Chapter 22 #2
She rocketed through clouds that tasted of ice crystals on her tongue, the world below a mosaic of life etched in frost, and caught sight of a caribou herd migrating south in ragged lines, their antlers a tangled forest against the snow. Just over a rise, a wolverine scavenged a large carcass.
Regretfully, she had to admit it was time to head back. Toby had given her a nearly two-hour window, but the cold was getting to her after perhaps thirty minutes, and she’d seen enough.
The sun dipped over the ocean on her way back, painting the horizon in bruised purples and fiery scarlets, and Emmy wheeled once more, blowing fire with abandon to stay warm. Or at least, not as cold.
She made a quick dip over the ocean and spotted dark clusters of seals, and she banked over the small town toward the Aurora Ballroom’s dome, with its buried secrets.
She dove one last time before landing in a spray of snow and cold, changed, and was happy to see security had taken her clothes inside for her, as promised.
She ran into the ballroom, through it, down the stairs to the first floor, and then grabbed the fireman’s pole and didn’t slow until she hit the flock’s common area.
Seventeen more steps, and she was in the welcoming heat of the sauna. Several minutes later, Rhea entered and sat beside her with a huge smile. “Damn, you are magnificent.”
“It’s beyond motherfucking cold out there, but holy hell did I need that.”
“I’m actually looking forward to the feeding frenzy tonight,” she told Rhea. “I haven’t been fucked in three days. Pretty sure that’s a record for me.”
A week later, all the mammals were back to normal, but the perpetrators hadn’t been caught.
Emmy was looking forward to this feeding frenzy, though. She’d been turned on when reading about it before they left, and it was finally time to experience it.
The flock was responsible for their own hair and makeup, with pictures of what was acceptable. Basically, hair pinned into curls, but simple. Nothing fancy. And if they wore makeup, it had to look natural, as if they weren’t wearing it. No contour, no glitter. Nothing modern-day.
And they only had to arrive in the theater ten minutes early to get dressed. Some nights involved an hour of hair and makeup followed by the costumes.
Emmy would be one of four flock members on stage with vampires who’d bid in an auction to fuck them with the others watching, which meant forty-four tables were set up in the ‘audience’.
Felix wasn’t on stage, but someone had bid on him for the night, wanting a level three they could hurt, so he’d be on the first row.
Other than those who were bid on, flock members were always at the same table or cushion, and the vampires moved down one table every night, so they got a different person.
Once dressed, Emmy stood center stage looking down on the floor, and couldn’t wait to get started.
It turns out, girls wore stolas, not togas, though it wasn’t actually that much different. Hers was white and gauzy, clinging to her now dye-free skin, and came to her mid-calf.
Her teen stola was a flimsy white drape tied at one shoulder. Her pulse sped, and she let it. Emmy loved being watched while she’s fucked — which was why she’d been kicked out of so many colleges. How crazy was it that she’d found a way to be paid for it?
She sat on the table she’d be fucked on later, and waited. Felix was reclined on his below her, and Rhea was talking to Maren back on the third row, since they were close to each other.
Her table had what looked like a grey sheet sewn into a cube draped over it, hand-painted to look like a stone altar.
Another on stage looked like a bed, where a Roman military guy would deflower the bride he was given as a result of some valiant action on a battlefield, another table looked like a desk.
The vampires arrived fully dressed in their togas — some in senatorial whites edged with dignified purple, others draped in the luxurious folds and jeweled clasps of the obscenely rich.
The auction winners flew onto the stage along with Zander, who was far on the other end of the stage from her.
Spence walked up the steps in a short praetexta toga, nodded to her as he walked by, and made his way to Zander.
A tall, lean vampire approached Emmy wearing a floor-length dark tunic with a purple sash, and a laurel wreath on his head.
He was playing the part of Roman priest tonight, the one who’d take Emmy’s virginity in some sick sacrificial fucking, which would’ve been horrible to have it actually happen way-back-when, but was going to be beyond hot to act out on stage.
The vampire adjusted her stola, tucking and smoothing the flimsy fabric in a way that told her he’d likely actually lived when they were worn. His thick, dark hair curled naturally around a chiseled face, and he met her gaze with dark eyes that spoke of authority.
“Ten thousand dollars for two level-three hours in the Lupanar.”
It took her a moment to realize he was making an offer for her, and she shook her head. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m only available at level one.”
“One hundred thousand dollars, three hours, level three.”
“Again, I’m flattered, but any negotiations will have to be at level one.”
“One million dollars, four hours, level three. Don’t answer me now, and if the answer is no, it’s fine to never answer me.
The offer is open indefinitely. You can send a message to me at any time while we are here, or even three years from now, and I’ll either come to you if I can, or arrange for you to be brought to me. ”
She felt him trying to get through her shields, and she smiled at him.
“If you try to rip through them, I will find you when you’re outside somewhere, and I will eat you.
My dragon doesn’t especially enjoy the taste of vampires, but she loves the magical punch they give, so she doesn’t mind the taste. ”
His face went to stone, and she figured that was him working to not show his anger at being threatened.
The ultimate way to disrespect a vampire is to turn your back on them.
There’s no louder way to tell them you don’t see them as a threat.
Emmy now understood the black-suited monitors were part of the security team, and with them scattered throughout the room, she felt comfortable turning her back on this vampire, so she did.