Vivienne

When the revelation came blurting from Casey’s memory, the room went as quiet as the grave.  It seemed as though the living-dead were locked in unmoving thought and the half-winter air grew colder by the second.  Breaking the graveyard silence, Vivienne first started tapping her fingernails on the arms of her chair. “Indeed.”  She looked at Casey, “Brian is an issue that we will address in a few.”  Turning to face her progeny and lover, Vivienne winked at Faye. “Mon amour.  Let’s organize the multitudinous topics that are present at the table currently.”

Faye nodded and smiled, “Gotcha.  I think the best place to start is the Spanish Inquisition and human magic, since that is the heart of the situation.”

Vivienne watched the others in the room slowly awaken and start bobbing their heads half confused. “As you wish.”  She pointed to Casey, “I have a question for you, my ward.”  Vivienne watched Casey nod, “Very well.  This is going to require quite a bit of history, you can either stay for it or go and get Miss Hasselberry.”

“Laura?  What do you want with her?”  Casey inquired softly.

“I need her here is all.”  Vivienne looked across the table at the others, “I did promise to speak with her when I arrived.”  Vivienne saw the blood bunny Veronica stand up and bowed to the ancient vampiresss. “I..I know what Miss Hasselberry looks like.  She has attended the bazaar many times, mistress.”

Vivienne looked over at her partner. “Please place the bazaar on the list, if you don’t mind.”

Blowing her lover a kiss and tapping on her temple, “Got it all up here, Vivienne.”

Franco nodded to Veronica, “Yes, my dear.  Please bring Laura into the room.”  He pointed to one of his other attendants, “Jessica, could you furnish Laura a seat for when she enters?”  Franco smiled as the eager woman fetched the chair and placed it beside Faye’s chair.  The girl bolted between Franco and Sylvie and pulled her hair away from her neck and visibly shook with anticipation.  Franco gazed into Sylvie’s eyes as they turned into solid black spheres of a new moon. “Miss Mikoda, you seem to be hungry and my little Jessica is asking for a service reward.”

“Always a golden way to paint this, Franco.”  Sylvie curled her finger and the blood bunny hopped to her feet, closing the gap between her and Sylvie. “You did well, Jessica.”  Sylvie blew lightly across the woman’s long neck and placed a kiss over the pulsing artery just seconds before she drank the woman’s blood liberally.  

Faye watched the near erotic scene and couldn’t look away.  She watched as the bunny cooed and moaned in a deeper pleasure that almost matched her fevered heat with Vivienne earlier. Faye counted to ten in her head and Sylvie pulled away, licking four holes closed. “Impressive.  I can’t stop really.  I do with Casey, but for anyone else I have a little command in my head that keeps me from going past seven.”

Sylvie licked her lips and pulled the weakened woman into her arms, gently running her hand through Jessica’s hair. “It takes time, Miss Faye.  You will get the hang of it.”  She looked down to her blood bunny, “I would kiss you Jessica, but you know what would happen.”  Sylvie kissed her finger and then pressed it to the lady’s lips, a little blood on the tip that was quickly licked away.  Sylvie looked up at Faye once more, her eyes now shining like full blood moon. “I find it difficult at times myself.  I am only about two-hundred and seventy years old.  Blood still has that..”  She paused in thought.

“Freshness.”  Faye quipped.

Sylvie held up one finger, “Yes, freshness.  That is a lovely word for it.”  She pointed to Vivienne. “I believe that Doctor Moreau would like to continue.

Faye turned and saw her lover smiling at her, “Sorry, Viv.  Spanish Inquisition?”

“Thank you my love.”  Vivienne watched as Laura Hasselberry came into the room and sat down quietly beside Faye. “Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición was the official title.”  Vivienne saw the confused look on the faces of those that didn’t understand Spanish. “Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition.”  Vivienne laughed for a second and saw the look on Faye’s face. “Mon amour, I am three thousand five hundred years old.  Did you think French is the only language I know?”

Franco coughed from the other side of the triangle table, “Three thousand five hundred years old?”  He frantically looked at Sylvie, “No wonder we couldn’t find you.”  

Sylvie patted the Crimson Muse leader on his leg the best she could with Jessica still curled up in her lap. “I don’t think her age is important right now, Franco.”  She looked back at Vivienne, “Please continue, Doctor Moreau.”

“Outwardly, the inquisition was exactly as Queen Isabella ordered.”  She held up one of her thin fingers, “That was only part of it.”  Vivienne gazed at Laura with her sparkling blue eyes, “Glad you could join us, Miss Hasselberry.”  She paused and took a deep breath and tucked a strand of her long black hair behind her ear. “I brought you in, because I suspect you will like this little history lesson.”

Laura looked around the table and the blood seemed to drain from her cheeks, “Okay?”

Vivienne nodded and continued, “What the King and Queen of Spain didn’t know, or didn’t want to admit to, was that their combined country had a vampire problem.”  Vivienne flashed her fangs once for the crowd, “I know because I was there hunting.”

Laura jumped up and Faye grabbed the girl and pulled the lady back to her seat. “Where are you going?”

Laura felt her wrist almost snap and knew she wasn’t getting out of the iron grip of the young vampire. “I..I…”

Faye reached over and forced Laura’s palm open to reveal a dark imprinted rune that matched the image on the paper. “How did you know Vivienne?”

“Careful darling, She can use the magic if she chooses to.”  Vivienne explained then looked at Laura. “I suspected something when I got close to you earlier this evening.”  She walked over to the young woman, and grabbed her by the chin. “I finally pieced together enough to spot your kind.”  She looked over at Faye, “The coffee smell.”

Sylvie and Franco jumped up from their seats, astonished. “You knew this whole time there was one here, Vivienne?”  Franco blurted out.

“I suspected.”  Vivienne quickly snapped Laura’s neck and tossed the body to the floor. “A spy no more.”  She looked over to Casey. “Kindly dispose of this.”

Casey stood frozen, “W…”  Casey tried to speak.

Faye walked over to the ward and gave her a hug, “Vivienne, that was brutal.  I have to match the sentiment.  Why did you do that?”

Vivienne outstretched her hands indicating for everyone to sit down except her two companions. “Please, retain your seats.  I assure you that no one else is in any danger.”  She looked over to Faye and Casey. “If they are anything like the inquisitors, drinking their blood wouldn’t do any good.”

Faye’s eyes lit up, “True belief.”  She hefted Laura’s body over her shoulder. “Where should I take her?”

“Downstairs there is an old incinerator.”  She pointed to Casey. “Outside there are piles of hickory that should be used to disguise the burning.”

“Won’t someone come looking for her?”  Casey started to follow Faye out of the room. “This is getting crazy.  Everywhere we go, people die.”  She muttered and looked back at Vivienne, “You only mentioned other vampires as the target, when I signed up for this.”

Vivienne returned to her seat, “Casey, my ward.  That was a spy that was reporting on everything you did yesterday.  Spies are expendable to those employing them.”  Vivienne calmly looked at the others and kept talking, “It is my duty and honor to protect the both of you.  Her blood is useless so we cannot drain her. She was a danger to us.” 

“I guess.”  Casey muttered from the hallway.  “I am not a fan of all this.”