by Zara Novak
“They said you killed your entire coven.” Hurst said quietly. “They said you killed your maker…” Hurst shook his head and looked down at the counter. “Do you know what the Red Circle will do to you when they find you Ansel? Do you know?”
“There’s a method to my madness old man.” Ansel dragged a knuckle over the wooden counter top and wrapped three times. “They can come after me if they want. I’m ready.”
Hurst let out a long breath and stared into the eyes of the young vampire. “What is it you want? You didn’t come here for blood. You can get that anywhere.”
“You’re right - I can, very observant of you old man.” Ansel pushed his stool back and stood up from the bar. “When I came in here a week ago, I had a question for you. Now I want to know if you have my answer.”
Hurst reached into his pocket reluctantly and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He set it onto the bar and pushed it across to Ansel slowly. “That’s all I could I find out.” Hurst said quickly. “But’s it’s more than enough to go off. There’s a name, a date and a location. You must be insane if you’re trying to track down a witch.”
“Don’t you worry about that.” Ansel grabbed the piece of paper off the counter and shoved it into his pocket. “I’m more than capable of looking after myself.”
Ansel was about to turn and leave when Hurst spoke once more.
“I know you probably won’t answer this… seeing how you told me to ‘fuck off’ last time, but what is it you plan ask this witch exactly? That’s if you don’t get yourself killed first of course.”
“I’m headed for the top.” Ansel said simply. “I’ve stood by long enough to watch the name of the vampire get dragged through the mud by the Red Circle. Their world will burn with the fire of my name. All I need to do is strike the match.”
3. Kat
The line outside the club sprawled around the block. Kat ran the length of it, and stopped at the front, much to the dismay of the people waiting. She stood in front of the bouncer expectantly.
“Fuck off!” A girl shouted from near the front of the line. “We’ve been waiting for hours!”
Kat turned from the girl to the bouncer.
“What do you want?” The behemoth in black looked Kat up and down. “No cuts, doesn’t matter how hot you think you are.”
Kat rolled her eyes and fished the white card for her sorority out of her purse. She held it up silently and the bouncer straightened up immediately.
“Sorry Miss.” He bumbled and pulled the rope back quickly. “I didn’t realize.”
“It’s okay.” Kat sighed as she walked in. “I hate using this thing anyway.”
Inside the bar was loud, dark and crowded. Avalon was a favorite haunt for her sister Ruth and the babbling flock of sorority chicks that hung on her every word.
Kat checked her coat, ordered a neon colored cocktail from the bar, and made her away across the busy dance floor. The club thumped with the loud beat of music. Lights sparkled in every direction, mirrors on the edge of the large room reflected the action back into infinity. People smiled as they danced to the beat of the floor.
Across the other side of the dance floor, Kat could see the table that was permanently set aside for their sorority. The table was packed with a dozen girls dressed in black cocktail dresses identical to hers. It was sorority tradition to come out in matching dresses when it was one of the girl’s birthdays. It was a tradition that Kat loathed greatly.
She watched from the opposite side of the dance floor as her sister delivered an animated story to the table of expectant girls. Ruth waved her arms with one final flourish as she brought her story to it’s quasi-punchline and the table erupted into a chorus of fake laughter. The sound of their cackling ripped across the already deafening blare of the nightclub and Kat sighed to herself.
“This is going to be a long night.” She rolled the thin glass stem of the cool cocktail glass between her finger and thumb and raised the glass to her lips. She sipped at the neon pink cocktail and a burst of strawberry flavor danced across her tongue, followed by the familiar sting of alcohol.
Kat winced at the strength of the drink and nodded to herself. “This might just taste good enough to get me through tonight.”
She skirted around the rest of the dance floor until she was at her sorority’s table. Just as she arrived, a couple of girls jumped up from the table with their arms outstretched and their drinks pointed up. They ran past Kat without seeing her and headed straight for the floor.
Kat twisted her face in pain as the chorus of shrieking girls passed her by. If there was one thing she could never understand about sorority girls, it’s why they had to be so loud. A girl called Monique jumped up from the table with the energy of a girl ready to dance. Her eyes set on Kat instantly and she swapped her smile for a concerned turn of her head.
“Eight twenty five girl? Really?! Your sister is going to kill your ass. Come here.” Monique embraced Kat with a hug that felt genuine. It was a small thing, but it was something of a rarity in the sorority life, and Kat didn’t take it for granted.
“Thanks Monique.” Kat stood awkwardly at the side of the table, as the rest of the girls filed out of the large booth. She shot a cursory glance at her sister Ruth, who was the only girl left sitting at the plush white booth. “You don’t suppose she’s mad do you?”
“I love you honey.” Monique kissed the air to the right of Kat’s face and stepped in the direction of the dance floor. “But, you have got to start showing up on time for shit. It’s your sister’s birthday for god sake!”
Monique disappeared into the sea of smiling faces and Kat glanced back around to face her sister. Ruth was sat at the far end of the booth, at the head of the long white table. Her arms were crossed and she held Kat’s gaze with a solitary brow raised.
Ruth and Kat looked alike, but Ruth was the shorter of the two and her hair was dark brunette, in contrast to Kat’s mousy blonde.
Kat scooted onto the long white seat and moved around until she was sat by her sister. “Would it help if I gave you the rest of my drink?” Kat pushed the half-full neon pink cocktail across the table to Ruth.
A smile curled at the edge of Ruth’s lips. She picked the glass up and finished the drink in one. “It might be a start…” Ruth’s face twisted as the alcohol flavor hit. “Damn that’s strong, what did you put in this?!”
“I just ordered a strawberry bellini, that young black guy with the short hair made it.”
“Oh… the one that is totally in love with you?” Ruth chuckled. “Well that makes sense. He’s obviously just trying to get you drunk. You should let him, have a bit of fun finally.” Ruth winked at her sister and set the glass back down.
“Maybe.” Kat looked across the dance floor at the sea of smiling faces. Lights whirled across the darkness and the music pulsed across the crowd like a rising tide. “He’s not really my type.”
“There’s a surprise.” Ruth flicked a hand across her dark fringe and crossed her legs. She leaned back into the corner of the booth and looked over at Kat. “Where the hell have you been anyway? It’s my birthday night out Kat. You can’t even show up on time for that?”
“I know Ruth, I’m so sorry-”
“I know you don’t like doing sorority stuff.” Ruth said. “And I know you only show up when you absolutely have to, but I thought even you would want to celebrate my birthday.”
“I do Ruth, honest.” Kat stressed. “I just got caught up with some stupid shit, that’s all. I’m here now, can’t we just have fun?”
“I don’t know Kat.” Ruth glanced down at her black cocktail dress and brushed a crease out of it. “Can we? It’s obvious you hate everything about sorority life. We both know you’re only here because mom wants us to be.”
“I’m trying Ruth.” Kat said. “I honestly am. I just… I don’t really like clubs,” Kat waved a hand over the sensory wall of chaos that was the club. “It’s too much for me. I prefer quiet places.”
<
br /> “We have our differences Katty.” Ruth said. “It would be nice to feel like you’re not just here to cash inheritance checks.”
“The money that was left to us was Dad’s money.” Kat said for the hundredth time. “When he died it should have come to us. Then she had to come in with this ridiculous condition that we’d only get it if we went to Capa Phi.” Kat scoffed. “I mean, it’s fine for you. You were obviously always going to be a Capa Phi princess Ruth, you’re too beautiful not to.”
“Aww.” Ruth pulled her lips into a sympathetic smile. “See? You can be nice sometimes.”
“I’m just saying sis, it’s not fair that mom is putting me through this. We’re two different people, I get that, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I’m following her rules because if I don’t, she’ll take the money that dad left for me. She already sunk her claws into him deep enough. She’s not getting anymore.”
Ruth rolled her eyes and laughed. “She can be a nightmare sometimes, even I can admit that. No hard feelings over you being late, just tell me - what is it you were up to?”
Kat slumped into the seat next to her sister and sighed. “Oh nothing, you’re only going to think it’s dumb anyway.”
“Probably.” Ruth laughed. “But at least you can say I always find your stories amusing.”
Kat glanced at Ruth and weighed up how much she really wanted to relive the events of the night so far. “Okay.” She smiled and sat up straight. “So as you know I’ve been looking into vampires for this latest journalism assignment I have.”
Ruth dropped her head into her hands and laughed. “God, you’re still on this vampire hype? You’ve been in my room every evening talking about this shit. Let it go!”
“I know, I know!” Kat laughed. Every night before bed her and her sister would usually try and find ten minutes to talk over their day with each other before it was done. Kat had taken the last weeks worth of nights hostage, with excited ramblings of things she had read on the internet.
“But it’s just, I found something interesting online, and I went to check it out. Something here in town.”
“Vampires?” Ruth raised a curious eyebrow. “Here in Dead Rest? You know that’s interesting. Because I heard something too actually…” Ruth’s tone shifted into seriousness and her gaze floated into the distance.
Kat sat up straight and took notice of her sister’s change. “What Ruth? What did you hear?”
“I heard that they found the boogeyman working over the road at the Burger Barn.”
Ruth delivered the line dead pan only to crack into a smile at seeing her sister’s look of disapproval. “Sorry. Carry on. What did you find?”
“Nothing.” Kat said flatly. “There was mention of this bar, somewhere that vampires were meant to hang out. I went to check it out and it was just… creepy.”
“Well if vampires were real, that’s the kind of thing I’d expect. Was anyone there? Did someone try to hurt you?”
Kat recalled the events as they had unfolded, from her walking through the door to falling into Ansel’s arms. By the end of the story her sister’s interest had definitely moved from polite listening to active intrigue.
“He sounds dreamy.” Ruth said and her eyes sparkled with imagination. “Did you get his number?”
“No.” Kat pulled a face. “I tried to get it but you were calling me, and we kind of hurried away from each other. I got the sense he was late for his shift as this bar.”
“Sorry sis.” Ruth patted a hand on her sister’s leg. “If you think this guy works at this creepy theme bar… why not just go back there again and find him?”
“Maybe. I kind of got the impression he was blowing me off. He declined to give me his number and said he was, ‘Sure’ that we’d bump into each other again. What does that even mean?”
Ruth sat there with a big smile on her face.
“What?” Kat looked around to check that one of Ruth’s dumb friends wasn’t pulling a face behind her back. “Is there something on my face?”
“No.” Ruth said with a wide smile. “It’s just that I’ve known you for just shy of twenty years now sis, and I’ve never so much as heard you talk about a guy before.”
Kat blushed and reared her head. “What? Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I have!”
“Nope. Nada.” Ruth shook her head. “In fact I think this might the very first time I’ve heard you gush over another guy. To be honest I was starting to wonder if you were in the closet or something.” Ruth shot a hand up. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that if you are.”
“I’m not in the closet, and I’m definitely not gushing over this guy.” Kat said back. “I was just hoping I could speak to him about this vampire stuff. He must know a fair deal if he works at this bar. I need to write something for my journalism piece.”
“Oh I’m sure it’s the journalism piece that you’re concerned about.” Ruth rolled her eyes once more. “What makes you think you won’t bump into this guy again sis? Maybe you’re just destined to be together.”
Kat shook her head. “No. You should have seen this guy honestly, he looked like he could have been on an underwear billboard.”
“I thought you said he was dressed in all black?” Ruth said. “How could you possibly know if he had a good body or not?”
“Well I don’t.” Kat admitted. “But he had the face, and I imagine he’s more than got the body.”
Ruth burst into another wide smile and counted on her fingers as she spoke. “So you’re imagining what he looks like naked. Gushing over him and hoping that you run into him again. Tell me sis, what part of that equation doesn’t equal obsessed to you?”
“Okay fine.” Kat sighed through a smile. “I might be a little obsessed, but this guy was… damn. I don’t even know how to describe it. He was hot okay? What’s wrong with me having a little fun every now and then?”
Ruth leaned forward and placed an arm on her sister’s shoulder. “Nothing honey, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you your whole life.”
Suddenly Ruth paused and sat up straight. “Say, Kat. You know when you described this vampire-but-not-vampire guy to me. Just run over that again.”
“Okay.” Kat buzzed with excitement over getting to relive the memory of Ansel once more. “He was tall.”
“Yep.”
“Handsome…”
“Yep.”
“He had this thick and wavy hair that was dark and perfectly tussled.”
“Uh huh.”
“Dressed in all black… and his clothes seemed to fit so well. You know?”
“Uh huh. What about his face? What did he look like?”
Kat paused and thought for a moment. “Like I said really. He was handsome. Kind of pale actually, but he didn’t look sickly or anything. His eyes were the most unusual part, they almost looked like they were…”
“Red?” Ruth said and finished Kat’s sentence for her.
“Yeah.” Kat turned to her sister in confusion. “How did you know?”
“Well I might be wrong sis, but there can’t be that many red eyed vampire-but-not-vampire biker princes running around this old town. Believe me, I would have seen them.”
“What do you-”
Ruth placed a hand on her sister’s head and turned it to the foot of the table. There Ansel stood with his hands in his pockets, silhouetted perfectly by the twinkle of lights behind him.
“Ansel.” Kat choked on air and sat up bolt straight. “What are you doing here?!”
Ansel roughed a hand over the back of his head and flashed a smile at her. “Well, I did tell you I’d bump into you.”
4. Ansel
The club was loud, much too loud for Ansel. He held his hearing back as much as he possibly could, in effort to avoid damaging his most prized sense. He could feel the thick pulse of the bass drum as it rumbled across the floor and through his bones. It was a dizzying sensation and not one that he enjoyed. He focused his attention on the reason he was
here and smiled at her. Kat.
Kat stared back at Ansel awestruck. She sat frozen at the far end of the booth. After a few seconds of silence, the brunette girl next to her scooted around the table, stood up and held her hand out.
“Hi, I’m Ruth. Kat’s sister. You’ll have to excuse Kat.” Ruth leaned forward and whispered to Ansel. “She’s not like most girls.”
She glanced back at her sister, who was still sat frozen at the end of the booth. Ruth gestured lightly with her head, and Kat scrambled to her feet, seeming to finally get the picture.
“That’s quite alright.” Ansel watched Kat in fascination. “I don’t like most girls.”
Ruth laughed and held out a hand. “Ruth. Your name is?”
“Ansel.” Ansel took Ruth’s hand for the briefest moment. “Ansel Draco.”
Kat finished scurrying around the edge of the booth and stood to greet Ansel.
It looked to Ansel, that she was happy to see him, but also apprehensive at the same time.
“Ansel, what are you doing here?”
“You wanted an interview didn’t you? I thought I’d come and tell you about all that ‘vampire stuff’ you’re so desperate to hear about.”
Ansel and Kat stood across from each other with a few paces in between them. Kat’s sister, Ruth was lingering just off to the side. Ruth let out a sharp laugh and rapped her sister on the shoulder lightly.
“You’ll have to forgive Katty here Ansel,” Ruth said with a warm smile. “She’s a little obsessed with everything to do with vampires. She’s been that way since she was a child. Although, I suppose you must be interested to some degree - Kat mentioned you worked at a theme bar or something?” Ruth’s eyes flashed with excitement and she bounced on her heels. “It would be great to take the girls actually, it sounds like it could be a fun night out.”
The smile faded from Ansel’s lips and he turned away from Kat reluctantly to deal with Ruth. “I’m afraid the bar is not for humans. It’s vampires only. If you and your friends went there, you would most certainly end up dead.”