Tainted Blood Read online

  “Yes, Mr. Thantos,” Brahma Parvsh said, a slight smile on his lips. “You are either making a bad joke or you are suffering from some mental malady to think such a thing is possible.”

  Theo held up his hands to get the attention of everyone. “Let me propose a way we might be able to accomplish just such a thing, gentlemen and ladies,” he said.

  Augustine smiled and glanced at his wristwatch. “I’ll give you ten minutes, Theo, and then I’m leaving here and going back to the real world. As a news producer, I deal in facts, not wishful thinking.”

  “You’re absolutely correct, Augustine, that we would not stand a chance if we went against the Normals face to face, but you are forgetting the tremendous advantages we have over our enemies: long lives, virtual immortality, psychic ability, and the most important of all, the ability through the Rite of Transformation to make any of our enemies into one of us.”

  The smile left Augustine’s face as he thought about this while Theo continued earnestly. “I don’t plan an armed insurrection to take over the world, my friends, but a much more subtle approach. Think about who runs the world we live in now: politicians and the media. The politicians make the rules everyone lives by, and the media is responsible for causing the people to accept the rules as good and normal.”

  Theo paced back and forth as he spoke, “Now, what if we began a covert campaign to transform the most influential politicians and the most important media figures and bring them into our race to work with us instead of against us? How long would it take for us to have, if not complete control, at least a strong say in what was going on in the world?”

  “He makes a powerful point, Augustine,” Brahma Parvsh said, his eyes thoughtful and speculative as he came over to Thantos’s side. “And in addition to politicians and media moguls, we could target important federal and state judges, and perhaps even a Supreme Court justice or two.” He smiled, but his eyes remained as dark as obsidian. “Then, if in the future, some misguided zealot tries to out our existence, we’d have the power to either squelch the accusations, or to have the authorities make the informer disappear before he could do any real damage.”

  “And due to our long lives, we could take many years to slowly invade and infiltrate the power structure across the world until at some point we could begin to work in the open, with laws to protect us and the media to paint us in a good light,” Theo added.

  Augustine got to his feet, a sly smile on his face. “I’m still not convinced this is necessary, or even the most prudent course to take, friends, but I do agree this is definitely worth consideration.” He shrugged. “And if at some point in the future we decide not to go forward, then no harm has been done by transforming a few politicians and such into our kind. But, we must be very careful. Remember, this is a town that thrives on gossip and on conspiracy theories. It wouldn’t do for us to be seen gathering together in one place, so we’re going to have to be very careful as we make our plans and consider out options.”

  Gabrielle de Lavnay spoke up, “I have a summer house on the shores of the Delaware River. It’s very isolated and I will send each of you directions on how to get there and we can have our meetings there without fear of being noticed.”

  “Excellent,” Theo said, rubbing his hands together. “And at our next meeting, I would like everyone to bring a list of the first ones we should target, as well as some sort of plan on how we might get to them. Remember, the Rite of Transformation takes at least several days to a week or more to be done correctly, so the people we choose must be kept isolated for that long after we begin to change them.”

  “That’s going to be very tricky, considering the importance and the public visibility of the people we need to get to,” Christabel said.

  “I agree, it won’t be easy,” Theo said, “but we are the greatest race in the history of mankind and we can do anything!”

  Chapter 13

  Elijah Pike smiled as he stood before the kitchen table in his cabin in Maine. “You boys need to lighten up a bit,” he said, grinning at how frightened Matt and Shooter looked as they sat at the table with Sam and TJ.

  Matt gamely tried to smile. “That’s easy for you to say, Elijah, it’s not you who’s fixing to have some godawful hairy monsters nibbling at your neck.”

  Sam snorted and elbowed Matt in the ribs, an offended expression on her face. “You take that back, Matthew Carter. I am not hairy in my Vampyre form.” She tried a seductive look, batting her eyes at him as she added, “In fact, I’m told I’m quite attractive.”

  Matt laughed at her attempt to relieve his worries.

  “Of course you are dear,” he said with more than a little sarcasm. “That’s why Vampyres never seem to have any mirrors in their houses—the images of them are enough to scare the bejesus even out of themselves.”

  “I must interrupt,” Elijah said, “even though I know you’re kidding.” He glanced from Sam to TJ and then back to Matt. “As a matter of fact, both Sam and TJ are very attractive Vampyres, at least they are to others of our species.”

  When Matt and Shooter both looked skeptical, he went on, “You see, boys, it’s much like in the Normal world. What makes a female Normal attractive to others also does the same when she is transformed. So, a woman, or a man for that matter, who is attractive to their peers when in their Normal form, will also be attractive to their peers when in their Vampyre form.”

  Shooter leered at TJ and waggled his eyebrows. “So, male Vampyres like big breasts too?”

  TJ shook her head. “Only bubba Vampyres, Shooter, so you should fit right in.”

  Matt laughed and held up his hand. “You’re right, Elijah, I was just kidding. Sam is always beautiful to me, even when she’s changed, though I must admit the first time I saw her like that it was quite startling.”

  Sam leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “That’s very sweet, darling, but you must learn never to tease someone who’s about to, as you say, nibble on your neck.”

  “What about what Matt said, Elijah, about the mirrors and all?” Shooter asked. “I know you’ve told us that parts of the old legends arose in the Middle Ages when people actually believed in and knew about your race.”

  “That’s correct, Shooter,” Elijah explained. “You already know about the sunlight and how it affects our skin, especially in the days before sunscreen. I believe the myth that Vampyres cannot be seen in mirrors arose out of the fact that a lot of the old time Vampyres didn’t keep mirrors in their houses because they suffered from extreme self-loathing about what they were and how they were forced to live—by killing others.” He gave a low chuckle. “Even I myself was like that back in the days before I swore off innocent blood. None of my residences or ships had any mirrors in them.”

  “Must’ve been hell trying to shave without mirrors,” Shooter said, eliciting a punch in the shoulder from TJ.

  “What about some of the other parts of the legends, Elijah?” TJ asked.

  He shrugged. “Actually, most were made up by fiction writers of the time, and enhanced and elaborated on by movie makers back in the thirties and forties.” He grinned. “I’ve never felt the slightest urge to sleep in a coffin filled with the dirt of my homeland, or to run around wearing evening clothes with a cape.”

  As they all laughed, Elijah pointedly glanced at his wristwatch. “Well, I think it’s about time we got started.”

  “What’s the POA, Doc?” Shooter asked.

  “POA?”

  “Yeah, the plan of action,” Shooter explained. “I mean, you said Matt and me were gonna get blood from all of you guys, so what’s the order and exactly how do we go about it? Do you draw it up in a syringe and inject it or do we drink it or what?”

  “Uh, Shooter, perhaps I should have explained the process a bit better. I don’t know if the transformation would work that way or not. As far as I know, it’s always been done in the traditional manner, which is by biting and sucking the blood from the neck or some other blood vessel in the
transformer’s body.”

  “But, why would that make a difference?” Shooter asked. “Blood is blood, isn’t it?”

  Elijah took a deep breath, trying to think of some way to explain the complexities of the Rite of Transformation to a Normal. “Not exactly, Shooter. You see, in the actual Rite of Transformation, there is quite a bit of emotional content to the act—sexual attraction, fear, anticipation, lust, hunger, excitement—and all of these emotions result in the release in both parties’ bodies of hormones called pheromones. These hormones are not only in the bloodstream, but are also I suspect in both parties’ saliva and maybe even in their sweat, so close personal contact may well be essential to the transformation’s success.”

  Shooter looked worried. “Uh, Doc, forgive me, but the sexual part has me a little concerned. You see, I’ve always been enthusiastically heterosexual, and I just don’t know about getting all worked up over another guy.” He paused and cut his eyes at Sam, “Or even over my best friend’s girl.”

  “Don’t worry, Shooter, when I say sexual, I mean in the broadest sense of the word. If a person is heterosexual and drinks the blood of someone of the same sex, they feel an emotional connection naturally, but it’s more like the deep liking and male bonding you’d feel for a best friend or a male relative—kind of like men hugging each other after a sports victory or some other shared endeavor.”

  “Yeah,” said TJ, looking at Shooter and half-smiling, “like when you guys slap each other on the butt during a ballgame. What’s up with that, anyway?”

  “It’s a guy thing,” Matt said, “you women wouldn’t understand. You’re much more into hugging, but guys just can’t do that.”

  “Why not?” Sam asked pointedly.

  “Uh, well, it just wouldn’t be manly,” Matt answered lamely, his face flushing.

  “Oh, you guys,” TJ said disgustedly, “You’re so damned afraid of being thought homosexual . . .”

  Shooter looked at her and nodded, “Okay, I can see that, sort’a, and I’ve never had the slightest fear I was secretly homosexual so that kind of male affection won’t bother me, but”—he looked over at Sam again—“what about with Sam? Hell, she’s a beautiful woman and if I weren’t in love with TJ and she wasn’t with Matt, I have to admit I’d be attracted to her.”

  Sam laughed, shaking her head at his convoluted reasoning. “Thanks for the compliment, Shooter . . . I think.”

  He blushed, looking at TJ to make sure he wasn’t in trouble. “Oh, heck, Sam. You know what I mean.”

  Elijah also laughed. “Yes, we know what you mean, Shooter, but here it’s a bit more complicated. For a Vampyre, the act of feeding is always a sexual one, so in the vast majority of cases, male Vampyres target women and female Vampyres target men, unless they’re hunting as a pair with their mate in which case the sex will usually be heterosexual between one of the pair and the victim and then with his or her mate.”

  Shooter again looked worried. “So, you’re telling me that when Sam gives me blood, and TJ gives Matt blood, there’s gonna be sex involved?”

  Elijah held up his hand. “No, not necessarily, but it’s likely there will be some sexual content to the feeding. Certainly, both parties will feel lust for the other and there will likely be sexual arousal.” He hastened to add, “That doesn’t necessarily mean there will be sexual intercourse engaged in. Sometimes it’s just mutual caressing or kissing or holding.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to say, because in my experience, there has never been a Rite of Transformation performed except by two people who were going to be mates.”

  Shooter shook his head, his sad eyes on TJ. “I don’t know if I like that, Doc.” He sighed. “Even though in the past I’ve never been exactly . . . uh, monogamous with my girlfriends. . .”

  “That’s the understatement of the year,” Matt said, laughing. “You were more like Don Juan.”

  Shooter drew himself up, “In spite of what my friend here says, it is different with TJ. Just the thought of her being with someone else, even my best friend Matt, makes me kind’a crazy.”

  “Trust me when I say that once you’re transformed, it won’t be a problem, Shooter,” Elijah said, his face sympathetic. “Vampyres are able to distinguish between sex during feeding and the kind of sex one has with a mate. In a small way, it’s kind of like a man on a business trip that has a one-night stand affair with a woman he meets in a bar. That act is one of sexual release only with no emotional content, and it doesn’t mean he loves his partner back home any the less.”

  “Yeah,” Shooter said ruefully, “but if his partner back home finds out she’ll kill him.”

  “Not if she has the same attitude, Shooter,” Elijah said. “The trick is to remember the difference between the sexual act, such as with feeding, and the loving sex between mates. It sounds like it is hard to do, but once you’re transformed, you’ll understand better and it won’t be a problem.”

  He stood up and rubbed his hands together, looking at both couples. “Now, as for the order of giving blood, I think each of you should get your first . . . uh . . . taste from your mates, and we’ll let their blood intermingle with yours overnight to give it a good foothold. Once you’ve shown signs of the infection, we’ll switch around and you’ll take blood from the others of us available.”

  As they got up from the table, Matt asked, “Are you going to observe the rite, Elijah?”

  He shook his head. “No, the act is very private and is always done with the couple completely alone. You all go off to your rooms and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Matt and Sam were halfway to their bedroom when Matt stopped and turned around, a thoughtful look on his face. “Say, Elijah, you say that this getting blood from multiple other donors will increase our Vampyre abilities over getting it from just one donor?”

  Elijah smiled and shrugged. “That’s the theory, Matt. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, if that’s the case for transformees, why wouldn’t the same thing apply to established Vampyres?”

  “Well, because . . .” Elijah began, and then he stopped, a look of amazement on his face. “Why, damned if I know why it shouldn’t, Matt. I’ve just never thought of it, since the only time Vampyres typically drink from other Vampyres is when they’re with their mates, and of course that’s not new blood to them.” He stood there, stroking his chin for a moment and then he moved toward the stairway to his loft. “I’ll have to give it some thought tonight,” he said distractedly, his mind already on the problem.

  “Way to go, Matt,” Sam said, grinning, “now you’ve posed a problem to him that’s going to keep him up all night.”

  “Hell, he wouldn’t’ve been able to sleep anyway, darling, not with all the noise I plan to make tonight.”

  She laughed and slapped his bottom, “Well, in that case, we’d better get started, big boy.”

  * * *

  By the time Matt got to the bed and turned around, his fingers on the buttons of his shirt, Sam was already naked and striding toward him, her body changing as she neared him.

  In spite of himself, Matt felt a quick jolt of fear in the pit of his stomach at the sight of the magnificent creature she was becoming before his very eyes. He was more than a little surprised to find he’d been telling the honest truth earlier when he said even in her changed form Sam was beautiful to him. As a physician, he was analytical enough to realize that in any other person the changes to her body would be terrifying and horrible to behold, but on Sam the changes were like those of a magnificent animal—awe inspiring.

  Seconds later, her change complete, she reached out to him with her claws and ripped his clothes off in a frenzy of lust. Picking him up in her arms as if he weighed nothing, she lowered him to the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling him with her muscular legs, her fangs dripping red-tinged drool onto his chest as she loomed over him.

  He let his eyes roam over her body and admired the fine red fuzz that covered her and the rippling of her muscles. He put his ha
nds on her breasts and smiled when she growled in pleasure and pressed her hips against his growing erection. He could feel her wetness already and knew she was ready for him.

  He thrust as hard as he could with his hips and he groaned in ecstasy as he slipped inside her warmth. Reaching up he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her face into his neck, matching her growl for growl and thrust for thrust as she sank her fangs into his carotid artery.

  After a few seconds of incredibly building lust, she raised her head and stuck one of her claws into the side of her neck. As scarlet liquid pulsed out, she lowered her neck to his lips and he fed on her as they mated in wild abandon.

  The coppery saltiness of the liquid tasted better than anything he’d ever consumed, and her hormones in the blood added to his and fed his lust like gasoline on a fire.

  * * *

  Down the hall, much the same thing was happening, except that Shooter was on top, and as he drove himself between TJ’s widely spread thighs and into her inner core, he moaned and said softly, “I can’t stand the thought of anyone else being like this with you.”

  She growled softly back at him as she smoothed his hair with her hand, carefully keeping her claws retracted, “Hush, hush, sweetheart. Soon it won’t matter to you, for I shall never have another mate except you.”

  As they began to move together and she felt him throbbing inside her, she flicked a claw at her neck and pulled his lips to her wound. “Now, drink of me, my darling, so that we can be together forever,” she said as her hips pumped against him and her breast swelled against his hand.

  Shooter sucked and swallowed and tried to bury himself inside her as they moaned and groaned in mutual release.

  After a moment, he forced his lips away from her neck and offered his own to her. She pulled him close and drank of him as he’d drank of her, until they were one.

  Chapter 14

  Allison Burton yawned as she answered the telephone next to her bed. She noticed it was not even seven o’clock in the morning yet so she was understandably grumpy when she said hello.