Anne-Marie found Neko in the kitchen the next morning, getting coffee. He smiled at her as she came in. It wasn’t yet nine o’clock, Andrej rarely stirred until closer to noon.
“Good morning,” he said cheerily. “Coffee?” and he held out a steaming mug to her.
“Thanks,” she said, accepting the mug. “You’re up early.”
“Well, I got a call. Time for me to head back to Athens.”
She was surprised to find herself disappointed to hear this. He caught the look on her face, and walked over to her, taking her hands in his.
“Dare I hope that look means you’ll miss me?” he said playfully.
She hated herself for being so transparent. “Yes, I believe I will. Aside from the drugged wine,” she said accusingly, “you’re a very interesting person. I hope I’ll have the chance to know you better. When will you be back?”
“Hard to say how long this will take, but you can bet I’ll be back,” he said. He drew her close and hugged her, and without hesitation she returned it. He let her go, reached to the floor for his little bag that he traveled with, and headed for the door.
“Aren’t you even going to say goodbye to Andrej?” she asked, following him.
“You can let him know when he gets up. I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.” He opened the door to walk out, then stopped and turned to her one last time. “You know, you can have us both.” And with that he was gone.
Stunned, she stood there staring at the door for a few moments. Apart from the fact that he seemed to be suggesting some kind of polyamorous arrangement, she realized that by saying that he had as much as told her that Andrej wanted her as well. She was glad neither of them was there to see her gaping like a fool.
When Andrej rose just at noon, he found her in her chair in the living room, not doing anything.
“Is everything all right? Where’s Neko?”
“He left earlier this morning. Said he got a call.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, lighting a cigarette and sitting down across from her.
She couldn’t look at him. The whole situation had become so confusing she hardly knew where to start.“Um, well, it’s hard to explain.”
He blew out a cloud of smoke and watched her silently for a minute. “Why don’t you tell me how things went with Neko that night.”
“Didn’t I tell you already?”
“Not really. I’d like to know how he treated you.”
“Do you think he’s trying to control my mind?” she asked. “I’m not sure anymore which are my thoughts, and which aren’t.”
“No, I don’t think he’d do that,” Andrej said gently. “I think he genuinely cares for you, and whatever he may have done to influence you into letting him drinking your blood, I think he wanted to know how you felt about him, to see your true feelings.”
She thought back to that night, how he had talked her into letting him drink her blood. She wasn’t sure she could put it into words for Andrej. It felt disloyal to him. And yet Andrej had asked her to consider it.
“Well, I kind of thought he wasn’t going to take no for an answer,” she started.
“Did you think he would have hurt you if you’d told him to leave you alone?”
She twisted her mouth into a sideways frown. “I don’t think so. I think if I had changed my mind that would have been the end of it. I don’t think he would have hurt me, but if he left in that state of mind to find someone else to feed on, would he have hurt them?”
Andrej shook his head a little. “No, it’s not his style. He’s like me that way. We don’t see any need to hurt someone to get a little of their blood.” He took a slow drag on the cigarette, then said, “Did he put you completely under?”
“No. I told him I didn’t want him to, just to block the pain.”
Andrej frowned. It wasn’t the best way Neko could have handled it, it might have been better if he had blocked her memory of the incident. If it had been too much for her, and she had been traumatized he thought he might have had to teach his old friend a lesson. But Anne-Marie appeared to have handled it reasonably well, so he simply asked, “Were you scared?”
She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. “At first. Then I guess he blocked my fear. I felt it when he bit in, but it didn’t hurt.” Anne-Marie looked away, not meeting his gaze just then. The odd guilt and embarrassment in talking about this made her fidgety.
Andrej hesitated, feeling something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He got up and started pacing around the room. Anne-Marie watched him, a little nervously.
“Do you think that’s something you could do again?” he asked.
She looked at him, not wanting to mistake his meaning. “What do you mean? With Neko?”
“No, not him.”
“But… you said I would be off-limits as long as I worked for you.”
“Yes, I did, and you will be, if you choose to keep it that way.”
“Why would you change your mind about this now?”
He sat down again, stubbed out the cigarette. Unable now to meet her eyes he said in a quiet voice, “It’s not such a surprise is it? I wanted to give you time to get used to me, being around a vampire, and see for yourself what’s true and what isn’t. It’s entirely up to you if you want to. Obviously it’s not something we could do often. If you want to keep things the way they are, that’s fine.”
“Tell me something,” she said. “The night we met, when I caught you in the alley with Denise, why didn’t you just alter my memory? Or take my blood then?”
He didn’t answer for a minute. “You were different,” he began slowly. “I did start to work on your mind, but you were strangely resistant, not easy to control the way your friend had been, the way most people are. There was something in your mind that stopped me.”
Anne-Marie wrinkled her brow. “I don’t understand.”
He thought for a minute before speaking, choosing his words carefully. Whatever it was in her past was suppressed so far even she didn’t know it was there. “I’m not sure either, you just weren’t easily hypnotized. You were determined to fight me,” he said, smiling at her. He thought it best to shift the conversation. “If I do take your blood, you may find yourself even more strongly drawn to me, all the time. As it is, you have a difficult time being separated from me. Are you sure you’d want to intensify that?”
“Do you plan to keep sending me away?”
“You never can tell what may happen in the future, and I can’t be with you all the time. I don’t know how much good our recent actions may have done. It may be that these crusaders are becoming more determined.”
“I don’t think I like the sound of that. I thought you said everything went according to plan?”
“Yes, what we intended to do was taken care of, but when Neko and I returned last night, I think I may have seen another of their scouts outside the building.We may have to move again, out of Prague.”
“Oh no,” Anne-Marie said. “Should I start packing?”
“Not just yet. Just keep in mind that it’s a possibility. I’ll be watching the next few days, see what happens. Until we find out for sure what’s going on though, I’d like you to stay in the apartment unless I’m with you. I’m sorry to make you a virtual prisoner here, but for the moment I think it’s safest.”
She nodded. “All right, if you say so. Too bad, though, I was really starting to like Prague.”
“Going native?” he said with a grin. “I was afraid you would have a hard time moving so far away from everything familiar. I know I’m not such good company most of the time.”
“Yes you are. I’ve never been unhappy while I’ve known you. Where would we go if we do have to leave?”
“Well, I’m not sure yet. North is preferable for me, I generally try to stay above the 45th parallel. Scandinavia’s a possibility. Most of the countries up there have largely abandoned religion, so our little friends won’t have much of a presence there. I do wonder thou
gh how you’d like so much darkness. It might be hard for you to adjust to.”
“I’ll manage,” she said, trying to sound unconcerned.
“We shouldn’t have to stay long, and we’ll come back to Prague as soon as it seems safe again. But there’s time to think about all that.”
Anne-Marie nodded. “So tell me more about Daisy.”
“Oh yes, how did you like her?”
“She was funny. She said you two went way back.”
“I met her during one of my stays in Helsinki. She was moving around a lot. She had lost someone to the crusaders a long time ago and kept on the move to avoid them. She was quite different from most other vampires I had met.”
“Oh. Is she alone now?”
He looked away, feeling centuries of caution holding him back from talking too much. He was having a hard time overcoming it, even with Anne-Marie.
“What is it?” she asked when he didn’t answer.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I don’t like to say too much about others. I’m hoping she’ll come around before too long and she can fill you in herself, ok?”
“Sure, I was just wondering. I liked her, even though I only saw her for a little bit.” She fidgeted for a moment, then said, “I need to ask you something. Since you guys can manipulate someone’s memory, how do I know Neko didn’t… you know…”
“He didn’t. I would know.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Ok, good. If you’re sure.”
“I am.” He was so firm about this that the tension went out of her face and shoulders, and she relaxed.
That night Andrej resumed his usual routine. Anne-Marie waited in the living room as he dressed. When he came into the room to grab his coat and cigarettes he saw her sitting in her chair, legs drawn up under her, arms folded across her chest.
“All right, what’s wrong?” he said.
Without answering, she rubbed her forehead.
“Do you have a headache?” Andrej asked.
“No, no, I’m fine,” she said, less convincingly than she hoped.
He took a seat on the table in front of her. “You know, even if I start taking your blood, it’s not going to be enough. I’m still going to have to do this.”
“I know,” she said, angry with herself for not being able to hide her feelings better. Not that it mattered much with Andrej; he could simply read her mind anyway.
“Come on,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it. “You know why I do this.”
Anne-Marie assumed a brave face and said, “I know. And I’m sorry. I know perfectly well who and what you are, and I understand what that means. So you just go, do your thing, and I’ll be fine. I’ll be here.”
He leaned over, kissing her cheek and embracing her for a moment. Then he playfully chucked her under the chin and got up to leave.
“Will you be bringing anyone back tonight?” Anne-Marie asked, forcing herself to do the job she was hired to do.
Andrej stopped. “No, not anymore. I wouldn’t do that to you,” he said.
After he’d gone, Anne-Marie tried not to think about what he was doing. She went to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, trying to think of something to do to keep herself busy until he returned. She went into her bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, not intending to indulge in feeling sorry for herself, knowing she would never have any kind of normal life with Andrej, but overwhelmed momentarily with a sense of loss. In the absolute silence of the apartment, there was nothing to drag her out of her reverie. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, but she was brought back to the present when she heard something in the living room. She hadn’t heard Andrej come in the door, and it seemed it had only been a few minutes that she’d been sitting there, but she walked out into the other room to see if he was back. She stopped in her tracks. There was someone there, but it wasn’t Andrej. Whoever he was, he had his back to her. She thought about running for Andrej’s private room and barricading herself in, but before she could move the man turned around. He was as tall as Andrej, over six feet, and built much like him with a slender frame. He had long hair, and a beard and mustache. His eyes were round and light colored. She stood where she was, heart racing, unable to speak. The man stood looking back at her with a placid expression.
“Good evening,” he said pleasantly. “I hope I didn’t frighten you too much.”
Anne-Marie finally found her voice. “Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?” she demanded.
He took his time answering, almost as if it were an afterthought. “You can call me Paimon. I’m an old acquaintance of Andrej’s.” He spoke calmly as if they were meeting at a social affair.
“How did you get in here?” Anne-Marie repeated.
“I can get in wherever I choose.” He walked over and took a seat in Anne-Marie’s brown leather chair. “Yes, this is very nice, I see why you like it,” he said. His accent was faintly British, but tinged with something else that she couldn’t place.
“Andrej’s not here,” she said, still standing in the doorway of the guest room.
“I know. I’ve come to see you.”
“Me? Why?”
“Please come over and sit down so we can talk,” he said, “I promise I’m not here to harm you.”
Anne-Marie swallowed hard. She hoped Andrej was able to sense her fear, and would be headed back to find out what was going on. She walked slowly around the opposite end of the sofa, keeping as far away from him as she could, and sat on the edge of the seat cushion.
“Please try to relax, and it’s no use trying to contact Andrej telepathically. I’ve blocked your thoughts, you see.”
“What do you want?”
“I’ve been sent by—well, let’s just say I’ve been sent to assess you, find out why Andrej is so protective of you. It’s highly unusual for a vampire to become so attached to a servitor. And I’m here to assess your potential.”
“Potential for what?”
“To become a vampire, of course.”
Anne-Marie’s eyes got wide at that. “What? I’m not… I mean, Andrej said it was my choice.”
“Yes well, you see, it’s not usually open for discussion. But Andrej does take prodigious care of you, and goes to great lengths of personal misfortune to ensure your safety. It’s highly unusual.”
“He has a good heart.”
“Indeed he has,” Paimon conceded with a nod of his head. “And I can tell you do, too.” His demeanor was calm and polite, but still managed to be menacing. He shook his head a little and made a small clucking noise. “I wish I could say something to calm your nerves, you’re working yourself into quite a state there. The thing is, you’re a liability, the way things stand.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“As long as you remain free to come and go, there’s always a chance you could turn on Andrej, or endanger another one of us.”
“I would never do that to him.”
“Not now, perhaps, but in ten years, when you find things aren’t likely to change between you, you might find you’ve had a change of heart.”
Anne-Marie was starting to let her temper override her caution and nearly forgot that whoever this was she was talking to was more powerful than any vampire she had encountered. Anyone who was this casual about breaking and entering and making threats was likely more dangerous than someone given to bullying, belligerent tactics.
“You’re worried about something that might happen ten years from now? What about his other assistants? Were you worried about them, too? What are you, some kind of vampire godfather?”
He winced a little at that word, but ignored her outburst. “Your relationship with Andrej is singular. It’s not unusual for a servitor to fall in love with the vampire they serve, but for it to be reciprocated is quite something else,” he said.
Anne-Marie looked away in embarrassment.
“Oh yes, it’s quite obvious,” he said with a small smile. “However, the emotions that now
have you convinced you would never betray him are the same ones that can be twisted over time into resentfulness, anger, even vindictiveness. If allowed to continue, this relationship between you could end badly for everyone,” he said mildly. “We’ve also become aware of a certain problem you’ve been having with those people following you. It’s been decided that we will take a hand in mitigating the risk to you and Andrej. So I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you in the coming days.”
“Andrej’s handling it,” she said defensively.
“Your loyalty to him is extraordinary. I must confess I’m impressed,” Paimon said. “Well, I should be going. Enjoy your evening.” He stood up, gave a small bow in Anne-Marie’s direction and walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.
Anne-Marie jumped up as the door clicked shut and ran to it to look in the security camera that was trained on the hallway. There was no sign of Paimon, he had simply vanished. She wondered why he bothered to use the door at all. Now that he was gone, she ran back to the living room, grabbed her communer and buzzed Andrej.
“Please come home,” she said as soon as he answered.
“On my way,” he said. He arrived back at the apartment in a few short minutes to find Anne-Marie pacing the floor, wringing her hands.
“What happened?” he asked as he walked in.
“Someone was here, he said he was an old acquaintance of yours, called himself Paimon.”
Andrej’s face became stony. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, he said he was here to ‘assess’ me, and that they, I don’t know who he meant, would be–oh god, what did he say? ‘Mitigating the situation.’ I think he was talking about the crusaders.”
“That explains why I didn’t sense you before.” Andrej took a breath and let it out. “All right, we’ll stay out of their way then, if he’s going to handle that. I never thought…” and he trailed off. “What did he say they were assessing you for?”
“To become a vampire. Why? Why would they do that to me? And who are ‘they’?”
“Here, let’s sit down,” he said and led her over to the sofa. “Ok, start at the beginning, and try to remember everything he said.”
Anne-Marie told him the entire exchange, backing up and correcting herself a few times, becoming confused in her agitated state.
“Do you think I could be a threat to you?” she asked.
He kissed her forehead the way he always did. “Of course not, but they don’t know you the way I do. If Paimon’s going to be around watching us, or coming by again, I’ll stay here as much as possible. But he’ll know when you’re alone, if I have to go out.”
“Who is he? Is he another vampire?”
Andrej took a deep breath and sighed. “No, he’s not a vampire. He’s very ancient, and more powerful than just about any being I’ve ever known. What exactly he is I’m not sure. I guess the best way to describe him is a kind of overseer. He keeps track of all of us, intervenes only in extreme cases.”
“What’s so extreme about us? I don’t understand why he thinks I’m more of a threat to you than any of your other assistants. Or was he worried about them, too?”
“No, this has never happened before. I haven’t had any contact with Paimon for many years. It could be these crusaders are more of a threat than I realized. Maybe he’s afraid they could get to you, use you somehow to harm me.”
She chewed her lip for a moment. “I’ve never asked you this, but are there a lot of vampires, around the world? Are there others here in Prague, other than those two that were here a while back?”
“No, not a lot. I don’t think there are others in Prague most of the time. Around the world, there are a few, but I’m not entirely sure how many. We tend to scatter. Having too many in one place is never a good idea.”
“But in big cities like this, you’d think a few could go unnoticed, if they’re careful.”
“Why do you ask?”
“I’m just wondering why he’s taking special notice of us.”
“It’s just as I told you once before, most vampires consider humans disposable, and since you and I are so fond of each other, together with the fact that Neko is in love with you, he’s probably wondering what you’ve done to put the two of us under your spell,” he said.
“How can you make jokes about this? I’m terrified. I don’t want to become a vampire.” She put her head in her hands in despair.
Andrej gave her a minute to steady herself, then said gently, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“What can you do? Can you stop him? You said you’ve never seen anyone more powerful.”
He made his voice sound confident. “There’s always an alternative. I’ll find a way to get through to him.” He had no real reason to believe anything could be done if Paimon had decided to turn her, but telling Anne-Marie that right now would serve no purpose. It was possible he could dissuade him and his creator from this course, but at the moment he had no idea how.
Anne-Marie sighed deeply. “I sure hope so. But if there’s not, just promise me you’ll be the one to do it. I think I could stand it if you were the one to convert me.”
“If it comes to that, I can’t see any reason they wouldn’t allow it.” Andrej tried to reassure her while he thought things over. The choices were limited: Converting her, marking her, sending her away after wiping out her memory, and one final option.
“I need to ask you something, and I don’t want you to answer right away,” he said. He lit a cigarette and stared at the floor. “I want you tell me which you’d prefer, if it comes down to it: Becoming a vampire, or dying?”
Anne-Marie sat back in shock. “Are you saying you’d kill me?”
He took a drag on the cigarette and blew it out before answering. “If that’s what you’d prefer. It’s one option. I can give you that choice. I don’t think you should discount anything. It could give you peace. Being a vampire is—well, you know how it can be. I could spare you from a fate you’re not truly prepared for and have just said you don’t want. Just keep it in mind as one possibility.”
“And a few days ago I thought the worst thing that could happen was letting Neko drink my blood,” she said ruefully. “So explain to me what this Paimon gets out of me becoming a vampire. Why wouldn’t he just kill me if he thinks I’m such a threat to you, or him?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Simplify it for me.”
“Tomorrow. You should get some rest, we can talk more tomorrow.”
She snorted. “You think I’m going to be able to sleep now?”
He shot her a look and said, “Oh come on, think who you’re talking to.” Before she realized he was doing it, he had locked his eyes on hers and had put her to sleep. She lay slumped on the couch while Andrej finished his cigarette. He sighed, then picked her up and carried her to her room and laid her on the bed. Despite the unexpected and unwelcome visit from Paimon, he walked out of her room feeling more secure in their safety that night than he had for a while. If Paimon and his band were out there keeping track of the crusaders, taking them on, it meant they would never be able to get close to him and Anne-Marie. But this involvement was unheard of, and why he and Anne-Marie warranted this kind of treatment made him uneasy. Paimon was ruthless the way a spider is ruthless with a fly that gets tangled in its web. There was no actual malice in him, but there was also no mercy. If he was tracking a target, there was only one possible outcome. Where Andrej had tried to talk to the crusader that he’d killed, Paimon would simply have lain in wait for him and killed him quickly and efficiently. However, his visit to Anne-Marie was out of character. Andrej was at a loss, unless Paimon’s role was changing. None of it made any sense. He had never heard of someone being assessed in advance of conversion, but then he didn’t know how they operated. Certainly the creature that had turned him into a vampire had not bothered consulting him ahead of time. With all the assistants he’d had over the years, this was the first one th
at had gotten Paimon’s attention.
And he didn’t like it.
Chapter 24