The Guilty Innocent (14 page)

“Doesn't work that way, it is within his or her right as master to ask for
Homage
in any manner they may see fit. To refuse would lead to a
Challenge of Authority.
”
He looked at me sternly. “And that is never good news,” he said.

I was beginning to understand what he must do.
I
did not like it,
I
did not want Xavier to have to have sex with some asshole vampire. However, I knew he would if it would mean helping Darian.
I
nodded and we changed the subject to discuss a plan of action for when we find our targets.

“So we have about three more hours before we land in Moscow, Natasha, why don't you get some sleep. You must be exhausted by now.” He said, then he climbed into the chair settling behind me, pulling me closer to him.

His warm body felt nice and I snuggled closer to him as he wrapped his arms around me. It wasn't too long before sleep did catch up to me. I dreamed and between the dreams, I saw the visions. I focused on my target and found him. He was at home now, he and the blonde woman who was on the plane with him were having sex, most violently. He had a silk scarf wrapped around her neck and was choking her slowly as he pounded himself deeply into her. It seemed to increase her pleasure each time he pulled harder on the ends of the silk scarf. She clawed at his back, drawing blood until they both exploded in ecstasy. He collapsed on top of her, panting and trembling. Finally, he rolled over reaching for his cigarettes, lit one, then offered one to her. She pulled the long white cigarette from the pack and he lit it. They laid on the bed in a cloud of grey smoke as they basked in the afterglow of their wild lovemaking.

She turned to him, exhaling a thick grey cloud of smoke through her lips and nostrils. “Don't forget, you have to meet with Dmitri tomorrow.” She inhaled the cigarette again, blowing thick clouds of smoke from her lungs. She made certain to remind him of the location as well.

“Ya, I know, Lidiya. You've only reminded me a hundred times already!” he said annoyed.

“Well, maybe if you weren't such a fuck up, a constant reminder would not be in order.” Lidiya said arrogantly, then she climbed out of the bed.

The light from the table lamp reflecting over her smooth naked body causing her skin to glow. I watched her walk away through his eyes and knew he both hated her and lusted
for
her. He rose out of the bed, stretching and looked out of the window, the city streets were busy and the night was chilly. There was an Italian restaurant across the street, but it wasn't the same restaurant where he was to meet Dmitri. Nikolai turned and climbed back into the bed, the female came out of the bathroom and began to dress, he watched her intently.

“He would kill you if he ever found out about us...or about you and Anthony,” he said in Russian.

She smiled. “Well, it's a good thing he will never find out...right, Nikolai?” Lidiya asked as she looked at him coldly.

Nikolai nodded slowly. “Right,” he said then he watched her walk out of the apartment.

I slowly began to hear someone calling my name and the vision became clouded as I was pulled away. I opened my eyes and blinked at Xavier as he leaned over me.

“We're here, time to get up,” he said, smiling widely at me. “You snore,” he chuckled.

I blushed. “Shut up, people tired!” I said playfully. Sergio and John were already loading the luggage into the cabs. “What about the coffins?” I asked as I looked at their damaged remains. Xavier turned to looked at them and laughed.

“I don't think we'll be using those...although, now
I
wish
I
hadn't damaged mine so completely, they could have came in handy,” he said thoughtfully.

I shook my head. “That's what you get for going mad.”
I
joked.

Xavier looked at me and smiled, he put his arm around my shoulder and escorted me off of the plane. Sergio, Devin and Elise took one cab. Xavier, John and myself took the other. Inside the cab, I told them about my vision. I spoke about Nikolai's and Lidiya's lovemaking and the meeting Nikolai was to have tomorrow, and I almost forgot to mention the most important detail about the vision.

“Oh, Xavier, I almost forgot...Lidiya mentioned the address.” I gave him the address of the restaurant.

“Excellent! That helps us cut down on time significantly,” Xavier smiled. “Oh, do you remember the name of the Italian restaurant that you saw?”

“Yeah,” I told him the name. He asked for my cell phone. I gave it to him. Once he completed his phone call, he looked at John and me.

“I called information for the address of that restaurant. Now it will be extremely easy to locate Nikolai since it's near his home.”

“Can we go there now?” I asked anxiously.

“Not yet, first we have to see the vampire master, to not go would show disrespect. Thus giving us more trouble than we need,” he said as he told the cab driver the address to the master's home.

Elise's cab followed ours and after thirty minutes of beautiful scenery we pulled in front of a huge castle-style mansion at least three stories tall! This was all very exciting to me. I have never been out of the state of Illinois...and going to Indiana for gas was hardly my idea of traveling. Now here I am, in Russia on a whim...this was very thrilling! Xavier climbed out of the cab, I began to follow but he stopped me.

“You don't need to go in, I shouldn't be long.” He said as he stood in front of the open cab door.

“I want to go, I'm not letting you go in there alone, you can forget that!” I said stubbornly.

“I don't want you to go, do you understand me?” it was more of a demand, than a question.

I looked at John, he shrugged his shoulders as if to say “that's between you and him”. I turned to face Xavier again.

“Why not?” I searched his face for any telltale expressions that would give me some insight. His face darkened a bit, then he looked solemn.

“Please, just stay here...” His voice trailed off as he stepped away from the cab closing the car door before turning to walk towards the mansion. As I watched him walk away, I began to fear that this would be the last time I would see Xavier. I panicked and began to climb out of the cab, when John grabbed me.

“Let me go, John!” I yelled, his gripped held me in place like a vice, I struggled in his arms but he held me steady. His levelheaded manner forced me to calm myself down, and I looked at him.

“Why won't you let me go?” I asked, my eyes began to water.

He looked at me dismally. “Because, he may have to do something he doesn't want to do, nor would he want you to see it. You have to understand Natasha, vampires are like no other creature. We are like human beings, only we are not bound by high-standard mortal moralities...do you understand what I'm trying to say?” he asked me, I shook my head. He took a deep breath, then went on to explain.

“Vampires, for the most part, are decadent beings. Powerful, immortal...some-insatiable. Many vampires consider themselves to be the superior beings. That is why vampire politics or etiquette is so over-indulgent or bizarre, or both. It's all about exerting one’s will over the other, one's power over the other.”

“Do you think this master vampire would make Xavier have sex with him?” I questioned softly.

“I think it is a possibility. He wanted Xavier to pay him
Homage,
if we all went in there, he would have more to use against Xavier. He may want games, entertainment at our expense,” he said as he looked into my eyes.

The cab driver seemed to be listening to the conversation. He had appeared to be a little nervous at first, because of my little outburst. But now, it would seem that he was intrigued by what John was saying.

“We'll wait for Xavier here-”

“What if he tries to kill Xavier!?” I interjected fearfully.

 
“I don't think he is older than Darian, if he were to hurt Xavier, it would bring on a war. A war he would lose. It is within his right to ask for
Homage,
but to outright maim or kill a member of another vampire's coven is not a bright idea. Don't worry, Natasha... everything will be alright.” John said as he put his arm around my shoulder attempting to calm me.

I tried to remain calm, but my mind was tormented by the images of Xavier being tortured or some other heinous act. To distract my rampant thoughts and ease my mind, John asked me questions about myself in general. I played along by answering his questions, but it didn't ease my mind. An hour passed before Xavier stepped out of the doorway. He looked a bit pale and his expression was like stone as he walked towards our cab. He opened the door, climbing inside.

“Are you okay!?” I asked, concerned. I pressed my fingertips to his skin and was shocked by the coolness of his flesh. “You're so cold!”

“He drained me...I'll be fine,” he said softly. I was angry, I did not like seeing people being taken advantage of. And that is all this
“Homage”
crap was! Just another way to take advantage of someone weaker than you...I didn't like it!

“That asshole!” I growled.

I put my arms around Xavier, it did not matter that he was cool to the touch, only that he was here with me and safe. Xavier wrapped me in his embrace and nodded at John, who gave the cab driver the address to The Restaurant by Nikolai's home. We arrived there forty minutes later, it was three o'clock in the morning. We informed the cab drivers to leave the meters running and to wait for us, then we entered the apartment building. I was pleased to be able to recognize the Italian restaurant that I saw in my vision.

The only thing was...I didn't know the apartment number. However, that didn't seem to pose a problem. Elise and Sergio easily sniffed out his scent and we found ourselves on the seventh floor. We stood quietly in front of apartment 715, Sergio and Devin flanking one side. Xavier, John and myself on the other. Elise leaned against the opposite wall watching us.

“Should we just break on in?” I asked as I looked at Sergio then Xavier.

“Yeah, why not,” Xavier chuckled.

Sergio smiled. “Finally, some excitement!” he said as he turned the doorknob forcefully.

I could hear the metal lock break and the door opened. We walked into the apartment and looked around. The place was pretty ritzy. He had a contemporary decor throughout the apartment of black leather and marble furniture, marble tiled floors, high ceilings and carved window frames. It was a very nice apartment, you could tell he had enough money to maintain it. Sergio sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring slightly, then he walked off towards a closed door. He opened the door without making a sound and we all peered inside. Nikolai was asleep under the covers of his huge king size bed. He had no idea that we were in his apartment. Xavier and John stood over his bed, Devin stood at the foot of the bed, he reached over and wiggled the big toe on Nikolai's right foot. The man on the bed stirred, he slowly began to open his eyes. I could see the very moment when his vision cleared and he realized he was in danger. He reached for his gun under the pillow, but Xavier caught the weapon, snatching it from his hand. John straddled the man and held his shoulders down on the bed.

The man began to speak rapidly in Russian, I could not understand what he was saying. I now knew that Xavier understood and I was certain Elise as well. Xavier looked at the confusion in my expression and he began to translate.

“He is saying that we are in a 'hell of a lot of trouble.' He says if anything happens to him, 'we will all die.'” Xavier said dryly as he looked down at the man, then he began to speak Russian to Nikolai.

I wished I understood the language, but I only understood through my vision and that was only because I see visions through the eyes of the person I made a connection with. Being here at this moment was sort of frustrating. I watched the man's facial expressions change from arrogant to frightened, he began to shake his head rapidly and thrash on the bed.

“What did you say to him?” I asked and Xavier raised his beautiful grey-eyed gaze to me.

“I told him that we know he was one of the guilty members responsible for killing Annette and framing Darian. I told him, if he didn't confess, I would kill him slowly and painfully.” Xavier said, his voice so monotone that it sent a chill down my spine.