Chapter Twenty-one – Jack
Chapter Twenty-one
Jack
Maya’s attendants brought the Sangre Rojo emissaries back as the lights dimmed.
Maya had taken a place upon the dias and was lounging on a ridiculously gilded chair—but there was a spotlight on her, which made her red hair shimmer, and the jewels on all her fingers glint.
Her gold beaded dress cast out blinding sparks of light beneath the fur coat she also wore.
She looked positively regal which I supposed was good, and in front of her her bloodslave, Zevvi, was apparently willingly chained.
There were ten Rojo in all, each one of them better dressed than the last, wearing suits with pinstripes, flat hats, and pocket squares, five and five on each side of some sort of structure covered by black velvet, I could tell by the way the light rippled on it.
When they were done presenting themselves, the tallest one moved forward.
“The loyal Rojo present themselves at the Red Dancer’s behest,” he said, bowing to Maya with a flourish. “I am Arnulfo.”
“I am Maya, and this is Jack. Welcome to our home. You may come in,” Maya said, standing to gesture them forward.
“We are grateful for the hospitality,” he said. Maya stepped down the dais to stand beside Zevvi, as the Rojo wheeled their structure nearer. “We were saddened to learn of the loss of your matriarch—but not entirely surprised.”
Maya shrugged one shoulder. “Just because one can live forever doesn’t guarantee it.”
A smile flickered across Arnulfo’s lips. “Indeed. Do you have what we desire?”
Maya tilted her head, sending a cascade of red across her fur. “I have what every man desires.”
He laughed. “In that case then, do you have the deed?”
“I do.” Maya pouted, and reached into her fur. I watched all the Rojo tense, prepared for subterfuge. They were used to fighting—and had brought a small army. I glanced around the room to Maya’s people and saw them all thinking the same thing—if this went bad, they’d all surely die.
How many people was Sam bringing? And what the hell time was it?
Maya brought out a sheaf of paper and the Rojo relaxed. “Your money reached my accounts yesterday. And so this is now yours.” She rolled the papers into a wand, handing them over like a baton.
The lead Rojo took them, unfurled them, and grunted while reading. “Excellent. We appreciate doing business with you. Your matriarch was,” he began, and Maya held up her hand.
“Let us not speak ill of the dead, when we could be drinking from the living.”
He nodded and snapped his fingers. “Of course.”
One of the Rojo behind him pulled the black velvet curtain down, revealing an absolutely beautiful woman completely naked and elaborately chained upright, as though she were trapped on a silver spider’s web—and I recognized her.
Camila. The woman I’d fucked earlier on in the night.
She saw me spot her—and winked.
I was so stunned by that, I almost didn’t see the way Maya’s head turned for a moment, as though she were listening to someone else speak.
“I have heard many stories of the dark delights within these walls,” Arnulfo said, walking slowly forward to where Zevvi waited. She’d stripped herself before locking in, and the spot-light Maya had left behind was half on her, looking like the light itself was taking a bite of her naked flesh.
“As I have heard many stories of the Rojo’s delicious women,” Maya agreed, returning her full attention to the current situation and walking to Camila’s side. “As I take blood from you and yours,” Maya began.
“It is as if you drink my blood from me,” Arnulfo finished for her. As one they both bent down to proffered humans and I saw Camila wince as Zevvi made a helpless sound.
Everything else in the room was completely still while Maya and Arnulfo drank.
When you drank—you were vulnerable. Just like a shark. There was no way for you to react in time to danger—no way to clearly see. Even the one you were drinking from could attack you. It was why so many incompetent vampires killed their prey, just for safety.
But Arnulfo had his squad of Rojo looking on and Maya had me.
They watched me with singular intent and glittering eyes, and I did my best to simultaneously watch all of them.
Zevvi squirmed and I didn’t know if it was meaningful or not, if he was drinking too hard and hurting her, or if it was one of the many lures surely Rosalie’s bloodslaves had learned to please their Mistress.
Whichever it was—Arnulfo raised his head with a wide and bloody grin. “Your blood is charming,” he told Maya.
For her part, Maya had carefully bitten into the meat of Camila’s exposed breast, and had expertly stroked the woman’s breast as she sucked for greater blood flow. Camila had writhed in the chains in response, and the scent of her sex was in the air, familiar to me from earlier in the night.
“As is yours,” Maya said, rising up, daintily dabbing at the corners of her mouth.
Arnulfo turned toward Maya. “I would take her with me.” Behind him Zevvi twisted her head to look to beg Maya for protection with fearful eyes.
“I apologize, but she is a personal favorite. My offering her was an honor. “
“Nonsense,” Arnulfo said, looking back down. “No one’s blood is more important than business.” He brushed a lock of Zevvi’s hair from her face, clearly enjoying her panic. “Your matriarch taught me that. I am surprised she did not manage to teach you.”
Maya stiffened.
“If you have things you want to keep,” he went on, “then you do not bring them out and show them. Or you bring an army, if you do,” he said, gesturing at Camila and his men. “So. Lesson learned. Give me the girl, and we will leave you, business finished.”
He’d put Maya in an impossible situation.
If she angered the Rojo, we were clearly outnumbered—so far—and we might all die.
If she let him take Zevvi, she would lose face in front of all of her slaves—and what was to stop each of his men from claiming their own girl after that? Concession was a slippery slope.
Maya shifted, staring at the ground a moment as if contrite.
“Haven’t we done enough business already?
” she asked, her voice the soul of innocence.
She let the fur fall from her shoulders, revealing the dress she wore beneath—embroidered with gold beads in a snakescale pattern, it was the same color as the setting sun, and it rode her curves from her shoulders to ankles like a second skin.
She took a step toward Arnulfo. “Why take her—when you could take me?”
His eyes narrowed. “We are Rojo. We take what we desire.”
Maya’s lips pulled into a mysterious smile. “What if I desire you? What do I get to take?” Arnulfo had clearly not been expecting this turn of events—and neither had I. I had no idea what game Maya was playing at, and wondered if this was her way of killing time.
Maya’s fingers reached for the beads riding just above her stomach, and pulled the dress off of her skin before tearing it. Every single eye in the room was on her as beads began spilling quietly to the floor.
“I’ve never been with another vampire before,” she said. “Rosalie wouldn’t let me.”
And that was a lie. Rosalie had thrown Maya in with me just after I’d been turned.
I knew Maya was playing now—I looked around with just my eyes, because moving might break the spell she was creating—and saw the cameras Rosalie had kept an eye on her club with disappear into their corners, and watched gun barrels emerge instead.
How many bloodslaves did Rosalie and Maya have combined? I didn’t know—but I strongly suspected not all of them were down here.
“All my life—my unlife, really—Rosalie kept me caged,” Maya went on, continuing to tear her exquisite dress until the opening reached the ground, beads raining down like hourglass sand.
“But now I’m free. At long last. And I want to soar.
” She kicked off both of her shoes to be shorter and less threatening, and took another step near him, the slit she’d created in her dress showing everything she had to offer.
No underwear—and nothing was hidden, beneath a trimmed patch of red curls.
“I want to finally know what it would be like to be with a man who could handle me.”
Arnulfo looked disparaging. “Here?”
Maya puckered her lips into an impish grin.
“No one from the Red Dancer’s nest is ever shy.
” She canted her hips so that one leg struck out through the impossibly high tear, and glanced past him at the wall of Rojo beyond.
“I think I could take two or three of you, honestly. And then some of my girls could service the rest—and we would all be so…well…fed.” She punctuated herself by tapping down his chest, and then turning her hand to push it down over his cock, rubbing him through his suit.
“You’re trying to use me,” he said.
“Only to get off,” she agreed, and gave him a look. “But why ever would you mind?”
He caught her wrist. She looked pained and the entire room tensed as he yanked her arm high, and then spun her, so that her arm was hitched up high behind her back.
“Did you expect me to take you seriously?” he whispered as she kicked.
“No woman is ever the equal of us.” He grabbed hold of a fistful of hair and pulled her neck back.
“I will fuck you over that ridiculous chair and bleed you,” he said.
I could see the black shine of an earpiece in her ear now with her hair out of the way, and as he hauled her past me I could see her mouthing the word NOW.
Maya didn’t have to tell me twice. I leaned down, pulled out my silver boot knife, and threw it at him, hard enough to make sure it cut his spine.
He tensed for a moment, as if he couldn’t believe this was happening to him, and then started to dissipate. After that the Rojo shouted, guns started shooting, and chaos reigned.