95

Cory and Madison had been taking some day trips into San Francisco, and even riding the ferry over to Sausalito and Tiburon. Cory's mom had come to the city with them one day, but she said she preferred to be at home. Madison liked Cory's mom, although she was quiet and tended to keep to herself a lot.

In the evenings, they’d ride the subway back out to Walnut Creek and have a late dinner with his mom. One evening, his mom pulled out a bunch of photo albums, and they sat down together, looking at old photographs. There were a fair number of pictures of Cory as a baby and as a young child, but less as he got older. Both Cory and his mom seemed more sad than happy when they looked at the old pictures, and Madison noticed Cory was rarely smiling in the photographs.

Rachael ran her fingertips over a picture of Cory as a teenager. "Those were hard times, for both of us. I knew he was different, even as a baby, but I had no resources. I know now Shade would have helped me, helped us, but I didn't know how to find him. There was a big Goth community here, like when the hippies took over the Haight in the 60's. We frequented the underground clubs. There were people there who were really into the whole vampire mythology, believed in that whole thing, and there were some who claimed to be vampires. I don't know if I really believed that at the time, or if I just thought it was a cool place to hang out with my friends. Anyway, that’s how I met Cory's father. Once Cory was born, I kept going back to the club, trying to find some of the vamps to help me out, to explain to me what I needed to do for my son, but they rejected me, and him. He grew up so angry at the world, and who could blame him? And then, for him to find his father, by pure circumstance…"

Rachael wiped away a tear. Cory slid his arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "It's all right now, Mom."

She nodded. "Yes, it is. But if he hadn't found you, Cory, I'm not sure either of us would be here. I don't know how much longer you could have survived on the streets, and if you had died, I think I would have taken my own life. I carried so much guilt over the life I brought you into."

Cory removed the photo album from her hands and gave her a hug. "It's all in the past now, Mom, for both of us. I know I made it hard for you, I blamed you for a lot, but that's gone now. I feel like that was a different person. We've both changed, thanks to Dad."

Rachael nodded and gave him a sad smile. Cory thought she looked tired, and older than her years. "Why don't you go ahead to bed? You don't need to stay up to entertain us. Madison and I can just watch some TV."

Rachael stroked his cheek. "You're sure you don't mind?"

Madison spoke up. "Of course not. Besides, I feel like I walked a hundred miles today. It will feel good to just sit here and put my feet up."

Rachael excused herself and retreated to her bedroom, and Madison slid over on the couch next to Cory. Cory grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, but the volume was low, and neither of them were really engaged in the program.

Madison looked at his delicate profile in the reflected light of the TV. "I'm so sorry, Cory. I had no idea how bad things were for you growing up."

He shrugged it off. "It's nothing. Water under the bridge."

They sat silently for a few minutes, starring at the TV screen, when she spoke again. "Will you take me there? To the club, where your mother met Shade, and where you later found him?"

Cory stared at the TV, as his mind wandered back to the time when he practically lived in the clubs, and all the pain, abuse, and degradation. The things he’d done to survive. "No, absolutely not, Maddie. Why would you even want to see it? That’s no place for you, no."

"You don't need to hide your past from me, Cory. I'm not ashamed, and neither should you be. None of us has any say about how we come into this world. And the more I see of your life, the more I understand you."

Cory stood up, pacing the floor. He threw his hands up in the air, he didn’t want to ruin this trip, but he was just going to tell it like it was. "Look, it’s not like any club you could imagine. It’s run by the vampires, and there’s open sex and feeding. Vampires will feed from mortals, and often, they have to seduce them, and then wipe their memory of the event. But in the clubs, the mortals come to them willingly. It’s loud and crowded, and things happen there, things I don’t want you to see. It’s not even like when my mom went there. Times are different, people exchange blood for money, mortal and immortal. I don’t want you to be exposed. Besides, I’m not like that anymore, and I promised Dad I wouldn’t take you there. He’d kill me if he knew we were even talking about this."

"Cory, you said you found your father there, with Kate. He took Kate there. He must have had a reason, and I suspect the reason was to show her who he was, or at least, who he’d been. If you think this will make me change my opinion of you, I assure you, it won't. Please, take me there, and then we can both put this behind us. You don't have to worry about things you’re keeping secret in your life, because there are no secrets. Can't you see that?”

Cory ran his hand through his hair as he flopped down on the sofa next to her. "I love you so much, Maddie. There’s nothing of the past inside me anymore. Maybe..." His words left him as he considered her request. "If we go, you have to promise me you won’t leave my side, we aren’t staying long. You’re mortal. They’ll assume you’re there to offer yourself to them. I don’t even know what they might try to do. I just worry as to whether it will be safe enough. I could even run into people I once knew."

Madison squeezed his arm. "We'll be fine. We’ll stay together, check out the place, and leave. No big deal. I know it torments you. This is a good way to put it behind you, once and for all."

Cory lowered his head into his hands. "What am I doing? Okay, let’s just do this tomorrow night and be done with it. But you can’t say a word to Mom, nothing. She’ll go off if she knew. We’ll tell her we are going into the city for some night life, deal?"

"Deal. We'll spend some time here tomorrow with your mom, then go out in the evening. But, right now, I'm exhausted. Let's go watch TV in the guest bedroom where we can just fall asleep."

He followed her to the bedroom his mother made ready for them, and turning on the TV, they climbed beneath the covers, but they were both asleep before the program was over.

The next day, they went with Rachael to do some grocery shopping and to see the small town of Walnut Creek. After dinner, they got dressed for an evening out and let her know they were going into the city.

“Okay, be careful."

Cory kissed her forehead. “You worry too much."

Cory drove the SUV to the subway station and they rode into the city, where Cory led her into the seedy Tenderloin district. Madison could see the immediate difference in this section of town over the historic Russian Hills and Pacific Heights sections. Cory led her to a nightclub that was painted black on the exterior. She could feel the vibration of the heavy bass from the music inside.

As they approached the club, they stepped in line with young people dressed in leather, with multiple piercings and their visible skin covered in tattoos. Madison already felt out of place in her long boho skirt and fringed suede leather top.

As they approached the doorman, he looked up with surprise. "Cory! We haven't seen you in years, brother. Welcome home."

"Hey man, yeah been a while. I moved away, so we’re just visiting. Looks like things haven’t changed much."

The doorman released the rope, allowing them to enter, without asking for the cover charge. It was normal protocol for the mortals and the half-breeds who came willingly to offer themselves up to the vampires in the club. Cory remembered the nights he came here, willing to do whatever they wanted, in exchange for money.

He led Madison inside, where they were immediately assaulted by the heavy metal music. Cory could feel the vibrations in the floor. He leaned in close to her ear, his voice still loud in order to be heard over the bone-shattering music. "Let’s stay as close to the dance floor as possible, we don’t need a table. Whatever you see, don’t stare."

Madison giggled. "Come on, Cory, how bad could it be?"

She grabbed his hand and pushed her way through the crowd onto the dance floor. The flashing strobe lights made it hard to see much of anything, but she caught glimpses of people in the booths along the wall, quick flashes as the strobe light illuminated the room before plunging it back into darkness. She caught images of bodies, some of them nude, wrapped around each other, feeding, having sex, and she quickly looked away.

Madison made a space for them on the dance floor as they started to dance to the pounding beat of Living Dead Girl, by Rob Zombie. This wasn’t the type of music she’d normally be listening to, but she’d heard it at the frat parties. As they danced, a very tall man approached and ran his hand through Cory's hair before bending down and licking his cheek.

He hissed through clenched teeth. "Hello, delicious. It's been a while. How much for the night?"

Cory recognized Drew’s voice, as he felt that hot, wet tongue snake across his cheek. He looked at Maddie as she stared in horror at the tall, slim male vampire with the pierced nose, and rings on every finger, covered in leather from head to foot. Drew had been one of Cory’s regulars. His money flowed easy, and he had a taste for young males. Cory could score big bucks with him. But tonight, Drew’s appearance made his stomach churn, and he hated that Madison was seeing this.

Drew licked his lips and ran his forefinger down Cory’s arm. "Come, you were never shy. Come to my booth, and bring her along, if you must."

Cory shook his head. "No, Drew, just visiting, not interested. Find someone else. Leave us alone." Cory drew Maddie close, hoping to shield her from the ugliness.

In a flash of insight, Madison realized his life here. He sold himself to the vampires to survive, to be used by them for feeding and sex, and she knew now why he didn't want to come. Madison took his hand and looked the vampire in the eye. She presented a face of bravery she didn’t feel on the inside. "He's with me. Come on, Cory."

Madison pulled at his hand and made her way to the bar. The woman behind the bar looked up in surprise at Madison and wondered what the hell this girl was doing here.

"You lost, sugar? This doesn't look like your crowd." Then Tatiana saw Cory and her face lit up with a smile. "Cory! Where have you been? We haven't seen you in years. You doing okay? What can I get for you?"

"Hey Tat, I live on the other side of the States, now. I’m great, and you?"

He gave her a big smile. Tatiana had always been nice to him, she’d give him tips on where to score, and she gave him drinks for free. Turning back to Madison, he inquired, "Whatever you want, what will it be?"

Madison shrugged. "Just wine, if you've got it. White please, not the Midnight stuff."

Tatiana laughed. "You don't need to tell me, sugar. We can spot a mortal a mile away."

She poured a white wine for Madison and a Midnight for Cory. As Cory pulled out his wallet, Tatiana held up her hand. “It's on the house. So, Mr. Medici, who knew? I guess you're living the high life now?"

Cory laughed a bit. "Trust me when I tell you, it was a surprise all the way around. But listen to me; you’ll take my money, because I owe you. You always looked after me."

He slid the $100 bill across the bar and gave her a look that said he wasn’t taking no for an answer. Tatiana leaned over the bar and kissed him on the lips.

"You always were a sweetheart, Cory, true Medici, like Shade."

Cory shook his head and laughed. "I don’t think I’m in the same league as my dad, but yes, my life is very different. This is my girl, Madison. We’re just visiting my mom for a few weeks."

Tatiana took in the young girl at his side. She looked sweet and kind. She looked nothing like the mortal girls who frequented this club. She didn’t think she was Cory's type, but then she realized, she’d never seen Cory outside this club. Tatiana served up several more drinks to other customers, never missing a step behind the bar as she continued her conversation.

"So, how's Shade? Still playing the role of devoted husband and father?"

"You wouldn’t know him now, Tat. He and Kate are really happy, and they have a new baby. He put away his reputation for good, but then, so have I."

He glanced over at Maddie, as she looked uncertainly at the activity in the booths, before looking back at her wine. He took her hand and pulled her close, kissing her sweetly.

Tatiana shook her head. "Well, I have to say, I never thought I'd see the day any female would tame Shade Medici. But I'm happy for you, Cory. I really am."

***

Sitting at the far end of the bar, Max had been scoping out the merchandise. He’d been plying the young, blonde, mortal female with alcohol for the past half hour. He immediately recognized Cory when he approached the bar and he tuned in to their conversation, suddenly more interested in revenge than sex. He looked around the club and it didn’t take long to figure out Cory was here alone with the mortal. How convenient.

Max pushed the young girl he’d so eagerly been seducing back into the crowd, telling her he’d changed his mind. Slipping a few seats closer, he kept his back turned, as he listened to their conversation and followed them out when they left the bar. Shadowing himself, he followed them through the San Francisco night, and teleported above the subway, following them into Walnut Creek. Cory helped Madison out of the SUV, and Max trailed them to the cozy little house. He landed in a tree that sat on the property and contemplated his next move.

"Well, well, well. Good things come to those who wait. You took everything from me, Shade. I think it's about time I even up the score."