I couldn't believe this. I was afraid to go out of the room. To make matters worse, it was our host that I was so terrified of. What was wrong with him? First the attack last night and then the close call there in the hall. At least the stinky goop Ramses had put on my bite seemed to be even more repulsive to Jean-Claude than it was to me. Had to remember to thank Ramses for that. I didn't think I would have been able to resist Jean-Claude's advances for much longer if the stink hadn't stopped him. Asher had told me about the ardeur, but having its full force flung at me was an overwhelming experience. That Anita had been able to resist Jean-Claude as long as she had renewed my respect for her. I hoped that something could be done to help her. I finally found my cell phone and called Derik. It was one of the better phones, and I didn't have any problem with the call going through, even though I was underground. We talked for a while. He let me know that everything was running smoothly there and that he missed me. I told him that I missed him too and wished I could have stayed there with him in Florida. I didn't go into very much detail about the situation here in St. Louis...both lycanthropes and vampires have very good hearing, and I didn't know if anyone was eavesdropping. I told him just enough to assure him that Asher was indeed needed here at the time. I told Derik that I loved him and would be careful before saying goodnight. I had just hung up and was grabbing my wallet when there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" I called out. I knew it wasn't Asher. I was dreading that it might be Jean-Claude again. "Damien," came the answer. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "Are you alone?" I asked before going to the door. "Yes," he replied. "Jean-Claude told me to escort you to the lycanthrope clinic to pick up your people." Actually, Jean-Claude had told *me* that Damien was to escort me wherever I wished. I opened the door and stepped out. "I'm ready, Damien. Let's go." He offered his arm. I looked at it for a moment before taking it. He smiled at my caution, then escorted me upstairs and out of the building to a waiting limo. He gave the driver some instructions, then we were off. The clinic was a good clip from the Circus. I had trouble keeping my bearings. The tinted windows made picking out landmarks difficult, and the ride was so smooth it was hard to tell when we made turns. Neither the vampire nor I spoke during the ride. He just sat there staring at me with his strange green eyes. I spent the ride fighting the urge to fidget. The limo pulled to a stop and still Damien sat staring at me. It was starting to pass unnerving and go straight to just plain annoying. I decided I was tired of it. "WHAT?" I blurted at him testily. "How can you reject him so?" he asked simply. "Excuse me?" I was confused. What was he talking about? "Jean-Claude, how can you reject him?" Oh. That. "With great difficulty," I answered. At least the statement got Damien to smile instead of keeping that perfect, immobile, emotionless, vampiric statement. I never had cared for that look. Since the limo didn't resume moving, I assumed we had arrived at the clinic instead of just being stopped at a light. "Are we there?" I asked just to be sure. The redheaded vampire nodded and got out, holding the door for me. Guess Anita hadn't broken him of that habit yet, not that *I* was complaining. After a few years, a woman can *tell* when it's courtesy or when it's condescension, if she cares to pay attention. No sense looking for insult where none is intended. We entered the nondescript building and were met by a young blonde woman. It took me a few moments to recognize her without her makeup. She had been one of the weres in the "living room" last night. "Cherry, what room are the bear and Miss Kimberly in?" Damien asked her. "Oh, *him*...fourth door on the left," she directed us with a wry statement. "Has Tim been causing trouble?" I asked. Cherry gave a snort, "Just his incessant flirting. He's fully recovered from Gretchen's attack, though. PLEASE take him with you, before Zane gets too pissed off at him." "I'll take care of it," I assured her. "If he's good to go, then he's back on bodyguard duty." "That won't be necessary, Mrs. Lowery," Damien interrupted. "Jean-Claude has already assigned a new escort for Miss Kimberly." I didn't like the sound of that. "Tim is *still* back on bodyguard duty, his Ursa gave him to Kimmy for punishment. Being pink is part of it, protecting Kimmy is the rest of it," I informed him. "Punishment? What did he do?" Damien asked. I began ticking off points on my fingers, "Let's see...breaking the treaty between Asher and the Orlando bears, attacking me, scratching Kimmy during that attack and scaring everybody that he might have infected her, and destroying a large part of a shadow puppet production that Kimmy was conducting at the time...the last part is why she turned him pink...if it had been up to me, he'd just be maimed or dead right now instead of humiliated." Damien seemed both puzzled and amused. "Why did you bring him, if he's that much of a problem?" I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Surely you've heard the saying, keep your friends close but your enemies closer?" I quipped. "Although, after last night's performance, I may be reclassifying his status." We'd reached the room. I knocked in warning before openeing the door. Blocking my view of the room and the people I had come to retrieve was the loudly dressed vampire from last night...Willie, I think I'd heard him called. He was dressed in a very expensive-looking purple suit with a pale green shirt and darker green silk tie...and white loafers. What really caught my attention, though, was his headgear. I *recognized* the hideously silly looking thing...Kimmy's modified beer/blood hat, complete with warmer plates under the drink holders. "Nice hat," was all I could think to say. Willie grinned wide, flashing fangs. "Isn't it just a hoot?" he laughed, obviously delighted with the tacky contraption. Whatever. "Are you the escort, Damien was telling me about?" I asked. "Yeah, Jean-Claude said for me to see to it that she's taken care of and kept safe," he affirmed. "You want to keep her safe, then keep her away from your master," I muttered. She had approached the door and heard me. "But I came here just to *see* Jean-Claude," she protested. "Kimmy, he's dangerous," I began. "Well, DUH! I *know* that!" she interrupted. "You don't understand, Kimmy...I mean *really* dangerous...more so than usual. He attacked me last night," there, it was out. "What are you talking about? What do you mean he attacked you?" she went on the defensive. I don't think she believed that Jean-Claude would do something like that. This wasn't going to be pleasant, but I needed her to *understand* what I was trying to get across to her. "I mean that he bit me without permission and damn near raped me at the same time," I stated emphatically. Her statement told me that she still didn't want to believe it, and she was beginning to get mad at me for saying such things. 'Asher,' I pleaded mentally. 'Oui, ma rose d'acier,' he answered. 'Do you think *you* can convince Kimmy to keep her distance from Jean-Claude for a while? I'm afraid he might hurt her,' I told him. "I will talk with her when you arrive back at the Circus, cherie,' Asher sighed. 'His control over the ardeur is tenuous at best right now...It MUST be fed soon, but you are right, he would probably hurt or even kill her in his attempt to sate his lust. I have just learned that he almost *drained* Jason this evening.' 'So *that's* what he meant when he told me Jason was *indisposed*,' I thought. 'Mon Dieu! He approached you again?!' Asher exclaimed. 'Are you all right, cherie?' I assured him, 'I'm fine, mon cher. He didn't care much for my *perfume* tonight.' 'But you wore no perfume this evening,' Asher puzzled. 'Ramses was in Kylie's room when I went over there,' I explained. 'He fixed up some sort of smelly poultice for the bite. The stuff IS pretty rancid smelling.' 'Yet again I find myself in the magi's debt,' Asher grumbled. 'I am grateful to him for your safety, but I wish you would try to avoid him as much as possible for the remainder of our visit.' I couldn't resist teasing him just a little, 'Why Asher, are you *jealous*?' 'Oui.' Well, *that* was direct. 'I'll try to keep out of his path, mon cher,' I replied. "I have to admit that it disturbs me that I find him so...distracting. That's just not *like* me.' I could sense Asher's relief at that statement. Now back to the problem at hand. "Kimmy, I'm not trying to hurt you or make you mad," I told her. "But Jean-Claude is *really* having a control problem right now. Asher just told me that he nearly *killed* Jason during tonight's feeding." I finally saw doubt and a little bit of fear creep into her eyes. "He hurt Jason?" she asked in a small voice. "That's what Asher told me. I don't think it was on purpose, but you don't heal like a lycanthrope, Kimmy," I said. "You might not survive if he were to lose control with you...I almost didn't." Kimmy looked to be on the verge of tears and her lip was trembling. "But I came her with you just to see him," she whined. "I know," I said softly. "Asher's there with him right now, we'll talk to him when we get back to the Circus and see if he thinks it's safe or not, okay?" She nodded. My stomach picked that moment to remind me that I hadn't eaten anything yet...caffeine will only go so far. I swayed a little and my vision blurred. Damien reached out with blinding speed and steadied me. "Are you all right?" he asked. Once the wave of hunger and vertigo passed, I nodded. "I just need to eat something," I said. I noticed that both he and Willie had on their "dead" faces. "I'm sorry if some of the things I've said about your master have offended you...that wasn't my intent. But I spoke the truth, and I am afraid of him right now, both for my people and for myself. You understand that their safety comes before duties of a guest to her host," I told them. "Life" flowed back into them as they accepted my apology, and a tension I hadn't realized was there eased up a bit. My stomach grumbled again. "You guys hungry?" I asked Kimmy and Tim. They both were. I asked where would be good place to eat. Willie said, "We've got a pretty good selection on the menu at The Laughing Corpse. I was just telling them about the place before you got here." "Can we go there? *Please*?" Kimmy asked excitedly. Made me wonder just *what* Willie had said about the club. The only thing I knew was that it was a comedy club. "Okay, why not," I shrugged. I just wanted to get something to EAT, I didn't really care *where*. We all headed back for the limo. On the way out we passed Cherry and another were that I guessed must be Zane. His hair was green and spiked and he was dressed in what could only be described as biker/goth/punk. Tim was leering at Cherry. "Are you taking *him* with you?" Zane growled. "Yes," I answered. "Say goodbye to the nice lady, Tim, and stop staring at her chest." "Goodbye to the nice lady, Tim, and stop staring at her tits," he grinned. "I am amazed that your mother ever let you go out in public," I muttered. "You must *really* want a good look at the Arch." He sobered at the implied threat. We managed to make it out to the car and got everybody in without further incident. Once in the car, Tim made a face. "Gaah! What the hell have you been rolling in? I thought the stink was from something there at the clinic, but it's *you*!" he exclaimed. I glared at him. I had been trying to *forget* the smell of the poultice. "The bite wound got infected," I said. "This stuff's supposed to help it heal." "I thought human servant's couldn't *get* infections," Kimmy stated. "What's wrong that you're not healing right?" I had been wondering about that myself. I finally thought I had an answer. "Several months before I met Asher, I'd had some thyroid problems," I explained. "I had to have radioactive iodine treatment for it, effectively destroying the thyroid's functions. I have to take synthroid now to regulate my system. I'm thinking that I may need the dosage adjusted. The condition may have compromised my immune system." It was as good an explanation as any. Before long, the limo came to a stop in front of The Laughing Corpse. Damien got out first, holding the door for the rest of us. Willie came out last. The two vampires escorted us into the club and to a private table near the stage. Once we were seated, Willie called a waiter over to get us drinks and give us menus. Then he excused himself to check in at the office and see to some business, leaving us under Damien's watchful eye. I think he was a bit surprised that none of us ordered anything alcoholic. Tim knew he was still on bodyguard duty, Kimmy just didn't care much for alcohol, and I wasn't about to ingest anything that would dull my reflexes while we were in Jean-Claude's territory. I opened the marks while scanning the menu. 'Asher, we're at The Laughing Corpse fixing to order dinner,' I called him, showing him what I was looking at. 'See anything on here that you might enjoy?' I offered to "share" the meal with him. I wanted to thank him for staying with me through the day. 'I am sorry, cherie. I would love to enjoy your meal with you, but I cannot afford the distraction. I am taking Jean-Claude to Guilty Pleasures to attempt to sate his ardeur somewhat,' came the reply. 'I only hope it will be enough. It has been a long time since he has had to feed from a distance, and such a feeding is not nearly as potent.' 'Good luck, mon cher. I hope it helps,' I sympathized then shut down the connection. When the waiter returned, we ordered our meals and took in the show while we waited on our food. There's something just not right about a vampire ventriloquist. He was done up like super-nerd and his dummy was a miniature Bela Lugosi in full Drac get-up. He was a lousy ventriloquist, too. He must've been using a mild form of mass-hypnosis on the audience, because they seemed to love the act. Kimmy and I were whispering and giggling at how bad the act was...it was so horrible it was funny. The vamp on stage had to have heard us, every now and then he would glance at our table trying to capture us with his eyes. Kimmy and Tim were careful to avoid his gaze, but I got irritated and met him stare for stare. He wasn't anywhere near being a master, so there was no danger of his bespelling me. He flinched first and finished his act soon afterwards. The audience was never even aware anything other than the act had occurred. Our food arrived and we devoted our attention to that. Tim and I both polished off our meals and managed to put away a huge dessert each. Kimmy, as usual, only ate about a third of her entree. She did have a dessert, though. The waiter brought her a carry tray to take her leftovers back with us. Damien told us that both the guest rooms that Jean-Claude had allocated for her use and Tim's were furnished with kitchenettes. At least I wouldn't have to bother Ms. Everett the next time I was hungry. With any luck, Kimmy's room would have an espresso machine and a variety of flavored syrups. She really made a good latte. We sat through about three more acts after dessert. I enjoyed heckling one werewolf comic. He played off my smartass remarks as if they'd been written into his bit. We even managed to make Damien laugh. I had started to wonder if he *had* a sense of humor, he'd been so solemn for most of the evening. Willie finally returned, but took the stage instead of joining us at the table. I wondered what was up. I didn't have to wait long. "We hope you've enjoyed your evening, ladies and gentlemen," he announced. "And now if I could have a couple of volunteers from the audience to help us with the closing number...." Hands shot up all over the dining room...including Kimmy's. "What're you doing?" I asked. "Volunteering," she grinned. I was about to tell her you should NEVER volunteer to be part of a vampire's entertainment, when Willie pointed to our table. "Thank you ladies, please join us on stage," he called out. Kimmy grabbed my hand and started tugging me along with her. "I'm gonna *get* you for this," I muttered. She just giggled. We made it up on stage. "Again, thank you for volunteering, ladies," Willie said then pointed the microphone at us. "Would you please tell the audience your names?" "I'm Kimmy and this is Tammy," she chirped. I gave her a downright feral grin...didn't even faze her. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a round of applause for tonight's backup singers, Kimmy and Tammy," Willie cajoled the audience. They obliged with a good two or three minutes of clapping, hooting and whistles. Once they quieted down, background music started up. I recognized the tune as The Monster Mash. Note to self: Drown Kimmy in the bath when we get back. Willie actually did a pretty good Boris impression, and it *was* a fun song. By the end of the performance, I had decided to hold off on killing Kimmy for dragging me up there. We stood through another round of applause, then left the stage and returned to our table. The stage lights went down and the house lights came up. Diners began drifting out of the club. Willie rejoined us. "Jean-Claude called a few minutes before the ending number," he said. "He asked that you return to the Circus after the show." It wasn't anywhere near as late as I had hoped it would be. I had wanted to *avoid* our host tonight if at all possible, but it didn't look as if that would be happening. We were escorted back to the limo. Willie held the door while Kimmy and Tim got in. I was about to follow them, when Damien grabbed my arm and held me back. Willie got into the car and closed the door. The limo pulled away from the curb. "Kimmy! No!" I hollered, reaching towards the departing vehicle. Damien dragged me back into the shadows, clamping a hand over my mouth. When I started to struggle he snarled and flew up with me, hovering near the rooftop. He must've thought that the fear of being dropped would subdue me....Boy was *he* in for a surprise. I bit down hard on the hand over my mouth. He hissed in shock and loosened his grip enough that I was able to wriggle free. "No!" he called out in fear, thinking I was falling. The realization that I was flying under my own power stunned him long enough for me to get a bit of a head start. I went in the general direction I had seen the limo go. In the near distance I could make out the sign for Circus of the Damned. I made the mistake of heading straight for it. I should have flown erratically. Damien was faster than I thought. In seconds, he had caught me, his arms like steel bands pinning mine to my sides. I struggled wildly, but couldn't break free. "Damien, don't do this!" I pled desperately. "You don't want to end up back in a box! Try to control yourself, please!" "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lowery," he replied in a most reasonable voice, not feral at all, as I'd feared. "But I *must* do this to stay *out* of the box." So Jean-Claude was behind this. Damien's hand found my throat. My body tensed in panic as I fought to remain very still. He could rip my throat out in the blink of an eye, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it. There wouldn't even be enough time to call Asher to my aid. Gently, Damien scraped the dried poultice off my neck. Then he produced a wet wipe from somewhere and cleaned the healing bite wound. It didn't hurt, so apparently the goop had worked, and I was healing properly now. The scar tissue must've kept most of it's original shape, though. Damien cursed softly, "Damn! He really is losing control. I've never seen Jean-Claude be this vicious unless he intended to kill." "Damien, please let me go," I begged. "Kimmy wouldn't survive something like that. I've got to get to her before he takes her." "You're right, he could seriously hurt her," he agreed as he released me from his grip. "I'm sorry for attacking you, but Jean-Claude had ordered me to remove that smelly gunk before allowing you to return to the Circus." I needed to buy myself a cross to wear...and if things didn't improve soon, I'd wear it on a *choker*! We flew back to the Circus as quickly as possible. As it was, we were almost too late. Tim sat on the floor in a stupor, held by Willie's gaze. I couldn't be mad at Willie though. He would never be strong enough to resist his master. Jean-Claude stood smiling, one hand extended to Kimmy. She was smiling blissfully, walking towards him. I stepped between them, my skin crawling from the effects of the ardeur. "Kimmy NO! Don't!" I yelled, physically trying to hold her back. She only struggled to reach past me to him. A desperate pleading was in her eyes, she wanted to touch him so badly. "I am glad you decided to join us, ma fleur," Jean-Claude's voice wrapped around me like a silken web. My body started to respond to his presence and power. I fought it with all my will. "Stay away from us Jean-Claude,' I warned. "I will *not* let you hurt her." He rapidly closed the distance between us. "I do not wish to hurt either of you, cherie," he purred. "Rather, I would bring you great pleasure." That last word was filled with endless possibilities by his voice. My body quickened in response despite my will. Then he reached out and lightly traced a finger across my cheek and down my throat to the collar bone. I felt my master flying towards us even as my voice screeched out in panic, "ASHER!" And then I was lost to the ardeur, and Kimmy with me.