by Ryan Field
She was looking up at the angel on the fountain when he’d grabbed her by the waist and kissed her on the mouth. He was a young man then and he wasn’t thinking. She tasted so soft and sweet his stomach turned upside down and knotted.
But Adriana pushed him away fast. She pressed her white gloves to his strong chest and said, “Avenir LaFramboise! You brute. You know that Ned Harrington is courting me.”
He knew, but he didn’t care. He thought Ned Harrington was a blithering idiot. “Forget about him and let me court you,” he said. They’d grown up together, and Adriana had been his childhood sweetheart. But her family didn’t like Avenir, and there was no way he could compete with Ned Harrington. They thought Avenir was too wild and rough for their daughter. He was always getting into fights and stirring up trouble in town. They had decided that Adriana would marry Ned Harrington instead. “Tell your family I’m the one you love, not Ned. I know you do. I see it in your eyes.”
“Life isn’t that simple,” Adriana said. “I have obligations, and I love my family.”
“Yes, it is that simple,” he said. Then he put his arm around her waist again and kissed her. But this time he reached down and touched the top of her thigh, then he attempted to put his hand up her skirt. And back then, you didn’t do that do that sort of thing with a girl like Adriana. She was a good girl, untouched in every sense of the word. She had morals, her family had a good standing in the community, and she had a reputation to protect.
She stood from the bench and lifted an eyebrow. Then she slapped his face and said, “I’m going out front with everyone else where it’s safe.”
While she walked toward the front of the church, he watched the way her body moved. With each delicate step she took, his stomach turned. Then he clenched his fists and vowed that he’d win her over eventually.
But something happened a few months later that would change Avenir forever. It would alter the course of his life and ruin his chance for happiness with anyone. It was a warm Saturday in July, and he’d just heard that Adriana had become engaged to Ned Harrington. So he went out drinking that night to heal his wound, to The General Langston Inn not far from home.
The tavern was crowded with regular patrons, except for a dark-haired young man who was sitting two seats away from him. The man was wearing a black suit without a necktie. His white shirt was open at the collar and there was a large, chunky gold ring on the ring finger of his right hand. Avenir nodded and smiled in his direction, then he lifted his glass of whiskey and swallowed the contents in a few gulps.
The dark-haired guy moved closer and said, “I’m Bowen. I’m passing through town.” He looked Avenir up and down slowly and rubbed his jaw a few times. And he didn’t mention a surname: just Bowen.
“I’m Avenir,” he said. Then he lifted his right hand and motioned to the bartender for another round. He was already so drunk he couldn’t stand straight. His skin was hot and dry because he’d been out in the sun all day sailing. The room was blurry and if he moved his head too quickly everything spun in circles.
Then Bowen asked for another drink and they started talking. They wound up talking for hours. Bowen sat quietly and listened to Avenir’s drunken story about Adriana and how he’d lost her to Ned Harrington. He shook his head back and forth and gave Avenir comforting pats on the back. And when the bar was ready to close for the night, Bowen offered to help Avenir out to his car.
After that, Avenir didn’t remember anything until he woke three days later with chains on his wrists and ankles. He was stark naked, with his arms and legs spread wide, chained to a four-poster bed. When he lifted his head to see where he was, he saw Bowen sitting on a chair at the end of the bed. He wore the same black suit and white shirt he’d been wearing at the bar. He was watching Avenir with his legs crossed and a smile on his face. He stood from his chair and opened his mouth wider, exposing sharp fangs.
Avenir’s eyes grew wide and his naked body twisted and turned to see if he could break free. “Who are you?” he asked. “What are you?”
Bowen laughed. “I’m your father now, the one who gave you immortality. And now I’m going to feed you to give you strength.”
Chapter Five
Avenir could feed on wild animals to sustain himself, but he preferred the sweet taste of human blood above everything else. He could kill to obtain human blood, without giving it a second thought, if it came down to his own survival. He was a vampire and this was all part of his nature. But the one thing that set him apart from so many other vampires he’d known was that he was one of the select few who preferred not to kill on a regular basis. And that’s because Bowen had taken him by surprise, against his will, that night so long ago. And when a human being is transformed into a vampire the way he was, he usually retains many of his human characteristics. This didn’t make him a weak vampire; he was one of the strongest. But he wasn’t a cold-blooded killer, either.
So when Mavis finally arrived at Oceanview, she came with the necessary provisions. Mavis was his long-time housekeeper, assistant, and daylight guardian. She’d been with him since the Great Depression, nourishing him with fresh human blood, running his numerous and complicated households all over the world, and protecting him while he slept during the day. Mavis looked like she was in her early fifties, but she was really over five hundred years old. She was a witch, but she was old and her powers were weak now.
She would have been there sooner, but she’d been busy closing his villa in the South of France. And because her ability to fly couldn’t be trusted anymore, she depended on commercial flights and other forms of mortal travel. The one thing she could still do was vanish, which worked out well for Avenir. She could steal his food from blood banks, hospitals, and laboratories without being seen. She knew where to go and how to get it without anyone knowing. And when she couldn’t steal it, she knew enough doctors who were also witches and warlocks who would get his nourishment for her. Though her powers were dwindling, she was a crafty, shifty woman when she wanted to be.
Mavis arrived the morning after his confusing encounter with Sienna. She was in the kitchen preparing his first real meal in well over a month. When he woke up at dusk, he already knew she was there. He could smell the blood from his dark bedroom.
So he dressed quickly, in a pair of tight faded jeans and a white button-down shirt. Then he darted from his room to the kitchen with the kind of alacrity only vampires possessed. (If you listened closely, you could almost hear the swishing sound he made.) Mavis was standing near the old refrigerator with a tall glass of blood in one hand and a small gold chain in the other. She smiled and handed him the glass of blood and said, “I found this on the stairs when I arrived this morning.”
He drank the blood fast and licked a red, liquid mustache from his upper lip. “Ah well,” he said, “I’ve missed you, Mavis.” He felt like a new man. He could have lifted the entire refrigerator with two fingers and pounded his chest with his other fist at the same time.
Mavis handed him the gold chain. “I saw this and was worried that someone might have been lurking around during the day while you’re sleeping,” she said. “It looks like I arrived here at Oceanview just in time.”
He smiled. She was, and always had been, totally devoted to him. Partly because he’d taken her in when no one else wanted her, and partly because she genuinely liked him. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to protect him from the vicious world. “I know who this belongs to, Mavis. A friend of mine was here last night and she must have dropped it on her way out.”
Mavis straightened her back and gave him a look. “I’m still going to keep my eyes open extra wide,” she said. “There’s something peculiar about this place. I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it. It’s like we’re being watched.” Then she reached for his empty glass and crossed to the kitchen sink. She turned on the faucet to rinse it out and said, “But I do like it here. It reminds me of an old place I used to visit while I lived in Germany during the seventeenth century.
”
He laughed and put the gold chain into his shirt pocket. “I’m glad you like it,” he said, “I was born in this town, in a house not far from here. And you’re going to be very busy over the next year working with the crews I’ve hired to renovate the house.”
Mavis put the glass on the edge of the sink to drain and crossed to where he was standing. She gave him a motherly hug and said, “You don’t have to worry about anything now that I’m here.”
But that wasn’t entirely true. He was still worried about Sienna. She’d pulled away from him too fast the night before. She didn’t know he was a vampire, so that couldn’t have been the reason. He had a feeling there was something she wasn’t telling him, and he was determined to find out what it was.
He knew Sienna was working at Applejacks that night. It was a Friday and she made most of her money in tips on Friday and Saturday nights. He’d originally thought about not showing up at the bar at all that weekend, to step back and give her time to think. He didn’t want to look too eager and aggressive, and he didn’t want to scare her away. But now that he had her ankle bracelet in his pocket, he had the perfect excuse to see her again.
When he pulled into the parking lot at Applejacks, it was filled with cars. He shook his head and frowned as he walked past Larson’s Porsche. He’d carelessly parked it in the handicapped space again, crookedly, with the right rear tire over the white line.
The dark, musty bar was crowded, which was typical for a Friday. He slipped past groups of people and made his way to the main bar. There was an empty stool at the far end. He pulled it out and sat down. Sienna was mixing a drink at the other end. When she lifted her head to the right and saw him, she took a shallow breath and smiled. Then she poked a young woman in the ribs with her elbow and murmured something. The other young woman had short brown hair and large dangling earrings. Her makeup was heavy and her red skirt was too short. Avenir had seen the other woman working with Sienna, but he didn’t know her.
A minute later, the woman with the dark hair walked up to him and asked, “What can I get for you?” She had to bend over because her heels were so high.
Evidently, Sienna was avoiding him. He smiled and said, “I’d like Sienna to wait on me, if it’s okay. I’d like to talk to her.”
“I’m her best friend, Grace,” the woman said. “She asked me to wait on you because she’s busy.”
He smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Grace,” he said. “Can’t you do me this favor? I’d really like to talk to her.” He looked into Grace’s eyes and hypnotized her so he could control her thoughts. It wasn’t difficult; she was easy prey.
Grace nodded yes and went back to where Sienna was mixing another drink. She leaned into Sienna’s side and whispered something into her ear. Sienna clenched her fists and pounded them once on the counter. Then she straightened her back and crossed to where he was sitting. She placed a white napkin in front of him and said, “I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have run out the way I did. You must think I’m a lunatic.” She didn’t sound as if she was avoiding him. It was more like she was too embarrassed to face him.
His eyes opened wide. Sienna was wearing a soft gold camisole and a pair of tight, low-rise jeans. They hugged her luscious hips and accentuated the natural arch in her back. He reached for her hand and said, “No. I don’t think you’re a lunatic at all. You’re very sweet.”
She lowered her eyelids and squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”
He reached into his shirt pocket with his other hand and said, “I think this belongs to you.” He handed her the ankle bracelet.
“I can’t believe you found this,” she said. She held the bracelet in one hand and pressed her other hand to her chest. “I thought I’d lost it outside in the dark. It was a Christmas gift from my grandmother and I wear it all the time.”
He shook his head. “It was on the stairs. It must have fallen off.” Then he took the bracelet from her hand and put it back in his pocket.
She blinked; her empty palm was still open. “What are you doing?”
He smiled. “I’ll hold it in my pocket for safe keeping, and then I’ll put it on your ankle for you when you get off work tonight so you don’t lose it again.” He tapped his pocket twice and folded his hands on the bar.
Sienna put her hands on her hips and said, “What can I get you?”
He really wanted another glass of blood, but he said, “The usual, please.” It made things easy to just order a vodka and tonic. And even if he had been able to enjoy real human drinks, he would never have been the type of man to order something silly.
At the end of the night, five minutes to closing time, Avenir was still sitting at the bar sipping the same drink. Sienna and Grace were cleaning and organizing the bar and there were only a few people left. There was one older guy sitting at a small table on the other side of the room. Every time he tried to get up and leave he fell back in his seat and rested for a minute. Near the entrance, there were two young guys in black leather jackets trying to pick up a couple of attractive girls. You could see they were flirting; the boys stood straight, with squared shoulders, and the girls were giggling and batting their eyes. And Larson was sitting at a table at the back end of the bar. He was talking to an older woman who wore too many rings and had frizzy red hair. She must have been at least twenty years older than he was, but she had large, round breasts and a low-cut blouse. Larson wasn’t looking into her eyes. He was looking into her cleavage and his leg was bouncing up and down.
Avenir was watching the older man try to get up from his table again when he heard a loud crash near the pool table. It sounded as if someone had kicked a chair into the wall. When he turned to his left, he saw Sienna’s brother, Jaydin, up against the back wall and two chairs were turned on their sides. Jaydin’s lover and business partner, Mickey, had him pinned there. Mickey’s left hand was pressed to Jaydin’s throat; his right fist was clenched. It looked like a serious fight, and Mickey looked much stronger than Jaydin.
Sienna and Grace dropped their bar towels and ran to the back of the room to see what was happening. Avenir followed them to find out if there was anything he could do to help.
But Larson reached the men first. He’d only been a few feet away from them. Avenir’s eyes opened wide as he watched Larson grab Mickey’s arm. He twisted it behind Mickey’s back and wrapped his other arm around Mickey’s throat. Then he pulled him off Jaydin’s body and yanked him face down over the pool table.
“Get your hands off me,” Mickey shouted.
Larson held him tighter; he was a strapping young man with powerful muscles. He clenched his teeth and said, “You’re bigger and stronger than he is. Pick on someone your own size, like me, and leave the guy alone.”
Sienna and Grace ran to Jaydin’s side. Jaydin’s face was red and he was breathing fast. He leaned forward and shook his head a few times.
“Are you okay?” Sienna asked. “What happened?” Then she placed her palm on her brother’s back and ran it up and down.
Avenir stood, with his fists clenched, ready to pounce in case Larson needed help with Mickey.
But Mickey raised his free arm and said, “I’m okay. Let go. I’m fine now. I don’t want any trouble.”
Larson held him tighter and said, “You sure?” Larson bit his bottom lip hard; his face tightened and his eyes narrowed. “If I let go and you go after him again, I’ll have to finish you off. And you know I will.”
Mickey nodded. “Yes. Just let go, man.” He was out of breath and there were beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. He was strong, but he knew that Larson was stronger.
Larson let go of him with slow, cautious motions to be sure that Mickey wouldn’t break free and attack Jaydin again. And when Mickey was free, he stood up straight and loped out of the bar through the back door alone. Larson looked at Avenir and shook his head, then he crossed to Jaydin and said, “Are you okay, man? Do you want me to hang around a little longer to make sure he doesn’t star
t up again?”
Jaydin looked into Larson’s eyes and said, “I’m fine. Mickey will calm down.”
Larson tapped Jaydin’s shoulder and said, “Call me if you need me, man.” Then he turned and left the bar without saying good-bye to anyone. His hands were in his pockets and his head was pointed to the floor.
Avenir watched his distant cousin leave, then he pressed his lips together and shrugged. Up until that night, he’d considered Larson to be nothing more than a naughty, spoiled brat with too much money and not enough backbone. Evidently, there was more to Larson than he thought.
After the fight, Avenir went outside to wait for Sienna. He went to her car and leaned against the driver’s door with his hands in his pockets. A feeling of elation passed through his body while he waited. And fifteen minutes later, she came out of the bar with Grace. When they both saw Avenir next to Sienna’s car, Grace tapped Sienna on the shoulder and said, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, honey.” She waved her fingers at Avenir and walked in the other direction to her own car, alone.
While Sienna crossed to where he was standing, Avenir waved at Grace and smiled. He asked Sienna, “Is everything okay in there?”
She took a deep breath and frowned. “They’re fine. This sort of thing happens about once every two or three months. Mickey is a jealous lunatic and he likes to shove Jaydin around because he’s stronger and meaner. He thought Jaydin was flirting with another guy and he went wild.”
“Why does Jaydin put up with it?” Avenir asked.
Sienna shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve been asking him that for a long time. I don’t know. They always make up and get back together.”
“I was very impressed with Larson tonight,” Avenir said. “I couldn’t believe the way he came to Jaydin’s defense and pulled Mickey back the way he did.”
“He has his good points,” Sienna said. “Larson and Jaydin go back a long way. We all grew up together, and they were inseparable until they graduated from high school. After that, something happened and they just stopped talking. And neither one of them will ever mention it.”