“ No question that you’re my favorite designer. Whata ya drinking? ‘A’ negative?” I asked.
She looked down at the goblet of thick red fluid in her hand.
“An unpretentious little ‘B’ positive,” She said, laughing. “So tell me, what was your grandfather’s last name?” she asked.
“Volkov.” I said. “Well, she seems to like the bracelets. She’s having fun showing them off.”
Lydia sighed. “Chris, you’re a sweet boy, but a bit clueless. Her favorite gift isn’t your gift, it’s mine.”
“What are you talking about? “
“Look where you’re standing,” she said.
I glanced around. We were almost smack dab in the middle of the vampire space, with a clear six foot zone around the two of us. I frowned at her.
“She’s got you center stage for everyone to admire, but no touchy. Your shirt might seem like a joke, but it is really rather a loud statement. And I got the fit exactly right. Looks like it was spray painted on.” She said in a very self-satisfied way.
I had been watching Tanya, but now as I looked around I noticed that much of the vampire attention was focused on Lydia and I. Suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious, I looked at the rest of the club. The tables across the dance floor were all occupied by a rather amazing group of celebrities. I noticed two NFL football players, a controversial Yankee third baseman and his supermodel date, several rock stars and more than a few actors. Paige and Kathy were seated at the centermost table, looking dazed as they listened raptly to the handsome actor who had made drunken pirates a favorite with women the world over. Despite the level of star power on that side of the room, most of the club: celebrities included, were watching Tatiana and her court. The lead singer of the band started to walk over to the vampire area and Nika suddenly turned to look at her, then leaned in and whispered in Tanya’s ear. She grinned in excitement, nodded her head and beckoned Lydia to her. Nika headed to the railing and met the lead singer, leaning down to give her instructions. Tanya whispered in Lydia’s ear and then gave me a broad wink. Nika rejoined her and the three of them moved gracefully over to the dance floor. The club lights dimmed to almost full black, although I could still see quite well. It had seemed much darker last Friday when Tanya and Nika had danced. The club patrons started going crazy as soon as the first light dimmed, yelling ‘Tatiana, Tatiana’. The music came up slowly, the song different from the previous week, but having a similar beat. Heavy base pushed in regular pulses against my chest and pant legs. This time I knew what to expect when the spotlight illuminated Tanya, Nika and Lydia. My attention focused fully on Tanya’s midnight gossamer form as she stood motionless for a moment, then spun into motion.
One of my old martial arts instructors used to talk about moving from your center. Difficult to master, moving from your center involves the body’s center of gravity and the martial artist’s ability to locate and work from it. Vampires seemed to have a natural aptitude for harnessing their centers, but Tanya’s was absolute, giving her perfect balance and control. As she spun in supernatural grace, her electric blue eyes sought me out and her dance became a gift to me and me alone.
It was then that the vision struck.
Tatiana, the dance floor and the Hellbourne from the Hance lab. Immediately, my body went on alert and I started to scan the crowded railings, looking for the demon that I knew was in the room. From the corner of my eye, I could see that all three dancers knew something was wrong. Tatiana could sense what I felt, Nika could read my damn mind and Lydia was just Lydia. Perceptive as hell. I found what I was looking for up on the second level, near the middle of the railing, almost directly above Paige and Kathy’s table. A blank face leaning over, head tracking the dancers’ motions below. I couldn’t understand how he was homing in on Tatiana, as the necklace she wore should have blanked her from his sight. Then I saw his eyes following the gazes of the onlookers and realized what he was doing. Virtually everyone in the club was watching the vision made flesh that was Tanya dancing. The demon was watching them watch her and triangulating her position accordingly. I could tell the moment he locked her in his sights and as he leapt over the railing, I propelled myself in a forward dive across the dance floor and into a roll. I came to my feet, grabbed my girl and spun, throwing her back to the vampires behind me. My luck held, as Senka had moved fluidly into the position I abandoned, and as Tanya landed lightly on both feet, the Elder wrapped her arms around her granddaughter and held her back. All of that I saw and then a heavy weight smashed into my shoulders and back, and a greasy blackness impacted my aura. Landing on my stomach with my arms and hands against the floor, I pushed off in the mother of all push- ups. Instead of coming to just the full extension of my arms, I came back all the way to my feet, just in time to catch a blow on my left arm. But a punch that would have disabled my arm a week ago was now less than a minor annoyance. For the first time in my life, I was fighting a demon on at least equal terms of strength and speed. Then he ruined it by pulling a foot long knife and stabbing at my gut. I didn’t care. Tanya was safe in her grandmother’s steel arms and I could give myself over to the rage that was bubbling up from my core. Surrendering control to my fight brain, I let the berserker free.
Paige and Kathy told me days later that it was the most fantastic fight scene they had ever seen performed live. First there was just my blurring dive and artful Tanya toss. But when the Hellbourne crashed into me, his cloak failed and he suddenly appeared to all the onlookers. What followed after that was a jerky fast, flickering martial arts beatdown that put Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee to shame. I remember very little of it, mainly just the incredibly fierce joy of all out combat with a serious opponent. But I can remember slamming my left palm down on the point of his blade, running it through my hand until I could wrench the knife from his grasp. And the memory is crystal clear of my right hook crushing his ribcage, my left jab breaking his nose, my right palm heel strike cracking his sternum and my left hand knotting his hair, spinning him around and breaking his spine with a side kick. I felt a slight jab in my leg as I pulled the slick oily blackness from its shell and flung it into the waiting claws of the smoky raptor that I don’t remember calling. Twelve foot wide wings beat once, and Kirby’s keening cry filled my ears as he flicked out of our world. What happened next is a confusing jumble of images. Vadim, suddenly by my side, holding my hand over head like a victorious prize fighter, while the club’s patrons thundered their approval of the night’s entertainment. The bald giant holding the empty body of the Hellbourne by its neck in an effortless grip, making it look like it was standing on its own feet. A pain in my left leg called my attention to the syringe that was the demon’s parting gift to me. And finally dimming vision as everything crashed down to silent blackness.
Chapter 19
I awoke abruptly, no gradual rise to consciousness, but more of a jarring slam to full alertness. It was dark, I was face down on cold, wet metal, my nose full of the fishy, salty stench of the New York harbor. My skin felt like it was covered in cobwebs and when I tried to brush my face off I found my hands were bound behind my back. At least three pairs of handcuffs by the feel of it. I rolled to my back and wrenched myself to an upright sitting position. Taking stock, I found no major wounds or broken bones, the result no doubt of being exposed to Tanya’s blood. But the mother of all headaches was living behind my eyes and the cobwebby feeling persisted and even my vision seemed to be gauzy. Immediately, additional odors begged for attention, the predominant one being the sour body odor of long unwashed humans, along with rat piss and diesel fuel. The sound of water lapping at solid surfaces hit my ears as did a whisper of cloth that was coming closer. Sitting up I found the room wasn’t fully dark, a small puddle of light coming from the open metal door, which suddenly screeched open to admit the hulking form of Vadim. His entrance let in more light, enough for me to see that I was inside a shipping container. Following him was a slender silhouette that resolved into the dapper form of Anton. Cold icy blue eyes surveyed me with immense satisfaction, a small smirk on his face.