Akeldama

"Sorry, Betty, he's been asleep for some time, so that's why no one's seen him," Mary stated, peering back when Conner was now noticing that hum to the floor.

"Yeah, I got that, but who is he, Mary? You know I simply can't let him in without a name," Betty responded with a flick of her hand over her log book.

"Then please, I don't wish to trouble you any further; please excuse my late introduction. I am, Conner Ambrose, of House Ambrose," Conner said, giving Betty a slight apologetic bow.

"Is he serious?" Betty asked, confused.

"Yes, Betty, he is, Conner; I'd like you to meet a friend of mine," Mary said, gesturing him over. Knowing by now those within hearing distance would know that a member of the ruling house was before them. The ruling class had their own form of nightclub if you could join a noble family, that was.

"Don't worry, it will wash off," Mary whispered when he looked confusingly down at the stamp on his hand. Her grip on his arm kept him from being too startled when Betty placed the same kind of stamp on Conner's right cheek. "Trust me, with what's going on in there, this helps with their head count. As long as you keep it uncovered when you're inside." Seeing Conner nodding along when she told him what the rules were while Betty applied the same stamps to her. Smiling at her friend, knowing she would be calling her superior, like Adam was once hers, to inform them that not only there was a noble on site, but one from the House Ambrose. She knew Betty, while young in a vampire sense, she knew who the House of Ambrose was, even if she didn't know who Conner was due to her age, being turned in the twenties in a vampire's twisted sense of humor, given how her maker turned her on her birthday on midnight of New Year's when she just struck her twentieth birthday. "Relax and let yourself go, Conner; these places are safe zones; they take our exposure to the world of Man seriously. No one person can just walk in; they all get vetted."

"Yes, I like not to go through that again, thank you," Conner joked as he escorted Mary onward.

"Conner? Was it true, what she said, in the throne room?" Mary asked as the people operating the door opened the doors once they had verified that Conner was indeed the Prince of Darkness as some would label him as given who his mother was.

"Yes, it was the reason Lynn's family was made high borne in the noble houses," Conner said over the swooshing sound the automatic doors opening made. "Really? Doors that can open themselves?!" Noting how Mary was fighting back her chuckle when he gestured in awe of the sight of it.

"Mary, you have to tell me, did we do what Jules Verne wrote about in From the Earth to the Moon?" Conner asked, recounting how he would read it by the fire on long nights in 1867.

"We did, here, I'll show you," Mary said, keeping her smile from showing at how he looked at her in wonder as she led him towards where she and her friends normally met up. Noting how he was watching her intently from over her shoulder as she brought up a YouTube video of it. Letting him watch it as they continued on their trek.

"Mary!" Regan squealed in delight.

Conner watched on in befuddlement as Mary ran into her friend's arms. He was at a loss when the other two gathered around. The only true length of time a vampire from his age was to get to know the person was to turn them.

"Guys, I'd like for you to meet someone," Mary said, smiling at her dear friends. "Everyone, this is Conner Ambrose," even the donors knew who House Ambrose was given her friends slack jaws, "Conner, come meet my friends; this is Regan, Mathew, and Dole."

"You must be a master of the blood arts to operate such a device," Conner said, taking them all aback when he spoke those words.

"The what arts?!" Mary asked, wondering if she heard him wrong.

"Did you're maker not teach you this?" Conner asked, watching her pocketing her phone into her purse. "Interesting," he mused when Mary shook her head. "Ah, Regan, was it?" Conner uttered, laying on his vampiric charm, given that all three were dressed in the same style as Mary. "A pleasure," he spoke, noting how Regan's eyes were transfixed on his. How her hot blood raced to her cheeks, coloring them to a deep rue of red as his lips graced the back of Regan's hand. "Good evening, gentlemen," Conner greeted, offering out his hand to them.

"So, not to be rude or anything," Dole stated, giving Conner a once over. "Just what century are you from?"

"What year is it?" Conner asked, looking at the four of them. The memories he had gained from the two that he fed on to restore some part of his strength had long worked its way out of his system. Human memories were harder to hold onto than one from their own kind, given the years it would take for a vampire at a certain age to master the skill.

"June of 2000," Regan supplied; she's been around a lot of vampires, none seemed to move and feel like the man before her. Yes, they were fast, but the human eye was able to keep up with them even if their image was distorted. It seemed, at least to her, Conner was unlike the other vampires, Mary included, that she's ever met before.

"Sometime around the end of year 999, or so my mother claims," Conner mused after a moment of thought.

"Wait. You can't be that old?!" Mathew exclaimed before covering his mouth with his hands. Knowing it was taboo for a human in a vampire area to doubt a vampire's age.

"Why can't I be?" Conner asked; he was never doubted or questioned. It was an interesting experience.

"Because aren't Elders supposed to be, I don't know, creepy and bald looking?"

Mary turned her head when she heard Conner's chuckle at Mathew's statement. She was growing to like this side of him. Hoping that she could see more of it in the coming days.

"No, only turned become like that if they haven't fed as they should have at that age."

"Wait. What do you mean you aren't turned?" Regan asked, seeing how every vampire she's ever met was a turned.

"I did just say I was born in 999," Conner replied, arching an eyebrow. Wondering if mortals had slowed in their minds over the past century. "Have you all not met a pure blood as they refer to us as?" he asked, waving to the other immortals milling about. "I see," Conner hummed as the three of them shook their heads.

"No, they would never be seen in this part of town. It's too low born for them, Conner," Mary said, resting her hand on his arm.

"Hmm, then allow me the honor of being your first pure blood vampire," Conner bowed gracefully.

"You know chivalry is dead, right?" Dole teased, trying not to laugh at Conner's display.

"That so? Seems to me this age could use some refinement in their greetings. Especially with the ladies," Conner said in a sly flirt aimed at Regan. However, a curious scent caught his nose; its alluring scent tickled his nostril, pulling him away from Mary and her friend's side if it wasn't for Mary's touch.

"Never been to one of these before, have you?" Mathew asked with a cocky smile.

"No," regaining his composure, "the most human interaction I have had with your kind, except for a very few who were trying to kill me. Mary, is this a feeding den?" Conner asked, his eyes peering at the female vampire as she fed on her meal. His eyes zeroed in on that single drop of blood that escaped her lips and ran down the man's skin.

"Sort of, it's a mix of feeding den, club, and sleep chamber all rolled up into one," Mary stated factually.

"Fascinating, and you all willingly give your blood to us?" Conner asked, ignoring how their blood pulsated in his eyes.

"We do," Regan nodded, her right index finger pointed at the letter 'D' stamped onto her cheek.

"Oh, that reminds me, when you three leave here tonight, you need to update your donor cards to say that you are Lady Harland's donors," Mary said, seeing the shock playing off her friend's faces. Donors normally don't get turned unless a vampire, like her, took an interest in them. She, personally, didn't have to be their sire. If they could, she would tell them to become a part of a noble house. They knew what low-born life was like; they see it every day. Even the Nobles were turned; it was only their money they were seeing as one of the low born. Conner, however, was like no other kind of vampire. He was the true and only pure blood. Mary noted how Conner eyed them in a mixture of confusion and curiosity as the four of them danced around in joy. She might not need much money going forward; where she once lived is rent-controlled. Something too she knew her friends needed. Not Mathew or Dole, no Regan needed it the most given her living situation. Mathew and Dole were roommates; their apartment wasn't large enough; their coding equipment and office setup didn't leave them much space. It was her hope they would move in with her to provide the security Regan will need to heal from what she has been going through. Slyly slipping her apartment key into Regan's hand, "Don't go home, crash at my place tonight, for however long you want, we'll talk more later," Mary whispered into Regan's left ear, who whispered her gratitude in her own. "Conner, what's wrong?" Her voice stilled her groups' merriment. Noting how his eyes were darting around as his body turned as if he knew on instinct. That was when she saw the look of recognition in his eyes. Wondering just who he was looking at as she peered around him, nevertheless, the crowd of bodies hid the person from her sight. "What or who were you just looking at?"

"Someone I thought I'd never see again, here of all places," Conner muttered softly, wondering if he was still alive if the other three were as well. If they were, would they be wise enough to understand it in the first place?

"Do you...?"

"No, no, that would be rude of me; we'll see each other in time. After all, Mathew, the good man was about to regale me on all man has advanced since my... slumber," Conner said in a guarded tone. He knew Mary noticed how Regan held herself even if her human friends hadn't. Fear. Not from them something else, what that was, he couldn't say.

"I am?!" Mathew squeaked.

"You are," Conner uttered sinfully.

"That's us," Mary spoke, confusing Conner, as she saw the number of their ticket number appear on the electronic display behind Regan.

"We like to eat after..." Rolling her hand, "How about I show you around afterward? I bet balls and such things were more your style than this place, huh?"

"True, it wasn't as fast-paced or arousing," Conner flirted to ease Regan's stress, seeing Mary and Regan blush.

"Wait, aren't you two like engaged or something?" Dole uttered, stopping in his tracks, pointing at Conner and Mary.

"May I, my Lord?" Mary asked, seeing how Conner was the highest-ranking House member. "Thank you, my Prince," she said in a teasing way when he gave his acceptance. "See, unlike in human marriages, sex isn't a factor for us given we might be together for centuries, so unless the couple has split apart for a century or two, it is known to happen," Mary stated, seeing Conner nodding along. "They are still man and wife. There is no divorce in vampiric marriages. Although I would have thought the seduction would have been played down a bit for our second date, your highness," Mary uttered in a feigned tsk-tsk voice. Her eyes held an impious light to them. "It's unbecoming of one of your age." Seeing that nobility that has been instilled into him for centuries kicking in.

"Then allow me to apologize if I have offended either of you two ladies on this evening?" Conner spoke in that Edwardian-era pose.

"So, Conner, tell me more about these blood arts you referred to," feeling his hot breath on her skin whispering to the point that she was the only one that could have heard it, "really? Everyone knew how to do that?"

"Oh, yes, I made it mandatory to learn even a newborn knew one or two skills before beginning their training on how to use blades or whatever we needed troops of at the time. When there's a drop of blood out of reach, and that one drop is the key of staying alive or dying,"

"What do you mean, you made it mandatory?" Mathew asked in confusion.

"I was the Commander of the vampiric army during the Unctuous War," Conner said; his eyes ran over the familiar sight as Regan had led him down into the lounging pit where they could feed and their victims or slaves at the time would be fed upon by the guests.

"Yo, man, you can't end it there; what's this Unctuous War? I've had a lot of history classes never heard of it once," Dole said, looking across the pit at Conner as Mary led him towards the cushions.

"Do you honestly want to hear about it?" Conner asked, genuinely surprised.

"Oh, yes, most in here are only two to three hundred years old. So, if they hadn't talked it to death about when it was such and such, then that means they haven't a clue what we're talking about. Please," Regan said in a sweet voice as she lowered him to the cushion.

"What you know as the Black Death, yes, it was around at the time, yet it wasn't that widespread. Little hotspots, that's about it. My mother used it as cover in her war with the Pope. That war wasn't won easily," Conner said darkly. His eyes were drawn to Regan's offered wrist. Her pulse throbbing before his eyes tempting him.

"Two times is my max, please, I won't mind, I promise," Regan said, reassuring him it was okay. "What is my wrist not..." Her voice stilled as the pad of Conner's fingertip pressed against her lips.

"Look, see," Conner said beneath his breath, using his blood arts to soothe her stress as his hand lightly caressed Regan's cheek,

"No, sex, but you... you can touch me," Regan said bashfully.

"I shall not impugn your honor too much, my lady," Conner whispered as he leaned in. Feeling her holding back her laughter, pondering on just what he had said that was humorous. Feeling her hands running along his back as her hot rich blood flowed into his mouth. Reminiscing all the other women he has done this to as his hand ran along the curvature of her left breast. The way her body moved beneath his touch told him one thing, she enjoyed the bite of a vampire. Her hand rested over his as he teased her covered mound as he drank down a pint of her blood.

"Wow, do you go around calling everyone 'my lady'," Regan said in a teasing manner as she rested while her body recovered while their food comes. The money she got from doing this kept her alive while her abusive meth addict boyfriend spent the money she earned at her normal job on more meth, sometimes crack when he couldn't find meth.

"When the etiquette warrants it," Conner nodded, flashing Regan a friendly smile. Looking around when the shrine maidens or that's what he took them as from the encounters he had with them in the past, filed along the walkways. Peering oddly at the woman, he's always wondered why they covered their faces above the tip of their noses. Wondering what the woman had beneath the covered food tray.

"Donor 36, your meal as requested, along with a gift on the house along with your compensation." Regan almost fainted on top of her cheesecake the club had gifted her when her eyes fell on the receipt all donors received for every pint they gave. She was not expecting it to be five thousand dollars for being Conner's donor.

"Prince Conner and Lady Harland, please accept this as our token and hope your stay is enjoyable," said a fourth woman after the three had delivered Regan's, Dole's, and Mathew's meals. "It's our very best red," she said in a kind tone, holding out the tray to him.

"So, how is it?" Regan asked, munching on her meatloaf. The donors could order whatever they wanted; they had the chefs that make about everything. To her, this was the only decent meal she got until she could return to the club.

"Not bad," Conner said, smacking his lips, tasting the AB blood within it. Noting how Regan got a simple meal of meatloaf and gravy, mash potatoes, with peas and a roll on the side. While he listened to Dole and Mathew fawning over what he couldn't tell was food or not. "Regan, what may I ask, is that?" he asked, pointing at her cheesecake.

"What, this?" Looking down when her fork pointed at it. "Oh, I guess you wouldn't know what cheesecake looks like," Regan said excitedly.

"What's a cheesecake?"

"Only one of the best desserts on the planet?! Regan said in a stern, serious voice.

"Oh?"

"Mmmhmm," Regan nodded her head in a vehement hum. "Here," cleaning her fork, "you have to try some," she offered, cupping her hand to keep the cheesecake from falling. "The club here has the best cheesecake in the city," Regan stated, noting how he actually enjoyed it. "So, what do I call you, Prince, Lord, your highness?" she asked, rolling her fork in her wrist before going back to her meal. Noting how Mary was quietly talking to Dole and Mathew.

"Conner, in this setting, will be fine; if you were a vampire, it would be the latter."

"So, Conner, how about we help you get acquainted with this era, and you can tell us more about this war that has these gossips here all ears," Regan spoke with a smile on her face as she waved to them. Glad to see him smiling instead of hiding that pain, she saw as he took a sip of his wine.

"Then maybe you can tell me why the floor is humming?" Conner inquired after trying to figure that out since he felt it.

"Oh, you so have to see them," Regan said, setting aside her tray. "They're pretty good; I'm going to steal your betrothed for a bit," she uttered, bouncing to her feet.

"As long as you return him in one piece," Mary said, encouraging him on.

"No promises, come on, let me show you," Regan said, holding out her hand to him.

******

"Aren't they great!" Regan loudly spoke as Oblivion's Defilers played the intro for their cover of 'Slept so long.' Watching how his body swayed to the hum of the speakers. Seeing how his eyes were adrift on memories of yore. Watching the stage lights firing off as Iyana walked down the stage. Smoke from the stage effects curled around her legs as her tight leather skirt hugged her hips.

"Walking, waiting." Iyana's voice was eerie on the air. Her long-dead eyes stared out onto the group, seeing many faces she knew and one she didn't. "Alone without a care. Hoping, and hating." Her fingers slowly, yet sensuously slid along her microphone; she might not have made it in Hollywood back in the '30s; after seventy years and thrown out as a rebel, she has finally hit it big, or at least that's what she thought. "Things that I can't bear," Iyana sang, her eyes falling on Conner. She knew a noble was in the club, of what House she couldn't say. She played off that she saw Regan standing beside the man. Regan was one of the few donors who offered their blood to a rebel. Sometimes payment wasn't always monetary. "Did you think it's cool to walk right up.

To take my life and fuck it up! Well did you? Well did you?" Her voice trailed off as those pale blue eyes never left her.

"I see Hell in your eyes. Taken in by surprise," Her body swayed to the hypnotic rhythm. "Touching you makes me feel alive. Touching you makes me die inside." The stage lights played along her brown hair that was held in a braided bun as her fingernails trailed down her chest alluringly.

"I told you, you would like it!" Regan said over the music as Iyana sang the chorus. "Here, move like this," she directed, showing him how to dance. She knew full well that vampires were excellent mimickers. "There you go," Regan encouraged with a mirth-filled smile when Conner joined her.

"It's rather... strange, but I think I like it," Conner mused when the song ended, answering Regan's question.

"Score?!" Regan said happily, knowing this would give her a way in to lure him away from those fancy balls. While yes, she was benefiting from it as well, however, her main purpose in showing Conner the lower ring where most low born not in good standing and the few rebels that have been cast out gathered. It was her hope that, seeing that he was the Prince, that maybe he could do something for her friends. Feeling a little embarrassed when Conner looked quizzically at her outburst. That was when she saw how suddenly he went on alert.