She was... pretty. And not the kind of pretty her parents thought she was. She was pretty like Jemima, who, if she borrowed Lux’s lingo, was actually smoking hot, or would be when she was older.
Jude’s normally copper colored hair had darkened to a beautiful auburn shade, and even wet it held a luscious curl that made her wonder what it would look like dry. Her skin, normally prone to acne like the majority of teenagers, was the color of cream and blemish free. Obscenely pale, more so than usual, and her lips were rocking a slightly blue tint, but she chalked that up to her icy shower.
I heard rinsing with cold water was good for your hair and skin,she thought as she leaned towards the mirror to examine herself closely,but I didn’t think it was a miracle cure for plainness.
Startled, she backed away from the mirror when she noticed her once green eyes were now the color of polished wood and seemed to be lit from within. How had that happened?
A loud bang on the bathroom door had her jumping out of her skin. Jude quickly pulled her towel tighter around her body before cracking the door open enough to see a flash of purple hair.
“I take it you decided to skip school today,” Lux said accusingly and Jude absently wondered how long she’d been unconscious in the tub.
“Um, yeah,” she lied, having planned to attend school that day and thus keep her perfect record intact. “Give me a minute and I’ll be right out.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen,” Lux said. “Caleb has taken over your room and I do not feel like dealing with Satan’s spawn this early in the day.”
Jude laughed as she closed the door, wondering why Caleb, who loved everyone willing to pet him, disliked Lux with a fiery passion, despite the girl’s attempts to get him to like her. She even showed up at the house smelling like catnip one day and Caleb had tried to claw her leg off. The situation was deemed a lost cause and now, Lux kept a wide berth when it came to Jude’s cat who was the undisputed king of the Carstairs household.
Ten minutes later, Jude emerged downstairs to find Lux at the kitchen table eating a cupcake from a tin. Jude finished buttoning up her forest green shirt just before Lux turned around and promptly went bug eyed.
“Is something on my face?” Jude asked, running a hand over her flawless complexion. She hadn’t even needed to put makeup on, her eyelashes already a mile long and perfectly curled. The only product she’d used had been a tinted lip balm, which effectively removed the slightly blue sheen to her lips.
“Earth to Lux,” Jude said when her friend didn’t respond. Waving her hand in front of Lux’s face effectively called the girl back to the present.
“When did you get hot?” Lux said and quickly backpedaled. “Not so say you weren’t beautiful before, but damn. I knew turning eighteen was monumental, but I didn’t know it made you an instant hottie. Seriously, your hair.”
Jude spun around, fluffing her voluminous curls as she did. No styling had been necessary and Jude loved the dark red hue her hair had adopted. Maybe her new shampoo was to blame, but whatever the reason, she grinned as Lux groaned and dropped her head on the kitchen counter.
“Enough with the hair porn,” Lux said. “Seriously though, what shampoo and makeup are you using, because you look phenomenal.”
Jude shrugged as she made her way to the refrigerator and pulled out the container of bacon her mom kept in the bottom drawer.
“Bacon?” Lux said as Jude heated a pan on the stove. “Since when do you eat bacon?”
“I had a hankering,” Jude said and glanced at the clock above her head. “Besides, it’s after noon and I’m hungry. Simon will be waking up soon and I might as well cook the whole bag because I know you’ll want some as well.”
“I’m touched by your thoughtfulness,” Lux said, wandering around the island to come stand by Jude who was watching the bacon start to sizzle on the griddle, “but that doesn’t explain why you haven’t eaten meat in like, five years, and are suddenly indulging a mere hankering. I dragged you to a barbecue cook-off last summer and you managed to resist temptation. What gives?”
Jude turned to face Lux, who must have seen something that frightened her, because she jumped back with a gasp as though she’d been electrocuted.
“Look,” Lux said, “I’m sorry how I handled things last night, but if something happened, you should tell me.”
“Nothing happened,” Jude said. “I left the party and I came home. Why are you freaking out?”
“Because,” said Lux, “your eyes are black.”
Jude sped to the foyer where a mirror was hanging by the door. By the time she reached the mirror, she didn’t even need to look to know something was different.
No one moves that fast,she thought, looking back the way she’d come. Especially not me.
“Jude?” Lux said, hesitantly rounding the corner. She stopped a few feet away and stared, which prompted Jude to look in the mirror. Sure enough, the brown eyes she thought beautiful upon exiting the shower had darkened to black, the color bleeding to cover the whites of her eyes. It truly was a terrifying sight.
“I thought it was a dream,” she said, looking away from the mirror and keeping her eyes downcast.
“You thought what was a dream?” Lux asked not moving from her spot a relatively safe distance away.
Jude looked up at her best friend and cringed as Lux shied away.
Lux wasn’t the kind of person to shy away from anything, yet the sight of her best friend’s now black eyes was enough to have her finger the silver rosary she always wore. Was it possible Jude would attack her?
“You were right,” Jude said, “about Daniel and Jemima. She attacked me after the party, but Daniel and another woman saved me.”
“Another vampire?” Lux said, but Jude shook her head.
“I don’t know,” she said. “At first, I thought she was an angel. She seemed so nice.”
“Did Daniel give you his blood?” Lux said and Jude nodded, which prompted a curse to escape her friend’s mouth.
“Bacon,” Jude blurted out and zipped to the kitchen in time to flip the strips of meat popping and sizzling in their own grease. Lux followed, sitting on the other side of the island as Jude bit into a greasy strip of undercooked meat. She couldn’t resist the craving any longer.
“Yeah,” Lux said, “how about you chew on that and hope it gets rid of any urge to chew on me.”
Jude stopped eating, comically so with a piece of bacon dangling from her lips, and shook her head.
“I’d never hurt you,” she muttered around her mouthful of meat. Already, she felt herself returning to normal, which was something to think about as she wasn’t sure what normal was anymore.
“How are my eyes?” she asked and Lux visibly relaxed.
“Brown again,” she said. “Kind of weird since they were green yesterday, but they’re brown and normal and you don’t have to worry about scaring Simon when he wakes up, although that would be kind of funny.”
Jude smiled and inhaled another strip of bacon.
“Did anything else happen?” Lux asked. “I mean, yeah, I’ve heard vampire blood can cure a multitude of ails, but I’ve never heard about people turning into supermodels with black eyes, unless...”
As Lux trailed off, Jude could feel her throat slowly constrict, a response that had always occurred when she was nervous.
“In the shower, this morning,” Jude said. “I slipped on a bar of soap and hit my head. I only came to right before you showed up.”
“That means you were out for six hours,” Lux said, “assuming your alarm clock is still set for six a.m.”
“It is,” Jude said before reaching up and touching the place where her skin had split open after cracking it on the tub. Nothing. Not a scratch, nor even a dull pain. If Jude hadn’t known where to look, she never would’ve found the spot.
“I think,” she said, the tightness in her throat increasing, “I think I died.”
•§•
“Okay, you died,” Lux said
, oddly calm. Then again, if Jude died with vampire blood in her system, that would mean she’d be turning into a vampire. Which, long story short, meant her life was now Lux’s area of expertise.
“We need to find your sire,” Lux said and at Jude’s blank expression, she rolled her eyes. “Maker. Creator. A.k.a, Daniel. You died with his blood in your system, which makes you his responsibility. Do you have his number?”
Jude shook her head.
“I didn’t get it at the party last night and I don’t know who that woman with him was. And,” she added, “no pun intended, but I’d rather die than call Jemima.”
“So you have her number?” Lux said, but again, Jude shook her head.
“Simon should,” she said, “and if he doesn’t, he’s probably found her on the internet by now. Assuming she’s on the internet.”
“Numero uno,” Lux said, holding up a finger, “your brother needs a girlfriend. Also, why wouldn’t she be on the internet? Vampires can Tweet if they want to.”
Somehow, the combination of bacon and speaking Simon’s name resulted in the bedraggled teen appearing in the kitchen at that moment, his skinny white torso on display and his gym shorts on backwards. The girls watched as he zeroed in on the bacon, not once taking notice of his sister’s enhanced appearance.
“Hey Simon,” Jude said and watched her brother emerge from his sleep induced haze. “Do you have Jemima’s number by any chance?”
“What do you want with it?” he said, plopping onto a barstool at the other end of the island from Lux.
“I want it,” Lux said. “Jemima had these super cute boots on last night and I just have to know where she got them. It’s a girl thing.” She fluttered her lashes and smiled endearingly, but Simon merely scoffed and rolled his eyes. At his brush off, Lux’s eyes narrowed dangerously and Jude watched as her friend fluidly crossed the short distance to Simon, spun him on his barstool, and planted her combat boot clad foot uncomfortably close to a certain part of his anatomy.
“Either give me the number,” she said, “or I will make you sing soprano and you will not like how I do it.”
Simon visibly gulped, an action that drew Jude’s attention to the pale expanse of his neck where she could see his veins thrumming away as his heart pumped blood through them. She could hear his heart beating, the vibrations it emitted strong to the point she could feel them as if it were her own heart beating and not her brother’s. That’s when she noticed her heart had stopped beating, a realization strong enough to break her hazy and singular focus on her brother’s neck.
“Forget it, Lux,” Jude said and quickly disappeared from sight or rather, walked her way out of the kitchen up to her room, which probably looked like a sprint from the viewpoint of Lux and Simon.
It wasn’t long before Lux appeared in her room, just in time to see Caleb shriek at Jude before barreling out into the hall and down the stairs.
“Did I ever mention cats hate vampires?” Lux said as she closed the bedroom door behind her.
Jude sat on the floor beside her bed, arms curled around her knees as she sobbed. Completely dry eyed, it was more like she was gasping for breath than crying.
“Jude?” Lux said and stepped closer, only to have her best friend snarl at her.
“Stay away from me!” she said. “I can hear your heart beating and mine isn’t. My heart isn’t beating.”
Throwing caution to the wind, Lux dropped to the floor beside Jude and pulled her into her arms, running a hand through Jude’s thick and curly hair as she tried to soothe the girl.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Lux suggested. “Maybe the sunlight will do you good.”
“I thought vampires couldn’t go out in the sun,” Jude said, but nonetheless allowed Lux to pull her to her feet. She could feel the feebleness of her friend’s strength and wanted to laugh. Finally, she was stronger than Lux, but at what cost?
“Who knows,” said Lux, “maybe you’ll sparkle.”
•§•
Jude had to admit Lux had been right. The fresh air and sunlight was making her feel better, even if the warmth of the sun couldn’t actually warm her. It was an odd sensation, being aware of hot and cold, but feeling neither. Beside her, Lux was bundled up agains the chill, while Jude was wearing only a light jacket. Lux had convinced her to put on a hat and scarf, just for the sake of appearance as the girls meandered through the neighborhood.
“We’ll figure this out,” Lux assured her. “We’ll get ahold of Daniel somehow and he’ll help you. Everything is going to be fine.”
“And if it’s not?” Jude said, feeling equal parts furious and despairing. “What if I’m stuck this way? What if I never age and have to eat people?”
“You won’t eat people,” Lux said. “You’ll have to get over your vegetarian thing, but you won’t eat people. I won’t let you.”
“You’re people,” Jude said. “I’m acutely aware of your heart beating, the blood in your veins, and how infinitely stronger than you I am. I don’t like having this knowledge, Lux. I could hurt you at any moment and it scares me.”
Lux stopped abruptly and grabbed Jude, who allowed her friend to manhandle her into position.
“Look at me,” Lux said sharply and Jude looked up at her friend to see a pair of pale blue eyes were glaring at her sharply.
“If you were going to hurt me or anyone else,” Lux said, “you wouldn’t be thinking like this. You wouldn’t be thinking about how much this power scares you and how desperately you don’t want to hurt someone. Nothing can take away your goodness or your heart. It doesn’t matter what you may become, Judith Carstairs, because you will always be you. You will always be my friend.”
Jude reached out to accept Lux’s hug, but pulled away at the last minute as a shard of sunlight struck her in the eyes. Suddenly, she felt dreadfully weak and swayed on her feet.
“Take me home, Lux,” she said. “I don’t think a walk was a good idea after all.”
Lux did as asked, keeping a tight grip on Jude’s arm as she lead the way back to the Carstairs house. Jude was reminded of last night, when Lux’s grip was almost crushing and how now, it was barely there. If only she’d listened to her friend, if only she’d believed in vampires and hadn’t left by herself, maybe she wouldn’t be in this position.
Silently, Jude vowed to never doubt her friend again.
Monday Night
The Wards
After consuming the triple batch of cupcakes Lux had baked her for her birthday, Jude was feeling sufficiently buzzed with the amount of sugar in her body. Buzzed to the point Lux was able to sit next to her on her bed without Jude wanting to take a bite out of her friend. They were actually curled up watching a movie on Jude’s laptop, Lux’s feet draped over Jude’s legs.
Devoid of her usual combat boots, Jude had laughed at Lux’s bat covered socks that were the same purple as her hair. There was even purple accents on Lux’s leather bustier, which she wore underneath an indigo duster. Let it be known Lux had a sense of style she didn’t compromise for anyone.
“What’s this movie genre called again?” Jude asked as a goggled woman flashed across screen being chased by mechanical humans.
“Steampunk,” Lux said.
Jude smiled.
“Your outfit is only missing the goggles,” Jude said and Lux jabbed her in the side with her elbow, commenting disdainfully on Jude’s daily jeans and nondescript shirt getup.
“I like to be comfortable,” Jude protested, but Lux waved her off as she slipped off the bed, making a beeline for Jude’s closet.
“You’re just lazy,” she said, “and now that you’re a smoking hot vampiress, I really think you need to dress the part.” She snapped her fingers and gestured for Jude to join her by the closet, which Jude did begrudgingly.
“I like the green,” Lux said, gesturing to Jude’s blouse, “but you’re eighteen and undead, so it’s not like showing a little cleavage would kill you.” To prove her point, Lux pulled a deep green sil
k top from the far depths of Jude’s closet and thrust it at the girl.
“I love how you never wear the presents I give you,” Lux said before demanding Jude put the shirt on. She did so without complaint, but protested when Lux slipped off her leather pants and threw them in her face.
“You do realize these won’t fit me, right?” Jude said, but Lux ignored her.
“I want to see if your new vamp genes make you look good in leather. If so, we’re going shopping. If not, forget about it.”
Jude grumbled as she pulled on the pants, practically swimming in them as she waited for Lux’s deliberation. It took mere seconds for the girl to frown and shake her head.
“I have a feeling you and undead fashion are not going to get along,” Lux said and Jude laughed as she pulled her own pants on.
“And you’re an expert in undead fashion, how?” Jude said and ducked just as a pair of black slacks were thrown at her. Without asking for direction, she traded her jeans for the slacks and slipped into the pair of heeled boots Lux had dug out from her closet.
“I read romance novels,” Lux said. “Of the supernatural variety, of course. Everyone is all gothic and steampunk. You, my dear, look better in a business suit, which I attribute to your parents being realtors.”
“And you look good as a steampunk goth,” Jude said, “because your mother was a witch.”
Lux snapped her fingers and pointed at Jude.
“Right you are, my friend,” she said. “Come on, time to accessorize.”
Jude followed Lux over to her dresser where her jewelry box was stationed. She watched Lux paw through her assortment of necklaces before finally producing a simple silver chain from which hung a wolf pendant.
“I enjoy the irony of a vampire wearing a wolf pendant,” Lux said, “so please, indulge me.”
Jude complied by holding her mass of hair out of the way so Lux could fasten the necklace around her neck. The second the pendant came in contact with her skin, though, Jude shrieked and pulled away, the chain snapping and falling to the ground as Lux dropped it in her fright.
The Week I Was A Vampire Page 3