A demonstration of fealty
A DEMONSTRATION OF FEALTY
Celine
Lazarus Gray looks exactly like you would imagine. A powerful, soulless vampire who’s been running Silverlake City’s underworld for centuries. One look into his dust-coloured eyes is enough to strike fear in the heart of any breather or vampire.
He never travels alone. Today, he has a small guard of two vampires and two shifters. They lurk at the bar, casting menacingly glares in my direction.
I wink at them.
“No Cedric?” I ask lightly, taking a seat opposite Lazarus. Our table is on a raised platform, in the center of the restaurant. It’s not my favourite seat, but this is where we conduct business when we need to. A nice, clear vantage point if anything goes wrong. The rest of the lounge was emptied for this meeting. We don’t want any curious ears hearing something they shouldn’t. “Too scared to show his face, I suppose.”
Lazarus grins, a small but potent gesture on an ancient face. “And no Tudor, I see. He just sent his little lapdog.”
“If you want to bait me, you’ll have to try harder. Or are you getting a bit slow in your old age, Lazarus?”
“My senses are as sharp as ever, I assure you.” A mist of crimson peeks through his irises. “I can’t say the same for my youngest progeny, however.”
“Yes, he wasn’t the brightest, was he?” I reply, leaning back in my chair and folding my arms. “You should choose your progeny more carefully next time.”
His eyes narrow. “And you should choose your words more carefully, young one.”
I bristle slightly, but keep my expression neutral. At 300 years old, I’m certainly not a young vampire. “I’ll speak as I desire, in my own territory…”
“ Your territory?” he tsks. “I was controlling Silverlake City for centuries before you were even born . Tudor may build a silly hotel or two, but he should think twice about claiming that he runs any part of it.”
“ I run the business for the Thornblade family.”
“ You are Tudor’s pawn,” Lazarus says firmly. “And the game of chess he’s playing is going to be very short if you ever think of touching my progeny again.”
“Your progeny came into our club and tried to drain a breather,” I hiss. “It’s disrespectful to our family, not to mention bad for business. Leave our territory alone, Lazarus.
“I’ll only give you one warning.”
Amara
It seems a little pointless to employ a bartender for a meeting between two vampires. I strain to hear their conversation, but they speak in hushed, intense tones and I can’t make anything out from over here at the bar. This lounge is enormous .
Celine C?té sits at the table like a queen on a throne, surveying the other vampire like she’s going to have his head cut off. I hope that she doesn’t try to stake him, but I wouldn’t put it past her.
I watch her nervously. Vampires have this strange, smooth way of moving. And because they don’t breathe, or have a beating heart, they can be incredibly still when they’re not speaking. She looks like a statue from up on her raised platform. Today, she wears a long, dark purple vest and matching slacks. The vest is cut low, and shows off her smooth collarbone and toned arms.
The light in the lounge is better than in the club and I can get a good look at her. Her features are softer than expected. Her nose and lips have an elegant curve that I didn’t notice before. And her hair isn’t quite black. It’s a dark, cool brown.
“Whiskey neat,” says a sharp voice to my right.
It’s one of the guards that arrived with the other vampire. He must not be a vampire if he’s ordering a drink. He sits casually on a barstool. His movements are easy and smooth, but not in a vampiric way. He wears his shirt open, easy to slip in and out of. I look down at his feet. No shoes.
A shifter, I bet.
“Coming right up,” I sigh, pouring a generous helping of whiskey into a glass for him.
As I set it down on the bar, I notice a movement from the vampire on the platform. The one who’s talking to Celine. He looks directly at me and brings his arm to the air, beckoning me over.
Oh no. What could he possibly want? I look around for a server or host, but the only other staff here are the guards.
Warily, I go over to their table and stand beside them. I keep a little distance between us, although it’s probably pointless. Vampires can move incredibly quickly.
“What can I get for you?” I ask.
The other vampire leans forward, almost imperceptibly. Every instinct in my body tells me to run. There’s something strangely off about him that fires up my self-preservation instincts. But I breathe slowly, trying to calm myself.
“What would you recommend?” he asks, his voice crackling with malevolence.
“Well, we have bloodwine.” I try to avoid looking directly into his eyes. Vampires are capable of performing spells to enchant their victims, but they don’t work unless you’re looking them in the eye. “It’s new, and available in different blood types…”
“ Why would I want to drink some stale, fermented blood when I could tap the vein of any human I choose, and suck it directly from the source?”
He turns his gaze to Celine.
“I think we could consider a more… amicable partnership,” he says. “If you apologize for staking my progeny…”
“I won’t apologize. He was on my territory, and he harmed one of my patrons,” she responds silkily, her expression stony and her eyes cold.
Suddenly, the other vampire lashes out. He grabs my wrist tightly, and pulls me down to the table. He’s incredibly strong, more than any shifter or witch I’ve ever fought. My shoulder hits the table painfully. He pins me down and bares his sharp fangs, but his eyes are still on Celine.
My heart races as I struggle against his viselike grip. Even with my magic, I couldn’t take him in this position. He’s got a hold on me, and he’s too strong. Any magic I could do would just antagonize him.
Silently, I pray to Hecate for a swift and painless death. I’ve never been bitten by a vampire before, and I’m horrified at the thought. But I’ll meet my end bravely. I swallow and shut my eyes tight, bracing for the attack.
The vampire addresses Celine with a lazy, vicious drawl. “Then a gesture would go a long way. A demonstration of your fealty.”
“She’s not on the menu,” Celine replies coolly. “Let her go immediately. If you harm her, or any of my staff, you will feel the same dagger that ended your progeny.”
His grip tightens on my wrist, sending a shooting pain up my arm. An involuntary cry escapes my lips.
In a split second, Celine has her dagger in her fist. She swings herself around the table and holds its point to the chest of the vampire. The guard immediately circle our table, but they don’t come closer. It would only take a small motion for Celine to de-animate the vampire that has me pinned the table.
“You wouldn’t,” he whispers, his voice crackling with untold years of horror and mayhem.
“Are you willing to bet on that?” she replies.
After the longest minute I’ve ever experienced, he lets me go. Celine moves her dagger from his chest, putting it back into the sheath at her ankle.
“You will regret this, progeny of Tudor Thornblade,” he hisses.
I scramble away from him as fast as I can, back to the bar. My entire body is trembling uncontrollably. The raw terror of my encounter is bad enough, but it’s the tug of bad memories that threatens to undermine me completely. I pour myself a shot of vodka and take it quickly, trying in vain to steady my nerves.
The vampire motions to his guard. They exit, and I can relax slightly.
Celine watches them go, then moves to leave as well. As she leaves, she catches my eye. I’m struck by her steady, intense gaze. She bows her head slightly to me.
Why did she do that? She could certainly have allowed that vampire to feed on me. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from her.
“Take the rest of the evening off,” she says simply. Then she exits the lounge, leaving me alone with her guard.
I exhale.
I’m going home to take a very long bath.