Sorry for the delay guys, I had a busy weekend... Enjoy
Chapter 33: The Choice
All of the lights of the night radiated through my vision. Everything was so intense, so different. I could hear the chatter of human voices in all directions. The smell of wet pavement rose into my nose and filled my lungs and the sensation of each tiny raindrop shattering against my skin overwhelmed my senses. I followed David through the empty streets intoxicated with the new blood pulsing through my veins. I wanted to dance, to skip like a child and frolic in the rain that was flooding the streets below my feet.
David looked over his shoulder. His brilliant features flashed for a moment catching the light. His face broke into a smile allowing me a glimpse of his pearly fangs. His eyebrow lifted in a challenge as he sprung into full speed, jetting through the streets ahead of me. I paused for a moment, taking a breath before I let his scent ravish me. I pulsed with power and strode off behind him. Running in my former state had always been thrilling and obviously more than human capabilities, but this, this was something entirely different. I felt that I needed only to will my body in a specific direction. I only needed to focus on David's rushing scent in order for my body to propel itself. There was literally no sensation of running or forcing of my limbs at all. My mind remained remarkably clear as the scenery around me shifted through my rape of time and space.
I followed David's trail, scaling buildings easily and lifting myself weightlessly to the rooftops above without a sound. I could even focus on the mortals around me while still maintaining my speed and agility as well as keeping with the direction of my fearless leader. The ability to multi-task was uncanny.
David's pace began to slow ahead of me, I caught sight of his suit slipping easily back into the mortal crowd on a busy street outside of a jam packed club. The blue neon lights above the line of humans all dressed in suits and skanky dresses spelled out The Icebreaker in bold streaks. I moved in close to David, pressing against the stone hard surface that was his back. I breathed in deeply, committing his delicious scent to memory. The humans around us crushed forward furiously trying to make their way to the front of the line. I took care to avoid hurting them with my movements. With David as my shield, we met a tall man in a plush black suit sporting a bow tie. His look was domineering and over-confident. He held an entrance-giving clip board in his hand and maintained an air of importance with the tiny radio set that was attached to his ear.
"Good evening," David flashed him a stunning smile. The smell of cigarettes rose up around us.
The man merely grunted, "You on the list?" David leaned in close to the main, only needing to raise an inch or so to meet his height. He motioned as though he were going to whisper his name into the suit's ear. But in a flash that would have been too inconspicuous, too swift for mortal eyes, David bore into the man's neck, making tiny puncture wounds just above his stiff white collar. The man swooned and leaned into David's embrace.
I watched, feeling rather like I had intruded on a very intimate scene, but I could not tear my eyes away. Being unable to read David's thoughts, I allowed myself to steal them from his victim. A rapid swirl of color and an overwhelming sense of well-being and trust flowed through our friend guarding the door. David withdrew rapidly with a deviant smile. The man seemed to awake from a daze. Returning a much more light-hearted smile, he let the red velvet rope fall away from its post and ushered us into the awaiting club. David reached back to take my hand. His palms were cool, but charged with the current of the tiny taste of the doorman. He pulled me close to him as the music wound its way around us like a snake, squeezing tightly and threatening to suffocate us in its grasp. The loud thumping drowned out the rest of my consciousness and for a moment I felt lost in the noise. I felt David's arm pull me through the crowd into a vacant booth in the corner of the room.
"Nessie," his voice cleared my head of the music. I fought to focus on it, my senses were reeling. "Nessie, I know its a lot to take in, but try to focus, try to hear only what you want to hear. You will find that if you concentrate, you have the ability to filter out the noise and make sense of the situations around you." He sat patiently as I closed my eyes and willed my mind to put the music on the back burner and pull my attention elsewhere.
When I opened my eyes, it was as if someone had turned down the volume and suddenly I could think again, it wasn't very difficult at all. I found the voice of the bartender taking drink orders, the voice of the woman who was ordering, the calls of the many men surrounding her offering to pay for her drink. I smiled at my accomplishment and turned back to David, "Not so bad." I said with a smile and shrug.
"Yes, you will find little difficulty with sound once you understand how to manage it," he scanned the room. "Now, did you see what I did with the doorman?" I nodded, "That is what we refer to as the little drink. It can be difficult to manage, you cannot allow yourself to be caught up in the moment. You must be more aware of your victim. You must be able to stop, to seal the wound, you must not allow yourself to swoon. Many fledgling vampires have a hard time with this the first couple times they try it. That is why I wanted your initial hunger to be sated. It will allow you to focus on what you are doing instead of getting carried away." His eyes fixed into mine, "Don't do anything that you will regret." I nodded, a little nervous. The anxiety tingled in my brain-- what if I accidentally killed someone?
Sensing my tension, he leaned in closer, "It is easy when you are dancing with one of them," he said motioning to the mortal mass surrounding us. "Jus chose one who is intoxicated, they are much less aware of what is going on. When you move in close enough to make your mark, concentrate with all your energy on giving them all the pleasure you can muster. It is preferably for them to swoon instead of you. It will also ensure that they don't remember what you did to them. Take care to only take a swallow or two and then seal the wound with your tongue." I nodded again, trying to make sure that I didn't miss any of the details. David smiled at my obvious thoughts, "Don't worry, its not as hard as you think." He winked at me and headed toward the dance floor, leaving me paralyzed in the booth.
I blinked quickly and got to my feet. I was careful to move at human speed. It wasn't something that I had entirely mastered in my previous state, and now it seemed impossible. I felt like a snail making my way through the sweat and heat of the crowd. I found myself surrounded with flashing lights and pulsing music and smashed between wriggling bodies. For a moment, I was all too aware of my awkwardness. Until I saw him.
A handsome creature was making his way across the dance floor in my direction. His hair was long and flowing in lose blond waves. His eyes were a hazy blue, glossed over with the shimmer of drunkenness. I smiled at him. He swayed a little, trying to avoid being swallowed by the crowd.
"Wanna dance?" he slurred with the thick stench of booze seeping from his softly parted lips. I fell into his arms, allowing him to lead the pace of the movements. I stared into his eyes, willing him to bend down to my level. All nervousness lifted from my mind, this was easy, hopelessly easy. I swung my arm around his neck, not allowing my strength to show in the gesture, which took minimal effort. His arms wrapped around me, bringing his neck dangerously close to my lips. Above the music, above the sweat and the heat, I heard and felt this blood pulsing beneath his skin. The rhythm of his heart was mesmerizing. I fought with the monster inside of me and pushed him away filling my mind with sexually latent pleasure. I let my lips softly graze his neck. He moaned at my advance and pulled me closer. I could feel his manhood pushing against my thigh as we gyrated to the music. I took in his scent once more and pushed my teeth and my ecstasy into his neck. Another moan escaped his lips and probably mine too as a mouthful of hot blood spilled down my throat. I lost myself. The blood pulled into me and the monster roared for more. Greed raged from within me. I wanted all of him, all of his strength, all of his desire for my body, all of the life within him. I gulped once more and ripped my head back from his throat, flashing my tongue over the wound upon existing.
The man's eyes were closed and I may have been supporting him. I gasped and fear shook me. Panic snatched my confidence and my blood-induced satisfaction. I killed him! Shit, I fucking killed him. I stared at the mass that was leaning heavily on my shoulder and frantically fought my instinct to run. I searched the dance floor for David, but he was no where to be found. I can't run, I can't just leave a dead body in the middle of the dance floor.
And then, as if he were merely sleeping, his eyes fluttered open and his mouth curved into a stupid grin. He stood up and stumbled away from me. I watched in amazement as he made his way back to the bar. I kept my eyes steadily upon him as he slurred to the bartender, "Jack'n coke." The bartender replenished his supply of booze and the man began contently sipping from the black little straw.
I moved away from the crowd, nearly stumbling back as the anxiety shifted to disbelief and relief. God, I thought I'd killed him. I slumped down in the nearest booth and stared out onto the dance floor. David suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a devilish smile. "That was close," there was no sound of fear, no condescending note in his tone.
"Yeah," I gasped, "Where the hell were you? I was freaking out!" I felt a little betrayed a little abandoned.
He took the seat next to me and resumed the air of an older gentleman, the air that didn't match his body in the least. "Nessie, I am not your protector. I am not hear to bail you out of situations or to tell you what to do. I am merely offering suggestions and showing you what I do. You are free to make your own decisions and mistakes as well. If you would have killed him, then it would have been your issue to handle." He folded his hands in his lap. I felt my mouth hanging open, like the hinges of my jaw had just been broken off.
"But, but..." I stammered, not really knowing what I had intended to say.
"But nothing," he said calmly, "you must learn that this existence is your own. You will no longer be limited, nor protected by your family members. You are much stronger than they are now. You must be responsible for your own actions, you are no longer a child needing protection. You are more than capable for caring for yourself as well as being treated as an equal. You are now a child of the night, limited only by blood and the sun. All other rules are completely bendable. I only want you to work to realize your full potential and your capabilities. You must let go of your former limitations, they no longer exist."
I stared blankly at the vampire before me. An enormous sense of self cascaded over me, threatening to drown me in its wake. My mind raced. For the first time I would no longer be sheltered. I was no longer a child to my parents or a helpless being constantly needing Jake's protection. I could take care of myself. I revealed in the power that David had bestowed upon me-- not the power of the blood, but the power of the confidence behind it.
"Come," he said and without warning he exited the club, leaving me alone and for the first time, I didn't feel the need for anyone's company. I walked out the front door of the club and into the awaiting night. The rain had slowed to a drizzle and felt cool and soft on my skin. I treaded down the alleyway trying to embrace what David had said and the feelings that it had stirred within me. I wandered the brightly lit streets for nearly an hour before deciding to locate my Maker. It took me only seconds to pick his scent from the wind. I willed my body to follow its path and I lead myself to a park bench where I sat next to a handsome creature in an impeccable suit.
"Nessie," he said, continuing as if we our hour spent apart had been a mere second, "I am only here to guide you, to help you learn if you want to. I am not responsible for taking care of you. You are more than capable of that. Please do not mistake this for abandonment," his brows furrowed, "or for me not loving you... because I do, I love you with all of my being and I could not stand the idea of you turning your back on me. And this is my reason for allowing you to only answer to yourself. You have been surrounded with protection your entire life. I wish for you to view me as an equal, as someone who loves and adores you, but who does not think he is more capable of defending you than you are yourself. You are strong and you need little defense. But with that being said, I do wish to bestow upon you one more gift." His eyes shone out into the dark night and rested on an elm tree across the park from us. "She has offered her blood to you."
I followed his gaze as a beautiful woman stepped from behind the tree. She looked like a statue, reflecting the moonlight with her red hair wisping gently on the breeze, "Maharet," I said with a gasp.
"Yes, my child," her mind spoke to me, "My blood is yours if you wish to partake, but do remember its strength and its terrible power. If you chose to drink from the fount, you are choosing more immortality than you have acquired. The sun will not be able to instantly destroy you, that is to say, you will be unable to end your existence with ease, even if you desperately want it." Her eyes beamed across the night air. I took a step toward her, hypnotized by her beauty and the power that made the air tremble around her.
"It will quench your thirst for human blood, allowing you to feed less. It will make you stronger than even David has done," she smiling at my Maker. "You will know many more powers, but this blood will take you further from your human form than you could have ever imagined. It is a gift that I offer you out of love. Love you for you as my fledgling daughter and love for your Maker as well." David nodded in gratitude. I took another step, imagining the possibilities of her blood, the power and gifts. My mind settled on her warning of being unable to end my life. I was confused by her meaning, how could that be a bad thing? "You will outlive them all," she said sadly, "what if there came a time when all of those whom you have loved had passed on to the next world? What if you were forced to share eternity with the few of us who truly harbor immortality? We are fickle creatures who often care little for extended companionship. Are you prepared to embark on a journey that truly has no end?"
Her words echoed in my head as I imagined my family dead around me, slain by some unseen force. I thought of the deaths of my human children, the death of Jacob. I trembled a little at the image of his eyes closed forever and his body laying lifeless in a horrible casket. I looked to David, who was gazing lovingly at Maharet. I knew that he could not and certainly would not help me in my decision, but I had a question. "Ah yes," her silvery voice sounded in my head, "He will certainly love you until the end of time, there is no doubt of that. And perhaps you are right, young one, you taking my blood may very well help him to continue his existence." Her laugh sounded across the park, it seemed to twinkle in the soft glow of the street lights.
"David," she said aload, "You have chose wisely. This one may be the first to understand you." She laughed again. "Well then fledgling, what is your decision?"
My mind quieted in the stillness of the night, all thoughts ceased except for one word, "Yes."