Vampire King of New York (24 page)

“Evie?”

“The red water is pretty.”

“Evie?” Her sister opened the shower door and squirted shampoo on her head. Then Laura rubbed hard.

“Ouch.”

“You weren’t answering me. Are you ill?”

“Distracted.”

“By what?”

“How could I possibly be wearing so much blood? How did all of this come out of one vampire? Look at the pretty red water.” Evelyn weakly rubbed her soapy hair.

“Oh, boy, we have a problem.” Laura kept the door open and supervised the shower, making sure all the soap washed out of Evelyn’s hair. She made her turn around and washed her back. “There’s a scrape on your neck. Does it hurt?”

“Am I ready to get out yet?”

“Sure.”

Laura turned off the faucets and held up a towel for Evelyn to walk into. After drying, she dressed Evie in a black gown with lace insets. Evelyn took down the dark blue robe from the hook on the door and put it on over her dress.

“I’m fine now.” She hugged the robe around her. “Hmm, it smells like him.”

The door opened. It was Max. “Is there a problem?”

Laura had used her mindtalking link to summon Max, giving him a glimpse of what she feared was her sister’s temporary insanity.

“The pretty blood washed away.”

“I see what you mean.” He scooped up Evelyn and carried her out into the office and to the sofa in front of the blazing hearth. He hoped she’d find the fire comforting. Laura nodded to him and left.

“You’re wearing a robe too?”

“I took my shower elsewhere. I wanted you to have some privacy.”

Her laugh was a little off. “Why start now?”

Max sat beside her and then pulled her into his lap. She was shaking badly and hid her face in his chest. “There was blood everywhere.”

He stroked her hair. “I know, my darling.”

“If you hadn’t come when you did, I’d be dead.”

“I shouldn’t have left you alone outside in the hall.”

“I tried to fight. I tried to summon up the powers of a Telkhine. I’m supposed to be able to call the Legacy at the very least. Nothing happened. I’m sorry. I’m nothing but a walking, talking victim.”

“No, you’re not. It was my fault.”

She sobbed against his shoulder. “He almost got me.” She moved her hair with her hand.

Max examined the raw ugly scrape. “Evelyn, I’m going to lick you to heal it. Is that okay?”

She still trembled but gripped him tightly. “Yes. But please, do it quickly.”

He licked the gash and watched it heal.

Evelyn pressed her face against him, whimpering, sighing, her body convulsing with sobs. He stroked her hair and let her cry. What had happened to her would have been traumatic for anyone. Hours passed before she stopped. Her eyes wore dark circles. She was as pale as a vampire.

“Max, you’re not going anywhere, are you?”

“No, my dearest. We are going together.” Holding her, he stood up. “We have a healing room that vampires use when they get overstressed.”

“Vampires get stressed?”

He chuckled, and enjoyed her expression of childlike wonder. “You’d be surprised how often this room is used.” He walked out of the office carrying Evelyn and stopped at an elevator. When the doors opened, he got in.

Evelyn’s vision was still somewhat blurry, and she didn’t see which number he pressed. The doors opened up to another hallway. He opened a common wood door into a room, but God, what a room. The ceiling was painted dark blue to black with a billion carefully placed stars. She recognized constellations and planets and the moon. White columns supported this artificial night sky. The floor was a dark blue marble like a still ocean. Throughout the room were round beds. Most were occupied with one sleeping vampire on each. The beds were not big enough for two.

A vampire sitting on a bed in the middle of the room got up and approached them. “Your special request is being honored. Please, come this way.”

Max followed him to the back of the room where a very large bed had been placed. He lay her across it.

“Thank you, Moderator.”

“The sky is big. If we fly, can we touch it?” she asked.

The vampire smiled; his fangs showing. “I see what you mean.”

Evelyn knew a part of the conversation was missing. She yawned. Mindtalking again, she figured.

Max lay beside her. He took her in his arms and whispered in her ear. “There is only sleeping and healing in this room. Nothing else.”

She giggled.

“Please, quiet,” the Moderator said.

Next thing she knew David was standing over her. “Evelyn, I’m going to break my word to you for your own good.”

Evelyn folded her arms and humpfed.

David gazed into her eyes. She stared back, partly out of spite. He was going to try to mesmerize her.
Well, let him try.
He brushed the hair out of her eyes then blew over her face. The wind was cool and the sky was huge.

Max.
She thought she whispered it but couldn’t be sure. “Look at all the stars, and the night’s so big.” It surrounded her on every side. Max wrapped his arm around her waist. Wherever she was going, they were going together. Evelyn breathed deeply and just let it happen. She fell asleep in the starlit room.

Max stayed awake absorbing the feel of the room. The imported soil under every bed was definitely a wonderful addition. He liked watching Evelyn sleep with her golden hair fanned out behind her on the bed. These beds had no pillows but she seemed to need none in this case. He’d been worried. The shock had made her almost incoherent, and he feared for her sanity. Even vampires had their breaking point.

He’d known her to be brave. But to be a second from death, a horrible death, even the bravest person would break. Unable to hear her thoughts, he needed David to mesmerize her. It was the only way to save her mind, to begin the healing. She sighed and Max caught himself watching the slow rise and fall of her abdomen. Children. He wanted to have children with her. He wanted Evelyn to be his forever.

She made him feel safe from the darkness he kept buried inside himself. She brought out the best in him. When Max was with her, he felt happy and fulfilled. She added to him. It would be hard to explain, but Evelyn was better than he was and maybe that’s what she gave to him. His dream of being civilized was only partially realized. Perhaps she was the dream.

He gazed up at the perfect night sky and closed his eyes. He kept his arm around her.

Evelyn opened her eyes. The night sky surrounded her. She sat up feeling absolutely wonderful. Vampires were sleeping on the round beds. Max was still asleep. She bent over him. Somehow Evelyn knew the rules of the room. No noise. No sex. Slipping off the bed, she walked up to the vampire sitting on a bed in the middle of the room. Evelyn vaguely remembered him.

“Pardon,” she whispered. “Ladies’ room?”

He pointed to the door. “Just across the way.”

She tiptoed through the room and opened the door. Evelyn stood a moment in the hall to remember what the door looked like. The restroom was directly across from the room. She hurried inside.

Evelyn almost jumped out of her skin when she stepped out the door of the women’s room. Max was standing there.

“You scared me.”

“You scared me when I woke up and didn’t find you.”

She walked into his arms. Oh, he felt incredible.

“How are you feeling?”

“Wonderful. Refreshed. Happy. Though I’m a bit peeved at David for mesmerizing me.”

“It was necessary for your healing. If you have to blame someone, blame me. I ordered him to do it.”

They walked hand-in-hand back to his office. “Max, why does the room have an artificial night sky?”

“We need the sky. In New York City, we are denied due to light pollution, so I had the room built. It’s very restorative.”

Evelyn wasn’t surprised to see new clothes waiting for them in two neat piles on the sofa in his office. Noblesse was highly efficient. She took the clothes meant for her and leaving Max went into the bathroom closing the door. She wanted a minute away from his presence to think.

The fuchsia silk blouse floated about her shoulders, while she buttoned it. The black skirt was ruffled and flounced when she walked. Turning to look in the full-length mirror, she saw the perfectly embroidered orchid on the skirt. It matched the color of the blouse. The new lingerie was all black lace. The shoes were the same fuchsia color as the lovely orchid. Noblesse certainly had excellent taste.

Then the image in the mirror blurred. The woman with dark glasses stared back at her. Evelyn fell backwards, hitting the floor hard.

“Evelyn?” The door burst off its hinges. Max lifted her off the floor and carried her to his bedroom. The next thing she knew Laura was applying cold compresses to her head.

“You fell,” Laura said.

“I saw her in the mirror.”

“Who?”

“The woman who pushed me into the open grate.”

“What did she look like?” Max asked.

Evelyn shook her head, then held it ,  the pain immense. Max made a cut in her forehead and licked it. It felt like a cool breeze blowing through her. The pain eased and dissipated.

“Tell us exactly what happened,” Max urged.

“I was looking in the full length mirror, when the image changed into her. I backed away and slipped.”

“But you don’t remember what she looked like?”

“No. What does it mean?”

Laura and Max were silent. She could tell they were mindtalking.

“I hate to interrupt your conversation, but I think she’s the master vampire.”

Max frowned. She sat up and instantly he took her into his arms. When she opened her eyes again, Laura was gone.

Evelyn decided that no bitch master vampire was going to ruin her fun. “Weren’t we supposed to go out?”

“Yes, but under the circumstances …”

“No, we’re going out.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“I’d like to have dinner in Chinatown.”

Max made the arrangements. A lot of information rolled through Evelyn’s thoughts. One of them had everything to do with power. She was powerless, but was she really? Max’s observations had given her a new viewpoint. She could see beneath the waves and converse with her kin in the sea. Swimming felt wonderful, and she didn’t swim like a human, using her full body like a fish.

“A mermaid. You were extraordinary today. You swam like a sea creature.”

“Can you hear my thoughts now?” she asked.

“No. But I am picking up images here and there, which is new.”

He took her hand and slowly she got up from the bed. He led her through the office and the Arnhem Society hallways. Stepping out the door, she noted that the night was clear without clouds, the air fresh and cold, not at all like summer. He helped her climb into the limo.

When they got to Chinatown, it was almost a festival atmosphere. All the lanterns were hanging in colorful celebration. They had time before their reservation and wandered the shops. In a jewelry shop, Max suggested Evelyn pick something out. She laughed and wandered from case to case. “I love jade.” She picked out a gold necklace with a jade pendant—a symbol carved in jade.

“What does it mean?”

“Eternal love,” the old man behind the counter said.

“Perfect,” Max said.

He paid for it and escorted her from the store.

It was time for their reservation. After they were settled in their secluded booth and the curtains drawn, Evelyn took the gold dragon bracelet out of her purse and put it on.

Max smiled. “You’re not wearing the diamonds I gave you.”

“I’m saving them for formal occasions.”

The waiter brought a sampling of everything on small plates. They shared. Evelyn went mostly for the fish. He fed her, and she fed him. They sat next to each other, his leg rubbing against hers. Everything was perfect. They had too much food.

“Max, why don’t we pack up the rest of this and take it back to your place?”

“Why?”

“We could nibble on it and watch some movies.”

“You don’t want to go out dancing or something.”

“No, I feel like cuddling and watching movies.”

Max grinned and immediately ordered their dinner to go. When it was all packed, they went to the car and gave it to Vincent to store in the small fridge until they got home.

Perhaps it was the sparkle that caught her eye. Evelyn turned and, taking Max’s hand, pulled him with her to the bookstore window. She tried to find what had caught her attention but it wasn’t there.

“I’m supposed to go in.”

He stopped her. “How do you know?”

“I don’t. I just know there’s a book in here for me. It’s a weird feeling I have.”

“Stay close to me, okay?”

“Yes.” After everything that had happened, Evelyn willingly kept Max’s hand in hers. She went into the store and looked around. The store was a little odd. In places, books were in piles from the floor on up.

“May I help you?” an old man asked.

“Do you have a book on Telkhines?”

He smiled an almost toothless grin. “I believe so. It would be upstairs.” He pointed to a set of stairs leading to a door on an upper level.

Something was wrong, but Max couldn’t place it. “Evelyn, we should be going. We can come back another time.”

“It will only take a minute.” She went for the stairs.

He needed to stick to her like glue. When Evenlyn reached the top, she opened the door into another room. Again this room was cluttered with haphazardly arranged piles of books on the floor. She looked from pile to pile then stopped.

“Look!”

On a heap of books, on one of the many tables, was a gold volume. The title
Telkhines
was neatly engraved on the cover. No author name. Nothing else. She reached for it.

Max pulled her arm away. “No, it’s a trap.”

“What are you talking about? It’s only a book.”

“No, it’s not.”

Evelyn backed into a stack of books toppling them. A black tome fell before her feet with the word
Telkhines
engraved in gold. No author. Nothing else. She bent to retrieve it.

“Stop. Don’t touch it.”

Evelyn turned. There was another volume on a bookshelf, the cover in blue,
Telkhines
engraved in gold on the spine. “This is weird.”