Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

OTF Chapter 11 - For the Sake of Vivienne

Chapter 11

VIVIENNE ENTERED Blake's memories again as she has done several times before. This time, it wasn't the splendor of Coral City or the nostalgia of River Way, she was standing in front of the Ravana House again. Vivienne saw a town car appear and three men stepped out. It was Blake and Julian and one other. Blake looked younger, just by a little. His eyes looked slightly less weathered, his frame slightly more narrow, just a bit more of a teenage boy instead of a young man. Julian was there too, although in the present time their difference in age wasn't as apparent, in this vision he looked every bit the older one.

"Lucius, go tell Madame Eva we're here. She has a new guest tonight." Julian was wearing the same purple top hat he had on when she went with him and Sero. He was wearing a charcoal waistcoat with spiked red-bottomed shoes. He wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulders. Blake didn't look like he appreciated the gesture. "Hey, come on, relax a bit, Morte." Julian chuckled. "I know who you really are. We went to school together." Julian leaned into Blake's ear and whispered: "I would know you anywhere, Blake Thorne." The two boys continued walking slowly into the club. Vivienne felt a voice appear beside her. It was Julian, not the one from the past but the one in the present. It appeared as though the bond allowed her to see his memories too.

"He didn't remember me. People like Blake never remember the rest of us," Julian said, standing beside her and watching the memories unfold. " I grew up in a nice part of Coral City too. My parents were both doctors, yes we were dirt poor compared to the rest of them but they wanted the best for me and my sister. I also went to that fancy prep school too, the one he disappeared from after what happened with his father."

"Can Blake hear us?" Vivienne asked. "Aren't these his memories?"

"No, only you can," Julian said. "He can't hear you when you speak to me in your mind, only when you direct thoughts at him. I can see the memories if you chose to share it with me. I thought you would want me here to make sure he's being honest."

Julian motioned for her to keep walking, to follow the two boys as they had drinks at the bar. Vivienne saw young Blake and Julian laugh as they had shots. Young Julian looked red in the face and tipsy and patted Blake on the back.

"You can hold your alcohol for a country club boy," Young Julian said. "The one time my dad caught me with alcohol he made me watch a man get a liver transplant for cirrhosis. Well, I guess that's not a problem for me anymore."

"What happened to your parents?" Blake asked. "I suppose everyone knows what happened to mine."

"Dead," Young Julian said. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's have some fun tonight. So, do you really mean to tell me you've never been here before? You're shitting me right?"

Blake shook his head. "I don't drink very often. When I do, I prefer the taste of demon blood."

"Where do you get the demon blood?" Young Julian asked. "Forget I asked. I don't care about your personal life. Why don't you drink human blood? I like it, it's warm, sweet, like banging a soaking wet poon. Do you want to go do that later? I know this great place."

"When I bed a girl I don't see her thoughts or read her mind," Blake said. "I don't like drinking from creatures that have thoughts. The more I know, the less I enjoy it."

"If you just bleed them into a cup then it's not a problem," Young Julian said. "Come, let's go before our meal gets cold."

The two boys went into a back room which was dimly lit in red. Lucius was waiting for them. The older man was stocky with a shaved head and earrings. He was sitting with his legs on top of a table of empty cocktail glasses. In the far corner were a trio of girls with linen bags over their heads. Their hands and feet were bound. They were all dressed in simple white shift dresses. Vivienne winced as she saw the multiple puncture wounds on their arms and legs.