Part 28 (1/2)
”Good riddance.” Severo turned and marched out.
Chapter 21.
”I don't need to kill? Whew.”
Ivan drove a black BMW around the city. Bella sat on the pa.s.senger side. Though it was midnight, she hunted a human victim because the blood hunger had not relented.
”Vampires don't need the kill. A small sip often or a larger drink less often. You choose,” he explained. ”But to kill takes the nightmares of your victims into your soul. You will relive those nightmares in what we call the danse macabre. It's not pretty. And those vampires who kill indiscriminately usually go mad from the nightmares.”
”There seems to be a lot of madness a.s.sociated with vampirism. So do we have a connection now? I took your blood, so do I know things about you?”
He cast her a smile. ”Do you?”
”I don't think so.”
”And you won't. I am considered your blood father, but our only connection is that my blood runs through your veins now. There is a theory that vampires exchange pieces of their soul when the transformation is made. I'm not so sure about that, but I wouldn't rule it out.”
”Huh. And you'll show me how to enthrall a victim?”
”It's easy once you accept that your mind is a powerful tool.”
”I see.” She looked out the window when he was about to turn. ”No, not that alley. It's too dark and creepy.”
”We want dark and creepy, Belladonna.” Ivan pulled the car into the alley.
”Yeah, but I don't think I can do dirty homeless guys or drunks.”
”For tonight, you will take what we can find.” He scanned the street as the car rolled smoothly over the tarmac. There weren't any flesh-and-blood humans out and about.
”What, besides being a vampire, do you do, Ivan?”
”I serve on the Council.”
”Severo said that is some kind of council of vampires, witches and werewolves that oversees the paranormal nations.”
”In a nutsh.e.l.l, yes. We have members from all species on the Council, but when there is an issue, it's usually only the representative nations that show.”
”So are they discussing the divide between the werewolves and vampires now?”
”There have been suggestions of ways to bring the two nations to terms. Perhaps arranged marriages between principle players in each nation. Nothing's come of it yet. Of course, if Severo openly takes a vampire as a mate, that can only be a good thing.”
”So we're to be an example?”
”Only if Severo chooses to allow it. He's very private.”
”He is. Says his kind has to hide from humans. But you seem outgoing. What do you do beyond serving on the Council?”
”I'm a philanthropist.”
”Are all immortals rich?”
”Depends on how you manage your money. If you're going to live forever, you'd better learn, because I can't imagine doing the homeless thing for long. What is your profession, Belladonna?”
She liked that he used her complete name. The man was too charming for a creature. Nix that, she thought. He was no creature.
He was a kind man who happened to be a vampire.
”I work from home designing Web sites. It's enough to get by. And I also dance flamenco.” ”A dancer? I figured you for some kind of athlete. You have a gorgeous body.”
”Thanks.” And she accepted the compliment for what it was. Not a flirtation. She did feel a connection to Ivan, but nothing s.e.xual, despite their intimacies.
”So tell me how you and Severo met. I bet he didn't find you dancing in a club. Don't think the guy does the scene all that much.”
”A gang of vampires was chasing me, and Severo pulled me into hiding while they searched for me. He intended to do exactly as the vampires wanted once they found me. But he didn't.”
”The werewolf is an interesting breed. But fiercely devoted to their mates.”
”You say that, but how can they remain devoted to those not their breed?”
”Give him a chance, Bella. What do you say about stopping by a dance club before we find your next donor? There's an underground tapas bar close by. If you like flamenco, it'd be your kind of place.”
”You want to dance instead of hunt?”
”Might take the edge off your nerves.”
She clasped her shaky fingers together. ”You noticed?”
He smiled. ”Let's stop in and see what's up.”
She was dressed for the club. A knee-length black velvet skirt with ruffles down the back that spilled to her ankles. And a leotard top, also in black. It was the only stuff Bella had taken to Ivan's, and it had felt right to go all black for her first hunt.
The club was underground, very small and dark like a cave. Ivan led her in, but Bella eagerly followed the music, which already had her snapping her fingers and rotating her wrists with the urge to dance.
”The atmosphere here reminds me of the Caveau de la Huchette,” he said to her. ”A little underground club in the Latin Quarter of Paris. Tourist trap, but they play some great jazz and swing. I'll get us some wine.”
”I'll have water, please.”
She didn't need the wine to loosen up. Just walking into the room relaxed her. Here were her kind of people. Besides, Bella wasn't so sure wine wouldn't make her sick. She'd not eaten for days-except for the blood. And that suited her fine.
Ivan returned and pressed a cool gla.s.s into her hand. ”They're all vamps,” he said. ”Save the faerie over in the corner.”
She spied the grizzled old man, his front teeth missing, enthusiastically doing palmas. A faerie? She would never look at people the same again.
It was a comfortable crowd and they all took turns on the small dance floor. Right now a couple danced sevillanas to a quick beat. Castanets trilled and the singer encouraged palmas.