagers. And a few others are scattered before us.

I look back, over my left shoulder,
and see Angel and Lina sitting in a side row, in the back. And they’re already
kissing, barely interested in what’s going on. From the corner of my eye, I can
see someone enter the other side of the theatre.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” he says.
“Though at least I got here before the film began.”

It’s a voice I immediately
recognize. I don’t look at him, even though it takes great strength of will.
Instead, I focus my gaze on the screen.

“Roland! I had no idea you were
back in town.”

“It seemed a good time to visit.”

“When did you get in?”

“Just now. I’d hoped to be here
sooner, but there were problems with the plane.”

“Don’t tell me you flew
commercial?”

“I always fly commercial. It helps
me to keep in touch with the humans.”

And he takes a seat, directly
behind us. The bastard. That’s one of the things I hate about Roland, that he
always has to be so controlling. And I’m sure he’s trying to provoke a
reaction. I maintain my composure, but I’m certain I do something unconscious
that gives me away. Perhaps there’s a subtle rise in my blood pressure that
sounds like a thunderous pounding in the vampires’ ears. But thankfully, the
lights dim, and I don’t have to suffer through Marion introducing us with
bubbly enthusiasm. I won’t have to listen to my voice crack with nervousness,
as I try to squeak out my “hello.”

I’m sure his being here is no
coincidence, that he’s come for me, to try to poke around and determine my true
identity. And, of course, he can’t just walk up and ask me, which annoys me
again. It’s mean, but I can’t stop myself from taunting him, just a bit. I lean
over and press my lips up to Adam’s ear. My hair is pulled back, and I don’t
have my curls to obscure the view, so I cover my mouth with my hand, to
maintain a modicum of decorum.

“Whisper, whisper,” I say, softly.

The words mean nothing, it’s just
an excuse for my lips to feel his skin, to gently brush his ear with my tongue.
And when I pull my face away Adam gives me a small smile.

I lean up against him, pressing our
shoulders together, so Roland can’t get a good view from behind us. And I reach
down, and give his inner thigh a long squeeze. Unfortunately, I can’t grope him
in the theatre. The vampires would know, and I won’t give them that. So I hold
his hand instead.

The lights dim, and trailers come
on before the show, just like in a real theatre. And I have to laugh.

“Previews of coming attractions.
How funny,” I say to Adam.

“They’re the best part.”

The first is for a comedy, some
drivel starring a middle-aged comedian I can’t stand. Though he’s long past his
glory days, unfortunately, his movies still make money. And I hate myself,
because one or two of his pratfalls make me laugh.