The Show Must Go On
The Show Must Go On
Akatsuki stepped out of our limo and offered me his hand, his golden eyes moving over my body like a man in lust. I took his hand and he pulled me effortlessly out of the seat by my gloved hand. I wore a low-cut, backless, blood-red designer gown with matching elbow-length gloves and heels. I would have preferred pumps but I had to be selective about my shoes, too high and I would be taller than Akatsuki. He preferred that I be an inch shorter than him at all times.
“You look lovely, my Neko,” he said in perfect English. You would never guess that he was an eight hundred year old, Japanese, master vampire who had only learned to speak English in the last eighth of his lifetime. He called me his cat, it’s a way of reminding me that I am his pet and the only reason I’m alive right now.
I was born Caitlyn Morris, but since I was a young child I had been under the federal protection of the NPS and have had dozens of identities. That’s Null Protection Service, I’m a null, a human incapable of being corrupted by a supernatural being. Vampires could try all they wanted they could not bespell me or turn me into one of them. Shape-shifters could chew on me till I was bone, I would never carry their transformations. Witches and warlocks could curse me till they turned to dust and nothing would happen.
Nulls are capable of producing a vaccine to prevent the transformation into vampire and shape-shifter, sadly the only vaccines ever produced were from children and had a very limited effect. It is believed that a full grown Null, into their thirties, may produce a total vaccine. There is also talk of a cure that could be found from Nulls as well, that’s where Akatsuki came into my life.
As we entered the Opera House the media flocked to us, the Master Vampire and his lovely new piece of ass. I had gotten used to being referred to as Akatsuki’s girlfriend, I still didn’t like being called his coffin stuffer but you had to pick your battles. I smiled at the cameras blushing when Akatsuki placed his hand obscenely low on my back, but not on my ass. The five foot ten Master was talented and loved by the media. His golden eyes flashing in the camera lights, his long hair held in a ponytail down by his neck. His Japanese origin gave his face a contented feline expression and his fangs would flash when he smirked.
Don’t get me wrong had Akatsuki had a pulse I would have been honored to be by his side, but I was his Cure. Akatsuki and in fact the majority of the vampires in the city were Redeemers. Redeemers are vampires and shape-shifters who wanted to be human again, even if they withered into dust after becoming human again. Akatsuki had sent his right hand man, former Father Coyle, to me one dark night with an offer. Meet with Akatsuki for a talk, nothing would happen but talking. Against my better judgment I had gone and spoken to the Master and his top four vampires. Thus we had begun the charade.
“Can we get a romantic pose?” a reporter called and Akatsuki smiled at me. I knew what was coming and I smiled. He wrapped his arms around me and swung me into a dip. His ebony hair flowed over his shoulder and down into my cleavage. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he lowered his head to kiss the pulse in my neck. I arched my head and did a mock cry of ecstasy. Akatsuki didn’t bite me for two reasons, one, he didn’t feed in the media’s eye and two, he couldn’t bespell me so I would feel the pain of the bite no matter how sharp his fangs were. The cameras flashed and I was brought back to my feet so we could enter the opera.
“You really need to relax more,” Akatsuki said and I smiled at him. He knew I hated going to any event with supernatural creatures abound, especially if they were performing the show. While the Redeemers wanted me among the living most of the supernatural creatures wanted me dead.
Nulls have the highest mortality rate of any grouping of humans. Not only because we’re a one in a million birth, but because supernatural monsters hunt us down and kill us. I’m the oldest living Null in America, I’m lucky the Redeemers found me. There is another Null in Scottland who is two years older than me, he was found by the Redeemer sect there. We’re well hidden, in fact, no one but Akatsuki and his most trusted vampires know I’m a null. The Redeemers are hiding their best bets for a Cure right in the media’s eye.
“Master!” a vampire cried. He was tall, broad, and had dark hair and eyes which made his skin even whiter. His current name was Mark but he was once Marcus, a Roman solider. He was the head of security for the Opera House. “The Watchers have confirmed, the humans who were slain were all patrons.” I smiled beautifully at some of the vampires and shape-shifters I knew in the crowd. I had been on Akatsuki’s arm long enough to make it look like any emergency was nothing.
Seven bodies had been found dead. All male, all handsome, and all had been within a block of the Opera House. The building was one of the Vampires big businesses. Vampires love acting and they actually are good at it. The Opera House is one of the best known businesses in this part of the country because Akatsuki often invites supernatural performers of all kinds to visit it. The fact that someone was murdering the male patrons would make Akatsuki look bad and he didn’t like that.
“How many days has this been happening?” Akatsuki asked and Mark looked at the sign by the door. I stared at the poster of seven lovely women, The Seven Singing Sisters, I could see the illusion in the picture. The only way I could see illusions were if they were photographed and shown to me later. Akatsuki had had me undergo constant tests in my down time just to understand the previously undiscovered powers of the Nulls; that was one of our discoveries. Anyway, the murders had been happening as long as the Seven Sisters were in town. “Is everyone in position and prepared?”
Mark nodded and I sighed as I made a show of pulling down my glove to look at my watch. I might have had to play a piece of eye candy but I had fun with it, tonight I was shooting for spoiled brat eye candy. Mark seemed to vanish into the crowd as Akatsuki showed me around. We spoke to people, shape-shifters, and vampires. Normally I would have been afraid to death of the crowd but Akatsuki was a powerful vampire and had I been a normal human no other vampire could bespell me in his presence. Humans who have sex with a vampire are granted their protection and it was ‘common knowledge’ that I was Akatsuki’s. I bet no one would believe I was still a virgin but oh well.
We headed upstairs to our private box seat where we would watch the performance. As we passed Akatsuki’s security guard, his own private army would be a better description, I noticed that each of them had a thin, long pouch on their belts. I knew what was in that pouch. Each vampire was carrying a vile of my blood mixed with various magics. The magics were not to affect my blood but to amplify its effects. While magic couldn’t affect me it could help my powers. We were discovering the tricks to my blood day by day and the older I got the more powerful my blood would become.
“Your seat, my Neko,” Akatsuki said as we entered the box and he indicated I sit first. I did so and prepared to see something horrible. The rumor was the Seven Sisters were not witches but sirens, something that wasn’t as pretty as the poster. Akatsuki was here to confirm or deny that claim. I prayed that the murderers would be caught tonight.
I stared at the crowd as it filled the Opera House. I wasn’t really watching the humans but Akatsuki’s guards. They moved independently but the same, like soldiers matching. They took their positions inconspicuous to the humans. I didn’t care about the wealth or the beauty of the Opera House, I care about the fact that Akatsuki is protecting humans.
I had been donating blood for weeks, just a little each day and the magic users under Akatsuki’s employment had developed the vials that each guard held. Anything in the vials would need no expiration date. I gave a vial of blood everyday I had been with Akatsuki’s Redeemers. I smiled as I looked to the stage. The music began to play and I watched in revulsion as the Seven Sisters moved on stage. I let my gaze fall over the crowd, men were staring at them in lust while women were staring in envy. I curled my lip and Akatsuki chuckled beside me.
“That hideous?” he asked. It was a constant form of amusement for Akatsuki to see how I reacted to some of the creatures in his world. He saw the Seven Sisters as the beauties on their posters but I, I saw the Seven Sirens. Some of the creatures of Akatsuki’s world are beautiful, the Unseelie Sidhe who visited weeks ago was gorgeous, the vampires who had once been druid priestesses had be lovely, and the women Akatsuki actually took to his bed were enough to make me wish I was supernatural sometimes, but only sometimes. For every beautiful being of this world there were twenty that were horrible. The sirens were not on the pretty side.
The seven illusions were probably beautiful and their voices were actually not bad, but I had heard humans who were better. From the looks on the crowd’s faces I knew that they were seeing and hearing something I couldn’t, nor wanted to. The creatures had the heads, breasts, and arms of women, not that they were that pretty. I brought my binoculars to my eyes and I could see the red stains around their mouths and I could see the shark-like shape and quantity of their teeth.
I removed my binoculars to continue my assessment. Large black and white wings emerged from their backs. They made me think of sea gulls. Their lower bodies were bird as well but instead of the webbed feet of the gulls their feet were tipped with razor sharp talons. I brought up my binoculars again and noticed the red stains that decorated their claws and scaly legs. Akatsuki was nodding his head as he often did when he enjoyed music. I looked over the crowd and I could see the masses were enthralled. I shook my head as I began to use my binoculars to view the floor, all of the murder victims had been sitting in the first few rows of the audience.
The man who stood up was casual, he wasn’t very handsome or special but he moved from his seat and began to approach the stage. I offered my wrist to Akatsuki, he pushed it away and I stared at him. Our signal that a supernatural guest was overstepping their boundaries was my wrist being offered for a drink. I was pissed so I did the only think I could think of. I yanked down on his chin and shove my wrist into his mouth before jamming his jaw back up into my offered wrist.
It hurt something fierce as my wrist began to bleed into Akatsuki’s mouth. Conveniently when a vampire tastes blood they begin to feed, conscious or not. As Akatsuki fed his eyes began to focus and he hissed as he glared at the stage.
“Excellent work,” he said to me before his eyes began to glow. Master vampires can control all the vampires sworn to them. While the vampires in the Opera House were enthralled by the sirens, Akatsuki could make their bodies pull free the vials of my blood and feed on it. I watched through my binoculars as Akatsuki’s guards came to life and began to march on the Seven Sisters.
The sirens were surrounding the man who was now onstage, preparing to kill and feed in front of the whole audience. I felt disgusted, they had done this to seven other men, I smiled as the Guards marched, moving as one unit. They were uniform as they leapt onto the stage at once, surrounding the sirens. The creatures were shocked that the vampires were not under their spells and they obviously tried to enthrall the vampires to no effect.
Four magic using vampires moved to the front of the stage and I watched them cast a spell. I wouldn’t know what it was but I noticed that as the Guards began to move in unison to slay the sirens. It was bloody and disgusting but Akatsuki seemed happy so I relaxed.
“What do they see?” I asked him as I watched the audience smile and remain in awe.
“They are watching the Seven Sisters perform, it’s quite lovely,” he said as he stared at me. “You miss out on so much being what you are.” I smiled at him as I rested back in my chair.
“Am I? I rather see the truth than the illusion,” I said as the bodies were taken care of.
“You should go,” Akatsuki said before he snapped. I smiled as I saw Coyle, of the vampires, my favorite was Coyle. Akatsuki helped me to my feet and handed me to Coyle. I took his arm in habit and he placed a hand over mine. “I will see that this is finished.” We left and I sighed as we left.
“They sounded lovely,” Coyle stated as we headed to the back door where the limo and my private bodyguards were waiting. I had my own set of bodyguards for when I wasn’t with Akatsuki.
“So I gathered, but they weren’t that good,” I said as I gave him a look. Coyle gave me his attention, his wordless way of asking me to explain. “They were on key and everything, but I’ve heard better humans.”
“Really, how sad, I imagine their illusion was one of the best I’ve ever heard. Pity,” he said as we exited the Opera House. He helped me into my limo before sliding in after mer. “We better get you to bed.”
“Okay, something big coming up?” I asked and Coyle nodded.
“The newest club the goblins have opened has had a second young woman vanish from their ladies room,” he said and I groaned.
“Can’t we all just get along?” I whined and he laughed.
“And live in harmony? Never,” he teased and I couldn’t help but smile.