Blood & Magic Ch. 17

Blood and Magic Chapter 17

I'm Dead, i'm dead, i'm fucking dead

Kirstin sat in the back seat of Sakeena's car, repeating the same words in her mind, while wondering how it was possible to think if she was dead. The conundrum distracted her from listening to Melissa and Sakeena's conversation.

"Where are we going?" Sakeena asked, fingers numb as she held onto the steering wheel.

"Your place. I don't want her to know where my haven is."

"I'll have to prep the basement for her to sleep."

"And your bedroom."

Sakeena looked to Melissa, "Prep my bedroom?"

"I'll be sleeping with you tonight. I want to make sure you're safe when she wakes."

"And that your servant isn't taken." Sakeena sighed.

"At least you've reached the stage of accepting your existence using sarcasm as a coping tool."

"My emotional resources are pretty fucking tapped given the circumstanes to worry about me." Sakeena let out a grin, feeling her chest tighten as she held her anger inside.

"We'll pray before we sleep, you're going to need your resources for the nights to come. How is your caseload? " Melissa reached out and placed her hand over Sakeena's arm.

"It's fine." Sakeena closed her eyes, a lump in her throat formed as Melissa massaged her arm, hand moving up her bicep and on her shoulder, "My newest client has been coming for three months now, there's nothing I'm working on with any patient that would overwhelm me."

"I don't doubt your strength Sakeena, I just worry about how you're handling your loss."

"Melissa please..."

"You're mind is exuding immense effort to hold them-"

"Please, not while she's back there."

Melissa's own beast coiled from within in anger at her ghoul talking back. Pragmatism kept it at bay and she continued massaging Sakeena's neck until they arrived home. Kirstin watched Melissa comforting her girlfriend. Fear faded, replaced by rage as Kirstin stared at Melissa's arm, with fantasies of ripping it off.

****

Kirstin watched Sakeena carry a twin sized mattress down the stairs to her basement. Kirstin was told to sleep and she did so without protest. She did not feel tired but did recall the feeling of exhaustion, a soreness in her muscles that made laying down in her bed a relief. She lay on her side, staring at Sakeena's old treadmill that sat in the corner until she finally fell asleep.

A sharp stomach pain woke Kirstin. She curled into a fetal position on her mattress Footsteps coming down the stairs drew her attention. Melissa led Sakeen downstairs, both of them having changed clothes. Sakeena wore a beige sweater and black leggings, Melissa a black suitjacket over a white button-up shirt and dress pants. Sakeena held a set of folded clothes in her hands, a maroon colored dress.

"Good evening Kirstin, how did you sleep?" Melissa asked Sakeena .

"It hurts." Kirstin clutched her stomach.

"You're hungry." Melissa said, "We'll take care of that soon. But right now, I want you to tell me what you remember from last night."

"Hungry..." Kirstin repeated

"Focus Kirstin, last night, you met a man, he introduced himself as Prince Michael Hall, do you remember?"

The name conjured the image of the Prince, she remembered his eyes and the overwhelming fear she felt standing in his presence. "I-I remember. He told me I was dead."

"Undead." Melissa knelt down to meet Kirstin's eyes, Sakeena sat on the mattress next to Kirstin, "Do you understand what that means?"

Kirstin couldn't lift her head to look at Melissa, instead she clenched her fist, so hard it broke the skin, she didn't notice. "I'm....a vampire."she hugged the covers against her body, the wool fabric tickled her bare flesh, she realized she was naked.she pulled them over her chest as she sat up.

"That is correct." Melissa nodded, "And Prince Hall has given you one week to learn of your undead existence, of which then you will prove why you are worthy to walk within this domain.

"Domain?" Kirstin finally looked at Melissa and then to Sakeena, she offered a smile although Kirstin noticed redness under her eyes.

"Yes, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Lansing,the entire state is Prince Hall's domain. We vampires are allowed to roam it only with his permission. Permission is granted when we agree to his rules."

"What rules?"

"There are six. It is crucial you memorize them now." WIth each rule, Melissa held up a finger. "No destruction of another vampire without permission. To walk in a prince's domain, a vampire must declare themselves to the Prince, there will be no violation of the Masquerade, no vampire can embrace a mortal without permission, a vampire will never destroy another vampire by feeding on them, and there can be no feeding or manipulation of the domain's police, firefighters, or any other public safety workers."

Of the rules, the only one that Kirstin could remember was repeated, "Masquerade?"

"That is a metaphor for how we move through the world in secret. We do not declare ourselves to mortals and we hunt by pretending we are mortal ourselves. Tonight, I will be teaching you how to do so." Melissa nodded to Sakeena. She raised her arms and held up the maroon dress with spaghetti straps.

"Stand up Kirstin, I'll help you put this on." Sakeena removed Kirstin's covers and helped her to her feet. Sakeena pulled Kirstin's arms over her head to help her in the dress while Melissa continued to speak.

"I know everything is confusing Kirstin, but you have to learn things fast before next week. The first, being able to hunt, that is to feed on mortals."

The dress fell over kirstin's head,resting snug around her body. She felt Sakeena's hands and pulled them around her, holding them tight in her own. Her voice cracked as her mouth quivered.

"Kirstin you have to listen to her." Sakeena whispered, "You can do this."

"I'm fucking dead."

"Silence!" Melissa shouted, startling both of them. "I do not have time for your tears Kirstin, I need you to focus, you will have all the time in the world to grieve later. You're wearing this dress because we are going to Club Necto, where I will be showing you how to feed." she grabbed Kirstin's hand and led her to the stairs.

"Sakeena?" Kirstin reached out but Sakeena shook her head.

"I can't go with you tonight, but I'll be right here when you get back." she forced a smile and then walked to give Kirstin a kiss. "Just do what Melissa says and you'll be okay."

*****

Melissa sat in the back of the car while Kirstin drove. She hadn't asked Kirstin to surrender control so that Melissa could use her telepathy and instead, listened to her from behind. "I will be monitoring your feelings and thoughts tonight." Melissa said, "If I tell you to leave, you leave immediately. You are hungry and so your inner Beast will be edgy until it is fed."

"My beast?"

"Yes, the monster that you are. Although we're talking like we were when we were mortal, we are not, inside we are predators. When we are not fed, we give in to our primal urges. We act on our fight-or-flight response without any rational thought. If you become enraged for whatever reason, that risks giving into the Beast."

"And you think it's safe for me to go in public tonight?"

"That's why the Masquerade is in place. You're right, if you were to give in to your beast it would be catastrophic, more than likely the Sheriff would have you killed."

Kirstin didn't answer, she knew Amos had been referred to as Sheriff before. She also remembered him giving into his rage at the hospital. Melissa's voice sounded louder as she leaned closer to the seat, "I will coach you through walking in public tonight. This is how we honor the Masquerade. I chose Necto because it is dark and people won't notice how pale you look.

"I've always been pale." Kirstin looked at her hands and almost ran through a stoplight when she realized how much whiter her skin seemed.

"There is pale, and then there is clammy like the dead. That's why blood is so important to us, not just for sustenance but for power. Once we ingest blood, it is our vitae."

"What's the difference?"

"Vitae contains magic. It allows us to do many things." There was an ominous tone in her voice as it spoke in a low whisper, "Vampires can enhance their strength, they can increase their speed, they can even mimic being alive by making their lungs breathe and their skin warm."

"Can I do that?"

"You can, but i don't want you to worry about that now. Using vitae only worsens the hunger and I don't know what hold you have on your beast."

"How can I control it?"

"With practice, for now, I want you to worry about being able to hunt." they drove past Necto, spotting a line of people standing outside, feminine and masculine patrons wearing tube top dresses and tight fitting pants or jeans and dress shirts. "You get to practice your seductive skills."

Kirstin laughed for the first time since she had been embraced, she quickly covered her mouth, "I've never had any skill when it came to dating or seduction."

"That's why I'm going to coach you. After all, I did seduce you the first time we met."

Kirstin looked in her rearview mirror, feeling anger rising as she saw Melissa smirk. "Isn't fucking with police against the laws? How did you get away with...doing that to me." the phantom memory of Melissa's mouth on Kirstin's sex made her shift in her seat, an odd sensation that Kirstin didn't expect now that she was undead.

"If you remember I was trying to get away from you. To my surprise, you managed to keep up, so I had to improvise. That's good, you're already memorizing the rules."

Kirstin parked on the top floor in a parking garage a block away from the club. Before she exited the car, Melissa said, "When we leave the garage, keep your head dipped low, towards the ground.

"Why?"

"We are unnatural in this world. This means when cameras see us, our faces are blurred. It's better to be mindful of these things now so you can always look out for them."

Kirstin got out of the car, locked it and lowered her head. she tried to hold her hand over her eyes but Melissa grabbed her hand.

"You have to act subtle with the Masquerade, learn to remain hidden without raising suspicion." Kirstin watched Melissa walk to the stairwell, eyes aimed at her feet. Kirstin mimicked her. As soon as they reached the bottom, Melissa backed into a corner behind the doorway,

"You go on ahead, I'm going to use my camoflauge from now on, just listen to my voice.

Kirstin stepped out onto Maynard street. She walked, she thrust her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. She shifted her eyes to scan the people she passed as she turned down East Liberty, keeping her head still.

Act natural Kirstin, no one is paying attention to you.

Relaxing her shoulders, Kirstin allowed herself to turn her head left, examining each patron standing in line. Up close, Kirstin felt overwhelmed, wanting to approach each person. Images of pushing them down and clawing at their throats had her shaking her head to block them out. "I don't know if I can do this." she whispered.

Yes you can! you must, there is no other way.

Kirstin got to the end of the line and stood a foot away from two young college students in front of her, Both were women wearing strapless tops over their jeans. They looked at Kirstin and their smiles faded for a moment, only for them to force a grin as they nodded to her before they quickly turned their backs to her. Kirstin tugged at the hem of her dress. She estimated that she was almost twice the age of some of the people there that night and wasn't sure how she could attract anyone. She couldn't recall any experience of seduction, having never seen herself as a person capable of flirting. If she couldn't seduce someone when she was alive, how could she imitate it when she was dead?

Once she reached the entrance, she saw on the flyer that tonight was "Pride Night" as described using a rainbow colored border over a sparkling font. After paying the doorman her cover, Kirstin held up her wrist, hoping he wouldn't wonder why her arm looked so white. he didn't even look at her face as he gestured for her to move so he could look at the next person. Kirstin ascended the steel steps, hearing the loud beat of techno music get louder. She scanned her surroundings while she hung her coat on a hanger. Empty velvet booths sat near the railways on the second floor of the club. To her immediate left was a small path to the bar, stretching all the way to the other end of the club. Fluorescent lights glowed over the bartenders, dressed in black work shirts.

Let's head downstairs and wait by the side, first we learn how to scope out prey. Despite the loud noise of Nicki Manaj's remix of Starships in the sound system, Melissa's voice could be heard as clear as an audiobook narrator.

The dance floor was a wide wooden space protected by handrails on three sides. At the opposite end of the DJ booth was a riser with three metal poles rising to the ceiling. A woman in black short shorts and a corset twirled around the center pole, lifting her legs off the ground as she spun in circles..

No not her, she honors the muses tonight

Kirstin shifted her focus to the mass of bodies on the floor, watching them turn green, red, and blue under the strobe lights. She watched two men, shirtless, one in jeans, the other in tight shorts grind against one another. Both of their faces had glow in the dark paint decorating their cheeks. Next to them were the two college girls who Kirstin stood behind in line, both of them swaying their hips, arms raised above their heads as their hair whipped around.

Not them, too young, too much work to earn their trust. Her, to your right by the edge of the risers.

Kirstin looked and spotted a platinum blonde woman wearing a black crop top and matching skirt. Her front bangs hovered just above her eyes, which were pointed to the ground as she turned her head with each beat. Kirstin watched her hips and torso tilt, occasionally baring a sliver of her midriff as her top and skirt parted.

She is self conscious. She's watching others to see if anyone is watching her. Go to her, dance several feet away until she sees you. Then smile.

As she stepped her black bumps on to the wooden surface, Kirstin's leg felt like a weight. She hadn't danced in almost a decade.

Just mimic the movements of the others....NO NOT THE TWO WHITE WOMEN TWERKING!

The song changed, the techno beat picked up, giving Kirstin a moment to watch how others responded. Instead of moving fast, she admired one woman extending her arms, moving them slowly in sync with the harmonizing of the vocals. As her arms curved, Kirstin watched her head tilt back as she extended them over her head.

With her example memorized, Kirstin made her way close to the platinum blonde, extended her arms to mimic the same fluid wave-like movements. She accidentally hit the back of her hand against a man's head and she quickly held her hand up to apologize. She froze, standing a foot away from her target and stared. The blonde had her hand on her shoulder, elbow pointed outward as she pivoted left and right. In between her moves, Kirstin noticed her lift her gaze to look at the crowd. Before she turned to face her, Kirstin looked down and shuffled her feet.

Keep watching her, and wait for a moment to express your interest. Be subtle, trust that she is yours.

Kirstin let her hair fall over her face, giving her a veil to peek through as she watched the platinum blonde, her curvaceous hips moving in slow motion, pivoting left as she arched her torso right. Kirstin kept her eyes fixated on her, not realizing she had stopped moving. It wasn't until the platinum blonde stopped dancing to look back at Kirstin that she snapped out of her trance. She walked towards Kirstin, smiling at her as she leaned her head in.

"Hi."

"Uh hi." Kirstin forced a smile, staring at her feed waiting for Melissa to feed her lines.

"Is something wrong?"

It's too late to back out now, compliment her.

"I like your hair." Kirstin clasped her hands together behind her back, watching as her prey smiled back.

"Thank you, I like your dress." she stepped closer to point to the waistline, "It really looks great on you.

You're lucky Kirstin, she is somewhat attracted to you. Keep going, earn her trust, keep her interested.

"I'm Kirstin." she stuck her hand out.

Don't use your real name!-Ugh, nevermind, it's too late now.

"I'm Allison." she giggled as she took Kirstin's hand. her smile faded when she looked down at Kirstin's hand, "Are you okay? Your hand is really cold.

Pull it back, now.

Retracting her hand, Kirstin said, "Oh yeah, I uh just washed my hands in the restroom. Um..you wanna dance?"

Allison's smile widened, "Sure!" she backed closer to the riser and let Kirstin follow. Kirstin waited for Allison to clos her her eyes before swaying her own hips to the beat.

Good, keep the small talk to a minimum. Maintain eye contact, even if she isn't looking. You want her to feel like she's the most important person in your world.

It was easy for Kirstin to imagine. Up close, she could see the outline of Allison's body, covered by the tight-fitting dress. Kirstin's eyes floated to watch Allison's neckline, the solid shape of her muscles shifting under her flesh with each movement captivated Kirstin. She swore she could see the small outline of a vein. She blinked and realized Allison stared back at her. Rather than apologize, Kirstin smiled and moved closer, lifting her hand to hover closer to Allison's hip. She stepped in, guiding Kirstin's hand on her body. The sound sample of strings hummed just as the lights shifted to a light blue, casting over both of them as they circled together. Kirstin's smile became natural the more she received feedback from Allison, the way she touched Kirstins elbow, and slid her hips closer. The contact with another body gave Kirstin a burst of adrenaline, she felt energized, gripping tighter around Allison's waist, holding her closer as she stared into the young woman's hazel eyes.

That's it kirstin. look at her, let her know she is yours.

She took Allison's hand and pulled it off her body, holding it over her head as she spun her around. Allison's teeth flashed as she let Kirstin dip her back before bringing her back up to stand.

"Whew! You're really good at this."

"You ain't so bad yourself." Kirstin winked, curving her fingers into claws as she drug them along Allison's lower back.

'So do you come here a lot?"

"It's...been a while, I've been under a lot of stress so I wanted to just relax. What about you?"

"It's my first time here. Well, here on Pride night." she let Kirstin spin her around again, letting her step away before pulling her back to wrap her arms around her. Her back was to Kirstin's, her neck inches from Kirstin's mouth.Up close, Kirstin' could feel the curved surface of Allison's backside on her thighs.

"You could say i'm an old patron."

"Oh you don't look old." Allison' looked over her shoulder to flash Kirstin another smile. She couldn't resist running her hands down Allison's sides, letting her hips as her fingers went down a\l the way to the bottom of her dress.. Kirstin bit her lower lip, noticing a tingling feeling build up. she ignored it, thinking it impossible to feel anything now that she was dead.

"You want to go somewhere to talk?" she whispered, staring up close at Allison's neck, recognizing the same vein she first saw that extended from Allison's neck to her collarbone.

"Sure!" Allison led the way across the dance floor, dodging a fan-kick from the woman dancing on the pole. A doorway in the corner led them down a flight of stairs, and through a dark narrow hallway. to their left were the restrooms, and several feet ahead on the right was the opening to an outdoor patio.