Chapter 9: Van Gogh's and Da Vinci's

"Shut up," Kamillah Crimsonfire laid flat on her stomach, her soft chest pressed against the cold floor uncomfortably as she tried to capture images of the front lawn. On the fourteenth floor she had a commanding overview of the hotel grounds, and was able to watch all newcomers. The room she had specifically requested was a private suite reserved for special guests, although it hadn't been used in some time. Of course she didn't pay a dime for it, that was all taken care of by her superiors.

The suite's of the Silver Grand were laid out with rich carpeting and high quality furnishings. There was a mix of antique and brand-new furniture that somehow seemed to blend together. A bar, complete with a vast selection of spirits, was installed alongside the kitchen island. A 50-inch TV was anchored to the far wall of the living room, facing large sofa's and delightfully soft couches. The most impressive feature was the antique chandelier that burned a rich amber glow throughout the room. There were two bedroom, but for some reason only one bathroom. The walls were decorated with paintings and illustrations of different places of New Orleans, and a few masks that seemed almost tribal.

Kami hadn't come alone, accompanying her were two personal equerries. They were gifts from the sanctuary, personal attendants and highly trained bodyguards. Each were highly skilled in the art of subterfuge, and hand-to-hand combat. Kami wasn't sure, but she had the intuition to guess each were several centuries old, meaning they weren't normal vampires. Having them around gave her mixed feelings. On one hand, it was an honor to be loaned their experience, on the other…they annoyed the hell out of her.

"I'm just saying," Vincent Van Gogh laid on one of the couches nearby. Kami knew that wasn't his real name, but that's how he was introduced to her, and she felt no reason to pry. Van Gogh looked like a seasoned man. His short hair was combed back, and there were several grey hairs mixed with his natural brown. He always appeared intimidating with his constant scowl, but after traveling with him, Kami learned he was as lazy as they come. It was likely his natural scowl was simply a front to wall himself off from others, although Kami wasn't sure. He seemed unoccupied with the task at hand, and disinterested in the mission. He flipped through the TV guide with his typical smirk rather than unload his equipment.

Kami had grown tired of his complaining, "shut up." She had stomached his whining long enough, and no longer feared lashing back.

"You can be a little nicer," Van Gogh sneered. He picked up the remote control and tried to flip through the channels. The large TV was top of the line, its picture was sharp and clear. The volume was too loud for comfort.

"Please shut up," Kami tried to ignore the equerry while peering through the camera lens. The giant tree on the front lawn was a good focal point to measure for distance. She studied the road leading to the Silver Grand and shot pictures of each vehicle as it drove to the front entrance. So far, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but then again she wasn't sure what to expect. There was little intel to work on, but she knew to observe everything.

"Don't know why you're such a jerk," Van Gogh teased with a seditious grin. Kami knew he was trying to get a rise out of her, she was tempted to fight back, but remained focused on her task. "Seriously, how long are you going to lay there? Can't be comfortable on your boobs."

"Shut the f—ck up, can you see I'm kinda busy," Of course it was uncomfortable. Her massive cleavage squished against the carpeting painfully, even when she arched her back and tried to lean on her elbows, her voluptuous chest flopped like two heavy pillows against the floor. In truth, one of the others should be doing this, but their lack of dedication was as overflowing as their ego's.

"Oh I can see, all too well," Kami knew Van Gogh's arrogance was just as overreaching as his erection.

Kami bit her lip, "You know, if you're a little nicer I might just let you dance with me tonight."

That caught him off guard. He shifted on the couch after dropping the remote.

"Wow, tempting I guess." He picked up the remote from the floor and sat back in the padded sofa. He pressed another button on the control, flipping the channel to some other program. "But what would Da Vinci say?"

Da Vinci, Kami just rolled her eyes. The second equerry to accompany them hated coming here. He hated the idea of coming to this convention in order to get the drop on the Anti-Vampire group before they arrived. They all knew why this hotel was a target, and why the Silver Grand's owner had risen to such prominence. If Da Vinci had his way, they would've evacuated the owner and his heirloom rather than use it as a trap. It was Kami's idea resort to these methods, and the sanctuary agreed with her, and even appointed her as tribune to lead the mission. It was a high honor…one that might elevate her. The idea of joining the same class of vampire as her equerries appealed to her greatly.

"What?" Another voice caught them both off guard. Leonardo casually walked into the living room with a towel around his waist. His blonde hair was fading, even more than Vincents, to a dull grey, and yet he looked no older than thirty. Kami knew he was ancient simply by looking him in his eyes. His gaze held a depth that spoke volume, there was an endlessness to his outlook that made Kami shudder. It was hard to look directly into his dark blue eyes for more than a few seconds. Like the other equerry, Leonardo Da Vinci was merely a code name, and his true age was hidden. While Van Gogh was moody and lazy, Da Vinci was eager and never able to sit in one place for too long. When he tried to calm himself he couldn't stop fidgeting, tapping his feet on the floor or toying with random objects with his nimble fingers.

"Nothing!" Van Gogh instantly recoiled. Kami noticed how Van Gogh couldn't hide his…fright around his counterpart. Both of these equerries were intimidating in their own way, but each disguised their more nefarious natures. Few ever saw this hidden layer of vampire society, and fewer even knew its existence. They were both ancient, terrible, and even…mystifying in their own right. The fact they recognized this amongst themselves made them even more mysterious to Kamillah.

Da Vinci was drying his hair with a towel as he crossed the room, "Whoever thought that putting the bathroom on the opposite end of the suite was a good idea, they should die."

"Took you long enough," Kami scoffed. She snapped a photo of another van pulling up the main driveway to the hotel. Inside there seemed to be an assortment of college age adults, mostly women, bouncing in their seats and eager to get out.

"Are you really going to dress like that during the entire convention?" Da Vinci asked her, referring to Kami's enticing outfit.

Kami chose her ensemble specifically to attract attention. She wanted her targets to look at her, and not the two equerry's accompanying her. It would make their job easier, she hoped. Also, privately, she enjoyed wearing the skimpy outfit. It tempted the line of being outright slutty, but seemed appropriate for this sensual dance convention.

"You should get dressed, the windows are wide open." Kami snapped another photo. From this angle it was unlikely anyone would look up and see the half naked man gliding across the living room, but she supposed it was better safe than sorry.

"You realize our marks would see you too…right?" Da Vinci shrugged.

Damnit, Kami rubbed her head. How could I be so stupid?

Kami Crimsonfire put the camera down, sat up on her knees, and tugged at the curtain string. Once hidden from view, Kami got back on her stomach and peeked through the window so that she could resume her work. Da Vinci walked casually to the secondary bedroom without another word. Kami couldn't wait to take a shower, she decided to wait a few more minutes to see if anyone suspicious arrived first.

"See anything suspicious yet?" Van Gogh asked.

"No…" Kami snapped another photo, this time of a motorcyclist.

Van Gogh groaned as he stretched out. When next he spoke, he couldn't hide his European accent, "What about now?"

"Shut up…" Kami was getting annoyed, it was making her hands shake.

A few seconds later Van Gogh asked again, "What about—"

"I will throw this camera at you!" Kami cut him off.

"But then you won't get your pictures," he laughed.

Kami could feel a migraine coming along, "I swear I will throw this at your ogre sized face."

"Nah, you're not."

"Don't test me." Truth was she knew he was right, and was grinding her teeth with frustration.

"But there's nothing else to do." Van Gogh yawned as he finished his tease. He then rolled over on his side and rested his eyes.

Kami spent another few minutes watching cars come and go, until finally noticing a dark black van pulling up to the hotel. Unlike most of the other vehicles, this one didn't drive to the front entrance, but rather stopped just short to disembark its passengers. It then sped away at top speed. Kami's razor sharp vision glared through the shadowed windows to notice the onion emblem tattoo on the drivers forearm.

She bared her fangs in anticipation, "There you are…"

Meanwhile

Rose made three trips from the hotel room to the car, and back again. Each time she found Rebecca still fast asleep on their queen sized bed, and wrapped in a cocoon of bed sheets. Her golden locks stuck out at the edge of the wrapped sheets, and she was laying sideways rather than resting on the pillows.

After dragging all their bags up to the eleventh floor by herself, Rose decided to make one last trip downstairs in search of food. Each time Rose had ventured outside, she had gotten even sweatier. Her clothes were soaking rags, and she hadn't had time to change. Even her hair felt sticky as it clung to her shoulders and stuck to the back of her neck. Rose didn't even want to imagine how she must've smelled. Her growling stomach was too painful to ignore, even for a shower.

Rose left the room, and began walking down the blue carpeted hallway towards the elevator at the far end. She passed several guests as they emerged from the elevator. Several were couples holding hands, although there were a few independent travelers wearing dark black sunglasses. Rose kept her lips shut, so that they couldn't instantly tell that she was human. Her lack of fangs would've given that away. It was a bad habit that Rose knew was unnecessary. It wouldn't have mattered that she was human, for none of the vampires would've cared. Ever since the Cruise, even though it was two years ago, Rose did things like that to protect herself.

Rose's thoughts drifted as she made her way to the elevator. She wondered how many of the couples were a mixed pair, like herself and Rebecca. She wondered how many vampire-human couples existed in the world?

In this new age, where vampires were out in the open, people didn't openly disclose their relationships like they used too. There was still a lot of fear and taboo around vampires, even this long after the revelation. When people learned just how widespread vampires were, they realized everyone knew a vampire…lived with them…or were even married to one.

New knowledge sometimes bred suspicion, and often animosity. Rose herself was terrified at the revelation, and was once horrified to be around vampires. The sudden change had affected mankind in more ways than one, and the adjustments for human society was still ongoing. Rose sometimes worried they had yet to see the full consequences for the dramatic shift in history.

A sound made Rose pause in front of one of the hotel rooms. It was wide open, and newly occupied. Rose could hear someone playing a guitar from inside. The strings were resounding a soft and elegant melody that made Rose freeze in mid step.

She knew it was highly inappropriate, but Rose couldn't help but peek inside. Sitting on the lone mattress, a young woman was gently stroking the strings of a Gibson guitar while looking out the window. Her slender body was wrapped in a white robe, and her dark hair seemed to contrast against the sunlight.

Maybe it was the fact that she was exhausted after driving all morning, only to carry loads of luggage for the past hour. Or maybe Rose couldn't help but fancy the sound of a good guitar tune. Either way she took a subtle step inside the room, and held her hands close to her chest as the tourist began singing with a delightful French accent.

"Whatcha up too?" Rebecca's voice sent a shrill down Rose's spine! She felt her girlfriend somehow leaning up against her. The softness of the vampire's chest pressed firmly against her back as Rebecca seemed to manifest herself like a ghost in thin air.