Song of the Vampire (Vanderlind Realm Book 3)

by Gayla Twist

  The smile quickly melted from her face. “Don’t be stupid,” she said. “You’d really rather taste wood than submit to a few tests?”

  “I don’t believe it would be just a few tests,” I told her. “I believe that I would end up virtually being a prisoner, probably eventually being dissected, all because you heard some stupid rumor that has nothing to do with reality.”

  “But what if it’s not a rumor?” she said, her voice catching in her throat. “Think of the possibilities.”

  I couldn’t tell if she was in love with the idea of having a child or if she was just passionate about the idea of making lots of money. But it didn’t really matter to me. I just wanted her — and all the rest of them — to leave me the hell alone. But that was never going to happen, not as long as they thought I had some kind of magical DNA. The problem was, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure if I did or if I didn’t.

  “Okay, this is nonsense,” Dorian said. He looked over his shoulder at Kirk. “If you wouldn’t mind releasing me now. You obviously have us outnumbered.” He then shrugged out of the other vampire’s grasp, which had apparently loosened. “None of this is going to go over very well with the Bishops. And we don’t even know that there’s a speck of truth to it.”

  “It’s true; it has to be,” one of the men hovering close to Elaina said. He was tall with dark brown hair that he had slicked back, flat to his head, like a silent film star.

  Dorian folded his arms. “Yes, because there is no unfounded gossip in the undead world. We all speak the exact truth, all the time, no matter what.”

  “Then why doesn’t she prove it?” Elaina demanded. “Her mother’s just over there. All your little progeny has to do is let one of us influence Mama. If she’s never had sex with a vampire, then she can just say so. Paolo can do it,” she said, gesturing toward the man with the slicked back hair. He’s a master at controlling mortals,” she informed us. “But if she has had relations with a member of the undead… then that’s another story.”

  Crap. That was not the best suggestion that I’d ever heard. “My mother isn’t right in the head,” I told them. “You can’t influence crazy. She might end up telling you what she thinks you want to hear, rather than telling you the truth.”

  Elaina smirked. “Not under influence. She’d have to have a mind stronger than steel to pull off that kind of lie once Paolo has locked into her.”

  The whole situation was not good. Influence or no influence, I didn’t know which way things would go with my mom. It was pretty hard to believe that my mother had a relationship with a vampire that ended with her being pregnant with me, but… She’d said so many crazy thing to me in my lifetime that I just didn’t know... Either way, it didn’t appear like we had much of a choice.

  “Fine, let’s do it,” I said, begrudgingly. “But here’s the deal, if my mom says it didn’t happen, then you have to update everyone involved and make sure that the entire undead community all know that it was just some crazy rumor that got out of control.”

  Elaina nodded. “And if she says yes?”

  “Then I will do everything I can to help the medical community figure out how it happened,” I said, keeping my voice steady, even though I was fighting down panic. “But not under your orders,” I told her. “Or yours,” I said, looking at Paolo. “Or anyone’s but my own. None of you have any right or any control over me. I have an obligation to my maker, but besides that, I get to choose for myself. If it turns out that the undead can have babies, then all of you are welcome to try to figure out a way to profit from that. But you do not get control over me. That’s not going to happen.”

  Elaina gave me a superior look. “And just how do you plan to stop me?”

  “Because her maker is a Vanderlind,” Dorian said in a clear, authoritative voice. “Which makes her a Vanderlind. And anyone who harms her or tries to force her to do something against her will shall feel the blunt force of the power that my name wields.” He took a moment to make eye contact with every single vampire surrounding us. “Does everyone here understand what I have said? Even if you stake me, my family will not rest until each every one of you has been brought to justice.”

  There was a tense moment of silence before Elaina said, “Oh, stop showing off, Dorian. We all know you’re a Vanderlind. Let’s just go see if vampires can have babies.”

  This broke the tension a little and everyone chuckled. “We need to decide who is going,” I said. “My mom knows I’m a member of the undead, but I’m not going to just roll up on her with a dozen sets of fangs behind me. I think that would freak her out, even if she wasn’t a little kooky already.”

  “That would probably freak any mortal out,” Elaina conceded with a nod. “Paolo and I will go. That should be sufficient.”

  “Why Paolo?” asked one of the anonymous vampires hovering around us. They been completely silent up until that point.

  “Didn’t I just explain about his amazing skills for influencing mortals?” Elaina snarled over her shoulder. “Better than you, Julia.”

  I cut my eyes back over to the vampire in question to see how he was reacting to the complement.

  Paolo gave a nod of acknowledgement. I guess he was the strong, silent type.

  “And I’m going,” Dorian said, moving closer to me.

  “What’s the matter? Don’t you trust us?” Elaina said, widening her eyes and blinking at him, innocently.

  I could see my maker restraining himself. “Let’s just get this over with,” he said, taking my hand and kissing it. “The sooner this mystery is solved, the better.”

  “Ooh! Look who’s suddenly eager find out the truth about undead babies. Maybe someone wants to be a papa,” Elaina said, rising higher into the air.

  Paolo laughed, following after her. “I remember when Dorian Vanderlind used to be a man,” he said, just under his breath, but with the intention that we would all be able to hear him. “Not just a fool for some fledgling.”

  I stiffened, looking over at Dorian, but he shrugged it off. “Do you really think I need their good opinion to feel secure in my manhood?” he asked. “And besides,” he added with a wink. “If we ended up having a baby, that wouldn’t be the worst thing.”

  I stared at him for a moment, open mouthed.

  “Come along, darling” he said, gently tugging my hand. “Let’s go have a chat with your mother.”

  Chapter 26

  Haley

  I was freaking out. Not only was I flying through the air with three other vampires to confront my crazy mother, but Dorian had just let me know that, if it was possible, he wouldn’t mind having a baby with me. Having a baby with Dorian would probably mean having sex with Dorian, so that had my attention.

  I was definitely confused about a lot of things. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wanted to have a baby with Dorian, — maybe not in the next ten years, but we had eternity to figure out the timing — but I also knew that I didn’t want to be hounded for eternity by the rest of the vampire population for whatever reproductive secrets were locked in my DNA. If my dad did have fangs, then I knew that I would never be free — and neither would my mother, for that matter — no matter what people like Elaina promised. There was too much money at stake, not to mention extreme parental urges. If my father was actually a vampire, then I would become a prisoner of my own body

  If I could still vomit, I would have spewed all over the treetops. Dorian must have sensed my distress because he squeezed my shoulder, turning his head to smile at me. “Don’t worry,” he said in a low voice. “No matter what, it’s going to be okay.”

  That did make me feel slightly better, but I didn’t see how it could be true. “If you say so,” I told him, smiling weakly.

  Sterngrove hadn’t changed much from my last visit. It was still a pale brick building in the middle of a grassy lawn. I wondered if my mom got outside much. She wasn’t a threat to anyone, and I doubted she was a flight risk, so I hoped the staff let her get out in the suns
hine. I’d only been a vampire for a couple of months, but I was already starting to miss the warmth of the sun on my skin on a nice day in spring.

  I knew which window was my mother’s almost immediately. It was on the second floor and it was the only one that was open. All the windows in the facility were supposed to be sealed, but it was an older building and my mother had figured out how to unseal hers.

  “Okay,” I said in a loud whisper. “That’s my mom’s room. I’m going to go in first.” I could tell Elaina was about to protest, so I cut her off with, “I’m not going to freak her out with a bunch of vampires barging into her room. I’m going to explain the situation first, and then everyone else can come in.”

  I flew over to the open window and tapped on the glass while the other vampires hovered to one side so that my mother wouldn’t be able to see them. “Mom?” I called in a low voice. “It’s me, Haley.” I leaned forward, trying to see into the room. “Mommy?”

  I turned to my fellow vampires. “I don’t think she’s in there.”

  Elaina folded her arms. “Where else would she be? It’s the middle of the night.”

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged.

  “Maybe she’s indisposed,” Dorian suggested. This earned him a blank look from Elaina.

  “The bathroom,” I clarified. “Maybe she’s using the bathroom.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Elaina shook her head. “I always forget that mortals have to do that.”

  “I’m just going to go in and look around,” I said, easing one foot over the windowsill. I looked back at them. “I already have an invitation to enter because she’s my mom,” I explained.

  I did have an invitation, but as I found out from a previous intruder, no one really thought of a mental health care facility as their home, so there was nothing preventing the undead from flying in whenever they pleased. But that wasn’t something I wanted Elaina and Paolo to know. They needed to just stay outside and be polite while I prepared my mother for what was about to happen.

  I glanced at Dorian, and he gave me an encouraging smile. “I’ll be right back,” I said, for no apparent reason.

  Gliding into my mother’s room, I set down on the floor. “Mom?” I called softly, looking around. “It’s me? Haley. Are you here?” She couldn’t have been gone for long because her scent was heavy in the room. I took a deep breath, missing her keenly.

  The room also hadn’t changed much since the last time I had been there. My mom had apparently taken up embroidery with a vengeance because there were two fancy pillows on the bed that I hadn’t seen before, stitched with excruciating detail. On a card table, another piece of fabric was stretched over one of those hoop things that people use when embroidering. It was half covered with colorful silk thread. I stoop to examine her work more closely. It was a beautiful tangle of colors and designs. It appeared my mother was doing her embroidery freehand, not following a printed design on the fabric. The stitches were so minute and the designs so complicated that I wondered if she could have some of her stuff framed and sold in a gallery.

  I stooped even more, extending a finger to gently touch the silk floss she had crafted into the complex bumps and bubbles. A soft breeze blew in the window increasing my mother’s scent. It felt like she was right there in the room with me.

  A figure lunged from a hiding spot behind the dresser. I knew in an instant that it was my mother, but she had a stake in her hand and she was obviously pretty determined to stab me with it.

  “Mom!” I gasped, barely able to block her arm as she tried to ram the pointed piece of wood into my flesh. “Mom, stop! It’s me! Haley.”

  “Stay away from me, you bloodsucker!” she growled, stabbing at me again, a blow that I easily deflected. I wasn’t hurt, but I wanted to cry. She’d been so accepting of my undead state when I told her about it; I couldn’t understand her sudden change of heart. While taking another frantic swing at me Mom shouted, “And stay the hell away from my daughter!”

  “I am your daughter!” I shouted back, leaping out of the way. Mom had swung too wildly and lost her balance. I tried to stop her from falling, while avoiding the stake, but I didn’t pull it off and she went crashing into the bookshelf. This worked in my favor because she dropped the stake and I was able to kick it away before she could snatch it up again.

  There was a firm knock on the door. “Everything alright in there?” a deep voice called. Mom and I both froze, looking at each other. Then my mother lifted a finger to her lips while using her other hand to fan the air sideways, signaling me to get out of sight.

  Mom straightened her clothes while crossing the room. She took a deep breath to focus herself before pulling open the door. “Good evening, Chief Orderly Crenshaw.”

  “I’m not Chief Orderly Crenshaw,” the voice said. “It’s just Crenshaw. Or Keith, if you want to be less formal.”

  “But you are the chief orderly,” my mother insisted. “Why wouldn’t I call you by your full title?”

  I could hear the man sigh. “Let’s not get into that, now. I got a call that there was a lot of noise coming from your room.”

  “Noise?” my mother asked. I couldn’t see her from my hiding spot under the card table, but I could almost imagine her widening her eyes to look more innocent. “Oh. I tripped on the rug and crashed into the bookshelf. Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt, but I guess I did make a bit of noise. I’m sorry if I disturbed anyone.”

  I closed my eyes, trying to keep as motionless as possible. The chief orderly was wearing some type of pine-scented deodorant and he probably hadn’t showered in the last twenty-four hours. He used some kind of scented oil in his hair, too. None of it was particularly appealing, but that didn’t stop me from craving his blood. I’d been flying for a couple of hours and that had really built up my appetite.

  “There was a report of voices,” Crenshaw continued, pressing the issue.

  “Hmmm…” My mother pretended to be thinking it over. “I guess I was probably cursing a little. I know it isn’t very ladylike, but I did bang my forearm. I’m sure I’ll probably end up with a bruise.”

  “I’m going to need to take a look around,” the orderly insisted.

  No, that was a bad idea. If he found me in my mother’s room, then I was sure it wouldn’t been that big of a deal, as far as Sterngrove policies. I was her daughter, after all, even though it was after visiting hours. But it would be a problem as far as me suddenly, and quite desperately, needing a snack.

  “I understand,” Mom said. “And you’re more than welcome to take a look. But first I need to call down to the front desk,” she informed him.

  Crenshaw didn’t like that idea. “Why would you need to do that?”

  “I’m alone in here,” Mom explained. “And it would be inappropriate for a man to enter my room. I wouldn’t want you to put your career in jeopardy and I wouldn’t want to put myself at risk.”

  “Are you kidding?” Crenshaw sounded incredulous.

  “No. I’m not.”

  There was a long pause. “Well, okay. Everything seems quiet now, so I’m not going to press the issue, but no more falling into bookcases. You should actually be asleep,” he told her.

  “I know,” was my mother’s reply. “But I had a long nap this afternoon and I’m just not sleepy. I’ll make sure to keep it down.”

  Crenshaw grumbled a bit more and then I heard my mom shut the door. Leaning forward, I peeked out from my hiding spot to see Mom with her ear against the door, listening. After a few moments she straightened up, saying, “He’s gone.”

  “That’s good.” I cautiously got to my feet, having no idea if she was going to try to attack me again. “Do you know who I am?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Haley,” she said, sounding annoyed, like she just hadn’t been calling me a bloodsucker and trying to a broken piece of wood through my heart.

  “So…” I said inching cautiously more toward the center of the room. “Hi, Mom. How are you?” I looked around, somewhat at a loss.
“I see you’ve taken up embroidery.”

  “It helps me stay awake,” she said. “But I don’t want to talk about that now.” She held her arms out for a hug. “My baby girl. How are you?”

  “I’m…” I wanted to hug her, but I hesitated. I had no idea what to tell her, as far as how I was doing. My life since Antarctica hadn’t exactly been smooth sailing. “I’m fine.”

  “Oh, come here. You’re not going to bite me. I’m your mother.” She wrapped her arms around me. “I’ve missed you. I wish you’d write more. I love getting your letters.”

  “I will,” I told her, feeling the strong sting of guilt. “It’s just… Well, we’ve been in some remote regions and then… Well, things have been complicated lately.”

  “Complicated how?” Mom asked, pulling back, just a little, so she could look at my face.

  This was the part I was dreading. “I’ll have to explain,” I told her. “But first, what’s going on with you? Why did you attack me?”

  “Because you were sneaking into my room.”

  She had me there; I’d tried calling out for her, but I’d also just let myself in. “Do you try to stake everyone who comes into your room?”

  “I do if they come through the window,” Mom informed me. “Vampires exist, you know.”

  This left me a bit incredulous. “Mom, I know. I’m one of them.”

  “I know,” Mom said, shaking her head. “But knowing the undead exist does tend to make you more cautious. And anyone can just fly in here. This isn’t my home; no one needs an invitation to come inside.”

  “Have you been visited by vampires before?” I asked.

  “No.” she shook her head. “But they’re out there. Sometimes I see them flying around at night.”

  It was hard to tell if my mom really had seen some undead outside her window, or if it was just her imagination. “Mom, if you’re afraid of vampires, and if they can just fly right in here, then why do you leave your window open?”

  Mom threw her hands up in the air. “I need fresh air.”