Fallen
Part 7
I don’t sleep much normally, but with everything I’ve learned in the past twenty four hours whirling around in my head, I find sleep impossible. I’m up and out of the house before my alarm has a chance to wake me, and I’m on my way to see Keller.
We need to find out who is leaking information among his people, and who the hell they’re leaking it to. I arrive at the door of ‘The Choirboy’ and I’m shown in without a second thought. Anyone would think I was a regular around here.
When I walk in, unchallenged and feeling unnervingly at home, Keller is sitting behind his desk, studying the screen of a laptop intensely. He looks up and smiles at me, trying to take my attention from the fact that he’s closed the laptop, and powered it off.
“Toby,” he says with a low purr, “you’re looking better today. I was beginning to wonder if yesterday hadn’t been a little too much for you to take in.”
“What, did you think I wouldn’t come back?” I ask.
“Oh, I’ve heard that you always come back for more,” Keller says with a dirty laugh.
I just grin, because what can I say in reply that doesn’t sound like a come on?
“So,” I ask eventually, “What *are* they looking for here, at this club?” I walk around the room, finally taking in the décor, and the unusual array of reading literature on the bookshelves. “’Cause, I know it’s not your sparkling wit that keeps ‘em coming. They want something and they think it’s here.”
Keller looks away, and his attention appears to drift away.
“Chris,” I say in a low voice, and his head snaps back, eyes flashing with…something. “You have to start being honest with me. I can’t help you or your people if you don’t tell me the truth.”
Keller sighs and leans back in his chair. His eyes rake across my skin, “A book,” he answers at last.
“What kind of book?” I insist, getting tired of this game where he throws me a bone, and I spend the next hour gnawing on it before I get down to the marrow.
“The Book of Gabriel,” Keller explains, “The lost book of the Old Testament. It was written by the archangel, and it holds the secret to immortality.”
You know those times when you hear something that is just so over your head, you can’t even grasp it? Well, this is one of those moments. Keller can obviously see my utter bewilderment, so he continues.
“If this Vodun master gets access to the book, he could create an army that no one on earth could stop, not human, vampires, no one. He and his demons would dominate this planet, and we’d all become little more than cattle. Do you want to have sex, Toby?”
Immortality? Demon armies? Sex…what?
“What?”
“We’ve danced this dance since we met. It’s been fun, but I’m tired now, you wanna have sex?” Keller grins at my reaction. He stands up and moves across the room. I know I’m standing there with my mouth open, but I don’t appear to have the physical ability to move. He slides his hand along my jaw softly, and slowly he moves in for a kiss. His lips are cool, but silky, and I can feel his five o’clock shadow scraping my skin.
Do vampires actually grow beards?
Without realizing it, and seemingly without conscious effort, I discover my hands have snaked around his waist, and my fingers are working their way up a very muscular back. He isn’t as cold as I thought he’d be, and his mouth tastes like fresh spring water; cool, refreshing and I feel lost in him.
“I want you, Toby,” he whispers in my ear, “Have sex with me?”
I feel lightheaded. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, there’s a voice screaming in protest, begging me to reconsider as I mumble, “Yes.”
I don’t know why I’m agreeing to this, he’s a vampire, he’s the enemy, he has his tongue in my mouth and my body is on fire.
“Let’s go down to my room,” he says gently, and I just nod, because the blood that should be firing off the neurons in my brain is all pooling in my dick.
I barely notice it as we move across the room to a secret door in the bookcase, that slides silently aside to reveal a staircase.
The room is as breathtaking as I remember it, but this time, I’m not really interested in the art or the architecture, all I can think about is the heavy, hard bulge pushing into my thigh as Keller pulls me close again and kisses me.
I try to convince myself that he’s using vampire tricks to make me do this, but the truth is that I’ve found him attractive from the first time I laid eyes on him. A part of me hates myself for this, for my own weakness, but the only part of my mind that really matters at the moment, is screaming for his hands to be on my body, and his mouth to caress my skin.
He peels off my shirt with the consummate ease of a man who’s had a lot of practice and throws it to the floor. Before I get a chance to take another breath, my pants are pooling around my ankles, and I’m trying to push off my shoes without losing contact with Keller’s lips.
The bed is like falling into a cotton wool cloud. I feel like I’m seriously high, and I’m still telling myself that it’s vampire trickery, when Keller pushes his fingers inside me, and sucks my cock into his mouth. I quickly discover one of the benefits of sex with a vampire; they don’t need to breathe. His rough cheek rubs against my thigh as he moves his mouth rhythmically against my pulsing, aching cock, still his fingers are inside me and all I want is for this man, this vampire, to fuck me until I pass out.
He pulls back and pushes my legs up to rest on his shoulders then just leaves me there, open and vulnerable while he licks his rough, cat-like tongue along my dick, taking the time to lift his head, and take a look at my face. His smile is feral and dangerous, and I want him so badly I could scream.
I hear a voice, dry and needy, begging, “Fuck me!” and I realize that it’s me.
“Anything you say, Toby,” Keller whispers softly, and suddenly he’s pressing into me. I don’t remember him slicking himself with anything, but there’s no pain, no discomfort, just an intensity of pleasure that I’ve never experienced before. He presses me into the bed as he buries his cock deep inside me, reaches down and begins to kiss me. My tongue is in his mouth, and I can feel his teeth, his fangs, slender and sharp, slip from their sheath, and nip my tongue.
“No fangs, you fucker!” I roar as fear assaults me, shearing its way thorough the ecstasy.
“Don’t panic, Toby, I just need to taste you, to know you,” Keller sighs and he pinches my lower lip between his fangs, drawing a few drops of blood and eliciting a small grunt from me. I look at his face, and his eyes are shocking blue again, almost incandescent in the darkness. He increases the pressure of the thrusts, moving more quickly. Licking the last droplet of my blood from his teeth, he comes with a growl, slamming against me, hurtling me over the edge until my mind explodes into a blinding cascade of dizzying light.
Keller licks the droplets of sweat from my collarbone, swiping his tongue up, across my throat, before tenderly kissing me on the lips.
“I was right about you,” he whispers, “I know you, I’ve always known you.”
My brain is still reeling from the orgasm, pooling sticky and unusable against the silky softness of the pillow, and I have no idea what he’s talking about.
I’m so tired that I can’t function unless...I sleep…
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There’s a moment of panic in my gut when I wake up, and I can’t remember where I am. Years of being a drunk can affect you that way, and despite what people might tell you, you never get used to the feeling of having lost control of your life. I soon realize that I wasn’t drunk last night, I was with Keller. I turn my head to find him next to me, sleeping. Because he generates no body heat, and doesn’t breathe, I almost didn’t notice he was there. This freaks me out for a minute, when I consider the fact that I just had sex with a dead guy, but I renew my self esteem when I decide that a dead guy who happens to be a demi-god, is a special case.
I grab for my watch, to see how long I’ve been out.
Fuck!
I’ve been here all day; I should have been at work two hours ago. I stumble from the bed, still sore in the most pleasant possible way, and drag my clothes on.
“Going so soon?” a voice says as I fumble for the door.
“I slept all fucking day. I should have been at work hours ago!” I mutter irritably.
“Just tell your boss you were ‘actively involved with your current investigation’.” Keller sniggers and I really want to smack him for that smug sound in his voice.
“Smart-ass,” I snarl, and I scurry from the room like a teenager who just got caught in the girl’s dorm.
“Later?” he calls after me.
I sigh, “Yeah, later.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I finally drag my sorry and pretty sore, ass into the Precinct by now almost three hours late, I am met with jeers and whistles from a couple of the other Officers who obviously think I’m hung-over. I slink into my chair and skim through my messages to find one from Father Mukada. It’s a name and address of a ‘Kareem Said’ who he says might be able to help me with my investigation into the Vodun religion. At last, something that sounds positive!
Suddenly I remember that my lip must be sporting a vampire sized hickey, and I grab for the shiny picture frame on my desk to check it out. There’s nothing there, no sign of a bite, not even a red mark. Feeling guilty and just a little dumb, I look around and I swear that people can see the sign on my forehead that proclaims ‘I just got fucked by a vampire!’
Shaking myself, I search for a number for this ‘Kareem Said’ and soon discover that he runs a Muslim school on the Upper West Side on West 78th St. so I make a quick call, he reluctantly agrees to see me. I can hear the uncertainty in his voice when I mention ‘Vodun’, but he eventually agrees to meet me after the school closes for the day.
The outside of the school is tastefully decorated with Middle Eastern designs and intricate patterned mosaics. A young man dressed in white answers the door, and beckons me inside.
“The Imam will see you in here,” he says in a whisper, showing me in through a carved walnut door into an impressive office. I look around, but it’s empty, so like a naughty schoolboy sent to the Principals office, I hang around, and wait for an ‘audience’ with this man.
Suddenly the door opens, and a man walks in; he doesn’t look anything like I’d pictured him. He’s maybe thirty-five, African-American, tall, and good looking. He flashes me a wide smile, and offers me a seat.
“I’m Kareem Said, the Imam here. You said on the phone that you needed some information on the Vodun religion and practices?”
“Yeah, I’m investigating an attack on a vampire owned club. It’s been suggested to me that the creature that attacked the employees there could have been a ‘voodoo slave’ being controlled by a Vodun priest?”
The smile melts from his face, “No devout Vodun priest would perform such abominations!” he insists. “It is unthinkable that this would happen today.”
“Well, it looks like it has. Do you have any idea who might have the power or influence for such things?”
He shakes his head. “The people I know are devout and law abiding worshippers.
Their priests are held in great esteem, and are much loved and they would never put their religion at risk by performing such disgusting acts.”
“So are you saying that it could never happen?” I ask, getting the feeling that there’s something he’s not telling me.
Said falls silent, unconsciously chewing his lip. “There are always those willing to abuse power, Officer, in every religion, in every political group, even in the police force. They do not represent the thing they abuse, they sully its name!”
“I agree. So you’re saying that it *is* possible that there are people working within Vodun who are performing these rituals?”
“Anything is possible. Leave it with me, I’ll make discreet enquires, maybe someone knows of a new priest working in the city?”
I’ll admit that I’m surprised to find him so helpful. “I appreciate your help, Minister Said, but I must confess that I’m surprised?”
“Oh, why?” he asks.
“Well, I guess a Muslim cleric who still has ties to Vodun seems kind of strange to start with?”
He smiles, “I was raised within the Vodun religion, my father was a priest. I still maintain my family ties to many people in the community.”
“And yet you became a Muslim?”
“Allah called me, and I answered his call,” Said said with a smile, “It was my path.”
I return the smile, slightly envying him his faith, in anything.
After speaking to Minister Said, I leave the school feeling a little more positive. At the local store I grab a bottle of Jack D, and then stop to get a pizza before heading home. I desperately need a shower and some sleep before I can face the outside world again.
I need to go see Keller later, because, hell, I just need to see him. I know that this ‘thing’ with Keller is going to be a mistake. He’s another addiction to add to a very long list, and he’ll probably kill me a damn sight faster than booze.
After a shower, I swallow the now lukewarm pizza and slump down in the chair with a drink, and I try not to dwell too closely on the way my life is spiraling out of control…again.
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Feeling hopelessly like a teenager, I glance at my reflection, and check my hair in the club window as I make my way to The Choirboy. How do I look?
Tired, directionless, and hopeless.
I was hoping for fuckable, but I guess you can’t have everything.
I walk past the new doorman who closely resembles a gorilla, with a brief smile, and make my way down the now familiar stairs.
“Toby!” Bonnie squeals suddenly, appearing from the darkness and throwing her arms around my neck. “You can go on in, Chris knows you’re coming. He has guests at the moment, but they won’t be here long, not if he has his way.”
I give Bonnie a squeeze and a brief kiss on the cheek, and open the door in front of me. As I enter the room, I can hear Keller’s voice, and a voice I don’t recognize.
“Officer Beecher, come on in,” Keller says suddenly, and I feel quite shocked at the sudden formality of his tone. He’s talking to a young guy; tallish, lean, and hungry with the look of a real predator.
“You playin’ ball with the law now huh, Keller, like a good little vampire?” the man sneers, and right off, I don’t like him.
“Officer Beecher is investigating the attack on my club, O’Reily, nothin’ for you to get concerned about,” Keller replies and I can feel the tension crackling in the air from these two.
Suddenly, I sense someone behind me, and I step back, reacting, reaching for my gun. The guy Keller calls O’Reily lets out a growl, and he’s almost in my face when Keller appears from nowhere in front of me.
“Don’t disrespect my hospitality, O’Reily,” Keller whispers.
The guy who crept up on me comes into view. He’s pretty obviously related to O’Reily, but instead of the close cropped hair and the lean, wiry frame, he’s slightly more muscled and he has long, blond hair. He sniffs the air and licks his lips, as he looks me up and down.
“And you, dog boy,” Keller glares at the blond menacingly, “Don’t be messing with my guests, or I might decide to get you neutered!”
The blond laughs, but O’Reily looks livid. “You’d threaten my brother, Keller?”
Keller smiles the least friendly smile I’ve ever seen, “I told you to leave Lassie at home last time, O’Reily. I don’t like him.”
O’Reily looks as though he’s going to burst something, and I notice his eyes change from a pale blue to red...
…he’s a werewolf.
“That would be a bad idea,” Keller says evenly, but the threat is clear.
O’Reily glares at him for a moment, before his eyes fade once again to blue. “Don’t mess with me, Keller. I ain’t one of your little lackeys, you don’t scare me. We got a blood oath, and I don’t break a blood oath, but don’t try fucking with me, my brother or my clan, okay?”
“You better get dog boy out of here, O’Reily, if he pisses up my furniture, I’m gonna fucking swat him with a rolled up newspaper.” Keller smirks and I struggle to hide my grin.
Bristling with anger, O’Reily struts past me, pausing to look me up and down.
“Keller’s new bitch, huh?” he laughs, and I feel my blood hit boiling point.
“I’m nobody’s bitch, pooch,” I answer idiotically, “You should remember that there are still bounties out on werewolf packs.”
He stops dead in his tracks, “And you’d do well to remember that even K’boy here can’t be watching your back all of the time…Officer.” O’Reily claps his hand on his brother’s shoulder, and guides him out of the room.
I realize that my hands are shaking, and I feel angry that I’ve been so stupid. Keller moves into my side. He kisses me softly on the cheek, and slips his hand down between my legs.
“Ya got balls, Toby,” he croons, “You’re not too bright, but ya got balls!”
Part 8