Page 1 of Magick and Lead
1
KITTY
Kitty could only think about two things—the run in her stockings, and the act of treason she was about to commit.
She sat on a loveseat in the lavish Southview Office in the Executive Manor, the home and headquarters of the president. This would be her third one-on-one interview with President Ramos since the start of her journalism career, but she still hadn’t gotten used to the opulence of this office. The lovely crimson drapes of imported silk from the Under Isles, the stony-eyed portraits of past presidents on the walls, the storied Hammer Desk, made of wood from the famous fort where two hundred years ago the first president of Admar, Rudgar Maddox, had made his stand, holding off the magick-wielding savages armed with nothing but a hammer and thirteen kegs of gunpowder—then founding the current Republic...
Kitty knew she should be taking it all in and jotting notes. Instead, she drummed her pen upon her notebook, jittery with impatience. The president was late, she realized with a glance at the clock. That wasn’t good.
But Langford would adapt. He always adapted.
Suddenly, the door swung open so fast its wind pushed Kitty’s short blonde hair back. In rushed President Ramos,calling over his shoulder to his Chief Aid, “Go on ahead. Just send the car back for me.”
She stood as he banged the door shut and wheeled to face her.
“Miss Rowley! How’s the prettiest reporter in Ironberg?” he asked, giving her a hug and a kiss that landed uncomfortably close to the corner of her lips.
Of course, it was never difficult for her to get close to men. That was probably why Langford had picked her for this particular task. Still, her heart pounded violently, and she had to clasp her hands together to keep them from shaking.
“I’m fine. How are you?” she asked, the usual brass in her voice replaced with false timidity.
“Never better,” he said, loosening his tie and sitting down on the couch. He glanced at his watch. “My aides are up my ass about the schedule today, however. You have nine minutes.”
“Oh, that’s fine. It won’t even take that long,” Kitty sat down next to Ramos.
The president’s eyes went from her chest down to the notebook in her hand, but she was already leaning forward, setting it on the coffee table in front of her.
She hiked up her skirt and threw one leg over the president, straddling him. He gave a surprised laugh, staving her off with hands on her shoulders.
“Whoa. Miss Rowley. I’m flattered, but I’m a married man.”
Aw, he’s a good guy,she thought. That only made what she was about to do worse.
Still, she felt him, his desire rising up hard beneath her—flesh betraying spirit. And in a strange parallel, she felt part of herself growing, too—her teeth—the canines becoming so long their sharp points pressed into her lower lip. She leaned forward, her lips close to Ramos’ ear.
“I wouldn’t dream of corrupting you, Mr. President,” she whispered. “I only… want… one… little…” Her mouth lowered until it was inches from his neck. She saw the fat jugular there, pulsing, throbbing, and desire rose in her, a wanting far greater than sexual desire could ever be.
“…Bite,” she finished, and her teeth sank into his neck.
He thrashed and opened his mouth to cry out, but she put her hand over it, her preternatural strength clamping him to silence. He was fully hard beneath her now, and she couldn’t help but rub herself against him as the blood lust filled her, engorging her desire, melting her mind into pure elation, awakening every cell of her body and igniting every synapse of her mind, a feeling like the crescendo of a symphony. Ramos moaned with ecstasy, his arms no longer staving her off but pulling her closer as her saliva mixed with his blood, its cloying venom doing its work.
He'll always want me now. He’ll never be the same,she thought with a pang of remorse. Of course, he was never going to be the same anyway. That was the plan all along…
The door at the far end of the room opened, and Langford entered with quick, silent steps. He looked like an actor playing an undertaker with his black suit, his broad-brimmed black hat, and his pale, angular, oddly handsome face. Two more of the spooks from the Agency were with him.
“Lay him down on the floor,” Langford commanded.
That was easy. They were already slumping down off the couch.
Blood thumped and gushed into Kitty’s mouth, and she drank, that hot, salty-sweet, coppery taste filling her senses. Ramos was still hard beneath her. She was wet, too, so turned on that her whole body pulsed and vibrated with it. It was always like that with blood. She grinded against him, moving her hips, drinking his life away, burning with pleasure. He tasted good. So, so good. Just a little longer and she’d… she’d…
“Off him,” Langford commanded.
She kept drinking. Just one more gulp. And one more. And one more.
“Off him,” Langford said again, grabbing her by the back of her hair and jerking her up like a dog on a leash.
She came up gasping, blood dripping down her chin.
