If Ana Lyudmila could have blushed, I think she would have. “Yes, of course,” she said. “Luis! Antonio!” Two young men, dark-headed and brawny, materialized out of the crowd. They were wearing leather shorts and boots. Period. Okay, a different look for Vampire’s Kiss workers. I’d assumed Ana Lyudmila was following her own fashion genie, but apparently all the vamps on duty had to wear sort of caveman sex slave outfits. At least, I assumed that was the look they were going for.
Luis, the taller of the two, said, “Follow us, please,” in accented English. His nipples were pierced, which was something I’d never seen before, and naturally I found myself wanting to take a closer look. But in my book, it was basically bad taste to stare at someone’s assets, no matter how much on display they were.
Antonio couldn’t hide the fact that Pam had made an impression on him, but that wouldn’t stop him from killing us if Victor ordered him to do so. We followed the bondage Bobbsey Twins across the crowded dance floor. Those leather shorts were an adventure from behind, let me tell you. And the pictures of Elvis decorating the walls were an education, too. It wasn’t often you ran into a bondage/Elvis/ whorehouse-themed vampire club.
Pam was admiring the decor, too, but not with her normal sardonic amusement. There seemed to be a lot going on in Pam’s head.
“How are your three friends?” she asked Antonio. “The ones who prevented me from entering.”
He smiled in a tight sort of way, and I had the feeling the injured vampires hadn’t been his favorites. “They’re taking blood from donors in the back,” he said. “I think Pearl’s arm has healed.”
As he preceded me through the noisy room, Eric was evaluating the club in a series of casual glances. It was important to him that he seem at ease, as if he were quite sure that his boss meant him no harm. I could tell that through our bond. Since no one cared about me, I was free to look where I wished . . . though I hoped I was doing it with a suitably careless air.
There were at least twenty bloodsuckers in Vampire’s Kiss, more than Eric ever had in Fangtasia at one time. There were also a lot of humans. I didn’t know what the capacity of the building was, but I was pretty sure it had been exceeded. Eric reached behind him, and I took his cool hand. He tugged me forward, wrapped his left arm around my shoulders, and Pam closed in from the rear. We were at DEFCON Four, Orange Alert, or whatever came right before the blowup. The tension vibrated through Eric like a plucked guitar string.
And then we spotted its source.
Victor was sitting at the back in a kind of corral for VIPs. It was lined with a huge, square red velvet banquette, before which was centered the usual low table. It was littered with little evening purses and half-empty drinks and dollar bills. Victor was definitely the centerpiece of the grouping, his arms around the young man and woman flanking him. The tableau was a poster of what conservative humans feared most: the corrupt vampire seducing the youth of America, inducting them into orgies of bisexuality and bloodsucking. I looked from one breather to the other. Though one was male and one female, they were otherwise startlingly the same. Dipping into their heads, I quickly learned both were using drugs, both were over twenty-one, and both were experienced sexually. I felt a little sad for them, but I knew I couldn’t be responsible. Though they had yet to realize it, they were only props for Victor. Their position suited their vanity.
There was another human in the corral, a young woman seated by herself. She was wearing a white dress with a full skirt, and her brown eyes fixed on Pam with desperation. The woman was clearly horrified at the company she was keeping. A minute before I would have bet that Pam couldn’t get any more angry or miserable than she’d been, but I would have been wrong.
“Miriam,” Pam whispered.
Oh, Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea. This was the woman Pam wanted to turn, the woman she wanted to become her child. Miriam had to be the sickest woman I’d ever seen who wasn’t in a hospital. But her light brown hair was puffed out in a party style, and she’d been made up, though the cosmetics stood out on a face so pale even her lips looked white.
Eric’s face didn’t show anything, but I could feel him scrambling, struggling to keep his face still and his thoughts clear.
Several points to Victor for an amazing ambush.
Luis and Antonio, having delivered us, positioned themselves at the opening to the VIP corral. I didn’t know if they were there to keep us in or to keep other people out. We were further protected by stand-up cardboard figures of Elvis, at least life-size. I wasn’t impressed. I’d met the real thing.
Victor greeted us with a wonderful smile, white and toothy, as brilliant as a game show host’s. “Eric, how good to see you in my new enterprise! Do you like the decor?” He made his hand flow to indicate the whole crowded club. Though Victor was not a tall man, he was clearly the king of the castle, and he was devouring every minute of it. He leaned forward to pick up his drink from the low table.
Even the glass was dramatic — dark, smoky, fluted. It fit in with the “decor” that made Victor so proud. I would have called it (if I ever got a chance to describe it to someone else, which at this point seemed pretty unlikely) early bordello: lots of dark wood, flocked wallpaper, leather, and red velvet. It looked heavy and florid to me; possibly I was prejudiced. The people gyrating on the dance floor seemed to be enjoying Vampire’s Kiss no matter how it was decorated. The band was a vampire band, so they were great. They’d play a current song, then they’d do a more bluesy rock number. Since the band members could have played with Robert Johnson and Memphis Minnie, they’d had several decades to practice.
“I’m amazed,” Eric said in a completely uninflected voice.
“Pardon my bad manners! Please have a seat,” Victor said. “My companions are . . . Your name, sweetness?” he asked the girl.
“I’m Mindy Simpson,” she said with a coquettish smile. “This is my husband, Mark Simpson.”
Eric acknowledged them with a flick of the eye. Pam and I hadn’t even entered into the conversational game yet, so we didn’t have to respond.
Victor didn’t introduce the pale young woman. He was clearly saving the best for last.
“I see you have your dear wife with you,” Victor said as we newcomers moved to sit on the long banquette to Victor’s right. It wasn’t as comfortable as I’d hoped it would be, and the depth of the seat didn’t agree with the length of my legs. The life-size cutout of Elvis to my right was wearing the famous white jumpsuit. Classy.
“Yeah, I’m here,” I said dismally.
“And your famous second, Pam Ravenscroft,” Victor continued, as if he were identifying us for a hidden microphone.
I squeezed Eric’s hand. He couldn’t read my mind, which (just at this moment) I felt was a pity. There was a lot going on here we didn’t know about. In vampire eyes, as Eric’s human wife I pretty much ranked as his number one designated concubine. The “wife” title gave me status and protection, theoretically rendering me untouchable by other vampires and their servants. I wasn’t exactly proud of being a second-class citizen, but once I’d understood why Eric had tricked me into the relationship, I’d gradually reconciled myself to the title. Now it was time to offer Eric a little support in return.
“How long has Vampire’s Kiss been open?” I beamed at the loathsome Victor. I’d had years of experience in looking happy when I wasn’t, and I was the queen of chitchat.
“You didn’t see all my advance publicity? Only three weeks, but so far it’s been quite the success,” Victor said, his eyes barely brushing me. He was not interested in me as a person, not at all. He wasn’t even interested in me sexually. Believe me, I know the signs. He was far more interested in me as a creature whose death would wound Eric. In other words, my absence would be more effective than my presence.