Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4)

The limo stopped right before the gates, making Natalia think this was where they were getting out. However, Uri didn't open the door. He rolled down the window.

A workman, carrying a clipboard, approached. A foot away from the limo, he squatted. She could tell that he and Uri weren't making eye contact, almost looking as if they were ignoring each other. “Good afternoon, sir.”

The man's voice was very quiet and deep. Natalia had a hard time hearing what he said.

"How's business?” Uri answered using the same low, quiet voice

“Very good, sir. All quiet.”

“This is Nattie. She's marked.”

“I have her already, sir. Have a good day.”

The man rose and stepped away. The window closed. The gates in front of the limo must have opened as the limo pulled forward.

Natalia noted right away that the area beyond the gate was different from the city behind her. It was cleaner, and there was no construction. There were plants hanging on buildings that looked alive and doing well. Trees lined the street. There were few people and little traffic.

"Welcome to Viperia, the city of Viperians,” Uri said, still using a quiet voice. “You are safe here only because my scent is on you and you are wearing that bracelet.”

"And if I lose your scent or the bracelet?”

“I will mark you every day with my scent. The bracelet will be hard to come off unless someone removes your hand.”

Natalia felt sick by his words about her hand. She fiddled with the bracelet and realized she couldn't see a clasp. There didn't appear to be any way to take it off.

“A Viperian will know you're mine through scent. A non-Viperian in the city will know you're mine by the bracelet. The bracelet also tracks you.”

“I'm surprised my parents never tracked me.”

She half said this to herself.

“They probably did, but you didn’t have a tracking device on you when I found you.”

Natalia thought of all the things she usually wore that could be a tracking device. The realization hit her hard. Her mother, every morning, made sure she was wearing the cameo necklace. She wore it every day, often without thinking, but she had never worn it when she had gone out at night. Or last night. This suddenly explained why her mother also wanted her to sleep with it on.

The limo pulled up to a brownstone building. Natalia, this time, was prepared when Uri pulled her out of the limo. The limo drove off while he pulled her up the steps of the building. There was no sign or even a house number.

A doorman stepped out and held the door open for them when they approached. He nodded to Uri but said nothing, seeming to ignore her. Inside, there was a small foyer. Beyond that was a large crowded room with a bar at one end. It was unusually quiet and Natalia had the feeling that no one was talking.

While the room held both men and women, it was the men who turned to look at her: every single one of them. Every face she saw had tattoos on the right cheek. One man with three swirling dots for his tattoos rose from his stool at the bar and took one step toward them. Natalia could see his nostrils flaring, and it scared her, but Uri snapped a finger and shook his head. The man sat back down to her relief.

Uri pulled her through this room, then out onto a patio with tables and umbrellas. There were couples and families seated. They looked to be enjoying the weather while they dined since the sun was shining. A waiter showed them at once to a table.

Uri finally let go her hand when he sat across from her. The waiter handed them menus before leaving.

“Iced tea okay?” Uri said, continuing to use the low voice.

"Yes."

Natalia was aware that everyone spoke in a low quiet voice. She also noted everyone had a tattoo design on their right cheek, except for the younger children. Everyone, even the children, seemed to be enjoying themselves based on their smiles and laughter.

The waiter brought iced teas, then left.

“What do you like?” Uri said, prompting her to look at the menu.

The menu was different from most she had seen.

"Raw meat?”

"Always an option in this city,” he said with a smile.

"Dog? Guinea pig? Iguana?”

"Small, easy to raise.”

She grimaced.

"Chicken salad sandwich is fine,” she said, putting down the menu.

He smiled and nodded.

“Iguana is very much like chicken.”

“I don't need to know that, and my sandwich better be chicken,” she said, finding she was almost whispering to keep her voice down.

He chuckled.

"What you order is what you'll get.”

The waiter passed them with an order for another table. He was quick to serve it. When he passed their table, he grabbed the menus and hurry back into the building. It seemed only a moment later that he came back out and served them.

Natalia waited until they were both served, and the waiter left.

“I didn’t hear you order. Or was this a good guess?”

Uri just smiled. He picked up his sandwich. She noted his meat was darker than hers and decided she didn't want to know what it was. Her stomach reminded her that she was hungry, and she dug into her sandwich.

She found the food surprisingly good. The bread was fresh with a good yeasty aroma. The chicken was sliced thin but layered on thick with a tangy sauce holding together thin-sliced tomato, lettuce and onion There was a fresh tasting vegetable and pasta salad that came with the sandwich. She ate without pause, eating her entire meal.

Natalia dabbed her lips with a napkin when she finished.

"I think that was better than any restaurant my mother loved to frequent.”

“This is a good kitchen. Bread is baked every day.”

Uri was also already done with his meal.

She sipped the last of her iced tea.

“Let's go for a walk,” he said, rising.

He took her hand, heading toward the back of the patio. There was a gate they left through. "What? You don't pay?”

He chuckled and didn't answer her.

They crossed a street. She still noted few people, but every single one she saw, man or woman, was tattooed. Most tattoos seemed different, but she had noticed in the restaurant there were four adults that had the same ones. They all sat together. She was very curious to learn how Uri made his disappear.

Uri turned up a wide walkway between two buildings. She spied a small park ahead of them. Then, she noted two men who stepped in their way. Uri stopped abruptly. From his hand through her hand, she felt a vibration. It traveled up her arm and across her chest. A noise caused her to glance behind them. There were three more men. None of them had a tattoo. She didn't like the looks of evil glee on their faces.

“Uri. Uri. Uri."

The man speaking took one step toward them. He looked rather cocky and sure of himself.

Natalia flinched at his voice. It seemed loud and harsh

“This is supposed to be a safe zone,” Uri said, still speaking quietly.

The man shook his head.

“The Hollow City.”

He gulped out the word “Hollow” as if it was something distasteful that he didn’t want to swallow. “We managed to get in even though you thought you had all your doors locked. And you're all alone, except for this little piece of ass. She wouldn't, perhaps, be the missing daughter of Lord and Lady VosPass?"

“The more important question, Mr. Loess, is whether you will die quickly or slowly,” Uri said in a calm voice.

“I think we have you outnumbered. Five to one. We won't count the young lady.”

"Are you referring to your five to me or my five to each one of you?”

Mr. Loess laughed, but then his face dropped. Natalia saw a group of ten men, all with tattoos, come up behind him and the other guy. She could only guess that there were more men behind them.

Uri led her off to the side while a man grabbed Mr. Loess, and another grabbed his accomplice. Natalia could now see all five of the men as well as the other Viperians blocking their escape.

“Fast death? Or slow, Mr. Loess?"

Uri’s voice felt dangerous.

The man now looked terrified as did his accomplices.

Uri flicked a finger. The man holding Mr. Loess bit him, moving so fast that Natalia would have missed it if she hadn't been staring straight at the man. The bite was so quick that there was no reaction from Mr. Loess, even after the man released him and stepped away. She wondered what the bite was, but she didn’t have to wait long. Moments later, Mr. Loess began to quiver. He collapsed, and his body started to convulse. He uttered gagging noises and peed his pants.

“Slow it is, Mr. Loess,” Uri said.

Natalia felt a chill up her spine at the coldness in Uris voice. The whole scene was surreal.

“I... I'll tell you whatever you want to know,” the other man said. “How we got in here. And everything.”

Uri panned over to the other three men. They all flinched as if Uris look could kill. It wasn't his look, but the flick of his finger. A Viperian stepped up to a man: the target of Uri's finger flick. The bite was also quick with the same delayed reaction before the man collapsed and began to convulse. He was dragged over by Mr. Loess.

Natalia could see the absolute terror in both men's eyes. Her stomach churned and threatened to upheave her lunch.

One of the captive men tried to break away. Natalia didn't see the bite, but the man collapsed. He didn’t convulse and his body was limp. She was shocked to realize that he was dead already.

The last two men standing were visibly quivering with fear.

Uri gestured with a hand, not the deadly flick of a finger, but Natalia didn’t see to who. He led her off just when she heard someone else speak.

“Start talking...”

The two men began to spill everything they knew, fumbling over each other's words in their haste. Once she and Uri crossed the street, the men were no longer in hearing range.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Uri said. “This is our city and supposed to be a safe zone for our people, but the A'ppollo city officials are always looking for ways to infiltrate. We always catch them.” "How... how did your people know we were in trouble?” She felt rather unnerved, already haunted by the dying men’s eyes.

“We were never in trouble.”

"How?"

He led her to a park bench. There was no one else in the park. A paved trail seemed to go around a pond where a dozen swan and geese swam. Everything seemed a little too staged and perfect. All the birds moved toward them, then moved away when they realized they weren't going to be fed. Uri pulled her down to sit on the bench.

"Viperians have a language. If I speak it normally, you won't hear it,” he said.

“The vibration. I felt it,” she said, looking at him. “Through my hand.”

He nodded.

“It's a low frequency vibration. We have excellent hearing. In fact, all of our senses are far superior than your own.”

He smiled.

“You called for help.”

For a moment she wondered what would happen to the remaining two men, but she held her tongue, knowing they would die.

"Yes, I called for assistance. Alerted security of our breach. It will be repaired, and the city officials will wonder about the sudden disappearance of five of their people. We'll never let them know what happened. We never solve their mysteries for them. Like your disappearance.”

He smiled at that.

Natalia thought about what he said about her disappearance.

“Depends on how much money my father pays. I'll either be the runaway that brings humiliation on the family or the poor daughter who was kidnapped and killed.”

Uri chuckled.

“Now you're getting the picture.”

"H... how long will it take those two men to die?”

"A couple of hours. They weren't nice guys. We've dealt with them before.”

Uri rose, dragging her with him.

“Let's continue our walk.”

He led her down the path along the water.

"You won't be allowed to leave this city. Unless you're with me. Here, however, you can wander as you wish. You can go to any shop and take whatever you want. Shopkeepers know everyone and who to bill. You don't need to carry any money.”

“Just like that? Like the restaurant?”

"Yes. Just like that.”

At the far end of the pond, he crossed the grass and then the street. There was a gated laneway, but the gate was open. He led her along the laneway and up onto the front porch of the house.

“This is my house.”

“What was the other house?”

“That's my house, too. But you'll live here.”

The front door opened.

Natalia noted the maid was the same one from the other house.

“This is Mag. Mag, this is Nattie.”

Mag nodded.

“She'll show you around the house. You are on your own for now.”

He released her hand, turned, and went back down the laneway. She noted that the limo had pulled up and was waiting for him.

“This way, please,” Mag said.

Natalia followed.

“Living room.”

Mag gestured around the room.

Natalia realized she was getting a formal tour of the house. The room's decor wasn't as extravagant as her parents’ house, but it was still well done.

"Den."

The den was decorated with a little more expense and contained a desk full of papers. There were piles of books. She caught the titles of a few. There was one about tax laws and another about financial management.

“Dining room.”

She thought the table in here was nicer than her parents. For some reason, she was surprised that the house appeared so normal.

“Kitchen.”

The kitchen was spotless. There was another woman there. Either another maid or the cook. She was dressed just like Mag and had the same tattoo.

“This is Zena.”

“Hello,” Natalia said.

Zena nodded her welcome but said nothing.

Mag led her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. There were three doors, but Mag led her past them to a fourth. Natalia could only guess they led to guest bedrooms.

“Master bedroom. There will be clothes coming for you later. You should stay in the house until they come.”

Mag opened French doors to a balcony.

“I'll bring tea up for you.”

She turned and left.

Natalia did a slow spin to take in the room. She caught her reflection in a mirror, reminding her she was scantily dressed. The thought of different clothes sounded good, making her wonder what Uri's taste in clothing were.

This bedroom also had a king-sized bed. There was a double closet. She opened one side and found it was empty, but the other half held men’s suits and shirts. The odd feeling that he was prepared for her made her wonder. She puzzled over that thought while she stepped out onto the balcony. The view looked out over gardens in the back. A large vegetable garden surprised her.

She sat at the table. Why was she surprised by a vegetable garden?

"Maybe because of the raw meat,” she said to herself, thinking of the menu at lunch.

Mag appeared a few moments later with a pitcher of iced tea, a glass and a small bowl! of fruit.

“If you need anything, just call.”

“Thank you,” Natalia said.

Mag nodded and left.

Natalia had to admit that she was now enjoying herself and was glad to be out of her parents’ house. She wondered if they missed her, but decided since they were so keen on getting her into the nunnery that they weren't going to miss her. She wasn't going to miss them.

For a long time, she listened to the birds in the trees. Despite, her parents’ house had gardens, she never recalled hearing birds. But the quiet hadn't been so deep. She couldn't hear any traffic. The quiet was relaxing. While she was used to being alone at her parent's house, she had never felt this relaxed.

She finished her iced tea, refilled her glass, and visited a bathroom. When she settled back into her chair, she took a deep breath, feeling at ease.

“Clothes are here.”

Natalia jumped at the voice. She hadn't heard Mag approach. On the bed were four large bags. Mag was already going through them. She was cutting tags and sorting the clothes into piles on the bed. Off to one side, she set out underwear and a black pant suit with a blue blouse. There were black shoes also left out.

Natalia watched her go through the bags with surprising speed. Mag seemed to expect what was in each bag and where each item was to go, whether it be a drawer in the large double dresser or in the closet.

"Please dress,” Mag said indicating the pant suit.

She left with the empty bags.

Natalia felt relieved to get the dress off and to put on proper clothing. She completed a slow spin in front of a mirror to check how she looked.

“I can't believe these fit. I would go to that store with Mother, and they would take a week to deliver clothes, and I would still have fit issues.”

The excitement of the new clothes made her feel like exploring. She checked out the other three rooms and found they were indeed guest bedrooms. They were sparsely furnished. Each contained a queen sized bed, dresser, and night table. The closets were empty.

“I wonder if I'm really free to wander as I please.”

She trotted down the stairs and out the front door.

Since she didn't know the area, she headed over to the park and sat on the same bench. The water birds swam toward her until they realized they again were not getting fed, then they swam away. Natalia sat, staring at the water. She wondered why she still saw no one. Were they all at work? Or was it true they were only night people and only came out at night?

“But that wouldn't explain the people in the restaurant,” she said to herself.

She rose and walked a lap around the pond before returning to sit on the same bench. The birds provided her with entertainment for some time until a noise behind her caused her to jump and turn.