Page 38 of Accidental Vampire

I took a breath to force the memory away. This was dredging up all sorts of shit I had forgotten. Wanted to forget. Especially the good times. They made what happened later, the loss, the betrayal, so much more painful.

I tried to distract myself following the dozen conversations going on. Always tricky to eavesdrop in a room full of vampires. Aurora had been whispering details to me since we got here. She was deft at starting conversations that would provide information. I was slowly learning everyone’s history.

Zinnia, with the purple hair looking like an ink splotch on her dark skin, was made during the Civil War. She seemed to be Shaw’s right-hand man. Gonzales over there, lost a bet in the 1860s and paid with his mortality. Bisou was hastily made during the Russo Japanese War. As it usually goes. Most come by this life with an impossible choice at an impossible moment in their lives.

It was different for me. There was no need to choose. I had always wanted this. I begged for it constantly with the relentlessness of youth. Warren had raised me from a mortal boy, and I desperately wanted to be what he was. I didn’t need to choose. Tiffany though…

I banged my head softly against the wall. I had to figure out a better situation. We had been here too long already. She was still caught up in the frenzy of it all. And still hated me. I tried to give her as much space as was reasonable. Aurora even tried “Girl talk” to coax her out the room we were given. No joy.

The environment, with all the vampires and mortals, wasn’t a positive. Vampires are usually made in isolation. For their safety and others. Too much stimulation was known to prolong the initial bouts of blood lust and sleep and rare cases madness and murderous rampages. I shuddered. It wasn’t smart having a week old newly made in a city of eight million. I had to find something else for us. All the places I knew to go were Venier controlled. I could bully and bribe only so far.

It probably wasn’t good to have her mixing with mortals, either.

It was just weird to socialize with your food. Of course, we all had relationships with mortals who we went to for blood. But these two hanging out here, Sugar and Misty, they were… part of the family, it seemed. Veronica always said…

I banged my head again. Veronica was in every thought I had these days, lurking on the edges, setting my teeth on edge. She was pulling on our Patron bond, trying to get my attention. It hushed through me like when power lines were first laid. It took me months to learn to block them out. Veronica had special insulation installed in her flat to cushion against the sounds of modernity. The absolute silence was the only thing I envied about her place.

I took a breath to settle myself. If it wasn’t Veronica, it was Warren and Saint swirling in my ambient thoughts. The near constant buzzing of the Patron bond was worse than the sounds of electricity. I was far enough away in this deserted industrial park in Brooklyn that it wasn’t terribly uncomfortable, though.

My breath caught, snapped my head around. I heard Tiffany’s tentative bare feet in the hall. Caught myself rubbing tension out of the center of my chest. Then I heard Shaw’s boots.

Aurora shot me a glance to stay put. Right. No one was going to harm Tiffany here. I had to keep saying it over and over.

“In or out, Princess.” I heard Shaw’s gruff voice from the hall.

I tensed, listening for ever the barest hint of distress. The chatter hadn’t stopped, but it was like everyone one had one eye on the door. Attention split between me, the conversation and what ever Shaw was up to. Aurora had her head together with the purple haired woman. They were whispering but it’s not like we all couldn’t hear them.

“Sugar. Misty. Go back to your rooms,” then a heart beat later. “Now.” Shaw didn’t shout, but his voice carried. The two mortals gathered up packs of cigarettes and drinks, stuffing their pockets. No back talk, so that was nice. The half dozen or so vampires left in the room, milled about or lounged.

Shaw ushered in Tiffany with a gallant hand. She had her arms crossed over her stomach, her damp hair snaked over one shoulder. She looked around awkward. I wanted to go to her, get her comfortable, get her a snack, but not now with Shaw bullying the room with his tight set jaw. I agreed with Aurora on this one, a hovering protective presence would give away the maker question.

“Sit.”

And everyone did. Except for me, of course. I mirrored his posture. I had no compulsion to follow his words. He looked me straight on, let a smirk twitch half his face.

“Now that we’re all in the same room, let’s go over a few things. He,” Shaw jutted his chin in my general direction, “is not here. She,” he nodded at her, a softer tone in his voice “does not exist. His Highness, the Venerable Legate of Venier, is not, and has not been here. Are we understood?”

I waited for shouts of yessir or aye Capitan, but none came. That was a statement of fact from Shaw, not a request. Not even a command.

“These are the rules. First. You,” he pointed at Tiffany, who, to her credit, did not shrink back under the imperious finger he flung at her, “stay on the Lido deck.”

“Lido deck?” Tiffany asked.

“You know, the Love Boat.” said one of the vampires, the twitchy one, who couldn’t keep still.

“What’s a Love Boat?”

“See, that’s the problem with Millennials. They received no proper education in the classics. Now, you know my idea for a reeducation camp….” Shaw cut him off with a glare.

“You stay on this floor, in this area. If you encounter stairs, go back. Is that understood?” She nodded. He turned his glare at me. I raised an eyebrow, that’s as much as he was gong to get out of me.

“Second. If the Legate leaves, you tell me immediately. If any one of them leaves, that includes Aurora, you tell me immediately.”

“Whoa, I’m not on your leash. I’m a Venier.” Aurora said.

“You are if you want this to work.”

“Fine.” Aurora gave in quickly, as usual.

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