Chapter 5
David had led the group into the sunken hotel. Dwayne and Marko lit the fifty-gallon drums with the torches they carried. David tells the story of how the hotel was built on the fault line and sunk during an earthquake, "And now it's ours." Paul was standing on a broken fountain in the center of the main room lighting a joint, "So check it out Mikey and Babe." The guys laughed, Star went and hid by her bed, Laddie grabbed Paul's 'rock box' for him. Soon tunes were blaring through the cave from the stereo.
"Marko...Food," David ordered. Marko let go of the pigeon he was petting to go on a food run. Michael was looking around with Lilith while Paul was handing David the joint. "Appetizer?" David offered Michael the joint. He took it from David, taking a hit then passed it back. "That's what I love about this place. You ask and shall receive." David sat in his wheelchair/throne. Lilith walked past him only to get pulled onto his lap as Michael sat down on the fountain. David lite a cigarette before he ran a hand through Lilith's hair.
Sighing softly at the feeling of a hand in her hair, Lilith arched her neck to be closer to the pleasant feeling. Michael rolled his eyes at his sister being on David's lap because he knew that if she didn't want to be there than she would have hit David by now. Dwayne was skateboarding around the cave. He was doing tricks for Laddie as the boy followed him around the cave. Paul was sitting on a couch smoking his joint and watching everything high as a kite. "So what brings you two here to Santa Carla?" David asked.
"Our father was a cheating abusive Bastard." Lilith spat out as she thought of her father. Michael sighed as he stood and ran a hand over Lilith's clenched hands. "Sis, he is out of our lives now, so calm." He said softly. Lilith growled softly in anger. "No, I hate him. He nearly hit Sam just because our baby brother is a nerd not a jock." She said angrily. Michael looked at David before he sat down and spoke. "Our dad liked to use his fists on me when I didn't behave how he wanted a son to be. Lilith had it bad but thanks the gods that he never hit her or our mother. She was grounded a lot and he would get rid of her stuff on her like her prized paintings. Mom got belittled and yelled at. Sammy luckly never got more than a few slaps because he was always protected by me or Lilith." He said. Lilith cursed under her breath as she tried to calm down.
Marko chose that moment to come back, "Feeding time. Come and get it boys and lady." Marko passed out Chinese food cartons to everyone, two for David. "Chinese. Good choice," David broke apart his chopsticks for his noodles then persuaded Michael to have the rice. Marko passed Lilith a box of noodles to which she thanked him for. Taking a bite, she moaned faintly because they were really good. "Marko, you're going to have to show me this restaurant because this is the best Chinese I have had in a long time." She said. Marko smiled before he spoke. "As the Lady requests I can show you tomorrow night." He said. Lilith smiled and nodded before taking another bite of her noodles. The distraction of food was what Lilith needed to help finish calming down.
Michael was on his third or fourth bite when David broke the silence, "How are those maggots?" "Huh?" The spoon was halfway to Michael's mouth. "Maggots, Michael. You're eating maggots, Michael. How do they taste?" David said with a straight face. Michael looked into his box before cringing and moving the box to sit beside him on the fountain. "Ok, what was in that weed, Paul?" he asked. Paul just laughed like a hyena instead of answering Michael's question. David held out his noodles to Michael only for Michael to see worms to which he declined. The boys chuckled before David spoke. "No hard feelings, right Michael? It was just a small prank." He said. Michael nodded as began to eat his rice again since he figured the weed had made him hallucinate and see David's suggestion of maggots and worms.
"Marko," David called his brother over and whispered in his ear. Marko left the main room for a moment, coming back over to David with a jeweled wine bottle. Popping the cork, David takes a drink and savors the flavor before handing the bottle to Lilith. "Drink and be one of us, Lilith." He said. Lilith took a drink before handing the bottle back to David. David looked at Michael as he held out the bottle. "Drink and be one of us, Michael." He said. Michael took the bottle and took a drink since his sister had done it and was fine. The guys were chanting his name as he drank from the bottle before howling in joy as he joined them. Star had never mentioned it was blood because she had been hiding by her bed instead of hovering near by Michael.
They were happy because their mate, Lilith, and her brother, Michael, were now half vampires. In a day or two they would be ready to feed and finish the transformation. They couldn't wait to see their little mate feed for the first time. They hadn't wanted Max in their mate's head so they used David's blood in the bottle instead. David didn't mind that Michael would be his fledging because he was old enough to have one by now. They returned to finishing their food before Marko pulled Lilith from David's lap to dance with him.
Lilith laughed as she was soon grabbed and spun around by Paul after only a few minutes dancing with Marko. "Damn it, Paul" Marko shouted as Paul just laughed. Lilith was set on her feet by Paul as he began to dance to the music with her in his arms. Michael was trying to do a trick on a skateboard under Dwayne's guidance. Laddie was dancing on the fountain with Marko while David sat in his chair watching it all.