Seer: Thrall (18 page)

"Good girl," she said at the end. "That's enough now."

I sucked on her wrist for a long time after that. The wound was well healed, and I continued to suck. Part of me knew I was doing it, but I couldn't help myself anymore.

But I purred with pleasure at the same time.

Finally, I released her wrist. I was high as a kite, and I knew it. I looked over my shoulder at her as she cradled me. "You're so pretty," I told her dreamily.

"And you're drugged to the gills."

I reached up and caressed her cheek. "My personal drug pusher."

She let me bask for a while. I know I zoned out. I have no idea what other things I told her while I lay there on the countertop. I know I told her things I wouldn't have otherwise said, but I don't remember the specifics.

Eventually I found myself standing under the shower, still high as a kite, and no memory of how I got there. But slowly I pulled it together enough to finish. By the time I was back in the bedroom, my biking clothes were waiting for me. I even managed to pull them on without help. I went in search of Solange.

I found her and Aubree waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I stared down at them then carefully made my way down the stairs.

"Is she okay?" Aubree asked.

I smiled at her. "Good morning, Aubree." I reached the bottom of the stairs and walked up to her. I threw my arms around her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. I managed to press our lips together before she pushed me away at the same time Solange began growling. A moment later, Solange had pulled me away from Aubree and was hissing at her, fangs showing. Aubree shrank away from her instantly.

"Knock it off!" I said. I tugged on Solange's hold on my arm. "Let go of me! I'll kiss Aubree if I want. I don't belong to you anymore."

Solange continued to hold me to the side, interposing herself between her friend and me, still hissing.

So I hit her.

As soon as I did, I realized what a mistake it was. I was hitting an angry vampire? Even in my drugged out state, I knew that was a bad idea. But she barely noticed.

"Stop it!" I said.

Aubree was speaking quietly, submissively in French while making herself look as small as she could.

"Solange, enough!" I said. "You're stealing my buzz."

She didn't release me, and she didn't turn her back on Aubree, but she backed up, pushing me behind her. As soon as there was a little distance, Aubree straightened and backed away as well, putting as much distance between Solange and herself as she could.

Solange finally turned to me, clasping me by both arms. "No."

"Stop it!" I said. "I don't belong to you, and if I want to kiss someone, I'm going to kiss her."

"You. Will. Not!" Her fangs were still out.

"Let go of me!" I ordered, trying to shake myself loose. It did me no good.

Instead, Solange shook me a little and said firmly, "Mine!"

"No!" I said. "I am not yours. You saw to that. Stop this. You're ruining the buzz."

"Sidney," Aubree said from near the door, "Please never, ever kiss me again."

I looked past Solange to take in Aubree. She looked scared.

"Fine!" I said. "I don't want to kiss you, anyway. You helped her put me in that place, and I hate you as much as I hate her."

I looked back at Solange. "Bitch."

"Shut up," she ordered.

I closed my mouth immediately, surprising myself. Solange looked a little triumphant.

"It's about time you drank enough to turn obedient," she said. "Listen to me and listen good. You. Are. Mine."

My eyes widened, and I began struggling in earnest, trying to get away from her, but she held me tightly.

"Say it," she said. "Tell me you're mine."

I felt a strong compulsion to obey, but I struggled with it the same way as I struggled with her. But she'd given me permission to speak again, and I managed to keen out, "Noooooo."

"Say it!" she shook me a little. "Say it, Sidney. Tell me you are mine."

"Stop it!" I said instead.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aubree approaching. "Solange, this isn't the way to do it."

"Shut up!" Solange told her.

"If you force those words from her, she'll never forgive you, Solange. Never, and you know it. Saying it won't mean it, anyway."

Solange looked over her shoulder at Aubree.

"Let me talk to her," Aubree said. Solange hissed. "Fine," Aubree added. "Then tell her why it's okay she kisses Dolores but not me."

Solange turned back to me, cocking her head. "Dolores is human. Aubree is a vampire."

I struggled for another moment, but she didn't release me. "So?"

"Vampires are very possessive of their humans."

"I'm not your human."

"That's not how she sees it," Aubree said. "You don't have to accept her claim, but she's not going to tolerate you kissing any other vampires."

"This is part of what we're discussing today," Solange said. I looked into her face, and her fangs had retracted. Slowly, she released my arms. I could tell it was difficult for her. "Did I hurt you?"

I looked down at my arms. They were red where she had clasped me, but she hadn't hurt me. "No." I stepped two steps away from her. "You're a buzz kill."

"Sidney, don't kiss any more vampires," Aubree said.

"Fine," I said. "There aren't any I want to kiss anyway. I don't even know why I kissed you, except I was feeling so good." I looked back at Solange. "I am going for a short walk alone, and then we can go riding."

She nodded once. I turned around and fled.

I didn't go far, just down to the lake. It was a beautiful October day. October in Minnesota can be purely wonderful, cool and crisp but amazingly beautiful. A few trees were beginning to turn with their fall colors. I knew further north the trees would be bright red, orange and yellow, but here, it was still green with just hints of other colors bleeding in.

It was lovely.

I plopped down in a chair near the water, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. I thought about how good I felt physically, breathing in slow, deep breaths, and slowly I calmed down.

The buzz was gone, but there was still so much of her blood inside me, it took little effort to feel good. I sat there for only a minute or two before climbing back to my feet.

A bike ride was going to feel good.

I found the two of them preparing the bikes. They had their biking shoes on. As I walked up, I said, "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

Solange smiled and held my bike shoes out to me. "I'm sorry, too. I didn't realize I would react like that."

"Water under the bridge," I said. I stepped forward to take my shoes from her, but she knelt down in front of me, removing my tennis shoes and slipping the biking shoes into place. She tugged them tight, just perfect. "Thank you." I paused. "I'm probably still a little high."

"You're probably still a lot high," Solange said. "Aubree will lead. You will follow her carefully."

I nodded.

"Feeling good?"

I nodded. "Really good." I smiled. "Long ride?"

Solange smiled with me and nodded, but it was Aubree who asked, "What pace would you normally keep on your longest rides?"

"Around sixteen," I replied. "It varies with wind, incline, and how smooth of a road." New blacktop was particularly smooth and provided for a fast ride.

"All right," she said. "Ready?"

I checked my bike. I had two full water bottles already in place, and I had a small bag on the back with my emergency kit and several energy bars. They both had more water, and I decided I was ready. "All set."

We climbed on our bikes, and a moment later, I was following Aubree down the road to the gate. As we approached, it opened, and I knew Thomas was watching for us.

She kept a moderate pace to begin. We rode for fifteen minutes before we reached one of the trails. Aubree turned us west and glanced back. "Kicking it up," she said. She bore down and shifted two gears. I kept up with her.

We cruised along. When I checked my speedometer, I saw we were doing just under eighteen miles per hour. That wasn't a speed I could normally maintain for more than a few miles, but we'd been holding that pace for a half hour, and I was still going strong.

From time to time, Solange urged me to drink.

We left the trail, turning north, well out in the country west of Minneapolis. I was completely in the groove and stayed in the slipstream behind Aubree. We hit some rollers. Aubree powered up them, and I stayed right with her.

I wouldn't normally have been able to do that.

We hit the top of the second roller still doing fifteen. I whooped in joy.

I didn't have a clue where we were, beyond, "somewhere west of home". I lost track of time and distance. I simply followed Aubree and used my ears to pay attention to Solange.

And I pedaled.

We took a break. I didn't ask how long we'd been out, and they didn't say. Solange fed me an energy bar and handed me more water. I kept moving, stretching my legs, and a few minutes later, we were biking again.

It was some time later when I recognized the roads again. Aubree was leading us home. I was tired, and we'd slowed down to about fourteen. Then as we got closer still, she slowed it down to twelve, and I knew we were cooling off, coming down from the ride gently.

As we grew closer to Solange's front gate, she said, "Passing, stay with Aubree," and then she was flying past me.

"Damned vampire," I muttered.

But when Aubree turned us into Solange's drive, the gate was open. Solange was waiting, and she pulled in on my right side as we rode quickly up the drive, faster than I drive a car. We came to a stop in front of the garage, and I slumped, still half on my bike, panting heavily, my heart pounding, and sweat running into my eyes.

Solange and Aubree both climbed from their bikes, and then Solange was there, helping me from mine. I glanced up, and they were both grinning.

"Congratulations, Sidney," Aubree said.

Solange was practically quivering with joy, her grin wide, filling her entire face. Even the vampires were sweating heavily.

"For what?" I asked.

"Your first century."

It took a moment to register. "What?" I paused. "Not my first."

Solange pulled me into a hug. I didn't really want a hug right then. I wanted to breathe, and maybe to fall into the pool.

"Not a metric century, Sidney," Solange said. "One hundred miles."

"Technically, one-oh-one and a half," Aubree said. "Congratulations!"

I pushed away from Solange. "Yeah," I said. "With performance-enhancing drugs."

"Hush," she said. "My blood gave you energy, but your muscles held out. All the vampire blood in the world wouldn't have helped you if you weren't ready for it. Don't count it if you don't want to, but I think it's a huge accomplishment."

"Sidney, it was my first century, too," Aubree said. "Look at us! You kept up with me."

"You could have ridden faster."

"In spurts," she said. "Yes. And Solange could have done it in half the time, but I couldn't have. Congratulate me."

I nodded. "Congratulations, Aubree." I smiled. "Good leading." I thought about it. "Really good leading. You were easy to follow, and that's a long time to be in the wind."

"A swim would feel good," Solange said. "How about a swim?"

Aubree volunteered to take care of the bikes and said she'd be along in a few minutes. I let Solange lure me to the pool. We kept swimsuits there, and I simply turned my back as I stepped out of my horrible, sweaty clothes, leaving them in a pile for now. I pulled on the suit, and by the time I turned around, Solange was waiting.

"Did you watch?"

"I wanted to," she admitted. "But no."

I nodded, and then I let her lure me to the shower. We rinsed the sweat from our bodies, and a minute later, we were in the pool.

It felt good.

* * * *

"God, I'm tired," I declared. The three of us were sitting at one of the tables near the pool, wearing robes over our suits. I lay backwards, my head lolling against the chair.

"How do you feel?"

I opened my eyes and looked at Solange. Her blood had long since been burned away, and everything I felt was leftover from the long ride.

"Sore, but really good at the same time," I admitted. "You said you wanted to talk."

"I have five topics, and they're related," she said.

"Let's hear them."

"Forgiveness."

I nodded. "Yeah. That's a big one." I sighed.

"Your job," she said next.

I cocked my head. "Is that one important?"

"It's important to you. I think it's important for forgiveness."

I thought about it. "Probably. What else?"