Page 26 of Little Doll

Astrid blasted to her feet. Although she was tiny, her frame had taken on a different posture. Her cherub face now cast in a strange, womanly expression. She looked like a nightmare at that moment. She kicked her foot through the tea set, overturning cups and saucers. The miniature spoons clinked along the stepping stones. Then she began to stomp down on the cups, popping and breaking the fragile toys. “No, I don’t like toys. I’m an adult trapped in this dastardly child’s body. I hate them. I hate them! I HATE THEM!”

Her body vibrated with rage.

I leaped to my feet too and stepped forward to embrace her, to soothe her. But she jerked away from my grasp. “Astrid,” I pleaded. “What would you like instead?”

“Blood,” Astrid replied without hesitation.

My pulse quickened at the mere mention of the word. I had fed briefly on a maid and had not thought much of it since. But now that Astrid brought it up, I was hungry too.

I turned to look at Fane again. “How is Astrid fed?” I asked him, surprised I had not thought about this already.

“Costel keeps a supply of blood he gets from the funeral home cool in a hidden room in the cellar. I bring her blood when she is hungry.”

Astrid snarled. “You know what I mean, brother.”

Fane gave her a strange small smile, as though they were exchanging a secret, I wasn’t privy to. “Yes darling, I know what you mean. We’ve been over this before, however, and you know I’m not able to take you on a killing spree around London.”

Astrid growled and began stamping her feet again.

My night with Carmilla in London returned to my mind’s eye just then, and I spoke to Fane. “Cousin Carmilla taught me how to feed from people discreetly. How to take short fast drinks, so fast that your human eyes cannot detect us. Perhaps I could teach Astrid?”

Fane smiled. “What do you suggest?”

“I suppose if we could find some sort of nighttime activity or excursion that you could take Astrid and me to? Something appropriate forchildren,” I added, recalling the masked man I met at the dancing room Fane had taken me to. Obviously, we couldn’t take our sister anyplace like that, or like Salon Nocturne.

“Mother and Father would never approve,” Fane said. “I think it’s a marvelous idea!”

Some of the tension eased from my little sister next to me. She reached up, unfisted her tiny hand, and slipped it into mine. A silent apology for her tantrum. “Where can we take her?”

“It just so happens that the circus comes in one week!”

“What is a circus?” Astrid asked.

Sadness panged me at this poor child, so ancient, and yet so innocent. She had missed out on all of life’s greatest joys. I scooped her off her feet and into my arms, hoisting her onto my hip. She slipped her arms around my neck. “Oh my,” I said. “The circus is a marvelous place of wonder. There are people there who perform incredible feats that seem like they must be magic. They fly through the air on a thing called the trapeze, they can swallow swords that are on fire, they can bend their body into impossible shapes! They can tame lions and dance on the backs of elephants! All while wearing fanciful costumes and playing the most delightful of music!”

Astrid’s cold eyes lit up. It was the most happy and childlike I’d seen her look. “It sounds wonderful!” she cried. “And I can eat them?”

Fane chuckled and walked over to us. He placed one hand on my shoulder and used the other to stroke Astrid’s cheek. “No, Astrid, you know you can’t eat them. But Little Doll can teach you how to just take a bite.”

Astrid stuck out her lip. “Why is Nova your Little Doll?” she pouted. “Shouldn’t I be the little doll? I’m the tiny one!”

We both laughed. “Don’t worry,” I told her. “He only calls me that to make me furious. He knows I hate it and likes to make me miserable.”

Fane and Astrid both burst into fits of laughter.

“Nonsense, Little Doll,” Fane said. “I love you very dearly.”

My cheeks reddened. “Oh, why, that’s… I…”

He laughed again. “No need to say it back, Little Doll. I know it is difficult to love a devil.”

I smiled shyly. Indeed.

I placed Astrid gently back onto her feet and we both took her hands and began ambling back toward the house, chatting about plans to venture out to the circus and answering Astrid’s litany of questions about the event. As we reached the back door of Blackmoth House, a question occurred to me. We stepped inside, and instead of entering the kitchen, we found ourselves back in Astrid’s windowless room.

“Fane,” I said, turning to him while Astrid bound away to pluck a book from her massive bookcase. “Why do you know about Astrid?”

He turned to me as well, and his face was drawn and serious. “What do you mean?”

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