Club Vampyr
Chapter 16
.x.
I cannot explain to you
And anything I say or do
I hope the actions speak the words they can
For my pride and my promise
For my lies and how the truth gets in the way
The things I want to say to you get lost before they come
Linkin Park – In Between
.x.
Michel smiled invitingly, his blue eyes crinkling and his body language relaxed. Kerry's knees went weak at the sight of him standing before her door like a delicious apparition waiting to be invited in. Her lips quirked back at him, and she knew that no matter what he did to her, she would take it for the moments his smile promised.
"Where's Nelle?" Kerry asked as she drew close, throwing up a buffer between them. In that moment she trusted herself less than she trusted him. She was a sucker for French vampires with sexy smiles, long black hair, and disenchanted blue eyes.
"Talking to her boyfriend," he answered, his hand sliding around her lower back so he could direct her through the door to her bedroom. Kerry's heart rate accelerated wildly, though she knew he probably didn't mean anything seductive through his actions. There was just something about him guiding her into her bedroom that made her think naughty thoughts. Oh, who was she kidding? Sometimes she just had to look at him, or think of him, and she was half-way there.
"I'm thinking about it," he whispered in her ear, turning towards her so his cheek barely brushed against hers as the words emerged from his mouth. He paused for maximum effect, his solid and slow breath in her ear. In. Out. Repeat twice. Then he pulled away, removing his hand from around her waist and sitting in the only chair in the room.
The whole time he had been close to her, Kerry's mind had been wonderfully blank, buzzing with white noise and wishful images of how things could go. When he removed the touch of his hand against her back and sat down, she exhaled in a sound which masqueraded as relief. In some ways it was. Kerry pivoted and sat on her bed, facing him with her thighs pressed against the mattress and her feet dangling towards the floor.
"We need to talk." He shifted the computer chair forward, the wheels turning with effort against the carpeted floor as he inched closer to her until there was only enough room between their knees for one of them to cross their legs.
"Ominous." Kerry's face was a mask of disinterest, but inside she was wondering what they could possibly have to talk about. Was he going to break up with her even though their relationship was a sham to begin with? Was it something to do with his fellow vampires wanting to find out her secret? "Are we still going out later?"
"There is something I need to tell you first, then you can decide." He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. His face was earnest. Immediately Kerry became worried. "It's my fault," he told her. "I lied to you again."
"What's your fault?" Kerry took in his body language, watching as he ran his fingers through his hair. With this kind of abuse, she figured that if he had lived, Michel would have been bald by thirty. He appeared to be nervous, or at least worried, about the impact of his words, and yet that suspicious voice in the back of her mind wondered. She shoved the thoughts away so she could concentrate on what he was saying. "Nelle's death?"
He paused before answering. "No." Kerry was about to ask him if he was lying to her again when he cut her off. "Just let me talk, ok? I'm having trouble being honest with you to begin with."
"Fine," she huffed, too curious to really get offended.
"This strange influx of powers – the hiss, Nelle bowing to you, the sensitivity to sunlight – are all because I've been storing my excess power in you."
Kerry's eyebrows shot up and then she frowned, too many questions floating through her head for her to discern how she felt about that. Anger was present, but so was relief. She took a moment to pause and count to five, and then really thought about it. It almost seemed unbelievable, which loaned certain credence to his claim. "How?" she asked, forgetting her temporary vow of silence.
"I think 'why' is the more pertinent question. Because I'm far too powerful for my position of enforcer under this boss. He feels threatened easily, mostly because his grasp on control is tenuous at best. I could have dispelled the power, but if I used a living vessel to store it in, I could draw on it when need be." Michel sat back as though his job was done, and there was a relaxed slump to his straight shoulders which hadn't been there even as he was leaning towards her. Kerry knew the words had been rehearsed, and that there was more than just the surface which needed to be taken into account. Later, she would think back on his words and his particular brand of truth and try to figure out what he wasn't saying.
"Why me?"
"You're the only person I trust."
"That's bullshit!" Kerry said sharply, knowing from the smug smile pulling at the corners of his mouth that she was right. "You didn't think you'd see me again, and you didn't think I would interact with your kind again and unwittingly betray your secret."
"That's true too," he said amicably. "Let's just leave it at the fact you were my best choice."
"Am I supposed to feel honoured? I have your – what? Energy? Power? Ki? – running through my body and getting me into life threatening peril with your people. You'd betray me in a nanosecond to protect yourself, and we both know it."
He didn't insult her by trying to deny it. "The truth is, Kerry, that I'm telling you this for that very reason. You've lied for me this far, but I'm afraid they're starting to figure out what's going on. The only reason they didn't think of it sooner is that it is almost unheard of for a vampire to do what I have. Vampires are a selfish, egotistical lot who flaunt their power in order to climb the social hierarchy."
"Then why aren't you? Why do you want to appear weaker?"
"I can't tell you that," he said, closing off again. She knew that since he had denied her an answer once, it would now be easier for him to lie or not answer her again. The period of Michel being open and honest – or as open and honest as he got anyway, she realized, noticing the gaping holes of logic in his explanation – was over.
"What happens if I die?" she asked quietly.
"Then it all comes rushing back to me with an intensity I wouldn't be able to conceal. It wouldn't be good for either of us."
"So you'll protect me for that reason alone?"
"No," he said, taking her hand and holding it between his. "Not for just that reason. I'll protect you because I owe you so much more than putting your life in danger. No matter what you think of me, I am sorry for this."
"You're just sorry you got caught," she informed him, curling her fingers around his to belie her criticism. They sat in her room, the girly feminine touches left over from her youth oddly charming against the more sophisticated and mismatched attempts at adulthood. "Can I use them?"
"No!" he said so rapidly and sharply that she didn't have to be in tune with his subtleties to know he was lying. Michel's shoulders slumped, realizing he was caught. "You have been. They've been trying to protect you for the past couple of days."
Kerry nodded, hoping it appeared as though she understood what he was talking about. She wasn't sure if her brain had accepted any of this yet. She knew he was telling the truth because his lies were never this far-fetched. For once she wasn't upset or disappointed in him for lying to her, as she knew if he said something like 'oh, by the way, you're a human battery for my powers' she would have laughed at him. "I'm oddly not mad at you. Why is that?"
"Give it time to settle in. This time tomorrow you'll be so angry with me I won't be able to dodge all the punches."
Kerry snorted. "As if I could-" she cut off, a strange thought entering her head. "You aren't able to control me, are you?" she blurted out.
"No more than usual," he said lightly, a dark look entering his eyes for a moment at the question. "I'm not in your head."
"Liar," she said with a smile. "You're always in my head." They were silent for a moment, before she continued the conversation. "On a slightly related note. When did this start?"
"I opened the connection when I kissed you. I started siphoning energy shortly after."
Kerry's eyebrows rose in surprise. "That long?" She didn't want to dwell on the idea that their only kiss had been because he wanted to use her as a backup power generator. It was bad enough thinking he did it in order to repay what he saw as a debt. "Should I be able to tell that it's inside of me?"
Michel took a moment to think about how to answer before he said anything. "Sometimes you might be able to. Close your eyes."
Kerry narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.
Michel smirked. "I'm not going to bolt from the room the moment you can't see me. As tempting as it is."
"Fine," she responded, letting her eyelids flutter closed. Michel pulled his hand away from hers, and immediately she pictured a caricature of him jumping up and running out of the apartment.
"Where's my hand," he asked her.
"You aren't serious," Kerry responded, her eyelids slipping open enough so she could detect a shadow of his form. She pointed to his hand held above his head.
"Cheater," he accused with a smile in his voice. "I'm serious about this, Kerry. The part of me inside of you should be able to find itself."
Right, she thought, closing her eyes so all she could see was the red of the light through her eyelids. Her mind's eye could see him sitting in front of her, and at first she couldn't see his hands. Then, after a moment of concentration, they became visible to her. Kerry reached out, attempting to grab his hand, but instead her fingers circled around air.
"No. Try again."
The second time obtained the same results, as did the third and forth. Kerry groaned in frustration. "This is stupid," she informed him.
"Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you can't do it." His voice was mocking and amused. Kerry sneered at him, her fury mounting. She went to open her eyes, tired of the game, when his image changed. Instead of a detailed picture of him in her imagination, she could only see a vague outline. Her spine tingled, and though she couldn't quite see his hand, she knew where it was. She moved her arm towards him, knowing this time she was right. When he moved his arm away, she was furious enough at him for continuously tricking her that her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, yanking him towards her.
Kerry caught Michel off guard, her hand closing around his fingers surprised him, but he never expected the strength she exerted on the pull. He moved with her, trapping her hand in his grasp as he forced her backwards on to her bed and holding her arm above her head. Kerry inhaled sharply as his weight pressed against her, his free hand braced against the bed at her waist. Her eyes flew open and his searing blue irises burned into her vision. She didn't know if she would ever be able to associate blue with cold again.
"Close your eyes," he said softly, leaning over so his mouth skimmed against her jaw.
"Another test?" She asked, a teasing lilt to her voice as she tried to ignore the pounding of her heart. His mouth was on her neck, tongue tracing the throbbing beat of her pulse. Kerry gasped as his blunt front teeth grazed her dampened skin, causing liquid heat to rush to lower parts of her body. His mouth was more than welcome there, as well.
"No," he informed her, his cool hand brushing against the exposed skin of her stomach. Kerry gasped, eyes fluttering as he inclined his head towards her, his lips brushing softly against the corner of her mouth before-
"You bastard!" Nelle screamed. Michel's head whipped upwards, looking towards the living room as though he could see through the wall.
"Woah," Nathaniel responded, followed by the crash and shattering of something breakable.
Kerry looked up towards the thin wall separating her bedroom and the living room, following Michel's gaze. "I hope it was the ugly yellow vase," she whispered for levity, inwardly cursing Nathaniel for interrupting. Again. She was sure whatever was happening out there was entirely his fault, too.
"You knew this whole time," Nelle continued in what Kerry would call a definite outdoor voice.
Oh oh, Kerry thought, wriggling out from beneath Michel so she could put her ear against the wall and listen more carefully. With a sigh Michel rolled to the side and didn't make any moves towards curiosity like Kerry. Of course, with his superior hearing, he didn't need to. Kerry wondered idly while her ear was smushed against the wall whether she could somehow use his super-hearing skills. She tried concentrating on listening the words, but they didn't become clearer. Somehow, Nathaniel had managed to say something non-idiotic in order to calm Nelle into speaking softer. Kerry took this as a good sign.
Until Nelle said, "I can't BELIEVE you lied to me. You DELIBERATELY told me vampires weren't real. YOU knew. You KNEW! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!"
Kerry jerked in surprise, her worried eyes immediately meeting Michel's. Nathaniel was murmuring something on the other side of the wall, but Kerry was beyond eavesdropping. "She's going to hate me," she whispered to her companion. "She's been my best friend forever, and I did exactly the same thing to her."
"Not exactly," Michel pointed out. "I doubt Nate was ever given the choice to turn."
Kerry's eyes narrowed. "You aren't helping." From the other side of the wall, the front door slammed dramatically.
"And there was the big exit," Michel pointed out cynically. "Nelle was being overly dramatic. She'll forget all about it in a few nights."
"I don't know," Kerry responded warily. "You don't know her like I do. She can hold a grudge like no one else."
Michel sighed, getting off the bed with a smooth roll of limbs. He straightened out his shirt and then offered her his hand. Kerry took it, allowing him to haul her off the bed without moving the sheets. He kept her hand in his, his eyes focused on her face. Kerry felt the urge to demurely lower her gaze, so instead she met his eyes boldly, a challenge glinting in them.
Michel's lips tilted in the slightest of smiles, and Kerry knew he was going to kiss her. She moved forward slightly, encouraging him.
"Nelle's gone!" Nathaniel said, not using his indoor voice either as he crashed through the bedroom door. Kerry jumped away from Michel, an expression of guilty embarrassment flashing over her face. Michel's features went blank as he turned to look at Nathaniel standing in the door. Nathaniel, sensing that he had somehow turned both occupants of the room against him, rushed on, "I'm really worried."
"She hasn't been gone for more than five minutes."
"But where does she have to go? Back to those people?" The venom in Nathaniel's voice as he spoke about vampires as something less than a parasite made Kerry glance at Michel for a reaction.
"She is one of 'those people'," Michel reminded softly. "You don't have to worry about her like she's still an invalid."
"Nelle was sick!" Nathaniel responded hotly. "She was never an invalid. And if you aren't going to do anything for her, then I'll find someone who will." He stormed out of the bedroom, pausing before he slammed the door to deliver one last parting shot. "And seriously guys, get a room!"
Kerry snorted, immediately covering her mouth with her hand. Michel's shoulders relaxed and he ran his hand through his hair. "Do you really think Nelle should be left alone right now?" Kerry asked. "She almost bit Nathaniel. Who knows what kind of trouble she could get into being upset and alone on the streets."
"I know."
"What if she bites someone? What if she runs into hunters? What if she meets some evil vampire who convinces her to turn to the dark side?" With each question, Kerry's voice became shriller and more desperate. She was frowning with worry, nervously digging her fingernails into the palm of her hand. She couldn't even look at him anymore.
"I know," Michel's response was a tad sharper. He reached for the door, striding out into the hallway before Kerry could even register he was gone.
She scrambled after him. "Where are you going?"
"To headquarters to see what can be done."
"Can I come with you?"
"No." He paused. "Sorry about the date. You look nice."
Kerry jumped forward, grabbing his arm as he tried to open her front door. "Let me rephrase that. I'm coming with you." With shoulders squared and a determined look on her face, she challenged him to argue with her.
"Let ME rephrase," he said, walking out the door. "No."
©RelenaFanel.June4.2007
So, what do you guys think about Michel's attempt at honesty. Is he still lying? Should he stick to keeping everything from her? Don't worry, I'm not trying to make him into someone who tells the truth. We all know he only does that when it serves his best interest.
As always: please review.