DraculaVille - New York - Book One (8 page)

“Don’t worry. I have plenty for you to do in the meantime.” She handed him the shopping lists from the coffee table. “Drake has decided he wants to cook. Go buy the items on these lists.”

He shuffled through the papers. “I don’t even know what half of this is. Why does he have to cook? He can’t eat it.”

“I know, but he’s depressed. Cooking will make him happy and keep him occupied. So that’s what he’s going to do.” She drained her coffee and went to the closet to retrieve her trench coat.

“Vampires get depressed?” Felix followed, looking puzzled.

“This one does.” She pulled on her coat and tied the belt. “I’ve got a meeting with Brent. We’ll meet here later and start working on our presentation.”

“Okay.” He sighed and tucked the stack of papers into his pocket. “You’re the boss.”

“That’s right and don’t you forget it, my little minion.” She reached out and tweaked his nose between her thumb and forefinger. “Maybe I should call you Igor and make you wear a hump under your shirt.”

“If you do, I’ll stab you with a very dull knife.” He glared at her. “Besides, Igor was in Frankenstein.”

“Oh, yeah.” She laughed and headed out the door.

Talia and Brent spent the entire day going over ideas and plans for the theme park and resort. She’d toyed with different ideas for names, and in the end, stuck with simplicity and called it
DraculaVille
. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it.

It was four p.m. by the time she exited Brent’s office building in downtown Manhattan. As she scanned the streets for a cab, a store across the way caught her attention. Ice blue neon formed the words
Mystic Pieces
above the door. On impulse, she hurried across. Horns blared right and left as she dodged traffic.

In the windows, books on every topic from witchcraft to Buddhism stood on display. Singing bowls, black candles, crystals, and rune stones scattered among the books. An aroma of burning sandalwood drifted from the entrance. She bit her lip and pushed through the front door into the dim interior.

She could barely find a path among crowded display counters, stacks of meditation cushions, and bins of herbs and other ingredients. A haze of smoke hung in the air from an incense burner at the back. The scent stung her nostrils, and her eyes watered.

“May I help you?” A woman in a long white linen dress approached from behind a display. Her bright red hair hung in loose curls to her waist. Inquisitive green eyes took in Talia from top to bottom, making her self-conscious and feel out of place.

“Yes. Well, maybe.” Talia fidgeted with the strap of her purse. “I’m looking for something, a charm maybe, that would repel, um, a vampire. Or maybe not repel him, but not let him hypnotize you and make you do his bidding. That sort of thing.”

The sales clerk blinked several times. “I see. So you don’t want garlic.”

Talia waved a dismissive hand. “Garlic doesn’t work.”

The woman’s mouth formed an ‘O’. “I see. I don’t really have anything for…vampires…specifically. Perhaps a general charm to ward off evil would work.”

“Okay, I’ll try anything.” She was desperate to avoid Drake’s affect when he gave her that ‘come here’ stare. It made her weak and foolish.

“Follow me.” The woman waved a hand toward the back of the store where a glass case held jewelry items. Behind the counter, she pulled out a brass tray of beaded bracelets. “These are nine eyed dZi beads. The pure ones. Very effective as protection.”

Talia bent and inspected the bracelets. “Do they all work the same?”

“As long as they’re pure, yes.” The woman smiled. “
The ancient dZi absorbs cosmic energy from the universe. It can guard against evil or misfortune and brings blessings to the wearer.”

The bracelets consisted of a string of etched black, white or dark brown beads on a cord. Talia picked up one that had three large, patterned, brown and white beads surrounding smaller dark brown beads. “Is this a good one?”

“If it calls to you, then that is the one you should choose.” The woman inclined her head.

Talia didn’t detect any particular cosmic tug, but it had caught her eye. It would have to do. “I’ll take it.”

The clerk rang her up and helped her adjust the cords so the beads hung snugly on her wrist.

She exited the shop and flung out her arm to hail a cab. Time to get to the apartment and see what Drake had cooked up. Literally.

Chapter 10

Darkness had settled by the time she arrived at her building. Anxiety ate at her chest like a gnawing rat. She felt guilty for not being home when Drake woke. Was it possible for a vampire to commit suicide if he got depressed? An image of him plunging a stake into his heart made her press the UP button on the elevator repeatedly. He’d seemed so vulnerable last night, and sad. What if he couldn’t live with his new circumstances, and walked into the sunlight to burn into a pile of vampire ash?

Her heart pounded as she slipped out the elevator doors the second they opened and ran along the hall to her door. She paused at the sound of laughter and clinking of glasses. What the hell?

When she entered, the scene that greeted her was anything but glum. Drake, Gerri and Felix gathered around the dining room table where a variety of dishes created tantalizing aromas. The silver candelabra from the photo shoot burned black candles that cast a flickering yellow glow about the otherwise dark room.

Gerri and Felix laughed and popped food in their mouths while Drake observed, a satisfied smile curling his lips. His fingers played with the stem of a wine glass full of blood. They startled as she slammed the door.

“Hey, Tal,” her friend said. She raised her wine glass. “Join the party.”

Talia stalked to the table, irritated she’d worried so much all the while a party had been going on. But then she saw a plate set out for her, and Drake already poured her a glass of wine, her ire dissipated. She didn’t feel quite so left out when her assistant jumped up and held out his fork.

“Try this, Tal. It’ll melt in your mouth.” He fed a bite between her open lips and stood back beaming.

Delicious buttery crab with a hint of lemon and dill. Oh , yes, it did melt in her mouth. She chewed and scanned the table for more.

“This, too.” Gerri raised a plate of bacon wrapped scallops. “Dip it in the roumalade sauce. It’s simply fantastic.”

Talia settled in the chair at the table’s head and forked a scallop. Drake came to her side and placed the glass of wine at her elbow. She looked up at him and surprisingly, he winked.

She twisted the bracelet on her arm, took a drink of wine, and ate the scallop. Pretty soon they were back to laughing, clinking glasses in crazy toasts, and gorging on the delicious array of food Drake had prepared.

“So, now that you have a private chef, I’ll be moving in,” her friend said, spooning garlic potatoes onto her plate.

“No, you’re not.” Talia stabbed another scallop.

“Me, too,” said Felix.

“This apartment is full enough with one human and one vampire.” She pointed her fork at them. “You people would have one continuous party going, and I’d be as fat as a pig. We have work to do.”

Her assistant stuck his tongue out at her. “Party pooper.”

“Somebody has to make sure this project gets off the ground.” She flipped open the folder from Brent’s office. “While you bums were here having fun, I came up with a fabulous plan for the Romania campaign.”

“I want to see,” Felix exclaimed and stood.

She extracted the sketch Brent had made, which showed an overall impression of the theme park. Poised in the center, a dark castle perched atop a cragged rock mound, towers and spires thrust into the sky like crooked black fingers. The rest of the park resembled different parts of the Dracula heritage. A creepy forest, a quaint village, various rides and adventure interactions spread out from the base of the castle. She turned the sketch so they could see it.

“Behold, DraculaVille,” she said in a low voice.

No one spoke for a moment, their gazes locked on the drawing.

“It’s spooky,” Gerri finally said. “Really spooky.”

“It’s genius,” Felix declared. “You’ve done it again, boss. It’s like Tim Burton does Disney World.”

Drake didn’t comment. He went into the kitchen and returned with a new glass full of blood.

“Drake? What do you think?” she asked. She wanted him to like the idea since he was such a key element. If he hated it, he’d have a hard time hiding that from the media. Plus she didn’t want to force him to do something he didn’t want.

“Felix is right. It’s brilliant. It has the right amount of spooky pleasure. People want to be afraid, but safely. At this place they can have the thrill of fear and then go to their bed safe and sound.” He pressed his lips together, unsmiling.

So, he recognized the allure, but did he like it? She flipped the picture around and studied it. Yes, she’d been specific that it should
not
come off like Disney World. This wasn’t mainly for kids—open more during the night than the day. It was an adult amusement park where a person could fulfill their fantasies of interaction with vampires. Women could be seduced, and men could battle, everyone could experience delighted fright. She heaved a sigh of satisfaction. It was perfect. So, what about it didn’t appeal to Drake?

“Too bad Vincent Price is dead. He’d be the perfect voice over in the ads.” Her assistant sunk his chin in his hand, a pout on his lips.

“What’s next?” Drake twirled his wine glass, the blood clinging to the sides.

Talia placed the drawing in the folder and crossed her hands on top of it. “Tonight, Felix will start prepping you for interviews, how to pose for pictures, what to say or not say in front of a camera. I’m going to work on the proposal in a PowerPoint presentation. I should have Anton’s photos on my e-mail by now.”

“And then?” Drake’s eyelids hooded his eyes.

“By Friday, I want to do a test run and take you to a club so I can see how you interact with people.” She glanced at her assistant who nodded agreement. “It’s the perfect nighttime environment.”

“You mean so you can see if I lose control and bite someone.” Drake sat straighter and leaned forward.

“No, I mean so I can see if you act like a jerk out in public,” she snapped. She then regretted her tone as a flash of pain crossed his features.

Gerri glanced at her then him. “We trust you, Drake. If you were going to go crazy and bite someone, you’d have already had one of us. Right, Tal?”

“Right,” Talia gulped a swallow of wine. What was it with him and the biting deal? Maybe he didn’t trust himself. “I want to see how people react to you. I think you have a special appeal, but I want to be sure. If you’re somewhere with a bunch of strangers, it’ll be apparent. I need to know. Do you understand?”

Drake licked his lips. “Special appeal? What do you mean?”

“Dear lord, do I have to spell it out?” She threw up her hands. Didn’t he understand how hot he was? “I
mean
I think women are going to throw themselves at you and we have to plan for it during a publicity tour. Okay?”

His brows flew up. “Oh.”

“And make sure he can dance without looking like a spastic monkey.” She pointed a finger at Felix.

She transferred her finger direction to Drake. “No smiling on camera. Don’t ever smile. I want to spread the mystery. Then when you do smile, it’ll be front page news all over the world, okay?”

He stared at her without blinking. “I understand.”

“Good. We have to create an illusion to hide the truth. But the truth will make the illusion more believable. It’ll be a careful balance, though. Are you cool with that?”

He took a drink blood and placed his glass carefully on the table. Then he moved his gaze around the table to each person. “We’re working together. I’ll do my part. This is important to Talia and I’ll do everything I can to help her.”

She smiled and swept a commanding finger at all of them. “From now on, we start calling him Dracula, that’s who he’s going to become and there can be no slipups. He has to be able to live the role without even thinking about it. Got it?”

Gerri and Felix glanced at Drake and all three nodded.

“Good. Now get to work.”

Chapter 11

Talia cast a last glance at Drake in the back seat of their cab as they headed for Soho. Black suit, black shirt, black skinny tie with a ruby stickpin. She brushed imaginary dust off his shoulder and his lips lifted in a half smile.

“Let me go first. I don’t want people to see us go in together. I’ll park myself at a table near the bar and watch. Gerri, Anton, and Felix should already be there.” She gave him an encouraging smile. “Ready?”

“Yes,” he murmured.

“Showtime,” she said and opened the door.

The sidewalk in front of the club,
Pearl
, was filled with a snaking line of party people in fancy, sparkly clothes doing their best to look beautiful. Talia wore a man’s tailored black suit with a white silk blouse. The people in line glared when she walked past to the doorman. She’d made arrangements with the manager of the club for VIP passes since she’d arranged publicity for them if tonight went well.

She flashed her black and gold card to the doorman. He touched his cap as he stepped aside and opened the door for her. Mumbles of discontent rose from the line, but she didn’t care. The throbbing base of dance music pounded in her veins as soon as she entered and she was immediately absorbed into a swirling mass of people.

After winding her way among the guests, she located Gerri and Felix at a tall table reserved for them by the bar. It sat atop a small rise, and she would have a good view of the floor when Dracula arrived.

“Where’s Drac?” Felix scanned the crowd.

“He’s coming.” She chuckled. None of them had been successful calling Drake
Dracula
. So they’d settled on Drac. “Where’s Anton?”

“On the stairs.” Gerri pointed. “He wanted to be above the crowd.”

The little Frenchman hung onto the stairway’s rail that led to a balcony level. Several cameras hung from straps around his neck. He raised a hand to her and she waved.