Daylight - Book 1 (No Death for the Wicked) (4 page)

Chapter Two

Solace

We walk out of the train station bathroom and head across the open terminal toward a wide set of steps heading downward, I assume, to the subway station.  We go down about thirty steps and hit a well lit tunnel that runs about two hundred feet before ending at a set of translucent automatic doors.  The doors briskly close as we pass
through; eventually we approach a ticket station.  Pan already has her card in hand, but I don't have one.  “Hey, go to that second window and buy the gold Metro card. It's only twenty bucks and it's what I use,” She waves her gold-toned placard card which looks very similar to a normal ID, but with no picture.

Ten minutes later with my own gold card, Pan and I commute deeper into the Subway. Thousands of humans and vamps merge and mix while they come and go
. I wrangle my way through people keeping a good pace with Pandora. My eyes dart across the landing noting the majority of vamps are dressed more stylish, and the money shows. Pinstripe suits, top hats, and wingtip shoes states an awful lot about this city, even the structure down here has me practically dragging my jaw along the over-polished floor.

Only two tones favor the walls, red and black. The extremely high curved ceilings really makes you feel like you are traveling to the bowels of the earth. Standing beside a set of escalators, a couple draws my attention. There is a distinct uniqueness to the way these vampires dress and the humans just wander among
them without a clue.  It amazes me as I observe the vampire couple as they view the humans in a way I have seen humans watch their favorite pets. The superior nature of this is a little overwhelming.  I always thought that we, vampires, were some type of accident that needed to be hidden. Well, you know how I use to live.  But here, these vamps walk along like royalty, every single one of them.  They seem so gussied up as if this is some type of time warp and we are back in Victorian England, getting ready to visit the palace and have tea with the Queen.

“Don't stare,” Pan hisses at me as she veers around a man and his briefcase.

“I wasn't,” I sass back. “Besides, once you've seen one royal Goth-looking vamp, you've seen them all.”

“They're the Elite.”

“The what?”

“Never mind, we're almost at the platform.” Her tone is quiet but her noisy gait resonates through the tunnels. We come up to another tall glass wall but just on the other side is a l
ine of turnstiles. Swiping the Metro pass which changes the blood red light to eminent green, I push through to the other side. The high-class platform is wide with colored glass tile work and arches that hold several brass pricey chandeliers. The train has not arrived yet so it gives me time to absorb all this, not sure if I should be shocked, awed, or down right nervous. I am definitely in a new league.
Mother dearest
and I never traveled here or any other major city. She
'liked the small town ease of things'
she use to say, but I truly believe there is something more than meets the eye on that tight-lipped topic. 

As we wait I calmly tilt my head back, catching a glimpse of the elite couple
, wondering what it is that makes them appear more politic, is it their Bram Stoker’s Dracula theme they have going on, or the way they gaze intrusively over everyone. The man shifts his roving glare to me. I narrow my eyes at him. He smirks and slants his silver tipped cane in my direction. I snap my head forward as a chill runs down my spine, my hands shake and I'm a little startled that he caught me staring. Freaked out that he pointed at me, but I suck in a breath and realize what he really was pointing at
the train
.

The secret subway is incomparable to anything I have ever seen
. On top of that the entire damn train is white. The inside is white, including the flooring to the leather seats. We take our seats and as everyone else boards I ask Pan, “How long will it take us to get to your place?”

“Twenty minutes.” 

I nod and squint at an odd plaque through the windows, I scoot up trying to make out the words. It is hung on the track-side wall, a commemoration for the InterVoynich Transit Company. The stonework is insanely done and an image of a gruesome gargoyle mounts above it. 

“Remember it,” Pandora's hushed cautionary voice grabs my attention.

I ease back in my seat and spout off, “What is it? I mean, I know what it is, but why should I remember it?” 

She takes out an old folded piece of paper, and opens it up. A map, and not just a map of the city, but underground too.

“This is where we are...” she points at a location that apparently has been circled far too many times and then she drags her finger to another area.

“We have two stops, S
outh Pointe and Intercity South before we get to Intercity North, that's our stop.” She peeks up briefly to see if I'm still with the program.

I nod. “Yeah, okay.”

She motions a subtle gesture toward the plaque and adds, “The ones with gargoyles mean that there is passage out of the subway through a tunnel labyrinth for our use during the day.  Some stops don't have gargoyles and that means no access to the tunnels.  We can use them at night though.”

“So, there is
significance to them other than giving you the creeps?” I crack a sidelong smile at her.

“Yes, they hold a huge significance. So pay attention.”  She folds up the time worn map and stuffs it back into her pocket. As the passengers settle, the train begins to roll out and Pan des
cribes a little more about the Metro system. It parallels the public Solace Metro which has four main track lines. Each platform has concealed entryways with protection beneath the city from the daylight.

We hit our first stop and I study the men and women leaving.

“Why do the humans use the subway?”

“It's faster.”

“Okay, next question. Why don't I notice any kids on here?”

“Solace is not that type of city. The men and women that come and live in Solace come for one purpose.”

“And that would be?” I quirk my brow at her.

“It's a Hell in Paradise.” 

The train stops so smoothly I barely notice but it is our stop.  Taking a quick look around to make sure no humans can hear me, while the next question hovers on my lips impatiently. An automated tone sounds and a soothing feminine recorded voice tells us to “
please depart safely and have a good day,”
as the doors slide open. Pan nudges me and we bustle off the subway train and onto a landing identical to the one we boarded from.  Pan shows me the difference by pointing out the gruesome snarling stone gargoyle hunched over the plaque. I make a mental note about them stationed around the platforms.  Following Pan, we silently make our way to the restrooms, but instead of going in, we pass those doors to another set that says
authorized personnel only
.  There is another swipe pad next to the door.  It looks like a credit card reader.  She swipes it once and the door clicks open. “The gold pass is for vamps only and it gives us access to certain tunnels too.” 

I chase after her for about ten minutes before she treks to an underground basement, a waft of mold and dampness practically strike me off my feet. I battle with a cobweb clinging like ivy in my hair, wondering
whose bite would be worse as I flick the nervy little spider off me. The light up ahead brightens, following the wrought iron stairs upward I ask, “So, is this how urban spelunkers live?”

“No, it's how we live.” She unlocks the door, and we enter a dark blue hallway. 
Once I went on a midnight tour with Sammie to an up scale museum with all its marble domes, white columns and exquisite tiled floors. Well,
we snuck in
, okay well,
we broke in
, but still. All of that does not even compare to the elaborate and incredible hall that I stand in now. This very much resembles something out of a palace. Paintings and brass wall sconces line the hall. Again, I'm trying to keep my gaping mouth from becoming a permanent attachment to the floor.

“Paradise,” I utter out trailing my fingertips along a golden trimmed frame, the title:
The Nightmare
by Henry Fusell's 1781 piece.

“Here we are, apartment 218,” she announces about five doors down. I venture inside as she tosses her keys on a small sized vintage table beside the door. The living room is plain and dark, a few lamps cast out just enough light to tell the couch is
burgundy. “It has three bedrooms and two baths Mattie. So, don't sweat it about crashing here. You can stay as long as you need to,” she yells from another room.

“Um, okay. Thanks,” I reply checking out the bookshelf full of dust. “You read much?”

“No, not really. I have books just for appearance purposes only,” Pan retorts as she re-enters the room with light pink silk pajama pants adorned with little white bunnies all over.  Her T-Shirt says
“I (heart) bite marks”
.

“Pan, do you feel okay... dressed like that?” I ask.

“Yeah, this is the only place I get to let out my pinkness. You know pink is not a vampy color.”

“Yeah, I can guess that one. You sure do look like hell in paradise dressed like that.”

Pan stops and looks at me then sits cross legged on the couch and says, “About that, let me tell you about the whole Hell in Paradise thing. You see, humans that come here are screened and they believe they are living in Paradise, even though they are really trapped and provide us with our sustenance. There are no children or elderly humans here.” 

I slump down on the armrest of the couch as Pan keeps talking, “Any human that gets out of line though, will disappear. Well, that can go for vamps too. Cross one of the Elites and you may never be seen again. We have everything here any vamp could ever dream of, but watch your back and be careful. The Elites are the Voynich Vampires who are as old as the fucking sun and just as powerful. They rule the city of Solace with complete supremacy and dominance.”

“So what are the rules?” 

“Never reveal yourself as a vamp in public.
Ever
.” She enunciates the last word with so much emphasis I mentally note it. And quip back, “Okay, What else?”

“You must submit to a vamp
ire of a higher rank than you.”

“That may be a slight issue,” I say calmly but annoyed all at the same time.

“Feed as you like, but don't kill a human doing it. Other than that, you are on your own to live like you want to live.”

“So, do you out rank me?” I urge with my chin slightly raised.

“No, Mattie, most of the vamps in the city are independents, it's only the Elites that can call for your submission.”

I have been holding this question in far too long and since we are in the moment and in the tell
-all-stage of our relationship. I ask the one question I have been dying to throw on the table, “Can I get the serum here in Solace?”

Pan doesn't bat an eyelash at my question and
answers, “The Serum for Daylight? And if that's what you are truly after, then you will have to see the Elites. One of the Voynich members would be your best bet. They have everything, Mattie.”

I chew on my lip ring in contemplation and watch as she flips on some music and walks over to the kitchen. Her voice moseys right along with the Kings of Leon
‘
I Want You’
and then she
calls out from behind the refrigerator door, “Thirsty?”

“Yeah, actually I am.”

She tosses me a bag of blood and strolls back in carrying two glasses. Plopping down in the glitzy burgundy couch she opens her bag and pours a glass. Offering me the other glass she eases back.

“So... we've covered the
fact that you're not attached to anyone. No master, or clan, or anything to that nature.”

I snap off the connector tube from the bag and pour my glass, “Pretty much.” I take a drink and explain, “My maker, which she likes to be called
mother
,” I snort. “Lives somewhere else and any further discussions about that is case closed.”

“Fair enough. Okay, so what do you do for sex?”

I swallow hard and peer over my glass at her. 

Chapter Three

Coffee Shop

“Why, are you offering?” My smirk makes her wonder if I'm serious.

“So
, my pink bunny pajamas do turn you on?”  We both stare at each other with straight faces, and then simultaneously burst into laughter. “I knew you weren't all dark and depressing with your Gothic glam. I had a feeling under all that, there was a naughty vamp inside,” she sasses back, I shrug and finish off my drink.

She leisurely props her feet up on a pile of smoky colored pillows and quizzes, “Come on Mattie, who's the guy that has your fangs dying to bite into? Are you running fr
om him or tryin' to forget him?” 

I guffaw at her, “Well, since you're so damn persuasive I'll spill it. His name is Graham and no, I'm not running.” Saying his name out loud makes me cross my legs and bite my nail, the compulsion to be close to him again has me fidgeting.

“Why didn't he come here with you?” She takes my empty glass and strides back into the kitchen. “Do you want any more?”  Her voice carries from the other room, I don't care what she's saying, I'm distracted for a second, thinking about Graham's remarkable blue eyes, his skillful hands, his sinful mouth, and his...

“Mattie?!” I blink and find Pan snapping and waving her fingers in front of my blank face. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah...” I sigh out, I bend down and pick up my bag, sling it over my shoulder. “Let's just say, he's a dark and mysterious kinda guy, and I have no clue where the hell he is. I haven't seen him in quite some time now, but it's okay. I think I'll live.”

She tilts her head against the door frame, crosses her arms over her ample breasts and glowers as she quips, “Mmm... dark and mysterious sounds like my kind of guy.”

“Yeah well, he definitely has them dying to be in his presence. So
anyway
... which way to my room?”  She points down the hallway and to the left.

“Get some shut eye Mattie, if you're serious about finding the serum then, tonight, I may have a way to help.”

I walk two steps forward and cock my head to the side and ask, “Do you have any hunky guys locked up in a room or a red fetish room that I need to know about, Pan?”

“Why... ?”

“Because you have a pair of men's shoes outside this door in the hallway.”

“Oh, y
eah those... um, well, they do belong to a guy, yes, those are men's shoes.”

“If you don't want to tell me it's okay.”

“No, no, it's not that, it's just, well.”

“Pan, just don't tell me he's tied to the bed wearing only bunny slippers.”

She chuckles and uncrosses her arms as she makes her way to the bedroom door and retorts, “Nope, he's not in bunny slippers.” She winks at me as she slips through the door and closes it quietly.

*

It's a quarter after nine at night and I'm at The Java Drip. I tug down the sleeves on my gray sweater as I stand in line to order. Bold jade-green and rose-colored words display on the menu overhead just above the counter. This place is packed considering the time, and the only thing they serve is
coffee.
..
Right
. The simple yet intricate design of the place alone keeps me occupied, black and white classic coffee signage is everywhere. I read down the list of choices: Black Velvet Cognac, Red Jalapeno Coconut, Vanilla Cream, Pumpkin Spice, Buttered Rum, Packer Perk, and everything imaginable. I'm surprised they don't serve cigarette flavor too.  I order what catches my eye. “A Shot In the Dark, please.”  The savvy cute vamp behind the counter looks at me, and notes my order with a smile. He pulls a special container out from under the counter.

“Anything else?” h
e asks as he sits my cup down.

I shake my head 'no' and hand him a five. “Keep the change.”

“Well, um, your order is seven fifty.” He shows me the five.

“Say… what? You’ve gotta be fucking with me.”

“Nope, sorry.”

“Here… damn. And I want my change this time.” I hand him a ten.

I wheel around and take a sip from the disposable
coffee cup, the hint of blood hits the spot and I lick my lips in expensive satisfaction as I join Pandora at a table nestled in the corner.

“So, that's the best you can do?” Pan says as I slide into the seat across from her.

I grab six packages of sugar, shake them and pull the plastic lid off my cup and dump the contents in. I'm greeted with a disgusted look on Pandora's face. “What?”

“Mattie, that's just gross.”

“Oh, come on, I have a sweet tooth, nothing wrong with that.”

“Now back to my original question, your attire, is that the best you can come up with?”

“Are you talking about my red plaid short skirt, I think its fuckin' cute.”

“Yeah t
hat and the cross necklace you are wearing, seriously?”

“I'm wearing this for protection, you know from bad vamps.”  I chuckle as I take a deep sip of my coffee, finishing it
way too quickly. 

I place the lid
on and push the empty light brown paper cup back.

“Mattie, this representative from the Elite will have some questions, but not like a job interview.  This is much more serious. They will start out with your full name and then ask about your history
. Who you were as a human and other details about you.”

“
Okay, I guess that’s cool. I always thought it was kind of sad that I don't remember who I was as a human.”  My eyes wander around the coffee shop randomly hoping she doesn't hear my stomach rumble.

“What? Really?  Yo
u have to be fucking kidding me? You really don't know who you use to be?”  Pan's expression of disbelief is a definite Kodak moment.

“Mommy dearest use to call me Mattie Kinsley, but hell, she could have made that up.”

“How old are you, do you know that?” Pan still wearing that mouse in a trap kinda look.

“Um, I don't know, maybe a couple of decades.” I think I can actually hear the squeaking from Pan's jaw as it becomes unhinged from her face.

“Well unholy hell Mattie, you are a young vamp, a very young vamp.”

“Yeah... and?”

She shrugs.

“Just so you know I can handle myself.”

“No doubt or you wouldn't be here. Okay, well first things first you need to know your way around the city.”

She snags a few coffee creamer containers and scatters them on the table shaping them into a pentagon. Tapping her
black micro-glittered nail over each one as she gives me a break down of how things are laid out. “There are five main areas of the city and in the center of the city is usually where all the government stuff happens. Each city section is run by a branch of the Elites with the supreme ruler of Solace residing in the center.”

She moves her nail over and points, “Here is the Parliament building, the Cathedral building, then across the river there is the Metro building and last but not least the Hotel which not just any
ordinary hotel, it's the luxurious Voynich Vampire Hotel. Let me see, did I forget anything, oh yeah, the ruler of Solace lives in this Hotel.”

“Thanks, Pan the tour guide, but do you really think I am going to work for them or try to bite my way up the corporate ladder to get the serum?” She cocks her pierced eyebrow sternly at me.

“Well, I sure as hell have no idea how you will get it without getting in with the Elites somehow.” She gathers the containers and drops them back into the small pea-green square box.

“Okay, I get it. All I have to do is answer a couple of questions, understand the rules, and know my way around the city. I don't see how hard this could be, sounds easy enough.”

She leans closer to me and whispers, “Yeah, but they have to accept you first.”

Her face drops as she surveys me. “You're hungry.”

I incline my head to the side as I give a weak shrug and lip back, “Yeah, so. I'm always hungry. I have an extremely high metabolism.”

“You should try smoking or something to keep your fangs from exposing twenty-four seven, Mattie.”

“I quit, I was told it was a bad habit and besides nothing is exposed now,” I contest as my fangs retract back. I gun a look around the cafe' to ignore her and spot a man. Five tables over and a little to the left, sitting just behind a couple. The only visibility I have is his dark gray sleeved jacket as both arms rest easily on the table, and the five o'clock stubble along his defined jawline. He's facing the front of the cafe' while I'm sitting directly opposite of him. He slowly and enticingly licks his lower lip and I do the same, but he can't see me of course. His perfectly designed full mouth, and masculine chin, reminds me of
him
. I start fantasizing about how having him licking his lips after each sip he takes is making my night better and better.

My hunger taunts at my mind but watching
him
fills my desires, it's almost as effective as smoking.  My imagination and I take two tickets to Fantasy Island,
well, my dirty version of it
and once we arrive I can barely hear that little midget Tattoo shouting
'Da Plane... Da Plane'
as my incriminating thoughts solely focus on his lips and mouth. The many things I would love for
him
to do to me begin straying across my consciousness. I see us standing together, alone in the moonlight with his strong arms around me and his intoxicating lips and teeth leaving permanent tracks down my skin as he explores my... “Mattie, what the hell, are you going to daydream all night or are you going to feed?”

Wet panties and a dry mouth
is not a good combo for a vamp and it takes me a second to answer. “No... wait...what?  Here? Mostly everyone in here is a vamp. The guys working here are vamps too and I hate to say it but they don't look that entertaining.” I suck in my lip ring and look again for
him
, but he's vanished as fast as one of my mother's ex-boyfriends.

“Yes, here. And look right over there.” Pan points to a well blessed blonde
barist with her buttons about to pop off her blouse, coming around the counter. She actually heaves her girls up so that her balance isn't thrown off. “Get her,
food is food
, glamour her before your fangs hang out permanently.”

“Alright, G
od forbid I miss a meal... here we go.” I stroll up to the counter and make eye contact with Kimmy, at least according to her name tag. 

She plasters on her best server smile and asks, “Hi Hon, what can I get you?”

“Hi
Kimmy,
I need a double shot Con Panna.” As she prepares it, I edge closer to the Formica counter. She adds the finishing touch with ice cold vanilly whipped cream on it and sets the small porcelain cup down, my hand grips hers and we lock gazes. “That'll be $6.95, anything
else
...”

What the fuck? Is everything in here seven dollars?
              “Yes, you need to go grab more napkins from the storage room, tell them you'll be back in five, Kimmy.”  My tone laces with glamour as I stare at her. I wait for the notorious obedient nod before I release her hand. My inherent charm is working and I dart a discreet smug look over to Pan as we make our way toward the storage room. 

The room is
cold and dark but she flips on the florescent lighting, and I'm bowled over with all the coffee paraphernalia.  It’s a coffee lover’s haven in here. The cold is mainly due to my hunger, I try to lick my lips but they are so damn dry that they stick to my teeth. I can't wait any longer. On cue she bends over and pulls out a package of napkins, once she stands upright I brush back her golden locks and hiss next to her ear, “I need you to be quiet...
this
will only hurt for a second.”

My hand clutches her vulnerable neck, feeling the active pulse
, my fangs break through the skin. Gaining a steady flow I close my eyes and savor her succulent blood. My thumb pulls the skin taut just below the puncture marks to give me more access to the vein. I have her facing the storage shelves on purpose because by the fourth pull I take, her fear is replaced with orgasmic thoughts. I'm not in the mood to be mauled and groped, left with only one option her hands grip the posts of the shelf. She shifts her weight against me as her head tips back and the roller coaster of the climaxing ride launches.

Her breathing changes, it's faster, more pulse pounding and she's hanging on to the sturdy galvanized shelving for dear life,
and the first subtle moan weeps out. Within the next few seconds her body will feel like she's paralyzed but in a good way. Her body temperature rises as she convulses... once... twice... and on the third time I retract my fangs and she lets out a groan of pure satisfaction. Cutting this a little short but it's enough to quench my hunger. I take one long, languid flick with my blood tainted tongue concealing the evidence. I'm not in the least bit interested if it was as good for her as it was for me, I think sometimes my hunger overrides and re-channels my sexual urges.