Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait in the update. Been stressed out lately and overworked. Hope ya'll had a good Thanksgiving, and if I don't update again before Christmas, may you have a Happy New Year!

Chapter 34 - Out and About

October 2, 2004 = Saturday

~Constance~

I sat in a comfy, overstuffed chair in the Great Room watching Eliza's magic painting. She was currently splashing about in the pool she seemed to be stuck by. Having watched her most of the day, I could honestly say she was nothing like Eliza herself. Eliza was shy about her body, hiding it from view at every chance. The painting? Well, she was skinny dipping, not even trying to cover herself at all.

I stretched my aching legs, knowing I needed to stand and stretch but lacking the will to do so. I knew I was risking anemia if I kept trying to be Eliza's sole source of blood. She had brought home that Samantha lady, apparently an old friend from when she was living, and had shown her what it was like to be fed from. I had watched it all, half hating her at usurping my spot and envious that she could be fed from for so long.

I guess in the end, it was the envy that won out. The little slips she took from my neck didn't give me the same feeling it had when she first fed from me. I wanted more, but here I was, stuck in this chair, too weak to even go to the bathroom not thirty feet away. I had chosen this spot because one, it was comfortable, and two, it was entertaining to watch the painting as she played.

First thing was she knew I was here, having actually waved at seeing me this morning. Second, she seemed lonely stuck there in her painting. Technically, she didn't even have her own body. She was just a consciousness and it made me wonder how smart she really was. It also made me wonder if it were like those paintings in the Harry Potter books in that she could talk, but maybe didn't know how.

As I sat watching Heather came in from the veranda wearing a silk bathrobe. She had been out sunbathing and was obviously enjoying herself, but I couldn't help but wonder at the changes drinking her blood had. I knew I was on the giving end, but maybe after a while I could switch to the taking end.

Heather noticed me from where I was stretched on the brand new La-Z-Boy which was one of Brian's few demands for the house, and gave me a smile. "I don't think you've moved from that spot all day," she accused. "I figured you'd get out and get a tan or something. You could have come out and got a tan at least. Brian would have loved rubbing you down with lotion so you could have gotten a full tan."

I smiled wanly back, but didn't otherwise move. "I haven't," I admitted to her. "And not right now. I'm really just wondering how mad Eliza might be if I ask to get let off from my duties tonight."

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, getting concerned. I could see past it though, as all she really wanted was to keep Eliza happy.

That was one thing I wasn't sure about becoming one of her ghouls. Both Heather and Brian would do whatever she wanted, even going to extra lengths to keep her happy, and that's all I was to them. Something to be kept around to keep Eliza happy. If it weren't for the fact I chose it to feel the ecstasy of her bite, I might just get up and leave.

"I'm so weak right now that I've not gotten up," I told her. I could see the relief in her eyes that I wasn't likely to bolt, but that didn't help. "I think she's taking too much of my blood, and if I keep this up it might make me sick."

"Okay," she said, turning to look back out the window to the setting sun. "Mistress ought to be up soon. We can talk to her about it then."

"Okay," I said, dropping my head against the chair.

Heather left to go upstairs and dress, taking the room east from mine and still facing the ocean. Brian ended up with the downstairs bedroom, next to Eliza's hidden bedroom, mainly so he could protect her I think. He had one of these La-Z-Boy recliners down there too, next to the painting that hid the access to her room.

I continued to watch the painting as she climbed out of the pool. The sun never set in the painting, so she donned a bikini and set herself in a chaise lounge to get a tan. I waited, watching her try and tan her pale skin. After watching her for ten minutes, without either of us moving an inch, I began to wonder if she fell asleep.

After some time, and the sun began to sink low against the water, and I finally saw the painting stretch. Figuring Eliza was up, I finally raised myself and began the walk downstairs. It wasn't until I was stepping through the hidden access that I saw Brian and Heather as they tended to a very naked Eliza as she stood in the center of the room. That was the first thing that shocked me, as Brian was never allowed to see her naked. Hell, Eliza got mad at

"Brush my hair, ghoul," Eliza growled at Heather. Heather fumbled with the hair pick, dropping it on the floor. She had no more bent to pick it up when Eliza reached down and smacked her, knocking her into a wall. "I said 'brush my hair,' not 'drop the brush!'" she yelled at the sulking Heather.

"Sorry, mistress," she whimpered as she crawled across the floor to pick up the pick from where it had fallen.

'This is all wrong," I thought, but didn't say anything. If Eliza had flipped her lid, there was no telling what she could do. I'd heard from Brian about how she could easily break bats and survive multiple gunshots to the chest, and in no way did I want to be on the receiving end of her misery.

"Now, brush my hair," she commanded, and Heather quickly scampered to fulfill her mistresses request.

Brian watched, impassive, as he retrieved the items Heather asked for. I couldn't help but watch in astonishment as they went through her routine. Brian was even allowed to help her step into clothes, which she normally did herself.

"Come here, doll," she commanded, now dressed in a pair of black dress slacks and a red silk shirt. She stood on two inch heels, looking wholly professional with her hair done in a French braid. It wasn't until her hard eyes fell on me that I realized she had called me doll, and not in any kind of sweet or sexy way. "Are you hard of hearing?"

"No mistress," I said, stepping forward.

Her hand shot out and grabbed me by the neck as soon as I was in reach, and she lifted me clear off my feet. "Your pitiful blood is a measly meal," she said, before twirling me around in her arm so that my back was to her front.

There was no warning as she used her other hand to twist my head to the side as her teeth sank into my neck. The pleasurable feeling I'd come to expect from her feeding wasn't there this time. Instead, it was painful to feel her teeth rip into my neck and into my vein. I could only cry silently as she drank my life-giving blood, my strength fading as she drank until my world began to blur at the ages.

When she finished, she flung me to the bed where I lay in a crumpled heap. The world around me lost focus, as if I were too tired to stay awake, but I kept my focus on the world around and refused to slip off to sleep. Even so, I could only watch as Brian slipped a long leather coat over her arms and rested it on her shoulders as she left me without so much as a backwards glance.

I was still laying there minutes later, finding only the strength to raise my head enough to put it on one of the silk pillow cases me and Heather had bought for her bed when Heather and Brian came back into the room. They both took one look at me before eyeing each other with curious looks.

"That wasn't Eliza," I told them, my voice weak as I struggled to just breathe.

"Sure it was," Brian countered. "I could feel it in my blood when she gave me orders."

"Me too," Heather said, concern on her face. "She's just having a bad night."

"Bad night?" I asked, aghast that she was blowing off such blatant un-Eliza like behavior. I could feel the tear run down my cheek as I forced myself to keep going. "Since when did she let Brian see her naked? When does she strike people because you dropped a hairbrush? Eliza would never do any of that!" I cried to them. Didn't they understand?

"Sweety," Heather said, helping me to sit up as I kept trying to raise myself and couldn't.

"Don't Heather," I said, feeling more tears slip down my face. "As soon as I can make it up the stairs, I'm just going to go."

"And do what, exactly?" Brian asked, blocking me from rising. "The mistress has me under orders to make sure you stay put. That's never changed."

"That wasn't Eliza!" I cried. "Think Brian! When I mentioned you tried to see me naked, she reamed you out! Every time she changed clothes, she made sure you weren't in the room! Yet today she allows you to put her panties on her as if she were entitled to royal treatment!" I screached at him, my voice giving out as I was forced to lean against Heather because I was falling down weak.

"She's got a point, Brian," Heather said. I looked up at her, and she gave me a wan smile. "Remember how concerned she got when Constance didn't wake back up after she got burned? She's got a sensitive side. And she's right. Maybe her blood is doing something to us. Maybe we should all leave."

"Withdrawal from this is going to be a bitch," Brian said. "Maybe you ain't never done drugs before, but I was raised with it. When the withdrawal hits, you'll want her so bad you'd do anything to get it again, and I don't know if I can survive that."

"What do we do?" Heather asked him, and he shook his head.

"Maybe we should leave for a time. See if she calms down," he said finally.

It seemed like a good plan, but I knew if she ordered them to do something, they'd be compelled to obey. "We don't give her any warning, either," I said, glad they were finally listening. I don't know what her blood was doing to them, but if I didn't get out of here before her next meal, it might be my last. "In the morning, we just pack up and leave."

"Why the morning," Brian asked, as he eyed me from where I was leaned against Heather.

"Because I have no strength left to walk," I said, and he rolled his eyes. "Carry me upstairs to bed?"

=o=0=o=

~Jean Baker, AKA Norma Jeane Mortenson, AKA Marilyn Monroe. Bounty Hunter of Kindred and Kine, Deputy to Scourge Walsh and Sheriff Kondo of the Camarilla~

Driving along Sunset Boulevard in my Toyota Hilux, I was just downright bored. The police scanner was silent about the perp that had been reported earlier engaging in sword fights around Chinatown, but I wasn't foolish enough to go in without backup. I'd been in the fight with the Kue-Jin long enough to know you didn't take them on mano-a-mano and live to tell the tell.

If the perp turned out to be kindred, I was thinking of taking them back to Vesuvius for a celebratory drink, regardless of their preferences. Only one kindred I'd ever known had tried, and he was a true hunter who made his home in the hills north of LA with the werewolves. He had come to town after a Gathering in the early 90's brought to his attention how bad the Kue-Jin could be to hunt for a lone kindred. He'd taken his time, hunting several on his own.

I shook my head, remembering the man's full name as it was spoken at Gathering. Though I'd heard much from others at the gathering about his exploits, he refused to name half of what he'd done because it hadn't been a challenge. Hell, if I had done a third of what he refused to name, I'd wear it proudly at a Gathering.

I turned to go up North Main Street, cutting it as close as I dared to Chinatown. I was just about to find an abandoned lot to turn around in when a shadowy figure was briefly illuminated by my headlights. I hit the brakes, but the person thumped against my brush guard and was briefly pinned against my hood until the momentum of my braking threw them forward down the street. I quickly got out to check on them, finding it was a woman in a black business suit and heels. I sniffed the air, not finding any traces of gunpowder in the air, so I stepped forward to turn her over and got a shock.

"Eliza?" I said, astonished at the little kindred being here. She glanced around, confusion on her face.

"Jean?" she said, looking around before getting to her feet. "I feel like I lost a fight."

"You did," I joked, looking back at my old pickup truck. "I think you caused a dent or two, at least. Would you like to try round two?"

"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "Um," she said, glancing around. "I got places to be, so if you don't mind?"

"Not at all," I told her and she seemed relieved, "but have you heard of someone causing a disturbance around here? Police are hunting for someone causing sword fights up here."

"No," she said with a slight smile. "Not carrying my katana tonight. Andrei's szlachta took care of that when they ripped my duster to shreds."

"Hmm," I said, glancing around and not sure what a szlachta was. "Well, if you happen to hear of a kindred causing a disturbance up here, let us know. I don't want to see the Kue-Kin prowling for kindred blood again."

"My intentions are peaceful here, I assure," she told me, and I wondered at that. "Gary just wants me to find one of his missing clan that went missing here."

"Good luck then," I told her as I headed back to my truck. "And be careful. The Kue-Jin aren't to be trifled with."

"Will do," she said as she walked off.

I hopped back in my truck, then looked at the receding figure of Eliza. She wasn't carrying a gun, not one that I could smell anyway, and she didn't appear to have any other weapon on her. I smiled at the thought of someone walking unarmed into Kue-Jin territory to start trouble, but knew it would mean a lot of trouble for me.

I drove off, leaving Eliza to her own troubles. I really hoped she didn't start trouble with the Kue-Jin. As deputy, I'd be forefront in the fight against them, and there was nothing in my arsenal I could use that would be effective.

I glanced down at my hand, and shook my head. I just didn't have it in me to shift forms with my protean ability. I was pretty talented with my fortitude, having grown accustomed even when I was alive to taking hits to my person and career and shrugging it off, but I was ash walking if I thought about fighting this war.

"Please, God," I silently prayed as I prowled the streets near Chinatown, "Don't let her do something stupid."