Vamps (2 page)

She was herself again: Lilith Todd, Vampire American Princess.

 

“Where've you been for so long?” Melinda asked as Lilith rejoined the group.

“I'm bored. You want to go downstairs?” Lilith said, ignoring the question as she drained the last of her drink.

“Sure.” Tanith shrugged. “Sergei hates dancing, don't you?”

“All my best moves are in the boudoir.” Sergei grinned crookedly. “I'll stay here and catch a buzz, if you don't mind.”

“Same here,” Oliver said as he sipped his drink.

“Come on,” Lilith said, taking Tanith by the hand. “Let's dance.” She turned to look at Carmen and Melinda. “Coming?”

Carmen and Melinda exchanged a look, then hopped to their feet and followed their friends without saying a word.

Even though the dance floor was packed, Lilith and her entourage effortlessly moved through the
crowd until they reached its center. As the quartet danced, laughed, and giggled among themselves, Lilith became aware that she was being watched. She looked around and saw a man in his mid-thirties staring at her intently.

Normally she ignored the clots that frequented the Belfry, but she was bored and she'd been drinking, and she liked his look. Perhaps she would have a little fun of her own. She met the man's eyes and nodded ever so slightly.

The clot flashed a smile that revealed expensive dental work and moved toward her. She glided up to meet him, her eyes locking onto and holding his own.

On seeing what Lilith was doing, Tanith, Carmen, and Melly quickly positioned themselves between the couple and the surrounding club-goers, effectively isolating the prey from the rest of the humans. As they continued to dance, the clot appeared oblivious to the fact that his newfound partner was gradually working him to the edge of the dance floor.

He placed his hands on Lilith's waist, his eyes blazing with a mixture of lust and pharmaceutically fed heat, but she easily slipped from between his fingers. She smiled, wagging a finger in mock reproach, but still didn't say a word. Instead, she nodded in the direction of the nearby ladies' room. His eyes brightened even more.

After checking to make sure the coast was clear, Lilith quickly led her prey into the restroom, the members of her entourage closing in tight behind her. Tanith followed immediately after her to serve as goalie, while Carmen and Melinda stood guard at the door, turning away possible intruders.

Lilith kept her eyes focused on her prey as she steered him backward, toward the middle toilet stall, the door of which was already standing open.

“So, uh, is your friend interested too?” the clot asked eagerly, his eyes flicking toward Tanith, who stood behind Lilith, blocking his exit to the door.

Lilith glanced over her shoulder at Tanith and the two shared a knowing smile. “Yeah, she'd like a piece of you as well.”

Lilith gently pushed her prey farther into the stall until the back of his legs made contact with the porcelain bowl. “In fact, we'd
all
like a little taste of you.”

The man grinned as he loosened his tie and dropped down onto the toilet, staring up at Lilith like he had just walked into a hot sex fantasy. Four gorgeous young chicks ready, willing, and able to have group sex with him? What's not to like?

That question was answered when Lilith lunged forward, unsheathing a pair of retractable two-inch fangs, which she buried in his exposed jugular. The clot barely had time for a short, strangled cry of alarm
before the neurotoxins in her saliva spread through his system, paralyzing his vocal cords and robbing him of his motor skills. His eyes rolled back in their sockets, showing only whites.

Although she had consumed human blood all her life, Lilith had only experienced the real thing straight from the vein two or three times before. As her prey's blood flooded her mouth, she was amazed at how
alive
it tasted. She sucked greedily at the crimson liquid, shivering in delight as her prey's vitality spread throughout her body.

“Hey, don't bogart him.” Tanith grinned as she tapped Lilith on the shoulder.

“Be my guest,” Lilith said as she stepped aside to give her friend a turn.

Tanith picked up the clot's limp right arm, pushing the sleeve of his suit back as she bit into his exposed wrist. He didn't moan or even blink.

As Lilith looked away from the scene in the bathroom stall, her attention was caught by her reflection in the mirror above the washbasins. She moved closer, transfixed by the sight of her mouth glistening red and wet, as if coated in fresh lipstick. Behind her she could see Tanith emerging from the stall, blotting her lips on a piece of toilet paper, as Carmen ducked in for her share of the evening's fun.

Suddenly there was a flurry of noise as Sebastian
pushed his way into the ladies' room. He had a wireless headset clipped to one ear and a concerned look on his face.

“What in the name of hell is going on here? I got a report that someone was blocking access to the women's restroom.”

Lilith moved to put herself between the club promoter and the toilets. “It's just girl stuff, you know. Nothing to get upset over, Seb.”

“What are you kids doing downstairs anyway—? Is the ladies' room in the VIP lounge not working?” Sebastian's gaze dropped to the floor and his eyes widened. “Wait a minute—are those
men's
shoes?”

Stepping around Lilith, he yanked open the door of the stall and stared at the man propped up on the toilet like an oversize rag doll. The clot's chin rested on his breastbone and his skin was nearly as white as the surrounding tile. Sebastian grabbed the man by the hair and lifted his head, then let it drop.

“What have you
done
?” he yelped. “You know the rules—no tapping on the premises! At least not during club hours!”

“Look, Seb—don't get upset, okay?” Lilith said, trying to defuse the promoter's alarm. “You can always put him in the cellar with the others, right?”

“Don't get
upset
?” Sebastian growled, flashing his fangs in open annoyance. “Do you
know
who this is?”

Lilith and the others looked among themselves and shook their heads. During the thrill of the hunt, no one had bothered to ask the prey his name.

“This man is a
very important
music industry executive! He can't just
disappear
! And he most certainly can't disappear from
my
club!” Sebastian picked up the clot's limp right arm and felt his wrist. “He's still alive. Praise the Founders for small favors.”

“Maybe we can drop him off at a hospital or something?” Tanith suggested.

“He's
not
going to an emergency room with all those bites on him!” Sebastian snarled, clearly irritated by the huge inconvenience of it all. “He looks like he fell into a snake pit.” Sebastian pressed a finger to his Bluetooth and shouted angrily into the mouthpiece. “Andre! I want the ladies' room in the chapel sealed off
immediately
! See to it no one, and I mean
no one
, comes in here. I dunno—tell 'em someone flushed a sanitary napkin.”

“So what do we do now?” Lilith asked. She had never seen Sebastian so angry before and it made her uncomfortable.

Sebastian heaved a sigh and rubbed his furrowed brow with the heel of his palm, doing his best to reel his temper in. “What's done is done. I'll handle this. There's no point in freaking out, okay? I'll take care of our friend here. I'll have the boys run a transfusion on
him. He'll wake up sick as a dog. Knowing this prick, he'll just assume he got lucky. But you're going to have to leave and stay away for a while.”

“You mean we're
banned
from the club?” Tanith wailed.

“Oh, c'mon, Seb—aren't you overreacting?” Melinda asked.

“Overreacting?”
Sebastian barked, rolling his eyes in disgust. “We can't run the risk of attracting attention here! Police would be bad enough, but the last thing the Belfry needs is Van Helsings!”

“But if we're banned from here, where will we party this weekend?” Carmen pouted.

“Anywhere but here,” Sebastian growled. “For all I care, you can party in hell.”

L
ilith groaned aloud as she huddled under her 980-thread Egyptian cotton sheets. Perhaps tapping that cokehead's vein hadn't been such a good idea after all. Although she was practically immortal and immune to virtually all human illnesses, drinking drug-laced blood could still bring a hangover.

She rolled over and squinted at the alarm clock next to her bed. According to the numbers it was three in the afternoon. She had promised to hook up with Tanith before five and do some shopping. Although she normally disliked going out before sunset, Lilith was willing to make the occasional sacrifice if it meant hitting Prada or Tiffany while they were still open.

She stretched her lithe, lean body, savoring the feel of the twelve-hundred-dollar sheets against her skin.
Sitting up, she punched the call button on the intercom next to her alarm clock.

“Yes, Miss Lilith?” a male voice promptly responded.

“I'm awake, Curtis,” she said. “Send my dresser up.”

“Right away, Miss Lilith.”

Lilith threw back the covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, which had been in her family since the days of Louis XV. She had long since learned how to physically dress herself, but she still needed her dresser, Esmeralda, to help her with her hair and makeup and always would.

Before she went into her bathroom, she double-checked to make sure all the curtains in the bedroom were pulled tight against the afternoon sun. Although she could walk around during the daylight hours without any adverse side effects, the same could not be said of the undead who served her family. The last thing she needed was her dresser bursting into flame just before she left to go shopping.

Satisfied that the room was adequately sun-proofed, she headed into her bathroom, which had separate chambers for her facial chair and tanning bed.

While she waited for the shower water to heat up, Lilith shucked off her silk chiffon cami-doll and punted it into the corner of the room. She luxuriated in the feel of the water pulsing against her skin as she lathered up with a body wash made for her by the family's private perfumier.

There was a light tap on the door as she stepped out of the shower. “Are you ready for me, Miss Lilith?” the dresser asked, pushing open the bathroom door wide enough to stick her head inside.

Esmeralda looked to be in her early thirties, with an olive complexion, raven-black eyes, and long, thick dark hair pulled back into a simple ponytail fixed with golden bangles. Lilith had never asked her, but she figured the dresser must have been a gypsy before she became one of the undead.

“Go ahead and set up, Ezzie,” Lilith replied. “I'm going to get dressed.”

“As you wish, Miss Lilith,” the dresser said, stepping aside to allow her mistress to pass before entering the bathroom, her black-and-chrome makeup case trundling along behind her like a pet on wheels.

Lilith darted across the room and opened the door of her walk-in closet. She snatched a pair of quartz-pink silk Perla briefs and a matching underwire from the top drawer of the antique cherrywood lingerie chest. She looked with distaste at her school uniforms, which were hanging in their own section of the closet, as if they might somehow contaminate the rest of her belongings. After fifteen minutes she finally decided on a pink Marc Jacobs blouse and a Chloé skirt, with flowered wedges. Maybe she'd buy something new to wear tonight.

She reentered the bathroom just as Esmeralda was
placing her last set of makeup brushes on a crisp, clean towel. The dresser's cosmetic case stood open, unfolded like some kind of exotic night-blooming flower, revealing the countless jars, tubes, sticks, and trays necessary to her profession.

As Lilith hopped into the leather facial chair, her eyes automatically went to the blank space where her vanity mirror would have been if she was like every other girl in her apartment building.

“Why can't I have just one mirror, Ezzie?”

“You know they're forbidden, Miss Lilith,” Esmeralda replied wearily as she busied herself with putting Sisley foundation makeup on her mistress's face.

“I know, but it's not fair.
I
still reflect. Just because everyone
else
around here is too old to look into mirrors doesn't mean
I
have to be punished as well.”

“True, you still cast a reflection,” Esmeralda said as she continued to apply the cosmetics. “But not for much longer. Once you fully mature from fledgling to adult, you will no longer reflect. You know it is against the decree of the Synod to own mirrors.”

Realizing there was no way to get around that particular argument, Lilith decided to shift the conversation. “Did you look at those magazines I gave you?”

“Yes, I looked at them.” The dresser sighed.

At one time Esmeralda had served as the personal beautician for some old French king's slutty girlfriend, and it was clear she resented having the latest Italian
Vogue
and
W
shoved under her nose all the time. It wasn't that Lilith thought Esmeralda did a bad job; she just wanted to look hot, that was all. One of the things they'd taught at school, which she had to admit was actually useful, was that it was important to stay abreast of the current fashion trends and not get stuck with a certain “look.” If she wasn't careful, she could find herself looking like Carmen's mother, who still dressed like a 1940s film star.

“Do you think you can make me look more like her?” Lilith asked, pointing at a picture of a glamorous young celebrity walking down yet another red carpet.

Esmeralda gave Lilith a deliciously evil smile. “
Feh!
I can make it seem that
she
looks like
you
.”

Lilith wanted to giggle, but she knew she had to remain absolutely still so Esmeralda could finish her work. After all, it was important that she go out into the world looking more human than the humans.

 

“Good afternoon, Miss Todd,” the doorman said as he held the brass-plated door to the Balmoral open for Lilith. “You're out and about early today, I see.”

Lilith nodded to acknowledge the human thrall's comment, but she didn't dignify him with a reply. Although most of the other tenants who shared their Park Avenue apartment building had no clue about the true nature of the penthouse's residents, everyone on the building's staff was under her father's control.

The Rolls was there, as usual. The daylight driver was on duty, waiting to take Lilith wherever she might want to go. He touched the bill of his cap respectfully as he let her into the limo.

Once comfortable, Lilith began digging through her purse in search of her iPhone. There were a couple of text messages already waiting for her as she powered it up.

The first was from Tanith, asking if Lilith was as hungover as she was; the second was from Carmen, who wanted to know if she was still going to Dolce & Gabbana. She quickly texted
yes
back to both, then hit the speed dial, counting the number of rings on the other end. Jules picked up on the third.

“I was wondering when you'd call,” he said with a sleepy laugh. “I was beginning to think Van Helsings caught you on the way home.”

“No such luck!” Lilith laughed. “Did I wake you up?”

“Not really,” he replied, stifling a yawn. “I'm just taking my time getting out of bed.”

“Alone, I trust.”

“You wanna hook up at the Belfry later?” he suggested.

Lilith tried not to notice that Jules didn't return her laugh or acknowledge her comment about someone else being in his bed.

They'd gone through more than one argument about
her jealousy. The last time they had a fight, he told her if she accused him of cheating on her again, he'd go ahead and do it for real.

Instead she replied, “It's a bit of a long story, but we've been temporarily banned from the club.”

“What?!?”
Suddenly Jules no longer sounded the least bit sleepy. “Lilith,” he teased, “did you do something wicked?”

“It's nothing, really. Seb just got his panties in a twist. You know how he is. In a couple of days all will be forgiven.”

“Yeah, but until then where do we go to party?”

“Why don't we go slumming in the Village?”

“I guess we could do that.”

“Hey, we're here! Gotta go! See you later?”

“Later.”

Lilith snapped her phone shut as the Rolls came to a halt outside the D&G boutique at Madison and Sixty-ninth. She made sure her oversize bug-eyed Fendi sunglasses were firmly in place before she climbed out of the limo. Although she could walk around during the day without fear of turning into a piece of beef jerky, the direct sunlight was still painful to her eyes.

“I'll page you when I'm ready to go,” she told the daylight driver.

Lilith loved going to Dolce & Gabbana. Everything about the place, from the crystal doorknob to the gold ceiling fixtures to the pillows adorning the couches in
the fitting room, was extravagant. Plus the fashions were a much-needed break from those dreadful uniforms she was forced to wear to school.

As Lilith entered the boutique, a couple of shoppers on the floor stopped to stare at her, then began to excitedly whisper back and forth behind their hands. From the looks on their faces Lilith realized they had mistaken her for one of the glittery divas the designers were so popular with.

As she browsed the fragrance counter, Lilith noticed a bearded man in his thirties standing off to the side, openly watching her. Although she was accustomed to being ogled by older men, there was something different in the way he was staring at her.

Lilith turned to meet the stranger's gaze. “Why don't you take a picture?” she quipped. “It'll last longer.”

Unlike most of the dirty old men she caught drooling over her, he didn't hastily look away, but instead smiled at her. “Perhaps I will, someday,” he said, placing a business card facedown on the glass countertop as he walked out of the shop. “Enjoy your shopping, my dear.”

Lilith picked up the card and flipped it over. Printed on the other side in raised letters were the words
KRISTOF: PHOTOGRAPHER
, along with a phone number. With a flash of excitement, she slipped it into her purse.

“Lili!”

Lilith looked up and saw Tanith walking toward
her across the store's highly polished mosaic floor. Her friend was dressed in a cherry-red Gucci dress, silver wedges, and a pair of Prada sunglasses.

“I was starting to wonder if you'd forgotten me!” Tanith said as they clasped hands and air-kissed.

“Like that could ever happen!” Lilith chuckled as she slipped her arm through her friend's elbow. “So—have you had a chance to pick out anything yet?”

“I've got a lavender dress set aside, but I want you there when I try it on. Oh, and I saw this peacock-blue cocktail dress that would look
perfect
on you! It's super-short.”

“What would I do without you looking out for me?” Lilith sighed.

“Hey, that's what friends are for, right?” Tanith replied.

 

“It seems weird that in a few years we won't be able to do this anymore,” Lilith said wistfully.

“What? Go shopping together?” Tanith frowned.

“No,” Lilith replied. “I mean this.” She tapped the dressing room mirror, being careful not to accidentally damage its surface. Like all vampires, Lilith's neatly painted nails were exceptionally hard, like talons. “By the time we're twenty-five, we won't be able to see our reflections. And neither will anyone else! That means no more shopping in places like this, you know.”

“Yeah, it's a bummer,” Tanith admitted. “But try
not to think about it. There's no point in dwelling on things you can't change. I rarely look at mirrors as it is. Besides, there are always shops like Sister Midnight's. Still, you know what they say—use it before you lose it!” She laughed.

“Yeah, I guess you're right.” Lilith smiled weakly.

Tanith gave her friend a curious look. “You seem a bit low, Lili. Things okay with you and Jules?”

“They're good,” Lilith replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I'm still feeling the effects of last night, I guess.”

“I
know
! What was that guy on?” Tanith shook her head.

“Anyway, you and Sergei seem to be into it.”

“He's fun, but we're just fooling around. He's promised to some girl back in the Old Country that he's never met. He's
very
sexy, though.” Tanith wiggled into the lavender shredded silk cocktail dress. “How does it look?”

“That color really suits you,” Lilith said, stepping out of her own clothes and slipping into the blue dress. “I didn't realize Sergei was already promised. Too bad. You make a cute couple.” She ran her hands across her taut belly and over her hips as she turned first one way, then another, admiring how the low, tight-cut neckline highlighted her cleavage. “You were right: I
do
look perfect in this dress.”

“All you need is a pair of sexy shoes and you'll be set,”
Tanith said. “You know, Lili, you're pretty lucky—you and Jules actually have a chance to get to know each other before you're bound. For all Sergei knows, the girl he's promised to could look like an Orlock.”

Lilith burst out laughing despite herself and quickly clapped her hands over her mouth. “You shouldn't say things like that, Tanith!” she said in mock reproach. “You
know
Exo is Jules's cousin!”

Xander Orlock, known as Exo to his friends and family, was Jules's first cousin. Exo's mother was Jules's father's beautiful younger sister, Juliana, who was the second wife of Count Boris Orlock, patriarch of one of the oldest and most powerful families in the world. The Orlocks were infamous for inbreeding to keep their bloodright, which went back to Urlok, one of the thirteen Founders, undiluted.