The Week I Was A Vampire

by Brittney Dussault

“It’s mostly a supernatural place,” Kyle said, “but we attract a human crowd with our supermodel good looks and mind blowing charm.”

  Jude gave Kyle a thorough once over before frowning.

  “I thought you said you went to the club.”

  Kyle growled playfully before giving her a shove. She landed on her feet and spun back to laugh at him before slamming the door shut. The window rolled down as he shook his finger at her.

  “Could’ve sworn you were cool,” he teased and Jude shrugged.

  “Could’ve sworn werewolves were attractive,” she said and watched Kyle grip at his heart.

  “Low blow, human,” he said. “Low blow.”

  Jude waved before heading inside her house, pausing to look at herself in the mirror hanging by the door. She looked perfectly human now that she’d lowered her glamour, and just knowing that Kyle still thought of her as human and was rooting for her to succeed gave Jude the burst of encouragement she needed.

  I can do this,she thought as she mounted the steps and returned to her room. I’m going to make it.

  Thursday Afternoon

  Therapy

  “So you’re making new friends. That’s good, Jude.”

  Jude didn’t know if Kyle and the Ward family qualified as friends, or at least friends her parents and therapist would approve of. After all, Kyle was a werewolf and the Ward family was composed entirely of vampires, some nicer than others.

  “It’s okay, I guess,” said Jude.

  Seated across from her in a dark leather chair was Dr. Lulu LeBlanc. The first time Jude had met the stylish redhead, she’d thought her more suited to the profession of a supermodel as opposed to being a therapist. But apparently, she was brilliant at what she did and had come highly recommend to Jude’s parents, who never did anything half-assed. Why the family needed a therapist though, Jude didn’t know.

  “Just okay?” Dr. LeBlanc said. She uncrossed and then recrossed her legs, smoothing her burgundy skirt over her knees.

  Jude had always believed the fashion rule that redheads couldn’t wear red, but here Dr. LeBlanc sat, in a sharp red suit with her fiery hair twisted neatly in a chignon.

  “They’re okay,” Jude said. “I mean’t they’re okay.”

  Dr. LeBlanc’s mouth turned down and she set her legal pad aside to lean towards Jude.

  “Are these the sort of friends you shouldn’t be socializing with?” she said.

  Jude looked away.

  Well one of them did try to kill me,she thought,and the most recent addition to the gang turns into a wolf every full moon. Granted, I’ve never seen it for myself, but at this point, I’m willing to have a little faith.

  “They’re just different,” she said instead. “They’re not like Lux who is crazy and colorful and loud. They’re elegant and refined and I feel out of my element whenever I’m around them.”

  “But it looks as though they’ve rubbed off on you,” Dr. LeBlanc said, gesturing to encompass all of Jude’s new appearance. “You look good, Jude.”

  “Thanks,” she said, “but I can’t help feeling like I’m losing myself.”

  Dr. LeBlanc tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment before rising from her chair.

  “I used to practice a different kind of medicine,” she said as she retrieved Jude’s coat from the coat rack. “Natural medicine, you might say.”

  “Sounds kind of New Age,” Jude said, but then quickly apologized before taking her coat from Dr. LeBlanc.

  “Maybe,” the doctor said, “but it was oftentimes effective. Would you mind if I sent you something? Just a little something to keep in your room when you sleep at night. I think it might help you.”

  Jude highly doubted anything Dr. LeBlanc gave her could help with her current situation. But she looked so hopeful that Jude couldn’t refuse.

  “Sure,” Jude said and slipped on her coat. “I’ve got to go pick up my brother. You have my address, right?”

  “Right,” Dr. LeBlanc said and escorted Jude to the door. “Simon came with you to the city? That’s nice of him.”

  Jude laughed and shook her head before she noticed the look on Dr. LeBlanc’s face. She tried to ignore the prying gaze, but felt herself giving in the way she always did when Dr. LeBlanc looked at her like that.

  “He’s at the Eerie Street Club,” Jude said and when Dr. LeBlanc frowned, she quickly elaborated. “Not drinking or anything; the Banewood Bar won’t serve minors. He just likes the atmosphere.”

  “Maybe he should find a new atmosphere to like,” Dr. LeBlanc said, opening the door to her office. “Maybe something closer to home.”

  “That’s why he likes it,” said Jude. “I don’t know what’s so wrong with his life that he thinks he has to disappear from it, but I think that’s why he keeps going to the club. At this point, it’s almost like an addiction.”

  A strange look passed so quickly over Dr. LeBlanc’s face that had Jude not had her heightened vampire sight, she would have missed it.

  “We can become bound to the strangest things,” she said. “Sometimes I wonder if the Fates are involved.”

  “The Fates are not easily deterred,” Jude said, parroting what Tess had said to her.

  Dr. LeBlanc smiled.

  “That is a wise statement to make,” she said, “but do not, for a moment, ever believe you cannot change your fate. Nothing is set, Jude, and human will is one of the strongest forces in the world.”

  Jude thanked Dr. LeBlanc and promised to see her again in two weeks before exiting the office and heading towards her car. In her pocket, her phone beeped and she knew without looking that it was Simon wondering when she was coming to pick him up. She found it strange that, for being as intoxicated by the Eerie Street Club as he was, her brother could only handle being there for so long before he was desperate to leave.

  •§•

  Jude never went into the Eerie Street Club. Before, it had been because she’d been underage and only people eighteen and older were granted access into the monstrous club that took up half a city block and was built inside an old, Gothic cathedral. She’d never had the desire to go in anyways, something about the place always striking her as strange and almost repellent. But now armed with heightened senses and the ability to strip away glamour, she could see the club for what it was and she did not like what she saw.

  Werewolves. An entire pack or more was at the club if she had to guess as she wandered about the ground floor looking for Simon. A pool had been carved into the center of the floor and while the other, decidedly more human club goers seemed unimpressed by the shimmering water, Jude could clearly see that shimmering element was caused by what was swimming around in the pool.

  Mermaids. One shifted onto its back as if catching her thought and when it locked eyes with her, Jude felt a chill run down her spine.

  You don’t belong here,a voice whispered inside her mind. This place isn’t for you.

  She didn’t need any more prompting, but couldn’t leave without Simon, who wasn’t answering his phone. Turning on her heel, she hurried up one of the staircases that flanked the entrance of the club.

  A sign above the entryway read “Banewood Bar.” The second story was shaped like a horseshoe with a gap cut into the middle of the floor so everyone in the bar could look down on the lounge area below and enjoy the music the house band was playing.

  One half of the space was a designated dance floor while the rest of the area was occupied by small tables, booths, and a massive bar that ran the length of the far wall. Floor to ceiling mirrors had been installed behind the bar and it was in the reflection of one of those mirrors that Jude caught sight of her brother... talking to Kyle. The werewolf had an arm around her brother who was, she could tell even from this distance, wasted.

  “I thought this bar didn’t serve minors,” Jude said, turning the full force of her glare on Kyle as it would be wasted on Simon in his current condition.

  Kyle shrugged, entirely unaffected, and rose from his sto
ol. With a flick of his wrist, he dismissed the curvy brunette bartender who’d been fixing the pair another round of drinks. She glanced at Jude for a moment, sympathy clear in her dark eyes, before disappearing to the other end of the bar. Jude watched her go, confused as to why a human would be working at a place like the Eerie Street Club. Even she, transitioning vampire that she was, could tell the place was rife with the supernatural.

  “Are you going to play nice?”

  Jude turned her attention back to Kyle and was struck by how tall he was, but it was the shift in his personality that truly caught her by surprise. Gone was the upbeat, mouthy werewolf she’d met only that morning. Before her now stood a predator. A rigid, serious man. A wolf.

  “First off,” he said, “your brother has an impressive fake i.d. Secondly, I’m the one who

  served him drinks until he was too drunk to remember his name.”

  “Are you defective?” Jude said. Or, rather shrieked, which earned her a sharp glare from Kyle who looked pointedly at the other bar patrons before returning his full attention to her. But something told her he wasn’t focused solely on her. Something in the way he moved and carried himself reminded her of Tess with her predatory grace and eyes that missed nothing.

  “Why did you get my brother drunk?” Jude hissed. She watched Kyle pull Simon off his stool, handling the gangly boy as if he were nothing more than a limp rag doll. Considering the strength of supernaturals, Jude imagined that was a fair comparison.

  “You saw the mermaids downstairs,” Kyle said. “You know what this place really is.”

  “And how would you know that?” said Jude. She reached out to take Simon from Kyle, but the werewolf kept a firm grip on her intoxicated brother. With a huff of indignation, she folded her arms over her chest and glared at Kyle with renewed vigor.

  I told him.

  Jude jolted at the voice inside her mind. It was the same, chilling voice she’d heard downstairs when she made eye contact with the mermaid. Turning around, she saw a lovely girl approaching them and wondered if all supernatural creatures were beautiful as a rule of thumb.

  “What,” said Jude, “you speak to him telepathically too?” She jerked her thumb at Kyle who had relaxed marginally at the arrival of the redheaded girl who moved to stand at his side. Something about the action struck Jude, and for a moment she thought she was watching two puzzle pieces connect. It was as if this woman belonged at Kyle’s side.

  “Things are tense here at the moment,” the girl said. While her mental voice had an edge to it, her speaking voice was nothing but mellifluous and sweet. There was a rocking quality to it, almost like waves lapping against the side of a boat.

  “You have a drunk teenaged boy on your hands,” Jude said. “I can imagine why things would be tense.”

  “No need for an attitude,” Kyle jumped in, but the girl stopped him with a gentle touch on the arm and a disarming smile. Kyle backed down like a well trained dog and while it wasn’t the nicest comparison to make, it was the most accurate.

  “We had an incident with a few of our patrons earlier,” the mermaid said. “Nothing out of the ordinary, but there were a few humans present during the altercation. Kyle knew who your brother was and offered to handle him as the other humans were dealt with.”

  The term “dealt with” didn’t sound too pleasant, but something in the girl’s bright green eyes assured Jude that no harm had come to the humans who’d witnessed a supernatural fight.

  “By handle you mean intoxicate to the point he can’t even remember his own name,” Jude said, but then the brilliance of it all struck her. “He’s not going to remember any of this in the morning.”

  “And if he does,” Kyle said, “he’s lucky to live with a transitioning vampire who can easily persuade him to forget.”

  A spark of recognition flared in the mermaid’s eyes and her smile grew as she looked at Jude.

  “You’re the girl?” she said. “The one who is going to be human again?” There was an undercurrent to the girl’s tone that made Jude hesitant, but she nodded nonetheless.

  “That’s the plan,” she said and then looked to Kyle. “Can I take him home now?”

  “Of course,” Kyle said before readjusting his grip on her brother. “I’ll help you get him in the car.”

  “Thanks,” said Jude and headed towards the exit. She stopped halfway to look back at the freckle faced mermaid who was still staring after her with a curious look on her face. It took Kyle calling her name to break her from the spell and she hurried after him, helping him carry Simon down the stairs. It was a pointless gesture since Kyle could carry her brother without any effort, but it made Jude feel useful.

  “Your friend is interesting,” Jude said as Kyle finished loading Simon into the car.

  The werewolf closed the door before looking at Jude curiously. She gestured to the second story of the club and watched a small smile stretch over Kyle’s face.

  “Most mermaids are,” he said, “but Saoirse kind of takes the cake. Even her own kind think she’s strange.”

  “Is that why she’s so sad?”

  Kyle opened his mouth to respond, but closed it quickly when words failed to come out. He tried again, but once more couldn’t find the right words to say.

  “It’s not sadness,” he finally settled on. “At least not in the traditional sense. Something happened to her, a long time ago, that changed her life against her will. Kind of like you, actually, but there’s no way to undo what was done to Saoirse.”

  Kyle stared up at the second story of the club, but the vacant look in his eyes said he wasn’t truly seeing the building.

  Jude reached out a hand and patted his arm. The werewolf turned his attention to her and smiled.

  “You should hit the road,” he said. “Apparently you have a date tonight.”

  “Aunt Tess?” Jude guessed and Kyle nodded. “I don’t suppose she told who I’m going out with?”

  Kyle smirked before sobering.

  “I promised not to tell,” he said, “but Jude, just hold onto yourself, okay? Saoirse couldn’t change what happened to her, but you can. I’d hate- we all would- to see you carry around the same sadness she does.”

  Jude looked at her car where Simon sat sleeping in the passenger seat before turning back to Kyle. She smiled and gave him a quick nod before stepping around to the driver’s side.

  “Thank you,” she said, “for everything. Tess was right when she said I’d need you.”

  “I’ve been around for a few centuries,” Kyle said, “and I don’t remember Tess being wrong about anything. Take care, Jude.”

  The pair waved to each other before Jude slipped into the car and turned on the engine. Beside her, Simon slept soundly as she pulled away from the Eerie Street Club, leaving behind Kyle, Saoirse, and the strange vibe of the building. If the Fates had drawn Simon to that place, then they were doing their best to keep Jude away.

  Thursday Night

  Almost Gone

  Jude didn’t know who to expect for her second “date.” She was hoping it would be Daniel who’d been absent ever since they’d met with Grigori, but if she allowed herself to be extra wishful, she would like to meet the illusive Daphine Valois. Mafe had seemed at ease explaining how Daphne came to be a vampire, and Jude couldn’t help but wonder if the Franciscan would be as forthcoming about her own children.

  Why did she turn Daniel and Jemima? Daniel she could understand, but Jemima had been a sixteen year old girl and from what Jude already knew of the story, the circumstances surrounding her turning had been special, for lack of a better word.

  Unfortunately, wishes don’t come true, as Jude quickly figured out when, low and behold, she answered her front door at six o’clock to find Jemima standing under the porch light. The pouty, pubescent blonde took one look at Jude’s outfit before grimacing in distaste.

  “You are not going out in that,” she said. “I refuse to be seen with someone dressed as if they were going to a funera
l.”

  Jude glanced down at her smart black pencil skirt and blazer, before looking back up at Jemima.

  “Isn’t having an unhealthy love of black a vampire stereotype?” she challenged.

  Jemima rolled her eyes.

  “There’s black like you wear it,” the vampire said, “and there’s black like vampires wear it. Or better yet, Tess, who I’m pretty sure only owns black clothing and has been looking better in it than everyone else since the dawn of time.”

  “Wow,” Jude said. “First Kyle calls her old and now you’re saying she’s as old as time. How old is Tess really?”

  “No one knows,” Jemima said. “And I’m surprised you don’t smell like mutt after spending time with Kyle Tierney.” She spat his name out as though it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

  “So I guess the vampire versus werewolf feud isn’t total crock,” Jude said before picking up her coat.

  Jemima’s eyes narrowed.

  “I said you weren’t going out in that,” she said. “Show me your closet and I’ll find something suitable for our plans this evening.”

  Jude stepped back and held the door open before remembering Jemima needed an invitation inside.

  “If I invite you in,” Jude said, “can I kick you out, or is the invitation permanent?”

  “First off,” Jemima said, crossing her arms over her chest, “Mafe made me promise to behave tonight and I’d rather not get on her bad side. Secondly, to answer your question, you can’t kick me out, but the invitation will eventually wear off. Considering I have no intention of coming by after tonight, it’ll wear off quickly.”

  “So the length of the invitation is effected by how often you use it?” Jude said and Jemima grinned. It wasn’t a grin like Lux or Kyle’s, though. Jemima’s smile was more predatory, like she was sizing up a meal. It reminded Jude of the night she was almost killed by the blonde vampire.

  “You know,” Jemima said, “for someone who isn’t planning on becoming a vampire, you seem pretty interested in the fine details.”