by Judith Post
Chapter 16
When Enoch got home, Scarlet was walking out of the apartment building. She saw him and stopped. She was dressed in black slacks and a cobalt blue, dressy top that proved a perfect foil for her white hair and icy blue eyes.
"Wish me luck," she said. "I'm off to look for a job."
He turned. "Would you like me to drive you somewhere? I'd be happy to."
She grimaced and held up a set of keys. "Actually, Voronika told me to take your Land Rover. Do you mind?"
"Of course not." It was a lie. He couldn't warm up to Scarlet and wasn't sure why, but what was his was Voronika's. If she offered Scarlet his car, then the car was hers to drive.
Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "Do you always try to please Voronika?"
She must have sensed he was being polite, not sincere. "It's mutual. We enjoy pleasing each other." That hadn't always been the case. When he and Voronika first met, he'd had to work hard to win her. He'd begun to think he never would, but the vampire war had shifted things between them. Voronika finally returned his feelings.
Scarlet gave him a quick nod. "Well, I'm on my way. Have a good day."
Enoch walked into his apartment and stood still a second to absorb the stillness. Ulrich lay, stretched on the far sofa, and Voronika, Crystal, and Lucinda slept in the bedrooms. He should have a day to do as he pleased until it was time to pick up Angel from school. He carried his laptop to the kitchen, hidden from view, and began to type.
His cell phone's alarm beeped at three. When he wrote, he lost track of time, so he started, surprised, pulled from his thoughts. When he hurried to the Jaguar, he checked the parking spot for his Land Rover. Scarlet must still be out.
He joined the line of cars in the pick-up line at school and flipped on a CD, letting Billy Joel keep him entertained. When the school doors opened and kids rushed out of the building, he searched for Angel. When he spotted her, she practically flew to his car, opened the door, and slumped out of sight, so that anyone passing couldn't see her.
She bit her bottom lip and blinked back tears. What had happened? Was someone mean to her? Enoch felt the urge to grab kids by the scruff of their necks and shake the truth out of them. Who had hurt Angel's feelings?
"What happened?" He was surprised by how harsh his voice sounded.
Angel turned her face from him. "Nothing."
"Something happened. You walked into school happy. You came out upset. Tell me who did this, and I'll take care of it."
She moved in her seat and stared at him. "Grownups can't help. You only make things worse." But there was fear in her voice now. She was afraid he'd go stomping up and down the sidewalk and embarrass her.
She was only a kid. What the hell did she know? He'd make sure she never had to put up with this shit again.
Drivers started their cars and the line inched forward. Enoch gave Angel one more glare, but decided to bide his time. She wasn't going to tell him anything right now. They drove home in brittle silence. Angel's face had gone from teary to mutinous. His hands held the steering wheel in a vice grip.
The minute he parked the car, Angel was out of her seat and running for the building. She went up in the elevator before he reached the lobby. When he got in the apartment, she was sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen island, arms crossed over her chest, waiting for him.
He hung up his jacket and went to sit next to her.
"I can take care of myself," she said.
He took a deep breath. He hadn't handled that well. He'd surprised himself by how fast he'd grown angry. "I know you can, but you don't have to do everything yourself anymore."
She took a stuttery breath and glared at the hoodie she'd tossed over the back of a chair. "They said Crystal must be screwing rich guys to buy me a jacket like that."
Ouch. That hurt. Enoch fought to stay calm. "I should have thought more about what we bought you. Most of the kids at your school don't have money, do they?"
She shook her head.
This time, he was angry at himself. "You probably fit in when you were poor."
She nodded.
"We should have gone somewhere else to shop. Where do your friends go?"
"I don't have any friends."
"None?"
She shrugged. "I don't like school. Not any part of it."
"Not even lunch or recess?"
She grabbed his hand. "Would Voronika change me? With your help, I'd be a good vampire. I could stay with Crystal, and we'd drain rats together."
"Do you want to spend centuries being eleven?"
She grimaced. She hadn't thought of that, but then she gave a quick nod. "If I could be with Crystal."
"And what happens when Crystal meets someone and they partner with each other? Not many vampires want to mate with an eleven-year-old."
She straightened her shoulders. "I bet there's some thirteen-year-old vampire somewhere who'd like to meet someone closer to his own age, even if we're a few centuries old."
Enoch shook his head. "This isn't your best idea. Come up with something better."
She sighed. "But what happens when Crystal leaves to go wherever good vampires live, and I'm left here by myself? I won't go back to Mom. I hate her. She sold Crystal."
What could he say to that? He'd hate her mother, too.
"Dad doesn't want me. His new wife would throw a fit."
He tried to comfort her. "You're a smart, neat kid. Someone will feel lucky to get you."
"Bullshit. Everyone wants babies. No one wants a ten-year-old." She looked at him. "Will you keep me?"
A voice answered from the hallway. "Yes, we will."
Enoch looked at Voronika. Dressed in a black robe, with her platinum hair fanning over shoulders, she looked stunning. And upset.
"Kids gave you a hard time today?" she asked. Vampires have excellent hearing, and Voronika was especially attuned to these girls. Part of her was probably listening to hear Angel return from school. "Enoch's right. We should have thought more about sending you to a poor school in expensive clothes." And then she surprised him. "But those kids are just going to have to deal with it. You're not poor any more."
"Easy for you to say." Angel leaned closer to Enoch on her stool, an unspoken plea for support.
Voronika shrugged. "Change schools. You don't live in that district any more, do you?"
Angel looked horrified. "Where would you send me? I don't know what to do around rich kids. They make me feel stupid. I'd rather put on my old clothes and stay where I was."
"Not gonna happen." Voronika yawned and turned back toward her bedroom. "Your life's changed. Everyone here has gone through that. You can hide from it, like I did, or you can deal with it. I was alone. You're not. You have us, so make it work. Either go to your school as the new you or find a new school."
She raised her hand in a goodnight as she left them. "It's too early. Call me at sun set."
Angel turned to stare at Enoch. "Do I have to listen to her?"
"She's right."
"You two keep saying that!"
Enoch patted her knee. "Look, you've been through a lot in the last few days. You watched your mom sell Crystal, you saw your sister get turned, and then you moved in with us. We're not a normal household. Unless you leave here and find some regular family, your life will probably never be normal again. You can't talk about most of it, except to us, and you can't go back to the way things used to be. Those days are over. So you need to make choices."
She peered up at him. "Can I really stay here and live with you?"
Enoch sighed. "Yes."
Her voice small, she said, "But you don't want me, only Voronika does."
He shook his head. "It's not that. I fell in love with a mortal once, and we tried to live a normal life. Grace knew what I was, accepted that I'd have to travel a lot. She made me happy, and I made her happy, but living with me comes at a cost. Living with a vampire does, too. You'll never have normal, and you're only a kid. I don't know if that's fair of us."
She lunged and threw her arms around him so fast, she caught him off guard. "I want to stay with you."
"Even when Crystal's gone?"
Voice muffled, she nodded against his shirt. "Please."
He'd lost the war. He wrapped his arms around her, and she pressed even closer. "We don't age, you know. It's going to be hard for us to get attached to you and then let you go, but I know that's part of raising children." That was his other worry. He'd grow to love Angel, and then she'd leave him…as she should. It was going to be hard.
She pushed away to look up at his face. "You're the best person I've ever known."
A tsk-tsk came from the couch, and Ulrich swung his feet to the floor. "Good, we've got that out of the way. He's liked you since he first saw you, but he's not a person. He's an angel. The good news is, his halo's a little crooked."
Enoch's shoulders relaxed, grateful for some levity. "Only a little. Caleb lost his halo."
Ulrich wandered to the table and popped a few grapes from the bowl of fruit into his mouth. He looked down at Angel. "I listened to these two give you advice about school, but they're going about it wrong. Their way takes too long. You'll have to prove yourself."
Angel frowned. "What would you do?"
"Walk up to the person who bothers you the most and sock them right in the nose. Start a brawl. That always breaks the ice."
Enoch laughed. "You'd do that, but she's a skinny girl. She'll get trounced."
Ulrich shrugged. "There are worse things in life. After that, they'll be unsure of you. They won't know what to expect."
"There you have it," Enoch said. "Three pieces of sage advice—stick it out, move to a new school, or start a brawl. Your choice."
"You need to learn some moves," Ulrich said, looking her up and down. "I'll work with you. I can turn you into a fighter."
Angel jumped from her stool. "Can I?" she asked Enoch.
"Why not? If you're going to live with us, it can't hurt."
Ulrich was moving a coffee table out of the way when the apartment door opened and Scarlet came bouncing inside. She looked positively glowing, but pulled up sharp when she saw them.
"A good day?" Ulrich asked.
She gave a quick nod. "I was worried about what to put on my résumé. I couldn't blank all the years I worked at Feral's club, so I listed her number as a reference. When the owner of a restaurant called her, she gave me a good review, so I might have a job."
Enoch nodded, happy for her. It must feel good to return to mortal life.
She glanced around the apartment. "No one else is awake yet?"
"No, I was just going to start supper." Enoch glanced outside. The sun hung low on the horizon. "They'll be up soon."
"I'm going to change into something more comfortable." Scarlet raised an eyebrow at Ulrich. "Do you mind seeing me in my pajamas?"
It sounded like a subtle come-on, and Ulrich blinked, surprised.
At Enoch's scowl, Scarlet smiled. "I bought silk, nothing too revealing. See you in a minute."
When she entered the bedroom at the end of the hall, Ulrich made a dismissive gesture.
"But she's super pretty," Angel said, surprised.
"In a cold way. Why don't you get ready for supper, too?" Ulrich said.
Angel made a face at him. "Grown ups always send kids away when they want to say something we shouldn't hear."
"Right, so go."
When the bathroom door closed behind her, Ulrich turned to Enoch. "If I put my dick in that, it would probably freeze and fall off."
"Angel probably has her ear against the door, listening."
"Won't do her much good. Your doors are thick." Ulrich went to pour himself a beer. "Besides, the kid's no innocent. Her mom sells it for a living."
"Still…."
"You can't treat her like fine china. She's tough. Give her some credit."
The door opened, and Angel peeked out. "Can I come out now?"
Ulrich crouched and motioned at Angel with his hands. "Bring it on, and I'll teach you how to block."
Angel was punching and kicking when Lucinda exited the bedroom. Her copper curls bounced in different directions, and she scrubbed sleep from her eyes. She was dressed in flannel pajamas. She glanced over at the improvised boxing ring. "What are you doing with the kid?"
"He's teaching me to fight."
Lucinda watched a minute. "Moves like that are going to get you knocked on your ass and stomped."
"We just started." Ulrich blocked a blow. "You don’t look like much of a fighter. What do you know?"
She flew at him and threw an arm around his neck in a choke hold. He flipped her on the ground and placed his foot on her chest.
"I'm a general, love. Your fangs make me think of kittens. Have Enoch pour you a saucer of milk."
"Teach me, too," she said.
Ulrich offered a hand to help her to her feet. "You're a newbie and a girl."
"So? She's a mortal and a kid."
"No." Ulrich turned back to Angel.
Enoch looked out from the kitchen. "Claudia couldn't fight when Bart found her."
Ulrich ran a hand through his blond hair and gave Enoch a dirty look. "I came to teach the girls how to survive. I'm taking them out tonight to learn the proper art of draining. I suppose you want me to spar with them, too?"
""I don't want to learn to fight. Do I have to?" Crystal shook her head. She and Voronika had come to watch the action. Scarlet, dressed in jade green, silk pajamas, slinked behind them.
Voronika went to join Enoch in the kitchen. "Not every vampire spends her life battling, but it wouldn't hurt for you to learn a few basics, and if Lucinda wants to learn more, you should teach her, Ulrich."
"Since when do you get to vote?" Ulrich didn't sound happy. "Are you going to join us?"
Voronika wrinkled her nose. "I have Enoch to protect me. I'm going to be helping Angel with her homework."
Angel's grin faded.
"You're in what—the sixth grade? Surely you have homework."
"She never does it." Crystal walked to the kitchen bar and sank onto a stool. "That has to change." Voronika watched Enoch pop beef tenderloins into the oven. "Mmm, one of my favorites."
"They make us study stupid stuff," Angel argued.
"Doesn't matter. Enoch will give you ten dollars a day to turn all of your work in on time."
Angel's eyes went wide. "Fifty dollars a week for doing my homework?"
Enoch glowered. "You're going to have me pay her for doing what she should do?"
"Why not? It's work. If she does it, she should get paid."
Angel bounced around, she was so happy.
Enoch looked like he might explode.
Voronika went to Angel and held out her hand. "Deal?"
Angel shook it. "Deal." She looked at Enoch, her eyes sparkling with a wicked glint. "And you'd better make good."
His eyes glinted, too. "So had you."
Voronika returned to the refrigerator to dig out romaine. "Now that that's settled, I'll start a Caesar salad, and after supper, Angel and I will hit the books."
Enoch gave a curt nod and turned on the flames beneath his stove's grill. He hauled eggplants and squash from the refrigerator.
Lucinda looked at the stove and shook her head. "How many burners do you have?"
"Six."
"And a grill in the middle?"
"I like to cook."
Ulrich slapped her on the back. "A good thing, because I like to eat. You'd better enjoy your human meal. After this, we hit the alleys to learn the joys of vermin."
Crystal tried not to gag.
Voronika gave her a sympathetic look. "It's not as bad as it sounds. When you hear their heart beats and smell their blood, they look almost like hors d'oeuvres."
Crystal turned slightly green, but Lucinda licked her lips. "Then we'll be able to provide for ourselves. That's good."
Ulrich looked at her, surprised. "You're a pretty practical girl."
"You don't miss them?"
"Hell, no, it's easier taking care of myself than waiting on everyone else."
He nodded. "Then I'll teach you what you need to know to survive as a vampire, alone. You won't have to depend on anyone."
Satisfied, she turned to help prepare supper. "What can I do?"
The meal proved relaxing and enjoyable with wine, beer, and small talk flowing freely. When everyone finished, Enoch said, "I'll do clean up. Ulrich can start vampire lessons, and Voronika and Angel can do homework." He looked at Scarlet.
She stood and stretched. "I think I'll watch some TV in my room."
That didn't surprise him. Scarlet had done nothing to fit in since she'd arrived here. He got the impression that she didn't intend on staying long, but it would take her a while to save up enough money to get an apartment of her own. Something didn't feel right about her, but he couldn't decide what it was.
He waited for everyone to do their thing and then took his time in the kitchen. He needed time to process everything that had happened so far. When he finished loading the dishwasher and doing all of the mundane chores that kept the apartment running smoothly, he went out to sit on the balcony. Voronika joined him after she sent Angel to bed.
"Something's bothering you," she said.
He reached across to place his hand on her thigh. He loved touching her. "I feel out of my element. I can't tell if I'm going in the right direction or not. Even when I messed up by wrestling with Caleb until Lucifer was thrown in the pit, I thought I was doing the right thing. Now, it feels like I'm just making educated guesses."
She placed her hand over his. "That's the way most of us function most of the time."
"Really?"
Her yellow eyes glowed in the dim light. "Real life is complicated. Even when I want to do the right thing, I'm not sure I am."
"I don't like it."
She laughed. "None of us do. Welcome to the real world."