I tried to align my thoughts to answer, while reeling from the overload of information she had just dumped in my lap.
“Well, the Hellbourne that was sent was one of the most powerful that I've come across. Most demon kind tends to avoid daylight, yet this one was able to fully cloak in the middle of the day. Sooo, I can't imagine that this setback will stop them completely. I think I'm going to need to protect Tanya as long as I can. But we'll have to do some serious planning for what you will do if I'm no longer around.” I added, thoughtfully. Maybe I would have enough time to empower another couple amulets. Hmm. I suddenly became aware of total silence in the car. All five were staring at me with puzzled expressions, although Tanya's was slightly alarmed. “What?” I asked as I tried to think of what I had said.
“Where will you be going that you would leave Tanya unprotected?” Lydia asked.
“Huh? Oh, well, I'm not actually leaving, but you have to understand that my life expectancy is not what you could call robust. I'm only human, and the things I fight are almost always faster and stronger. So it's only prudent to prepare for the most likely outcome. It's actually something of a wonder that I’ve lasted this long. Not to mention that my day job has its own risks.”
I tried for a light tone, but no one was smiling, although Vadim was nodding in appreciation at my line of thought. Lydia and Nika were a little wide-eyed, Galina was tapping her ruby lips with a single ruby fingernail, and Tanya....well Tanya was looking rather angry. Alarmingly angry in fact. The soft pressure against my side had turned titanium hard, and she literally thrummed with tension. Everybody became still. I learned then that when vampires freeze, they're like department store mannequins. I, on the other hand, can't stay still very long. Finally, I sighed and very softly said her name. “Tanya.”
No response.
“Tanya, what's the matter?” There, just a flicker, but still noticeable. Her eyes had moved. They first flickered then locked onto mine. I was alarmed to notice they were black. Completely, from edge to edge with no iris or white showing. I have to admit that she was scary. But I felt no danger from her. The other vampires were stone still. I took a chance. Gently, I covered her velvet-over-metal hand with my own warmer human hand and just let it sit, while staring into her pitch black eyes. Her hand wasn't cold, but it was cooler than my own. Her skin warmed to my own temperature as my hand lay over hers. After a moment I noticed a speck of light, deep in the celestial center of her eyes. Gradually it grew, becoming first a blue star, then finally her normal exotic blue peepers. The steel in her hand softened perceptibly as she came back to herself. Her expression wavered between anger and sadness, and even an idiot like me was able to discern that she was upset at my very limited prospects for life.
I smiled at her, squeezed her hand gently (not that I would be able to hurt her) and said, “Tanya, I promise you that I will do my best to protect you and keep myself alive. We can talk about this another time.” She said nothing, just kept staring into my eyes. I probably could have spent the night doing nothing else, despite the audience, but at that moment the limo slowed to a stop and the driver's partition came down enough for Arkady to mention that we were at my building. The vampires were all watching her avidly, not bothering to breathe. I gently disengaged my hand from Tanya's and moved to the door of the limo. Vadim shook himself into motion and opened it for me and I slid out into the night with a murmured goodbye.
The door closed and the limo started away, only to stop a few feet further on. Again the door opened and this time Tanya emerged like a dancer. She flitted to my side and the limo drove off. There wasn't a whole lot to say. I knew she wasn't ready to say goodnight, so I led her into my building and into my life.
Chapter 6
She was curious about everything. Why a girl who grew up in a seven thousand-square-foot brownstone would find my four hundred-square-foot studio fascinating, I don’t know. She studied every minute detail of my tiny space. And she asked questions, lots of questions. How much was the rent? Why did I live here? Was I poor? Many would have bordered on offensive, but I couldn’t seem to find any offense. She was asking in complete innocence, her worldview very narrow and contained.
She loved the bear in the tapestry. The photo on the bookshelf of Gramps and me generated twenty or thirty questions on its own. Where did he live, how was he related, what did he do? Pretty quickly I was laying out my life story, which I had never done, for anyone. I sat in my leather chair and she held the bear fetish in her lap as she sat on the futon. When we had first entered the studio, I had switched into host mode without much thought.
“Would you like something to drin…k? Er… oops. Sorry about that. Habit.” I had said.
“I would like some water,” she answered.
“You drink water?”
“Of course. We are mostly water, just like you. We get lots from blood, but still need a little from time to time,” she said.
I got her a glass while I thought about this. “Are you hungry? For blood?” I asked.
“Are you offering?” she asked, smirking and obviously amused.
Was I?
“Yeah, I guess I am.”
She smiled. “No thank you. I am still working from what you gave me last night.”
“It doesn’t seem enough. I can’t seem to stop eating today,” I babbled.
“I make you nervous.” she stated.
“A little. I’m not use to being alone with girls. Especially really pretty girls,” I admitted, cursing myself for my lame attempt at a compliment. Like she was just pretty.
“But you are not nervous that I am vampire?”
I thought about that before I answered. “No.”
“Why? Why are you not scared or nervous or bothered?” she asked, with intensity.
I shrugged and struggled to organize my thoughts.
“Well…first, because of what I deal with – demons – I guess finding out that vampires are real isn’t that much of a shock. Then, I don’t get any kind of scary vibe from you. And finally…I.. like you…and I guess that outweighs everything else.” I paused, and threw caution aside. “I also think that you like me…or at least think I’m interesting..or something.” My courage floundered a bit at the end.
She sipped her water, watching me over the edge of her glass. Her feet were tucked up on the futon, the bear under her hand. She was seriously cute as hell.
“You like the way I look,” she stated. “You are attracted to this.” Waving a hand up and down herself.
“Yes, but actually that’s part of what makes me nervous. The parts that don’t make me nervous are the things like the fact that you cared enough about my being hurt to track me down. Or that you protected me from the others last night. Even facing Arkady down when I provoked him. I like the way you dance, I like that you are quiet, and I really liked that you stopped last night, when you could have drank me dry...so to speak.”
She didn’t say anything, just stared at me like I had either said something important or crazy. I kept going.
“And yes I think you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, but I like you in spite of that.”