through.
Gotta say, considering the guy lived in a tent, the Khan had a pretty swank setup. The entrance hall was lined in multiple layers of what looked like silk. Ornately carved tables covered in various bits of antiquity stood against the walls. I wasn't sure what all of them were, but each and every item looked like it cost more than I'd make in my first lifetime. Gold, silver, ivory, and more gems than I could name stared out at me from statues, sculptures, and vases of varying size. If I had a little bit more skill, and slightly stickier fingers, I could have financed my parents’ retirement with just one bauble.
We came to the end of the hall, where more guards awaited. They stepped aside, pulling back a heavy drapery to allow us entrance to the main area. James stopped just inside and bade me to do the same. “Wait until he calls for us,” he whispered to me as I took it all in.
The place was larger on the inside than I thought it would be. There were two rows of tables, separated by several feet of walkway that led up the middle. Vampires, or at least so I assumed, were seated on expensive looking pillows in front of the tables. All in all, there must have been at least four dozen of them present, and they were all feasting on a variety of foods, some normal...some not so. I saw plenty of fruit, a couple cooked pigs and goats, and a few other roasted things that I'd prefer not to think about. Suffice it to say, if any of you are missing any friends or relatives who happened to be visiting China at the time of their disappearance; well, I have bad news for you...I think I found them.
At the far end of the hall, seated upon a massive pile of pillows was who I assumed to be the Khan. Heh! I had mentioned Jabba the Hutt before, but now I was reminded of him more than ever. The Khan was, to put it mildly, one big fat fuck. I mean, before I had hopped on the plane, or my box as it were, I had looked up Ogedei Khan on the Internet. A few portraits showed that he wasn't exactly a svelte fellow, but this dude...damn! Somebody was really into their Khandy ( get it! ). On the other hand, I couldn't help but feel a little bit of happiness at seeing him. At long last, I had met another vampire whom I could feel physically superior to, looks-wise at least. Seriously, this guy had to be pushing six hundred easily. I've seen sumo wrestlers who would weep at trying to manhandle this butterball.
Seated next to his royal porkness, at the head of the table, was a little midget dressed in fine robes. Hmmm, guess the Khan had his own fetishes. No. Wait, it wasn't a midget. On closer look, it was actually a little girl. She was dressed in regal finery and appeared to be not much older than ten. Oh crap. I really hoped she wasn't meant to be the Khan's personal appetizer. Not sure I could sit still and watch that.
“Who's that?” I whispered to James while we waited for the Khan to acknowledge us. I secretly hoped his answer didn’t include the word dinner.
“The Khan, obviously,” he whispered back.
“No. The little girl.”
“Oh her? That's the Khan's daughter.”
“Vampires can have kids?” I sputtered. “Damn, wish I had known that. I didn't use a condom earlier.”
“Once again, more information than I really wanted to know,” he hissed through gritted teeth. “Now please be quiet before you insult the Khan and get both of us killed!”
Oh yeah, almost forgot about that part. From what I had been told, the Draculas were not a group to fuck around with. You stepped even an inch out of line with them, and you were dust. Forget about surviving the night; inwardly I wondered if I was going to survive the next five minutes. Pissing people off was a specialty of mine and something I tended to do whether or not I was even trying. Oh well, if things went bad, I had several dozen one-liners I could spout off to Moby Dickhead up front there. If I had to go, I might as
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