His pale blue eyes watched the golden scotch
swirl in the thick glass. Every now and then, his gaze shifted to the busy sidewalk
outside the tinted window of the limousine. He smiled to himself; it was a
typical Saturday night in Pune where everyone was out tonight to celebrate the
weekend. That was one of the reasons Shlok Agnihotri liked living here, because
the only difference between the night and day was the sunlight. The crowds
would shift from the streets to the clubs and provide him with the cover he
needed. Shlok was on his way to a late meeting himself. He took a drink from
the glass and his gaze shifted to a group of three young men walking along the
sidewalk. He knew that they were drunk to the brim by the way they clung to
each other to keep themselves upright. He gave a faint smile at the whistles
and hoots they emitted as they passed by a group of hot young women. Physically,
Shlok looked about their age, when in fact he was older, much much older.
Usually, he liked to enjoy life the way they were, but he did not intend to
enjoy himself tonight. He was on a business meeting, and not a social event.
Normally, he did make public appearances
and attended social events just to keep suspicious eyes looking away in from
him, because he had built up a name for himself over the years and reclusive business
tycoons were targets for blood-thirsty journalists. But this did not mean he wasn't
in the news. The press did keep a tab on his life, but he was careful enough to
let them know only what was supposed to be known. The other reason, and main
reason why he kept a false front, was much more mysteriously darker. His
father, Niranjan Agnihotri frowned on his career choice, telling him that he
drew too much attention to himself, but Shlok couldn't cut off all contact with
the population as Niranjan and the rest had. What most of his kind didn't
understand was that he still had an inner need to be around the human race. It was
a grave recognition and an endeared memory of the last time he had a grip on mortality,
and even now, he refused to let it go.
In the past, Shlok had been criticized by
the members of his clan for being sympathetic towards humans, which wasn't far
from the truth. Although he never bore any ill feelings towards the race, he
did not consider them as a mere means for the survival of his kind either.
Humanity had endless reasons for why he wanted to remain attached to them. And
even though his father may not have liked his reasons for walking among the
living, at least he never forbade him to do it. And just as Shlok revered and
respected Niranjan, so did Niranjan respect and admire his son.
Shlok now looked at his companion sitting
across him. Originally given to him as a gift from his father as a Protector,
Shlok also considered him a close friend. Although Shlok loved his father, and
would give his life for him, he did not completely trust Niranjan Agnihotri. Siddharth,
on the other hand, was the only one that Shlok trusted blindly with his dark
secrets and his life, even if Siddharth too was a ruthless predator. Right
then, Sid turned his attention to Shlok and cocked his head in question as he
felt his sharp eyes on him, "What is it, Shlok?" Shlok silently shook his head
indicating it was nothing, before returning his sharp stare to the busy streets
outside and let his thoughts roam again. It had been centuries since he had had
been in daylight, but his world was now lived in darkness. More than six
hundred years had passed since that fateful night when he was transformed into
a Vampire, or "long-tooth" as the present generation referred to them. He could
still easily remember the terror he had felt upon seeing Lord Niranjan
Agnihotri for the first time. It was a horror that could not easily be
forgotten. Seeing Lord Niranjan's terrifying form in the dim moonlight would
have stopped the most fearless of men in their tracks, frozen with fear.
However, Lord Niranjan brought Shlok a new life and opened up an unimaginable
world to him. He never regretted it because he was too young and was the victim
of a grave wound by a double-edged sword on the battlefield. Shlok, although
was a brave warrior, wasn't ready to die. Of course, he also didn't expect to
live as long as six hundred years either.
Lord Niranjan had a way of eliminating
those who gain too much power and were stupid enough to try and overthrow him. Shlok
never had that greed for power and therefore outlived many of his transformed brothers.
Maybe it had something to do with the love Niranjan had for Shlok and the
thought of losing his son, horrified him. Living as long as he did, gave him
the opportunity to learn so many things and he still yearned to learn more. He
had mastered a multitude of different languages (some now extinct), played many
different musical instruments, studied with world renown scholars and lived and
travelled all over the world. Niranjan had told him once that the urge to know
everything will stop after a few hundred years, but it never did for Shlok. He
was still just as eager today as he was a several centuries ago.
Shlok was distracted from his thoughts
as he saw Sid glance over his shoulder at the driver. His protector was hungry.
Shlok knew he wouldn't harm the man because Sid needed Shlok's approval first.
Siddharth's kind was fiercely loyal and that was what made his race ideal to
protect Vampires. No one knew how long werewolves protected the race of the Vampires,
but they weren't like the books written about them. Sid used to get angry at
some of the presumptions, but now he just accepted them, stating that the human
race was just stupid. Although Shlok did understand his frustration, the human
race was nave, because the race did not live as long as he did to gain the
intellect they possessed. Sid only scowled when he told this to him, making him
smile. He had expected that. Sid was arrogant, his skills were unsurpassable
and his intolerance for anything superior to him was common to the breed, for
they were not just predators; they were a highly intelligent race and the books
written about them never portrayed that. Sometimes even Shlok was disappointed
with the terms that humans would come up for his own kind - bloodsucker,
long-tooth, monster and much more. Humans lacked so much of knowledge that they
would call just any vampire as Dracula or the Devil, not knowing that they were
two different entities, and are very much different from Vampires.
As for the driver, Shlok was thankful
for the present day conveniences available in the blood banks that prevented ruthless
brutality that had been necessary in the past. However, there was still the
rare need to take live prey to sustain his power. It gave him a great feeling
of pride and a huge appreciative boost to his mighty power when the prey gave
its breath up. The thought about the rush of adrenaline in the veins of the
prey made him hungry now. Shlok would have used his own driver, but this man,
with whom he was on his way for the meeting, insisted on sending his own driver.
Shlok did not want to lose the deal over such a petty issue, and so he agreed.
He figured it was just a control issue that Mr. Pawar had.
Suddenly, his thoughts were violently
interrupted by a powerful alluring feeling that engulfed his whole body like an
electrical current. He shot forward in his seat, "Pull over." He spoke calmly
to the driver despite his inner turmoil. "But sir, Mr. Pawar said to..." The
driver began to politely protest while looking over his shoulder warily. "I
advise you to listen." Sid immediately warned followed by a chilling stare at
the driver. Shlok knew from Sid's menacing protective behaviour, that he had flashed
his eyes from dark brown to their animalistic amber. It was confirmed by the driver
paling several shades and instantly complying without another protest followed
by "yes... yes sir" with a tremor in his voice as he brought the car to a halt
at the curb by his left. Despite the darkness in the Limo, Shlok could see as
clearly as broad daylight. A whiff of adrenaline that rushed through the
driver's veins reached his nostrils and Shlok smiled. The hormone is released instantly following fear. If he was any
younger and less experienced, he would take the driver's life unable to resist the
aphrodisiac-like lure the odour of adrenaline gave off. As it was, his mouth
became lubricated with a flush of saliva, but he was able to resist the
temptation for his original reasons.
A cab driver honked behind him at the
sudden change of direction, and screeched the tires to a sudden halt, screaming
out a string of curses at the Limo driver. From the driver's thoughts, Shlok
knew he was still unable to forget that stare Sid gave him and didn't even hear
the taxi horn. That, and the fact that his knuckles had turned white from
gripping the steering wheel so severely, made Shlok feel a sense of pride that
a small look from Sid was so highly affective. The driver could feel the hair
on the back of his neck raise whenever Sid addressed him or glanced over his
shoulder to look at him, and Shlok couldn't help but smirk at the amusing sight.
The driver didn't even have a rear view mirror to sneak looks at him because Sid
popped it out of its holder and tossed it in the back without saying a word.
Also, they kept the lights off in the back. Sid did not want to scare the hell
out of the driver, if he looked in the mirror and saw the reflection of an
invisible Shlok. Vampires did not have reflections, after all. Nonetheless, the
driver could still feel the heat of the Sid's hungry stares on the back of his
head and he began to feel very helpless. He was resisting the urge to reach
over and push the little button to raise the partition between himself and the
back, but somehow he guessed that the bodyguard would be offended, and that was
the last thing he wanted to do after he saw the colour in Sid's eye change.
Sid returned his attention to Shlok,
"Now what do we do?" There was obvious concern in his voice. "We wait." Shlok tilted
his head as if trying to see something clearly from a distance and said, "...It
is close." It wasn't the sensation itself, he was used to it from his kind. The
assault of emotion only occurs when one of his own was near. This was
different. While one of his own kind gives a sense of presence or warning, this
was sudden, powerful and alluring. "Do you want me to look around?" Sid
directed his attention to the busy streets Shlok knew Sid was unsure of what he
would look for. Sid wasn't quite sure what Shlok had picked up on, but
obviously he didn't miss the slight mix of emotion that passed over Shlok's expression
when he felt the surge. "No, it wouldn't do any good." Whatever he sensed, it
wasn't close enough to see. Sid was perplexed. He had never seen Shlok react in
such a way to a feeling. It had him curious. He was fascinated because Shlok
never allowed his emotions to grace his handsome expression. Yet, something stirred
within him to elicit such a response. Sid was distracted with Shlok's physical
disturbance. It meant that he had to be alert for any threat that Shlok may
encounter. That is, if this was a threat. By the look on Shlok's face, he wasn't
sure what it was, but he would be ready.
The wave of emotion washed over Shlok
again, and he tried to catch the feeling and examine it, but it was too late.
It was gone. At least it gave him a direction, "Make a left up here at the
corner." It was the same direction the disgruntled cabby behind their Limo had
taken only a moment ago. "Yes, sir." He knew the driver wasn't willing to argue
again. He was thinking that if he kept his mouth shut, they would leave him be and
Sid wouldn't look at him again. Shlok watched Sid's mouth stretch into a smile
of amusement as the fear radiating of the driver reached him. Sid was very good
at what he did, Shlok mused silently. "What
is it, Shlok? What do you sense?" "I'm
still not sure, Sid." Shlok read Sid's mind and responded in the same
manner. He then continued to give the driver more directions. As the car wound
through the streets, toward a long line of beach houses, the waves came again,
closer and stronger. He glanced through the crowds on the sidewalks, his sharp
predatory eyes able to examine every feature of each person as the Limo slowly drove
by. He didn't know what, or who, he was looking for, but knew he'd recognize it
when he found it.
*Comments/ Criticisms/ Suggestions are most welcome 😳
Edited by Tanvi.Alison - 9 years ago
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