We stop outside a hotel, Alex and Terrance continuing onto find some friends, leaving Miranda and I to find a vacant room.
"Can you do the disappear thing?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, I'm going to burn out the cameras and go and check the computer, if you see a lift door open go and hold it open, ok?"
"Yep."
We both step into the lobby, vanishing as we approach the main door. Little wisps of smoke plume out of the cameras mounted to the wall. I wander over to the lift and patiently wait for a door to open. The doors open and an elderly couple slowly make their way out. I stand over the door, hoping that no one wants to use the lift.
"Ok, let's go." Miranda whispers, I feel a slight gust of perfume pass me.
The doors close just as a couple tries to rush for the lift. I see the close door light get pressed and the penthouse button.
That was close. Hey! Welcome to my mind. She laughs in my head. Yes, I heard that you gave him a hard time about that. Yeah, well that's what he gets for keeping secrets.
The lift pings and the doors open, more smoking cameras. How do you do that? The cameras? Yeah. Power of the mind, you will learn it, same as this. I hear the door unlock and open. The no fingerprints thing? No, this is a 'I forgot the key' thing. We step into the large room and she reappears as the door closes.
"So, no one is going to come up here?"
"No, all sorted."
She opens the fridge in the wet bar and sighs.
"What's wrong?"
"There is only one bottle of rum, one whiskey and one scotch."
"Do we need more than that?"
"Oh yeah." she grins.
As she rests her hand on the bench, leaning on it, she closes her eyes. I quietly watch her as she grins and then opens her eyes.
"Ok, they are on their way and will stop off and get some more booze. In the meantime,"
She cracks open the whiskey and pours out two large glasses.
"Bottoms up." she says clinking my glass.
I sit on the large white leather lounge. It circles around to face the large windows, overlooking the twinkling city.
"Ok, so there are three bedrooms, if they are needed." she cannot help but smile.
"Have you guys done this before?"
She nods excitedly.
"Come on, don't think about the past, let's go check out the place."
She grabs my hand and drags me around the suite. The whole place has a distinct modern white theme going on. White walls, white marble floors, white furniture. The colour has been injected into the rooms with black rugs and red pillows and throws. There is a small sitting area beside the entry with a small wet bar and kitchen. Each of the bedrooms have their own en-suite but the master bedroom has an enormous spa bath.
"I feel like a swim. Come on."
"There's a pool?"
"Yeah." she drags me out of the en-suite. "Didn't you see it?"
Back in the main lounge area, she refills our glasses and opens the large glass sliding doors. The cool night air skims past my skin, making me shiver.
"Still feeling the cold?"
"A little."
"It will go soon enough."
She flicks off her shoes and removes her dress and panties. Oh my god. I instantly blush. On her lower back is a marking, a bird with its wings high, long feathery tail below. It's like a tattoo but there is no colour, it's just her skin is raised, creating an intricate picture. She dives under the water and resurfaces grinning at me.
"Coming in?"
"Sure." Why not? Who cares if I am completely naked in a penthouse that we have broken into?
Naked? Alex, are you in my mind again? No-this-is-not-Alex-the-one-that-respects-his-girlfriends-requests. Ha, ha funny man. Are you naked? I pull off my shirt and skirt. I am down to my underwear, standing beside the pool, watching a naked Miranda swimming in it. Oh baby. Oh no! I gasp in my mind as I remove my bra. What's wrong? I just lost my bra. He groans in my head. Jeez woman. Tell Terrance his woman is watching me remove my panties. I heard you, and all I can say is WAIT!!! Miranda smiles at me as I drop them to the ground.
I dip my toe into the cool water, wondering about the marking on her back. I step into the pool and plunge under the water, ignoring the coldness.
"What's with the mark on your back?"
"It's the mark of the phoenix. I am a different kind of vampire."
She pulls her wet hair behind her ear.
"How old do you think I am?"
I shrug.
"Alex said he went to school with you, so same age as him."
She shakes her head.
"I am as old as the earth itself."
I stand in the pool a little stunned.
"I am a phoenix vampire; I was placed on this earth to watch over it."
"You look so young."
"Yes, the beauty of the phoenix, I get to a certain age and then get reborn."
"Does that mean you will be a baby again?"
"No." she grins. "About this age again."
"And Terrance?"
"Vampires live for an eternity, so it's no issue."
"So is there an almighty god or was it a big bang?"
She laughs, swishing the water around her body.
"A bit of both really. His name is Godfrey; I guess that is where they got the 'god' part from. I woke one day, my first day, he told me who he was and what I was and what was expected of me."
"So you saw the dinosaurs, cavemen?"
She nods.
"Scary stuff dinosaurs, the humans have no idea how bad it was."
"Ice age?"
"Brrr. Even for a vampire it was cold."
"Are all of the human's descendants of Adam and Eve?"
"Oh dear god no. Could you imagine the level of inbreeding that would have occurred?"
"So what then?"
"Many humans were created as the first beings, occasionally Godfrey will put new ones in to help with diversity."
"Is Godfrey a vampire?"
"No. He is just a being that always was and always will be."
"Are you the only phoenix vampire?"
She shrugs.
"There has been another, at present there are two more."
"Has been?"
"She was a naughty girl and Godfrey banished her."
"Oh." I whisper looking at one sad Miranda.
"And the other two?"
"Mother and daughter, around somewhere." she shrugs.
"So those cards..."
"Only work on vampires."
Oh. She knew?
"Did you know what I was?"
"Alex had mentioned some suspicions he had, I was curious."
"And?"
We hear the door open and a group of giggling girls enter.
"We have company."
"Miranda." I whisper. "What of my origins?"
"I don't know; the cards didn't tell me."
Alex and Terrance walk out and stand by the pool watching us.
"What did you bring us?" Miranda asks suggestively.
"A feast for the eyes and the palate."
She steps out of the pool and wraps a towel around her, following Terrance into the penthouse. Two women step out through the doorway as I wrap a towel around me.
"Ooh, a hot tub." one of them giggles.
She is a pretty young thing, long strawberry blonde hair falls around her shoulders, feint little freckles scattered across her nose. She follows the other girl to the tub, arms full of alcohol, they both instantly strip down to nothing and climb in. Alex watches in amusement, taking my hand and pulling me over.
"I'm Frankie." the strawberry blonde hair girl says as she presses the button to start the bubbles. "This is Casey." The other girl smiles at us, well she smiles at Alex and starts drinking from one of the bottles. I'm guessing I know who you will be latching onto. Who would that be? Uh, little miss bats her big blue eyes at you. Hadn't noticed, I'm good either way. He strips down and climbs in and instantly the other girl is on him. Surprise, surprise. Don't be a green eyed monster Steph, you know you are my one and only. Aww, so sweet coming from the man betrothed to another. He pokes his tongue at me.
I climb into the hot tub, letting the towel fall to the ground. The smell of their blood drives me crazy. She moves through the water to me, wrapping her arms around me, kissing me. I can hear her heart making the blood pump faster, it thumps through my head. I kiss her jaw, one of my canines scratches the skin from the corner of her mouth to the edge of her jaw, blood seeps out. I lick it, it tastes so fresh and tasty. She moans when I bite down onto her, letting the blood pump into me. She pulls away from me, looking at me a little freaked out. Her fingers rub the bite marks, red with blood.
"What are you?" she whimpers with her eyes glassing over, tears ready to emerge.
Alex moves behind her, whispering something in her ear. Her face turns serene, as she closes her eyes, the tears barely emerge from her eyes, a soft smile crosses her face.
"There you go." he says passing her limp body to me.
I hold her in my arms, she giggles, her eyes still closed.
"You either need to learn how to lull or drain faster."
"You need to remember how long I've been doing this."
He leans in and kisses me.
"Sorry, forgot."
I turn off the bubbles, the noise from it is deafening to me. I watch him as he returns to the bottle blonde haired girl, little miss blue eyed Casey. She climbs onto his lap, moving slowly on him as she kisses his neck. I frown at the sight, squinting my eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I mutter under my breath.
"Steph, we are designed to be attractive to them, to make this easier. Man or woman will want you or me, any of us. It is what helps us lure them."
He pulls her off him and turns her around, holding her against his body. He pulls her hair off her neck, whispering in her ear.
"Wouldn't you agree that Steph is the most beautiful creature on this planet?"
Casey nods grinning at me. She winces slightly as Alex bites down onto her neck.
"How is it that you can do that while she is so alert?"
"She is only partially alert." he says lifting her arm, dropping it back into the water. "Receptive to a certain point, accepting of her situation without an argument or struggle."
He nods his head at Frankie in my arms, still with a huge grin on her face and her eyes closed.
"She, however, could not be this alert, she couldn't handle it."
"Oh."
"The equivalent of a happy drunk. Still with it enough if you want to have fun but out of it enough to not get upset."
"Does she understand?" I say gesturing to Casey.
"No."
I bite down on Frankie; it doesn't take me long to empty the poor thing. Her body just as limp as when Alex passed her back to me, but now she doesn't giggle, her skin is dull. This is the part that I know I am going to hate as the years pass me, death. She came here thinking that she would have a fun night of drinking and sex with two gorgeous guys and instead she gets drained by a vampire.
"Steph?"
I look up from the dead body in my arms as the tears begin to emerge.
"I'm a monster."
"No baby you are not."
He takes her body from my arms and props her up against the side of the tub. He pulls me into his arms, wrapping them around me, trying to soothe my sad, self-loathing mood.
"I am." I whisper.
"Hey." He pulls me up, holding me by the neck, just under my jaw. "We are higher on the food chain, just like the big cats. Are they monsters or do they do it to survive?"
I don't answer him. I know why we do it, I know why animals eat other animals. Survival of the fittest and we are the fittest of the two species. Doesn't make any difference to me, I still feel like a monster.
"Your empathy will pass with time."
I can see Casey looking at her friend. She frowns as she watches her, obviously waiting for her nostrils to flare or her chest to rise.
"Too much alcohol has gotten to sleepy head." Alex says softly trying to reassure her.
She grins moving through the water to me. Her hands move over my body as she kisses me, deep and needful. Alex kneels behind her, she leans back against him, her back to his chest. She wraps her arms behind his neck as his fingers move over her rib cage and to her breasts.
"If you want to feed with me, this is something that you need to get used to, women wanting me. It is not something that I can control, this is just what happens."
I frown at him again.
"Think about it this way, how do you think I would feel watching you and a male?"
The frown drops from my face as I think about what emotions he may have watching me if I were to feed from another man. He takes my hands pulling me up to my knees in front of Casey.
"But how nice would it be, to feed together, no jealousy, just our love, our need."
He pulls her long hair off her chest. I sink my teeth into her drinking slowly.
"The pursuit of beautiful humans for food and fun."
"Until you marry the girl."
The blood trickles from the wounds down her breast, Alex grins, watching me lick it up.
"She will only ever be a piece of paper. You are who I want. You are who I will hunt with. You are who I will sleep with. You are the one that will bare my children."
I sit back down trying not to be upset. He is being so sweet but he doesn't see the reality of it.
"You haven't met her, you could meet her and be completely smitten."
"Our kind don't work like that."
Casey sits down beside me, snuggling into my neck, wrapping her arms around my waist.
"What do you mean?"
"Our kind, when we pick our companion, it's for life."
He pulls Casey out of my arms, he leans her back so that she lays on the edge of the spa, her head tipping over near me. He groans as he finds his way into her again, slowly finding his pleasure, she moans as he sinks his fangs into the underside of her breast. Come on Steph. I don't like to watch him have sex with this girl but I am hungry. I get up on my knees and find a vein in her neck, drinking until it the blood stops flowing. He gently puts her down beside Frankie. My sadness creeps through my mind again. Murderer. Sick. Twisted. Freak. Alex looks at me and frowns.
"Enough. This is what you are, learn to deal with it or starve."
He sits down, pulling me onto his lap. I lay my head on his shoulder as he wraps his arms around me.
"So what would happen if two of our kind ended up hating each other."
He shrugs.
"They would go their separate ways I suppose, but their new loves would never be as intense."
"So this girl would have to accept you and me together, you and her never sleeping together, never any children?"
He nods.
"My heart, as cold as it is, has made its choice."
I dry off and re-dress, watching Alex move rather methodically around. Already dressed he empties an entire bottle of whisky in and around the hot tub, dumping the bottle into the water. He knocks a couple off the edge of the tub with his elbow, letting them smash to the ground. I hear a phone ringing, Alex looks at me, in among the girl's clothes is a phone. The phone stops ringing and I pick it up, looking at the phone. It beeps with a text message.
where u at girl?
"Someone is looking for them." I mutter as he continues.
I flick through the messages.
"Alex."
He stops and looks at me.
"She sent a message, saying that she was going to a hotel with two guys."
"Did she say which one?"
"No."
I exit out of the messages and look at the photos.
"But she did take a photo of you."
I turn the phone and show him.
"Shit." he mutters.
"Good on ya Alex." Terrance mutters.
He takes the phone from my hands and presses some buttons and then tosses it into the hot tub.
"Factory reset. Better yet, don't let your photo be taken."
He searches through the clothing finding the other phone and does the same thing. He checks the girls for a pulse and then pulls out a cloth, wiping the edges of the tub and the handles to the glass doors.
Thorough.
"We need to be." Alex whispers. "Don't want to get caught."
I walk into the penthouse, finding Miranda, fully dressed, washing the neck of the whiskey bottle and the glasses that we had used.
"Are we good to go?"
Terrance begins to shut the doors, the cloth under his hand.
"Why are you shutting the doors?"
He looks at me and shock crosses his face.
"Jeez, you're right." he frowns. "I was going to lock the doors."