by Casey Wyatt
Dead Girls Don't Sing
The Undead Space Initiative, Volume 2
Casey Wyatt
Published by Casey Wyatt, 2017.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One | Hell’s Very Own Baby Shower
Chapter Two | Family Is Another Word For Crazy
Chapter Three | Lost and Found
Chapter Four | And Baby Makes Three
Chapter Five | Stranger Danger
Chapter Six | Time Trippin’
Chapter Seven | Morning Breath
Chapter Eight | Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Chapter Nine | Daddy Dearest
Chapter Ten | One Small Step for Vampire Kind
Chapter Eleven | The Un-Velvet Underground
Chapter Twelve | Out of the Frying Pan
Chapter Thirteen | Into the Fire
Chapter Fourteen | Things Go Boom
Chapter Fifteen | The Fun in Dysfunctional
Chapter Sixteen | Three Sisters and Me
Chapter Seventeen | Fight the Power
Chapter Eighteen | Backward is the New Forward
Chapter Nineteen | There’s No Place Like Mars
Chapter Twenty | I Know Why the Dead Girl Sings
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books By Casey Wyatt
For the dreamers.
Boldly go . .
Chapter One
Hell’s Very Own Baby Shower
Listen carefully, because I only want to say this once.
Time travel isn’t possible.
The laws of space-time are immutable. We only get to live in this moment. There’s no jumping into the past and killing off your enemy’s great-great grandma. Conversely, there’s no jumping ahead either—viewing the future, discovering that it sucks, then vowing to change it by preventing whatever bad thing is about to happen.
Science agrees on this point. There is no doubt. It is important to understand this distinction or nothing amazing can come out of the story I’m about to relate. Plus, I don’t want to hear later that my story didn’t make any sense.
Got it?
Good.
Moving on . . .
I WAS IN HELL. ONE of my own making, involving slushy fruit punch and appetizers shaped like rattles and baby shoes made of Lord knew what. As the first pregnant vampire in the history of forever, I should have seen this day coming.
Even back in the day, Victorian times in my case, baby showers were a thing. And since every one of us undead started out mortal, yeah, I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Have I mentioned that I hate surprises? Surprises are like halitosis—something made up by people with agendas to create desire for products no one knows they want.
A surprise baby shower, especially when I didn’t know if the baby would survive living on Mars, didn’t exactly hit my top ten list of pre-birth priorities. My best friend, Jay, would argue that in his native country, India, a baby’s birth is celebrated through religious ritual. In my case, it was being acknowledged with a hodge-podge of presents, weird food, and good old-fashioned one-upsmanship.
“Open mine first.” Nina pushed a misshapen object toward me. It was inexpertly wrapped in discarded memo paper. “It’s the best gift here.”
“Mine’s better,” insisted Brandy, elbowing Nina aside.
Nina scoffed, disdain clear. Fangs poked from her pouty mouth. I’d witnessed Nina’s prowess, her goddess-like skill in getting her way. After a few well-positioned thrusts of her ample breasts and rounded ass, she could have a man eating out of her sweaty shoe. With a smile on his face. Lucky for me, I was immune to her charms.
Not because she wasn’t attractive. I just didn’t ride in that rodeo. Plus, I was her Sire. She obeyed me, not the other way around.
I accepted the gift with a curt nod and ignored her “pick me” expression. Brandy flung a pointed smile at Nina.
Nina added with proud certainty, “It’s not a competition. Opening mine first is a much better choice.”
Turning to Brandy, I smiled and accepted her gift. “Thank you. I’m sure they are both thoughtful and lovely.”
At least I hoped so. With the undead, you never knew.
Mars didn’t have stores located on every corner. Hell, it didn’t have any stores at all other than the commissary we’d cobbled together. In the year since we’d landed, the colony had added a couple of bars and a burlesque club. The club mainly for those in my Family who still enjoyed the old bump and grind.
Hey, we weren’t total savages. We enjoyed drinking and entertainment.
That said, a store or two would be nice. I missed taking leisurely strolls down a quaint main street window shopping. Maybe we could entice a chain store to open a Martian franchise. There were prominent business moguls on Earth who were of the undead variety. And judging from the reports we received when a new batch of colonists arrived, factions continued to war over which group would be dominant. So far, the vampires remained on top. The revenants and zombies weren’t as united and infighting eroded any progress they made.
I can’t say I was sad to miss any of that. My husband, Ian, who was as old as dirt, assured me that we were better off on Mars. While that may have been true, I did miss the little things. The sun warming my face, ocean waves crashing against the shore, bird songs, and honking cars.
If only Mars were a bit more like Earth, it would be perfect.
A ruckus disturbed my musings.
“Don’t be such a nerd,” Nina said, moving Brandy’s gift aside like it was a dead rat. “I have experience in this area. I know what a new mom needs.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t need a ten-speed vibrator, Nina.” Brandy’s condescending tone said what she thought of Nina’s gift-giving skills. “She’s married and gets all the action she needs.”
Nina huffed. “Not funny, Brandy. You’re awfully sanctimonious for someone who took off her clothes and flashed her tits like the rest of us.”
Brandy’s mouth formed a tight moue before she zeroed in. “At least I provide useful services to the colony.”
“If you call giving the newcomers hand jobs, I guess so.”
“I do not!”
As entertaining as the argument was, I raised my hand. “That’s enough.”
The ladies in my vampire family had been burlesque entertainers. Not that I’m casting judgement. It was a job I relished for many decades. Our former and dearly departed Sire, Jonathan, had taken great care of us. Thanks to his business acumen and my convoluted relationship with him, he started the group to give me, his very disobedient wife, something to do.
“Ladies, please. Some decorum would be refreshing.” Harmony, our resident revenant high priestess, breezed past them, gathering their gifts. And by breezed, I mean she floated an inch off the floor like many revenants did.
Revenants are undead like vampires, only they’re a different flavor. They feed on energy rather than blood. If anyone had told me a year earlier that I’d be living on Mars with a vampire’s enemies – revenants and zombies – I’d have laughed, then asked them what drugs they were taking.
Harmony piled the gifts next to my chair. “Cherry will choose as she pleases.”
And what an assortment. I may have said I hated showers, but seeing the expectant and joyful expressions on their faces melted my resistance.
Bless their undead hearts. How could I not love that the female contingent of my vampire family decided to throw me a baby shower?
I admit that when they’d approached me on the pretense of a family meeting, I wasn’t exactly enthused about attending. There may have been some heavy sighs and a f
ew eye rolls after they left. But as their Sire I needed to do my duty and hear them out. I’d been braced to hear complaints. I received a hearty “surprise” from them instead.
They’d decorated an antechamber with paper flowers and fresh-cut greenery from the colony’s hothouse, and had draped soft fabrics on a large slab table. They’d even conjured a sheet cake.
Needless to say, the amount of effort was touching. As a whole, we undead tend not to be sentimental. It’s one of the pitfalls of longevity.
An unexpected baby had changed everything.
“I hope we’re not too late!” Louis, my former assistant, entered the room with what I’m pretty sure was the entire male half of the Family and the rest of the settlement.
Hard to believe, but once upon a time I was the leader of the entire colony, courtesy of the aforementioned Jonathan. When he died, I became the Sire of his vampires and sort of inherited Mars. Thankfully, the colony’s elected leader is my hubby, Ian. Next election, it will be somebody else’s job. Louis would be the perfect candidate.
“Come in, sit. Eat or sip.” Harmony had the crowd well in hand. In short order, she’d organized the gift pile which had grown exponentially.
Where had the stuff come from?
The colony did receive some supplies from Earth which were traded and bartered, precious as gold. Or like cigarettes in prison, take your pick.
Tears welled in my eyes. It must have taken months to amass the stuff.
“Ah, luv. No need to cry.” Ian, my gorgeous husband and love of my life, swooped over my shoulder and kissed my cheek.
“Where’d you come from?” I hadn’t noticed him arrive with the others.
“Now, that’s a loaded question, isn’t it?”
“Don’t be fresh. You know I don’t like it when you sneak up on me.”
He dragged a chair beside me and assessed the gift pile. “Such a bounty. I wonder where we’ll put it.”
“Aren’t baby showers for women only?” I leaned against his shoulder. The baby shifted and twisted, bouncing against my organs.
“Those are mortal rules. We can do whatever we want,” he said with a touch of pride. His blue eyes, the ones I never got tired of gazing into, twinkled with merriment. He may have appeared to be a badass to everyone else. But I knew the real him. And his gushy, sentimental side. The party thrilled him.
“I like how you think, Mr. McDevitt,” I purred against his neck, happy not to have to endure the shower by my lonesome. If only we could be alone. If only I could rip his clothes off.
Not happening. I was too far into my pregnancy to risk it.
Vampire sex can be somewhat spirited. As in, rip-roaring, furniture-breaking, wall-denting fun. We could be gentler except it was too easy to get carried away.
We weren’t taking any chances. Plus, even if I wanted to, Ian had the control and resolve of a Benedictine monk and could out-stubborn me when it came to my and the baby’s health and well-being.
“How about some punch? It looks to be your favorite red kind.” Ian left before I could answer. He was so considerate of my condition, it was almost tiring at times. I wasn’t going to break. Geesh.
“Red is the only kind we have,” I said to the empty chair next to me.
Nina and Brandy exchanged a concerned look but kept their opinions to themselves. I was the Sire. The Big Kahuna loaded with unpredictable hormones. They didn’t want to chance annoying me.
I wouldn’t have hurt them. I’m not a brutal leader. But I could be biting in my comments, and I didn’t want to bruise feelings unnecessarily. Especially after the effort they’d put in to throwing me a baby shower. A knot tightened my throat. Sappy tears welled, but I pushed away the urge to cry. I would not be ruled by body chemistry.
I stuck my hand into the present pile and grabbed something hard and square. The wrapping was colorful, not paper but not quite fabric either. Sprigs of fresh herbs had been tied into the center with twine.
Brandy’s face brightened. Nina harrumphed but leaned closer to see what was inside.
I wiggled off the string and the wrapping came away to reveal a seamless wooden box. The box was decorated with a Japanese woman in bright paint. A coat of lacquer protected the artwork.
“Nice, Brandy. You gave our Sire a block of wood,” Nina said. “What’s the baby going to do with that? Teethe on it?”
“It’s a puzzle box. May I, Sire?” Brandy approached at my nod, then slid her fingers along the edges and pushed a corner. The lid opened and revealed another box decorated with a crashing wave, similar to the famous painting by Hokusai.
“This is incredible,” I said, retrieving the inner box.
“There’s one more inside. It opens the same way.”
I mimicked the motion. Something released because the second box revealed a third box. Beautifully decorated with a forest scene, the lid was hinged and opened with no tricks.
“Oh Brandy, this is beautiful.” I retrieved a delicate bird charm. Sheets of thin gold had been shaped and folded into an origami crane. It was exquisite.
“Thank you, Sire. I created it myself.” A touch of pink colored her cheeks, though I didn’t understand why she was embarrassed. “It is for the baby when she’s old enough.”
“She will love it. Thank you,” I said, reaching for another gift.
Nina beamed bright as a spotlight, confirming I’d chosen her gift. The narrow, irregular shape intrigued me as I removed the memo paper. Leather and steel. It took my brain a moment to catch up.
“Wow, Nina.” It was all I could think to say as I withdrew a pair of matching daggers from a decorated leather holster.
“A girl can’t be too careful. Someday she’ll thank me.” Nina winked then strutted away, confident in her choice. Like it was normal to give infants blades.
Ian reappeared with the punch. After handing it to me, he unsheathed the daggers and gave them a twirl. “Nice heft. Good balance. A warrior’s gift.”
I sought out Nina and Brandy. They were locked in conversation elsewhere in the room. What did I really know about them? Keeping the past close to the vest was common among our kind. Who had they been as humans? Brandy, with her golden, perfectly styled hair, bore an interested expression as she listened to Lemmy, one of the oldest vampires in the Family. No doubt he was reminiscing about Jonathan or the “good ole days.”
Nina, hip extended, posed sexy like it was automatic, batted her eyelashes at Jay. Her raven hair was sleek and glossy. Her curvaceous body and porcelain skin were showstoppers. She could command a room almost as well as I could. Almost.
Not that I was jealous. She had leadership qualities, but she held them back. I could tell before I became their Sire which vampires were true submissives and which were not. Nina could have her own Family if she wanted, though she’d never mentioned it to me. In fact, I’d planned to make her my second-in-command. One of these days, I’d find the time and energy to do it.
The bigger my belly grew the less motivated I was to do anything other than incubate. In fact, if I could focus only on motherhood, I would be a happy camper.
A small insistent voice fed me a thought—why didn’t I give the Family bond to Nina?
The idea thrilled and frightened me. I’d never lived outside of the Family. Sure, Ian had been rogue forever, but I still wasn’t sure it was right for me. And Jonathan had entrusted me with the Family he’d painstakingly fostered and grown. It felt disrespectful to consider shirking my duty.
Then again, maybe—
“Have some punch, luv. You look a bit peaked,” Ian said with a grin, handing me a new cup.
I threw Ian a grateful smile to hide the guilt planted on my shoulders. Good thing he couldn’t actually read my mind. Yet the corners of his lips twitched, making me wonder.
“Thanks to you,” I teased, rubbing my gigantic belly. Under his watchful gaze, I drank the red liquid down. Delicious and nutritious.
“There, there. I seem to recall you had a hand in the busine
ss as well.” The good-natured glimmer in his eyes warmed my heart. If love could be bottled, there wasn’t a container large enough to hold my feelings for him.
“Hmm. It was very enjoyable.” I leaned against him as close as the chairs would allow. The tip of my nose nuzzled where his throat met his collarbone. Ian’s delicious clean-air scent comforted the butterflies I’d been carrying since the shower was sprung on me.
He laced his fingers through mine and drew me in for a slow, tender kiss. A promise of what was to come after the baby arrived. Breaking away, he rested his forehead against mine. “Luv, I’ll be at your side, every step of the way. No matter how well you try to hide it from me, your fear, your anxiety, hammers at my heart something fierce.”
If only it were so easy to not worry about everything. I appreciated that Ian recognized my struggle. I half-whispered, “I want to be worthy, Ian.”
“You are, darling.” He brushed his thumb under my chin, lifting my head, capturing my gaze. “Don’t ever doubt you’re worthy. Don’t worry about perfection. The babe doesn’t need saints for parents because none of us are perfect.”
A discreet cough broke the spell between us. “Pardon me. Might I have a word with Ms. Cordial?”
Prior stood before us, head bowed.
Ugh. What could I say about him?
He was what happened when a toady got turned into a vampire. Part professor and part condescending snob, he’d driven me bananas when I had to work with him every day. And the dude loved creating as much paperwork as possible. Earth’s forests must have heaved a huge sigh of relief when I mandated that colony business go digital.
Prior waited for Ian’s nod before approaching me. It was kind of rude, but I expected nothing less from the snobby scholar and colony administrator. I wasn’t his Sire and I was no longer colony leader, so he deferred to Ian. I pretended not to care, but the half smile dancing on Ian’s lips told me he knew exactly what I was feeling.
“What’s going on?” In theory, Prior had no business with me now that I was retired.
Rooting in the pocket of his official colony jumpsuit—and, yes, he was the kind of dork who continued to wear one, when everyone else had switched to wearing whatever they wanted—he handed me a slim gift. “For the baby.”