Dark Matters

Chapter 13: Midnight surprise

Spending two dances with Madira and three with another intoxicating beauty that belonged to the dancers and was called Irene, he was able to find out a lot about Alicia and how things worked in favour for the dancers. Feeling that he needed some more time to observe before engaging in any more dances, he excused himself and strolled about the room.

Some people were more occupied with eating than dancing while others did both. The servants were busy seeing to that everybody had something to drink and eat. They constantly walked by either with an empty or a refilled tray. Everywhere was laughter and chattering. Everybody was a little bit too alive and too happy not to leave him with a sad feeling. Which was upsetting enough for he had already discovered too many formerly known emotions being still present in a very short period of time.

Thus Dracula decided to pay attention to all the dancers and pick favourites, to figure out with whom to dance and what else waited to be discovered. And there was a lot to see, the men and women he had passed earlier while they had been standing in row were busy bringing other guests to on the dance-floor. Even Madira did not exclude herself from that duty. Only Alicia avoided to ask anyone to dance.

Some of the male dancers were even kind enough to endure the Lady Rain who had the annoying ability to lead. But then - this was their duty. One of the few inconveniences that came with their job.

What confused him most was that he could slip easily in most of the dancers minds. Charlotte, Rebecca, Lindsey, Anna and all those other names came easily to him, as well as most of the male ones, he knew what they liked and what they disliked about their current partners. Yet, some were blocking him, and their block felt so absolute that the Count wondered whether he could read them at all, even being healed.

Some of the dancers approached him now and then to ask him whether he would like to have another dance. Irene seemed to have a crush upon him but she expressed it in a flattering and tactful way. Right now he was much more interested in getting a hold of the you woman Alicia had talked to in row. He could see Sonja, as he knew her name from Madira, but her mind was closed to him and she was rather busy dancing with her admirers from the high-society of Lace's little city.

Normally he would not have a problem cutting in but with her already so tense in his presence that would not have provided the best base to get some information out of her. Maybe he should ask Lace about the issue, he had the feeling the mage knew anyway that certain people were able to keep him out, especially with his being one of them. Vladislaus decided to take another look at the other side of the room.

Dracula saw the strange fellow Lace had introduced as Rainer filling his plate at the table with the cold meat. He seemed to be a man of great appetite and had problems using a fork. The other people kept their distance to him and just when he decided to go over and start a conversation, he heard a crystal clear laughter and at the source of it he saw Virginia chatting with Logan, the manager of the Casino. They seemed to get along just fine.

Rainer did not notice much, he was busy trying to eat in a decent way and when the Count addressed him he turned with a mistrustful look on his face.

"It can be boring to be limited to a certain kind of food, especially when so much more is offered," the vampire said.

"I prefer quantity over variety," Rainer replied.

"I like to have plenty of both," Dracula said, dryly.

It was obvious that the man was not suited for or interested in a conversation. The meat disappeared faster into the depth behind Rainer's deformed black teeth than one's eyes could follow. Repulsed, the Count turned away. Still after some steps he turned and took another look. The huge pile on the plate had vanished and the plate was in the process of being refilled. 'What a weird person to invite to a ball,' Dracula thought.

A chill ran over his shoulder suddenly and down his back. It was caused by Virginia who had approached him unnoticed. "You won't get much out of her," she said.

"Her?"

"Yes, the shell might be utterly male but it is nothing more than a facade," she lead him a bit away from the guests who went to the buffet. "He is not so much Rachel's ambassador as an avatar for her. The most elevated of her minions."

"And who or what kind of creature is this Rachel?" Vladislaus wanted to know.

Virginia smiled. "Well put, she is a demon, a huge spider demon to be precise. She lives at the eastern border of the Valley this city is located in. The cliffs are very low , so it would be easy for people to climb out or in. Therefore Lace invited her to spin her web there and keep anyone from passing through."

"A spider demon?" The vampire was slightly impressed by the mage's arsenal of allies. "So the only way out of this place is the pathway I came in?"

"Well, the only way by foot, yes," the lamia confirmed. "There is of course the ocean and the airway. Which kind of makes the Golden City a golden cage."

"And what exactly are these minions?" The Count asked, remembering that she had said "one of".

"They are humans that got somehow transformed by her, she uses them as scouts and to bring prey back to her. But they really do not have much of a mind of their own. Rachel is only concerned with eating - as you can see..." Virginia smiled.

"Reminds me of my former employees. Their table manners were just as charming," Vladislaus said.

"Well, what an unfortunate choice then. I always felt beings of our nature should go for the best, most exquisite and talented option there is." Her gaze drifted across the room.

Following it Dracula saw the other lamia walking out of her corner and past her admirers towards the elevator. Shortly before Kara walked out of sight, she threw one loathing look at her maker and vanished out of sight. There was an awkward silence between the two immortals while the room around them was noisy as before.

"If you would excuse me, I think I need to prepare myself ..." the lamia said finally and went off.

"Prepare?" the vampire wondered.

Was there any special relevance to Kara's leaving the room? He was confused by the sudden withdrawal and the fact that the un-dead beauty was so heavily affected by such a small gesture. But then again, Dracula doubted that even he could have expressed so much loathing with just one look; not even towards Gabriel and he had every reason to loathe his old friend. Still the Count knew that he definitely never had been that upset by a stare and he certainly thought that it was not a good sign for an immortal to be so emotional.

While he was still standing were Virginia had left him, he suddenly heard the most wondrous noise. Then Vladislaus realised that it was a female voice vocalizing softly. The sound came from the balcony and, stepping back, he saw that Kara was standing on the railing and accompanied the song with her voice. The more intensive the pace of the music became, the more powerful and enthralling grew her song, despite not using any words. Many people in the back of the room just stood there and the dance-floor began to grew more lively as the dancers went along with the music.

However, there were some who were unaffected by the beauty of it. Though he was mainly focusing on the spectacle, Dracula noticed the fat woman approaching him. Lady Rain had indeed left the poor male dancers alone that were forced to endure her presence. With an icy stare he turned to her, but she did not noticed at all. Like she did not noticed so many other things.

"Dear Count, what a fabulous moment for the two of us to find our way together ... on the dance-floor," she said, smiling.

"I'm not going to dance with you," replied the vampire brusquely.

"Don't be shy, it's nothing classical but I'm sure you'll muddle through."

Dracula became angry. "I said that I don't want to dance with you. If you don't mind, I just prefer to listen."

That reply displeased her immensely for a few seconds before she recovered and launched another attack.

"Oh don't be shy, I'm sure you pick up the modern dance pretty quickly."

The Count began to wonder whether Lace would terribly mind if he was to turn around and rip out her throat but just as he was picturing the whole scene in detail, he heard a rather friendly but shy voice. "Maybe you like to give it a try with me?"

The voice belonged to the dancer he had seen first, Alicia's friend Sonja. She seemed a bit nervous and her blood pressure was reddening her cheeks.

"I definitely would like to," he told her and took her hand.

The Lady Rain remained behind, pouting like a fish, while he disappeared on the dance-floor. Yet he was able to hear Sanguina cursing under her breath. "You wriggly little slut, you going to pay for that!"

"It seems you made yourself an enemy," Dracula told her.

Sonja shrugged, "I was never popular with her anyhow."

"Still I owe you a favour," the vampire said, having the reward already in his mind.

"Please, it was nothing, everyone hates her," she replied.

"Aren't you afraid of her?" he wanted to know.

She smiled mysteriously. "I'm one of the untouchables around here. And I don't think she can come up with any more rumours about me, not that I'd care."

"Still you seem pretty nervous," Vladislaus told her.

"Oh," she blushed and looked away. "That has nothing to do with her. And I'd use the word excited."

Dracula found that to be rather sweet and he did not answer her for some time but studied her face intensively while leading her about the place. Since she was a good friend of Alicia's it was supportable for his plans that she was already highly attracted to him. He probably could use this to find out more about his primary target.

"If that is the case I'm surprised that you haven't asked me sooner," the Count said.

"I guess I'm one of those old-fashioned girls who liked to be asked," the brunette replied.

Vladislaus laughed heartily. There was not anything old-fashioned about any of the girls he had met so far, and this revelation seemed so out of place to him.

"I'm glad to hear that, for it seems to me that your friend has exactly the opposite opinion," he said.

"Alicia? Oh well, she is simply not interested in men at all. And not into women either, for that matter."

"Maybe I can change that ...," Vladislaus suggested.

Sonja smiled. "That would be a miracle. Honestly, take it from somebody who has been her room-mate for eight years, not a chance."

"For eight years - so you knew her before she came to Los Angeles?"

"I would not be here without her. I grew up in a cloister and when she came there, we became friends and then we fled and came here," Sonja explained.

"How amusing, fleeing from a cloister," the Count said, twirling her around

"You obviously don't know what it's like outside this city," she replied being back in his grasp.

"Oh I got a few impressions, but in my time a cloister was always a place of refuge," he told her.

"It's a place of imprisonment, brainwashing and ..." Sonja became quite upset.

Dracula raised his finger to her lips. "Sshh."

It worked, Sonja was looking at him and he removed his finger.

"Sorry, I still get to easily upset about that," she apologised.

The vampire was fascinated by the energy she radiated. Not to mention that she seemed to hate the church almost as much as he did. He bent closer and was about to kiss her, as suddenly a loud gong echoed through the room. Startled he stopped and Sonja said: "It's midnight - Lace is going to make his speech."

The gong repeated itself and everyone was gathering on the dance-floor, the music had stopped and Lace positioned himself in front of his chair. With the twelfth and final stroke of the gong, the mage addressed his audience.

"For the past fifteen years, the chair at my right side has been occupied by Dallas, my apprentice. I'm sure he will eventually return at the end of this year having solved the task I send him out upon. But whether that might happen or not, it is also the year to name his successor, who will be taught by me in the dark arts from the coming of the new year on."

"This time I have chosen ..." he paused and made a gesture with his hand that set a magical light around the person of his choice. "... Alicia to become my new apprentice. Her ability to learn combined with an astonishing self-discipline as well as her magical heritage, has made her the most reasonable choice."

Everyone, except the Count and Verbatina, where applauding, even the Lady Rain was clapping like a bird jumping over ice-covered ground, when the young woman stepped forward. Her cheeks were slightly red and she had the loveliest smile on her face. But then again, she had every reason to be happy. Vladislaus never had expected this twist of events and could see now why she had denied his offer for help. Sonja who was still standing at Dracula's side seemed not to be surprised at any rate.

"You knew about this," he said, stepping right behind her.

With goose-bumps covering the side of her neck he was looking at, she replied: "She told me last night. I guess with a career like that lying ahead you do not have the need for intimacy."

After the cheering had died down, Lace addressed his audience again. "This will mean of course that the following dance formation will be the last time Alicia will be performing as a dancer."

An universal "Awww" ran through the room before the mage continued: "Therefore I hope you all are going to especially enjoy this one."

He kissed Alicia's hand and the girl walked down the stairs, the strange light surrounding her slowly fading away. People now cleared the dance-floor where the dancers gathered.

"Sorry, my call, Count, maybe we can have another dance later this night."

Vladislaus did not answer. He walked towards Lace convinced that the mage had anticipated all of this. That he had known that Alicia was as reachable as the sun herself. Or would the mage stay to his word and leave the choice to her, meaning that the Count could try to charm her over? Dracula wondered how trustworthy Sonja's statements were. Was she just saying this to discourage him, did she want her friend to become a powerful mage for her own sake? Not being able to read people's minds was making him quite mistrusting.

"Dear Count, I hope you are having a good time," Lace said, raising a glass of wine, when he approached him.

"I guess so, it's just ..." Vladislaus paused unsure if he should inquire to the mage about this defect. "Ever since this unfortunate incident, I was not able to look directly into a person's mind. But even though I can feel the power returning to me, there are some people who's mind are completely unapproachable."

The mage smiled. "People like Alicia, Sonja, Virginia, the Lady Rain and myself?"

The Count nodded.

"I guess our own pact with the devil has made Sanguina and myself far too powerful to be read easily. Same might go for more powerful demons like Virginia, and as for the girls, witch blood or something similar is generally very defiant towards influences of dark powers," Lace explained. "Is that all that is bothering you?"

"No," Dracula said, beginning to admire the mage's ability to read him. "You knew I had set my eye on Alicia."

"I knew you saw her and I thought it to be possible. Still that is certainly not the reason for my choosing her. I could probably have told you right away that she is sort of unavailable, but then, I did not know for sure that you had her in mind."

"So then, I take it that I am to stay away from her?" the vampire said, angrily.

"Oh - If she should, for some strange reason, want to join you, I'm not stopping her, but ..." Lace said "... if you go against her wishes, be certain that this will be the last mistake you will ever make. Same goes for Sonja and Madira, just to put things straight."

For a moment the Count did not know what to say. Instead, he turned to the floor where the dancers had formed six rows. The women were all standing sorted by the colours of their dresses and then a music he had never heard before began to play. It was not unlike the one from the Lounge, just heavier and darker. Kara was raising her voice once more, and her crystal clear timbre formed a stark contrast to the music.

The vampire felt that the mage paid more attention to him than to the ongoing dance. Dracula considered that he was being childish, after all there were prettier girls down there and it was not as if Lace had forbidden him entirely to make advances towards Alicia or everyone else. He figured the mage probably did not even mind his going after his own current lover. His host was a strange person indeed.

"How many of them do have witch blood in their veins?" he finally asked, his eyes still on the precise demonstration on the dance-floor.

"Five of them, but I think you will find that seven are quite inapproachable," Lace replied as calm as ever.

"What about the other two?"

"I'm not sure, one must have quite a few demons in his family tree and as for Sonja - I have no clue what her blood is about. The spectrum is something I have never seen before," the mage replied.

"Now, what are you two boys talking about," the ever intruding Lady Rain interrupted.

"I think you had too much wine already," Lace said.

"That's not the only thing she had too much of," Dracula told the mage.

"So I am in a good mood, you too are not, ha-ha!"With further evil laughter she disappeared towards the food tables.

"Why do you put up with her?" Vladislaus asked, upset once more.

"I'll tell you soon enough. I doubt that we'll have to endure her for much longer but for the moment I like the diversion she provides."

"Well, I do not."

Lace nodded in comprehension. "I try to keep her away from you."

"You'd better, or I can't guarantee that I won't strangle her," the vampire said.

"Don't underestimate her, Count, she is much more dangerous than she seems," the mage warned him.

Dracula was not convinced but both of them turned their attention back to the dancers. The girls had ripped off the skirt-part from their dresses. Which had actually been made for it and now revealed much shorter skirts. Now they were much more agile as they changed formations, hopping from one hip of their dance partner easily to his shoulders before twirling around him. And all of it was in sync with the other dancers, sometimes just with the dancers of their colour and then again with all of them.

All of them were certainly accomplished acrobats as well as splendid dancers. "I kind of like this new way of dancing," he admitted.

"Very demanding, once this is over we will have more modern music. One has to appease all of their guests. The young people are kind of more interested in their own ways of dancing. I prefer the classical ways," Lace said.

"I'm satisfied with watching - for now," Vladislaus replied. "Still I think I'll try and get some private lessons."

"Speaking about privacy. I was informed shortly before midnight that the arrangements I ordered have been completed. I only ask that my gift is not to see the light of day. But then I am sure, that's an unnecessary direction, given your particular case."

"I'm feeling awfully hungry already. Kind of annoying to be so much dependent on fresh blood. It used to be not more than one human a month," Dracula told him. "Not that I hadn't occasionally more, when being in more crowded places."

The mage smiled but he said nothing more and stuck to watching the rest of the dance. Which was well worth looking at. The Count decided to take a closer look and choose the most suitable, ruthless and beautiful women to be his new brides. With such variety there was no reason to let years pass. Not to say that one bride might prove to be quite boring now that he had had the taste of three.

Despite the hunger and the prospect of some satisfaction with respect to that matter the vampire stayed some time around to watch the kind of dance that started after the dancers had finished their marvellous and inspiring performance. The art of modern dance was a bit too wild for the Count's taste. He doubted that he would make a good figure hopping around like one of his dwergi that had got zapped by lightning.

So finally at one o'clock, Dracula decided to leave. He was thinking about Sonja who had asked him for another dance, after all, but she seemed quite busy and then there would be other nights. For now he was anxious to see if the promised gift from Lace would help his powers on the way just like the mage had promised. He paid his good-byes to his host and ventured towards the elevator where Parker stood with a grim face.

"Aren't you dancing?" the Count asked him.

"Occasionally, but tonight I'm on duty."

Somehow sensing that the security chief was less than honest, he not just walked into the elevator but turned slightly to see where the werewolf was looking. An intrigued smile appeared on the vampire's face as he realised that Parker was observing Alicia quite closely as she was standing between her former colleagues answering questions and accepting well wishes for her future.