Just a Sip

"MARY JOSEPH AND THE BABY JESUS." I yelped fighting to wriggle away. Radu had me pinned though.

"Surprise." he said grinning. I panicked, what if Armand caught him...what if he caught me? I was a dead woman. I thought fighting to free myself, but it was pretty much impossible. 

"Let me go! You big asshole, GET OFF OF ME!" I screamed kicking. His grip only got tighter.

"I heard it on the grapevine that you still aren't Armand's human." I stared at him.

"SO!? GET OFF!" I screamed. Radu silenced me with a kiss. It was amazing...I mean wait WHAT?!? I lost my train of thought as I let him kiss me. He pulled away and I spat at him. 

"Bite me!" I hissed. And then I realized that 'Bite Me' is something you say in middle school, not to a bloodthirsty creature of the night. Radu laughed crawling off of me and wiping his face.

"That's what I like about you. You throw caution to the wind. It turns me on." I shuddered jumping from the bed and backing away towards the door.

"How could you do this to your own cousin?" I said shakily wiping any trace of Radu I had on my lips away with the back of my hand. I grappled with the strings on my corset and put myself back together. Radu stood up, towering over me.

"He took something of mine, something that I LOVED, away from me. Now it's HIS turn to lose something he loves." Radu's fangs extended as I gripped the door handle behind me.

"Well he doesn't love me, so there's nothing to worry about." I said on the verge of tears. Radu shook his head.

"You humans have these 'denial' issues, about EVERYTHING." he said stroking my face. I pulled my face away, "I haven't seen him treat a woman the way he treats you in centuries. But I'd be careful if I were you, all of his stories end in death, even the undead kind." my stomach turned as I heard banging on the door behind me.

"Miu. I know you're in there." I heard Armand say calmly. I looked back to Radu who was already out by the window. In this light, he looked like Armand again. He tipped his hat at me and leaped out, leaving me in the room by myself. I opened the door and looked up at Armand who looked around the room suspiciously. I gazed at him, suddenly frightened of what he could do

Radu said all of his stories end in death...

"I thought I heard two voices in here." he said walking past me with his hands behind his back. I debated telling him everything and letting him rip his only blood relative probably living to shreds. But then I realized...was ot worth it? And on one of the biggest nights in Armand's career. I went up to him and shook my head.

"I was just wondering aloud." I said watching as Armand gazed out of the window. He looked to me and stared for a minute and then took my hand.

"Very well, let's go back to the party. Though I doubt you'll enjoy what's going on out there." Armand said smiling slowly as we left the room and closed the doors. I followed him as he quickly walked down the hallway. Radu was completely wrong, Armand didn't love me. He couldn't even walk beside me. 

"What do you mean?" I asked picking up my skirts. The sounds of the party got louder as we got closer. Armand's fangs were out as we stood in the entryway and looked in.

"We vampires are just having a little...fun of our own. Playing with our food if you will." Armand said as I approached. I looked from him to the full ballroom ahead of us and covered my mouth. 

I gasped. Almost every human was in the clutches of a vampire. They seemed drugged and sleepy and not coherent whatsoever. But that wasn't the worst part, the vampires were FEEDING off of them. I looked at Armand, hardly able to take my eyes off of the horrifying scene.

"Armand...what...what happened?" I asked holding my stomach, I felt sick. Oh god, please don't let me yaak all over this beautiful dress, I thought, feeling green. I saw my brother feeding on a tall blond anchorwoman I recognized from CNN.

Armand watched with rapt fascination as an elderly woman stumbled by blindly while a vampire nearby laughed.

"It's the tea my beautiful darling." he said absently with a hungry look in his dark eye. I looked at the crowd again. There's no way that the tea could do this...could it? Was Armand really evil enough to let this happen? 

"Armand this wasn't what the tea was supposed to be for! Why are you doing this?" I asked looking away, I couldn't watch any longer.

"Change of plans Miu. Change of priorities." my head spun as I grabbed onto the sleeve of his outfit.

"I want to go home." I said thickly. Oh no, there's that feeling of mucus coating my throat. Here it comes...I thought as Armand looked at me worriedly, and for the first time he tipped my head up to look at him. It felt like I was having a vision, but me being so sick blocked it out. 

"Are you okay my pet?" he asked, his eyes searching my face.

"I didn't ask for all of this. I didn't know I was helping you enslave the human race. Take me home. Now." I said feeling as if my knees were going to give. I hadn't felt so sick in my entire life. Not even when my parents took me to the carnival and I had a really bad corndog...that was NOTHING compared to this. Suddenly, I blanked and my head hit the tile. 

I had a vision like neve before. Colors and light and pictures exploded before me like streamers out of those surprise party tubes. People I had never seen before, places I had never been. Was this what it fel like to die? Could this be the infamous 'life flashing before my eyes' feeling? I woke up in the dark, my head pulsing as I tried to sit up. But I couldnt. My legs felt funny as I groaned. I recognized the light of the mini bar and knew I was in my hotel room. Oddly enough, there was now a window by my bed. But then I became uneasy.

Where was Armand? The lamp with the soft peach colored bulb by the bed switched on and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust.

"Here." he said standing by my bed and looking me over. I was out of my dress now and in my underwear and bra. But I was too weak to care.

"What happened?" I whined squeezing my eyes shut. Armand sat on the bed, he was still wearing his courtiers pants, but had no shirt on. 

"You tell me." he said, his eyes a smoldering black. Why was he acting this way?

"I passed out at the party...and now I'm in my Victoria Don't-tell-nobodies wondering why you're asking me these questions. And why we all of a sudden have a window." I answered weakly as I began to regain strength in my legs.

"Theres a panel behind the wall that can be moved aside. I have questions for YOU though. What did you see?" he asked after a moment of silence. I froze. Was he talking about my vision? I thought avoiding eye contact as I slithered from the bed. But Armand grabbed my wrist. What was up with the snatchy vampires tonight? I thought, getting a chill down my spine as his ice cold fingers pressed against my palms. 

I looked at him and saw a look of defeat in his eye. Hm, that's new...

"Miu. How can I help you if you won't let me in." he said as I balled my hand into a fist and released it. "I want to be close to you...and you're pulling away." he said letting go of my wrist. My heart pounded in my chest. Should I tell him? Armand had a human look on his face of anguish as I squeezed my eyes shut.

"I'va had visions...of the past...your past." I admitted backing close to the wall. Armand sat, with his fingers steepled under his chin.

"I see." was all he said. 

"I never get the whole story...but I do get enough to make me wonder." I said slowly meeting his eye. "Armand...what did you do?" I asked for what felt like the millionth time.

Armand looked darkly at the wall as if something were there.

"Like you said...it was the past. And more specifically, MY past." he said getting off of the bed and pacing. I wanted to push the topic, but he looked like a caged lion. "I want to know EXACTLY what you saw." he growled punching a fist at the closet doors and creating a splintering hole in the wood. He looked down at his hand and stared at the tiny splinters stuck there.

I backed away from the wall and approached him. I remembered my stake that was made of wood and realized that punching an oak closet probably wasn't the BEST idea. I reached out for his hands and pulled him to the bed.

"NOW look what you did." I mumbled as we sat. "Big scary vampire meets his match in wooden closet door." Armand was silent as he stared at me while I picked the splinters out with careful fingers. He didn't even flinch. 

"Your hands are so warm." he said as I looked up at him.

"Thank you." I said awkwardly, starting to pick the splinters from his other hand. Armand pushed my hand away and continued to look at me seriously. I just then realized that I was still in my skivvies. And he was looking absolutely fit...NO! bad idea I thought standing up. He yanked me back down to the bed.

"I'm not letting you get away this time." he said pushing me on my back. He turned off the light and the only thing I could see in the darkness of the room was that fire in his eyes again. 

"Armand, I'm not your human. So...get away." I said shakily, remembering Radu. There was a difference between him and his cousin in this situation and it was that I totally wanted to do 'that sort of thing' with him.

"Just say yes." he said holding my arms over my head. Thoughts raced as I felt Armand's cool breath above my lips. There was so much I couldn't understand about Armand and his world. Maybe becoming his would open the door. Or maybe opening this door would only lead to another door...would I get myself out of this business mess by becoming his human? 

But I...loved him. I thought randomly. Whoa. Where did that come from? I thought feeling myself nod my head.

"Yes. I'll be your human." I said as he lowered his face to mine.

"I knew you'd come around." he said kissing me. His lips were like nothing else I've ever kissed before. His cousin was spectacular, but he was out of this universe. Our mouths moved together as I looped my fingers in his hair. Even in my dreams it didn't feel this good, or at least what I THOUGHT I felt in my dreams. 

With teasing slowness Armand inched my bra off and tossed it aside. He kissed me from my neck to my collarbone and back to my lips, causing ripples of gooseflesh all over my chest.

"Your blood smells so alive right now." he said thickly. But he didn't bite, which I wasn't ready for anyway. Right?

"I happen to BE alive." I said laughing as he skimmed his hands over my naked torso.

"Are you sure you want to do this." he asked putting a hand in my panties. I reviewed my life in about 3 seconds...deny Armand and go home to an empty life...or stay and make love with a vampire that I might actually be in...like, with. The love part was still debateable to me.

I nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm sure." I said as he slid my panties down. I thought sex would be something that would hurt, something that would make a person feel as if they had actually lost something.

Sex with Armand wasn't sex. It was an outerbody experience like no other. I didn't think I'd ever feel that way again. He was forceful but took me gently as if he actually...cared. We didn't have to say anything, we could just look at eachother. 

When I almost passed out again from being overwhelmed, that feeling of a vision came over me again. Armand slowed to a stop, looking at me as if he knew what were happening.

"What do you see." he asked, running his hands up to my shoulders. I was getting flashes of another place yet stuck in the present with Armand still hovered above me. 

"Miu, let me come with you." he said as I began to slip into the vision. Armand pressed his lips against mine and I held on to him. And before I could process what was happening, Armand had been sucked into the vision with me.
•     •     •

I woke up in the sand, my face plastered against cold shore. I was wearing a dress that was soaked and clung to me like wet tapestry. The sun was shining bright and I squinted, sitting up and looking around.

I looked over, seeing Armand splayed out beside me, wearing a tunic and tights. His mouth was slightly ajar and his hair was plastered against his forehead, eyes shut tightly. I crawled over to him, shaking him.

"Armand...wake up." I said urgently. What if we couldn't get back to the real world? And stuck in a vision? He stirred, his eyes opening, and he looked up. His eyes were trying to shut, but he kept them open as he sat up.

"Is that...sunlight?" he asked putting his hands out. I nodded. 

"yeah. It is." He stumbled to his feet, putting his face to the sun.

"This is what it feels like, I've forgotten." he said smiling and looking at me. It was then that I realized that he looked human. There was a rosy glow in his cheeks and his skin was tan and even had a small blemish on his wrist.

"How do you do this?" Armand asked incredulously examining his hands and skin and nails. I shrugged.

"I don't know. I just...did it." I said standing up as well.

"I knew you had powers. You can transport people into dreams and bring the sun out." we began to walk up a grassy knoll.

"You can do all that too." I said embarrassedly as he poked at his nonexistent fangs.

"I can only do it by relaxing your mind with the tea so I can slip in...but I can't make the sun come out...I'll burn to ashes." he said staring up at the sun.

"Where are we?" I asked looking down at the village where every one of my visions has taken me.

"Romani." Armand said in his native language, suddenly going serious. I looked down the hill, seeing Radu and Evora talking animatedly.

"Radu! You big idiot! The earth is NOT flat, it's round. See how that hill curves?" she said playfully pushing him. Radu looked a million times more handsome in the sunlight, him and Evora made a beautiful couple as they strolled the peaceful streets, hand in hand.

"Fine! I give up. I'll let you win. Only because I love you." he said taking her by the waist. I felt Armand grab my wrist.

"Come. Let's go back." he said darkly turning back for the shore. But I couldnt pass this up. When would be the next time I'd encounter the truth? Radu and Evora began to kiss, clinging to eachother like lifesavers. I was guessing that this was before she had gotten pregnant, because she looked younger. I tried to step foreword, but I felt the canvas of the vision fall around me like a circus tent crashing down.

 I was in the dark again, Armand over me still and kissing my chest. 

"I got out of the dream quicker than you. I thought you'd never wake up." He said kissing my lips. I clung to fragments of the dreamlike state, pulling away from Armand.

Armand had stolen Evora from Radu? 

Armand kissed my neck. Making me snap out of my thoughts.

"I am so eternally grateful. I can't thank you enough.." Armand said rolling over so I was on top of him. 

"For what?" I asked absently laying on his chest.

"For bringing me with you. You're like MY personal dream tea." he said dreamily. I shuddered. From the light of the window, I could see that the dawn was coming.

"What's wrong?" Armand asked. I put the side of my face to the left side of his chest.

"I don't know. I just..." I tried to process my thoughts. They were bittersweet, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to share that with Armand. He wrapped his arms around me.

"Are you...disappointed?" he asked. My face flushed as I shook my head. I thought about me and Armand having sex and I pretty much melted all over again. 

"No, not at all. It was amazing." I said smiling. Armand let me crawl off of him and got out of bed. GOD!! he was even hotter out of his clothes. I tried not to stare as he shamelessly went to the bureau and picked up the velvet box that he told me not to open. He brought it over to the bed and handed it to me. I sat, staring at it (it as in the box...not his masterpiece of a...well you know). Wordlessly I took it, holding the soft velvet capsule in my hands for a moment. I opened it, seeing a  necklace. I picked it up and smiled faintly. It had a hollow crystal charm that was full of a dark liquid. 

"Not A vampire fang, but close." I said examining it and looking up to Armand. He looked down at me. 

"What?" he asked. I laughed.

"Nothing." Armand got back into bed.

"It's my blood. Like you humans have rings for your bond, we have blood." I fingered the delicate necklace as Armand came around me to secure it on.

"It's beautiful." I said turning to him. We looked at eachother until Armand looked away. I began to have a funny feeling in my stomach. "But where's YOUR necklace or ring or whatever?" I asked. Armand's eyes looked bottomless as they trailed to my neck. 

"What do YOU have that I HAVEN'T had yet?" he asked throatily. I swallowed.

"You need my blood." I said quietly, suddenly afraid. If I gave my blood to him, would everything be solved? He reached out for me.

"I know you don't want to...but I need to." he said taking me by the waist and laying me down. I wasn't afraid...just anxious. What did all of this mean now? 

"Will it hurt?" I asked as he put a hand to my throat.

"If I bite your throat, yes. But if I bit something else, possibly not." I bit my lip and nodded. Armand kissed my collarbone as his fangs slid across them. He moved to my left breast and hovered there.

"Just do it." I said remembering every dream I used to have of him involving this very moment...and now it was really happening. I felt his fangs sink in and I gasped as he took a deep pull. It was an incredible feeling on the same level as sex with him. But different of course.

He had bitten the top of my chest and I began to go numb all over. It was like novacane. And I never wanted the feeling to go away. Armand retracted his fangs, and I laid there motionless. 

"Wow." I said absently. "is that all it takes?" Armand got out of bed and pulled his clothes on. He closed the curtains on the window and went to his chamber for sleep. Before he went in though, he came to me, wrapped his arms around me and kissed me so that I wasnt even sure if the kiss was real.

"That's all it takes." he said, a twinge of humor in his dark voice and going to the chamber, climbing in. I laid back down on the bed curling up into a ball, pressing my nose to the sheets to catch any smell of him left behind. 

Bouganvillea...

I hugged myself wondering if Armand ever thought of me when he retreated into his dark chamber. Remembering the feeling of laying on his chest, it was then that I realized that as I laid over his heart, I would never hear it beat. It was a silent ticker, and then reality hit me.

Armand was out to kill people, and I needed to find a way to stop him. Even if it meant tracking down Radu.