Blood and Guitars (25 page)

“A little too eventful for my liking,” Mark
said.

I raised a curious eyebrow. “Well, come on.
Spill it.”

“Let’s get inside first,” Mark insisted.

When the elevator doors opened the two of us
walked down a long hallway where a pair of vampires stood like
sentinels near a set of elaborate double doors. The closest one
nodded to us and pulled the door open to permit us entry inside.
I’d felt the hum of power from downstairs, but had been too busy
trying to locate Mark to fully appreciate the combined power of so
many vampires gathered together in one location. Then I realized as
I looked around that it wasn’t the number of vampires that made the
room buzz, it was the collective age of everyone present. The
Elders of the Synod were practically ancient, and their power was
almost limitless. It was more than a little intimidating to be in
their presence. I glanced at Mark who just looked entirely too
star-struck.

I hoped I hadn’t looked like that earlier
tonight at the VMA’s. Strange to think that had only been a few
short hours ago. It seemed distant already as I stood surrounded by
my own kind in a different world.

The room was huge with large round tables
adorned with the finest linens. The scenery seemed more appropriate
for a medieval palace than a banquet room in a modern hotel. I
wondered if the Synod felt more comfortable surrounded by décor
that related more to their homelands than to present day America.
The only oddity was the bare windows, free of curtains to provide
an unobstructed view of the Biscayne Bay below and the endless
night sky. There was a group of vampires with stringed instruments
set up in the far corner. They were playing a classical piece that
Mark probably could have named if I’d asked him.

Antonio approached us then, greeting Mark
with a handshake and me with a kiss on the cheek. It was nice to
see him. I’d been so out of touch lately, trying to be a part of
Trey’s world, that I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed my mentor.
Antonio scrutinized me in that fatherly way he has about him, and I
rolled my eyes at him, fulfilling the role of rebellious daughter
quite well.

“I’m glad you made it,” he said with his
Spanish accent.

“Like I had a choice,” I teased, smiling at
him.

“The ritual will begin soon,” he added. “I
suggest you take a seat now.” He gestured to the large round tables
arranged around the room. At the head of the room, near the large
windows was a rectangular table positioned on a raised dais, almost
a foot off the floor.

Seating for the Elders.

Antonio left us then to greet a tall, lean
vampire I didn’t recognize. Mark and I made our way to the nearest
table with available seats and Mark pulled out my chair for me.
Rather than a traditional place setting, sitting at every place was
a champagne glass, but they were filled with something altogether
more powerful and potent than champagne.

I glanced around the room, curious about my
fellow vampires as they strolled in and casually took their seats.
I hadn’t seen an Elder yet, but the first few round tables seemed
to be reserved for their slaves, more commonly referred to as the
Emissary. These were younger vampires in places of power who
represented the Synod and their wishes. It was the Emissary that
Mark reported back to on matters of the hospital, informing them of
any new vampires he encountered at work, or any humans who had been
mistreated by vampires. Mark played an important role in keeping
the general population in the dark about the existence of vampires,
doing what he could to hide the truth and mislead the humans.

I was only just beginning to appreciate how
hard it must be for him to be surrounded by humans day in and day
out while forced to keep his true nature a secret. Too bad I
couldn’t ask him for tips.

“Okay,” I whispered. “What happened at work
last night?”

Mark leaned close and spoke in hushed tones.
“This kid –he couldn’t have been more than nineteen – was brought
in by his friends. I recognized the energy in him from across the
ER and I left the paperwork I was doing to see what was going on.
His friends were telling the chief that he’d been acting strange
for almost a week. Apparently he’d been eating like crazy, but he
couldn’t seem to get full. He was average sized, not somebody I’d
expect to see down five or six hamburgers in one sitting. It was
obvious this was a case the Synod would want me to take care of for
them, so I planted a suggestion into the chief’s mind to hand the
case over to me. He seemed quite relieved not to have to take care
of the kid, actually.”

“So this kid was just a new fledgling?” I
asked softly, giving it my best guess. There wasn’t anything real
special about that. More than likely, he was in denial. His friends
had probably dragged him to the hospital because they didn’t have a
clue what was going on with him, and he hadn’t had the heart to
skip town on them to avoid the problem.

“Well, it’s not that simple,” Mark replied.
“This kid was in bad shape, although he didn’t show any signs of
being physically attacked. Then his blood pressure started to drop.
The nurse and I set to work on stabilizing him and that’s when I
found the two little puncture wound shaped scars on his neck.”

“Scars?” I repeated. Bite marks should never
leave scars. Vampires always eliminate any trace of a bite. Even
when we feed from someone we heal the marks ourselves.

“They were faint, but they were there,” Mark
continued. “I didn’t have time to dwell on it before the kid
started crashing on me.”

I sighed, feeling the waves of frustration
radiate off of Mark after reliving the incident for me. He was a
natural caregiver, which was one of the reasons he’d chosen a
profession most vampires wouldn’t dream of working in. His
empathetic nature was one of his best qualities, but it worked
against him when he was faced with the harsh reality of our world
on days like this.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“The only thing I could do. I managed to
start his heart again and bring him back, but I knew it wouldn’t be
enough if I didn’t get some blood in him. I sent the nurse to
retrieve something for me on the other side of the ER and then I
explained to him who I was. He was scared at first, until I
convinced him that I could show him what he needed to do to
survive. I poked a hole in the blood bag that the nurse had hung
and the smell of it set his instincts into motion. He downed the
bag and immediately his vitals started to stabilize. I tried to ask
him how it had happened, who had changed him, but he couldn’t
remember a thing.”

“Does the Synod know?” I questioned.

“I called Damir right away and he had a car
sent over to pick him up when I signed off on his release, but I
haven’t given the Emissary the whole story yet. That’s my next task
when we get back to town,” he said. “It’s something I’ll never
understand,” he continued. “This kid didn’t seem to have the
slightest clue about what to do with himself. He had to have been
fighting his instincts like crazy, but why bother changing someone
if you’re not going to teach them how to survive it?”

It was a good question, and one the Synod
would want answers to. Creating new vamps without sticking around
to teach them how to survive was something the Synod frowned upon -
to put it mildly. The abandoned fledgling count was up to three
now, and all that had taken place in only two months.

“I bet they’ll say something tonight.” Mark
sat up a little straighter and looked around. “The Synod, I mean.
Surely they’ll want to address the problem.”

Most of the seats were filled now, and
Antonio had taken a seat next to a caramel-colored woman vampire
he’d been talking to before he’d greeted us. All but two of the
seats at our table filled quickly, and those filled only a moment
later when two women vampires joined us.

Mark couldn’t resist introducing himself to
the petite vampire with light brown hair that occupied the seat
next to him. Her name was Hana, which was fitting of her southern
drawl. They chatted for a few minutes and I nodded politely at her
when he introduced me, but my thoughts were on Trey. I was mostly
sure that I was just being paranoid, but a little piece of me
wished he and the rest of the guys were far from Miami right now.
What were the chances of this many vamps getting together in one
spot without having some collateral damage?

My fear for Trey flew right out the bare
windows when the lights dimmed and the music changed to something
that belonged to a different era. Everyone got to their feet, and I
slid my chair back to do the same. The entire place was quiet
except for the music. I noticed vampires in the crowd ahead of me
craning their heads around to look at the back of the room. Mark
and I followed suit, turning to watch as the three Synod Elders
marched stoically through the aisle in the middle of the tables and
made their way up to the dais. The Elders were all wearing black
robes, the Synod’s insignia embroidered on the back. We stayed on
our feet until the Elders had taken their seats. Then in one big
wave the entire crowd did the same.

Mark raised his eyebrows at me, apparently
impressed by the display. I wasn’t so sure. I understood the power
these vampires held but I hoped it was simply tradition that called
for such a pompous entrance. Even the humans at their award show
tonight had seemed less … arrogant, somehow. Maybe hanging out with
Trey was making me biased.

I noticed the gold plated name plates sitting
in front of each of the Elders. The one in the center got to his
feet, holding a glass of blood in his hand. His name plate read
Stanislav Vidic, and I realized with a start that the blood-laced
wine I frequently consumed was from his vineyard: Vidic Vineyards.
Even from this distance, I could feel the power exuding from the
Elder of the Synod. It was unmistakable, rolling off of him in
waves that even the most inattentive vampire couldn’t ignore. Such
was true for all three of the Elders.

When Stanislav spoke, his voice carried
undertones of an accent that had Slavic roots.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Synod welcomes you
here tonight to celebrate this phenomenal lunar affair.” He paused
until the applause died down. “For centuries Vampires have
recognized the moon’s influence in our lives, gracefully accepting
the gifts she bestows upon us. Let us join together on this evening
to witness this beautiful occasion: the lunar eclipse.”

He began to recite a poem that I recognized,
though I’d only heard it once. Antonio had spoken these same words
to me on the evening of my first Full Moon ritual. The rest of the
Brood had been there, as I was the youngest member. I’d asked
Antonio why we didn’t recite the poem at every ritual. His answer
at the time had been to assure me that I’d hear it again someday,
but that he would not be the one to recite it again unless another
vampire joined our Brood.

I finally understood Antonio’s response. This
was something reserved for first rituals, and rituals involving the
Synod. In the poem, the Elder recognized the power of the moon and
declared our utmost respect for her. The poem wasn’t long, but
Stanislav had more to add when it was over.

“Remember who you are, my children,” he
added. “With great power comes great responsibility. We are small
in number, but our influence is far-reaching. While we respect
those who act as donors, we know where we stand.”

That seemed an odd thing to say. I was trying
to decipher what it meant when everyone got to their feet again,
this time raising their glasses. The other two Elders, Dalek Vang
and Bylun Falck, did the same. I watched them in fascination as
they turned their backs to us and devoted their full attention to
the view of the moon, which was eclipsing in the sky just then. She
turned a brilliant, deep shade of orange as the light of the sun
was concealed.

As I watched the moon’s magnificent display,
I repeated a mantra in my mind, asking for the power to protect my
thoughts. Nothing seemed more important than that one skill,
considering I was spending a great deal of time associating with a
group of humans, one in particular. After a moment of silence, the
Elders raised their glasses to their lips and drank. I did the
same, and felt the rich velvety liquid burn down my throat and
slowly spread warmth to every inch of my body.

It was over so quickly. For such an
anticipated evening, and one carried out so lavishly and perfectly,
I was surprised to find that it had come and gone in such a hurry.
The room did not clear out, however. Vampires were mingling, making
connections and discussing various topics of every night life. Then
it occurred to me that Stanislav Vidic hadn’t said one word about
the rogue fledglings that were being found in the area. Like Mark,
I’d assumed they would broach that topic since such a large group
of vampires were gathered together in one place and word would
quickly get around about the Synod’s disapproval about whoever was
carelessly making new vampires. I turned to mention it to Mark but
paused when I realized he and the little brunette vampire that had
taken a seat by us were flirting. I stood a short distance away,
surveying the crowd and trying to ignore Mark and Hana’s
conversation. But despite my efforts, I couldn’t help but notice
how well they were getting along. I gave in to the urge to reach
into her mind, searching her intentions. I had to protect Mark,
after all. I was somewhat relieved to find that Hana seemed to
really be enjoying Mark’s company. I also learned that she was a
nurse at a hospital here in Miami. No wonder they were hitting it
off. They seemed to have a lot in common and no doubt that was
contributing to the instant chemistry they appeared to have.