Local Smut Peddler

Warnings/tags: chasing, fear, blood, violence, physical/psychological abuse, past trauma, vampire turning

Behind him, the condo looked quiet, normal. There was no sign nor symptom of the demons inside warring over their heartbreak, their game of lies. It was fascinating. All of it was. How many years had they each lived and yet this was what reduced otherwise sophisticated beings into beasts? Over and over again. It was the main thesis of Louis's story after all. Love consumes. Love makes unlife worth living. Without, all is rot and pain and suffering. Or was obsession more the word? No, possession.

As the car pulled away from the curb, Daniel sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. He clutched a hand to his chest. How much could his heart take? An addiction to the truth was just as dangerous as decades of coke, it turned out. Probably more. He didn't regret it. He deserved to know the truth and so did Louis. They weren't Armand's playthings.

He took a long slow breath and let it out. He looked at the back of the cab driver's head. "You speak English?"

The man looked at him in the rear view mirror. "Some."

Daniel nodded. "Sorry, I don't know any Arabic. How far is it to the airport?"

"A few minutes."

He nodded again, rubbing his hands together. The city glowed brilliantly as if rebelling against the black sky. How could anyone sleep here? In beds lined in gold, he supposed. Good ol' Dubai.

His heart kept racing as if he were running. He was running, though, wasn't he? Sprinting for the airport as if the devil himself were on his heels.

Running... For the airport... Where oodles of cash awaited him thanks to Louis's generosity. A chill ran down his spine.

The car came to a stop. He was surrounded on all sides by traffic. He leaned over to look out the front. It was bumper to bumper as far as the eye could see.

"Just a moment, sir. Saturday nights, you know," the cab driver said.

"Right... yeah." It was basic math wasn't it? A simple pattern. Louis told Armand to leave. He'd also told him not to hurt him. Yet, when had Armand ever listened to Louis? He'd spoon fed Claudia to his coven even knowing what she meant to him. And who was Daniel? No one but the asshole who just unraveled a seventy year romance with a handful of sentences.

Where did he want to die? Here in the back of a cab? At the airport? Out there on the street?

What were the odds Armand had left the condo already? Maybe he was still there. Maybe they were arguing. Maybe he had a chance. Would he kill him in public? Break one of the ancient laws? The car inched forward. He was a sitting duck. He couldn't outrun a vampire, but he wasn't going to sit here waiting for him to show.

He got out of the car. The cab driver protested but he ignored him. He crossed the street, weaving between cars, blinded by headlights.

He walked quickly, constantly looking over his shoulder. Where could he go? Where? His stomach felt sick with the cruelty of it. The airport was right there. He'd never make it. If, and that was only an if, Armand didn't already know where he was then maybe, but he knew where he was going. The airport was the one place he couldn't go. He had to find another way out of the country. With little money and no one to help him. Maybe he could find somewhere to hide until morning. Maybe if he went back Louis would escort him. Maybe-

"Daniel." He stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around, but there was no one. Just him and the crowd of strangers.

"Daniel," Armand said again in his mind. "Run."

The command sent him sprinting. He tried to stop, to spare himself the dignity, but his legs wouldn't listen. Those damned memories, the ones that got him here, flashed again through his mind. He was never anything but a living puppet to this son of a bitch. Armand was still inside his head which meant there was no where to hide. No matter where he ran, Armand would know where he was before he got there. He stopped thinking. Or he tried to anyway. Maybe he could out smart him if he didn't pay attention to his surroundings. If he had no awareness of where he was going and no real intentions, maybe he could get far enough away that Armand couldn't reach him. Surely his telepathy couldn't cover the whole city.

So, he ran, eyes on the ground. Noticing nothing but gum on the sidewalk. When he saw a corner he turned and he kept going without looking up. He plowed into bodies that shouted at him in a dozen languages. This wouldn't work, not when the whole city was aware of him. How many minds could Armand read at once? He ducked down a side street and started again, but he was still thinking too much. Not only that, but he wasn't as young as he once was. The adrenaline was fading and his body hurt. His lungs ached. Armand's command no longer compelled him to run so he didn't. He put his hand out and leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

"It was a cute trick," Armand said. Daniel shivered. He didn't look up from the wall, still holding onto it for support. His hand clutched his ribs.

"Did it work?"

"Almost. I lost you once. Until you bumped into that woman with the fur coat. She watched you run down this alleyway. Of course, I was always on your heels."

"Must have got the blood pumping. Was it a good chase?"

In an instant Armand was at his shoulder. His cool breath triggered some primal fear instinct that made him want to scream. It was fascinating. Just how ancient were vampires that humans would have any such instinctive response? Or was that just the underlying trauma that he barely remembered?

"Unfortunately for you, it was," Armand answered. Daniel swallowed.

"Fine." He straightened his back and turned to look him in the eye. "Let's get this over with."

Armand's mouth twitched. Then he struck him with the back of his hand. More memories flashed through his mind as he fell to the ground. How many times had Armand hit him that way? A couple of his teeth on that side of his face were fake. He'd thought it was the drug use that cracked them.

Holding his rapidly swelling cheek, he looked up at the devil. A creature without loyalty or shame. He wished what he felt for him was disgust. Yet, if Armand gave him a week, he'd write his story and put it on the shelf next to Louis's. More importantly, he would enjoy it.

Armand looked down on him with the disgust he should have felt. Blindingly fast, he swung his leg, and cracked two of his ribs. Daniel screamed, contorting in pain. He panted but it felt wrong. The air burned and yet there wasn't enough of it and every breath felt wet and wrong. He coughed and blood splatted the ground.

The pathetic whimpering that came from his mouth disturbed him if only because it was involuntary. Using his trembling arms, he crawled backwards, trying to escape. A feeble and useless attempt and yet, doesn't every creature just want to live? "Be still," Armand said. His body dropped to the ground. He wanted to scream, but if he did he'd cry harder than he already was so he clung to what little dignity he still had.

Armand crouched beside him. Suddenly, Daniel was 40 years younger, practically a child, shaking as the vampire toyed with him.

"I should have killed you then," he said. "But I wanted so badly to make Louis happy. I understand now that is impossible. No matter what I do, he'll find reason to wallow in his misery. His suffering has always been more important than me." Armand sighed. He grabbed Daniel by the hair and lifted him from the ground. Daniel wheezed, sobbing through the pain. Still he looked Armand in the eye. He opened his mouth and his fangs gleamed in the moonlight. Then he torn into his throat.

The pain wasn't the worst of it. It was the wave of dizziness and nausea that made him moan. It was the slow creeping icy cold that found first his limbs, then the rest of his body, that terrified him. The tears that rolled down his cheek were warm in comparison. The coldness started in his fingers and toes, spreading like frostbite beneath his skin and into his bones. The icy grip of death. The searing pain of blood draining from his body, leaving arteries and organs starved. Armand's jaw unclamped, though he didn't lift his head. He spoke softly in his ear.

"I want you to understand that you earned this. You deserve to die. You deserve much worse. And you'll have it. You'll have it for eternity, Daniel."

Wet, warmth touched his lips. He licked it on reflex. The taste was metallic and familiar but with an edge he didn't recognize. It was sweet, like rotting fruit without the warmth of wine. The moment he swallowed, there was no going back. Despite the pain, the misery, the humiliation, both of his hands found Armand's arm and pressed it to his mouth. He sucked at the wound and found he couldn't bleed him fast enough. He licked the skin clean and sucked again. It didn't take away the pain, but it made him feel strong despite it. As though his body were dead but his soul wasn't finished. Desperation consumed him. He needed more. Someone was moaning. Was it him? He dug in with his teeth and gulped down a mouthful of blood. Then Armand shoved him away. Terror. He felt nothing but cold, paralyzing terror. Until the pain grew and swallowed up even that. No words, not any in the English language, could describe what he felt as his body died with his consciousness still inside. Pain. Fear. Helplessness. Unending. Armand lifted him into his arms and he dangled like a rag doll, moaning helplessly. "Dreadful, isn't? I've never forgotten in all this time. Soon you will die and for a while, you will feel nothing."

Daniel opened his eyes and felt his dying heart skip a beat. Armand had always been beautiful. Breathtakingly so. But now... was this the change happening already? He remembered Louis describing it this way, that he began to see and hear differently even before he had died in Lestat's arms.

Armand was an angel. The devil himself. All the beauty of mankind could not compete. No wonder Louis is so annoyingly full of prose. When this is what one vampire looks like, even a vampire that you hate... Bright lights overhead stole his gaze. Colors he had never seen before mesmerized him. A bewildered laugh escaped him. Armand carried him through the city and every step was a feast for the eyes and ears. He heard voices through the walls. People talking, whispering, arguing, fucking. He heard the heartbeats of the people they passed.

Then they went inside somewhere. Some dark little apartment. "This isn't the condo," Daniel said.

"No, it's not. We're not going back there." Armand's voice was clipped and cold, but to Daniel he was Celine Dion. Armand smirked at him cruelly. "Goodnight, Daniel."

He dropped him. Daniel groaned as he hit the floor. No. Not the floor. A wooden box. A coffin. Too late, he realized. Had he planned this? Armand slammed down the lid and began to hammer it shut. "Hey! What the fuck, Armand!" He slammed his hands against the lid, but his limbs were weak, useless. A panicked whimper escaped his broken chest. He was sealed in darkness.

He woke in pitch blackness after hours of screaming pain that finally gave way to sleep. He tried to move and found himself trapped in a small space. Then he remembered, Armand killed him. He fed him his blood. If he was conscious now, it meant only one thing. He was a vampire. A vampire sealed inside a coffin. Panic had him shoving at the lid, the nails holding it in place. As he pounded against it, tiny bursts of light came through the cracks. He beat against the wood, pounding, screaming in frustration. Then finally, the wood cracked. It cut his arms as he broke through, but he ripped the wood away until finally he could sit up.

He wasn't alone. In a chair facing the coffin, sat Armand. He leaned back in the seat as though Daniel's transformation meant nothing to him. Yet, if it meant nothing, he wouldn't be sitting there would he? More importantly, why the fuck was he alive? "Why the fuck am I alive? No, wait," Daniel held up a finger. "Louis would never forgive you if you killed me."

"I did kill you."

Daniel stood in the wreckage of the coffin and looked at the mess. The wood was shattered and full of bent nails. He dusted himself off, but his clothes were caked with filth. Mostly dried blood. There was fresh blood on his arms. Arms which healed as he watched.

"It's not the same. No sense in playing dumb about it." Daniel sighed.

"This isn't about Louis."

"You nailed me in my coffin," Daniel accused. "With literal nails, that is."

"I thought about dumping it in the river."

Daniel huffed. "Yeah right." He stepped out of the coffin. His glasses were still on his face. Armand must have put them there when he'd picked him up because he was almost sure he remembered them falling off while his body was involuntarily contorting. He should write down what he remembered. He took the glasses off and looked around in fascination as the world came into view as if he had never seen it before.

He stood, rooted to the spot, for a long time. He saw every dust mote in the air and every tiny beam of moonlight peeking through the curtain. When he looked at Armand he saw God.

Armand was already beautiful with his human eyes. Louis had told him that was part of the gift, that it altered certain features. It made your face more symmetrical, you hair thicker, your skin smoother. With his new eyes Armand was indescribable. He could have looked at him for days. No stranger to awe or obsession, Daniel tore his eyes away, refusing to give him the satisfaction of his admiration.

"I'm the only vampire you've ever created," he continued. "I don't know why you did it or why you did it to me, but you're too narcissistic to throw me away just yet." He turned in a slow circle, examining the fine details of the room. He could hear the insects in the walls, people breathing in the next apartment over, wind crashing into the tops of the highest buildings.

"I did it because you earned it, Daniel. You deserve an eternity-"

"To suffer, yeah yeah," Daniel brushed him off. "So, where's the suffering, Armand?"

"I thought I'd give you a moment to experience true euphoria first. A fledgling vampire's first meal." Daniel looked at him. His posture was defensive. He was hiding something. 

"Surely other mortals have pissed you off in your long unlife. So, why me? Is this a romance, Armand? Did you fall in love with me?" he taunted.

The vampire's jaw clenched. "I want you to regret the mess you've made. I worked hard to take care of Louis. I had reasons for the things I did. Even if you don't understand. Even if Louis doesn't understand."

"Ah, so it was impulsive. You needed to consume me since you couldn't control me. And you couldn't resist the chase."

"You think highly of yourself."

"You've been inside my brain. Do I?" They both stared each other down. When Armand refused to answer or to argue, Daniel took it as confirmation.

"You know, it's nice, you not being able to poke around inside my head. I guess it really is the dark gift. Since it frees me forever from your bullshit head games."

Armand rushed across the room. Daniel stood there like an idiot, watching him move. Before, when he was human, he'd seen vampires move so quickly that they seemed to teleport. It wasn't teleportation. He was running, legs moving faster than the human eye could see. Like the wings of a hummingbird.

His back slammed into the wall, cracking the drywall. Armand held him up, two feet from the floor. His red eyes glared at him in blinding fury. Daniel looked at him in awe.

"Can I do that?"

Both were silent for a long time. Armand stood like a statue, holding him there. Daniel found that his patience had grown seemingly infinite, so he waited.

"Don't you hate me?" Armand asked.

Daniel blinked. "I should," he agreed.

"And you don't?"

Daniel grinned. "You can't tell can you? Or maybe you're hopeful." He looked into Armand's eyes. "Maybe, what you really desire is someone who knows the worst of you and wants you anyway. Someone who knows what you're capable of and doesn't run. Someone who knows all the sick, demented shit-"

"You talk too much!" Armand hissed.

"Yeah..." Daniel grinned. "Of course I hate you. Look at yourself. That doesn't mean you don't fascinate me."

Armand grit his teeth and Daniel could tell he felt exactly the same. Hate, rage, disgust, but it was soaked in blood and that blood tasted so sweet.

"So, where's my first meal, Armand? Or should I call you something else? Father? Master?"

Armand let him go and he dropped heavily to the floor. "Armand is fine," he said as he took a step back.

"Daddy?" Daniel continued.

"I said Armand is fine," he snapped. The thrill coursing through him was better than any drug and he should know since he'd abused them all. Pissing off an ancient, incredibly powerful vampire and getting away with it? Every second that Armand didn't rip his head off was heroin straight to his brain. Unfortunately for Armand, Daniel had always been a selfishly indulgent hedonist of a man and dying hadn't changed that.