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Night Music -
9
Chapter
9: On the Other Foot
Victoria kissed
me on the cheek the next morning. "Good morning. Did you
not sleep well?" she asked in a voice that was honey dipped
in acid. I
looked in the mirror. I looked as good as I felt. Ugh. We
had brunch at an
outdoor cafe. Jonna waited on us. Any possibility of pleasant
conversation
vanished when Victoria noticed the fang marks on Jonna's neck.
"Her, too?"
she asked. This time it was acid coated with poison.
Brunch discussion
centered on the closing date for the house, and the
furnishings we needed. My mind wandered, because _she_ was the
rich one, and
_she_ was going to be spending the money. There was a definite
distance
between us that hadn't existed before last night.
We returned
home. I brooded over how to explain my revenge or my
fantasies to her. I felt that I should say something in my own
defense.
Once I had resolved that, there was only the small matter of
bringing up the
subject. As for Victoria, it was as if the previous night had
never
happened. She seemed perfectly willing to let it stew. I finally
screwed up
enough guts to say something.
"Ummm...
about last night..." I tentatively began. Victoria looked
up
from the Sunday comics, expectation in her eyes, but silence
on her lips. I
swallowed, and continued, "I'm very sorry if I angered or
disgusted you last
night. I - I -- I can only apologize and hope you'll forgive
me." The room
was silent. I hung my head, wondering why I was foolish enough
to bring up
the subject.
"Apologies
are for mortals," Victoria flatly stated. I looked at her
with
a hanging jaw. "Do not look so shocked," she pouted.
"You still think like
mortal man. You choose your victims. It will get you in trouble.
You lust
after woman for sex, and bite to make dream come true. Fuck
Kelly in ass for
humiliation, feh! You enjoyed her fully. She wanted bite, you
wanted to
give it to her."
"I was
_lying_ about the bite! You already warned me, remember?"
I
pleaded.
Victoria shook
her head. "No, is not true, you wanted to fuck so bad,
you
would bite! I want you, so I bit girl and gave command."
Her voice got
softer. "Mortals are not the only ones that can be seduced
by vampire power.
Our power can control us, if we are not careful." She paused,
letting the
meaning sink in. "You are my love, and I do not wish for
anything bad to
happen. So, I do not want you to speak of Kelly again. Is bad
sign, not
because I am jealous of Kelly, but it means that you are still
mortal, not
vampire. Mortal weaknesses kill vampire faster than stake through
heart."
There was so
much I had to say to her. I wanted to tell her how right she
was, that I could explain everything, but that I would do better.
I opened
my mouth to say something, but Victoria waved her hand dismissively.
"No.
Remember fangs. _They_ are what matters." She pointed
at her teeth, still
normal in the fading daylight. She continued, "You are
still only baby
vampire. I care for you now and forever. Is not false promise
for us."
Night fell.
I shivered as the unbidden memory of the would-be car thieves
replayed in my mind. We didn't speak much the rest of the evening.
I was
lost in thought, for Victoria had raised the questions that I
had been trying
my best to ignore. As the night passed, my courage started running
at an
all-time high. I decided that I was going to get answers to
my questions
then and there. Victoria put an end to that idea, speaking first
and saying,
"Come, let us go to bed, I am tired, and would sleep with
you." I begged
off, saying that I had some preparation to do for work on Monday.
She
shrugged, "As you wish."
Before leaving
me alone, she gave me a sweet, wet kiss. I responded
fully, but without the extra enthusiasm that had been so prevalent
early in
our relationship. As I watched her get ready for, and go to
bed, I became
aware that I was a little afraid of Victoria. No, that wasn't
quite it. I
was afraid of... myself. And what I'd become, and afraid of
what I was on my
way to becoming. I slept on the futon again.
A revised deadline
hit on Monday morning at work, and I was going to be in
the middle of everything. I was working late and didn't get
home until after
midnight. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I was there until two in
the morning. I
was tired, I was grumpy, and I was _still_ afraid of Victoria.
Victoria was
very gentle with me, letting me come home and collapse in peace.
She'd give
me a back rub and let me drift off (crash) to sleep. My mortal
concerns had
left me unwilling to play with her at night. She seemed to understand,
and
was content to cuddle next to me as I slept. The distance between
us had
closed.
Thursday was
the bug from hell day. After working on the problem for
eight hours, I took a break, completely frazzled. I left the
building for a
walk to clear my head. While I was walking, I encountered a
little
diversion. I saw an attractive young woman pounding on the window
of a car.
I walked over to her and asked, "Is there something wrong,
do you need some
help?" She wheeled, frightened, and clutched at a small
canister of mace on
her key chain. I held up my hands defensively.
"You scared
me half to death! I didn't hear you at all!" she exclaimed.
I could see her relax as she evaluated me. Apparently she decided
I was
harmless. Silly girl. "I'm locked out of my car. I can't
believe that I
locked my keys in this thing!!!"
"Well,
maybe I can help," I offered, and moved to inspect the window
and
door seals closely. She leaned close, murmuring, "Do you
see anything that
might help?"
I turned my
head and our eyes met. What the hell, I could use a snack.
"Come to my office. We can call for a locksmith from there."
"I don...
yes," she answered. Her intended refusal died as a desire
to
agree with me filled her mind. Our eyes were locked. Her arms
fell limply
by her side. Her shoulder bag clattered to the ground. I picked
it up,
handed it to her, and turned to go back to the office. She followed
silently. The security guard wasn't in sight as we went in,
and I took the
woman straight to my office. Closing the door, I put my arm
around her waist
gently and pulled her close. "N-n-nooo..." she protested
feebly, sensing
deep down that she was in danger.
"Just a
little bit, my dear," I whispered, and bit her. The woman
arched
her back, moaning softly as I drank her life. I carefully paid
attention to
the taste of the blood, and noted how different it was from Victoria's.
The
woman's life force flickered, and lost some of its brilliance.
I stopped,
bracing myself for the blood lust. The demon must have been
asleep, however,
for there was no internal conflict. I sighed in relief, and
let the woman
go. She wobbled on her feet. "Sit and sleep, you will
remember only that
you called the locksmith from here." When the locksmith
called my office, I
woke the woman and sent her on her way. I settled back in to
work.
What had seemed
obscure and impossible two hours ago became elementary,
and the bug was eradicated in less than 15 minutes. Shortly
before midnight,
I was done. It was time to go home to my wife. The blood snack
I'd had was
charging me up. I was happy, energetic and feeling rambunctious.
I grabbed
a bottle of chilled champagne and two glasses from the market
on my way home.
Victoria wasn't
at the door when I came into the apartment, so I
immediately headed for the bedroom, humming happily and loudly.
The
champagne and glasses fell to the floor as I turned the corner.
Victoria was
in bed naked. Straddling, and rocking back and forth on top
of some young
blond dude. The noise made the guy turn his head, and his eyes
grew wide at
the sight of me. "Whut th'fuck is -- aack!"
Victoria quickly
bit him, and I heard her say, "Sleep," as I turned
to
leave. The apartment door shut behind me as I fled, and Victoria's
yell of
"DAVID!!!" was muffled. I turned into a bat and streaked
into the sky,
blinking back tears. I was flying virtually blind, and felt
extremely
betrayed. "HOW COULD SHE??? IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN A FUCKING
MONTH!" I
bellowed against the rushing air.
I circled the
city numerous times while I tried to make sense of
Victoria's actions. As I flew, the wind began to answer my sobbed
questions,
singing in response. It was a soft, gentle melody, unlike the
symphony that
had played when I flew the first time. The longer I flew, the
sweeter the
song became. My tears stopped and were blown dry. The angry,
hurt thoughts
and emotions were muted by the music, wrapped in gossamer notes.
I circled the
city one more time, then headed back home. The melody told
me to, that I would be cheered by my return. When I landed,
and changed back
to human form, the music ceased. Nagging doubts made me hesitate
outside and
ponder my options. After a few minutes of trying to figure a
better way, I
realized that I _had_ to talk with my wife. I took a deep breath;
steeled
myself, and went back in. Victoria was sitting at the kitchen
table,
smoking, facing the door when I came in. She showed no surprise
at my
return, nor at my calm. "I knew you would be back. I saw
you fly away. The
music called you back, yes?" Her brown eyes were open,
full of honesty.
"How did
you know?" I asked, surprised at the accuracy of her supposition.
"I have
flown away in anger and rage, too, David. You forget sometimes,
I
am much older than you." Victoria put her cigarette out
and stood up,
looking at me. "I want to show you something," Victoria
said. The guy she
had been fucking walked in. "I am here, mistress."
Obviously she had called
to him telepathically.
I noted his
well-muscled chest and arms. His relatively long blonde hair,
and rugged near-model good looks made me feel inadequate. Then
I noticed
that he was still naked, and turned in embarrassment. "No,
David, I want you
to see this," Victoria urged gently. I reluctantly turned
to watch, telling
myself that she has a reason for this. Suddenly, he wrapped
those big arms
around my wife, and kissed her long and deep. I could barely
contain the
anger that exploded in me as Victoria responded completely.
She broke the
embrace, a slight flush apparent on her face, and the look
in her eyes was the one that says, "Let's make love. NOW."
She was
flaunting her attractiveness to this blonde hunk in front of
me. It was a
demonstration that there were other men who were as good as,
or better than I
was. Confused, I shifted uneasily on my feet. Victoria must
have
anticipated my reaction, because she said, "Stay there,
David. Watch and
learn," before I could move. The weightlifting surfer's
cock was rising, and
it looked like it was going to be in proportion to the rest of
his body.
Now I felt _completely_
inadequate, and very helpless. What was Victoria
going to teach me? A lesson about fantasies? That I wasn't
the only one?
My anxiety grew by the microsecond, and time slowed enormously.
"Are you
jealous of Jeff, David?" Victoria purred. Hell, yes! I
wanted to rip "Jeff"
to shreds at that moment. Victoria _smiled_ at me, then turned
to Jeff and
opened her mouth. Ahhh shit, she was going to kiss him again.
Jeff's mouth
opened in return, waiting expectantly.
As the distance
between their mouths closed to almost nothing, Victoria
leaned around to the side and bit him. This wasn't a gentle
bite, however.
Jeff's dick instantaneously jumped to full erection. He gurgled,
and his
eyes bugged out with surprise. The gurgling noise continued,
a sound I
hadn't heard from a biting victim before. I saw Jeff's penis
rapidly
deflate. The gurgling became harsh choking sounds. His eyes
were wide open,
but full of horror and panic, not ecstasy. He tried to push
Victoria away,
but she held him as if he were a child, and kept her mouth fixed
on his neck.
She was making loud slurping sounds. Jeff's legs stopped working,
then his
arms; the choking noise got softer. There was one last gurgle,
his eyes
closed, and Victoria, quite casually, let the lifeless body thud
to the
kitchen floor.
There was blood
all over her mouth. Victoria's eyes were bright, bright
red, and very bloodshot, a shocking contrast to Jeff's pale,
pale, dead body.
"You see, he meant nothing to me. I took my pleasure as
I desired, and I was
amused. But he was ultimately only mortal. I am a vampire,
mortals exist
only for my amusement, and my food. It would be good for you
to learn that
you are a vampire, too."
"So you've
killed him to prove your point. Does that mean in three days,
he'll be a full vampire? And your faithful slave, forever undead.
So what
do we do with the body until then?" My voice was cold and
emotionless. I
had been brutally shocked by Victoria's ruthlessness, and blatant
disregard
for mortal life. If I had let any emotion out, I would have
gone into
hysterics.
She walked into
the bedroom for a moment. She returned with a sharp
wooden stick in her hand. I knew what was coming, and my stomach
heaved.
"You must not turn away," Victoria ordered. She had
no power to make me
watch, but I watched anyway, out of morbid fascination. I was
repulsed as
she drove the stake into the dead body on the kitchen floor.
I was horrified
as the eyes snapped wide open, and what had been Jeff hissed
loudly. It
tried to sit up, allowing Victoria to finish impaling the body.
The sharp
edge of the stake protruded from the back of the thing that was
still
hissing.
She picked up
the cleaver from the knife rack. With one swift (It was a
blur - I almost didn't see it), sure stroke, Victoria separated
the head from
the body. She reached into the cabinet and stuffed the head
with cloves of
garlic. The body disintegrated instantly. "What body?"
she coldly answered
my last question, clearly mocking my ignorance about vampires.
She swept up
the ashes, put them in the garbage disposal, and washed them
away. Victoria
carried the head to the bathroom, put it in the bathtub, and
lit it with her
cigarette lighter. It burned quickly, and completely. Only
a faint hint of
garlic hung in the air, and that was the only evidence of what
had happened
in the apartment.
"I know
you will not make love to me tonight. You must fight with your
mortal part. But you will make love with me again. You are
only man for me.
Forever," Victoria said. She kissed me on the cheek as
she walked by. I
stood, too stunned by everything to react to anything. There
was no
revulsion, no fear, no fascination, no nothing. I just felt
empty.
I stayed on
the futon again. By myself. I didn't sleep a wink. My eyes
never even closed. |