Be My Valentine Read online

  Oxeman was in the bathroom. Someone had rammed his head so far into the toilet bowl that it was lodged there. Even after death, the weight of his body had been unable to pull him free. He was naked, his ass thrust obscenely in the air by the angle his body was stuck at. Dione figured the cause of death would be ruled as drowning, though she wondered whether the killer had factored in the strength needed to push someone’s face that hard into porcelain. To her, it suggested a transylvanian even if the scent of one had not been hanging in the air along with the urine and excrement.

  Dione backtracked, made sure the door locked behind her, and headed for the Ferrari parked a couple of blocks away while making a call to New York.

  ‘Mary, I didn’t wake you, did I?’

  ‘I was just about to go to bed,’ Mary’s voice came back.

  ‘Well, could you delay that a little? Oxeman’s dead.’

  ‘The supplicant you asked me to run? Warrant isn’t through yet for more than the cursory stuff.’

  ‘Yeah, well, he was killed by someone who wanted it to look like something gang or crime related, but I think it was someone covering his tracks. I need to know who Oxeman’s called in the last twelve hours, and I can’t wait for a warrant.’

  ‘Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll send you the list in… thirty minutes or so.’

  Dione nodded to herself: that would be enough time to get to where she thought she needed to be. ‘Thanks, Mary. Things should be wrapped up here pretty soon. I’ll be back for Juliana’s trip to the Candle.’

  ‘Okay. I think she’s going to be okay, but it’ll be good to have you around. See you soon.’

  ‘Night, Mary.’

  Dione opened the door of the Ferrari and stepped in, settling into the soft leather. She was fairly sure who had arranged for Rod Oxeman to drown in his own toilet and why they had done so. If she was right, the telephone records would confirm it. If not, she might have to actually talk to the creep before she ended him.

  Los Angeles, CA.

  Derren Norton lived in the corner penthouse of a high-rise in Downtown. It was comfortable, very comfortable, and also very secure. He had paid for the best security he could find because when you were up to no good in the vampire community, you naturally tended to the paranoid. So waking up in the night with the distinct feeling that he was not alone in the room had him on edge.

  ‘Who’s there?!’ he snapped. ‘I can see you. There, in the shadows. I can see you. Now, come out before I decide to come and get you.’

  His eyes widened as Dione stepped forward into more light. Dione was, and always had been, a beautiful woman, but now she seemed to glow. She looked so beautiful that all he could think of to do was bask in the pleasure of it. He fell back onto the bed, smiling, as she walked across the room to stand over him. He was being visited by a goddess, a vampire goddess, and while some part of him knew this was not a good thing, all he could think of now was the overwhelming pleasure of seeing her.

  ‘Up you get,’ Dione said, and Derren found himself climbing out of bed. The intense sensation of pleasure was still there, making his mind drag, but his body had developed a mind of its own. ‘Walk out onto the balcony.’ And he set off toward the bedroom door.

  Dione followed behind him. ‘You had Roderick Oxeman killed,’ she said as he walked. ‘He called you after I paid him a visit. I presume he told you we’d been there asking about Peter Kellerman, maybe he suggested that he needed more money to keep his mouth shut, or maybe you just figured shutting it permanently would be for the best. I mean, what’s one little human in the grand scheme of things, right?’

  Derren stepped out through the open window and onto the cold flags covering his balcony patio. There was a cool breeze at this time in the morning and his skin chilled.

  ‘Walk up to the rail,’ Dione said, and his body proceeded to do as she told it. ‘That was your mistake. Killing another vampire because one of your supplicants decided to leave you for him? That I’d have to think hard about. Trying to take the Princeps position from Catherine? Really none of my business. Killing a human, though… Hunters are supposed to stop that kind of thing. I wish… I really wish I could trust Addison to handle this, but… You’re dangerous, Derren. Not because you’re sadistic, intolerant, and ambitious, but because you’re stupid.’

  Derren found himself looking down at the sixteen-storey drop. The feeling of elation was starting to fade as the fear began to build.

  ‘Now,’ Dione said, her tone becoming firm, ‘jump.’

  ‘No,’ Derren breathed, but he was already moving. And a second later, he was looking down at the ground as it rose up to meet him at gathering speed.

  Beverly Hills, CA.

  ‘I had a call from Addison while you were sleeping,’ Catherine said as Dione walked into the pool room. It was still early and only Mike and Ruth were at the house, though there would undoubtedly be a few more half-naked nymphs lying by the pool soon enough.

  ‘Oh?’ Dione asked. She walked over to the table the three were sitting at and poured herself a cup of coffee before settling onto a chair.

  ‘It seems that Derren Norton took a dive off the balcony of his penthouse early this morning.’

  ‘Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. Suicide?’

  ‘The police are still scraping his remains off the sidewalk, but they’re currently assuming suicide. The point of impact suggests he jumped, no signs of a struggle.’

  ‘How did you get him to do it?’ Mike asked.

  Dione shrugged. ‘He got up, walked out to the balcony, and jumped.’

  ‘I thought it was carpathians that did mind control,’ Ruth said.

  ‘Hypnotism. Mesmerism. Not mind control. They can be very effective at it and, as it happens, I’m not bad myself, but I didn’t hypnotise Derren into jumping off a building. It’s more or less impossible to do that. The instinct for self-preservation is too strong and the mind rebels.’

  Mike’s eyes narrowed. ‘Is this one of those things we don’t mention to Leeanne because it looks a lot more supernatural than we’ve told her vampires are?’

  ‘If I arranged for Derren’s apparent suicide, then it might be one of those things, yes. But he did jump and the police are going to find nothing to suggest he didn’t simply kill himself out of remorse. If, as I suspect they will, they discover that Roderick Oxeman called him yesterday and was then murdered, they may connect the two together and conclude that the two deaths are linked. Derren killed, or had killed, Rod Oxeman, and then couldn’t live with it.’

  ‘All neat and tidy,’ Catherine said.

  ‘Uh, you didn’t kill Oxeman?’ Mike asked.

  ‘No, I didn’t,’ Dione replied. ‘I found him with his head stuffed down his toilet. I could smell transylvanian over the piss and shit, so I think Derren hired one to remove the inconvenience.’

  Catherine pursed her lips. ‘I have a suspicion I know who he would have used. If Addison tells me the police have made the connection, I’ll get our Hunter to deal with the matter.’

  ‘Good. I think we’re done here, and it might be best if I left the city relatively quickly. Nothing hasty, but definitely sooner rather than later. I’ll call Mary and have her make arrangements.’

  ‘I hope you’ll at least stay for lunch.’

  Dione grinned. ‘Certainly. Mike may have to put up with airline food, but I’d rather have something here and avoid it. Speaking of which, could I borrow one of your supplicants? I could use a little top-up.’

  ‘Of course. Ruth gifted me at the start of the week, so no matter how much she pouts’ – and Ruth pouted with a vengeance – ‘she’s not getting any today. Just take whoever you fancy when the girls get here.’

  ‘Not fair,’ Ruth muttered. ‘Hey, Mike, I don’t suppose you’ve–’

  ‘Sorry, still happily unmarried.’

  ‘Huh. Leeanne is one lucky girl, that’s all I’m saying. If Catherine does decide to move to New York and takes me with her, you’re going to have a f
ight on your hands.’

  ‘Oh, well… That sounds like something to look forward to.’

  ‘Start preparing,’ Catherine suggested. ‘Get yourself a kiddies’ paddling pool and start filling it with mud. Oh, and start learning to use a video camera. I know a couple of distributors who–’

  ‘Catherine,’ Dione interrupted, ‘stop corrupting my partner. That’s my job.’

  Part Two: A Different Kind of Spook

  New York, NY, 24th February 2015.

  The Black Candle was not especially busy on a Tuesday morning, but that was how Mary had wanted it for Juliana’s first visit to the place. There were a couple of supplicants sitting on the dance floor outside the pascua door, there to wait the required recovery period after gifting. Mary ignored them and waved Juliana in and down.

  At the bottom of the stairs, they found Pat sitting quietly behind the registration desk. Mary looked at her as they entered the room and raised an eyebrow, receiving an almost imperceptible nod in reply: things had been arranged.

  ‘All right,’ Mary said, ‘you know what to do. Sign in and the receptionist will assign you a room.’

  Juliana looked nervous. She was a pretty, slim girl, with skin the colour of milk chocolate and a mop of red-brown hair which she tended to comb over her right eye. Her eyes were emerald green, a fact which had horrified her when she had first noticed since they had been brown before her conversion. ‘I put my name, my lineage, I tick my preferences, and sign,’ she said.

  ‘And what’s your name?’

  ‘Juliana Tebbit.’ Juliana was still getting used to the new surname too.

  ‘And which preference boxes are you ticking?’

  ‘Just the female one, because it will reduce expectations on me.’ It was almost as though the new vampire was reciting from a script. ‘Oh, and I should put “filia” next to my lineage. And that’s carpathian.’

  Mary gave her filia a smile. ‘You’re going to be fine, Juliana. You’ve done this before. Your supplicant wants to gift you. There’s nothing to worry about.’

  ‘Okay…’ Juliana turned and walked over to the table, and Pat handed her a clipboard and pen. Even prepared, Juliana almost wrote ‘Juliana Nails’ in the first box, stopping herself as the pen hit the paper. Then there was the moment of indecision when she got to the end and realised she had never signed her new name before. Well, her old signature was more or less a scribble, so she created a new scribble of the new letters and handed the clipboard back to Pat.

  Without even looking, Pat said, ‘Room three.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Juliana said and looked around to find Mary pointing down one of the corridors. ‘Uh, thank you,’ Juliana said, and she followed the finger.

  Mary waited until Juliana had found the door with the right number on it and had stepped through into the room before heading for the observation room, quickly followed by Pat who was being replaced at the reception desk.

  ‘She’s going to be fine, you know?’ Pat said once the door was closed behind them. ‘I got one of our more experienced supplicants, and she’s been told it’s Juliana’s first time. We just about scripted it.’

  ‘I know,’ Mary replied, her eyes on the two screens showing room three. ‘I just can’t help worrying a little. She’s a nervous sort of vampire and I think it’s catching.’

  ~~~

  Juliana heard the locks engage on the door behind her and stood there for a second, taking in her situation and trying to gather her nerves. The room was white, maybe ten feet on each side with all the surfaces whitewashed and a white sheet occupying much of the floor. In the middle of the sheet was a woman, a blonde who looked to Juliana to be in her early thirties. She was naked, but Mary had warned Juliana that that might be the case, and Juliana had seen naked women before. Besides, the blonde’s hair covered her nipples and she was kneeling with her hands in her lap so there was not much to see.

  ‘Hi,’ the blonde said, smiling.

  Juliana managed to smile back. She had fifteen minutes in the room and she needed to be getting on with business. ‘Hello.’ And she reached up to unbutton her blouse. Mary had explained that it was usually better to be at least partially undressed since there was always a little blood lost, especially with the inexperienced. There was a whitewashed box right beside the door to put your clothes in until you left, and Juliana removed her blouse, skirt, and shoes to put them away before turning to her supplicant.

  ‘Um,’ the blonde said, ‘I take it we’re not going to get into anything… heavy, but would you mind biting my neck? It just makes it a little more… well… personal, I guess.’

  ‘I… can do that,’ Juliana said, and she suddenly felt a little embarrassed that she was not going to do anything more for this woman than bite her. Feeling horribly self-conscious for two reasons, Juliana changed her mind and unhooked her bra, adding that to the box before turning around and seeing that the blonde’s smile had grown wider.

  ‘Thank you. I know it’s not always easy, but it’s nice of you to accommodate me a little more.’

  Knowing her cheeks were reddening, Juliana knelt down beside her supplicant. ‘Well, you’re giving the gift so the least I can do is help you enjoy it more.’

  The blonde leaned toward Juliana, tilting her head and pulling her hair away from her neck on the left side. ‘It’s still nice. Not every vampire will meet you halfway.’

  Leaning over, Juliana met the girl halfway. Breasts touched: Juliana felt hardening nipples press against her flesh and reminded herself that there was nothing really sinful going on… If you ignored the whole drinking blood thing anyway. Gripping the girl’s waist and head, more for balance than anything, Juliana leaned closer and the woman’s scent filled her nostrils: she was not wearing perfume, and there was just the natural musk of human female and mild arousal. Flesh…

  Juliana pressed her lips to the woman’s neck, shifting slightly until she felt a pulse. The woman suppressed a slight moan. Juliana closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and sank her fangs in. Blood welled up and into her mouth. The blonde said, ‘Ah!’ Then the sound trailed into more of a sigh as the virus began to take effect. Juliana pulled her fangs free and tasted more blood, hot and metallic on her tongue. She needed little of the vital fluid, unlike her feeding when she had first woken. This time was just a top-up, a revitalisation of her reserve. Just as Mary had suggested, Juliana sucked in once and swallowed. Warmth seemed to spread through Juliana’s body in a wave. Her skin tingled. Her supplicant let out a soft moan which continued as Juliana ran her tongue over the wounds.

  Now, Mary had said, it was all about taking care of your supplicant. They had given you a gift, the most vital gift a human could give to a vampire, and you looked after them until they were recovered. Being a nurse, Juliana’s first thought was to check the wounds. There was some blood welling up, some trickling down the woman’s collarbone, but the bite was clean: there were two neat holes where Juliana’s fangs had gone in and no other marks. Moving a hand, Juliana capped the holes with her fingers until the healing started and then looked into the blonde’s eyes. Dilated pupils, slightly delirious, more or less drunken expression: yes, all according to plan.

  Self-consciousness fled: Juliana the nurse had a patient who needed a little care. The method of care and the reason for the need might have been outside what Juliana Nails had ever encountered, but Juliana Tebbit pulled the euphoric blonde into her arms and held her there while the virus did its work.

  ~~~

  ‘You did that very well,’ Mary said as Juliana joined her in the reception area.

  Juliana noted that the receptionist was now standing beside Mary and looking rather pleased, and she came to the conclusion that someone had set her up, just a little. ‘Thank you, but you, uh, arranged for me to get a good supplicant, right?’

  ‘I asked Pat to make sure you didn’t end up with someone as inexperienced as you are, yes.’

  ‘But you didn’t really need the help,’ Pat added. She held out a
hand. ‘I’m Patrice Lumiere, by the way. I run this place. Everyone calls me Pat.’

  Juliana took the offered hand. ‘I’ve heard of you, obviously. Thank you for arranging this. Maybe I didn’t need the help, but it could have gone worse with a less, um, sympathetic supplicant.’

  As if on cue, the blonde woman emerged from the side corridor and saw them gathered together. ‘Are we giving away the secret?’ she asked.

  ‘Our young filia worked out we’d arranged something special for her,’ Pat replied.

  ‘Oh, well, in that case’ – the blonde looked Juliana in the eyes – ‘honey, you were great. I will not be sorry to see you again if I’m lucky enough to get you, and believe me when I say that I’ve gifted a few vampires I wouldn’t say that about.’

  Juliana blushed. ‘Thanks. I’d be happy to get you again too.’

  Flashing a grin, the supplicant tripped off toward the steps. ‘Bleeding was stopped before I even left the room. Beautiful.’

  ‘Now,’ Mary said, looking at Juliana, ‘what was it you were worried about?’

  ‘Well, I…’ Juliana’s blush was deepening. ‘Um… Well, now I’m worried I kind of enjoyed it.’ Mary rolled her eyes.

  ‘Filias,’ Pat said, grinning. ‘What do you do with them?’

  ~~~

  ‘Not that Pat would know what to do with a filia,’ Dione said. ‘She’s never had one. Though I suspect the Concilium would look kindly on a request if she made one, even if she is still quite young.’

  Juliana blinked. ‘How old is she?’

  ‘Sixty-seven. Usually you have to have shown some fairly good habits to be granted permission to convert within your first century, but Pat’s been running the Candle for fifteen years now, so it shows some responsibility.’

  Juliana turned her gaze on Mary working on her computers. ‘Okay, see… This is where you looking how you do starts to make me a little crazy.’