Chapter 3 Amari
AMARI
The taste of Carla lingers on my tongue, her scent still in my beard as I unroll my sleeves. Bobby stands in my office looking like he wants to vanish through the floor. His vampire ears caught every moan, every breathless plea. Good. Let him know who this castle belongs to.
Something’s bothering him. I can smell it in his scent.
I walk around to my desk and sink into my chair. Tofi peeks inside the door, all eight eyes fixed on me. I gesture for her to join me. She skitters in with excitement, moving around the desk to stand beside me. I run my fingers over her bristly hairs, the texture familiar and comforting.
“There, there, Tofi.” I keep my voice gentle. “I’ll take you hunting tonight after I put your mommy to bed.”
The images flood my mind. Joy. Excitement. Finally spending time with me. I massage her head gently while I focus on Bobby.
He looks different. The pristine afro he usually carries from his past time of the seventies is gone. He still has an afro, but it’s messy now, the curls wild and untamed. I frown. I don’t like it.
“Are you going through a lifestyle change?”
Bobby adjusts his tie and clears his throat. “Actually, I’m trying to blend in more with the times. The men don’t appreciate the black beret anymore.”
“You look like a misfit.”
He laughs at that. “As my sire, you reminded me that I should make sure I blend in well with the generation I mingle with. In my meetings I was having a difficult time resonating with the gentlemen. But once I assimilated, work became easier.”
I grin. “Very good, but make sure you don’t lose yourself in the process.” I lean back in my chair. “What brings you here? And what the hell would make you walk in on me pleasuring my mate?”
Bobby sighs, his shoulders dropping. “My daydreams got the best of me.”
I fall quiet at that. I know what he means.
I constantly have daydreams of losing my people in 1492.
The screams. The smoke. The smell of burning flesh.
Vampires don’t dream in our slumber, but we daydream, and those daydreams can be nightmarish.
Bobby was most likely remembering his human life before he turned.
“Understood. You don’t need to go into further detail about that.” I keep my hand on Tofi’s head, the repetitive motion soothing. “But you’ve traumatized my mate. Now, it’s going to be terribly difficult getting her to get kinky with me around the castle.”
Bobby laughs and bows his head in recognition of me as his sire. Then he looks over to the doorway where Carla is blushing, peeking in.
Carla waves shyly. “Hi, Tofi baby.”
I frown when Tofi doesn’t acknowledge her. Carla takes in a sharp breath, sadness filling her eyes. Tofi tends to cling to me more, but that doesn’t mean she has any authority to be rude to her mother. I move my hand from Tofi’s head. She immediately gets sad, noticing my displeasure.
Tofi addresses Carla with images that show she’s happy to see her mother.
Carla’s voice softens. “That’s okay, Tofi. Have you spent any time with Noki?”
Tofi doesn’t respond. Carla goes quiet. I look to Tofi with a frown. “You and I need to have a chat in private after this. How you treat your mother and Noki is unacceptable.”
Tofi sort of slumps over, her legs folding slightly. I stand from my chair and hold out my hand for Carla.
She stays in the doorway. “No, I’m not trying to interrupt, just saying hello and apologizing for my indecency.”
Bobby looks to her and bows his head. Carla gives him a look, then Bobby grins and gives her a panther salute. She does it back, or at least tries.
“Power to the people.”
Bobby raises his fist. His grin widens. “Right on, sister.”
Carla blushes at that. All seems well between them.
Bobby turns back to me. “How long are you back from Limbo this time?”
I suppress a hiss at that. Carla meets my eyes. I know she needs to talk to me.
She feigns a smile. “As long as I can.”
Bobby nods. “Well, Amari’s a real grouch when you’re gone too long.”
Carla looks down at her hands. “Sorry. I’m going to go check on Noki and the other children. I’ll meet up with you later.”
I frown at that. I’ve had enough distance between us, but I bite back my words and turn my focus on Bobby. “What brings you back to Wintermoon?”
Bobby places a file on my desk. I pick it up, looking over at Tofi who’s now pouting. I open the file with one hand and go back to petting her with the other.
Citations. Building code violations. A flood of them.
I set them down, smirking. Brookstone and Blackburn are up to something. They’re getting aggressive.
Bobby crosses his arms. “They’ve tightened up security on their labs too.”
I smirk again. I do love a challenge.
I look at Tofi and bend down, planting a kiss on her head.
The images flood in. Love you, Daddy. I walk around her over to the wall and touch my projection box.
A screen lights up with a keyboard, the blue glow illuminating my face.
I immediately start getting to work. I make a mental note that I need to upgrade my equipment.
I’ve been so focused on the technology center for the academy that I haven’t put work into my own projects.
My fingers fly across the holographic keyboard, lines of code appearing on the screen. I navigate through the preliminary firewalls of Brookstone and Blackburn’s network with ease. Child’s play. But then I hit the first real security block. A smile spreads across my face.
Now we’re talking.
I type rapidly, watching the code scroll past. Each command I input is met with a counter measure.
They’ve upgraded their systems since the last time I checked.
Someone competent is behind this, someone who knows what they’re doing.
The code is elegant, almost beautiful in its complexity.
Layers upon layers of encryption, progressively more intricate.
I try a backdoor entry. Blocked.
I attempt a brute force attack on their authentication servers. Another wall goes up.
I crack my knuckles and lean closer to the screen. The blue light reflects in my eyes as I study the architecture of their security system. There’s always a weakness, always a crack in the foundation. I just need to find it.
I start writing a custom script, my mind working through the problem like a chess match. If I can’t go through the front door, I’ll create my own entrance. The code flows from my fingers, each line building on the previous one. I run it against their firewall.
Another block.
I grin wider. This is better than I expected. Whoever designed this system knew I might try to hack in. They’ve accounted for supernatural speed, for pattern recognition that exceeds human capability.
I start to roll up my sleeves. “I do love a challenge. This might be an all nighter.”
Tofi starts flashing sad face images. I sigh and look at Bobby.
Bobby steps closer to the desk. “Family first.” He gives me an understanding look.
He’s right. As much as I want to crack this system, as much as the challenge calls to me, Tofi needs me. Carla needs me. The work will be here tomorrow.
“Have the lawyers try to throttle this as much as possible and hit back at them full force.”
Bobby straightens. “Yes, sir.” He gives a black panther salute then makes his way out of my office.
I turn to Tofi, leaving the screen up. The code still blinks at me, taunting me, but I ignore it. “Come here, baby girl.”
Tofi skitters around to me. I kneel down, reaching her at eye level. Her multiple eyes reflect the blue light from the screen behind me.
“You’ve got to learn balance, baby girl.”
Tofi just stands quietly as if she’s waiting my command.
“First, let’s go hunting in the forest. I’m curious what you catch.” I stand upright. “Then, we’re going to meet with Noki and try to reconnect with him.”
Tofi sends me pouting images.
I hold up my hand. “I don’t want to hear it, Tofi. It’s bad that you’re rejecting your mate. And I’m still having that conversation with you about how you’ve been treating your mother. This is not okay.”
Tofi sends me images apologizing.
I pet her, running my hand over her bristly head one more time. “It’s okay, baby. Now, let’s go have some daddy daughter time.”
Tofi skitters out of the office, her legs moving quickly across the floor.
I grin, the thrill of the chase sparking through me.
I flash out after her with my vampire speed, the world blurring around me as I move through the castle corridors.
I burst through the back entrance, my feet barely touching the ground.
The forest greets me with the scent of pine and earth, of moss and decay.
I slow to a stop in the clearing, my eyes scanning the trees.
Afternoon light slants through the branches, warm and golden.
The undergrowth rustles with life. Small creatures skitter through the fallen leaves. A jay calls somewhere in the distance.
But Tofi is gone.
I smile, turning slowly in a circle. She’s fast, faster than most of her siblings.
She knows this forest like I know the streets of Granada, every tree, every hollow, every hidden path.
I use my vampire senses, listening for the particular sound her legs make against bark.
There. A faint tapping, high up in the canopy to my left.
I look up but see nothing. She’s hidden herself well, blending into the shadows between the branches. The leaves above me sway slightly, but it could be the wind. I take a step forward.
Another rustle, this time to my right. I spin, but again I see nothing.
She’s playing with me, testing me. Good.
Let her have her fun. She’s been patient, waiting for time with me while I’ve been distracted with Carla, with work, with the constant demands of running Medina Shadow and protecting Wintermoon.