by Gayla Twist
Her rejection was so painful that I slunk away like a kicked dog, not even bothering to tell my family that I was leaving. It was rather an ill-bred thing to do, but personal heartache had blinded me to good manners. Instead I flew to Europe to pick up my old life where I’d left it. I avoided Paris, of course. I didn’t want to plunge that deeply back into my old life. But I began attending parties and masquerades with a new vigor. I made conquests of every vampiress who batted her eyes in my direction. I behaved like a bigger scoundrel than I had ever done before. But it was no good. None of it helped.
No matter how delightful the company I found, no female could erase the memory of Haley and our one life-altering kiss. I would lie in my coffin all day, staring at the lid and thinking about her, wondering how she was surviving. Had she found a discreet way to feed herself? What if she was being reckless with her appetite and the Bishops found out? Our ruling family did not look kindly upon rogue vampires who drew unnecessary attention to the existence of the undead. Haley knew nothing about keeping herself safe. And even if I tried to tell her, she was so stubborn that she probably wouldn’t listen to me. It was infuriating.
“What’s wrong with you, Dorian?” a sultry voice asked as I slouched against a wall at a party, wishing I wasn’t there, but feeling unwilling to leave. “Why such a long face? You might as well turn in for the day if you’re that miserable.”
I lifted my head to see Ilona Firenze gazing at me with a concerned expression on her face. She was a striking woman with a head full of bright red, corkscrew curls and a figure that drew attention wherever she went. “Hello, Ilona,” I managed to say.
“Oh come on now,” she purred. “Are you really that world weary?”
“It’s nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
She offered me a goblet. “Why don’t we have a drink and you can tell me all about it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well let’s have a drink anyway,” she insisted. “I haven’t seen you in ages.”
I wasn’t in the mood to make small-talk with Ilona. She would expect me to flatter her and charm her with stories of my escapades, but I just didn’t have the energy to make genial chit-chat. Plus Ilona and I had a past that bordered on the edge of unsavory and I didn’t want to breathe new life into the relationship.
“I don’t think I’d be much good, as far as company,” I told her. “I’m not really up for conversation.”
Ilona cocked her head to one side and looked at me out of the corner of her lashes. “Maybe conversation isn’t what I had in mind.”
I went home with her. It was a foolish thing to do, but I couldn’t help myself. I was just so miserable that I was grasping at anything to help me forget. And Ilona was quite attractive, even by vampire standards.
I had meant to just have a bit of a romp with her, but I couldn’t go through with it. I ended up confessing everything to her about Haley in a giant glob of words. I knew it wasn’t the smartest thing I could do. And I knew listening to me pour out my heart wasn’t exactly what Ilona had had in mind when she’d invited me home. But once I’d started talking, I found I couldn’t stop.
“It’s getting close to dawn,” she said after I’d talked for a good, long time. There was still an hour or two left of the night, but I’d obviously worn out her patience. “You should probably be on your way.”
“Oh,” I said, stopping short. It wouldn’t have been unheard of for me to stay overday at her place, but that was obviously not what she had in mind. “I guess I should get going.” I got to my feet, feeling foolish. “Sorry for talking your ear off. But I appreciate you listening.”
An annoyed frown pulled at the corners of Ilona’s ruby red lips. “Just imagine, the notorious Dorian Vanderlind, felled by a fledgling vampire. I just feel so embarrassed for you,” she said, the gleam of malice in her eye. I guess listening to me whine all night had made her cross and a little bitter. “And you say you can’t even get control over your own progeny?” she asked as she walked me to the door. She shook her head. “I never would have imagined that you could sink so low.”
“Thank you for your hospitality,” I told her before fleeing into the night. Confessing anything to Ilona was a mistake and I don’t know what had possessed me. At the least she would spread malicious gossip about me. And at the worst… well, I couldn’t begin to imagine what she would do at her worst. I didn’t know what Ilona had been like as a mortal, but as a member of the undead, she was known as a ball-buster. A very hot ball-buster, but cruel nonetheless. I felt worse than I had in weeks as I crawled into my casket.
After that unfortunate evening I began to run with a more sordid crowd than I would normally associate. For many vampires life becomes an endless bacchanal and I thought that maybe one long party would blunt my feelings for my scion.
It didn’t work. The lower I sunk on the undead social ladder, the more I longed to be with Haley and share with her the finest things immortality had to offer. On one such evening of wild revelry, I had two lovely vampiresses vying for my attention. At first I thought there was going to be a fight and I wonder if I would find that a welcome distraction. But then they somehow agreed that they should unite and turn their aggression toward me.
I barely escaped their clutches with my dignity intact. Once I had returned home and was alone in my bed, I stared at the ceiling of my coffin, wishing for the sweet oblivion that was sleep. But I knew that even if I could have achieved such bliss, I would only dream of Haley. She had infected me and there was apparently no cure.
“The hell with it,” I growled, although there was no one in the room to hear me. “I just have to find a way to make her love me.”
Chapter 3
Dorian
The next nightfall I hurriedly threw a few things in a bag and took off for America. I didn’t even pause long enough to say goodbye to some of my old friends. Or any of my new ones, for that matter. All I cared about was seeing Haley again. She may not have loved me. ― And she obviously did not feel connected to me in the way most vampires felt toward their maker. ― But I had to see that she was alright. I had to at least try to teach her the things every vampire needed to know to stay hidden from the eyes of the mortal world. She may not have loved me, but I loved her and that was all that really mattered.
It took me a few days to get back to Tiburon. I had to fly in stages, spending the daylight hours in safe houses along the way. I probably took more risks than I should have while travelling, but I couldn’t help myself. I was too impatient to see Haley again.
By the time I reached my ancestral home on the outskirts of Tiburon, I was famished. I was so hungry that I could have easily lost control and slaked my thirst on the blood of a stranded motorist or a young deer wandering through the woods on the Vanderlind estate.
The Vanderlind Castle is an actual castle, built back when parapets and a portcullis were much more important in an abode than granite countertops and recessed lighting. My grandfather had the whole castle moved, stone-by-stone, from Budapest to the shores of the Tiburon River in the nineteen thirties when support for Hitler started gathering momentum. Vampires and battlefields should never mix. It was sometimes a challenge to maintain control around a perfectly healthy human, never mind a man with a limb blown off who was spilling blood all over the soil.
The exterior of the castle was rather gray and foreboding, but my aunt had done wonders with the interior. It was actually quite pretty, as far as fortresses go. I entered the building from the back patio. We’d had a large sliding-glass door installed. I had thought about ringing the bell and entering through the front door like a gentleman, but I was too miserable to stand around while my family made a fuss. I just wanted to fill my belly before going to bed. I would start searching for Haley immediately after the next sunset and I wanted to look my best. My family would want me to stay up late. They would draw the blackout curtains to keep out the sun and in
sist that I tell them about what I’d been up to since I had shamefully slipped into the night a few days after Christmas. I didn’t say goodbye or thank them for their hospitality. It was true that the castle was just as much mine as it was any of theirs, but I hadn’t lived there in so long that it always felt like I was a guest.
As I was helping myself from the fully stocked refrigerator, a mortal woman entered the kitchen dressed in only a robe. She was petite with straight black hair, cropped at her chin. Giving a start upon seeing me, she didn’t make a sound. She simply turned around and left the room in a speedy manner.
A few moments later my Cousin Jessie’s giant appeared. He was also clad only in a robe. “Hello, Mr. Wanderlind,” he said with his booming voice and Russian accent. “Velcome home. I am sorry I am not appropriately dressed but I vasn’t aware ve vere expecting you.”
“It’s quite alright, Hugo,” I assured him. “I didn’t tell any of the family I was coming. And I’m not quite sure I’m going to stay.” I glanced at his robe again and wondered if he had to have all his clothes custom made. “Can I assume from your appearance that none of the family is home at the present?”
“They are not,” he said shaking his enormous head. “I must assume that you have not spoken to your family since the holidays.”
“I’m afraid I owe my aunt a very large apology that I’m delinquent on delivering,” I admitted.
“There has been much that has happened since you vere last here,” he told me. His face was grave, but the giant always looked grave as far as I could tell. I didn’t know if that meant there had been trouble or if it was just that Jessie was engaged.
“I’ll reach out to them as soon as I can,” I assured him. “Where have they gone? Budapest?”
“I am sorry, but I am not sure,” he said, continuing to frown.
“That’s fine, Hugo,” I told him. “Go back to whatever you were doing.” I had to assume that the woman with the black hair was somehow involved. “I’ll catch up with my family later.”
“Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Wanderlind?” he asked.
“No, I’m fine. I’ll just take my usual room. You go back to bed.”
With that the giant turned and exited the kitchen. I was left to enjoy my meal and wonder about my family. It seemed to me that Hugo had told me that there was some kind of complication with my family the last time he stumbled across me foraging for food in the refrigerator. That was around Christmas, if memory served. Was the trouble still going on? I had to wonder. It was probably some sort of nonsense with Jessie’s human. Mortals were so fragile. Sometimes it was a challenge just to keep them alive.
The next sunset I filled my belly again, along with a flask for Haley. I had no idea how she was managing to feed herself so I figured it was best to be prepared. I started my search at the house where she lived with her Uncle Kevin. The last time I had seen the property it was in sad shape. The shutters had been practically falling off the windows and there had been piles of junk all over the lawn. But someone had come in, re-hung the shutters and hauled the junk away. The snow was neatly shoveled and it looked like somebody had actually washed all the windows. The man who answered the door after I knocked appeared familiar, but completely altered from the drunk I had previously encountered.
“Uncle Kevin?” I asked, not even sure he was the same man.
“Excuse me?” the man said. “Do I know you?”
Haley’s uncle had really cleaned up his act. He was actually wearing a clean sweater and a pair of pants. His face was clean shaven and his eyes weren’t bloodshot. There wasn’t even the hint of bourbon on his breath.
“I’m a friend of Haley’s,” I told him. “Are you her Uncle Kevin?”
The man squinted at me as if trying to see through a fog. I’d had to use my influence over him a couple of times when I was trying to control Haley after her making, so I probably looked vaguely familiar. “I am,” he told me. “But she’s not here right now. Can I tell her who dropped by?”
That was an interesting question. Did I want to alert Haley to the fact that I was back in town before finding her myself?
“You can come in if you want,” he said, pushing open the screen door. “Haley’s probably at work. But it’s cold out, so you might as well warm up first.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling a little thrill as I crossed over the threshold into his home. The man obviously had no idea I was a vampire.
“I’m just fixing some supper, if you’d like to join me,” he said, heading toward the kitchen. “You’ll have to excuse me. I have something on the stove.”
I followed him through the house, marveling at the interior. I had Uncle Kevin pegged as a lazy man with a violent temper, but his home was immaculate. The walls had a fresh coat of paint and there were even some flowers in a vase on the dining room table. I noticed some text books stacked there as well. I glance at a cover. The Principles of Mechanical Engineering, I read. Was Haley taking some classes? Mechanical Engineering didn’t sound like her.
“Oh, sorry about the clutter,” Kevin said, hustling back into the room, a dish towel hanging off his shoulder. There was absolutely no clutter anywhere to be seen. “I kind of take over the dining room when Haley’s not around.”
“You’re studying engineering?” I asked.
“Trying to,” Kevin said with a modest bob of his head. “But I’ve got to tell you, it ain’t easy.”
“Impressive,” I told him. “When did this start?”
“It’s always been something I wanted to do,” he said, wiping his hands repeatedly on the dishtowel. “But… I don’t know. The dream somehow slipped away from me. Then a couple of weeks ago I just got the urge and signed up for some night classes.”
His explanation sounded way too suspicious. “Did you talk to Haley before you took all this on?”
“Sure,” he said, bobbing his head some more. “She’s been really encouraging.”
I had a feeling that my progeny had been using quite a bit of her influence over her uncle. He’d gotten motivated and pulled his life together way too quickly for there not to be some paranormal powers at work. It wasn’t proper undead behavior, but I couldn’t blame Haley. Kevin had been kind of a hillbilly drunk the last time I had the pleasure of conversing with him. There really wasn’t that much harm in encouraging a man to lay off the booze and get his act together. Haley had probably grown tired of threatening him and decided to figure out a better way to live. I wasn’t sure that the Bishops would fully approve of her interfering with the mortal world, but I felt a little proud of her.
After that I headed over to Darlene’s Diner to see if Haley was working. I couldn’t enter the premises of my own accord. I assumed it was because the owner lived upstairs. I must have looked pretty obvious striding back and forth in front of the diner’s window because eventually an older woman with platinum blonde hair cracked open the door. “You looking for someone, honey?” she asked, her voice raspy from years of smoking too many cigarettes.
“Good evening,” I said to her. “Would you please tell me if Haley Scott still works here?”
The woman nodded. “Sure she does, but she’s not on tonight. She’s probably out causing trouble.” The woman released a small cackle that served as a laugh. Her words sent a shiver up my spine. If Haley was roaming around central Ohio, feeding off the living, then it would cause quite a bit of trouble. “You want to come in for a bowl of chowder?” the woman asked.
I felt the invisible barrier that was blocking me from entering the diner vanish. It must have been the woman who lived somewhere in the building. People in small town America really had to learn to stop inviting me into their homes. I knew for a fact that mortals weren’t nearly as trusting in New York. But then again, the woman didn’t realize she had just given me permission to enter her bedroom while she was sleeping — even though it had been her intent to offer me something to eat.
In frustration I took to the skies. Where in the hell
was Haley Scott keeping herself? The town of Tiburon just wasn’t that big. I’d crossed half the planet to be with her and she was nowhere to be found. From the conversations I’d had with mortals, I knew Haley was still around. She hadn’t fled to a larger city. But how did a fledgling vampire feed herself in a small town without causing a commotion? I closed my eyes and just hovered in the air, hoping I could simply sense where she was concealed. I guess I did have some maker instincts because something compelled me to fly two towns over and head to a strip of road that boasted several bars. It made sense; alcohol lowered people’s inhibitions and it was easier to feed off a mortal who didn’t have his guards up.
When I caught glimpse of Haley sucking on some man’s neck in a back alley, my first instinct was to end the stranger’s life without delay. I wanted to fling the man against a wall and snap his spine. But then I caught myself. Haley was simply feeding off of him. It made no sense to be jealous of her food. A man does not wish to fight the chicken his lover is eating for dinner. Now if she had been kissing the man, or he had been pleasuring her in any other way, that would have been a different story.
I forced down my jealousy and alighted in the alley not too far from where the two of them were concealed. I was careful to be quiet. It’s not that I didn’t want to spook Haley’s quarry — I had a full flask of blood to offer her if he was chased away — but I wanted to see how she was handling dining off of a live human, Perhaps there were some pointers I could offer her.
I composed myself against the wall to wait, but then quickly grew anxious. There was some overfeeding on Haley’s part. I had to restrain myself from rushing forward and pointing out the obvious. There was only so much blood a man could give before his heart would stop beating in his chest. Fortunately she caught her indiscretion in time and brought him back to life.