Instead of looking at Kelsey or meeting Victoria's concerned eyes I examined the couple. They looked scared-as they should, they'd had enough time to think on the compulsion and be aware something malicious was going on. Add to that the poisonous silence and anyone would have been at the very least uncomfortable, human or not.
The man was older and, at least by my tastes, far less attractive than the woman. She wasn't a real beauty herself with dull eyes and thin lips but he wasn't even of an average level of attractiveness. He was overweight some with pale blotchy skin and hooded eyes. His lips were non-existent and behind them lay yellow teeth. His nose and ears were too big and his cheekbones to shallow. Hardly any feature was necessarily ugly but all together that drew instant dislike within me.
The woman on the other hand had the same olive skin tone as me, but was considerably paler. Her eyes and hair were the same dark brown colour and apart from slight bags under her eyes her skin was essentially flawless.
Looking between the couple I had to wonder what all the fuss was about in the hotel-she could do far better than him and, given how he'd acted, she probably should've been looking elsewhere.
While looking between them I saw his eyes upon me, though, of course, they were nowhere where we had a chance of making eye contact. I tried to restrain my disgust fully aware that if he'd have been a more attractive person I wouldn't have felt it. I'd slept with far worse men, anyway, hadn't I? And the one confidence I'd always had was in my beauty so I could hardly get mad when people noticed.
It wasn't until his hand fell onto Victoria's thigh that I let the disgust take over. Even as I slid around the pole and across to him I was aware my actions were mostly fuelled by my anger towards Kelsey and her siblings but he'd done something that would justify a quick death, even to Victoria.
Planting myself firmly on his lap, I glanced to his wife beside him and then Victoria on the other side who looked beyond thankful when I moved his hand off her thigh and onto my own.
"Well, well, well my lovely," his voice was heavily accented and congested. "I didn't suspect that you would be so forward."
"Oh," I replied, sweet as I could manage, with a smirk. "Once I know what I want I'm incredibly forward. Some might say it's my biggest flaw."
I rolled my hips and he threw his head back with a moan. Too easy. My hand went to his throat before he could realise and he tried to lift his head. Once he realised he couldn't he began to struggle and I dropped my fall weight onto him, grabbing both his hands in my free one and crushing till I heard a loud snap of bone.
"Don't struggle!" I growled, staring into his eyes. Then, with more composure. "Relax. No matter what I do you won't struggle. You will be aware of every bit of pain but you won't be able to make a sound or move a muscle."
As he repeated the words his girlfriend or wife or whatever she was began to tug at my dress and beg. I spun and bared my fangs at her-an effective move which left her paralysed.
Sitting back on the man's lap I stretched and watched the clear terror in his eyes. When I replaced my hand against his throat I dug in, smiling as the little crescent shapes began to ooze blood. With my free hand I pushed against his ribs till there was a satisfying crack which I knew had pierced some organs.
Victoria always carried a knife with her, despite not knowing how to use it properly and her powers. The knowledge made me grin and I dug into her bag, leaning over to reach it on the floor. Once I had he knife I sat back up, my fingers pushed into his neck past the nail. It wouldn't be too long, at that rate, with the internal bleeding before he died.
Keeping that thought in mind, I slid back on his legs and brought the knife to his crutch. I glanced at him before pushing it down, the obvious anguish and fear satisfying my anger slightly. The woman jumped into action when I pulled out the knife but Kelsey had her pinned down before I drove it back in.
Satisfied enough, I dug my fingers in until I could form a fist, the quick movement sending blood, bone, fat and muscle all about the room. I could hear the woman's scream and Victoria's murmur of 'ew' when I stepped away, picking up a bottle of Ambrosia, throwing aside the knife and heading to the cabinet I suspected held the glasses.
"Bloody hell, Valeria!" Kelsey hissed, still pinning down the screaming woman. "Don't you think you could've at least fed? What a bloody waste! Oh, you shut up! Stop crying and be still, I don't have the energy to waste on you."
"Feel free to have at him." I replied, fishing out a glass and pouring out a drink. "I for one wouldn't want an ounce of his blood. I'll take the woman, if she's free to take but either way I'm not entirely bothered.
Kelsey shrugged and was on the man's lap and licking at his neck and throat within an instant. I pulled out another glass for Victoria and sat on the sofa I'd original been on, patting the space next to me for Victoria to come and sit.
She did so gladly and I poured her a glass of the wine-red, of course. She took a long sip, then, "If Autumn had been shocked at the whole ordeal in London I can't imagine how she'd react to that outburst."
"She's already seen me attack someone," I remarked, taking a gulp from my own glass and relaxing instantly. "Well sort of. She saw me kill plenty of people when we went to her father's compound. But I do suppose it's different to see the men who experiment on you ripped to pieces than a man whose only crime was being a disgusting perve."
"Yes, I do suspect that's a little different, hey?" Victoria laughed humourlessly.
"Who's Autumn?" Kelsey queried, untangling her legs from the man's lap. His skin was practically white from the lack of blood and the strands of flesh connecting his head and neck were straining. The woman's eyes were understandably filled with fear and I nearly-nearly¬-felt bad for her.
"She's none of your business." Victoria placed her glass on the floor as she spoke, turning towards Kelsey. "And you've got some nerve even attempting conversation after admitting you're a traitorous bitch."
"I'm not! You didn't even know him so don't you dare even mention him." Kelsey appeared in front of Victoria in a flash, arms on her hips and fangs extended. "We didn't know he would die. And since you didn't ever know my dear little brother I'll have you know he could withstand a lot. We only meant to encourage familial loyalty-"
"That's fucked you know," I cut in. "That's utterly fucked. That isn't 'family loyalty' is manipulation, cruelty and an abusive cycle. Maybe that's why he was eager to leave all the time-for all the troubles he and I had we at least weren't manipulative and abusive about it."
"Oh, no, you and he never manipulated each other." Kelsey wiped the blood from her face and sat beside the man's body.
"You're a real bitch, you know that Kelsey," Victoria said, though I'm sure she had wanted to say it even before the revelation.
"I'd like something to eat." My voice sounded distant even to myself and the excuse sounded weak. "Like, food, I think you at least owe me that and a moment to think, don't you Kels?"
She didn't respond, not vocal or with any obvious gesture. Just when I suspected there wasn't going to be an acknowledgment of my request, she stood and pushed open the door, disappearing down the hall before it even swung shut.
I stretched out across the sofa with a stretch, as I did so I noticed the woman, still and silent, and groaned. Even with a relatively long period between my last feed the woman looked entirely unappealing. Perhaps asking for food hadn't been the smartest excuse, after all, if I could even bring myself to feed.
"She wasn't so bad, didn't you say? I'd grow to like her or whatever?"
"Can this wait?" I could barely be bothered to lift my head enough to see her shrug. "Come on, distract me. She'll be back eventually and if I'm not distracted some I don't think I could stand a whole night after that."
"Er, yes, well..." Victoria had never been good under pressure and her discomfort showed as she averted her eyes chewed on her manicured nails. "Do you want casual distraction or? There was a whole lot of drama at the Sector Meeting. Agnes wants to stop intermarriage for the witches. She says that half breeds are a waste of the gifts. She came pretty close to saying they were abominations. It sounded very white supremacist, I think, if you took it out of context. Knowing Agnes though I wouldn't put that past her."
"Well she'll die soon enough so at least we have that." I raised my glass but Victoria seemingly didn't want to share in such celebrations.
"I doubt it. She's not that old you know. Has it been so long that you've forgotten human lifespans?"
"Listen, it's not forgetfulness. When I was human seeing someone over fifty was a time for celebration." This time when I lifted my glass Victoria raised hers and half-heartedly clinked it to mine. "I don't mean from age. Agnes forgets herself. She isn't so powerful and she certainly isn't getting any stronger physically. She's pissing off a lot of vampires, I know that for sure, and others, I suspect."
"Anything interesting happen at your Sector Meeting?" Victoria said after a considerate look and a nod of agreement.
Before speaking I emptied my glass and handed it to my friend for a refill. "A fledgling wanted to turn her niece who has cancer and I had to recount every tragic tale I had of vampire children. Not the best move, you understand. Not something we've had to deal with for a while."
"I can't say I can remember it happening in my lifetime. I understand why the woman would want it, it's her niece after all but, surely, if she's a fledgling she seen all the modern vampire lit and the interpretations there."
"Her nieces name was Claudia," I said with a laugh. "And she didn't see why people laughed. Not that I condone their laughter. I mean, I just laughed but that's more removed than laughing in the face of a woman pleading for her dying niece's life."
Victoria sniggered and then shook her head. Through giggles, "We aren't laughing at the dying child we're laughing at the ignorance."
"Eh, she doesn't seem like a reader that doesn't make her stupid."
"Can you not be so..." Victoria's eyes narrowed as she attempted to search for the appropriate word, quickly giving up that endeavour. "You're meant to be the rude and snobby one of us and I'm meant to be the one arguing for how all people are the same and you shouldn't overlook them blah, blah, blah."
"Excuse me? I'm quite the revolution leader and besides that a huge advocate for both more mystical 'human' rights as well as all the historical movements I've witnessed." I got her point of course-Victoria had never really become accustomed to all my expensive tastes but I had to begrudge the notion that I was snobby. Rude, maybe. Picky about people I spent time on, definitely. But snobby? Never.
Victoria opened her mouth, grinning but closed it to a frown as the door swung open and Kelsey re-entered the room. I turned my head with the least effort possible to see her balancing a fruit and cheese platter on one hand.
"Yum, yum, yum," I forced out with slightly less enthusiasm than I'd originally intended.
Kelsey placed the plate on the small table and walked over to the woman. "Are you going to feed? Or are we just letting her sit there, shell-shocked?"
"You feed. I don't care. And who cares about the guy? He was a dick." I swung into a sitting position before making my way to the table-I'd asked her to bring food up, the least I could do was at least look at it. "He was a dick to her, too. Ask her what a dick he was."
"What? You're feeling guilty and wanna feel better?" I could only imagine the look on Kelsey's face but by the time I had turned from the table to face her she was kneeling in front of the woman. "Tell us all the faults of that man."
"He cheated on me. Several times," The woman murmured softly, voice full of shame as if we hadn't already figured that out. "One girl was only fifteen. He was always rude to his parents. He use to kick my dog a lot before I got rid of it. He-"
"Enough, lady." That exercise had been less entertaining than I would've hoped. "You get the point. He was awful and I killed him, so I'm kinda a hero."
"Well, that's all well and good but I'd still rather you finished her up."
The comment only served to increase my anger towards Kelsey and, hence, I had to resist the urge to walk right over and start a fight. Out of all due respect to the owner of the place I didn't and instead complied with her demand after having a nibble from the platter.
The woman was shaking when I reached her and I frowned. All the fear would show in the blood and even a bout of compulsion to calm her wouldn't have her blood steadied as quickly as Kelsey wanted me to feed. It was a rational fear and a rational hate, though the love that hate had sprung from was anything but rational.
I sat beside her silently and pushed her loose hair away from her neck. The smell of makeup wafted over her neck immediately and I rolled my eyes. There was no point in making out to the point of hickeys if she was too embarrassed to let it be seen-and besides, the couple had to be in their mid-thirties, far beyond the societal acceptable age for hickeys.
"God damn it woman." I licked the base of my thumb and wiped away a large section of foundation. The marks on her neck were redder than I might've expected from a hickey, though I of course wasn't an expert. One of the greatest benefits of vampirism was that bruises were practically eliminated in the healing process.
Still, the bruising seemed to be covering a larger area than I thought and, for a good moment, I was annoyed. Makeup wasn't the best seasoning to a meal after all but then, I notice the tell-tale shape of the bruising and realised it definitely wasn't a hickey. "Look at this, my darling friends, I truly am a hero."
"Hurrah, hurrah! You've saved her from domestic violence only to kill her."
"You know," Kelsey hissed, the animosity between her and Victoria shining through again. "For someone who is involving herself in vampire issues you sure have some stupid moral high ground."
"I didn't involve myself. As it turns out, I have my friends' backs when they ask. Loyalty would go a long way for you, I imagine. It can do wonders to not be an abusive freak to people you care about."
"Oh you've no idea you little whore! You-"
"Shut up, both of you," I said, not even bothering to look at either of them. "Kelsey, I thought you better than to use 'whore' as an insult."
With that issue cover, at least for a small moment, there was silence. I leant into the woman and snapped her neck before they could get back to bickering. A small mercy, another act of heroism, before I bared my fangs and tug them into her soft, warm flesh. The hot, thick liquid rushed through me and for a moment I could forget. I could forget about Leif and I could forget about his dreadful siblings.
Once I had my fill, the blood becoming hard to get, I fell back onto the floor in bliss. Surely, I thought, with the Family to pressure, the witches would have to abide us. And then Leif would be alive and I'd argue for him to come to London and everything would be as it should.
Kelsey stood over me, grinning, "Better?"
"Much better."