They got to the garage and Shamira's heart and mind took another shock. The garage was an attached building, and inside was every kind of vehicular toy you could imagine. Truck, cars, motorcycles . . . hell, there were even golf carts.
"Damn, now all I need is a golf course," she murmured.
Clara smiled. "Shane has a nine-hole course on the property. He turns on the night lights and plays to unwind sometimes. You play?"
"A bit. I'm not great."
"Shane would be thrilled to have someone to play with," Clara replied. "The only other person who plays is Banshee and well, she's a sore loser. Love her to death, but don't ever get competitive with her."
"I'll keep that in mind." Normally, Shamira wasn't a car person, but she couldn't help but drool over the selection she was looking at. "Which one are we taking? Oh my God, he has a Prius?!"
Clara laughed out loud. "No, that's Lillian's. She's kind of a tree hugger. Got Shane to get an acre of solar panels to help offset the energy this place requires."
"I thought she was submissive?"
"No, she's a switch. And being a sexual submissive doesn't mean pushover." Clara looked around. "So, which one do you want to take?"
"How about the Hummer? I mean, I've just never been in one before."
Henry grabbed some keys off a rack on the wall and tossed them to her. "You're driving."
"Me?! I don't even know where I'm going and --"
"Every car has GPS," Clara said. "This is just one of the perks you'll have if you work here. Shane shares his wealth."
Renata arrived with a leather trench in tow. "The height is right for me, but it's a little big. I think it'll fit your shoulders perfectly."
Shamira looked at it and thought she was going to look like some kind of flasher. But when she slid her arms in and let that leather tighten around her, she almost purred. It fit like a glove and actually made her look kind of cool. Except for the flip-flops.
"Need new shoes for you," the Brazilian said. She had such an adorable accent.
"I wish I could get my lucky hat back," Shamira muttered.
Clara heard her and figured she would do something about it when she had a chance. Hopefully as a housewarming gift. "Let's roll."
Driving a Hummer was apparently like driving a pregnant whale strapped to a really big skateboard. If she hadn't taken a number of courses in defensive driving, then Shamira probably would have committed manslaughter a number of times. And driving something the size of a tank made one a lot more cocky, she decided. She managed to do something that she did not think possible.
She scared the hell out of two vampires and a werejaguar just because she cut across four lanes of traffic to catch the exit. She wondered if any of them really drove inside the perimeter often enough to think that SHE was a scary driver. Luckily, the club in question had a parking space dedicated to Shane and his entourage big enough to house a limo, so she was able to squeeze the Hummer in without much problem.
"She's just having problems adjusting to vamp reflexes," Renata said, holding on to the door handle for a moment with a trembling hand.
"I've ridden bulls that were gentler." Henry was smiling though.
Shamira had never been here before. She didn't even know it existed. Down an alley between two buildings that looked abandoned, there was a purple neon sign that just read "Prometheus." Just like the old speakeasies, one member of the party knocked, then a little window slid open. She thought she heard chanting, then a bluish glow peeked out from that slot.
The window slid shut and the door opened. Inside was an intimidating large bald man in a custom-made suit, sunglasses, and obligatory earpiece for radio communication. He motioned them inside. The four of them went down a long corridor with a metal door at the other end, and this swung open to --
"Holy shit," Shamira muttered. This place looked more like a massive study than a dungeon. There were leather sofas everywhere, bookshelves, ebony coffee tables, and gorgeous glass lamps. Through an opening was what looked like a fancy restaurant with a full bar.
There were people everywhere, chatting over snacks and coffee or some other beverage, and all of them were dressed like Shamira's companions. For every man or woman sitting comfortably, there was a leather, PVC, or scantily clad sub at their feet. "I'm not in Kansas anymore."
"I've got to talk to Travis," Renata said. "If you guys wanted to mingle, I could take Shamira to the security booth and show her a little of the operation."
"You okay with that?" Clara asked.
Shamira nodded. She was feeling oddly warm where she was and wanted to go elsewhere. She followed Renata into the bar area and then through a black door that Shamira couldn't even see.
Beyond that door was a medium-sized room with banks and banks of video screens and some pretty sophisticated-looking surveillance gear. In the middle of the room in a swiveling computer chair was a very, very large man.
Travis McNeil, head of security for the club, was a werebear, and he looked the part. He was six feet four inches tall of pure beef, massive through the chest and arms that could probably use steel beams as toothpicks. He had short white hair and a neatly-trimmed goatee, but he otherwise looked like a wall of darkness in his suit.
"Renata," the big man grumbled, not taking his eyes off the monitors. "How can I help you?"
"First, let me introduce you to Shamira Carswell, the newest vamp in Shane's family."
He looked up. "You're the cop who got iced over at the Casa de Sade?" When Shamira nodded, he continued with, "Welcome to the big show. That place was a dive. Nothing like that would've happened here." He went back to looking at his screens.
"What'cha looking for?" the Brazilian asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Got word that someone was looking to trade some morning star here, and it was supposed to be tonight."
Renata laughed. "Who would be dumb enough to try and make a deal like that here?"
"Folks looking to make ten grand a vial."
"Uhm, what's morning star?" Shamira asked.
"It's a magical drug. It's a mixture of vamp blood, were blood, and some faerie blood to bind it. Makes the user pretty much God-like for about thirty minutes before the crash. Unless they're in good shape, it might collapse their heart and make their brains leak out their ears. It's the most illegal drug in the underworld of course, but that doesn't stop people from dealing with it. It's death to be caught carrying or distributing.""Death?!""Considering the blood has to be harvested from a dying host, yeah. Our world is dangerous," Renata said, looking a bit impatient. "Keep that in mind."Shamira realized that not everyone in Shane's brood was necessarily happy about her being brought over. She wondered if she'd done something to offend this woman. She had seemed nice earlier, and Clara had said she was normally perky. "How many doses per vial?""One."
Travis motioned for her to follow, so the three of them went charging through the bar, through another door, and into what looked like a holding cell. A single light swung overhead, making the room seem even more ominous by casting shadows in the corners. There was also a drain in the middle of the floor. Shamira didn't want to think about that. The security forces were backed up against one wall; one perpetrator sat cowering in a corner, and the other held a young woman by the throat. "Don't come any damn closer!" the man said, snarling like an animal. His eyes were as red as a sunset and his face had lost all vestiges of humanity. "Clear the damn way! I'm taking her and leaving. Anyone tries to stop me and she dies, along with the would-be hero. Got that?" Travis motioned for Renata and Shamira to move back. They wer
'Screw him,' she thought. 'This is his fault, so he doesn't get a break.' She threw a punch as his too-damn-pretty-anyway face, but she missed by a country mile. He had moved so quickly that it was as if she had swung at him in deep water. Her next swing missed as well, as did her attempt to kick him in the knee."Fight me damn it," Shamira growled when she realized that Shane wouldn't fight back. She stood there for a moment, wanting badly for him to swing. She wanted him to hit her so hard that she didn't wake up again. She wanted anything but to feel the way that she did at that moment. "You should have just let me die. Why couldn't you just let me die?"He sighed. "Because I saw someone I thought would be worth saving. I don't regret it. You saved an innocent life tonight. Doesn't that count in your mind?""I killed someone!" she hissed violently. "I don't even know what the hell I am. I d
He stood up. "I would like my keys back though. You stranded the others at Prometheus." He smiled, but she didn't smile back. She just handed over the keys. "I won't ask that you make your decision now. You haven't even really had a chance to get used to being a vampire yet, much less this other business.You are welcome to stay at the house while you figure things out. Talk to the others. They can help, and they want to. Clara has been sick with worry since you ran out." He raised his eyebrows and smirked. "And if you think that I have unusual designs for you and your body, then you might want to ask her what SHE'S been thinking." He got into his car and drove away.Shamira shivered a bit, but not from the cold. Sure, Clara had made some "interesting" comments, but she had just assumed it was vampire freakiness. But she wanted Shamira too?She took another look at her family hom
The next evening . . . Shamira had never been a big shopper before, much less closed down the mall. It seemed that her traveling companions were more than used to it. She learned some things about them, such as the fact that Lillian and Monique had both once been swimsuit models as well as lovers. Lillian had taken up the art of necromancy when she was younger but kept it relatively in the background until the night that she and Monique had been attacked by a rogue werewolf while walking through the woods in Northern Georgia. The wolf hadn't realized that necromancy was potent magic, as Lillian had sucked the life energy right out of him before managing to kill him with the animated skeleton of a ten-point buck. But Monique had already been bitten, so Lillian had to keep her lover alive and help her adjust to the new world
Two hours later . . ."How's she doing?" Shane whispered as he and Reaper watched Shamira go through her strength tests. Vampires were stronger than humans, so having a standard gym was impractical. Instead, they had a set of hydraulic equipment that was derived from the stuff used to test the power of heavy-duty industrial machines.The big black man didn't bother to glance at his clipboard. Reaper probably never forgot anything he heard or saw. His brain would probably explode with information in about a century or so."Well, she's bench-pressing about half a ton, she did the twenty-yard shuttle run agility test in 1.5 seconds, did the hundred-yard dash in 4.23 seconds, scored higher on her shooting proficiency than anyone here besides me --" He paused. "Shane, have you ever met a fledgling so advanced?""No," Shane said. "Shadow H
Several days later . . .Shamira liked having a routine again. Strangely, being a fledgling vampire wasn't so bad. She didn't need much sleep, couldn't gain weight, didn't have any more periods, and could eat anything she wanted. She slept from sunup until the middle of the afternoon, even though she could navigate in daylight if she chose.She was still wearing sweats all of the time, but at least they were her own sweats. The modified Desert Eagle hung in a low shoulder holster underneath a light jacket, and the snakewhip was wrapped around her waist. She'd been practicing with the whips a lot the last couple of days and had made great progress. And while she would never admit it, she enjoyed the sound of it cracking."What's the name of it again?" she asked. She liked Henry. He had a nice smile on top of a gorgeous body, but he didn't feel the need to
"I can't believe that," one of them said, making the others laugh.She grinned vapidly at him. "You're funny," she slurred, enjoying this game immensely. She almost forgot that her life was on the line here. "Handsome too," she hummed. "Isn't he handsome?" she asked one of the other guys."Gorgeous," the second man replied.She made as if to step past them, then stumbled. Her primary target reached out and caught her, groping her chest while he did so. She let him support her as he leaned her against the wall, his body against hers.A couple of things happened. First, she could feel an immediate swelling in his trousers as he asked if she was all right. Second, she felt a certain warmth in her own loins. It wasn't that she was particularly attracted to him, but he obviously was to her. And the idea of being taken in a public place