Daisy After Life (Book 1): Perdition

by Demers, Raven J.

  Coronation

  "What in the hell was all that about?" Nathaniel demanded.

  He'd helped Daisy reach the house, where those still living gathered to heal wounds, and clean up the obvious damage from the fight. They swept away the broken glass from the chaise lounge and Daisy stretched out on it, careful of her injuries.

  Jared knelt before her and gestured to her leg, "May I?"

  She consented, and he reached down to her ankle, and reset the knitting bones back into place. She muffled her scream into a cushion near her head.

  Jared made a quick brace from a fallen branch and a bandage on hand. Valerie passed around IV bags to drink.

  "Perdy," Daisy whispered.

  "Got it," Nathaniel replied around a nearly empty bag.

  Daisy tried to stand. "Wait, not—"

  But she fell back, her ankle was angry, shredded mush beneath her.

  "Let's see the hand," Jared said.

  "Aren't there some on the lawn in greater need," she reminded him. "Some who need to be repaired before the sun comes up?"

  Jared said nothing, and turned her hand over, examining it with care. "It will take a few days, and you may see some disturbing changes while it does, but you'll have a working hand again soon enough."

  She thanked him, and he left her side, heading away to treat those with worse injuries. Valerie sat near Daisy.

  "He was a doctor in his human life," she said.

  "Then why treat me first?" Daisy asked. "There are those in greater need. Some with their bodies ripped apart!"

  "After such a battle, we treat the Queen first," Valerie stated.

  Daisy struggled upright, her chest suddenly tight with anxiousness. "What? What do you mean?"

  "You know perfectly well what I mean," Valerie replied.

  It wasn’t possible. Nathaniel told her cannibals became ostracized, forced into a nomadic life. How could they treat her as anything more than abomination? "How—"

  "Anthea!" shouted a small voice. "You're alive!"

  Perdita ran to her, passing a few vampires along the way, who tensed and looked ready to pounce upon her, like cats after a hare. The child jumped into her lap, throwing her slender arms around her neck, and pressing a wet and snotty face into her shoulder. Daisy took care to embrace her gently, and to avoid contact with her healing hand. She said my name, Henry, and it was the sweetest sound I’ve heard since dying.

  The delight at holding her safe once more was darkened by the events of the night, and Valerie’s revelation. "Surely, you jest," Daisy said to the auburn haired woman seated across from her. "That can’t be how you run things around here."

  "No," Valerie said, "it was how Camilla ran things. She destroyed those who ruled before her."

  "Why?" Daisy asked.

  Valerie glanced at the floor and smiled a little. "Because they made her who she was. They killed her family, played with her a while, and then turned her."

  Daisy sat with this for a moment, the picture becoming clearer. "How do you know all this?"

  "She told me," Valerie said. Her tone was casual, but her eyes remained fixed on Daisy. "She needed to know I could be her figurehead. I did fairly well the first several decades, but then ... well, I didn’t agree with some of what she asked me to do." Her face turned grim. "Then she sent Jill to ensure her wishes were carried out. Twenty years of Jill's influence, and the venom stopped working the way she meant it to."

  Daisy stroked Perdita’s hair, and glanced around to see who might be listening. The others gave the room a wide berth, except Jared, who passed by and stopped every few minutes to assure himself of Valerie’s safety. "What about you? How did you come to be where you are?"

  Valerie’s spine went rigid, and she froze in place. "It’s a sordid story," she said.

  "I’d like to hear it, if you’re willing to share," Daisy replied. "After all, I spilled my guts for you, and ... oh, I’m sorry. That was in poor taste."

  Valerie waved a manicured hand to dismiss the impropriety, then curled her fingers to hide her chipped nails and flaking polish. "Foolishness," she said. "The folly of my choices led me here. First there was Harlan. He seemed so polished, so refined, and I lived my days as a man and worked nights in a private club wearing silk gowns and donning elaborate wigs. All flash and no substance, you know? This was long before you were born," she emphasized. "I fell in love. I thought he did, too, and he let me believe it. For months, he let me believe it. He said he thought I was the most beautiful woman ..." Valerie covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

  "I’m sorry. We’re dredging up old mud. If you’d rather—"

  "No, no. It’s ok. I want to tell it," she said. "One night we were necking in his tin lizzie out by Lake Winnie, before they turned it into a theme park, and while there, he ripped off my dress and laughed at my body. Called me ugly names I won’t repeat in front of polite company."

  Daisy hiccoughed a laugh. "Forgive me, but after what we’ve been through, I would hardly say we’re ‘polite company’ in most senses of the term."

  Valerie smiled and tittered a little. "Madame, you’re probably right, but we must maintain a sense of decorum. Anyway, Harlan was a vampire, and after humiliating me in rather base ways, he fed on me, completed the blood exchange, and buried me by the lake.

  "It took me four months, but I learned what I needed to know, tracked his sorry behind down, and sent him to the crematorium, with the help of a friend. A number of years later, I stumble across the Basque who introduces me to Camilla, who had want of someone with a bit of showmanship, and in her way, a want of a mother, and there I was. ‘Queen’ of Atlanta."

  Jared walked over, and sat on the floor at Valerie's feet. "Then she found me, getting drunk in a bar in Chicago after a patient died on my table, a patient I ought to have been able to save. She helped me overcome my war against death and embrace it." He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to it. "Harlan didn’t know what a treasure he gave to the world."

  They all sat together in silence, peaceful, however briefly. Daisy glanced down at Perdy to find her asleep, her little hands curled half in fists around Daisy’s fallen strands of hair.

  Valerie stood and stretched. "After all this, I could do with a bath."

  "No you can’t!" Daisy said. "Or rather, don’t use the bathroom. I, uh, it ..." She sighed. "Your hall bathroom has a new skylight."

  They both gawped at her as if she’d lost her mind.

  "I didn’t anticipate we would win, so I prepared the child a small safe haven with dawn coming. A small hole in the ceiling to let the sunlight in and allow her a chance to escape during the day, if need be. I’ll find some way of fixing it."

  Valerie snorted and then laughed, a full belly laugh. "A skylight! You added a skylight to a vampire’s home! Oh my dear, Miss Daisy Margaret, you will be one fascinating queen." She kissed Jared’s cheek. "Thank you for your concern, but I have my own bath; the guest bath is yours." She took no time getting up the stairs to soak in a tub of hot water.

  Daisy no longer smiled, but sat pensive beneath the tender warmth of the little girl. "Jared," she whispered. "I don’t wish to be Queen."

  He patted her good hand, and said, "Best not to fret over it today, Mrs. Shaw. Rest now, maybe even sleep, and tonight you can worry about the future."

  Daisy took his advice, and stood unsteadily on her mending ankle, ready to head up to the guest bedroom. One of the other vampires appeared with a cane, meant more as a fashion accessory than a walking aid, and handed it to Daisy. The other vampires parted around her, and gave courteous nods in her direction, but Nathaniel blocked her path to the stairs. "Not now, Nathaniel. Can’t you let me rest a while?"

  "I just wanted to thank you," he said.

  Daisy hadn’t the faintest idea of what he meant. "Sure Nathaniel, sure. What are cousins for?"

  She attempted to move around him, but he stopped her again. "You said if I hurt innocents, you’d kill me, and you didn’t. You had the strength to,
I heard about the old ones you fed on, and you didn’t kill me. You didn’t even fight me hard when I wasn’t right in the head, and—"

  "Nathaniel?" she asked.

  "Yeah, Daize?"

  "Let me go to sleep," she said.

  He bit his lip and bobbed his head, stepping aside. "Good morning, cuz."

  "Good morning. Now go find shelter. The sun’s already risen and not all of the curtains are closed."

  Breezes stirred the air as the others obeyed her command.

  In the guest bedroom, she lay Perdita back in her spot, the crackers and cheese still uneaten, and removed her most binding clothes. Then she slipped under the covers on the other side of the broad, cushy bed, and fell into a black sleep until nightfall.

  The Road Ahead

  "Perdy?!" Daisy awoke to find the bed empty and the sky darkened to blood red and bruise purple. She saw the snack package empty on the floor, a mess of cracker crumbs in a circle near the bed. How long had it been since she had food or water? Curse me for my distraction.

  Daisy feared the worst: Perdita, hungry and without food once more, going downstairs to seek out more food and encountering nothing but blood in the fridge, or worse! One of the other vampires, hungry for something fresh.

  She burst through the guestroom door and ran down the stairs, slowed only by the still-tender ankle and the throbbing of her burnt hand. Her fear overwhelmed her senses, and she neither breathed nor listened well. When she found the kitchen empty, she despaired, but then she heard a child’s laughter in another room.

  Seated between two vampires, Perdita giggled at the cartoons, and feasted on fast food chicken and corn fritters, piles of tater tots, okra, and potatoes. Far more than a single human child could handle. A giant cup of soda sat before her, half drunk. "Perdita, is everything ok, honey?"

  The two vampires who had been relaxing on the couch, both leapt to their feet, and bowed to Daisy. Both looked like young men who had been turned before the age of majority. "Sorry, ma’am," said the brunette. "The girl was hungry, and we thought you might prefer she be fed. Valerie ordered us to let you sleep, so we took it upon ourselves—"

  Daisy waved her hand. The tension seeping from her shoulders made her feel a bit like a leaking balloon. The lessening of pressure brought a great relief. "Thank you both. You’ve been quite kind. She looks happy enough."

  Perdita wiped away chicken grease from her mouth with the sleeve of a new dress, and ran up to her. "Anthea!" She hopped up into her arms, full of delight and wanting to talk endlessly about her day. Daisy, surprised by the child's comfort among ravenous beasts, sat down on the couch with her so she could keep eating, and listened to a long tale of fright and worry and exploration through the house during the day. It seemed she was resourceful enough to find a glass for water, dug around in the cabinets for cans of food kept for some previous human guest, and ate green beans and chili cold during the late morning."

  ". . . and then Sebastian and Mika came up and found me—gave me such a fright! And Miss Valerie said they were young and ought to remember what a child would like and so we went in the car to different places and they bought food and we played video games and then we watched ..."

  Daisy had never heard her so enthusiastic, so at peace. Despite losing so much, despite being witness to horrors, Perdita would come through. At least, Daisy prayed this was a good sign.

  Then a knock came at the front door.

  Whispers traveled around the group scattered through the house who all gathered to see who would come knocking. The brunette, whom Daisy guessed to be Sebastian, returned to the room. "Ma'am? The Basque is at the door, and asked if you’d come speak with him."

  Daisy hesitated, unsure of what to say. Why would he have come back after losing the battle for Queen Camilla? "Would you guard Perdy again please?"

  "Sure," he said with a big grin, and jumped over the back of the couch, landing next to the girl.

  Daisy stopped at the doorway and Perdy waved, smiling. With a sudden loss of her moment of peace, Daisy walked to the foyer where the Basque remained stoic standing on the porch. The rest of the nest of vampires waited in silence, waiting to see what would come of this.

  Jared bent near to her ear and whispered, "He is older and stronger than all of us combined."

  She gauged the words.

  Jared spoke for all to hear. "You need not go alone. We are at your command."

  Daisy patted his arm, his shoulder too high to reach, and said, "That won’t be necessary, will it, Mister Nikola?"

  "Not at all, Madame. I have come only to speak with you, if you will permit me," he said.

  She stepped out on the porch, and took up a seat on the sculpted metal bench enclosed behind fragrant rose bushes. Valerie seemed to like the flower, for they grew in profusion around both houses, though the borders here appeared less lavish.

  "Would you care to sit, Mister Nikola?"

  He chuckled. "If you wish," and he sat next to her. She noted the care he had taken to comb out his curls and refresh his clothes after the battle, while she still wore the same torn and soiled garments from the previous morning. His personal scent of olives, chocolate, and an undercurrent of charcoal, mingled with the roses in a rich and alluring manner. Daisy almost wished she still desired the foods he called to mind.

  "How old are you, Mister Nikola?" she asked, distracting herself from the scent. "Jared told me you're older than all of us combined."

  Nikola fought against a smile. "An overstatement. I was born in the first century Anno Domini."

  Daisy sat agape at him, until her own maternal voice chided her about open mouths and flies. She considered living thousands of years beyond death. What it might do to someone, how they would change over time.

  When the silence lengthened, Daisy asked, "What did you come to say?"

  Nikola gave a quick nod of his head. "I presume the vampires in your nest have informed you of what your success has won you?"

  "If you mean they’ve all but stated they think I’m their Queen now, then yes, I am aware of it," she said.

  "Yes, by rights of conquest, you are the Queen of Atlanta," he confirmed. The news shook her. Though she understood they treated her with deference, hearing him confirm it made the reality all the more absurd and surreal.

  "What does that mean for me, then? I am bound to stay here and what ... rule? Punish and reward and banish those I deem deserving of such?"

  "Madame, you may do as you see fit," he said. "This includes meting out justice against those who took up arms against you in battle. Including myself, Adelaide, and those who survived this morning’s insurrection."

  Daisy found his choice of words noteworthy, given their altered circumstances. She didn’t want to be the arbiter of justice or the ruler of a violent clan of monsters. "Why did you side with Camilla, knowing what she did? Was it her voice?"

  He studied Daisy's face before answering. "She was my sister," he said. "We shared the same maker."

  "The story I heard involved more than one vampire. Were you involved in the torture shaping who she became?" Daisy asked, unforgiving in tone and posture.

  Nikola glanced down at his hands in his lap, no longer wishing to meet her eyes. "I did not commit acts of torture, but was commanded to collect her. I killed her family," he said. "Our maker ruled with a council of three others. They ran experiments to uncover the secrets of our kind, and they wanted to study the effects of prolonged torment on their children to heighten the fear at point of death."

  "Did they torture you, as well?" she asked.

  He dared to look at her once more. "We had the same maker," he said.

  "I see." Daisy studied his features, and found a familiarity in them she couldn’t place. Something from a time before her death. "Out of loyalty you stayed with Camilla, because of a shared experience?"

  "I loved her," he admitted. "She was small and fragile. She required protection to defend herself against those who wished her harm. An older brother mu
st look after his younger siblings, mustn’t he?"

  Daisy didn’t recall the child Queen as feeling so weak when she fought her. Even as she stood rigid under the force of Jared’s will, she brimmed with strength and stood ready to slaughter them all with little effort. Had they not stolen the blood of others, they wouldn’t have survived. While she believed Nikola’s tale, for it matched well enough what she’d learned from Valerie, something seemed off about his demeanor. She didn’t believe in this embarrassed and placating mien he showed her. The shyness and vulnerability.

  "What would you do in my position, Nikola? Would you have me punished? Banished? Killed?"

  His ochre eyes studied her, but he remained silent.

  "I don’t wish to be Queen," she told him. "I never wanted to come to this city after crawling out of my own grave, like some terrible horror film."

  His mouth hung open a little, but he closed it, the plump lower lip thinning in a slight frown. "What do you wish, Madame?"

  "To find Perdita a safe home with whatever remains of her family. Then to disappear into the woods until God calls me to his Kingdom and my husband’s side," she said.

  Nikola shifted, uncomfortable in his position on the seat. "If you will allow me, I can hire a detective to track down any of her relatives you wish to find."

  "Why would you help me?" she asked.

  "What do you remember of your death?" he asked, a similar question to Jared’s own.

  She found the question odd in response to hers. "My last memories are of holding my daughter’s hand," she said, not revealing her fear, thus exposing her powers.

  "Nothing else?" he asked.

  "Nothing of importance," she lied.

  He stood up from the bench. "When you recall your death in full, I will tell you why I would serve you in this and all things."

  The answer left her curious and frustrated, but she accepted the promise it implied. "I would appreciate assistance finding her family. Her aunt’s surname is Moreno. I do not know where they fled when Nathaniel scared them off."