Club Nosferatu ~ Part Three
Days two and three were unsuccessful in reaching Mia. I could only think that maybe she was staying with her mother in law. I hoped that she didn't tell her that she was carrying a baby and that she didn't mention my name. I was getting more and more anxious with each passing day. The stress of it all was starting to get to me, why couldn't I find her? I made the decision to go by her house again and camp out until she came home or until I caught a scent that I could track. I would track her through Tucson if I had to, this had to end. I left my car at home so the neighbors wouldn't be suspicious about a car sitting outside of her house and I walked. I let myself in the house and walked around, trying to get an idea of how long it had been since she'd been home. I couldn't pick up any recent scents, her stove and shower hadn't been used recently and the bed was still made. I looked at her answering machine and saw that she had twelve messages. I wondered if she even came home after that night at the club.
I walked throughout the house looking for something when I finally made it to the garage. I opened the door and saw that her car was still here, which was odd. I peered into the car but didn't see anything weird; it looked like she dropped off her car and caught a ride with someone else.
I got a text a few hours later from Norah asking where I was.
"WAITING 4 MIA."I texted back.
"OK, COME HOME SOON."
I sat and waited for hours when the phone rang. I sat and waited for the machine to pick up the call. I heard Mia's message and waited.
"Mia, it's Doris. I need you to call me right away, the girls and I are very worried about you. Please honey, give us a call as soon as you get this message. We love you, bye."
I heard the click of the phone and the beep of the machine.
I stood up and headed home, I suddenly had an idea of what might have happened to Mia.
*********************************************
I busted through the front door, "Norah!"
I waited for movement. Norah appeared at the top of the stairs.
"What did you do to Mia?" I asked.
"Nothing."
"Norah, don't lie to me!" I yelled. "Where is she?!"
"I don't know."
"Norah, so help me, if I have to beat it out of you, you are going to tell me where she is!"
"She left."
"What are you talking about?"
"I suggested that she leave town."
"And what about the baby?"
"There was no baby, she was lying."
"How do you know?" I asked.
"She told me."
"She told you, why would she do that?"
"Because I threatened to hurt her if she didn't tell me the truth. She lied to you so that you would want to be with her, there is no baby Kris."
"Why would she leave her family behind Norah, you're not making sense."
"She doesn't care about her family, she's a heartless bitch and a liar. Besides, I told you that I threatened her, she left town because she was scared."
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because I didn't want you to be mad at me."
I walked up the stairs and looked up at Norah's face, "Did you kill her?"
"No."
"And you're sure there's no baby?"
"Yes, I believed her. Besides, if I'm wrong, you'll start to feel the pull of the baby next month."
"If I find out that you're lying to me and you killed her, I'm going to be very upset with you, you know that right?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how mad I am going to be?"
Her eyes got wide, just listening to my tone, "Yes..." Her voice quivered.
"And you're sure you are telling me the truth?"
"Yes."
I had no choice but to believe her, at least until time proved her to be lying.
*****************************************
Nearly a month had passed and I had dreaded the day that I would feel my energy being absorbed by a child that carried my genes, but it never happened. There was never any sign or evidence that there ever was a baby but news had surfaced about a worried husband and family who were still searching for their missing family member. Pictures of Mia blanketed the morning and evening news as well as many of the local papers. I just looked over at Norah who sat next to me on the couch; she was absorbed in whatever she was sketching to even pay attention to the news. I knew Norah lied to me but I couldn't prove it.
Norah made stupid decisions a lot, but she wasn't dumb when she thought things through. Dumping a body was exciting for her because she knew eventually it would be found but hiding a body from me to avoid punishment was much more serious. She put Mia somewhere she would never be found, I knew I would never see or hear from her again.
That night after the news, after things had quieted down, Norah and I talked.
"Did you ever think that maybe it's better that you don't think about being with a human?" She asked. "It's too difficult, they are always trying to trap you, one way or another. Could you imagine if they ever found out our secret? You should stick with your own kind...with me. I would never do anything to betray you. I love you Kris."
"I know."
Norah threaded her fingers through my hair and pulled me closer to her. She lightly kissed me, pulling me closer and closer until she could wrap her arms around me.
"I want you." She whispered against my lips.
I pulled away from her, "No, Norah."
She looked surprised, "So you can sleep with a human that you barely know, but not me?"
"It means more to you. C'mon Norah, I don't want to argue, I just want to lie down." I offered my hand.
She took it and let me lead her upstairs.
*******************************************
The next morning, I laid in bed thinking about what Norah had said the night before. She was right, there was more than my heart to risk by falling for a human woman. I needed to stop trying to find someone to fit into my life. I had Norah and I knew that she would never do anything to hurt me or my family. We were her family too, no one else lived from Norah's blood line. I may not love her the way that she wanted to be loved but I had found the woman that would be with me for the rest of my life. I leaned over and kissed her lips. She smiled softly and moved closer to me.
I was starting to drift off when my phone rang. I picked it up and saw that my brother was calling.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Hey. Listen, could you do me a favor and work for me today? I have something I have to deal with." He said.
"Tawnie?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Figures. Okay, I'll go in."
"Thanks Kris. I gotta go."
He barely said goodbye before hanging up.
I looked over at Norah, who was wide awake.
"We're working tonight?" She heard Trent.
"Yeah. You don't have to come, I know it gets boring."
"No, it's okay, I'll go and keep you company."
I smiled, "Okay."
Deliveries came in right around noon and we had a big shipment of alcohol coming in today. I showered quickly and headed to the club by myself, Norah would join me later after the agony of inventory was over with. Which was fine with me, it gave me a chance to catch up with my elusive cousin Johnny.
"Hi stranger." I said when he showed up.
"Hi." He smiled back.
"You know, you really should come around more often, we're beginning to think that you only come into town to accept your birthday presents."
He laughed, "That would be a distinct possibility, if we still bought gifts for each other."
I smiled while scanning my inventory sheet, Johnny was right we didn't give gifts anymore. There wasn't anything that we wanted or needed that we hadn't bought ourselves decades ago. Not only that, but having an upwards of two hundred birthdays was a little old, I officially stopped celebrating my birthday when I hit eighty.
Johnny picked up a clipboard and started counting in a smaller shipment of glasses that also came in.
"So where have you been?" I asked.
"Florida."
"What's going on over there?"
"Everything. Miami beach makes this place look like a tumbleweed in a fish bowl."
I laughed out loud, "Oh really?"
"There's so much going on, so much life and the women..." He winked at me, "are hot."
"Why don't you bring one back with you then?"
"Here? No thanks."
"It's not that bad here, I like it."
"I think the next time we move, we should go to Florida, that's all I'm saying. Then at least you might see me more than a couple times a week."
"Do the words low key mean anything to you?" I asked.
"Do the wordslive a little, mean anything to you?"
"You forgot who you're talking to."
"Ah, yes. You're right."
"So..." I started.
"Yeah?"
"What's your take on relationships? Ever try it?"
"Not really, not unless second dates and third base count."
"I dunno, I guess so. That's pretty much my interpretation too."
"Why?"
"Because lately my marital status has become a subject of interest for my brother."
"Why does he care all of sudden?"
"He thinks I'm miserable."
"You are but that's part of your charm."
I gave him a dirty look, "Thanks Johnny."
"So what does Norah think about you whoring yourself around?"
I slammed my clipboard down, "Why does it always come back to Norah? Did it ever occur to anyone that I can make my own decisions without her permission?"
Johnny shrugged, "Because you're married to her by approximation."
I picked up my clipboard, "This conversation is depressing."
"You started it."
"Well you start the next one."
Johnny smiled, "Okay."
************************************
Finished with deliveries and inventory, I went upstairs to my office to kill some more time. I opened my laptop thinking this would be a good time to go through my invoices.
I stopped because I could hear Gabriel coming up the stairs in a hurry, he sounded pissed about something. I sat back in my chair and waited for him.
He stormed into my office, a literal dark cloud of energy swept in after him, his eyes where blood red and he was carrying a shoebox and a journal.
"What's up?" I was suddenly concerned. He wasn't this mad for something minor.
"Fucking Tina, I found a journal that she keeps in her locker, it's about us." He threw the book down on my desk.
"What does it say?" I picked it up and flipped through a couple of pages. There were numerous Club Nosferatu references and a several entries with Gabriel as the subject matter.
"She's talking about us! It's a running account of every weird event that she's ever witnessed or heard about. And I don't want to leave out all of her personal thoughts on how different and odd we are."
I looked up at Gabriel, "C'mon Gabriel, that's petty shit. She's a kid, no one takes this shit serious."
I handed him the journal back.
"Oh yeah?" He flipped through some pages until he got to the back. He pulled out a handful of Polaroid pictures and dumped them on my desk. "The bitch has been taking pictures of me."
My stomach sank; I picked up one picture after another. They were blurry, all out of focus except for the background and the small silver cross that hung from Gabriel's neck. Gabriel was the only figure that was consistently blurred as if he were photographed in rapid motion.
"This is a problem." I said.
"Tell me about it."
I looked up, "What's in the shoebox Gabriel?"
He opened it up, "More, lots more." He dumped pictures of all of us onto my desk.
"How the hell is she taking these pictures?!" I yelled.
"She's not the only one. Some of these pics are of her talking to me. She has someone helping her, probably April, those two are thick."
"What the fuck?!" I grabbed a few of the pictures and recognized me and my brother. All of our pictures were the same, completely out of focus.
"Yeah, you like that one, look at this bullshit." He handed me the picture of Tina talking to Gabriel. She stood next to him looking up him but his image was completely distorted. Tina on the other hand, was clear and focused.
"This is blackmail shit." He said. He dropped the box on my desk and fell into the chair next to me. "What are we going to do?"
"We don't know how many of these pictures exist." I thought out loud.
Gabriel nodded.
I looked at him, "How did you even find out about these?"
"I always hear her giggling and whispering which is normal for those two, but last night I thought I heard April warn her that I was coming and I heard Tina slam her locker. I walked in the break room thinking that they were just fucking around and told them both to get back on the floor. Later, I was thinking about it and it dawned on me that maybe she was hiding something so I searched her locker."
"Does she work tonight?"
"Yes."
"Good. Do you think you can search her apartment for more photos while she's working?"
"Yeah."
I put all of the photos and the journal into the shoebox. "She will never see these again." I closed the lid.
"We need to work fast." I continued, "Tonight, I need you to visit her dreams and tell her that we know what she is doing. I need you to scare the shit out of her, do whatever you need to do, but don't kill her. She has to know it's real and not a dream when she wakes up."
"I can do that."
"That coupled with the fact that her locker has been ransacked should be enough to send her back home. She's been saying she wanted to go back to Indiana, now's her chance."
Gabriel nodded, just listening.
I put my hand on his shoulder, "Make it intense, I don't want her to come to work tomorrow night."
Gabriel looked at me, his own eyes were intense emeralds, he stood up and left my office.
I felt better knowing Gabriel would take care of the problem. I knew his dream manipulation could turn any thought into a nightmare. After all most humans felt safe and invincible in their dreams, they could reveal their deepest secrets, desires and sins without fear, but when Gabriel was listening, no one was safe. He could use every secret against you, playing out your fears in graphic detail and exposing the true nature of your soul. Being faced with the darkness within your own heart, Gabriel could easily destroy someone’s mind and if the mood suited him, he could also destroy the body. Inflicting bodily damage was just as real in the dream world as it was in the physical world. He could tear someone to shreds or leave a few marks here and there as a reminder of his visit. I could imagine the confusion and fear waking from a nightmare only to find evidence of the memory. That kind of fear is why many of his victims refused to sleep, for fear of another visit.
I sincerely hoped that he could manage that with only one visit to Tina. I needed her to fear for her life in such a way that she would drop everything and go home.
I lifted the shoebox off my desk and took it home, to burn all of its contents. I was almost looking forward to seeing Tina tonight; I wanted to see her face when she saw all of her pictures were gone.
I stepped out of the corridor leading to our offices and saw Johnny sitting on a nearby stool.
"Where you off to cousin?" He asked.
"Home, but I'll be back." I shook the shoebox for him.
"Is that it?"
"Yep."
He shook his head, "I knew Tina was no good, we need to stop hiring these stupid kids."
"I know it."
In the near distance an unfamiliar voice caught my attention.
"I'm looking for Kris Maicoh."
I looked up in time to see one of our bartenders point me out from across the room.
"Oh great, what's this?" I whispered to Johnny.
The man approached me wearing pressed trousers and a collared shirt, "Kris Maicoh?" He asked.
"Yes."
"I'm Detective Jansen, I have a few questions for you, in regards to a disappearance." He flashed a badge and then pulled a photograph out of his pocket.
"Do you recognize this woman?"
I should, it was a picture of Mia.
"Yes, her name is Mia. I don't know her last name."
He pulled a pen out of his pocket and jotted down a few words.
"Can you tell me the last time you saw her?"
"It's been about a month."
"I see. What is your relationship to her?"
Johnny shifted in his seat, I knew he didn't like cops and was getting irritated.
"Can I ask what the problem is detective?" I asked.
He looked up from his pad of paper. "I am investigating the disappearance of a woman that used to frequent your club. A few of her friends named you as one of the people that saw her last so I was hoping you may be willing to answer a few questions for me."
I nodded.
"So, can you tell me what your relationship is to her?"
"I slept with her once."
Detective Jansen looked at me over his glasses and wrote something else on his pad.
He straightened up a bit and looked at me, "Did Mrs. Callahan ever express an interest in leaving her husband, Mr. Maicoh?"
"Excuse me?"
"Did she ever say that she wanted to leave or go somewhere?"
"No. But then again, we were only together that one night and we didn't do much talking." I glared at him.
"Can you think of any reason why someone..."
He was cut off by Johnny standing up. Johnny's presence was unmistakable but when he stood up, his height alone could intimidate anyone. He held his hand out, facing the officer, "We don't know where Mia is or what happened to her. You can leave now."
The officer tucked his pad into his pocket and silently walked towards the exit.
"Thanks Johnny." I was happy that was over, I hated questions.
"You're welcome." He sat back down.
"How long does that last?" Referring to the suggestion that was fed to the detective.
"Only a few minutes, but when he thinks back to this conversation one thing will ring true in his head that we don't know what happened to Mia. That's all that matters, right?"
"Right."
I sighed and stood up, grabbing my box again. "Fucking drama everyday around here. I'm going home before Mia's husband shows up."
"Sounds good." Johnny smiled and waved goodbye.
*************************************************
I got back to the club before the nightly briefing, this time Norah was with me. I warned her to stay out of my plan for tonight, Norah was famous for going overboard and I didn't want Tina to call the cops. She had to leave willingly and go home, no more disappearances tied to me or the club.
Norah reluctantly stayed away from Tina for the evening and let me do my thing. I heard Tina arrive, she was greeting everyone she came into contact with. I followed the sound of her voice to the employee lounge and waited just outside for her to open her locker. She was talking to April, just some gossip. I waited patiently, listening for my cue.
Finally, I heard the click of her locker, followed by sounds of panic.
"Oh my God, the pictures are gone!"
"What?!" April panicked too.
I walked into the room and turned the corner looking into their worried faces, "Something wrong ladies?" I asked.
Tina's eyes got wide, she just stared at me.
April was the first to speak, “Yeah, someone broke into her locker."
I peered into the locker, "Did they take anything?" I looked at Tina.
"Uh..."
I waited.
"Uh, I don't know." She said.
"I hope there wasn't anything important in there." I waited for a response but she was still staring blankly at me. "Well, when you figure it out you can file a report with Gabriel. Just give him a list of everything that's missing and we'll take it from there."
"Um, o-okay." She stuttered.
I looked at April, "I assume all is well with your locker?"
She nodded.
"Good." I turned to leave the lounge, "Remember ladies, don't keep valuables in your lockers, you never know who is watching you."
I exited the room and listened. It was very quiet inside, neither Tina nor April said a word, at least out loud.
I stayed fairly close throughout the briefing, just so I could meet up with Tina again.
"Anything missing?" I asked.
"Uh, no. Nothing."
"That's good news." I smiled, “I’ll ask Gabriel to change the lock for you."
"Okay, thanks." She looked angry.
She may have realized that she wasn't getting her pictures back and she probably suspected that we had them.
"Have a good night." I turned to walk away.
"Come to think of it," Tina said, "I think I left my camera in my locker. They must have taken that after all."
"Describe it." I said.
"It's a Polaroid."
I looked past Tina to Gabriel who was approaching us. "Have you seen a polaroid Gabriel?"
Tina jumped when she heard his voice behind her.
"Polaroid?”
“Tina's locker was broken into, she thinks she's missing her camera."
"No, I know I'm missing it." She said.
"Why do you have a camera in your locker?" Gabriel asked.
"Uh...well, I like to take pictures sometimes."
"While you're working?" He asked.
"No. But sometimes when I'm on break."
"And you thought your locker was a safe place?"
"Yes, it's locked. Who would break in to my locker?"
"I don't know do you have any enemies here?"
Gabriel and I waited for her response.
"No." She looked back and forth between the two of us.
Gabriel shrugged, "Then your guess, is as good as mine."
"I would still like my camera back please." She asked Gabriel as if she knew he had it.
"I don't think you'll ever see it again." He said.
Her eyes got wide, just by him looking at her. She turned and looked at me like she wanted to say something, but changed her mind. She lowered her head and walked to the bar to start her shift.
I looked at Gabriel, "Did you check her place?"
"Yes, I found a scrapbook. There's some seriously obsessive stuff in there. I dropped it off at your place along with a few other pictures I found."
"Really?"
"She didn't have much there, just the book. Do you think we should check April's place too?"
"Why not? She lives with her dad, he may be home." I warned.
"He won't even know I'm there."
"I know." I smiled and joined Norah at one of the bars in the back. The summer months were almost over, I kept telling myself soon the heat would be broken by our monsoon weather. It was something to look forward to, even when I spent most of time inside during the day. The truth was, even the night time hours still had over hundred degree temperatures and although the heat, per se, didn't have any adverse effect on me, it was not very pleasant just the same. I preferred cooler temperatures, which was funny to think about because I lived in the desert. Oh well, coming to Tucson had served its purpose, Raven still hadn't made one of her usual visits so it was worth it.
Time was moving on and things at the Club were running smoothly again, now that Tina had left for Indiana. She couldn't take the dreams that she was having and abruptly quit one day. It took Gabriel two visits to convince her, but it was done. She left quickly and we hadn't heard from her since, it had been about a month already.
My brother and I sat at our table, going through some applications, Tina's position still needed to be filled and it was important to us that we found a better replacement.
"Have you read this one?" Trent handed me the application.
"No." I took it and skimmed through. "So," I asked, "I haven't seen Tawnie for a while, what's going on with her?"
"She's on vacation. She went to California to visit a friend of hers."
"Kind of a long vacation, isn't it?"
"I guess so. She said that she wanted some time away from everything. I haven't spoken to her since she left but she said she would be gone for about a month."
"Bummer, she's coming back then?"
"Stop."
I just smiled, continuing to flip through applicants.
Trent sighed and pushed his stack of applications away. "I don't know what I'm doing here. I hate hiring people, it's such a pain in the ass." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, "And on top of that, I'm distracted. I miss Tawnie."
"Trent, you need to let her go."
"Why?"
"Because she's trouble."
"No she isn't, you don't even know her." He said.
"I don't need to know her to get a sense about her."
"Now what the hell does that mean?"
"She makes you nuts, you make each other nuts. It's called a love/hate relationship and they're no fun. Why don't you find someone else that's not so mental?"
"She's not mental, she's just feisty. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't want, I like that about her."
"Well, if you end up getting back together with her, you'll have to tell her everything eventually and I don't think that you can trust her."
"I do trust her Kris, why are you such a dick when it comes to her?"
I shrugged. Maybe it was that Tawnie wouldn't be my preference for a girlfriend. I tended to think about women that way; I selected them based on my taste and not necessarily for my brothers' taste. The longer I thought about it, the more I thought that maybe she would be okay for Trent, so long as he could handle her mood swings.
I looked at Trent, who was actually starting to look pretty miserable.
"I'm sorry." I said. "I guess I can be a little too hard on women in general. If you love her and you trust her, then it's fine with me. I will make an effort to be nicer to
her."
Trent smiled.
"I said nicer,not nice." I clarified.
"I got that, but it still means a lot to me."
I smiled at him and we went back to work on our applications.
**********************************************
A couple hours later, Trent and I gathered the few hopefuls from a stack of applications and we called it a night. I handed my small stack to Trent to take to Gabriel upstairs and I stayed in the club. It was nice to get up and stretch my legs after sitting for so long.
I leaned against the bar, waiting to talk to Desi, one of our bartenders.
"Hi Kris, can I get you something?"
I looked over and saw April.
"No thanks, I'm good right now."
"Okay." She smiled and went back to work.
It was nice that Gabriel didn't find anything at her house, as far as pictures, or we would have lost two waitresses instead of one. After Tina left, April quieted down a bit, careful about what she did and what she said. She just came to work with her head down and did her thing. I still caught her gossiping from time to time, but nothing that was major, overall she was good at what she did and she wasn't bothering us.
"Kris Maicoh, I thought that was you."
I looked in the opposite direction at a woman that I couldn't remember ever seeing before.
"Do I know you?"
"Yes you do. I'm Amber, remember?"
I looked at her from head to toe before saying, "I guess you aren't that memorable."
She frowned slightly, "I met you last week, and we talked."
"About what?" I was starting to get agitated.
Too many times I would say three words to someone and they thought it was the beginning of a relationship.
"Well we started talking and that girl you were with came up to me and pushed me down." She suddenly looked embarrassed, "I was drinking a bit too much."
"Have you been drinking today?" I asked.
"No."
"That's too bad, because you won't have any excuse when she does it again." I pointed to Norah who was walking over to us. She had this girl in her sights and she did not look happy.
"You aren't going to let her hurt me, are you?" Amber asked, looking concerned.
"Why not?"
Norah didn't wait, she immediately punched Amber in the face, making her topple over. Norah grabbed a handful of her hair and lifted her up, "I told you to stay away from him, didn't I?!"
Amber was whimpering and whining, I wondered when the tears would start.
Norah was being a major bitch, alternately slapping and yelling at her.
"Easy Norah. Let her go, she learned her lesson."
"I'm not so sure about that." She said.
She slapped her a few more times and released her. Amber fell to the floor crying.
"Who is this girl?" She asked, looking embarrassed for her.
I shrugged. I got up to leave, "C'mon let's go somewhere quieter."
And that's how it was for me and other women, I thought. Any woman that managed to get close was met by Norah who successfully intimidated and beat them into submission. Once, it might be nice to meet a woman with a backbone. Not that I necessarily wanted one that would start a fight at the drop of a hat, like Norah, but would at least be able to take care of herself. She needed to, especially if she was going to be able to have a relationship with me. Norah wasn't going to let just anyone take her spot next to me, it was going to have to be won, at least on some level.
********************************************
We were sitting at our booth when Gabriel came over.
"Norah, leave." He said.
She got up and immediately did what she was told. Gabriel and Norah did not get along, she knew better than to argue with him.
He sat down next to me.
"What's up?" I asked.
"What was with that girl, Amber?"
"Nothing, why?"
"You don't think it's weird to have Norah bully some chick in front of everyone?"
"I honestly could care less." I said.
"Well, I don't care much for the girl either but you shouldn't let Norah do that, you're enabling her to be a bitch to anyone at any time. You need to control her."
I motioned in Norah's general direction, "She is controlled, she did what she was told."
"By me, not by you. She pushes the limits with you, but she knows her place with me. You need to establish that boundary."
"I can't, she and I have a different relationship. She fears you."
"And she should fear you too."
"I have her attention when I need it. She knows when not to mess with me."
"Does she?" He asked.
"Yes!"
"I don't think so. She does that sort of thing all the time and rarely stops the first time you ask her to. She has to obey you, for the safety of our family if for nothing else. Don't you agree?"
"Don't worry about it Gabriel." I glared at him, "I have everything under control."
"You say that a lot, but I don't see it."
"Then see this." My eyes bled to red, "I can control her when I need to. Now, get up and get out of my face before you really piss me off."
Gabriel stood and left.
I waved Norah to come back. She did and sat down timidly, almost afraid to be next to me.
I looked at her, "Gabriel is right to an extent, I shouldn't have to ask you more than once to do something. You should respect and obey my wishes Norah. I give you too much freedom because you are my friend and I feel you're part of my family. I don't push my will on them anymore than I push it on you, but you are different; you need discipline. Why do you fight me so hard?"
She looked like a child being scolded, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be difficult. I just get angry and then things happen."
"All the more reason to listen to me. If you can't control yourself, then I will have to. I don't want to keep having this discussion, just do what you are told." I sighed and leaned back in my chair.
Norah curled up next to me, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Maybe we should go on vacation, what do you think?" She asked.
I laughed, "Where are we going to go?"
"Wherever, maybe we just need to get away."
"So you can spread your carnage around the world? No, I don't think so."
"I'm not that bad."
"The hell you're not! You've killed more people in the past six months then my family put together." I shook my head, "You know, we agreed to try to live with the humans, sometimes I don't think you are trying at all. Do you want to go back into hiding? Don't you remember how it was?"
"Of course I don't want that."
"Then stop trying to sabotage this for us. We are trying to coexist here, either do your part or go away."
She lifted her head, "What does that mean?"
"It means you're either the problem or part of the solution. Stop fucking up."
She laid her head back down, "I will do my part."
"Good."
************************************************
The next couple of weeks were relatively quiet, which was nice for a change. Norah was behaving herself so we didn't have to carry bodies into the desert anymore. It was nice to see her finally trying to restrain herself, it gave me hope that we could actually be normal.
Our friend Billy had just gotten a call from Tawnie, letting him know that she was coming home. Trent was both nervous and excited to see her again. I secretly hoped that she would never come back, but now that I knew she was, I decided I was going to be better with her. Provided she didn't find a way to irritate me, after all it was the least I could for my brother.
Billy just moved into town not too long ago from Florida. He was very good friends with Johnny and used to be his club hopping buddy in Miami. I was glad Billy decided to move here, maybe we'd see more of my cousin. I'd known Billy for only two years, but I liked and trusted him very much, he was like part of the family.
"Billy!" I hugged him and slapped him on the back a few times. "Where have you been?"
"Unpacking. It sucks!" He smiled.
"Tell me all about it." I smiled back, "C'mon, sit down let's talk."
"So where's my cousin and when is he coming home?" I asked.
"Oh brother, he gave me some shit for moving here man. I thought he was gonna freak out when I told him. But it was all good, you know, I needed a change of scenery."
"True." I nodded.
"But, I'm still trying to convince him to come back. Winter's coming and I understand that you guys get some snow here. That's going to be awesome, Johnny and I love snowboarding!"
“Yeah, well that's still far away, we have to get through the monsoons first, but then there's snow up the mountain."
"Right on." Billy smiled at a woman that passed by. "Nice looking woman, so I see you have a lot of Mexican women here. I like them, fiery breed ya know."
I laughed and shook my head, "What about those Puerto Rican women in Florida? Intense?"
Billy rolled his eyes, "Oh my God, you just don't know. Those women are crazy! They drive a man wild in every sense of the word, but I love 'em, you know. Gotta love the wild women." He said, still being distracted by women passing by. "Damn, you got some fine looking ones here!"
"Pace yourself."
“Yeah, screw that! I'm all over this!"
I laughed, I couldn't help it, Billy was a bit of a wild man himself, so energetic and full of life.
"So, where's your woman?" He asked sipping his coke.
"Right over there." I pointed to Norah, she was sitting on a stool talking to one of the bartenders.
"Holy hell, she's fine!" He blurted. "Oh hey, sorry man, but daaamn, she fine."
I smiled, "Yeah and she's crazy too."
"That's what I'm talkin' about." He was still checking Norah out.
"Well, you can have her, if you think you can handle her." I said.
He looked at me in shock, "You'd give that up? You must be outta your mind!"
"The truth is she's my friend, nothing else. Not anymore."
"Damn shame." He took another sip, watching her from afar. "That gorgeous, shiny black hair, tan skin, um-um-um. I like me some dark meat."
"You're such a horny bastard."
"Damn right, it's the only way to live. But seriously, I like white meat too."
I shook my head, "You just like women, period."
"That's right, big ones, small ones, if they got a pulse then give 'em to me." He winked.
"You don't have a selection process?"
"Nope, just a priority process."
"Pervert."
"There's nothing perverted about a man lovin' a woman."
I heard a loud whistle from the other side of the room. Both Billy and I looked up and saw Gabriel, waving Billy over.
"Oh, gotta go. Catch up with you later Kris."
"Okay."
Norah rejoined me and I filled her in on Billy. She had never met or talked to him before so she had to be told that he was part of the family. I smiled to think that Billy would be around for a while, already the clouds around me were lifting, it felt good to be surrounded by good people. I was starting to think that things were going to change for the better around here.
I walked throughout the house looking for something when I finally made it to the garage. I opened the door and saw that her car was still here, which was odd. I peered into the car but didn't see anything weird; it looked like she dropped off her car and caught a ride with someone else.
I got a text a few hours later from Norah asking where I was.
"WAITING 4 MIA."I texted back.
"OK, COME HOME SOON."
I sat and waited for hours when the phone rang. I sat and waited for the machine to pick up the call. I heard Mia's message and waited.
"Mia, it's Doris. I need you to call me right away, the girls and I are very worried about you. Please honey, give us a call as soon as you get this message. We love you, bye."
I heard the click of the phone and the beep of the machine.
I stood up and headed home, I suddenly had an idea of what might have happened to Mia.
*********************************************
I busted through the front door, "Norah!"
I waited for movement. Norah appeared at the top of the stairs.
"What did you do to Mia?" I asked.
"Nothing."
"Norah, don't lie to me!" I yelled. "Where is she?!"
"I don't know."
"Norah, so help me, if I have to beat it out of you, you are going to tell me where she is!"
"She left."
"What are you talking about?"
"I suggested that she leave town."
"And what about the baby?"
"There was no baby, she was lying."
"How do you know?" I asked.
"She told me."
"She told you, why would she do that?"
"Because I threatened to hurt her if she didn't tell me the truth. She lied to you so that you would want to be with her, there is no baby Kris."
"Why would she leave her family behind Norah, you're not making sense."
"She doesn't care about her family, she's a heartless bitch and a liar. Besides, I told you that I threatened her, she left town because she was scared."
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because I didn't want you to be mad at me."
I walked up the stairs and looked up at Norah's face, "Did you kill her?"
"No."
"And you're sure there's no baby?"
"Yes, I believed her. Besides, if I'm wrong, you'll start to feel the pull of the baby next month."
"If I find out that you're lying to me and you killed her, I'm going to be very upset with you, you know that right?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how mad I am going to be?"
Her eyes got wide, just listening to my tone, "Yes..." Her voice quivered.
"And you're sure you are telling me the truth?"
"Yes."
I had no choice but to believe her, at least until time proved her to be lying.
*****************************************
Nearly a month had passed and I had dreaded the day that I would feel my energy being absorbed by a child that carried my genes, but it never happened. There was never any sign or evidence that there ever was a baby but news had surfaced about a worried husband and family who were still searching for their missing family member. Pictures of Mia blanketed the morning and evening news as well as many of the local papers. I just looked over at Norah who sat next to me on the couch; she was absorbed in whatever she was sketching to even pay attention to the news. I knew Norah lied to me but I couldn't prove it.
Norah made stupid decisions a lot, but she wasn't dumb when she thought things through. Dumping a body was exciting for her because she knew eventually it would be found but hiding a body from me to avoid punishment was much more serious. She put Mia somewhere she would never be found, I knew I would never see or hear from her again.
That night after the news, after things had quieted down, Norah and I talked.
"Did you ever think that maybe it's better that you don't think about being with a human?" She asked. "It's too difficult, they are always trying to trap you, one way or another. Could you imagine if they ever found out our secret? You should stick with your own kind...with me. I would never do anything to betray you. I love you Kris."
"I know."
Norah threaded her fingers through my hair and pulled me closer to her. She lightly kissed me, pulling me closer and closer until she could wrap her arms around me.
"I want you." She whispered against my lips.
I pulled away from her, "No, Norah."
She looked surprised, "So you can sleep with a human that you barely know, but not me?"
"It means more to you. C'mon Norah, I don't want to argue, I just want to lie down." I offered my hand.
She took it and let me lead her upstairs.
*******************************************
The next morning, I laid in bed thinking about what Norah had said the night before. She was right, there was more than my heart to risk by falling for a human woman. I needed to stop trying to find someone to fit into my life. I had Norah and I knew that she would never do anything to hurt me or my family. We were her family too, no one else lived from Norah's blood line. I may not love her the way that she wanted to be loved but I had found the woman that would be with me for the rest of my life. I leaned over and kissed her lips. She smiled softly and moved closer to me.
I was starting to drift off when my phone rang. I picked it up and saw that my brother was calling.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Hey. Listen, could you do me a favor and work for me today? I have something I have to deal with." He said.
"Tawnie?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Figures. Okay, I'll go in."
"Thanks Kris. I gotta go."
He barely said goodbye before hanging up.
I looked over at Norah, who was wide awake.
"We're working tonight?" She heard Trent.
"Yeah. You don't have to come, I know it gets boring."
"No, it's okay, I'll go and keep you company."
I smiled, "Okay."
Deliveries came in right around noon and we had a big shipment of alcohol coming in today. I showered quickly and headed to the club by myself, Norah would join me later after the agony of inventory was over with. Which was fine with me, it gave me a chance to catch up with my elusive cousin Johnny.
"Hi stranger." I said when he showed up.
"Hi." He smiled back.
"You know, you really should come around more often, we're beginning to think that you only come into town to accept your birthday presents."
He laughed, "That would be a distinct possibility, if we still bought gifts for each other."
I smiled while scanning my inventory sheet, Johnny was right we didn't give gifts anymore. There wasn't anything that we wanted or needed that we hadn't bought ourselves decades ago. Not only that, but having an upwards of two hundred birthdays was a little old, I officially stopped celebrating my birthday when I hit eighty.
Johnny picked up a clipboard and started counting in a smaller shipment of glasses that also came in.
"So where have you been?" I asked.
"Florida."
"What's going on over there?"
"Everything. Miami beach makes this place look like a tumbleweed in a fish bowl."
I laughed out loud, "Oh really?"
"There's so much going on, so much life and the women..." He winked at me, "are hot."
"Why don't you bring one back with you then?"
"Here? No thanks."
"It's not that bad here, I like it."
"I think the next time we move, we should go to Florida, that's all I'm saying. Then at least you might see me more than a couple times a week."
"Do the words low key mean anything to you?" I asked.
"Do the wordslive a little, mean anything to you?"
"You forgot who you're talking to."
"Ah, yes. You're right."
"So..." I started.
"Yeah?"
"What's your take on relationships? Ever try it?"
"Not really, not unless second dates and third base count."
"I dunno, I guess so. That's pretty much my interpretation too."
"Why?"
"Because lately my marital status has become a subject of interest for my brother."
"Why does he care all of sudden?"
"He thinks I'm miserable."
"You are but that's part of your charm."
I gave him a dirty look, "Thanks Johnny."
"So what does Norah think about you whoring yourself around?"
I slammed my clipboard down, "Why does it always come back to Norah? Did it ever occur to anyone that I can make my own decisions without her permission?"
Johnny shrugged, "Because you're married to her by approximation."
I picked up my clipboard, "This conversation is depressing."
"You started it."
"Well you start the next one."
Johnny smiled, "Okay."
************************************
Finished with deliveries and inventory, I went upstairs to my office to kill some more time. I opened my laptop thinking this would be a good time to go through my invoices.
I stopped because I could hear Gabriel coming up the stairs in a hurry, he sounded pissed about something. I sat back in my chair and waited for him.
He stormed into my office, a literal dark cloud of energy swept in after him, his eyes where blood red and he was carrying a shoebox and a journal.
"What's up?" I was suddenly concerned. He wasn't this mad for something minor.
"Fucking Tina, I found a journal that she keeps in her locker, it's about us." He threw the book down on my desk.
"What does it say?" I picked it up and flipped through a couple of pages. There were numerous Club Nosferatu references and a several entries with Gabriel as the subject matter.
"She's talking about us! It's a running account of every weird event that she's ever witnessed or heard about. And I don't want to leave out all of her personal thoughts on how different and odd we are."
I looked up at Gabriel, "C'mon Gabriel, that's petty shit. She's a kid, no one takes this shit serious."
I handed him the journal back.
"Oh yeah?" He flipped through some pages until he got to the back. He pulled out a handful of Polaroid pictures and dumped them on my desk. "The bitch has been taking pictures of me."
My stomach sank; I picked up one picture after another. They were blurry, all out of focus except for the background and the small silver cross that hung from Gabriel's neck. Gabriel was the only figure that was consistently blurred as if he were photographed in rapid motion.
"This is a problem." I said.
"Tell me about it."
I looked up, "What's in the shoebox Gabriel?"
He opened it up, "More, lots more." He dumped pictures of all of us onto my desk.
"How the hell is she taking these pictures?!" I yelled.
"She's not the only one. Some of these pics are of her talking to me. She has someone helping her, probably April, those two are thick."
"What the fuck?!" I grabbed a few of the pictures and recognized me and my brother. All of our pictures were the same, completely out of focus.
"Yeah, you like that one, look at this bullshit." He handed me the picture of Tina talking to Gabriel. She stood next to him looking up him but his image was completely distorted. Tina on the other hand, was clear and focused.
"This is blackmail shit." He said. He dropped the box on my desk and fell into the chair next to me. "What are we going to do?"
"We don't know how many of these pictures exist." I thought out loud.
Gabriel nodded.
I looked at him, "How did you even find out about these?"
"I always hear her giggling and whispering which is normal for those two, but last night I thought I heard April warn her that I was coming and I heard Tina slam her locker. I walked in the break room thinking that they were just fucking around and told them both to get back on the floor. Later, I was thinking about it and it dawned on me that maybe she was hiding something so I searched her locker."
"Does she work tonight?"
"Yes."
"Good. Do you think you can search her apartment for more photos while she's working?"
"Yeah."
I put all of the photos and the journal into the shoebox. "She will never see these again." I closed the lid.
"We need to work fast." I continued, "Tonight, I need you to visit her dreams and tell her that we know what she is doing. I need you to scare the shit out of her, do whatever you need to do, but don't kill her. She has to know it's real and not a dream when she wakes up."
"I can do that."
"That coupled with the fact that her locker has been ransacked should be enough to send her back home. She's been saying she wanted to go back to Indiana, now's her chance."
Gabriel nodded, just listening.
I put my hand on his shoulder, "Make it intense, I don't want her to come to work tomorrow night."
Gabriel looked at me, his own eyes were intense emeralds, he stood up and left my office.
I felt better knowing Gabriel would take care of the problem. I knew his dream manipulation could turn any thought into a nightmare. After all most humans felt safe and invincible in their dreams, they could reveal their deepest secrets, desires and sins without fear, but when Gabriel was listening, no one was safe. He could use every secret against you, playing out your fears in graphic detail and exposing the true nature of your soul. Being faced with the darkness within your own heart, Gabriel could easily destroy someone’s mind and if the mood suited him, he could also destroy the body. Inflicting bodily damage was just as real in the dream world as it was in the physical world. He could tear someone to shreds or leave a few marks here and there as a reminder of his visit. I could imagine the confusion and fear waking from a nightmare only to find evidence of the memory. That kind of fear is why many of his victims refused to sleep, for fear of another visit.
I sincerely hoped that he could manage that with only one visit to Tina. I needed her to fear for her life in such a way that she would drop everything and go home.
I lifted the shoebox off my desk and took it home, to burn all of its contents. I was almost looking forward to seeing Tina tonight; I wanted to see her face when she saw all of her pictures were gone.
I stepped out of the corridor leading to our offices and saw Johnny sitting on a nearby stool.
"Where you off to cousin?" He asked.
"Home, but I'll be back." I shook the shoebox for him.
"Is that it?"
"Yep."
He shook his head, "I knew Tina was no good, we need to stop hiring these stupid kids."
"I know it."
In the near distance an unfamiliar voice caught my attention.
"I'm looking for Kris Maicoh."
I looked up in time to see one of our bartenders point me out from across the room.
"Oh great, what's this?" I whispered to Johnny.
The man approached me wearing pressed trousers and a collared shirt, "Kris Maicoh?" He asked.
"Yes."
"I'm Detective Jansen, I have a few questions for you, in regards to a disappearance." He flashed a badge and then pulled a photograph out of his pocket.
"Do you recognize this woman?"
I should, it was a picture of Mia.
"Yes, her name is Mia. I don't know her last name."
He pulled a pen out of his pocket and jotted down a few words.
"Can you tell me the last time you saw her?"
"It's been about a month."
"I see. What is your relationship to her?"
Johnny shifted in his seat, I knew he didn't like cops and was getting irritated.
"Can I ask what the problem is detective?" I asked.
He looked up from his pad of paper. "I am investigating the disappearance of a woman that used to frequent your club. A few of her friends named you as one of the people that saw her last so I was hoping you may be willing to answer a few questions for me."
I nodded.
"So, can you tell me what your relationship is to her?"
"I slept with her once."
Detective Jansen looked at me over his glasses and wrote something else on his pad.
He straightened up a bit and looked at me, "Did Mrs. Callahan ever express an interest in leaving her husband, Mr. Maicoh?"
"Excuse me?"
"Did she ever say that she wanted to leave or go somewhere?"
"No. But then again, we were only together that one night and we didn't do much talking." I glared at him.
"Can you think of any reason why someone..."
He was cut off by Johnny standing up. Johnny's presence was unmistakable but when he stood up, his height alone could intimidate anyone. He held his hand out, facing the officer, "We don't know where Mia is or what happened to her. You can leave now."
The officer tucked his pad into his pocket and silently walked towards the exit.
"Thanks Johnny." I was happy that was over, I hated questions.
"You're welcome." He sat back down.
"How long does that last?" Referring to the suggestion that was fed to the detective.
"Only a few minutes, but when he thinks back to this conversation one thing will ring true in his head that we don't know what happened to Mia. That's all that matters, right?"
"Right."
I sighed and stood up, grabbing my box again. "Fucking drama everyday around here. I'm going home before Mia's husband shows up."
"Sounds good." Johnny smiled and waved goodbye.
*************************************************
I got back to the club before the nightly briefing, this time Norah was with me. I warned her to stay out of my plan for tonight, Norah was famous for going overboard and I didn't want Tina to call the cops. She had to leave willingly and go home, no more disappearances tied to me or the club.
Norah reluctantly stayed away from Tina for the evening and let me do my thing. I heard Tina arrive, she was greeting everyone she came into contact with. I followed the sound of her voice to the employee lounge and waited just outside for her to open her locker. She was talking to April, just some gossip. I waited patiently, listening for my cue.
Finally, I heard the click of her locker, followed by sounds of panic.
"Oh my God, the pictures are gone!"
"What?!" April panicked too.
I walked into the room and turned the corner looking into their worried faces, "Something wrong ladies?" I asked.
Tina's eyes got wide, she just stared at me.
April was the first to speak, “Yeah, someone broke into her locker."
I peered into the locker, "Did they take anything?" I looked at Tina.
"Uh..."
I waited.
"Uh, I don't know." She said.
"I hope there wasn't anything important in there." I waited for a response but she was still staring blankly at me. "Well, when you figure it out you can file a report with Gabriel. Just give him a list of everything that's missing and we'll take it from there."
"Um, o-okay." She stuttered.
I looked at April, "I assume all is well with your locker?"
She nodded.
"Good." I turned to leave the lounge, "Remember ladies, don't keep valuables in your lockers, you never know who is watching you."
I exited the room and listened. It was very quiet inside, neither Tina nor April said a word, at least out loud.
I stayed fairly close throughout the briefing, just so I could meet up with Tina again.
"Anything missing?" I asked.
"Uh, no. Nothing."
"That's good news." I smiled, “I’ll ask Gabriel to change the lock for you."
"Okay, thanks." She looked angry.
She may have realized that she wasn't getting her pictures back and she probably suspected that we had them.
"Have a good night." I turned to walk away.
"Come to think of it," Tina said, "I think I left my camera in my locker. They must have taken that after all."
"Describe it." I said.
"It's a Polaroid."
I looked past Tina to Gabriel who was approaching us. "Have you seen a polaroid Gabriel?"
Tina jumped when she heard his voice behind her.
"Polaroid?”
“Tina's locker was broken into, she thinks she's missing her camera."
"No, I know I'm missing it." She said.
"Why do you have a camera in your locker?" Gabriel asked.
"Uh...well, I like to take pictures sometimes."
"While you're working?" He asked.
"No. But sometimes when I'm on break."
"And you thought your locker was a safe place?"
"Yes, it's locked. Who would break in to my locker?"
"I don't know do you have any enemies here?"
Gabriel and I waited for her response.
"No." She looked back and forth between the two of us.
Gabriel shrugged, "Then your guess, is as good as mine."
"I would still like my camera back please." She asked Gabriel as if she knew he had it.
"I don't think you'll ever see it again." He said.
Her eyes got wide, just by him looking at her. She turned and looked at me like she wanted to say something, but changed her mind. She lowered her head and walked to the bar to start her shift.
I looked at Gabriel, "Did you check her place?"
"Yes, I found a scrapbook. There's some seriously obsessive stuff in there. I dropped it off at your place along with a few other pictures I found."
"Really?"
"She didn't have much there, just the book. Do you think we should check April's place too?"
"Why not? She lives with her dad, he may be home." I warned.
"He won't even know I'm there."
"I know." I smiled and joined Norah at one of the bars in the back. The summer months were almost over, I kept telling myself soon the heat would be broken by our monsoon weather. It was something to look forward to, even when I spent most of time inside during the day. The truth was, even the night time hours still had over hundred degree temperatures and although the heat, per se, didn't have any adverse effect on me, it was not very pleasant just the same. I preferred cooler temperatures, which was funny to think about because I lived in the desert. Oh well, coming to Tucson had served its purpose, Raven still hadn't made one of her usual visits so it was worth it.
Time was moving on and things at the Club were running smoothly again, now that Tina had left for Indiana. She couldn't take the dreams that she was having and abruptly quit one day. It took Gabriel two visits to convince her, but it was done. She left quickly and we hadn't heard from her since, it had been about a month already.
My brother and I sat at our table, going through some applications, Tina's position still needed to be filled and it was important to us that we found a better replacement.
"Have you read this one?" Trent handed me the application.
"No." I took it and skimmed through. "So," I asked, "I haven't seen Tawnie for a while, what's going on with her?"
"She's on vacation. She went to California to visit a friend of hers."
"Kind of a long vacation, isn't it?"
"I guess so. She said that she wanted some time away from everything. I haven't spoken to her since she left but she said she would be gone for about a month."
"Bummer, she's coming back then?"
"Stop."
I just smiled, continuing to flip through applicants.
Trent sighed and pushed his stack of applications away. "I don't know what I'm doing here. I hate hiring people, it's such a pain in the ass." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, "And on top of that, I'm distracted. I miss Tawnie."
"Trent, you need to let her go."
"Why?"
"Because she's trouble."
"No she isn't, you don't even know her." He said.
"I don't need to know her to get a sense about her."
"Now what the hell does that mean?"
"She makes you nuts, you make each other nuts. It's called a love/hate relationship and they're no fun. Why don't you find someone else that's not so mental?"
"She's not mental, she's just feisty. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't want, I like that about her."
"Well, if you end up getting back together with her, you'll have to tell her everything eventually and I don't think that you can trust her."
"I do trust her Kris, why are you such a dick when it comes to her?"
I shrugged. Maybe it was that Tawnie wouldn't be my preference for a girlfriend. I tended to think about women that way; I selected them based on my taste and not necessarily for my brothers' taste. The longer I thought about it, the more I thought that maybe she would be okay for Trent, so long as he could handle her mood swings.
I looked at Trent, who was actually starting to look pretty miserable.
"I'm sorry." I said. "I guess I can be a little too hard on women in general. If you love her and you trust her, then it's fine with me. I will make an effort to be nicer to
her."
Trent smiled.
"I said nicer,not nice." I clarified.
"I got that, but it still means a lot to me."
I smiled at him and we went back to work on our applications.
**********************************************
A couple hours later, Trent and I gathered the few hopefuls from a stack of applications and we called it a night. I handed my small stack to Trent to take to Gabriel upstairs and I stayed in the club. It was nice to get up and stretch my legs after sitting for so long.
I leaned against the bar, waiting to talk to Desi, one of our bartenders.
"Hi Kris, can I get you something?"
I looked over and saw April.
"No thanks, I'm good right now."
"Okay." She smiled and went back to work.
It was nice that Gabriel didn't find anything at her house, as far as pictures, or we would have lost two waitresses instead of one. After Tina left, April quieted down a bit, careful about what she did and what she said. She just came to work with her head down and did her thing. I still caught her gossiping from time to time, but nothing that was major, overall she was good at what she did and she wasn't bothering us.
"Kris Maicoh, I thought that was you."
I looked in the opposite direction at a woman that I couldn't remember ever seeing before.
"Do I know you?"
"Yes you do. I'm Amber, remember?"
I looked at her from head to toe before saying, "I guess you aren't that memorable."
She frowned slightly, "I met you last week, and we talked."
"About what?" I was starting to get agitated.
Too many times I would say three words to someone and they thought it was the beginning of a relationship.
"Well we started talking and that girl you were with came up to me and pushed me down." She suddenly looked embarrassed, "I was drinking a bit too much."
"Have you been drinking today?" I asked.
"No."
"That's too bad, because you won't have any excuse when she does it again." I pointed to Norah who was walking over to us. She had this girl in her sights and she did not look happy.
"You aren't going to let her hurt me, are you?" Amber asked, looking concerned.
"Why not?"
Norah didn't wait, she immediately punched Amber in the face, making her topple over. Norah grabbed a handful of her hair and lifted her up, "I told you to stay away from him, didn't I?!"
Amber was whimpering and whining, I wondered when the tears would start.
Norah was being a major bitch, alternately slapping and yelling at her.
"Easy Norah. Let her go, she learned her lesson."
"I'm not so sure about that." She said.
She slapped her a few more times and released her. Amber fell to the floor crying.
"Who is this girl?" She asked, looking embarrassed for her.
I shrugged. I got up to leave, "C'mon let's go somewhere quieter."
And that's how it was for me and other women, I thought. Any woman that managed to get close was met by Norah who successfully intimidated and beat them into submission. Once, it might be nice to meet a woman with a backbone. Not that I necessarily wanted one that would start a fight at the drop of a hat, like Norah, but would at least be able to take care of herself. She needed to, especially if she was going to be able to have a relationship with me. Norah wasn't going to let just anyone take her spot next to me, it was going to have to be won, at least on some level.
********************************************
We were sitting at our booth when Gabriel came over.
"Norah, leave." He said.
She got up and immediately did what she was told. Gabriel and Norah did not get along, she knew better than to argue with him.
He sat down next to me.
"What's up?" I asked.
"What was with that girl, Amber?"
"Nothing, why?"
"You don't think it's weird to have Norah bully some chick in front of everyone?"
"I honestly could care less." I said.
"Well, I don't care much for the girl either but you shouldn't let Norah do that, you're enabling her to be a bitch to anyone at any time. You need to control her."
I motioned in Norah's general direction, "She is controlled, she did what she was told."
"By me, not by you. She pushes the limits with you, but she knows her place with me. You need to establish that boundary."
"I can't, she and I have a different relationship. She fears you."
"And she should fear you too."
"I have her attention when I need it. She knows when not to mess with me."
"Does she?" He asked.
"Yes!"
"I don't think so. She does that sort of thing all the time and rarely stops the first time you ask her to. She has to obey you, for the safety of our family if for nothing else. Don't you agree?"
"Don't worry about it Gabriel." I glared at him, "I have everything under control."
"You say that a lot, but I don't see it."
"Then see this." My eyes bled to red, "I can control her when I need to. Now, get up and get out of my face before you really piss me off."
Gabriel stood and left.
I waved Norah to come back. She did and sat down timidly, almost afraid to be next to me.
I looked at her, "Gabriel is right to an extent, I shouldn't have to ask you more than once to do something. You should respect and obey my wishes Norah. I give you too much freedom because you are my friend and I feel you're part of my family. I don't push my will on them anymore than I push it on you, but you are different; you need discipline. Why do you fight me so hard?"
She looked like a child being scolded, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be difficult. I just get angry and then things happen."
"All the more reason to listen to me. If you can't control yourself, then I will have to. I don't want to keep having this discussion, just do what you are told." I sighed and leaned back in my chair.
Norah curled up next to me, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Maybe we should go on vacation, what do you think?" She asked.
I laughed, "Where are we going to go?"
"Wherever, maybe we just need to get away."
"So you can spread your carnage around the world? No, I don't think so."
"I'm not that bad."
"The hell you're not! You've killed more people in the past six months then my family put together." I shook my head, "You know, we agreed to try to live with the humans, sometimes I don't think you are trying at all. Do you want to go back into hiding? Don't you remember how it was?"
"Of course I don't want that."
"Then stop trying to sabotage this for us. We are trying to coexist here, either do your part or go away."
She lifted her head, "What does that mean?"
"It means you're either the problem or part of the solution. Stop fucking up."
She laid her head back down, "I will do my part."
"Good."
************************************************
The next couple of weeks were relatively quiet, which was nice for a change. Norah was behaving herself so we didn't have to carry bodies into the desert anymore. It was nice to see her finally trying to restrain herself, it gave me hope that we could actually be normal.
Our friend Billy had just gotten a call from Tawnie, letting him know that she was coming home. Trent was both nervous and excited to see her again. I secretly hoped that she would never come back, but now that I knew she was, I decided I was going to be better with her. Provided she didn't find a way to irritate me, after all it was the least I could for my brother.
Billy just moved into town not too long ago from Florida. He was very good friends with Johnny and used to be his club hopping buddy in Miami. I was glad Billy decided to move here, maybe we'd see more of my cousin. I'd known Billy for only two years, but I liked and trusted him very much, he was like part of the family.
"Billy!" I hugged him and slapped him on the back a few times. "Where have you been?"
"Unpacking. It sucks!" He smiled.
"Tell me all about it." I smiled back, "C'mon, sit down let's talk."
"So where's my cousin and when is he coming home?" I asked.
"Oh brother, he gave me some shit for moving here man. I thought he was gonna freak out when I told him. But it was all good, you know, I needed a change of scenery."
"True." I nodded.
"But, I'm still trying to convince him to come back. Winter's coming and I understand that you guys get some snow here. That's going to be awesome, Johnny and I love snowboarding!"
“Yeah, well that's still far away, we have to get through the monsoons first, but then there's snow up the mountain."
"Right on." Billy smiled at a woman that passed by. "Nice looking woman, so I see you have a lot of Mexican women here. I like them, fiery breed ya know."
I laughed and shook my head, "What about those Puerto Rican women in Florida? Intense?"
Billy rolled his eyes, "Oh my God, you just don't know. Those women are crazy! They drive a man wild in every sense of the word, but I love 'em, you know. Gotta love the wild women." He said, still being distracted by women passing by. "Damn, you got some fine looking ones here!"
"Pace yourself."
“Yeah, screw that! I'm all over this!"
I laughed, I couldn't help it, Billy was a bit of a wild man himself, so energetic and full of life.
"So, where's your woman?" He asked sipping his coke.
"Right over there." I pointed to Norah, she was sitting on a stool talking to one of the bartenders.
"Holy hell, she's fine!" He blurted. "Oh hey, sorry man, but daaamn, she fine."
I smiled, "Yeah and she's crazy too."
"That's what I'm talkin' about." He was still checking Norah out.
"Well, you can have her, if you think you can handle her." I said.
He looked at me in shock, "You'd give that up? You must be outta your mind!"
"The truth is she's my friend, nothing else. Not anymore."
"Damn shame." He took another sip, watching her from afar. "That gorgeous, shiny black hair, tan skin, um-um-um. I like me some dark meat."
"You're such a horny bastard."
"Damn right, it's the only way to live. But seriously, I like white meat too."
I shook my head, "You just like women, period."
"That's right, big ones, small ones, if they got a pulse then give 'em to me." He winked.
"You don't have a selection process?"
"Nope, just a priority process."
"Pervert."
"There's nothing perverted about a man lovin' a woman."
I heard a loud whistle from the other side of the room. Both Billy and I looked up and saw Gabriel, waving Billy over.
"Oh, gotta go. Catch up with you later Kris."
"Okay."
Norah rejoined me and I filled her in on Billy. She had never met or talked to him before so she had to be told that he was part of the family. I smiled to think that Billy would be around for a while, already the clouds around me were lifting, it felt good to be surrounded by good people. I was starting to think that things were going to change for the better around here.
Part Four
BLAZE
The Introduction
The sky was darker than normal; it looked like it was going to rain again. The once white and fluffy clouds of the afternoon where thin and sparse, stretched out, stringy and gray. Their ominous shapes covered the wholeness of the moon, and faded the yellow tint that was lighting the still damp streets.
"Come on!" My friend shouted through the crowd.
I looked up and saw Tawnie waving at me. She and I had known each other for a couple of years; she was the reason for me moving to Tucson. I watched as she disappeared in the doorway to Club Nosferatu. I looked up above the building and saw that the sign was a beacon for alcohol and loud music for several blocks. It lit up the parking lot and danced off the faces of the people waiting in line. There were hundreds of people waiting in line still; shifting their feet, inching forward and casting threatening glances to the clouds above their heads.
The man at the door wrapped my wrist with a neon bracelet, all the while smiling and winking at me. He was unattractive, but somehow I felt that he got a lot of women anyway. Maybe because he was the door man at Club Nosferatu or maybe for a small favor, one could forego the hour long wait and be pushed to the front of the line. He smiled at me again, flashing bits of teeth, only a few of which remained intact.
"Have fun darlin'." He said in a southern accent.
My nose had caught a whiff of his breath, foul and putrid; mixed with alcohol and tooth decay. I turned from him quickly and followed Tawnie inside.
"Blaze, over here girl!" She shouted.
The blinding strobe lights and blaring music made it hard to concentrate on my friend, who was quickly disappearing through a sea of moving bodies. The club was alive with the hottest music of the nineties, today's music. I recognized the tune that was playing now, it was very popular evident from all of the
people that packed the dance floor. I twisted and turned my way through the crowd, keeping a close eye on the top of Tawnies’ head. My height was the
only thing that kept me from getting lost and ending up on the dance floor somewhere.
Tawnie was seated in velvet lounge chair when I finally caught up with her.
"You made it." Tawnie observed as I emerged from the crowd.
"Barely." I stated in my waning British accent. "So, this is the place, huh?" I scanned the club with slight disapproval. Luckily I liked the whole Gothic theme, but the amount of people stuffed into this space was ridiculous. I could barely move, let alone dance.
"Yep, this is it. Crazy, huh? Tawnie looked at my face, she must have known what I was thinking because she quickly added, "It is Friday night, you know."
I nodded my head. I was still surveying the room, with stone columns, statues and little alcoves with sofas and tables. I cast my gaze above us and saw suspending candles lit, the wickless kind. The ceiling was too tall or too dark to see how they managed to fly above our heads. That was kind of cool, I thought. What I really liked was the dance floor. From what I could see it appeared to be clear, like glass with water running under it. It was lit by an electric blue light that was beating steady with the rhythm of the music. They looked like waves at midnight, I wanted to walk over and run my hand across the floor but thought I might get trampled in the chaos.
At least the service was good, considering the amount of people here. I set my drink on the coffee table, "Alright, so where are these guys you've been telling me about? The Maicoh's?"
"They're here," Tawnie started, "they always work on Friday nights. They have the booth closest to the stage." She pointed to a booth that was empty. She looked around the club, "They must be working the floor or in the back. We'll catch up with them later." She suggested.
"So," Tawnie leaned close so she wouldn't have to shout over the onslaught of music. "How did your brother take your move? Was he upset?"
I poked at the fruit in my drink with my straw, "No, his girlfriend is moving in now. They can have their privacy". I said.
Tawnie rolled her eyes, "Mindy? Oh Gawd, is he still with her?"
"Misty." I corrected.
"Whatever."
Tawnie had dated my brother Brendan for a few short weeks. She ended it because she thought it was too 'weird' to date my brother, especially since we were so close. I think she just fell for someone else, that's why she abruptly picked up her stuff and moved here, to Tucson. Later, she did tell me that she had the hot’s for one of the owners of this place, one of the Maicoh's. Personally I think she missed Brendan, but she would never admit it.
"Blaze!" Tawnie grabbed my arm, "Look." She pointed in the direction of a crowd of people in front of us. They were moving aside rather quickly, making room for someone to pass. She leaned in quickly and whispered, "That's Kris."
A man made it through the crowd first followed closely by a woman. He had dark skin and was tall. "Wow." I managed to say loud enough to make Tawnie snicker.
He was actually very tall, over six-four. It was always exciting for me to find a man that was taller than me, this one was gorgeous too. He had naturally tan skin, black hair and the most electric blue eyes I've ever seen. They were piercing with a luminescence that made me think magical. I wondered what ethnicity he was, I flipped through all possible options in my head until I settled on Native American, only I've never seen one with eyes like his. He was physically ideal and aesthetically perfect, a little too perfect, I thought. He was dressed in black and silver from his skin-hugging shirt to his buckled, leather clad boots. The sight of his chiseled muscles just beneath the taut fabric made my stomach flutter; I smiled slightly watching him move closer. A small glitter of light reflected off of his chest and distracted me for a moment. It was a small silver cross, the style looked old but it shined like a beacon when it reflected the strobe lights.
When I looked up again, he was looking at me. His dark lashes framed his blue eyes, making the color that much bolder and all the more mesmerizing. I boldly kept his gaze for as long as I could, watching his body move closer. For someone of his size he moved gracefully, effortlessly navigating the crowd.
Just behind him was a woman. Beautiful was the first word I thought of when I saw her, she had long black hair with very feminine facial features despite the intense glare she threw into the crowd. She was also tall, not quite as tall as me and she was much more voluptuous. She followed so closely to him that I could tell that they were together.
He looked at me for another moment before casually looking away. He walked past me swiftly, barely moving the air in between us; the woman was hot on
his heels. They turned the corner and vanished from my line of sight.
Tawnie leaned in to me, "He's one of the owners of this place."
She continued, "He hangs out with Norah, that woman that was with him. Other than that, he just hangs out with his family, he's not very sociable. Personally, I'm in love with Trent, his brother; he’s nicer and easier to talk to. Speaking of which," Tawnie stood, "let's go find him. He's probably playing pool."
I was still fascinated with my first glimpse at Kris. I looked towards the corner, where he disappeared with Norah, hoping for one more peek but he was already gone.
I followed Tawnie to the one of the back rooms. The floor that we stood on was elevated above all of the other rooms in this club. Looking around, the majority of the club was beneath ground level, which I guess was a good sound muffler, because once you stepped foot inside, the music was intense.
We stood at the foot of the stairs and looked out onto several pool tables below. There were bars tucked in each corner of the room with sporadic dart boards and tables making up the rest of the space. Tawnie took a hold of my hand. "Come on, I see him."
We walked down the steps and took a seat near one of the pool tables. Two men were standing there, cues in hand, one taking a shot. Tawnie pointed to him and said, "That's him, that's Trent."
He was leaning over the table, readying his move. I noticed that he looked a lot like his brother, same dark skin, black hair; but there was something unique about each. Twins or not, I could see that they weren't exactly identical. A little glimmer of light caught my eye and I instantly focused on a small cross hanging from his neck. It was one similar to Kris's. Neither one of them looked the religious type, I wondered if, for them, it was a fashion statement. The cross had made me notice Trent's slightly unbuttoned shirt, and consequently his chest. From here I could see dark markings on his chest and lower neck, I wondered if they were some kind of full body tribal tattoos. Trent took his shot and turned to smile brightly at the man standing next to him.
"Are they twins? I mean, Trent and Kris?" I asked.
"Actually, they're triplets." Tawnie replied. "They have a sister, Raven. She doesn't live in Arizona."
As if it were on cue, Trent looked up straight over to where we were sitting. He saw Tawnie and smiled a small, crooked smile. He laid down his stick and walked over to us. I could see that he had the same blue eyes that Kris had. They were so beautiful, like moonlit pools; they flickered and danced with color and fire. The closer he got, the more awkward I felt. I couldn't look away from him, no matter how hard I had tried.
Tawnie spoke first, "Hi Trent, How's it going?" She tried to stay casual, but I heard the wavering in her voice.
"It's going." He spoke in a deep, velvety voice. "Long time no see, where have you been this whole time?"
"In California, helping my friend pack and move out here." She motioned to me, "This is Blaze."
He looked at me for the first time, like I had suddenly appeared next to Tawnie. His gaze was warming my body, it suddenly felt intense and hot. He looked at me for a moment before saying hello. I could feel the pulse in my neck beating hard and hot. I wanted to look away, this was the man that Tawnie was in love with, it was embarrassing to be staring at him but I couldn't break my gaze.
The fire in his eyes lessened and when he blinked the spell was broken. I was able to look away for the first time since I saw him.
They made small talk for a few minutes, when Trent's game partner came over.
"Are you still playing?
It's your turn." He said, barely acknowledging me and Tawnie.
"Yeah sure." Trent looked at Tawnie, "It was good seeing you. See you later?" He asked.
"Okay." She said sweetly.
Trent turned and walked back to the pool table.
I was almost glad that was over, it was so awkward. I was still shaking it off when I spotted Kris at one of the bars, sitting on a stool. Norah was sitting on top of
the bar, directly behind him with her legs wrapped around him. I watched her hand move over his chest, down his stomach and playfully grab hold of his belt. Her other hand grabbed a hold of his hair and pulled his head back. She kissed his neck and whispered something into his ear, before releasing his hair. He sat still, seemingly unaffected by her flirting, he appeared deep in thought; he was looking at the women that were sitting at the table closest to him. He wasn't smiling at anyone, just observing them with an intense curiosity. The look he gave them made me shiver slightly to myself. I wondered what he was thinking.
Kris pulled Norah's legs off of him and stood up. I could barely hear her audible disapproval. He turned to her and said something that made her let go of his arm. He turned back around and walked over to the table of women.
"Is Norah his girlfriend?" I asked, still watching Kris.
Tawnie looked in their direction before responding. "No, I don't think so. They're friends, they've been friends since they were kids."
"Then why does he let her touch him like that?" I asked.
Tawnie looked back at Norah, who was still sitting on the stool, steaming about something. "I don't know. I think they're lovers."
I was also watching Norah. "What's her problem?"
"She's super jealous of course, I think she wishes that Kris were hers." Tawnie said.
"I've seen her react harshly to women that approach him. She's like a wild animal sometimes, it's best to stay away from her.
I watched him intently.
"I think I should probably warn you that he's not the nicest of people either." Tawnie said.
I looked at her, "What do you mean?"
"He's not into Norah, but he's not into anyone really. From what I've heard, he's a real ass to women, a real dick. You know?"
"Really?" I studied him thinking what a shame it was.
"Yeah, he doesn't like women coming up to him or touching him.
"That's why he and Norah get along so well. I think they prefer each other’s company, for the most part. The few women that manage to approach him
are run off by either him or Norah."
Tawnie was about to say more when her drink tipped over. The glass flipped over onto her lap, splattering her with fruit juice and rum. She jumped with a squeal and grabbed some napkins trying to wipe off as much as she could.
"I'll be right back." She said in a huff.
I finished wiping the table and looked over at Kris who was staring at me. I was surprised to see him looking my way; the intensity of his stare was starting to make my body hotter. His eyes were bright and flickering, they were so incredible, I didn't want to look away. He broke the gaze and turned his attention back
to the table of women.
Kris was smiling a warm smile at one of the blondes. From what I could see, she was melting all over herself and looking ridiculous. Kris held out his hand,
which she quickly accepted. Norah flinched but remained seated on the bar.
Kris pulled the blonde to her feet and traced her face with his fingers. He laced his fingers into hers and led her to the exit. I was amazed how quickly she had given in to him. I kept watching as Kris left the bar with this woman, every once in a while checking Norah's expression. She was obviously unhappy but
never protested or moved until Kris was out of sight. Once Kris and the blonde had left, she jumped off the bar with delicate ease and made her way through the crowd, in the opposite direction.
I was still trying to brush off the feeling of heat on my face and torso. I took a couple of sips of my cold drink and tried to forget about it.
*******************************************
Tawnie was back from the bathroom but she had made a beeline for Trent, leaving me to seek out the bathroom on my own. It was a mad house in the
ladies room, women flooded in and out, blocking the mirrors, reapplying makeup, brushing their hair and making the air thick with hairsprays. I managed to
squeeze in and wash my hands before bolting out of the door. I turned the corner and ran into a human brick wall.
The impact almost knocked the wind out of me and threatened to knock me on my ass. A pair of strong hands reached out to steady me when I swayed backwards.
"Whoa, slow down. You ok?" The masculine voice asked.
I looked up into a pair of crystal blues eyes and a bright, white smile.
“Yes, I'm okay. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
He laughed a small, deep laugh. "No, I'm good." He smiled brighter.
He let go of my arms when he saw that I no longer needed him to stand.
"I'm sorry about that." I said smoothing my top out.
"Nice accent, where are you from?" He asked.
"England." I smiled.
He held out his hand, "I'm Nathaniel but everyone calls me Johnny."
I took his hand, "Blaze."
"Blaze, huh?" He was studying my dark red hair.
Tawnie came around the corner. "There you are! C'mon, they're getting ready to play some live music; you've got to hear this." She looked up to see who I was talking to, "Oh shit! Hi Johnny."
"Hey, Tawnie." He reached down to give her a warm and friendly hug.
"Have you two met? This is Johnny, Trent's cousin."
"We just met." I said.
"Hey listen Johnny, Blaze here is looking for a job, I don't suppose you still have an opening for Tina's old job?"
He nodded, smiling at me, "Yeah, I think we still have an opening, do you have experience?"
"I used to wait tables a few years back for extra money."
"Where'd you work?"
"In California, a place called Charlie's, it was on the boardwalk."
"Sure, I've heard of Charlie's. You must be able to handle yourself pretty well if you worked there."
I laughed, Charlie's was a great place in the afternoon but it gathered some of the wildest people in Santa Monica at night. Fights erupted almost nightly, it
wasn't uncommon for the waitresses to sometimes get tangled up in a brawl or two.
I nodded, "I worked there for a couple of years."
Johnny looked pleased, "I can talk to my brother and see if we can get something lined up for you, but that sounds pretty good to me."
"That would be great!" I was so excited.
Johnny smiled, "I gotta go now but you two better go and find a seat for the show, they're filling up fast. See you later."
I watched him until I could no longer see him in the crowd. "Trent's cousin?" I asked.
"Yes, Johnny's great, he's a really nice guy."
They all look alike, I thought.
"Isn't that cool? You might be able to work here!"
"I know! Thanks Tawnie, I really appreciate you talking to him for me."
"Sure thing, c'mon let's go grab a seat." Tawnie took my hand and we shuffled through the crowd to find a seat close to the stage.
The stage was dark but I could see a couple of people setting up. We sat in the last two chairs we could find and waited patiently for the show to start. The guitar music started just before the lights came up. Two men were standing on the stage, one with a guitar and the other with a microphone.
The guitar strings played out music that sounded like it was trying to speak; it was ethereally beautiful. The influx of music coursed over the audience and
everyone stood silent waiting for the lyrics. When the singing began, it hit me in waves. The words ran across my skin, tickling me until I had goose bumps; I
rubbed my arms to make the tingling subside. I couldn't remember the words to the song, I only remembered how it made me feel; I felt loved, safe, beautiful
and excited. It made me feel happy and these two men suddenly held an intense fascination for me. I awoke from my trance with thunderous applause and the house lights coming up. Even though the music had stopped, I still felt giddy inside.
"Now that was some great music!" I said in awe. "I recognize Trent as the singer, but who was on guitar?"
"That's Gabriel, his cousin...Johnny's brother." Tawnie said, still in her happy little world too.
"So all four of them own this place?"
"Yes, its family owned, with the exception of Raven."
Trent came up to our table. "Its last call ladies, I hope you had a good time."
"That was great!" I said.
Trent smiled at me. He looked at Tawnie, "Here are some passes for tomorrow night." He motioned to me, "bring your friend too." Trent leaned down and kissed Tawnie lightly on the cheek. He held the side of her face and whispered something in her ear that made her smile.
"Goodnight, drive safe." He said to us before disappearing into one of the back rooms.
We got up and left, we wanted to beat the crowd to the parking lot, plus I still had some unpacking to do.
*******************************************
We didn't quite finish unpacking, there was just too much. We headed back to Tawnies’ apartment for a hot shower and some sleep.
Her apartment was nice; it was decorated in southwestern style. She loved all the rich colors. She had earthen pots and hand woven rugs all over the place; it was very cozy and comfortable. The best part of her apartment was the location. She was situated on top of a mountain overlooking the city. I stood looking at the combination of stars and city lights. Tawnie had offered to share her bed with me; her couch was lumpy due to the frame being broken.
"What happened to it?" I asked.
"Trent and I had a...lover's quarrel." She said.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it's okay, I didn't like that couch anyway. I'm getting another one delivered tomorrow."
We got ready for bed quick, we were both so tired. I laid in the dark thinking about the night we had. I couldn't help but smile; I really had a good time and was very curious about these guys that she always spoke to me about.
"So, what's the deal with you and Trent? I asked.
"Not much...anymore. We met last year at the club and became friendly."
"How friendly?" I giggled.
"Verrry friendly." She answered, echoing my giggle. "He's the best man I've been with, in every aspect. He's so good to me, makes me feel safe, not to mention super sexy."
"So what happened?"
"I'm not really sure." She looked sad, "He put the brakes on awhile back, he said that he only wanted to be friends with me." She sighed and thought for a minute. "I'm still in love with him, but he won't reconsider. He argues my feelings for him. Our last fight was pretty nasty, it got physical."
"Really?" I was shocked, "Did he hit you?"
"No, but I hit him."
That was Tawnie. She was always so aggressive and volatile. I should have known better than to ask if he hit her.
"What did he do when you hit him?" I asked.
"Nothing. He just pinned me down until I stopped trying to punch him." She laughed a nervous laughter, "It was crazy, and I went nuts! I had to get away for a
while, that's why I came to visit you. I needed some distance between me and him."
"So, how are things now? Getting any better, you think?"
"Some of the tension is gone, it seems to have gotten a bit better. It's hard for me though because I know it's only a matter of time before he starts dating
again, if he hasn't already and I get so jealous when I think of him with other women."
She thought silently for a few minutes, "I wish I knew what went wrong."
"Did you ask him?" I asked.
"Lots of times. He just says that I didn't do anything, he thought we would make better friends." Tawnie rolled over on her side and looked at me. "Do you know how many times I've used that same line on a man? Now he's using it on me and it really sucks!"
"Maybe it's payback?" I said jokingly.
Tawnie smacked my arm, "Hey! Whose side are you on anyway?"
"Yours, of course." I said, rubbing my arm.
She rolled back onto her back, "So, what about you?" She asked.
"What about me?"
"Were you dating anyone in Cali?"
"No, not really." I paused a little too long.
"And...?" She prompted.
"Well, I'm kind of fascinated with Kris."
"With Kris? Kris Maicoh?!" Tawnie shot up in bed. "Why the hell would you be into him, didn't you hear anything I said?"
"I don't know I'm just curious I guess. He's really beautiful too." I smiled thinking about him, "Do you think he'll be at the club tomorrow
night?"
Tawnie laid down, tucking her arm under her head, "I don't see why not."
"Cool."
"Listen," She started, "I know you like a challenge and all but you could have picked someone that actually likes women."
"He likes Norah." I commented.
"He barely likes Norah, and they've been friends since childhood."
"He left with a blonde tonight, Norah looked pissed."
"I'm sure she did." Tawnie said. "That's another thing too, stay away from him or talk to him when she's not around. Otherwise, the two of you will get in a
knock-down, drag-out fight."
"I'm not worried." I said with quiet confidence.
"Me either, not really. I know you can take care of yourself but at least give me a heads up if you're planning to piss her off. I'll wear pants, I don't want to be wailin' on her in a skirt."
I smiled, "Thanks Tawnie."
"What are friends for?"
KRIS
The Introduction
Same people, same faces.I thought to myself. I'd seen all these women a hundred times, all with the same styles, giggle and mission; to get my attention. They were all jealous and psychotic, but none that could hold a candle to the woman standing beside me. Norah my childhood friend and the only other person besides my family that I had known since the beginning. She stood next to me beautiful and immortal, wanting something that she could never have...me. We had seen too much, done too much, a part of my life that I wanted to forget and leave behind. Not that I was ashamed, I will always be me and I have no regrets, I just wanted something different. She longed for the days when we were tyrants. She loved control and power above anything else, probably even more than she loved me and it was for that reason that I had to watch her, suppress her and keep her on the straight and narrow. She was very hard to
control, especially since we stared living side by side with humans. She was exhausting but I had assured my family that she could be controlled and so she was allowed to live.
"I'm gonna go play pool." I said and got up to leave.
"I'll come with you." Norah answered.
I walked through the sea of bodies. The humans had an innate sense of survival and danger that made them keep their distance. Of course, some of
them either had no good senses left or they ignored them. The humans closest to Norah and I had their senses still intact, their instincts kicked in and they immediately stood aside while we passed through. None of them made eye contact for more than a few seconds; they quickly looked away and blended into
their surroundings. I could hear Norah behind me, she was grinding her teeth I knew she was hungry. She wanted to feed, I could feel her tension and uneasiness but she was still in control, so I let her be and continued through the crowd. The rows of bodies opened up near the tables and that's when I spotted Tawnie, Trent's ex and a woman that I just basically loathed. I guess she finally made it home, I thought. She was obnoxious and controlling, it was no wonder that my brother dumped her. At least Norah was one of us, we never had to worry about her just liking us for what we owned. Tawnie struck me as a girl looking for a meal ticket and that didn't sit well with me, but I had made a promise to be nicer to her so I concentrated on that. Still, I'd let Norah have her if
I thought Trent would allow it, too bad he still cared for her. There was a redhead sitting with her tonight. A woman that I haven't seen here before. One of
Tawnies’ friends and what a shame, she was really beautiful. I met her eyes and stared into her green eyes. I was surprised that she managed to hold my gaze for so long. Most women were too shy or insecure to look for longer than a fleeting moment. But if she were a friend of Tawnies’, she was no good. I looked away before the look of disgust came over my face. I walked swiftly past the two of them, quietly sitting at their table. I could feel the steady pulse of Tawnies’ friend as I passed her. It quickened for a moment then slowed again. The sound and feeling of a beating heart was once too strong a sensation to
ignore. In the beginning, it was the call of a dinner bell but now it was different, I was in control of my hunger. I didn't allow it to control me anymore, it was
a skill I had acquired over several decades. Now the selection process was much more complex, not just grabbing a victim and hiding in a dark corner. I found and fed off of women that annoyed me in some way. It made something, once very tedious almost fun, like a game. It was also the only chance Norah left me alone with another woman, so I enjoyed feeding.
I rounded the corner just beyond their table when Norah stopped me. "I have to go to the bathroom. Wait for me."
I didn't verbally acknowledge her, the fact that I stopped was confirmation enough.
I could hear Tawnie and her friend, even over the boom of the music playing.
"He's one of the owners of this place."
She continued, "He hangs out with Norah, that woman that was with him. Other than that, he just hangs out with his family, he's not very sociable."
I stood grinding my teeth. I hated her talking about me. She was always talking shit; I hated her and wished that Trent wasn't so fond of her.
Norah came out of the rest room right before I was about to round the corner and give Tawnie a piece of my mind. Norah took my hand and thankfully led me to the back of the club, where my brother and cousin were getting ready to play pool.
Norah stopped me at the bar and pushed me against the counter. She leaned into me, kissing my neck. I was busy listening to my cousin Gabriel talk about Tawnies’ new friend. Norah's head lifted every now and then when she heard something that interested her. Gabriel had commented that she was beautiful and I made the mistake of agreeing loud enough that Norah heard me.
She looked up, "You think she's beautiful?"
"She's Tawnies’ friend, don't worry about it."
"You didn't answer me."
"And I'm not going to."
She nuzzled up against me again, laying light kisses on my jaw and lips, "But she's not prettier than me..."
She was fishing for a compliment. I lightly kissed her back just to stop the conversation from going any further. It seemed to have worked. Norah hopped on the bar behind me and draped her arms and legs around me in her signature possessive move.
Together, she and I had successfully run off nearly every woman that even attempted a conversation. But there were a few times that I actually wanted to talk to some of them. Keeping Norah in control long enough to allow that to happen was virtually impossible.
I thought briefly about the last woman I spent any time with. She abruptly disappeared one night and I never saw or heard from her again. I have a pretty good idea of what happened to her, but have no way of proving it. Norah told me she didn't kill her but strongly suggested that she seek out another state
to call home. Just thinking about it, made me angry all over again.
I was getting more and more agitated as the time went by. It occurred to me that maybe I had waited too long to feed. How long had it been?
At some point, while I was lost in my thoughts, Tawnie and her friend with the accent had made their way back here.
I figured it wouldn't take Tawnies’ radar long to find Trent and I was right, I could hear her talking about him but I chose to drown out her words. It was easy, since I was suddenly interested in a table of women that sat a few feet away.
There was a blonde that sat looking at me, playing with the straw in her drink. She was barely twenty-one and definitely not a real blonde. Fake hair, fake tits,
fake fingernails, fake lips; she was like a living blow up doll. I had her locked in my gaze; it took me a minute to set her free. I had to remember to be careful, sometimes our gaze was too intense, too hypnotic. Our power was always evident through our eyes. It surged and rolled through the irises making singling out a victim easier, it was virtually impossible for them to not feel the heat from our gaze. Once we made eye contact, they were trapped, held by fascination, excitement, sexual tension, whatever their individual dispositions preferred. They were held to us until we chose to break the bond. Without the control of our
crosses, the attraction would be extreme, causing our victims to gravitate towards us.
The crosses also made us slower, less obvious and intense then without it, but we still had to be cautious. I stood up and stepped forward. Norah grabbed my arm and dug her claws in.
"Where are you going?" She hissed.
I whispered between clenched teeth, "I'm hungry, let go."
She promptly did so.
I walked over to the table. All the women there held their breath as I approached but their pulses were racing. I stood in front of the blonde, fixated on her neck and smiled my warmest, safest smile. Looking into her golden brown eyes, I was momentarily distracted by a conversation somewhere in the
background. It was Tawnie and her friend.
"I think they're lovers." Tawnie said.
My jaw tensed.
"I think I should probably warn you that he's not the nicest of people either." Tawnie said.
"What do you mean?"
"He's not into Norah, but he's not into anyone really. From what I've heard, he's a real ass to women, a real dick. You know?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, he doesn't like women coming up to him or touching him. That's why he and Norah get along so well. I think they prefer each other’s company, for the most part. The few women that manage to approach him are run off by either him or Norah."
I heard enough. I glanced over at Tawnie, she needed to shut up. I concentrated on the drink that she had on the table in front of her. It didn't take much
effort to push it over onto her lap. I smiled when she screamed and frantically tried to wipe herself clean. She got up and left the table.
Good, serves the bitch right.
I glared at her friend wondering what kind of woman would be friends with Tawnie. The red head looked up and met my angry gaze. A few seconds later, I turned my attention back to the blonde at the table in front of me. I needed to feed, I would have to continue this stare down later.
It didn't take but a minute for the blonde to reach out for my extended hand and I didn't waste any time leading her to the exit. My body was starting to feel like it was going to tear itself apart if I didn't feed soon.
I held her close as we made it up the stairs to the exit. She was beyond drunk, giggling and stumbling all over. I silently hoped that she wouldn't throw up, especially on me.
We made it outside, rain was coming down, not quite the monsoon that the news had predicted just a bit of a mist. She was flirting, brushing her hair from her face and opening her blouse a bit, so I could see what she had to offer. I walked her around to the back of the building, it was quieter there and darker; the moon was the only light. I backed her up against a wall, mostly to keep her steady.
I bent my head towards her. She, anticipating a kiss leaned forward with her eyes closed and mouth parted, but I didn't want a kiss. I pulled the hair away from her neck and placed my mouth over her skin. I used my tongue to seek out one of the largest veins in her body. When I found my target I bit into her flesh quickly and began to drink. The only sound she made was a small moan, barely audible to human ears. I drank until I could hear her breathing slow down, until her heart beat slowed. She quickly fell into unconsciousness.
If she had been a bit too touchy-feely this could have ended differently, but instead I released her and let her slip to the floor.
"Nice night." A man's voice said behind me.
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. I could hear him approach, and the scent was unmistakably Johnny.
I steadied myself against the wall; the alcohol effect would pass shortly.
"I came up to let you know that Trent and Gabriel are taking the stage soon. You want to sing something?"
"No thanks." I replied. "I need to head home or Norah will have a shit fit and to honest with you, I don't have the strength to argue with her tonight."
"I'm telling you cousin, she's bad news. She's too strong and she has too much power."
"I know," I said "but she's the strongest female we have, we need her, especially if Raven decides to come to town again."
"We can handle Raven."
"I know." I was running out of excuses. "Just trust me, ok? I'm watching her closely."
"Whatever you say man."
I nodded, still thinking about Norah.
"Hey, so Tawnies’ friend Blaze is looking for a job. I told her we may have an opening, whaddaya think?"
"I think you're fucking crazy, you know how I feel about Tawnie." I glared at Johnny.
"Yes but this girl seems cool, why don't you talk to her?"
"Maybe." I wasn't feeling in the mood to argue.
"C'mon just do it, she has experience, she worked at Charlie's in Cali for a few years."
"Really?" I was a little surprised. Charlie's was a successful bar, no doubt but they definitely had their share of problems. Maybe she would survive
Club Nosferatu with that kind of experience behind her.
“Anyway I'm going to talk to Gabriel too, so you guys figure it out. I'm going inside, I'll see you tomorrow night."
"Alright, goodnight." Johnny disappeared inside the club.
I was still leaning against the wall, waiting for this feeling to pass. I felt my stomach turning and I had been feeling weird for a few minutes, but I
thought it was the alcohol.
I looked at the blonde that was lying on her side. She was sick, I determined. I was so hungry that I hadn't even sensed that something wasn't quite
right with her. She was a diabetic, I could feel it in my body. Her choice to get drunk was stupid, I knew the alcohol could trigger low blood sugar; this girl obviously didn't care. I picked up her purse and searched through it. She had a blood sugar monitor and some insulin tucked away in a small pouch she carried. Luckily, she didn't have anything worse like leukemia or AIDS. Sick blood is potentially lethal and is generally no fun to drink. In these times, we had to be especially careful with the people that we'd drink from; a wrong choice would equal a potentially dangerous effect. Thankfully, the discomfort in my stomach was no big deal, it would pass soon enough.
I picked her up and carried her to one of the cabs that waited out front.
"Take her home." I handed the cabbie some cash and an address that I found in her purse.
I looked at my watch, it was still early. I had decided that I better head home, Norah would no doubt beat me there.
The Introduction
The sky was darker than normal; it looked like it was going to rain again. The once white and fluffy clouds of the afternoon where thin and sparse, stretched out, stringy and gray. Their ominous shapes covered the wholeness of the moon, and faded the yellow tint that was lighting the still damp streets.
"Come on!" My friend shouted through the crowd.
I looked up and saw Tawnie waving at me. She and I had known each other for a couple of years; she was the reason for me moving to Tucson. I watched as she disappeared in the doorway to Club Nosferatu. I looked up above the building and saw that the sign was a beacon for alcohol and loud music for several blocks. It lit up the parking lot and danced off the faces of the people waiting in line. There were hundreds of people waiting in line still; shifting their feet, inching forward and casting threatening glances to the clouds above their heads.
The man at the door wrapped my wrist with a neon bracelet, all the while smiling and winking at me. He was unattractive, but somehow I felt that he got a lot of women anyway. Maybe because he was the door man at Club Nosferatu or maybe for a small favor, one could forego the hour long wait and be pushed to the front of the line. He smiled at me again, flashing bits of teeth, only a few of which remained intact.
"Have fun darlin'." He said in a southern accent.
My nose had caught a whiff of his breath, foul and putrid; mixed with alcohol and tooth decay. I turned from him quickly and followed Tawnie inside.
"Blaze, over here girl!" She shouted.
The blinding strobe lights and blaring music made it hard to concentrate on my friend, who was quickly disappearing through a sea of moving bodies. The club was alive with the hottest music of the nineties, today's music. I recognized the tune that was playing now, it was very popular evident from all of the
people that packed the dance floor. I twisted and turned my way through the crowd, keeping a close eye on the top of Tawnies’ head. My height was the
only thing that kept me from getting lost and ending up on the dance floor somewhere.
Tawnie was seated in velvet lounge chair when I finally caught up with her.
"You made it." Tawnie observed as I emerged from the crowd.
"Barely." I stated in my waning British accent. "So, this is the place, huh?" I scanned the club with slight disapproval. Luckily I liked the whole Gothic theme, but the amount of people stuffed into this space was ridiculous. I could barely move, let alone dance.
"Yep, this is it. Crazy, huh? Tawnie looked at my face, she must have known what I was thinking because she quickly added, "It is Friday night, you know."
I nodded my head. I was still surveying the room, with stone columns, statues and little alcoves with sofas and tables. I cast my gaze above us and saw suspending candles lit, the wickless kind. The ceiling was too tall or too dark to see how they managed to fly above our heads. That was kind of cool, I thought. What I really liked was the dance floor. From what I could see it appeared to be clear, like glass with water running under it. It was lit by an electric blue light that was beating steady with the rhythm of the music. They looked like waves at midnight, I wanted to walk over and run my hand across the floor but thought I might get trampled in the chaos.
At least the service was good, considering the amount of people here. I set my drink on the coffee table, "Alright, so where are these guys you've been telling me about? The Maicoh's?"
"They're here," Tawnie started, "they always work on Friday nights. They have the booth closest to the stage." She pointed to a booth that was empty. She looked around the club, "They must be working the floor or in the back. We'll catch up with them later." She suggested.
"So," Tawnie leaned close so she wouldn't have to shout over the onslaught of music. "How did your brother take your move? Was he upset?"
I poked at the fruit in my drink with my straw, "No, his girlfriend is moving in now. They can have their privacy". I said.
Tawnie rolled her eyes, "Mindy? Oh Gawd, is he still with her?"
"Misty." I corrected.
"Whatever."
Tawnie had dated my brother Brendan for a few short weeks. She ended it because she thought it was too 'weird' to date my brother, especially since we were so close. I think she just fell for someone else, that's why she abruptly picked up her stuff and moved here, to Tucson. Later, she did tell me that she had the hot’s for one of the owners of this place, one of the Maicoh's. Personally I think she missed Brendan, but she would never admit it.
"Blaze!" Tawnie grabbed my arm, "Look." She pointed in the direction of a crowd of people in front of us. They were moving aside rather quickly, making room for someone to pass. She leaned in quickly and whispered, "That's Kris."
A man made it through the crowd first followed closely by a woman. He had dark skin and was tall. "Wow." I managed to say loud enough to make Tawnie snicker.
He was actually very tall, over six-four. It was always exciting for me to find a man that was taller than me, this one was gorgeous too. He had naturally tan skin, black hair and the most electric blue eyes I've ever seen. They were piercing with a luminescence that made me think magical. I wondered what ethnicity he was, I flipped through all possible options in my head until I settled on Native American, only I've never seen one with eyes like his. He was physically ideal and aesthetically perfect, a little too perfect, I thought. He was dressed in black and silver from his skin-hugging shirt to his buckled, leather clad boots. The sight of his chiseled muscles just beneath the taut fabric made my stomach flutter; I smiled slightly watching him move closer. A small glitter of light reflected off of his chest and distracted me for a moment. It was a small silver cross, the style looked old but it shined like a beacon when it reflected the strobe lights.
When I looked up again, he was looking at me. His dark lashes framed his blue eyes, making the color that much bolder and all the more mesmerizing. I boldly kept his gaze for as long as I could, watching his body move closer. For someone of his size he moved gracefully, effortlessly navigating the crowd.
Just behind him was a woman. Beautiful was the first word I thought of when I saw her, she had long black hair with very feminine facial features despite the intense glare she threw into the crowd. She was also tall, not quite as tall as me and she was much more voluptuous. She followed so closely to him that I could tell that they were together.
He looked at me for another moment before casually looking away. He walked past me swiftly, barely moving the air in between us; the woman was hot on
his heels. They turned the corner and vanished from my line of sight.
Tawnie leaned in to me, "He's one of the owners of this place."
She continued, "He hangs out with Norah, that woman that was with him. Other than that, he just hangs out with his family, he's not very sociable. Personally, I'm in love with Trent, his brother; he’s nicer and easier to talk to. Speaking of which," Tawnie stood, "let's go find him. He's probably playing pool."
I was still fascinated with my first glimpse at Kris. I looked towards the corner, where he disappeared with Norah, hoping for one more peek but he was already gone.
I followed Tawnie to the one of the back rooms. The floor that we stood on was elevated above all of the other rooms in this club. Looking around, the majority of the club was beneath ground level, which I guess was a good sound muffler, because once you stepped foot inside, the music was intense.
We stood at the foot of the stairs and looked out onto several pool tables below. There were bars tucked in each corner of the room with sporadic dart boards and tables making up the rest of the space. Tawnie took a hold of my hand. "Come on, I see him."
We walked down the steps and took a seat near one of the pool tables. Two men were standing there, cues in hand, one taking a shot. Tawnie pointed to him and said, "That's him, that's Trent."
He was leaning over the table, readying his move. I noticed that he looked a lot like his brother, same dark skin, black hair; but there was something unique about each. Twins or not, I could see that they weren't exactly identical. A little glimmer of light caught my eye and I instantly focused on a small cross hanging from his neck. It was one similar to Kris's. Neither one of them looked the religious type, I wondered if, for them, it was a fashion statement. The cross had made me notice Trent's slightly unbuttoned shirt, and consequently his chest. From here I could see dark markings on his chest and lower neck, I wondered if they were some kind of full body tribal tattoos. Trent took his shot and turned to smile brightly at the man standing next to him.
"Are they twins? I mean, Trent and Kris?" I asked.
"Actually, they're triplets." Tawnie replied. "They have a sister, Raven. She doesn't live in Arizona."
As if it were on cue, Trent looked up straight over to where we were sitting. He saw Tawnie and smiled a small, crooked smile. He laid down his stick and walked over to us. I could see that he had the same blue eyes that Kris had. They were so beautiful, like moonlit pools; they flickered and danced with color and fire. The closer he got, the more awkward I felt. I couldn't look away from him, no matter how hard I had tried.
Tawnie spoke first, "Hi Trent, How's it going?" She tried to stay casual, but I heard the wavering in her voice.
"It's going." He spoke in a deep, velvety voice. "Long time no see, where have you been this whole time?"
"In California, helping my friend pack and move out here." She motioned to me, "This is Blaze."
He looked at me for the first time, like I had suddenly appeared next to Tawnie. His gaze was warming my body, it suddenly felt intense and hot. He looked at me for a moment before saying hello. I could feel the pulse in my neck beating hard and hot. I wanted to look away, this was the man that Tawnie was in love with, it was embarrassing to be staring at him but I couldn't break my gaze.
The fire in his eyes lessened and when he blinked the spell was broken. I was able to look away for the first time since I saw him.
They made small talk for a few minutes, when Trent's game partner came over.
"Are you still playing?
It's your turn." He said, barely acknowledging me and Tawnie.
"Yeah sure." Trent looked at Tawnie, "It was good seeing you. See you later?" He asked.
"Okay." She said sweetly.
Trent turned and walked back to the pool table.
I was almost glad that was over, it was so awkward. I was still shaking it off when I spotted Kris at one of the bars, sitting on a stool. Norah was sitting on top of
the bar, directly behind him with her legs wrapped around him. I watched her hand move over his chest, down his stomach and playfully grab hold of his belt. Her other hand grabbed a hold of his hair and pulled his head back. She kissed his neck and whispered something into his ear, before releasing his hair. He sat still, seemingly unaffected by her flirting, he appeared deep in thought; he was looking at the women that were sitting at the table closest to him. He wasn't smiling at anyone, just observing them with an intense curiosity. The look he gave them made me shiver slightly to myself. I wondered what he was thinking.
Kris pulled Norah's legs off of him and stood up. I could barely hear her audible disapproval. He turned to her and said something that made her let go of his arm. He turned back around and walked over to the table of women.
"Is Norah his girlfriend?" I asked, still watching Kris.
Tawnie looked in their direction before responding. "No, I don't think so. They're friends, they've been friends since they were kids."
"Then why does he let her touch him like that?" I asked.
Tawnie looked back at Norah, who was still sitting on the stool, steaming about something. "I don't know. I think they're lovers."
I was also watching Norah. "What's her problem?"
"She's super jealous of course, I think she wishes that Kris were hers." Tawnie said.
"I've seen her react harshly to women that approach him. She's like a wild animal sometimes, it's best to stay away from her.
I watched him intently.
"I think I should probably warn you that he's not the nicest of people either." Tawnie said.
I looked at her, "What do you mean?"
"He's not into Norah, but he's not into anyone really. From what I've heard, he's a real ass to women, a real dick. You know?"
"Really?" I studied him thinking what a shame it was.
"Yeah, he doesn't like women coming up to him or touching him.
"That's why he and Norah get along so well. I think they prefer each other’s company, for the most part. The few women that manage to approach him
are run off by either him or Norah."
Tawnie was about to say more when her drink tipped over. The glass flipped over onto her lap, splattering her with fruit juice and rum. She jumped with a squeal and grabbed some napkins trying to wipe off as much as she could.
"I'll be right back." She said in a huff.
I finished wiping the table and looked over at Kris who was staring at me. I was surprised to see him looking my way; the intensity of his stare was starting to make my body hotter. His eyes were bright and flickering, they were so incredible, I didn't want to look away. He broke the gaze and turned his attention back
to the table of women.
Kris was smiling a warm smile at one of the blondes. From what I could see, she was melting all over herself and looking ridiculous. Kris held out his hand,
which she quickly accepted. Norah flinched but remained seated on the bar.
Kris pulled the blonde to her feet and traced her face with his fingers. He laced his fingers into hers and led her to the exit. I was amazed how quickly she had given in to him. I kept watching as Kris left the bar with this woman, every once in a while checking Norah's expression. She was obviously unhappy but
never protested or moved until Kris was out of sight. Once Kris and the blonde had left, she jumped off the bar with delicate ease and made her way through the crowd, in the opposite direction.
I was still trying to brush off the feeling of heat on my face and torso. I took a couple of sips of my cold drink and tried to forget about it.
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Tawnie was back from the bathroom but she had made a beeline for Trent, leaving me to seek out the bathroom on my own. It was a mad house in the
ladies room, women flooded in and out, blocking the mirrors, reapplying makeup, brushing their hair and making the air thick with hairsprays. I managed to
squeeze in and wash my hands before bolting out of the door. I turned the corner and ran into a human brick wall.
The impact almost knocked the wind out of me and threatened to knock me on my ass. A pair of strong hands reached out to steady me when I swayed backwards.
"Whoa, slow down. You ok?" The masculine voice asked.
I looked up into a pair of crystal blues eyes and a bright, white smile.
“Yes, I'm okay. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
He laughed a small, deep laugh. "No, I'm good." He smiled brighter.
He let go of my arms when he saw that I no longer needed him to stand.
"I'm sorry about that." I said smoothing my top out.
"Nice accent, where are you from?" He asked.
"England." I smiled.
He held out his hand, "I'm Nathaniel but everyone calls me Johnny."
I took his hand, "Blaze."
"Blaze, huh?" He was studying my dark red hair.
Tawnie came around the corner. "There you are! C'mon, they're getting ready to play some live music; you've got to hear this." She looked up to see who I was talking to, "Oh shit! Hi Johnny."
"Hey, Tawnie." He reached down to give her a warm and friendly hug.
"Have you two met? This is Johnny, Trent's cousin."
"We just met." I said.
"Hey listen Johnny, Blaze here is looking for a job, I don't suppose you still have an opening for Tina's old job?"
He nodded, smiling at me, "Yeah, I think we still have an opening, do you have experience?"
"I used to wait tables a few years back for extra money."
"Where'd you work?"
"In California, a place called Charlie's, it was on the boardwalk."
"Sure, I've heard of Charlie's. You must be able to handle yourself pretty well if you worked there."
I laughed, Charlie's was a great place in the afternoon but it gathered some of the wildest people in Santa Monica at night. Fights erupted almost nightly, it
wasn't uncommon for the waitresses to sometimes get tangled up in a brawl or two.
I nodded, "I worked there for a couple of years."
Johnny looked pleased, "I can talk to my brother and see if we can get something lined up for you, but that sounds pretty good to me."
"That would be great!" I was so excited.
Johnny smiled, "I gotta go now but you two better go and find a seat for the show, they're filling up fast. See you later."
I watched him until I could no longer see him in the crowd. "Trent's cousin?" I asked.
"Yes, Johnny's great, he's a really nice guy."
They all look alike, I thought.
"Isn't that cool? You might be able to work here!"
"I know! Thanks Tawnie, I really appreciate you talking to him for me."
"Sure thing, c'mon let's go grab a seat." Tawnie took my hand and we shuffled through the crowd to find a seat close to the stage.
The stage was dark but I could see a couple of people setting up. We sat in the last two chairs we could find and waited patiently for the show to start. The guitar music started just before the lights came up. Two men were standing on the stage, one with a guitar and the other with a microphone.
The guitar strings played out music that sounded like it was trying to speak; it was ethereally beautiful. The influx of music coursed over the audience and
everyone stood silent waiting for the lyrics. When the singing began, it hit me in waves. The words ran across my skin, tickling me until I had goose bumps; I
rubbed my arms to make the tingling subside. I couldn't remember the words to the song, I only remembered how it made me feel; I felt loved, safe, beautiful
and excited. It made me feel happy and these two men suddenly held an intense fascination for me. I awoke from my trance with thunderous applause and the house lights coming up. Even though the music had stopped, I still felt giddy inside.
"Now that was some great music!" I said in awe. "I recognize Trent as the singer, but who was on guitar?"
"That's Gabriel, his cousin...Johnny's brother." Tawnie said, still in her happy little world too.
"So all four of them own this place?"
"Yes, its family owned, with the exception of Raven."
Trent came up to our table. "Its last call ladies, I hope you had a good time."
"That was great!" I said.
Trent smiled at me. He looked at Tawnie, "Here are some passes for tomorrow night." He motioned to me, "bring your friend too." Trent leaned down and kissed Tawnie lightly on the cheek. He held the side of her face and whispered something in her ear that made her smile.
"Goodnight, drive safe." He said to us before disappearing into one of the back rooms.
We got up and left, we wanted to beat the crowd to the parking lot, plus I still had some unpacking to do.
*******************************************
We didn't quite finish unpacking, there was just too much. We headed back to Tawnies’ apartment for a hot shower and some sleep.
Her apartment was nice; it was decorated in southwestern style. She loved all the rich colors. She had earthen pots and hand woven rugs all over the place; it was very cozy and comfortable. The best part of her apartment was the location. She was situated on top of a mountain overlooking the city. I stood looking at the combination of stars and city lights. Tawnie had offered to share her bed with me; her couch was lumpy due to the frame being broken.
"What happened to it?" I asked.
"Trent and I had a...lover's quarrel." She said.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it's okay, I didn't like that couch anyway. I'm getting another one delivered tomorrow."
We got ready for bed quick, we were both so tired. I laid in the dark thinking about the night we had. I couldn't help but smile; I really had a good time and was very curious about these guys that she always spoke to me about.
"So, what's the deal with you and Trent? I asked.
"Not much...anymore. We met last year at the club and became friendly."
"How friendly?" I giggled.
"Verrry friendly." She answered, echoing my giggle. "He's the best man I've been with, in every aspect. He's so good to me, makes me feel safe, not to mention super sexy."
"So what happened?"
"I'm not really sure." She looked sad, "He put the brakes on awhile back, he said that he only wanted to be friends with me." She sighed and thought for a minute. "I'm still in love with him, but he won't reconsider. He argues my feelings for him. Our last fight was pretty nasty, it got physical."
"Really?" I was shocked, "Did he hit you?"
"No, but I hit him."
That was Tawnie. She was always so aggressive and volatile. I should have known better than to ask if he hit her.
"What did he do when you hit him?" I asked.
"Nothing. He just pinned me down until I stopped trying to punch him." She laughed a nervous laughter, "It was crazy, and I went nuts! I had to get away for a
while, that's why I came to visit you. I needed some distance between me and him."
"So, how are things now? Getting any better, you think?"
"Some of the tension is gone, it seems to have gotten a bit better. It's hard for me though because I know it's only a matter of time before he starts dating
again, if he hasn't already and I get so jealous when I think of him with other women."
She thought silently for a few minutes, "I wish I knew what went wrong."
"Did you ask him?" I asked.
"Lots of times. He just says that I didn't do anything, he thought we would make better friends." Tawnie rolled over on her side and looked at me. "Do you know how many times I've used that same line on a man? Now he's using it on me and it really sucks!"
"Maybe it's payback?" I said jokingly.
Tawnie smacked my arm, "Hey! Whose side are you on anyway?"
"Yours, of course." I said, rubbing my arm.
She rolled back onto her back, "So, what about you?" She asked.
"What about me?"
"Were you dating anyone in Cali?"
"No, not really." I paused a little too long.
"And...?" She prompted.
"Well, I'm kind of fascinated with Kris."
"With Kris? Kris Maicoh?!" Tawnie shot up in bed. "Why the hell would you be into him, didn't you hear anything I said?"
"I don't know I'm just curious I guess. He's really beautiful too." I smiled thinking about him, "Do you think he'll be at the club tomorrow
night?"
Tawnie laid down, tucking her arm under her head, "I don't see why not."
"Cool."
"Listen," She started, "I know you like a challenge and all but you could have picked someone that actually likes women."
"He likes Norah." I commented.
"He barely likes Norah, and they've been friends since childhood."
"He left with a blonde tonight, Norah looked pissed."
"I'm sure she did." Tawnie said. "That's another thing too, stay away from him or talk to him when she's not around. Otherwise, the two of you will get in a
knock-down, drag-out fight."
"I'm not worried." I said with quiet confidence.
"Me either, not really. I know you can take care of yourself but at least give me a heads up if you're planning to piss her off. I'll wear pants, I don't want to be wailin' on her in a skirt."
I smiled, "Thanks Tawnie."
"What are friends for?"
KRIS
The Introduction
Same people, same faces.I thought to myself. I'd seen all these women a hundred times, all with the same styles, giggle and mission; to get my attention. They were all jealous and psychotic, but none that could hold a candle to the woman standing beside me. Norah my childhood friend and the only other person besides my family that I had known since the beginning. She stood next to me beautiful and immortal, wanting something that she could never have...me. We had seen too much, done too much, a part of my life that I wanted to forget and leave behind. Not that I was ashamed, I will always be me and I have no regrets, I just wanted something different. She longed for the days when we were tyrants. She loved control and power above anything else, probably even more than she loved me and it was for that reason that I had to watch her, suppress her and keep her on the straight and narrow. She was very hard to
control, especially since we stared living side by side with humans. She was exhausting but I had assured my family that she could be controlled and so she was allowed to live.
"I'm gonna go play pool." I said and got up to leave.
"I'll come with you." Norah answered.
I walked through the sea of bodies. The humans had an innate sense of survival and danger that made them keep their distance. Of course, some of
them either had no good senses left or they ignored them. The humans closest to Norah and I had their senses still intact, their instincts kicked in and they immediately stood aside while we passed through. None of them made eye contact for more than a few seconds; they quickly looked away and blended into
their surroundings. I could hear Norah behind me, she was grinding her teeth I knew she was hungry. She wanted to feed, I could feel her tension and uneasiness but she was still in control, so I let her be and continued through the crowd. The rows of bodies opened up near the tables and that's when I spotted Tawnie, Trent's ex and a woman that I just basically loathed. I guess she finally made it home, I thought. She was obnoxious and controlling, it was no wonder that my brother dumped her. At least Norah was one of us, we never had to worry about her just liking us for what we owned. Tawnie struck me as a girl looking for a meal ticket and that didn't sit well with me, but I had made a promise to be nicer to her so I concentrated on that. Still, I'd let Norah have her if
I thought Trent would allow it, too bad he still cared for her. There was a redhead sitting with her tonight. A woman that I haven't seen here before. One of
Tawnies’ friends and what a shame, she was really beautiful. I met her eyes and stared into her green eyes. I was surprised that she managed to hold my gaze for so long. Most women were too shy or insecure to look for longer than a fleeting moment. But if she were a friend of Tawnies’, she was no good. I looked away before the look of disgust came over my face. I walked swiftly past the two of them, quietly sitting at their table. I could feel the steady pulse of Tawnies’ friend as I passed her. It quickened for a moment then slowed again. The sound and feeling of a beating heart was once too strong a sensation to
ignore. In the beginning, it was the call of a dinner bell but now it was different, I was in control of my hunger. I didn't allow it to control me anymore, it was
a skill I had acquired over several decades. Now the selection process was much more complex, not just grabbing a victim and hiding in a dark corner. I found and fed off of women that annoyed me in some way. It made something, once very tedious almost fun, like a game. It was also the only chance Norah left me alone with another woman, so I enjoyed feeding.
I rounded the corner just beyond their table when Norah stopped me. "I have to go to the bathroom. Wait for me."
I didn't verbally acknowledge her, the fact that I stopped was confirmation enough.
I could hear Tawnie and her friend, even over the boom of the music playing.
"He's one of the owners of this place."
She continued, "He hangs out with Norah, that woman that was with him. Other than that, he just hangs out with his family, he's not very sociable."
I stood grinding my teeth. I hated her talking about me. She was always talking shit; I hated her and wished that Trent wasn't so fond of her.
Norah came out of the rest room right before I was about to round the corner and give Tawnie a piece of my mind. Norah took my hand and thankfully led me to the back of the club, where my brother and cousin were getting ready to play pool.
Norah stopped me at the bar and pushed me against the counter. She leaned into me, kissing my neck. I was busy listening to my cousin Gabriel talk about Tawnies’ new friend. Norah's head lifted every now and then when she heard something that interested her. Gabriel had commented that she was beautiful and I made the mistake of agreeing loud enough that Norah heard me.
She looked up, "You think she's beautiful?"
"She's Tawnies’ friend, don't worry about it."
"You didn't answer me."
"And I'm not going to."
She nuzzled up against me again, laying light kisses on my jaw and lips, "But she's not prettier than me..."
She was fishing for a compliment. I lightly kissed her back just to stop the conversation from going any further. It seemed to have worked. Norah hopped on the bar behind me and draped her arms and legs around me in her signature possessive move.
Together, she and I had successfully run off nearly every woman that even attempted a conversation. But there were a few times that I actually wanted to talk to some of them. Keeping Norah in control long enough to allow that to happen was virtually impossible.
I thought briefly about the last woman I spent any time with. She abruptly disappeared one night and I never saw or heard from her again. I have a pretty good idea of what happened to her, but have no way of proving it. Norah told me she didn't kill her but strongly suggested that she seek out another state
to call home. Just thinking about it, made me angry all over again.
I was getting more and more agitated as the time went by. It occurred to me that maybe I had waited too long to feed. How long had it been?
At some point, while I was lost in my thoughts, Tawnie and her friend with the accent had made their way back here.
I figured it wouldn't take Tawnies’ radar long to find Trent and I was right, I could hear her talking about him but I chose to drown out her words. It was easy, since I was suddenly interested in a table of women that sat a few feet away.
There was a blonde that sat looking at me, playing with the straw in her drink. She was barely twenty-one and definitely not a real blonde. Fake hair, fake tits,
fake fingernails, fake lips; she was like a living blow up doll. I had her locked in my gaze; it took me a minute to set her free. I had to remember to be careful, sometimes our gaze was too intense, too hypnotic. Our power was always evident through our eyes. It surged and rolled through the irises making singling out a victim easier, it was virtually impossible for them to not feel the heat from our gaze. Once we made eye contact, they were trapped, held by fascination, excitement, sexual tension, whatever their individual dispositions preferred. They were held to us until we chose to break the bond. Without the control of our
crosses, the attraction would be extreme, causing our victims to gravitate towards us.
The crosses also made us slower, less obvious and intense then without it, but we still had to be cautious. I stood up and stepped forward. Norah grabbed my arm and dug her claws in.
"Where are you going?" She hissed.
I whispered between clenched teeth, "I'm hungry, let go."
She promptly did so.
I walked over to the table. All the women there held their breath as I approached but their pulses were racing. I stood in front of the blonde, fixated on her neck and smiled my warmest, safest smile. Looking into her golden brown eyes, I was momentarily distracted by a conversation somewhere in the
background. It was Tawnie and her friend.
"I think they're lovers." Tawnie said.
My jaw tensed.
"I think I should probably warn you that he's not the nicest of people either." Tawnie said.
"What do you mean?"
"He's not into Norah, but he's not into anyone really. From what I've heard, he's a real ass to women, a real dick. You know?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, he doesn't like women coming up to him or touching him. That's why he and Norah get along so well. I think they prefer each other’s company, for the most part. The few women that manage to approach him are run off by either him or Norah."
I heard enough. I glanced over at Tawnie, she needed to shut up. I concentrated on the drink that she had on the table in front of her. It didn't take much
effort to push it over onto her lap. I smiled when she screamed and frantically tried to wipe herself clean. She got up and left the table.
Good, serves the bitch right.
I glared at her friend wondering what kind of woman would be friends with Tawnie. The red head looked up and met my angry gaze. A few seconds later, I turned my attention back to the blonde at the table in front of me. I needed to feed, I would have to continue this stare down later.
It didn't take but a minute for the blonde to reach out for my extended hand and I didn't waste any time leading her to the exit. My body was starting to feel like it was going to tear itself apart if I didn't feed soon.
I held her close as we made it up the stairs to the exit. She was beyond drunk, giggling and stumbling all over. I silently hoped that she wouldn't throw up, especially on me.
We made it outside, rain was coming down, not quite the monsoon that the news had predicted just a bit of a mist. She was flirting, brushing her hair from her face and opening her blouse a bit, so I could see what she had to offer. I walked her around to the back of the building, it was quieter there and darker; the moon was the only light. I backed her up against a wall, mostly to keep her steady.
I bent my head towards her. She, anticipating a kiss leaned forward with her eyes closed and mouth parted, but I didn't want a kiss. I pulled the hair away from her neck and placed my mouth over her skin. I used my tongue to seek out one of the largest veins in her body. When I found my target I bit into her flesh quickly and began to drink. The only sound she made was a small moan, barely audible to human ears. I drank until I could hear her breathing slow down, until her heart beat slowed. She quickly fell into unconsciousness.
If she had been a bit too touchy-feely this could have ended differently, but instead I released her and let her slip to the floor.
"Nice night." A man's voice said behind me.
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. I could hear him approach, and the scent was unmistakably Johnny.
I steadied myself against the wall; the alcohol effect would pass shortly.
"I came up to let you know that Trent and Gabriel are taking the stage soon. You want to sing something?"
"No thanks." I replied. "I need to head home or Norah will have a shit fit and to honest with you, I don't have the strength to argue with her tonight."
"I'm telling you cousin, she's bad news. She's too strong and she has too much power."
"I know," I said "but she's the strongest female we have, we need her, especially if Raven decides to come to town again."
"We can handle Raven."
"I know." I was running out of excuses. "Just trust me, ok? I'm watching her closely."
"Whatever you say man."
I nodded, still thinking about Norah.
"Hey, so Tawnies’ friend Blaze is looking for a job. I told her we may have an opening, whaddaya think?"
"I think you're fucking crazy, you know how I feel about Tawnie." I glared at Johnny.
"Yes but this girl seems cool, why don't you talk to her?"
"Maybe." I wasn't feeling in the mood to argue.
"C'mon just do it, she has experience, she worked at Charlie's in Cali for a few years."
"Really?" I was a little surprised. Charlie's was a successful bar, no doubt but they definitely had their share of problems. Maybe she would survive
Club Nosferatu with that kind of experience behind her.
“Anyway I'm going to talk to Gabriel too, so you guys figure it out. I'm going inside, I'll see you tomorrow night."
"Alright, goodnight." Johnny disappeared inside the club.
I was still leaning against the wall, waiting for this feeling to pass. I felt my stomach turning and I had been feeling weird for a few minutes, but I
thought it was the alcohol.
I looked at the blonde that was lying on her side. She was sick, I determined. I was so hungry that I hadn't even sensed that something wasn't quite
right with her. She was a diabetic, I could feel it in my body. Her choice to get drunk was stupid, I knew the alcohol could trigger low blood sugar; this girl obviously didn't care. I picked up her purse and searched through it. She had a blood sugar monitor and some insulin tucked away in a small pouch she carried. Luckily, she didn't have anything worse like leukemia or AIDS. Sick blood is potentially lethal and is generally no fun to drink. In these times, we had to be especially careful with the people that we'd drink from; a wrong choice would equal a potentially dangerous effect. Thankfully, the discomfort in my stomach was no big deal, it would pass soon enough.
I picked her up and carried her to one of the cabs that waited out front.
"Take her home." I handed the cabbie some cash and an address that I found in her purse.
I looked at my watch, it was still early. I had decided that I better head home, Norah would no doubt beat me there.