By eight-thirty the evening of his planned arrival there was no sign of Neko, and no further word from him. Andrej didn’t seem concerned, so Anne-Marie didn’t say anything. It could be he had detoured in search of a victim to feed on before seeing them again, thereby controlling his desire for Anne-Marie. By ten o’clock, Andrej had started pacing around the apartment, and tried to raise Neko on his communer several times to no avail.
“You think something happened to him?” Anne-Marie said.
“It’s just not like him to be this late. He said eight; he either should have been here, or called by now.”
“Where would he go? Is there any way for you to locate him?”
“Maybe,” he said, “but I haven’t used that skill for awhile. Trying to psychically detect another vampire can be tricky, especially if there’s more than one in the area.”
He was quiet for a moment, then looked at Anne-Marie and said, “You could try.”
“Me? How? I’m not psychic.”
“But he’s taken your blood, which should have established a mental link with you, similar to what you and I share.”
“You think? How would I do it?”
“Just relax, try to conjure an image of him in your mind,” Andrej said, moving to stand behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders while she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to blot out all other thoughts while she concentrated on summoning an image of Neko.
“Don’t force it, just try remembering how you felt when you were with him,” Andrej said.
Anne-Marie tried to relax. Andrej gently placed his fingertips on her temples, hearing her thoughts recalling the sensations of the touch of Neko’s hand on her hair, her cheek, his kisses on her face and neck, the sensation of watching the incident from somewhere outside her body. She also recalled that uncomfortable feeling again as if she had cheated on Andrej by not trying harder to hold him off.
“Ssshh,” he said, “it’s all right. I already know all that.” He knew full well, as Anne-Marie did not, the struggle that Neko had waged with himself in not doing more to Anne-Marie than just taking her blood that night. Andrej smiled a little at the thought that he would not stop with just taking her blood, and that she would not want to stop there, either.
Suddenly Anne-Marie gasped, her eyes flew open, and she staggered back a step, falling against Andrej.
“What is it? What did you see?” he asked as he held her to steady her.
“I think it was Neko, but it was dark and he was lying on the ground somewhere.”
“Could you tell where? Did you see anything around him?”
“No, just some big gray thing, it looked like marble. And big white gates in front.”
Andrej muttered a few choice words under his breath.
“What’s wrong? Where is he?” Anne-Marie asked.
“The old cemetery. Come on, we may not have much time,” he said, and grabbing her by the hand headed quickly out of the apartment. He could travel faster alone but he didn’t dare leave her alone right now, and he might need her help anyway.
They caught a cab as far across town as he dared, then had the driver drop them off so they could walk the rest of the way. He had an innate aversion to being watched, and said nothing about where they were going in the cab. They left the cab and he led the way at a fast walk.
“Why did it have to be a cemetery?” Anne-Marie said, as much to herself as to Andrej as they arrived at the gates to the Ďáblická cemetery. He grinned, but said nothing, holding his finger to his lips. He took her hand and started walking in between the gravestones. The grass was already covered with dew and while he left no footprints, Anne-Marie did. She clung tightly to his hand, not knowing what to expect. Andrej was trying to sense Neko’s presence as they walked. He sensed someone, but it wasn’t a vampire. Humans, and more than one.
“Someone else is here,” he whispered to Anne-Marie. She looked at him for some sign that he was going to just leave, rather than confront whoever it was, but he was still walking forward. She froze where she was, still holding his hand which forced him to a halt. He turned to look at her, and gave her a smile and a nod of his head as if to say Don’t worry, I can handle it.
They started walking again, but without warning Andrej’s pace quickened, and pulling Anne-Marie along behind him he broke into a run, dodging between headstones and monuments. They arrived in a path between the north and south sides of the cemetery where Andrej stopped abruptly. Anne-Marie nearly collided with him, unable to see as well in the dark. Andrej dropped her hand and started walking slowly towards a dark shape on the ground.
Anne-Marie didn’t move. Andrej went forward until he was next to what she could see now was a body. He knelt down beside it, and she watched as he put his hand on the middle of the man’s chest. It had to be Neko.
“Oh my god,” she said, “What happened? Is he… ?”
“Dead? No, but he’s gone into a state of suspended animation. That’s the closest I can describe it. Whoever attacked him almost killed him, but we must have scared them off before they could finish. He’ll need time to rest and recover. We’ll take him back home with us.” He lifted his friend’s unconscious body and started walking back to the entrance to the cemetery with Anne-Marie next to him. She kept glancing nervously around in case whoever was responsible was still nearby. It was unlikely they had had time to get away, which meant she and Andrej were likely being watched.
Somehow he had to get Neko into the building without being seen. The cab driver who drove them back to the building was easily controlled and would have no memory of an unconscious man in the car, but he hoped not to run into any other tenants and have to work on more minds. Neko had lost a lot of blood before they found him. If he could get a transfusion he might recover enough to be able to make himself invisible.
Looking nervously at the driver, Anne-Marie said, “What do you suggest? We take him to the blood bank for a withdrawal?”
“I can get into the hospital, get what I need to do a transfusion.”
“How? I don’t think you can get that stuff at the hospital gift shop.”
“Let’s get him back to the apartment first. He’ll need to rest, and I’ll have to find others who can donate to him.”
“I love how you call them donors, like they have a choice.”
When they arrived at the apartment, to Anne-Marie’s horror and Andrej’s surprise, Paimon was inside waiting for them. Andrej hurried past him and set Neko down on the sofa in the living room, then waited to hear what Paimon had to say.
“I can restore him. He’s almost too far gone for a transfusion to help.” He stood and waited for Andrej to step aside and let him near Neko. Andrej hesitated for a second, then acknowledging this was Neko’s only real chance he stepped back, out of the way.
Paimon moved quickly. He knelt on the floor by Neko, and took his face in his hands, examining him for a moment. Then he put one hand on Neko’s forehead, the other over his heart on his chest, and as if he had been shocked, Neko’s eyes flew open as he gasped for breath and rose up off the sofa, then fell back again. Paimon stood back up, but kept his gaze on Neko.
“There, that should do it,” he said. “He will, however, need to feed as soon as possible when he comes to.” He looked at Andrej and then at Anne-Marie. “It’s far too soon for you to let him feed on you again,” he said to Anne-Marie, then turning to Andrej continued, “I suppose you’d better line up some donors.” He gave the merest hint of a smile to which Anne-Marie raised one eyebrow, wondering if Paimon was developing a sense of humor.
“Any idea who did this?” Paimon asked.
“No. We didn’t see them, they must have taken off when we arrived.”
“Well, he’ll soon be able to tell us. In the meantime, you and I can find some people for him to feed on. It’s best if he has it fresh and warm.” Paimon must have realized Andrej’s idea to raid a hospital blood supply, but the refrigerated blood would not be as good. He turned to Anne-Marie and said, ?
??We’ll need you to stay with him but we’ll be back quickly. If he wakes up before we get back, he will very likely attack you. He’ll be suffering from the vampire equivalent of starvation.”
“Paimon, you can’t expect her to stay here with him alone,” Andrej said, furious at the idea.
“We can return in an instant if there’s a problem. Even if he gets another pint or so out of her, it won’t kill her. If he’s left completely alone, he could do some real damage before we get to him.”
After Andrej and Paimon hit the streets to find humans for Neko, Anne-Marie took a seat in her chair, watching Neko. He looked to be sleeping, his breathing shallow but regular, so she settled herself to wait, praying that Andrej and Paimon wouldn’t be gone long. As the minutes ticked by, she wondered what could be keeping them. Andrej could put someone under his control instantly, and there was no time to be choosy about whom they brought back. Neko gave a little cough, then groaned, and began to sit up very slowly, holding his stomach.
“Oh my god, Neko. Are you all right?” Anne-Marie asked.
He turned his head to look at her, and his eyes were glassy. She wasn’t sure he was able to see her. Her heart was pounding, and Paimon’s warning that he would likely attack her was all she could think about. Neko struggled to his feet still looking at her, but without saying anything.
“Neko?” she said, “Can you hear me? It’s Anne-Marie, you know me.” She stood up slowly, trying to figure out what the best direction to run might be. It was only because of his weakened condition that she figured she had any chance at all to get away. If he was at full strength and wanted to attack her she knew she wouldn’t stand a chance. He started towards her, and she could feel him working on her mind, trying to hypnotize her and control her. She stumbled around the table, almost unable to see now herself, but she tried again to talk to him.
“Neko, please, please don’t do this to me. I know you need to feed, but Andrej and Paimon are both out finding others for you.” She shrieked as Neko grabbed her arm and held her. Even in this state his strength was formidable and she was unable to break free. His face was set in a grimace of pain.
“Anne-Marie,” he whispered hoarsely, “just a little, just a little…”
She stopped struggling. If he recognized her, surely he wouldn’t kill her before Andrej and Paimon returned, which with any luck at all should be any second now.
“I’m sorry, I can’t wait,” he said, and pulled her to him. She nodded, knowing what was coming.
“I’m sorry,” he said again, using what little strength he had to try to block the pain from the bite he was about to inflict on her.
“It’s ok,” she said softly. And then she noticed the most remarkable thing: a tear sliding down his cheek. “Go ahead.”
He did bite in, but slowly, and as gently as he could while fighting the pain and overwhelming desire for blood. It wasn’t a minute then until the door opened and Andrej and Paimon both returned, with four other people in tow. As Paimon herded the group into the living room, Andrej ran to where Neko stood holding Anne-Marie, drinking her blood. It was a dangerous thing to interrupt a vampire during a feeding, but he had to stop him.
“Neko, can you hear me?”
For a moment Neko stopped sucking on Anne-Marie’s neck, but didn’t withdraw his teeth. Andrej watched as Neko went back to drinking Anne-Marie’s blood, unable to stop him. If he tried to pull him away he could tear Anne-Marie’s neck to shreds.
“Paimon, do something before he kills her,” Andrej shouted.
Before Paimon could take a step, Neko let go of Anne-Marie. He had managed to heal her neck, although not as fully as the last time. She had two small red and raw marks on the side of her neck, but that was all. Andrej took Anne-Marie to sit down on the sofa as Neko turned on one of the others that Andrej and Paimon had brought.
Anne-Marie was dazed. It took a minute before she was able to focus her eyes on Andrej.
“Are you all right?” Andrej asked when she seemed fully out of Neko’s control.
“I think so,” she said slowly. “I feel a little light-headed, and tired. I don’t think he took too much, though.” She leaned against him as Andrej put his arm around her, holding her close.
Paimon was watching Neko as he moved in on one after another of the four Andrej and he had brought up to the apartment for Neko. After a few minutes and what Paimon judged to be enough from the first one, he had to lay a hand on Neko’s shoulder to break his concentration on the feeding. He was less desperate for blood after the second one and was able to more easily stop himself from taking too much. After the last one, Neko was panting a little from the exertion. Paimon lead him back into the living room where he sat down in Anne-Marie’s chair, laying his head back and closing his eyes.
“I’ll just put away the leftovers then, shall I?” Paimon said, looking at the four victims in the hallway.
“I’ll come with you,” Andrej said. He wrapped a blanket around Anne-Marie and told her to sit tight until he got back, then he and Paimon herded the little group who were still deeply under the hypnosis back out of the apartment.
Anne-Marie sat on the couch huddled in the blanket, watching Neko. He looked like he was sleeping as he lay regenerating, digesting all the blood he had taken in, including hers. Whatever fear she may still have had of him before he arrived that day was entirely erased now. In his most desperate state, when he was fighting his own battle with death, he had kept himself from hurting her. She wondered what had happened to him, why he wasn’t able to defend himself or flee from his attackers. And even more disturbing was who out there had the kind of power needed to come so close to killing Neko.
After several minutes Neko stirred a little and opened his eyes. He looked around blankly until he saw Anne-Marie.
“Oh my god,” he whispered. “Did I hurt you? Are you ok?”
She gave him a weak smile. “No, you didn’t hurt me, and I’ll be fine. Just rest now, we’ll both be fine.”
“Paimon’s here. That can’t be good. It never is.”
“He’s been around for a few days now. I’ll fill you in later, when you’re recovered more.”
He nodded, then closed his eyes again.
A few minutes later Andrej returned alone. Anne-Marie had lain down on the sofa and was sleeping lightly when he came in. Neko was recovering more quickly, and stood up to face him. His strength was returning now that the worst was past. Andrej was still surprised to see him on his feet so quickly.
“My friend, you shouldn’t rush it,” he said coming forward. They shook hands and gave each other a one-armed hug. “That was close, we nearly lost you. It’s lucky Paimon was here, I doubt you would have made it.”
“Yes, lucky,” he said mockingly. He looked at Anne-Marie sleeping on the couch and nodded toward the balcony. Andrej headed out with Neko close behind, where they could talk without disturbing her.
“Is she going to be ok?” he asked Andrej, not wanting to look him in the face.
“She’ll be fine, I can get her a couple units of blood from the hospital later, give her a transfusion.” He watched Neko closely for a minute. “She understood what was happening, she doesn’t blame you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, she told me so.”
Neko shook his head, trying to banish the memory of what he’d done. “I could have really hurt her,” he said.
“I don’t think so, not if you didn’t do it then, in the state you were in. Part of you was still in control.”
“All I can remember now is that gut-twisting agony that makes you feel like your insides are on fire, and then going at her, knowing I was going to do it. And you know what? She told me to go ahead.” He looked away from Andrej.
“So what now? You need to tell me, and Paimon, how this happened, who did this to you.”
Neko let out a breath. “That syndicate I’d been working for in Greece. They thought I’d sold them out. There’s a mole, they thought it was me. T
he way they figure it, they’d just as soon take out a couple innocent people as miss getting the one they want.”
“I still don’t understand how they managed to injure you that badly. Surely they don’t know?”
“What I am? No,” he said, “they just caught me off-guard, and managed to put enough holes in me to drain a lot of blood. If you hadn’t shown up when you did they probably would have decapitated me, and then it would have been all over.”
“All right, we can deal with them later,” Andrej said. “Right now I need to get the stuff to get Anne-Marie fixed up.”
“Want some help?”
“No, you stay here and keep an eye on her. I’ll be back shortly.” Andrej vanished like a mist as Neko went back inside to check on Anne-Marie. She was still sleeping on the sofa in the living room.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, brushing his fingertips ever so gently over her cheek, so lightly he barely made contact with her skin. She stirred a little, but didn’t wake.
Andrej was back in half an hour, and got everything prepped to give her a transfusion. It had been a simple thing to do a little mind control on the hospital staff and carry out the supplies he needed.
“Why not use your blood?” Neko asked as Andrej connected the bagged units of blood to infuse into Anne-Marie.
Andrej frowned a little and shook his head. “Paimon’s too close to forcing the issue of her becoming one of us. If she has my blood, it’ll be one step closer, and she’s not ready.”
“So that’s why he’s here?”
“It seems our creator thinks she might be a threat to us, someday down the road.” He stopped, clenching his jaw as if he was trying to control what came out of his mouth next. “He knows how she and I feel about each other, and he thinks that makes her a threat.”
Neko tensed. He had known all along that Anne-Marie was in love with Andrej, even if Andrej had refused to see it. Now at last Andrej was admitting his feelings for her.
“I don’t see why that would make her a threat. If anything it seems like he’d think she was less of a threat than any of the others.”
“I don’t know what he’s thinking, and Paimon won’t talk to me about it. All I know is that’s the story they’re giving us.”
“At least he doesn’t just want her dead. So how are things between you and Anne-Marie now? It sounds like circumstances have changed some since I left.”
“We talked. I told her pretty much everything about my own conversion, what I know about the creator, what happened in Slovakia over the summer.”
Neko raised one eyebrow. “So she knows about…?” and let the sentence trail off.
“Yes, she knows. I felt she had a right to know since she was asking me to be the one to convert her, if Paimon couldn’t be talked out of the idea.”
Neko pursed his lips as if whistling silently. “She wants you to do it?”
“Only if there’s no way to prevent it.” He looked at Neko with a cynical smile and said, “I get to save her, by killing her.”
“Now, come on, it’s not that bad. You and I have done all right for ourselves, and she will too. We’ll take care of her, help her make the transition. We’re self-taught, but she’ll have us to look out for her, guide her.”
Andrej’s expression didn’t change. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Despite his rage, he knew it was beyond his power to stop. “For the time being, they’ve put off forcing it. Paimon told her the decision was postponed, something about what she and I talked about the other night made him change his mind.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Just the whole situation, and that was when she asked me to be the one to convert her. I don’t know what it was exactly that changed his mind.”
Neko scratched his head. “I don’t get it. None of it makes any sense.”
“We also talked about contacting some of the Old Guard, see if there was anything they could do to help.”
Neko looked at Andrej as if he’d lost his mind. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why? He has no sway over them. He’s not omnipotent, there has to be someone, somewhere who can oppose him.”
“Sure, but we are under his dominion. If he found out, or if they failed, do you have any idea what he’d do to us? To her?”
Neither one said anything else for a full two minutes, quietly envisioning the possible outcomes. Andrej lit his third cigarette since they’d been out there talking. He was grasping at straws trying to find a way out of this, some way to protect Anne-Marie. And yet, he had to admit there probably was no way to stop the creator if he wanted to turn Anne-Marie into a vampire. They had no power to stop him.
“Look,” Neko said, breaking the silence, “with Paimon involved I don’t think there is away to do anything. Even if you could get some of your Gardy pals to try something, they’d be risking their own lives. This isn’t like going up against the syndicate. I’m sorry that it’s not what she wants, but none of us may have any choice, and like I said at least she’ll have us to help her after. Then you wouldn’t have to go through what you went through over Sara again.”
“All right, I know,” Andrej snapped. “I don’t need you to remind me.” He dragged deeply on the cigarette and looked at his watch. It was nearly three in the morning. It had been a long night with everything that had happened, and he realized he still hadn’t fed himself in days. “I’m going to go find someone,” he said shortly.
“You want me to stay with Anne-Marie?”
“Yes. She should be fine, with Paimon playing guard dog, but all the same it’s best if one of us is here. I shouldn’t be long.” He stubbed out the cigarette and went back inside to check on Anne-Marie before heading out in search of a victim. He leaned over her, and instead of kissing her forehead as he usually did, he tenderly kissed her lips as she slept. He remained there, sitting next to her for a minute, unwilling to be away from her now. But his own hunger was growing and he knew he needed to feed, so he forced himself up and out of the room.
“Take the spare room,” he said to Neko, “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
Chapter 27