The Chalice (Luna Vampire Series) (25 page)

             
"Okay, well, I promised, um,
him
I wouldn't tell you."

             
Oh, I liked the sound of this.  I was gonna get some dirt.
"Listen, you're sworn to me above him, right?"

             
"Yes."

             
"Then I order you to tell me.  So, it's not your fault; you have no choice."

             
She smiled appreciatively, her tension visibly decreasing.  "That does help a bit.  Still, I wonder if you'll be upset with me."  She paused, making eye contact with me again.  "You see, according to the prophecy you are to be Lord, um,
his
, mate.  So, obviously, growing any closer to Lucien will be problematic."

             
"What?" 
Talk about being caught off guard, jesus.
  "His mate?  Like one of those hideous prearranged marriages?"

             
"No, it's your destiny.  Only
the nameless one's
closest friends and family are told of the prophecy.  You see, Lucien and I were raised within
his
personal household.  Therefore, we were privy to the information."

             
Hmm.
  I remembered
mister sector six
describing our futures as inextricably intertwined during our telepathic encounter yesterday.  At the time, though, I'd blown it off as subterfuge and manipulation. 
He must've been serious.  Damn.
  "I need more information," I eventually groaned, head spinning at the news.  "Explain the prophecy to me."

             
"
His
seer, Michel de Nostredame, envisioned the mating shortly after your birth."

             
Michel de Nostredame?
 
Interesting.
Tsedaka'd told me his prophet's name was Michel, must be the same guy.  Beyond that, he seemed familiar for some other reason. 
"I think I recognize the name, but I can't quite put my finger where..."

             
She giggled daintily, interrupting me.  "Oh yes, I'm sure you've heard of him.  He's more commonly known as Nostradamus."

             
"You're kidding!  Nostradamus is his private seer?" 
No wonder everybody believed the prophecies.
 
He'd predicted all sorts of world events.  The gulf wars.  9-11. 
"Didn't he supposedly die in the 1500s?" 

             
"Yes and no.  It's standard practice for made vampires to publicly fake the deaths of their human lives.  You see, Michel was the first vampire Lord, um,
the one we can't name
, ever turned.  Back in the day, Michel practiced medicine and he treated many of Lord, uh,
his
human slaves for the plague.  As payment,
the nameless one
visited Michel's deathbed..."  She faltered, catching hold of my hand as her face grew solemn.  "So, uh, now that you're aware of the prophecy, you must realize that
he
wouldn't have sent the assassin.  You should also see that developing more feelings for Lucien is a horrible mistake."

             
"You're correct, in some respects.  I mean, if
mister sector six
believes I'm his future mate, he probably wasn't behind my attack.  Nonetheless, I still don't trust him."  He'd hidden his true intentions, claiming to be around to help
for helping's sake alone
when he'd actually had ulterior motives. 
Why lie?  It didn't add up. 
"And, Lucien, well, we're just friends.  We've gotten close, but it's not romantic." 
So far, anyway.

             
And, to be honest, I was undecided over whether or not I even wanted more to come of my strange connection with Lucien.  Regardless, I certainly liked keeping my options open. 
A prophecy is simply that, a prediction.  It's not reality, yet.  My choices are what's gonna shape my future, not a stupid seer's words...

Chapter
17

             
Stretching and yawning, I opened my eyes to see Lucien sound asleep at my side.  Last night he'd returned ragged from ditching the car, obviously exhausted from days without blood.  After scarfing a handful of fries off the room service cart, he'd collapsed onto my bed, refusing to leave me alone for safety reasons.  And I didn't complain.  Honestly, I felt more at ease having him nearby. 

             
I also neglected to bring up my conversation with Amelia regarding the prophecy.  He probably already knew anyway; he'd most likely perceived my mixed emotions when I heard of
my destiny
from her in the first place.  Still, I tried to fall asleep as soon as he got back in order to dodge his psychic eavesdropping.  I'd rather discuss it with him later, once I finished sifting through everything.  Having his thoughts in the mix would just confuse me worse.

             
For now, I needed to uncover the truth.  I was drawn toward him, similar to crushing on a cute guy.  And, of course, I found him attractive.  His lips were especially yummy.  At the moment, they were slightly parted, as if waiting for a kiss.  Compounding the whole mess, was the fact that he seemed to mirror my affections. 

             
Regardless, I was unsure whether our bond created the feelings or if they were from a real attraction.  Also, since he ultimately had to follow all my orders, wouldn't dating him be sort of taking advantage?  And what about the prophecy?  What if it truly described my destiny? 
Frustrating, absolutely frustrating.
 

             
And poor, sweet Amelia.  Last night, when Lucien arrived, she was already asleep in her own room at the opposite end of the suite.  After we finished dinner, the anemic thing almost passed out sitting up.  Her body was trembling from fatigue so badly that I basically had to carry her to bed. 
God, I hoped she felt better today.
  I needed blood, not crappy human food.  Don't get me wrong, normal food tasted freaking awesome.  I loved yesterday's hamburger and
especially
enjoyed the slice of double fudge cake, yet the combination of carbs and protein hardly gave me an energy boost.

             
All the feeding stuff totally sucked.  Seriously, why didn't the alien beings who created this curse of a genetic modification make it so we could drink bagged blood?  Why'd it have to be this complicated?  Out of nowhere, my stomach growled and, in turn, Lucien began to stir. 
Damn, he was waking up.  No more private solace, welcome to the fun world of telepathy.

             
As if on cue, he slid his hand beneath the layers of crumpled sheets, found my belly, and started tickling me playfully.  "Jeeze, girlie, your stomach's rumbling louder than a freight train."

             
Instantly, I burst into laughter.  Giggling up a storm and wriggling away from him, I simultaneously struggled to keep my shirt in place.  You see, before bed, I'd abandoned my dirt encrusted jeans and socks, preferring comfort over modesty.  And, besides, I worked as a stripper for god's sake. 
How modest did I actually need to be? 
Every guy in Topeka Kansas'd seen me naked; it didn't matter if Lucien saw me in a shirt and panties.
  Big deal. 
Nonetheless, if Amelia found out, she'd assume it meant he and I were growing closer.
And that I'd ignored her advice.

             
A few minutes with his tenacious fingers later, I finally gave in and begged for a reprieve. "Can't breathe!  For real, I might..."

             
"You deserve this, you made too much noise!" he snickered, digging his hands in deeper. 

             
"No more!" I wailed, cackling harder.  "Stop!  Please!"

             
Immediately, his demeanor sobered and he released me.  "Now, why'd you have to go and be such a spoilsport?" he grumped, batting his thickly lashed eyes at me wistfully.

             
Although my ribs ached from laughter, I felt awful for
inadvertently
forcing him to quit.  Controlling another person's will was a strange thing. 
I mean, everybody objects to being tickled.  Half the fun's that the tickler's in charge of the onslaught.  I hated holding this kind of power over him.
  "I'm sorry, Lucien, I didn't intend on giving you an order.  I only wanted you to ease up a bit."

             
A reassuring smile warmed his face.  "I'm just teasing, girlie, no worries."

             
Apparently, he was unbothered by my control. 
But me, well, I freaking hated it.  Seriously, would I ever adjust to the intricacies of vampire life?  Nope, probably not.  Sigh.
  Uncomfortably, I glanced at the heavy green draperies that ensconced the floor to ceiling windows of my room, desperately looking for a change of subject.  "So, um, the light that's coming in around the edges isn't hurting you?" 

             
"No, I'm alright," he muttered, squinting in the window's direction.  "It's good that the curtains are closed, though.  On the compound, they hammered it into us that even the smallest amount of indirect sunlight can be harmful.  I'd rather not put it to the test."

             
"I wouldn't either," I agreed.  Then my stomach growled again, much louder than earlier.  "Well, it's obvious that I'm starving.  How are you doing?"

             
"I must feed soon, one way or another.  The bagged blood wasn't helpful, nor were the fries or last night's sleep.  And I can't protect you when I'm this fatigued, which puts you in danger."

             
"I admit, the bagged blood didn't do much.  Sadly, I don't think Amelia will be feeding either of us today.  She was really out of it before she went to sleep."

             
He ran a hand through his sleep tousled hair, meeting my eyes intently.  "We're gonna need to find a few donors.  In the old days, vamps fed from random people all the time."

             
"Yeah, uh, won't that make 'em bond with us?" I stammered, dread filling my soul.  The last thing I wanted to do was form more connections. 
Lucien and Amelia were quite enough. 

             
"Traditionally..."  He faltered, his words trailing off until he noticed my impatient glare.  "Back in the day, vamps would drain humans dry
purposefully
to avoid creating familiars."

             
"Well, that's not an option!  We're not killing anybody!"  I couldn't believe he actually suggested an act so horrible! 
Bank robbery, yes.  Car theft, yes.  Mind manipulation, maybe.  Murder?  Not only no, but hell no.

             
"I knew you'd object," he backpedaled.  "I simply figured I'd put it out there.  Personally, I'm with you; I don't feel right about offing some unsuspecting stranger.  All the same, I'll do what I must to protect your life."

             
"I won't," I huffed. 
Even idle talk of it was appalling
.  "We'll go grovel at Tsedaka's feet again before we start killing people!"

             
He leaned closer, reaching through the covers toward my bare leg.  Upon finding me, his soft fingertips played lightly across my skin.  Shortly thereafter, my psyche oozed with a sense of peaceful serenity.  "We've got other alternatives, girlie.  Just hear me out." 

             
"Okay, but these
alternatives
better not include murder," I growled.  Briefly, I considered shifting back from his touch with the understanding that it'd lessen the sensation of calmness.  Nevertheless, I sorta liked it and, truthfully, I probably needed to mellow a tad. 
My rage was ready to bubble over.

             
"At the compound, those of us who weren't bonded, periodically gave blood.  You see, human blood holds its life force at full strength for several hours.  This means that, with a donor and the right equipment, we can feed without creating a bond."

             
"How are we supposed to accomplish that?" I snapped, skepticism accenting my words.  "We're in the
real world
.  Nobody's gonna volunteer to let us harvest their blood, not even a dumb crackhead."

             
He moved his hand further up my thigh, inches from my panties.  "I never said it'd be easy." 

             
"Yeah, damn near impossible.  We're both too weak to enter a person's subconscious and trick them into it.  Plus, they might remember our faces and go to the cops."  Then we'd have Tsedaka's thugs, assassination attempts, and the human authorities to worry about. 
Not a good plan.