Reese Ch. 01

"Wouldn't you?" Paolo asked. "We would have died had we not taken them up on their offer! So yes, I would make the same choices."

"But the people that we... "

"Mean nothing! They were poor bastards who would have died anyway. We did them a favor by giving them a relatively pleasant death."

Edward stared at Paolo stunned. He had known that the former senator had been self-absorbed, petty and on occasion cruel; but the centuries had changed him into a worse being than he had been when he was human. Even so, he felt led to warn him.

"Paolo, we are no better off than they were. We are slaves to these creatures! The only difference is that we live well as long as we do as we are told."

"When did you last hear from one of them?" Paolo asked. "For all we know, they could be dead and that, my friend makes us free."

"I don't believe that and neither do you," Edward replied. "We would have felt it if they had died. But Paolo, listen to me; I didn't come to discuss this. I came to warn you about your choices. The parties must stop or be better concealed. Anyone who wants to find you can do so easily."

"How? With all of this technology, who can touch us?" Paolo asked not seeing the issue.

Just as technology protects us, it is also an advantage to anyone looking for us. I fear that you are placing too much faith in it. I beg that you use your head and change your name. Stop having the lavish parties that draw attention to you. It is only a matter of time before you are found."

"You keep talking about those who look for us," Paolo said, "but who are they? Where are they? It's been centuries and I haven't caught a whiff of anyone that means to do me harm."

"Do you really believe that we were the only ones turned?" Edward asked. "I know for a fact that there were peasants who were turned to be used as slaves. You have one living under your roof! Some of the people that we used for food and entertainment are relatives to some of those slaves. Do you think that none of them want vengeance? All I'm saying is that you must be more careful-"

"Do you know who you remind me of with all of your clucking?" Paolo asked laughing, "You remind me of Alberto. He was as much of an alarmist as you are."

"And he's dead isn't he?" Edward retorted.

"Well, there is that, but I maintain that he was caught by hunters. You really should relax and stop looking for trouble where there is none. I'll tell you what, what don't you attend the party? There's always room for one more. I'm sure that at least one of the humans will be to your liking."

Edward left in a huff offended at being laughed at for his concerns. Paolo hadn't seen or heard from the nervous senator since.

**

"Well Edward, or whatever you're calling yourself; it appears that you were wrong." Paolo said as he refilled his glass. He walked around the condo checking on the progress of the decorations for his party that was to occur in four days. Even as he said it, a sense of disquiet that he had never felt before filled him. He paused with the glass halfway to his lips and wondered about the feeling and then shrugged it off. "It's nothing," he muttered, "just an overactive imagination." He continued his tour of the condo confident that the security that he relied on would keep him safe.

One of his servants stood in the shadows watching him. He hated Paolo with a passion that was equal to the passion with which he had loved his wife of less than a year. Tears blurred his eyes as he thought about her. She had been exquisite with her clear porcelain skin, brown eyes and a pert upturned nose that he loved to tweak and kiss the tip of. He still missed her even though she had been taken from him more than three centuries before. The night of her taking was the reason for many of his restless days and anger filled nights. He wanted Paolo Rossi dead but knew that he would be killed first. Instead, he sat back and pretended to be the broken, faithful servant to the man that made him what he was, what he didn't want to be. He knew that he wouldn't have left even if he could have. He couldn't have left knowing that his master would continue to abuse and kill during his parties. He was going to stay until he found a way to stop him.

"Leo! Where are you?" Paolo called out.

Leo took a deep breath, cleared his mind of his wife and murderous thoughts and stepped out from the shadows.

"I am here master," he said with just the right amount of humility. "How may I serve you?"

Paolo looked at Leo with something akin to dislike before speaking. He was wishing that he had killed him and kept the woman. She had been not only beautiful; all of her life's fluids had tasted divine. He still chastised himself over that one.

"Run my bath and then check the blood supplies. Make sure that there is more than enough for the party."

"Yes master," Leo replied with his eyes glued to Paolo's feet.

He hated these parties as much as Paolo loved them. What he didn't understand was how Paolo managed to keep the deaths resulting from the parties out of the public eye. He never knew who attended the parties as he was sent to his room and not allowed to leave until it was time to clean up. After all of his time with Paolo, he still hadn't gotten used to the sight of the dead human bodies that would litter the living room floor drained of blood. Each party brought back the memory of his wife Rosaria and renewed his vow to find a way to kill Rossi.

"What are you waiting for?" Paolo snapped.

"As you wish," Leo murmured and walked away.

Paolo watched Leo walk away. The feeling of unease was back. He knew that the man/vampire hated him. How could he not? He had watched helpless as his wife was ravaged and fed from until she died. Paolo could still see the helpless, horror stricken look on the man's face when he realized that there was nothing that he could do to save his wife. He-Paolo could have saved her, but decided not to. From there, his mind went to another party-this one not long after the party in which he turned Leo and killed his wife. The doctor that had tried to cure him of the sickness was there...

"Master, your bath is running," Leo said from the doorway.

Paolo looked at Leo, gave him a curt nod and headed in his direction. Thoughts about the party that the doctor had attended were already gone.

****

Two hours later, Reese was leaving the bar with Chris.

"I want you to know something," Chris said when they were outside; "I don't usually do this- leave with a strange men I mean."

"I didn't think that you did," Reese replied with a smile. "But since we are talking, I must make it clear to you that this is a physical thing only. After tonight you will never see me again- tell me, are you taking some form of birth control?"

He had heard that it was next to impossible for a human woman to conceive from a vampire, but he was taking no chances. If she wasn't on something, he was prepared. He hated using condoms, but he would if he had to.

"I'm ok... I'm on something. I don't want any kids," Chris replied. "They're too much responsibility and I can barely take care of myself. My place is just down the road, you can follow me in my car."

"You would trust me in your home?" Reese asked. He had been planning to go to a hotel.

"I'm a good judge of character," Chris replied. "I don't feel any bad vibes coming from you. If I did, I wouldn't have agreed to go with you and... the bar tender knows that you're the last person I was with if anything happens."

"Good," Reese replied liking how she took care of herself, "but you have my word that you will wake up safely in your bed in the morning."

Reese walked her to her car, waited until she was inside and it was started before he went to his bike. He heard a rattling in the engine and knew what it was. He would take care of it before he left her in the morning.

He followed her two miles down the road to a tiny house with an equally tiny yard. Inside he could hear the tiny yipping of a small dog.

"That's Mitzi, don't mind her and she'll shut up," Chris said. "She's all that I have left of a painful breakup. You don't want to hear about that- come in; can I get you something to drink?"

"No thank you," Reese said looking around the tiny living room. On the living room table sat an old typewriter."

"He kept my laptop," Chris said when she saw where Reese was looking. "I haven't saved enough money to buy a new one yet, but in a month I will."

"You're a writer," Reese said a second later.

"A wannabe," Chris said with a smile. "I'm glad that I saved all of my stuff on a flash drive, but until I get a new laptop, it's me and Lucille over there."

"What do you write about?" Reese asked finding that he was enjoying talking to her.

"You won't believe this, but I write children's stories. That's odd considering that I don't want children isn't it?"

"Maybe... but life is that way sometimes. I don't mean to rush things, but-"

"I know- my room is back there."

Reese followed Chris to the bedroom and sat on the bed while she excused herself to the bathroom. Seconds later, he heard the shower running. He sat on the bed for a moment and then decided that he wanted to join her in the shower. He stripped, went to the bathroom, opened the shower door and got in before she could say anything.

The tip of his cock touched her wet skin and he moaned at the contact. His mouth salivated at the thought of tasting both of her life essences. He took his time in touching her. He wanted her to feel that to some degree that he cared about her wellbeing. Ironically, it was her that pushed things along. She grabbed his turgid cock and began to stroke him rapidly. Reese then realized that he had been right, it had been a long time for her.

He dropped to his knees, lifted one of her legs over her shoulder and began licking her. He winced when she grabbed a hold of his hair and pulled it harder than he liked in her pleasure. He flicked his tongue over her hardened bud as she ground against him crying out in pleasure.

"Please don't stop! Oh god... don't stop-"

Seconds later, her screams filled the small bathroom. Reese got to his feet, picked her up and slammed her down onto his waiting cock. She gasped in surprise and then pleasure as he rammed into her as fast and as hard as he could. When she approached her second orgasm, Reese kissed her lips and then her neck. As soon as he felt her vaginal muscles tighten around his cock; he bit.

Chris stiffened and then began to buck wildly against him. Reese held off for as long as he could before his thrust became erratic and he felt his balls tighten against his ass. He licked the bite closed and let the orgasm wash over him. Afterwards, he held her tight against him as the water that had now run cold ran over their heaving bodies.

"That was... amazing," Chris said as they lay on the bed after their third round of sex.

"Yes, it was and thank you" Reese said kissing her cheek. "I have to go now, but you will not be forgotten."

He made love and fed from her once more before erasing her memory of him. She would only remember that she had met someone and had a satisfying evening with him. She would feel tired, but by the time she had to go to work again, she would be fine.

Before he left, he stopped by her car and popped the hood. He looked for the cause of the rattling. He fixed that and anything else that he could. The next thing he did was to call Marco.

"I want you to do something for me."

"Okay but first, let me tell you what I found out. I left you an email, but since you're on the phone I'll tell you anyway. Your friend Paolo is quite the social butterfly. He's having a party at his Daytona Beach condo in a few days. I did some checking around on our website and this guy is either an idiot or full of himself."

"Why do you say that?" Reese asked as he got on his bike.

"First, the fool is still using his real name, but I think I told you that. Second, people die at these parties. I don't know where he gets them, but very few people walk away. I don't know where he hides the bodies unless he's got friends on the police force."

"Is he like... you?" Reese asked.

"You mean gay?" Marco asked. "I know what you're thinking, but he's a mound lover. I'm working on a way to get you into the party, but Reese; be prepared. "This is a party designed for sex and blood. That's how the humans are killed. Whether they know what they're getting into, I can't say. As you know, there are humans whose goal in life is to serve us in any capacity that they can. Anyway, I'm working on a way to get you into the party. Now, what do you need from me?"

Reese told him what he wanted.

"And make sure that there's no way that she can't trace it to my name or accounts."

"Reese... dude-this is me," Marco said. "Soooo was it good?"

"What is the name of your friend?" Reese asked.

"Reese-"

"A name," Reese demanded.

"Edgar Nichols- I swear that he doesn't know about you and what we're doing."

"No harm will come to him if what you say is true," Reese said. "If Rossi is prepared for my arrival, I'll start with your friend first."

"I understand," Marco said quietly, "But you never answered my question."

"What question?"

"Was it good?"

"I'll be in touch," Reese said and hung up.

An hour later, he was back in his room and lying on the bed. He closed his eyes and conjured up Paolo Rossi's face. It was because of him that he ended up in the prison. It was because of him that he carried the disease to his family. If he had only accepted his apology and let him go home. If only the doctor hadn't been going to him, his little Anna and the others may have lived.

But he knew better. She would have died anyway, but it was the fact that her life was deemed so insignificant in comparison to Rossi's. The hatred toward Paolo grew when Timoteo succumbed to the disease, it knew no reason when Mateo, the son who had given him the wooden figure he wore around his neck and then Angelica died horrible deaths from the disease.

**

Part of the problem was the lack of clean water, food and medicine. All of those things went to the rich. By the time he decided that they had to leave the city, it was too late. The thing that perplexed him was why he hadn't gotten sick. He should have been dead before he left the prison.

By the time Angelica and Mateo died, thousands had died and were dying. The bodies had begun piling up on the street. The potter's field was full and he had no choice but to add their bodies to those waiting to be burned. Tears flowed at the memory of how he had sat by the bodies chasing off the starving stray dogs that tried to take the bodies of the dead. He hadn't left them even to find food or water. Every so often, someone would be kind enough to bring him a cup of water or a scrap of bread. He took them gratefully hoping that the illness would take him too.

Finally, a week after they died, he tearfully helped throw their bloated bodies into the flames. He stood watching for several minutes before he finally walked away. With nowhere else to go, he went back to the little shack that they had called home. He stood outside waiting to hear the sounds of happy laughter that always met him when he came home. For just a moment, he was confused as to why he wasn't hearing it.

Then he remembered the two buried in the potter's field and the two who were now no more than ashes. Sobs wracked his body as he wondered what he should do. Finally, he went inside. The shack no longer felt like home. Tears flowed again when he saw the pink hair comb that he had given to Angelica laying on the table. Suddenly, he had to leave. He had no idea of where he was going, but he couldn't spend another night in the place where his family had died.

He took a blanket from the bed and began throwing things into it. He pulled his hair back and secured it with the comb.. He touched the small wooden carving and pouch that hung around his neck and left the house without looking back.

***

Reese opened his eyes, listened and then closed them again. When he rose, he would begin planning the demise of Paolo Rossi.

***

Donatello looked over at Vangie and smiled. He loved the way her brow bunched together when she was deep in thought. He wondered where she would choose for them to go although he had a good idea. Every so often, she would talk about going home. It didn't matter that she hadn't been there since 1863, she wanted to go.

"I want to see how much it's changed since I left," She said when he asked her why she was thinking about Alabama. "I'm sure that I still have relatives living there."

**

At the time Donatello had no desire to go back to the states, but now he was hearing murmurings via the secure website that he had set up himself. It was the equivalent to an online tabloid and like a tabloid, most things in them were false, but had a grain of truth to them. There was mention of the Borcelli's arriving in Europe sometime in the next few months. It was time to leave.

Every so often, he would type in the real names of the ten just see what would pop up. Alberto he knew was dead and had been for over one –hundred and fifty years before he found out. There were no real details on how he had died since it had been so long ago. He put in the remaining names one by one not surprised that nothing popped up until he put in Paolo's name.

"Fool!" Donatello hissed when he read that Paolo was still using his real name and having the parties.

Part of him was concerned for Paolo, but part of him hated him as well. It would be fairly easy to find him, but did he want to? Once Donatello left the group, he went as far away as he could not staying in one place for more than a few weeks. If he had the smallest inking that there was another vampire in the vicinity, he left.

He travelled the world alone until he found Vangie who was trying to run away. When he found her, he had no intentions of keeping her for himself especially after what happened to Lisbeth, but he had been as drawn to her as she was to him. It was because of her that they didn't move so often.

Now he had a dilemma. What to do about Paolo. Finally his hatred of him and himself decided for him. He wasn't going to try to contact him. That was more than ten years ago and he wondered if Paolo still lived.

**

"Are you alright?" Vangie asked touching his knee.

"I am fine," he replied touching her hand. "I was just thinking about a few things. Vangie, never mind- it isn't important."

Vangie looked at him and decided to ask permission to speak freely. She waited for Donatello to give her permission.

"Who is it that you dream about?" She asked. "The nightmare seemed worse last night- you were crying and very frightened."

"That is a story for another day," Donatello replied evasively. "Have you thought about where we are going?"

Vangie didn't miss how Donatello had evaded her question, but she didn't push.

"I would like to go home- to Alabama. We don't have to stay long, but- I don't know, I just want to see it once more. After that we can go wherever you want."

"Why would you want to go back to a place that treated you so horribly?" Donatello asked.

"Because it's still home," Vangie replied. "I was born there and it can't be the same. This is two thousand –thirteen. We can be out and about and no one spares us a second glance. Don't you want to see Italy again? I would love to see the town where you lived. What was it called?"

"Messenia and no, I never want to see that place again," Donatello replied firmly. "In fact, I never want to see Italy again. I know that you want to go there, but I'm sorry my darling; that is one request that I cannot grant you. But- I can grant the request to go to your home. We will leave in two weeks' time, but be prepared to leave sooner."