In the Face of Darkness

by Sarah Dell

  ***

  I breathed in the scent of honeysuckle and pine that hung thick in the air. I had always thought summers in Mississippi were hot and sticky, but now that I was a vampire I no longer noticed the heat or the cold. It was like having a body temperature regulator on all the time.

  The air seemed to be alive with the lazy chirp…chirp…chirp of crickets while lightning bugs flashed their yellowish, green lights giving the night an eerie feel. Lightning bugs reminded me of a simpler time, when I was a child, catching them in my hand and watching their lights flash. I would release them and watch their lights flash on and off into the night.

  The graveyard was part of the estate that sat on what is known as Langley Hill. The Langley family used to own all the land on and below the hill before they fell on hard times. Endora now owns the large house on the top of the hill known as the Langley House. The Langley House is a two story house with a large front porch and Greek style pillars. The dark blue shutters framed the large front widows. The lawns had gone into disarray in the ten years we had been gone. Endora didn’t like to stay in one place too long.

  As I walked up the hill I looked down towards the bottom where my house used to be. In its place was an eyesore of a house that was painted bright blue.

  As a child I used to look up the hill at the Langley House. I had been afraid of that house because I thought some sort of monster lived in it. Little did I know I was right, and now I was one of the monsters. My room was on the second floor, which meant I had to scale the wall to enter through the window to avoid being caught by Endora.

  “What happens if things don’t go well tonight?” I stopped climbing when I heard the voice of Santino Vallario. Santino goes by the nickname Tino. He has two narrow gray eyes that remind me of two pieces of steel. His thick, straight, black hair is slicked back. The black pin striped suits he likes to wear showed off his tall, broad-shouldered build. His skin has a light tan that comes from his Italian background, not from the sun. Tino had been an enforcer for the mob in Chicago until he had fallen for Endora. He had adjusted to this new life a lot better than I had. I guess that a vampire clan was not much different than the mob.

  I decided to sneak a look thru Endora’s window. I hadn’t been a rebellious teenager as a human and becoming a vampire hadn’t changed that. I didn’t know what would happen if I got caught, but curiosity got the better of me.

  “Lily knows how important tonight is” Endora said. She was sitting at the small vanity absently gazing at her reflection. Tino was pacing aimlessly behind her.

  “You could just let Castor have her. Then it could just be the two of us again, and you wouldn’t have to worry so much” Tino slid a hand down Endora’s back as if he had every right to.

  “Stop” with that command Tino’s hand jerked back as if it had a mind of its own. Tino’s face showed his frustration. “You know how important Lily is to me. I can’t just hand her over to Castor.

  “Tell me how I can help” Tino said.

  “I just want tonight to be perfect” she said.

  “Don’t worry, it will be” he said.

  I crawled through the window I had left open and pushed my way thru the thick curtains. My room was right next to Endora’s, and it was papered in a light dusty rose with thick, dark pink curtains that blocked out the sun. The comforter on the full sized bed was cream with pink roses. I hated pink, but Endora was convinced that any teenage girl would love such a girly room.

  “Where were you?” I turned to find Tino waiting for me. Tino’s steel gray eyes bore into me with a practiced glare. I didn't expect Tino to leave Endora’s room so quickly. At least he hadn’t caught me eavesdropping.

  “I went for a walk. I’m allowed to go for walks” I reminded him.

  “You should get dressed. I laid out clothes for you; it’s a big night. Are you ready?” Tino motioned towards the bed and I saw clothes laid out there.

  “If I said no would it matter” I asked.

  “No” he said. I saw the clothes on the bed and I rolled my eyes. Tino had laid out black leather pants, a red sequin halter top, and black stilettos with red soles. Tino was not subtle. Giving Tino his way with little things like what I wear let him think he was in control of me.

  “If you were a gentleman you would leave so I could change” I said.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t look” he said. I fought the urge to roll my eyes again as he turned to face the window. “You’re too boney for my liking” he said. I knew I didn’t have to worry about Tino looking at me that way. Tino had been obsessed with Endora since she turned him. From what I could tell Endora didn’t return his affections.

  I put on the leather pants and the red top. Then I brushed my candy red hair until it shone. I might wear what Tino wanted me to wear, but I was going to take my time getting ready. I coated my eyelids with black eyeliner and used two coats of mascara. I coated my lips with red lip stain. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, but didn’t recognize the image looking back at me. When I was human I had dark brown hair and barely wore any makeup, but now that I was a vampire I put the makeup on in layers and I had dyed my hair bright red. I didn’t want to look the same because I wasn’t the same. I was a ten year old vampire, but if I striped all the makeup and the bright hair away I would look the same as I did the day I died. I would never age or change.

  “Well, how do I look?” I asked Tino even though I didn’t care what he thought.

  “I guess you’ll do” he said.

  CHAPTER 2