dismissed us all.
It was even colder on the way back to our bedchamber, and I worried that the sheen of sweat from dancing would turn to ice, but it felt plenty warm once we were ascending the stairs to our floor. The door had been repaired, and the window had been boarded up and covered with an ornate rug, so the frigid air from outside could no longer reach us. Unfortunately, it held the pattern of a dragon, which crushed my spirits like a lead weight. I wondered whether it was the only pattern they had, some passive-aggressive dig from Huangtian Dadi, or a not-so-subtle reminder (threat?) of who wielded the power in this kingdom.
It was even warmer inside my room. After I changed out of my lovely evening wardrobe, I crawled under the covers. Despite everything else, I felt more content than I had since I encountered my first vampire, Garvan, in my dorm room in Tennessee a million years ago back in early November.
“We will always take care of you, Txema,” said Chanson tenderly. “What happened yesterday won’t ever happen again if you stay within the reach of our protection. Merry Christmas to you, and know that we’ll always love you as our own.”
She and the others stood around my bed like overprotective guardian angels watching over me and keeping me close. I wondered briefly if her admonishment was directed at my earlier conversation with Mercel that night. However, exhaustion had already gotten the better of me, and my conscious awareness began to fade out.
“Merry Christmas to you, too, Chanson… and to you Garvan, Tyreen, Armando, and… Raquel.”
As I exited into the world of dreams from the one filled with vampires, each of them echoed my Merry Christmas wish.
I slept soundly and didn’t awake until mid-afternoon, Christmas Day.
For some reason, the Himalayan world seemed different upon rising from my bed that afternoon. All sorts of possibilities were at my fingertips, and I felt a sense of empowerment. The decision was mine to get the hell out of that place if I wanted to bad enough. My biggest fantasy was envisioning flying back to Europe with Franz and Mercel, and then being whisked away to Milan to meet with Racco and confront him for being such a fucking coward.
That was definitely a fantasy. Here’s what reality had in store for me that afternoon.
After getting dressed for the day, I hurried downstairs. By then, the late afternoon sun was already creeping down the higher peaks, and it would be dark within an hour. Not nearly enough time to search the entire complex for Mercel. My worst-case scenario was to wait for Franz’s to wake from his daytime vamp-nap and then ask him discreetly to take me to Mercel.
I felt certain Mercel wasn’t staying in the same building as me. If I was going to find him, I needed to do it quickly. There was no way the nervous Frenchman would venture outside without Franz or someone else from Racco’s staff accompanying him. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Mercel sought further protection inside Franz’s casket until dusk! I don’t suppose I should criticize him, he had many more years among them than I had and was obviously doing something right to still be living.
On the odd chance I might miss seeing either one, I skipped the meal of rice and chicken that had been set out for me. Knowing I had less than half an hour to search the other buildings before dusk, I set out in earnest to find Mercel.
He wasn’t inside the other buildings, where the empty echoes from my calls to him went unanswered. Still, I didn’t panic. I searched around the perimeter of the complex, being careful not to come too close to Huangtian Dadi’s personal chambers. A menacing growl from a darkened alcove near the main gate to his private realm was all the encouragement I needed to give it even wider berth than I was.
I became more and more convinced that my original assumption was mistaken, and that the pair was hiding inside the main building right up until I found
It was even colder on the way back to our bedchamber, and I worried that the sheen of sweat from dancing would turn to ice, but it felt plenty warm once we were ascending the stairs to our floor. The door had been repaired, and the window had been boarded up and covered with an ornate rug, so the frigid air from outside could no longer reach us. Unfortunately, it held the pattern of a dragon, which crushed my spirits like a lead weight. I wondered whether it was the only pattern they had, some passive-aggressive dig from Huangtian Dadi, or a not-so-subtle reminder (threat?) of who wielded the power in this kingdom.
It was even warmer inside my room. After I changed out of my lovely evening wardrobe, I crawled under the covers. Despite everything else, I felt more content than I had since I encountered my first vampire, Garvan, in my dorm room in Tennessee a million years ago back in early November.
“We will always take care of you, Txema,” said Chanson tenderly. “What happened yesterday won’t ever happen again if you stay within the reach of our protection. Merry Christmas to you, and know that we’ll always love you as our own.”
She and the others stood around my bed like overprotective guardian angels watching over me and keeping me close. I wondered briefly if her admonishment was directed at my earlier conversation with Mercel that night. However, exhaustion had already gotten the better of me, and my conscious awareness began to fade out.
“Merry Christmas to you, too, Chanson… and to you Garvan, Tyreen, Armando, and… Raquel.”
As I exited into the world of dreams from the one filled with vampires, each of them echoed my Merry Christmas wish.
I slept soundly and didn’t awake until mid-afternoon, Christmas Day.
For some reason, the Himalayan world seemed different upon rising from my bed that afternoon. All sorts of possibilities were at my fingertips, and I felt a sense of empowerment. The decision was mine to get the hell out of that place if I wanted to bad enough. My biggest fantasy was envisioning flying back to Europe with Franz and Mercel, and then being whisked away to Milan to meet with Racco and confront him for being such a fucking coward.
That was definitely a fantasy. Here’s what reality had in store for me that afternoon.
After getting dressed for the day, I hurried downstairs. By then, the late afternoon sun was already creeping down the higher peaks, and it would be dark within an hour. Not nearly enough time to search the entire complex for Mercel. My worst-case scenario was to wait for Franz’s to wake from his daytime vamp-nap and then ask him discreetly to take me to Mercel.
I felt certain Mercel wasn’t staying in the same building as me. If I was going to find him, I needed to do it quickly. There was no way the nervous Frenchman would venture outside without Franz or someone else from Racco’s staff accompanying him. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Mercel sought further protection inside Franz’s casket until dusk! I don’t suppose I should criticize him, he had many more years among them than I had and was obviously doing something right to still be living.
On the odd chance I might miss seeing either one, I skipped the meal of rice and chicken that had been set out for me. Knowing I had less than half an hour to search the other buildings before dusk, I set out in earnest to find Mercel.
He wasn’t inside the other buildings, where the empty echoes from my calls to him went unanswered. Still, I didn’t panic. I searched around the perimeter of the complex, being careful not to come too close to Huangtian Dadi’s personal chambers. A menacing growl from a darkened alcove near the main gate to his private realm was all the encouragement I needed to give it even wider berth than I was.
I became more and more convinced that my original assumption was mistaken, and that the pair was hiding inside the main building right up until I found
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