NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Lines and No.9 – Part 6
Faye started laughing a few seconds after hearing Vivienne list off the chemical compound. “I can’t tell you how I know this, but that last part means. THC.” Faye raised her eyebrow, “Look there, the label even has a number one on it.” She spun her chair around and looked through the other plastic bags. “I have one label with the number one and the others have a two on them.” Faye bit her lip and smiled. “You and I have a fan. I don’t think this is a trap.”
“Elements.” Vivienne mumbled to herself. “I think I know what this means. S is on the bag in bold. Y for Yttrium…” She punched up the periodic chart on her phone, “Livermorium is Lv and Iodine is the letter I.” Vivienne smiled. “Sylvi … without the E.” Vivienne quickly dialed Martin’s number.
“Vivienne!” He exclaimed, “I can hear the engines, so I assume you both will be at the manor very soon. I have to say, I was confused about your text.”
“Martin, Darling.” Vivienne light French accent lightly played over the phone, “There is nothing to worry about, all of your arrangements were perfect. We are in flight now.” Vivienne paused for a brief moment, “I do have a question about your…mistress.”
“I…um.” Martin stammered for a moment. “Doctor…I assumed we had an unspoken agreement about that.” The concierge sighed, “You know I cannot betray her, Vivienne.”
Vivienne gave her light and gentle laugh over the phone, “Heaven’s no, Martin. I only wanted you to refresh my mind and tell me her name once more.”
“Sylvie Miakoda.” Martin audibly gulped over the speaker, “If you plan to meet with her, she goes by Luna, b-beca-because of her eyes.”
Vivienne blew a kiss to Faye. “Martin. You have nothing to worry about. I assure you, your mistress is safe. I have to thank her personally, it would seem.” Vivienne softly cleared her throat, “Would it be possible to speak to Casey?”
“She’s right here and um…thank you. Sylvie means the same to me as you do to Casey.” Martin handed his phone to Casey, “Most everything is in place. I have to say that the PODS package was funny.”
“Casey, dear.” Vivienne held the bag of blood labeled number one. “When we land, please be kind enough to have a cooler with you. It would seem that there are gifts on board that need to be…preserved.”
“Alrighty.” Casey said the word cooler to Martin before talking into the phone once more. “Martin suggested that if you needed a cooler, perhaps a small refrigerator in your room would be the best place to store the gifts.”
Vivienne dropped her fangs into place. “What a fine suggestion. Just make sure it matches the rest of the manor.”
Casey snickered. “No problem. You know that you have things that don’t match the manor.”
“Your observation has become very astute, my ward.” Vivienne felt her throat tightening as she looked at the blood taunting her. “Alas, I am going to take my leave now. I will discuss the décor and that one room when I arrive.” Vivienne punched the phone call dead and looked at Faye. “Count of three, mon amour?”
Faye nodded impatiently, “If I don’t like this feeling, then I just clear it like the wine?” She asked Vivienne for reassurance.
“Oui, mon amour.” Vivienne held up her finger, “Would you like me to try this first? I am willing to take the risk.”
Faye shook her head feverishly. “Not a chance, No more of this lone gunman stuff, Viv.” She blew her black-pink hair from her face. “Together.”
Vivienne counted backward from three to one and bit at the exact same time Faye did. Vivienne felt the cold iron slide down her throat, quenching the flame in her throat as it did so. Willing herself to let the blood’s contents affect her, Vivienne’s mind started raining sand over her vision as if she were in a soft dust storm. -Sands of time- Vivienne heard a soft Native American in her mind. Appearing from the swirling sand, A copper skinned Cherokee woman dressed in white leather approached Vivienne. Covered in head to toe with autumn colored beaded jewelry, Vivienne enjoyed the gentle ringing of the bangles until the woman stopped before her. Recalling something about the woman’s eyes, Vivienne fuzzily looked and was rewarded by seeing the woman’s eyes go from a full moon, through the different phases until they were black as a new moon. “Just like on the package, Luna?” Vivienne felt herself say distantly.
Reaching out and taking Vivienne’s hand, Sylvie walked the pair through the sandy barrier and into a room with a round table and a crystal ball. -Remove the barrier, see what I see.- Sylvie smiled and wiggled her fingers at the ball, producing an image of Faye with hungry green eyes and internally struggling. -Love denied. Love resisted. Love repressed.- Sylive’s image giggled and waved her hand again, sending a flurry of sparkles and glitter into the air. Vivienne lost herself in the slow falling metal glints for a few seconds before the image tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the ball on the table again. -Remove your inhibitions, true love creates its own memories.- Vivienne saw a new image of Faye reappear with a clarity in her almond green eyes and smiling. -Love potion.- Sylvie winked her moonlit eye and created the image of the blood pouches labeled with the number two on them.
Vivienne watched as a pair of zills appeared on Sylvie’s hands and gentle music seemed to almost rain notes. The gypsy-Cherokee woman started swaying her hips and chimed the brass cymbals to the music that had come out of nowhere. Spinning on her toes, Luna started to lip sync with the song “Love Potion number 9.”
“I took my troubles down to Madame Rue,
You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth,
She's got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine,
Selling little bottles of Love Potion Number Nine,
I told her that I was a flop with chics,
She looked at my palm and she made a magic sign,
She said "What you need is Love Potion Number Nine"
She bent down and turned around and gave me a wink,
She said "I'm gonna make it up right here in the sink"
It smelled like turpentine, it looked like Indian ink,
I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink..”
Vivienne started giggling uncontrollably as she watched her hostess keep dancing and keep pointing to the bag labeled two. Vivienne threw up her hands and nodded. “Alright, alright. I get it.”
Sylvie shimmied around Vivienne once more and tossed another wave of glitter into the air. Vivienne heard the music fade in the back of her mind and she blinked to shake off the effects within the blood she’d consumed.