The Phone Call Part 9
Henry had a split second to shift his body before his full weight landed on top of Vicki as she let out an, "oomph." The motel's darkened room didn't keep him from seeing her startled expression and he snuggled close, "I didn't think you could take all of me at once."
Not able to see him clearly in the dark, she traced the outline of his smile with her finger tips, "You have a high opinion of your assets."
Frowning into her fingers he said, "You know perfectly well I meant my weight."
Her lips formed an evil grin as she said, "Gotcha."
For the first time since the night started in Toronto, Henry let out a full happy laugh and moved to cover her with his body, kissed her forehead, and his 'assets' slid into her warm, damp core, "I regret there's not enough of the night left for us to play. Give your will over to me and I promise you'll have as much independence as you want when the turning is finished."
Vicki pulled her legs up, locked her ankles across Henry's knees and moved in rhythm to his thrusting hips. She kissed him once and tilted her head exposing her neck.
Henry fed from her until she slipped into unconsciousness and he left her with the compulsion to sleep all day.
He made sure she was tucked under the sheet and arranged comfortably, then took the coverlet and made himself a cocoon blocking out all possible light.
***
Vicki slowly became aware of herself, remembered what had happened over the last few days and tried to sit up only to find she was weak and dizzy. She reached over to the nightstand for her glasses and felt a plastic bottle. She realized how thirsty she was, half sat up and untwisted the cap to take a drink. Ugh! Warm orange juice but it's acidity made her swallow and she felt the soreness on the side of her neck. Okay, she thought, it's real then. All of it was real. She turned her head and saw the outline of Henry's body wrapped in the coverlet. She placed her hand on his shoulder and rested her cheek on top of it. She fell back to sleep still leaning against him.
When she woke the second time, Vicki eased herself to a sitting position and placed her feet flat on the floor. Her hand found a second bottle of juice on the nightstand and drank it before standing. She made her way slowly to the bathroom and closed the door before turning on the light and looked at herself in the mirror. She was gaunt, pale, with dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a mess.
Touching the mirror she said, "Crap! I thought vampires were beautiful."
"You are beautiful but leaving the human behind is not easy on the body."
She jumped, turned at the sound of his voice and opened the closed bathroom door to find a fully dressed Henry standing on the other side.
He touched his lips to hers then said, "The sun's down. It's time to go home."
When finished in the bathroom, she put on the same clothes she wore on the plane and was ready and waiting for Henry while he did a final check of the room.
***
Henry's condo was in on the top floor of a tall building offering all the amenities of urban living. There was shopping, offices, restaurants, full services and apartments all within easy reach. Henry's condo was one floor down from the penthouse and had more floor space than his place in Toronto.
Vicki took a quick glance at the rooms without paying much attention, "Why would you need this much space?"
"I hate confined places. I need room for my interests, and I was hoping to share the space with someone special."
He led Vicki to a door he hadn't opened before, "I hope this will make you feel wanted."
Vicki stood in the doorway gaping. It looked like her office the first time she met Henry, including a light table. She glanced to the corner and saw a heavy object and picked it up. It was the paperweight that she had had since she was a kid. It had been misplaced for sometime. Actually now that she thought about it, the last time she saw it was when she threw it at Henry in a bit of temper for some dumb thing he had said.
Henry moved quickly, took it from her hand and set it back down on the corner of the desk. "You threw it at me and I put it in my pocket. I kept meaning to give it back but I kept forgetting and then I found it among my things when I unpacked here."
Vicki scanned the room carefully moving her head so that she could bring each thing into view. She even saw a rhythm punching bag hanging from the ceiling. "You didn't just do this room. You've had this ready for a long time."
"I made a mistake by leaving you behind. I've worked on this room for months hoping to find a way to get you to visit and maybe agree to stay."
"I'm here."
Henry picked her up and carried her to the smallest of three bedrooms. It was the hardest to find and the easiest to secure for the day. Henry put her down on the bed and sat down beside her. On the nightstand was very sharp dagger. He picked it up the dagger and handed it to her, "It's time for you to take my blood."
Vicki lowered her eyes and turned the dagger so that the light danced off it's sharp point. "Lay down Henry." She lay down beside him and said, "I've been thinking about this for days. I'd like if you'd hold me as tight as you can while I do this."
Henry pulled her close placing one arm under her shoulders with his fingers on her upper arm, he brought his other arm up to her lips, "Make the cut."
She licked her lips a few times and held the blade close to his wrist and hesitated. He put compulsion into his voice and ordered, "Do it, Vicki, and drink your fill."
The quick slice burned his flesh, then the kissing and sucking of her lips took him to a place of indescribable pleasure. He bled freely for several minutes before the healing nature of vampire closed the wound.
Vicki felt his vampire filling every part of her being, replacing her empty vessels with his blood. Freed from the place of holding, the vampire that had been growing within her since the first taste of his blood, rushed to every part of her body claiming and changing forever what she was and what she would become. Their blood mixed again and again as a bond was forged.
When the wound closed, Vicki turned to face him. "Please hold me tighter. I'm so cold." Henry pulled her closer as she turned waxy pale and convulsions over took her body. Rigid one second, shaking the next, she couldn't feel his arms. All sight, sound and hearing was lost to the pounding in her head. She cried out, "Make it stop, Henry." He held her tight and murmured words of comfort.
After what seemed like hours, she pushed at his chest and demanded, "Let me go! I'm burning up. There's a fire in my middle." Her face turned scarlet and she quit breathing. As he watched, the scarlet turned to purple, then black as she clutched her throat. Rigid once more, her eyes flew open, her lips parted and her last breath as human escaped.
All movement ceased and all Henry could do was wait. It was at this point in centuries past a body was washed, dressed in their best clothes and laid out so that final respects could be paid. A day later the ground would be opened and a box lowered. Later that same night the vampire sire would claim it's young. Times had changed along with rituals for the dead. It was no longer safe for the sire to leave the side of it's young, so Henry secured his home, and his room and prepared to sit wait for Vicki to come back to him.
***
Between the freezing cold and burning heat, Vicki tried to keep herself from feeling anything but Henry's arms and hearing his words of comfort. Soon all feeling and hearing stopped. She was alone on a path and had to decide which direction to turn. Right was death and the answers to the final mystery of life or left was toward an existence living off the blood of others. Vicki thought, "God forgive me, but I need time with Henry." She turned left and heard the sound of an annoying clamor.
***
As Vicki lay quietly on the bed, hunger forced Henry out of the condo to feed. He needed blood for himself if he was to feed a hungry young vampire. He wandered along the streets with no special goal in mind since this night's feeding was about nourishment not pleasure and he didn't want to be gone long or take too much blood from one source. He found what he was looking for near a nightspot favored by the twenty somethings. A smile, a nod and a few bills got him in. An hour spent on the dance floor got him several quick bites. Pleased with the ease of his dining experience, he headed home in an exceptionally good mood.
***
Vicki opened her eyes and looked around the unfamiliar room. The noise that woke her up started in again. She got up from the bed and staggered as her head started throbbing. She looked for the source of the noise until she found her purse resting on a table near the door. She grabbed the irritating noise maker, pushed send and heard her mother's voice, "Vicki are you all right?"
"Yeah, Mom. I said I'd call."
"That was two days ago. What's going on?"
"I'm getting settled in." She rubbed her forehead and said, "I've got a headache. Can't I call you back later?"
Marjory gave a loud sigh then said, "Of course. I'm used to you putting me off. Take care of the headache. Call me."
"Thanks, Mom. I promise I'll call you soon."
Vicki ended the call and was about to drop the phone back in bag when it started ringing again.
She heard Mike yell, "What's going on?"
She held the phone away from her sensitive ear and said, "Nothing's going on."
"I told you that I needed your help and bat boy's too."
Henry was standing outside his door when he heard Vicki's voice and stood to listen feeling his good mood shift.
"Bat boy's not here and I've got a headache. I told you we couldn't help right now."
Mike heard an edge to Vicki's voice that had never been there before and said, "What's wrong with you?"
Vicki's eyes silvered and her teeth elongated forming fangs and with a lowed voice she answered, "I said I had a headache. What's not to understand?"
Mike's eyes grew large in his face, "Crap, Vicki! You've really done it."
Vicki pulled back on her anger and put the hand not holding the phone against her aching forehead, "I think so. My head's hurting too bad to know anything right now. Henry will call you when he gets back."
Hearing that, Henry opened the door and took the phone from her hand while helping Vicki to a chair, "Mike can't this wait another hour or two?"
Not wanting to hear Henry's voice, Mike said, "Yeah. Sure. Call me back." And broke the connection. Mike looked down at the pictures of over a hundred bodies all stacked like cord wood waiting to be burned. He jabbed them with his finger and mumbled, "You've been waiting decades, what's a few more hours going matter?"