Authors: Angelic Rodgers
Zamani (8 page)
Zofia nodded.
“Then let’s get started.
First, we need to work on building some
barriers. If you’re this open with your thoughts, you’re more likely to not
only fall victim to those who want to hurt and manipulate you, but you’ll also
be more prone to be reckless and careless in the hunt.
Lucy and the other donors can help you for
now, but they can’t sustain you indefinitely. It is part of your nature to hunt
and feed from those who are not donors.
The exchange is important as it also helps you gain strength and power.”
Zofia stood up and motioned
for Sasha to do the same.
“You
would agree that you physically are larger than I am and should be able to over
power me, yes?”
Sasha nodded.
“Look directly into my eyes,
Sasha.
You may resist me, but know
that you’ll only make it worse for yourself.”
She slid her right hand along Sasha’s
shoulder and closed it around her neck.
She managed to somehow lift Sasha in the air.
Sasha struggled, both of her hands clutching
at Zofia’s hand, trying to pry her fingers and thumb from her neck and
failing.
Finally she relented and
Zofia set her down gently on her feet.
The place where her hand had been smarted a bit, but other than that
Sasha was unharmed.
“I am much stronger than I
appear.
You will need to hunt to
gain strength.
And to successfully
hunt alone, you need to have complete control over your thoughts and emotions.”
They worked for hours with
Zofia using visualization and meditation techniques to help Sasha create walls
around her thoughts.
When she felt
Sasha was ready and the wine was long gone, Zofia took her leave for the night,
promising to return the next night for more training. Sasha noticed that
daybreak was near as she fell asleep on the couch, too tired to get undressed
or go up to the loft to her bed.
For the first time since she
became Sasha, she dreamt.
The dream
was a chaotic collage of images of her past life as Alex.
She woke up sobbing, grieving for the
life she couldn’t reclaim. When she slept again, she dreamt of going to Liz and
revealing her new identity.
In
those dreams, Liz ran from her, screaming, or even worse she came at her,
screaming still and hitting her, crying out about her betrayal and her weakness
for letting Wren get to her.
When Zofia returned the next
day, Sasha felt the same butterflies and heightened awareness that she was not
alone.
This time, she opened the
door before Zofia even managed to knock.
Zofia smiled as she entered.
“Excellent. I see you’ve figured out that your awareness of me wasn’t
just a coincidence yesterday.” She put her hand on Sasha’s shoulder. “You’ve
been practicing since I left you.
I
have no idea what is on your mind right now.
Well done, Sasha.”
Zofia sat down on the sofa
and Sasha joined her. “Both of these skills will help you with self-protection,
but you must feed properly in order to progress. You’ll find that you learn far
more quickly than before, but only if you are properly nourished. I know that Lucy
taught you some things about donor relationships; you have to realize that you
need to hunt and soon.”
Sasha protested at first. “I
don’t really feel the need to hunt.”
Zofia recognized that she was still starry-eyed after a weekend of
having Steph in her bed, and she felt confident that between Steph and Lucy
that she’d be fine without feeding on non-donors. Zofia was determined to teach
her how vulnerable she truly was in her untrained and undisciplined state.
“You promised to trust me,
Sasha.
It’s inevitable that you’ll
hunt. Trust me that it is better to do so sooner rather than later; if you are
desperate--and you will become desperate if you resist the need--you are far
more likely to bring harm to your prey or to yourself.”
Zofia reached in her bag and
pulled out a ring. “I have something for you.” She placed the ring on the
coffee table. “Put it on.”
Sasha picked up the ring. It
was odd looking. “How do I wear it?”
Zofia grabbed Sasha’s right
hand and slid the ring over the end of her index finger. “When worn as a piece
of jewelry, the piece fits flush against your fingertip, almost like a half
thimble, following the curve and the tip fitting just under the edge of her
fingernail.
Slide it around the
other way,” here, Zofia slid the ring around to demonstrate, “and the ring becomes
a cutting tool as precise and sharp as a razor.”
She sensed Sasha’s revulsion
at the realization of the ring’s purpose. “Sasha, you belong to a community
that believes that vampires can feed humanely. Unlike Wren you will receive
training to ensure that you act ethically.” At the mention of Wren’s name,
Sasha was even more shaken. Zofia caught a glimpse of the violent attach that
had left Alex as good as dead and that led to the creation of Sasha.
“Our family doesn’t kill for
sport, nor do we allow ourselves to become reckless. We’ll continue to work on
skills regarding mind control for now, but we are working up to your first real
hunt. You’re more ready than you know.”
Sasha sighed in relief that
at least they were not hunting today. “That trick you pulled yesterday with the
lighter—I want to learn telekinesis.”
Zofia smiled. “That is a
good goal and once you show me you can keep me out of your mind, even with
distractions, I’ll teach you how.”
For the next few hours, Zofia
worked with Sasha and showed her how quickly she could shut her out mentally.
They then switched roles with Zofia launching mental attacks on Sasha, trying
to read her thoughts.
Her reward for her hard work
was free time in the courtyard between her carriage house apartment and Lucy’s
house.
Lucy, Caleb, and Steph
gathered there in the late evening, and when Zofia sensed that she and Sasha
had reached the end of their productive time, she suggested they join the
others.
Sasha was glad for the break
and to see her new friends.
The
nightmares she’d had of Liz rejecting her the night before had been hard to
shrug off, but once Steph grabbed her hand and brushed her lips against Sasha’s
she felt accepted and safe.
Lucy was the first to ask
about the training.
“So, you’ve
been hard at work in there tonight. Zofia, how is she doing?”
“She’s coming along quite
well.
She’s learned enough about
cloaking her thoughts and controlling her impulses that she can go out with me
tomorrow.
It’s important that she
begin to hunt as soon as possible.”
Sasha hid her own surprise
that they would be going out so soon. She turned to look at Steph, expecting
her to seem hurt or uncomfortable.
Instead, she was smiling and she gave Sasha a wink.
Zofia continued.
“Part of the reason I wanted to talk to
the three of you tonight is that Sasha’s reluctant to hunt and wants to merely
continue to feed from donors.
I
think she should hear from the three of you.”
Sasha interjected with, “You
three are the only friends I have right now.
I need to know we’ll all be ok with this.
I also have some questions about the whole donor relationship and how that
works.
For instance, Lucy and Caleb
seem fine, even though they obviously have interactions with other people that
would be enough to break up most couples in my old world.”
Lucy nodded. “That’s just
it—that world and its relationships aren’t yours any longer.
New rules apply.
You probably haven’t thought about it,
but you weren’t jealous of Caleb when you found out he and I are together. The
exchange between a vampire and donor is completely different than the
relationship between two donors or the relationship between two vampires. It is
more likely you’ll feel jealousy of another vampire who trains with Zofia than
it would be for you to feel jealousy over another vampire feeding from Steph,
for instance, or even of a relationship between Steph and a fellow donor.”
As if to test what Lucy
said, Zofia approached Steph and kissed her lightly on the lips before sliding
the blade shaped pendant she wore out of its sheath and slicing through her
skin along the curve of her neck.
She turned to smile at Sasha as the blood rose to the surface of the cut.
As she ran her tongue over the wound and then pressed her lips there, Sasha didn’t
experience jealousy. On the contrary, she felt the sweetness that Steph felt,
the drowsy glow and stirrings of arousal.
The lack of jealousy surprised her. She
felt no less close to Steph than she had before; if anything she felt
closer.
There was no malice here,
no competition.
She also considered that her
own attraction to Wren probably had more to do with Wren’s abilities, untrained
or not, to draw her in.
Zofia smiled, Steph’s blood
like smeared lipstick on her teeth. “So, you see that there isn’t the need to
worry about betraying Steph by hunting any more than Lucy would worry about you
and Caleb running off together to live happily ever after. You can’t exist in a
single pairing or relationship any longer; you have to hunt because you are now
a part of something larger.”
Sasha looked at Steph.
She felt no different about her than she
did before; she still wanted to curl up with her, to feel her next to her.
Steph squeezed her hand again. “She’s
right.
You have to feed; by doing
so you become stronger. You can then share that strength with me and through me
to other vampires in our community who feed from me.”
“Our community? How large is
the community I am part of?”
Lucy was the one to answer.
“We’re relatively close-knit, but we are growing. Zofia and I are the
leaders—she of the vampires in the group, and I am the leader of the
donors. There’s a lot that you don’t fully know yet, but you’re beginning to
realize. Olivia Holmwood is gathering her own network, and we have to be a
strong community if we’re going to hold our own against her.”
“I don’t understand. Why are
we fighting her?”
Zofia spoke. “I’ve been
chasing her for a long time. Just as she had no qualms in turning your friend,
she didn’t hesitate to turn me to make a gift for someone else.
She’s reckless and heartless.”
Lucy nodded. “We both have
personal reasons to end her, Sasha.
And, you do too.”
“I’m more angry with Wren
than with Olivia.
I realize that
Wren didn’t start the whole thing, but I’m not sure I feel anger toward Olivia.”
Lucy and Zofia locked eyes
for a moment and then Zofia simply said, “We think she’s after Liz.”
The next night, Halloween,
Zofia took Sasha across the river. The revelation the night before that Liz was
involved helped ensure that Sasha would cooperate and continue to train. Steph
offered to stay with her, but Sasha needed some time alone. As she left, Zofia
instructed Sasha to be dressed and ready to go by 9:00 the next night.
Sasha wasn’t surprised to see that Zofia
drove a sleek black convertible. “Nice car,” Sasha said as she slid into the
passenger seat.
The night was
clear, so Zofia had the top down.
“Thanks.
It’s a 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster. It’s
a fun little car.”
Unlike Lucy, Zofia didn’t
take the ferry; instead, she headed toward the Crescent City Connection.
“I figure you’re due for a little speed
in your life and would like to celebrate being free for a bit; Lucy said you
haven’t been out much at all.
I
don’t like taking the car on the ferry, as everyone wants to touch it and ask
questions.
Besides, what’s the fun
in letting someone else drive?”
She
smiled a wicked smile, and they sped on their way.
Zofia pulled in front of
Hotel Monteleone for valet parking.
Sasha didn’t bother asking questions.
She simply let things happen; she knew
Zofia would tell her what she needed to know. She followed her into the
Carousel Bar.
“I know the bar is a
bit cheesy, but let’s have a drink before we head out. I have to confess, a
drink here is part of my Halloween routine.”
She flashed that wicked smile again as
she led the way to one of the small tables as far back from the door as
possible.
As they moved through the
crowded bar Sasha suddenly felt a pressing need for something more than she’d
had from donors--a hunger that she wouldn’t have been able to describe if
asked.
Zofia didn’t have to
ask--she already knew. She tried to push the hunger down. She didn’t want to
embarrass herself in front of Zofia and she also was frightened by the
intensity of her hunger.
Zofia ordered Sazeracs for
both of them. ”Another part of my tradition,” she said, smiling after the
waiter with a twinkle in her eye.
“So, the plan is we sit here for a bit and then go out for a hunt.
Tonight is perfect for it as the Quarter
is full and people are not going to think twice if their buddy disappears for a
bit.
These are the ground rules—I
will hunt with you first. Depending on how that goes, we’ll decide if you can
have some time to yourself. We don’t bring anyone back here, even though we
have a suite reserved.”
She sipped
her drink.
“Once you are on your
own hunting you can do things as you please, but I personally do not eat where
I sleep. Besides, it’s less likely to have your prey remember the entire
encounter and stalk you if you don’t leave a trail for them to follow. The more
they are in their own element and comfortable, the more likely it is that the
encounter will be a pleasant one for them.”
Sasha felt the old
hesitation to hunt trying to return.
The night before Zofia had stressed the ethics of how they hunt. “When
you select carefully, you have something to offer your prey in return for what
they have to offer you. You’ll see what I mean.” Sasha hoped that she wasn’t
disappointed. She considered how free Lucy and Caleb were in their interactions
with Zofia and with her. They so willingly gave of themselves and the exchange
was comforting to all involved because it was a voluntary one.
But that voluntary aspect
also meant that there was still some part of her that was left unsatisfied.
Despite her initial cockiness, Sasha realized that Zofia was right about how
different donor feeding must be from a true hunt.
She’d told her, “It’s a completely
different experience, Sasha. It’s easy to get carried away.
Our goal is not to kill, though--it is
merely to feed.
And we don’t want
to indiscriminately turn people into our kind.”
Sasha could feel her excitement building
as she finished her first drink and Zofia waved to the waiter for another
round.
After their third round they
headed out to mix with the revelers.
Halloween had always been one of Alex’s favorite holidays in the city.
For one thing bar patrons better tippers during special events and holidays, so
she always made out like a bandit at work. What she enjoyed most was the spectacle
of it all.
Liz, a talented painter,
had always been happy and willing to help disguise Alex and their friends,
doing elaborate face and body paint as part of their costumes.
They would spend Saturday afternoons
combing through vintage and second-hand shops for just the right outfits and
accessories every year.
Tonight,
she’d felt like simply playing Sasha was costume enough.
She wondered where Liz was
tonight and if she was dressed up.
She didn’t feel her presence, certainly not in the way she had in the
days leading up to her memorial service and during the service itself, but she
was unsure if that was truly a sign Liz was not in the city.
As she and Zofia wandered through the
crowd, she looked for Liz’s face whenever she saw a woman of her height and
build.
But none of them were Liz.
The Quarter was packed.
That was a normal state of affairs for
Bourbon Street at this time of night on any given day. Mardi Gras and Halloween
spread the revelers out beyond Bourbon, and Royal Street was fuller than normal.
Sasha felt a surge of energy move
through her as she and Zofia stepped out onto the sidewalk. The booze wasn’t
the main intoxicant she was feeling. The crowd with it’s human heat made her
head swim.
She felt someone brush
up against her, the crowd pressing people close enough that personal space was
non-existent.
The closeness of one
young man's body in particular caught her attention and held it.
Just as she felt with Steph,
it was the closeness she wanted, the intimacy and the surrender of someone
responding to her.
She wanted to
press herself against someone, to feel the yield of their flesh against her, to
feel the warmth they generate and hear the small gasp of a lover enthralled.
She knew that while her closeness with
Steph was wonderful it was also tempered by her donor status.
She felt Zofia's cool hand circle her
wrist and the contact pulled her out of her trance long enough to follow where
Zofia led.
They took the next
corner onto a side street with fewer people so Sasha could regain her composure.
"Was I too open?
I'm embarrassed if you could see my
thoughts just now.
That's not quite
fair."
she grinned sheepishly.
Zofia assured her, though.
"No, you did well in controlling your thoughts; it's just that being in a
crowd like that is tantalizing to me--I know it has to be overwhelming for you,
given how long it's been since you’ve been around non-donors.”
Sasha nodded and sighed with relief; she
didn’t want to seem weak to Zofia.
"So, what do we do
now?" Sasha asked.
Zofia smiled and said,
"I want you to let your instincts guide you as much as possible.
You should be the one to choose who you
fancy; I do reserve the right, however, to veto your choice if for some reason
it doesn't seem a good one.
I
think, though, that you're ready, and I have faith you'll choose a good
mark."
They stood for a moment
where they were, watching people dressed up in silly costumes jostle by, trying
to avoid bumping into each other and spilling their drinks.
Sasha nodded at Zofia and stepped into the
crowd.
She saw him relatively
quickly—the man who had brushed against her. She mentally reached out to Zofia
and indicated she was interested in him. He was young and gave off a clear
sense of vitality and health. While he’d been drinking, he wasn’t drunk and the
clarity of his skin and the shine of his hair told Zofia that he was healthy
and could withstand the feeding.
She reached out with her mind and found him both innocent and
trusting.
All of these qualities
made him an excellent candidate.
She nodded to Sasha in
encouragement.
The two made their
way toward him.
He was dressed as a
pirate, decked out with eyeliner and plenty of bangles and ear rings. The
androgyny suited his slender frame, and his features were delicate and his hair
long.
Zofia was the first to speak to him. She
slid up next to the young man, smiling as she put her hand on his arm.
“Jonathan? Is that you?”
The man smiled at her,
obviously attracted to her.
He
shook his head and said, “I wish I were.
This Jonathan person must be a lucky man, indeed, to know you.
My name is Silas.”
Zofia played coy.
“You remind me so much of an old
friend.
Perhaps you’ll become a new
one?
This is my friend Sasha.
Perhaps you would like to come have a
drink with us?”
Silas, immediately taken with
the two women, was more than happy to agree to a drink.
Sasha sensed his arousal and
curiosity.
The nearest bars were
full to the point of people spilling out of doorways into the street.
Zofia led the way, and they followed her
as she moved toward Conti and the Bombay Club. On this edge of the Quarter,
things were a bit more quiet and reserved. The bar was housed in a hotel with its
entrance situated off the street that helped to keep the traffic down.
Zofia knew they could find a table where
they could have some privacy.
She
also already knew Silas had a room upstairs.
As they walked, Sasha asked
if Silas was any specific pirate.
“Why, I’m Jean Lafitte, of course!” was his reply.
“This is my first New Orleans Halloween.
Are you local?” he asked.
Sasha nodded and slid her
arm through his.
Once they were in
the bar and ordered, Sasha could barely control herself.
She knew she needed to follow Zofia’s
lead, but she was impatient.
She
realized, though, that Zofia was controlling Silas.
Once she calmed down enough to pay close
attention, she realized that everything that came out of Silas’ mouth was
spurred by Zofia’s mental direction.
Before their drinks were empty, he’d finally come out with it.
“I don’t normally do this kind of thing,
but would you two like to come up to my room?”
She could tell from the slight blush on
his cheeks that he wasn’t lying.
She could smell the fear of rejection on him, and she marveled at how
even though this was exactly what she and Zofia wanted him to offer that he
wasn’t aware of their influence.
In preparation for Sasha’s
first hunt, Zofia explained to Sasha that their influence was a type of
hypnosis; while they could influence people, they couldn’t typically make them
do what they didn’t truly want to do unless they exerted a high level of
force.
She’d assured Sasha if she
listened closely and was sure to read people she need not feel as if she were
victimizing them.
“You will know if
you are crossing the line; that’s not to say that some of us don’t do so, but
most of us are ethical in choosing those who truly want to be chosen.”
She’d added, though, that some vampires
enjoy the rush of forcible feeding and suggested perhaps that’s why Wren had
been so forceful.
“Most likely,
though, it was a matter of lack of training and supervision.”
After a round of martinis in
the bar, the three made their way through the parking garage to the elevator
that would take them to Silas’ room.
Once the door of his room closed behind them, Zofia pressed Silas against
the wall, and he bent his head to kiss her.
As their lips touched, Zofia put out her
hand and reached for Sasha.
She
ended the kiss and stepped back from Silas.
Sasha felt lightheaded as she felt
Silas’ hands circle her waist and he dipped his head down to kiss her.
She felt his willingness and the last
threads of lingering hesitation dissolved.
She cupped his face in her hands as she kissed him back, then moved her
lips to his chin and slid her hands down to his shoulders.
On her right hand she wore the ring that
Zofia had made especially for her. She drew the blade across his shoulder and
felt him shudder against her as she replaced the blade with her mouth before a
single drop of blood could escape her.