Four, p.33
Four, page 33
Georgia shook her head in disgust. “I am such an idiot.”
“I’m the idiot,” Ren muttered.
“What was that?”
“I said I’m the idiot. I’m the one who does everything in his power to get to know you, to learn just how smart and fun and crazy you are, just so that you can sleep with my master over and over again,” Ren said in his most flat, cold, and borderline robotic voice. “Now, can we please go to get Mr. Lambley, as Dr. Pang is not one to be kept waiting?”
Georgia grabbed her purse and made sure to switch phones. As she got near Ren, she could actually see the veins pulsing on the side of his neck as he strained to keep his face damnably calm.
“And that bothers you?” she asked.
He whirled to face her. “Of course, that bothers me!” he barked.
She didn’t budge. “Why?”
“Why do you think?” he asked.
“You’re right, we should get Mr. Lambley now,” she said before storming out the door. They walked in silence from the hotel to their car. Ren went for the passenger seat, but the driver waved him to the back. He tried to protest but was ultimately forced to sit uncomfortably close to the still-fuming Georgia as the car rolled slowly toward the garage gate.
“Does he ever plan anything?” Georgia finally sighed.
“My master just wants to please you.”
“He wanted you to figure out how to seduce me. Does that make sense to a vampire? I mean, is that one of their things?” she said, still staring out the window rather than looking at him.
“Like I said, he just wanted to please you.”
“Oh, if he wants to keep pleasing me, he’s going to keep you out of the equation. Maybe I’m just being dreadfully American, but I’m not into three-ways,” she spat. “And you, what did you want?”
“It never mattered what I wanted,” Ren said.
“That’s your problem right there. You let them walk all over you—”
“I have to.”
“I know, I know, you have your contract—”
“My life depends on it,” Ren said softly.
Georgia turned to him. “Are you being literal or having one of your dramatic episodes?” she asked.
“Literal.”
She waited for him to continue. Ren looked around uncomfortably for a few minutes as the car slowed to match the thick traffic of downtown Tokyo. He started rolling his lip between his teeth and fidgeting as words escaped him over and over.
“My family is different,” he finally said.
“You’re a Japanese genius with green eyes, I figured that out already,” Georgia deadpanned. She cringed as she saw Ren still struggling for words.
“They say that the first servants of the Caesars sent emissaries across the entire empire to look for fresh blood, so to speak. One group ended up trapped in the Far East until they encountered a group of women who were born and bred to serve the other great clan at the time. To make a long story short, one family of these women decided to leave the service of their old masters and took in these strangers from the West. My family came from this special clan. When war broke out between the Lung and the Caesars, my family fled from China to Japan and have been there ever since, carefully expanding the interests of the Western families.”
“So that explains where the green eyes came from, but what aren’t you telling me?”
“Each branch of my family is carefully bred for whatever traits the particular vampire family needs to complement it. The Matsuoka line serve the Jaeger—”
“So you are bred to be smart then, since they are mostly the brawn, am I right?”
Ren nodded ever so slightly, but said, “We are chosen to work well with them—to be subservient.” He paused and took a deep breath before finishing with, “And we are also carefully, selectively bred to have a rare genetic disease.”
“A disease?”
“Every little Matsuoka girl is a carrier, every boy is born without the ability to make antibodies. We’re missing certain white blood cells, so what would be a day off school for you could be a death sentence for us.”
“Oh my god,” she said. “But—”
“The main family has it. If for some reason you aren’t a carrier, you get moved to the outer reaches of the family and slowly excluded or married off to one of the branches that serves a more progressive clan. You don’t get to serve the lofty house of Jaeger unless they are absolutely sure that they can control you.”
“You mean—?”
“For centuries the only hope we had was being adopted by our benefactors. Any Matsuoka boy was raised from birth to serve his betters, or he took his chances and died the first time cholera broke out in town. Yes, we’re nothing more than glorified bondsmen, usually bondsmen from birth.”
“So you do need vampire blood to live.”
“Oh it’s worse. Most bondsmen get an immunity over time to the controlling effects, but for some reason, our years of unnatural selection actually make us more susceptible to vampiric control.”
“But something changed. You said you weren’t going to serve a vampire. You were going to be a Wall Street tycoon,” Georgia said.
“The twentieth century happened,” Ren said. “You suddenly had a choice as a Matsuoka mother. Now you have antibiotics and clean rooms and movies about boys in plastic bubbles. By the time Rikuto and I came along, you could get transfusions. We were given the choice between the pain and risk of human medicine or the tried-and-true method of drinking a vampire’s blood. It wasn’t like there was a shortage of Matsuokas to vampires at the time, so we were indulged.”
“So you—?” Georgia dared to ask.
“Once a year I get a very special birthday present from Minerva Fenstermacher,” Ren said. “My contract is always in blood, her blood, and if I don’t take it, I’ll die.”
“But can’t you just go back to your treatments?”
“I’ve been dependent on Minerva’s blood for nearly a decade, Georgia. The transfusions contain other human plasma that could be contaminated, and the reaction would be catastrophic. Anyway, what does it matter? Not only would I be condemning someone else to take my place, but what do I even have to go to? I’ve spent a decade doing . . . questionable things, and without the blessing of my family, I’m sure I’d be left out to dry.”
“Wow, it does suck to be you,” Georgia said. It was her turn to bite her lip before she apologized with, “Poor choice of words—sorry.”
Ren smiled a little. “Minerva orders me to obey her and her brother, but she could be far worse. All she wants from me is food, and Stefano just wants a glorified butler.”
“Well, I’ve seen the way she likes to eat. You’re right, it could have been much worse.”
“I’m just food to her,” he said again.
“Why do you keep . . . ?” She trailed off. “Well, I’m not just food to Steve. He may be a bit of a jackass for using you, but we’re not like you and Minnie.”
They rode the rest of the way in silence until Mr. Lambley joined them. He eyed them both suspiciously as Georgia and Ren made it a point to look out opposite windows.
“Is there something you’re not telling me about this doctor?” he asked, worried.
“Oh no, just bored from traffic,” Georgia said quickly. “Now tell me all about your day. Did they feed you well?”
As Geoffrey started blabbing about the high-quality freshly drawn blood and silk sheets at the spa, Georgia continued to watch Ren. The Matsuoka toyed idly with his collar, rubbing the scars that ringed his neck.
The car pulled into a rather nondescript-looking beige office building at the edge of Tokyo proper. They were escorted by a pair of identical twin girls in lovely pink kimonos, who walked silently along a red carpet that had been rolled from the door right to the limo’s side.
Although the garage door was plain putty-colored metal, what lay beyond it was an entirely different world altogether. Georgia and Ren both coughed as puffs of rich incense filled their lungs, and they had to squint to see anything in the candlelit room with dark paneling. Every nook and cranny was carved with ornate images of dragons and covered with red lacquer or gold leaf—a far cry from the usual simple and sleek design of a Japanese office.
The girls said nothing, but motioned to three red floor cushions lined neatly against the wall. The visitors took the hint and kneeled down on them, waiting in silence until a very tall, handsome man in a tailored suit and slicked-back hair came from behind a curtain to greet them.
“Ah, you must be Geoffrey Lambley, scion of House Pendragon,” he said in perfectly clear, crisp English. “Miss Fenstermacher was just telling me all about you.”
“Minerva is here?” Geoffrey asked.
“She is already inside with the doctor,” their greeter said. “If you would all be so kind as to remove your shoes and wait here a moment, you will escorted to your proper waiting chambers.”
They did as they were told, with Georgia having to help the woefully inflexible vampire in removing his loafers. She wrinkled her nose at the distinct and incredible funk of his bare feet.
“Mr. Lambley, if you would please come through first and head to the right, humans to the left.”
Georgia squeezed his hand. “You’ll be all right, Geoff,” she said. “You’re looking better already.”
The vampire nodded weakly and gave a little gulp before waddling off inside. Ren and Georgia followed the polite greeter to a small locker room, with the twins on either side of a wooden screen—each one holding a neatly folded white robe and pair of sandals.
“If you would,” he said. “Dr. Pang is very sensitive to the aroma of animals, and you need to be bathed and dressed appropriately before going forward.”
“Animals?” Georgia mouthed, but she still dutifully stripped down and changed into her robe. “I did take a shower this morning,” she sighed before getting into another one. All of her groaning and moaning subsided as she walked into a gorgeous bubbling hot spring bath and was offered luxurious Egyptian cotton towels and steaming green tea. She eased into the tub and let the soak sooth every inch of her as she could see a spectacular view of the night skyline from the window nearby.
A few moments later, Ren was escorted in, also wearing nothing but a towel. She made a point to look away as he had to drop it to step into the tub, but did cheat by sneaking a peek at the slight bit of reflection in the water. “Nice moon,” she muttered under her breath.
She made it a point to keep herself as covered as possible under the water, not a difficult feat considering how warm and soothing the bath was, while Ren stuck to one corner with his hands folded over his lap.
“I didn’t think we were going to see Dr. Pang too,” she said.
“He probably just wants to observe you since you stay with him. Dr. Pang is a homeopathic doctor and is very concerned with the mind-body connection in his patients. Why I’m here, I don’t know, unless I’m expected to serve as payment.”
“The doctor will be ready for you soon, please try your best to relax and enjoy yourselves,” the greeter said.
“I can certainly do that,” Georgia said as she eased back under the water. They two of them ended up lounging for what seemed like an eternity in the dimly lit steamy bathroom. “I thought he said he’d be here soon.”
“The greeter was probably answering in vampire time,” Ren offered. Georgia took the opportunity to see more of the ink nestled under Ren’s skin. In the bath she could finally make out talons carving their way into his chest, right where his heart should be.
He turned for her to let her see that it wasn’t an eagle swooping down to claw out his heart, but rather a great snowy owl. One arm looked like it had been flayed to reveal circuitry, while the other had German text. In the small of his back, he had the male equivalent of a tramp stamp—a big black rune that looked like a badly written letter M with two extra lines inside.
“M?” she asked.
“It’s Mannaz, the Norse rune for mankind,” he said. “I’m not showing you the other tattoo though.”
“Oh, where could that one be?” she teased. “So, what’s with the bird?”
“The owl is the traditional animal of Athena. I had it done a few years back,” he said. Before she could press for more details, the greeter chose that moment to clear his throat and request them both to get dressed.
Georgia slipped back into her robe, keeping her back to Ren until he said, “All clear.”
“You didn’t peek, did you?” she asked softly as they walked toward the other door in the bathroom.
“Of course not,” Ren said. As they got to the door, he leaned over and whispered, “Nice bunnies.”
Before she could get her arm back far enough to slap him, the door swung open. She blinked as they found themselves looking into a room full of ornate wall scrolls and more gilded paneling. Off to one side, a still-as-a-corpse redhead lay on a beautiful silk cushion while wearing nothing but what looked like a diaper. On the other side, a slim blonde lay stiff as a board, her modesty only maintained by what looked like cotton balls on knotted strings.
“Mr. Lambley!” Georgia exclaimed at the same time as Ren gasped, “Mistress!”
At the head of the room, a mysterious, huddled figure swayed back and forth in front of two pots of thick, heady incense. Each coil of smoke seemed to make a beeline for each vampire, drifting into his or her nose with unnatural precision.
“Oh, the young ones are here,” a very crackly, nasal singsong voice said from the hunched figure. He turned around to reveal a face so cut and folded with wrinkles that it was difficult to make out individual features other than a stringy white Fu Man Chu mustache and a pair of thick black lenses covering his eyes. He wandered over slowly, teeter-tottering under an array of layered robes of all different patterns and colors. He made a tittering giggle as he saw Georgia’s shapely bare leg peeking out from under her robe. As he looked her up and down, he made a giddy sucking sound through his teeth.
“Oh, very nice,” he said before giving a little giggle. “And what is this? Is this a Matsuoka boy?” he asked as he sized up Ren. “Very nice indeed.”
The wizened creature pulled a walking stick out from one of his voluminous sleeves and used it to help him pace around the pair. He even tapped both of them in random places, prompting several “Ow!” noises before he finally stopped.
“What did you do to them?” Georgia dared to ask.
“Better that they sleep,” Dr. Pang said with a rapid nod. “It’s always better to examine if they sleep. The fat one squirms, and the woman never shuts up, no?”
Georgia and Ren both clamped their mouths shut as they let the old man continue his walk-around. He once more zeroed in on Georgia and raised a crinkled hand up to grab her chin. Her eyes widened as she felt warmth radiating through his fingers.
Dr. Pang smiled widely to show off his bright and shiny gold-plated fangs. “You’ve seen one of me before, haven’t you, little missy?” he asked. “Yes, you’ve seen one of the other two. You know what kind of monster we are!”
“You’re still alive,” she said.
“Indeed!” he squealed. “You must have met Mr. Sugar, yes? He’s the only one of us who gets out much. Very interesting. You care for the toothless Pendragon, no?”
Georgia nodded.
The half-vampire took a deep breath before poking her in the chest. “Sit!” he commanded.
“What?” Georgia asked.
Dr. Pang actually squealed with delight. “You are one of those people!” he cried. “The Jaeger wasn’t lying.”
“I get that a lot.”
“Oh, I wish I had more time to study you. When you die would you consider giving your body over to me for research—well, refreshments and research?”
She just shook her head. “Not really thinking about that now.”
“Pity,” he said. “You know I can have one of the girls give you some very good acupuncture. It will help with the headaches you get from my kind.”
“Acupuncture?” Georgia asked incredulously. “Does that even work?”
“You are standing in the presence of a two-thousand-year-old living vampire, and you question whether or not our needles really work?” Dr. Pang asked.
“Good point,” Georgia said.
“Your face is very English, very Pendragon,” he said, looking over her again. “I think it might be what is helping inspire your master’s recovery. I’ve prepared many supplements for him to take, and he must continue the best diet. His humors must be balanced between cooling blood from waterfowl and the hot blood of woodland creatures, like deer. If you fail to balance these temperatures within, he will simply not recover. I have prepared these schedules, and you must keep to them as his handler.”
Georgia’s eyes widened as she was handed a pile of paper all in Chinese. “I can’t—” she started.
“You have eyes. You have a brain. Use the Internet, little one! I cannot be bothered with you not learning a proper language,” he said as he foraged around for something in one of his robes. “Open wide.”
She stared dubiously at the tongue depressor he had yanked from some unknown nether region, but she reluctantly went “Ahh!” anyway. The vampire peered deep within until he fished out a little light and made his job easier. He then looked in her ears and eyes and made many obnoxious little grunts before stopping to sniff her neck like she was a fresh-baked loaf of bread.
“You smell faintly of Jaeger . . . interesting,” he said before moving on to examine Ren. He clucked his tongue a few times before sniffing him in much the same manner. “You smell like Jaeger too. My, my, these young ones certainly like to warm themselves up at night, don’t they?”
Ren and Georgia both started studying the floor. “I recommend more iron for you, Matsuoka boy. Also, you need to adjust your energies to focus more on the self this year. You are born in the year of the Monkey and need to realign your emotions if you want to avoid being unwell.”
“You’re a monkey, really?” Georgia asked.
Dr. Pang turned back to her. “Even beautiful women should learn the allure of silence,” he warned her. “You, Matsuoka, should take the Jaeger back to her waiting room and see that she gets fed and dressed. I wish to finish my consultation with the patient and his keeper alone.”
