The Adventure of the Christmas Vampires

by Kevin L. O'Brien

but arrived too late. However, she found me and gave me her blood to drink, thus turning me and saving my life. In doing so, she violated two of our strictest commandments: to never turn a Human without its consent, and to never turn a child under the age of consent. She was not punished only because the threat of the rogue was greater. She had hoped that as a witness, I could tell her things about it she did not already know, but I am only just now remembering that night. Still, we are nothing if not patient; Giovanna will find it, eventually, and she has promised to let me help her destroy it."

  "I'm sorry." Angela's story had frightened her, but it also made her feel sad for the child Vampire.

  Angela gave her a level stare. "What have you to feel sorry about?"

  "That you lost yer family, and on Christmas!"

  "You were not to blame."

  "No, I meant...oh, poo, how ta say it? I feel sad because you feel sad. I mean, I know how I'd feel if I lost my family that way, and I wanted ta let you know that I feel bad for you."

  "You are commiserating."

  "Yeah, I suppose; is that what that means?"

  "To commiserate is to express sympathy with another's plight, because you can empathize with her feelings."

  "Huh?"

  Angela smiled for the first time. "It means you feel sorry for me."

  "Oh."

  "I apologize, for a moment I forgot about the vast span of years between us."

  "Heh, that's okay! I could probably learn a lot of big words from you. Mom's always after me ta learn my vocabary words."

  "Vocabulary."

  "Yeah, words like that!"

  "I would be very happy to teach you, once you are turned."

  "Thanks! Would you also teach me Vampire games?"

  "We do not play games."

  "None at all?!"

  "No, we do not have time. Our nights are spent hunting, to ease the craving of our Hunger; our days are spent in torpor, hiding from the sun."

  "Bummer!"

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "That's another of my Dad's favorite words. It means being frustrated or disappointed."

  "I see."

  "But you guys would be really good at games, you can do so many cool things!"

  "How do you know about our abilities?"

  "My Mom was turned into a Vampire before I was born. Dad told me all about it. She could climb walls, and run really, really fast, and was as strong as an elephant."

  "All of that is true, and more." She hesitated a moment. "Would you like to see a demonstration?"

  "Yeah, please!"

  Angela smiled, and then she just disappeared. Connie jumped, and twisted around trying to find her.

  "I am over here," the child Vampire announced. Connie saw her sitting on a headstone before she disappeared again.

  "No, over here." She leaned against an obelisk before she disappeared once again.

  "No, behind you." Connie felt her tap her on her shoulder. She turned around and Angela winked at her before disappearing again. For once, however, she saw tracks appear in the snow. They moved almost too fast for her to follow, but their progress was obvious.

  "Still cannot find me?" She stood on a stone bench. When she disappeared again, Connie knelt down and grabbed a double handful of snow. As she stood up, she compacted it into a ball.

  "You should learn to observe." Angela appeared out in the open. Connie focused on her feet, and when the child Vampire disappeared again, she watched the tracks. They moved towards her and slightly to her left. She aimed for a spot ahead of them and threw the snowball. It struck Angela square in the chest, and she reappeared as she fell backwards into the snow.

  Connie laughed. "Gotcha!"

  Angela leapt to her feet and disappeared, then reappeared in front of Connie, her eyes blazing, her face distorted by anger as her mouth twisted into a snarl. She grabbed her by the arm in a grip so strong it hurt.

  "Why did you do that!?"

  Scared, Connie felt her temper flare. "Hey! Take it easy, ya spaz! It was just a snowball. I thought we were havin' fun!"

  Angela calmed down and let her go as her eyes dimmed. "Fun?"

  "Yeah, you know, doin' something you like, because it makes you happy.

  Angela smiled. "I did enjoy teasing you at that. Very well. Touche."

  "Huh?"

  "It is French; it means you got me."

  "Oh."

  "You have a good eye. How were you able to follow me?"

  "I could see your tracks in the snow." And she pointed to the footprints.

  Angela looked down and behind herself. "Clever! But can you follow me now?" She turned and ran away from Connie, not too fast to see, but after three steps she jumped into the air and landed on a tombstone. She began leaping from stone to bench to monument to crypt as she moved deeper into the cemetery, sometimes covering large distances, but never once touching the ground.

  "Catch me if you can!"

  "Hey! Wait for me!"

  When Giovanna returned to the party, she found the other Vampires were agitated. "What is wrong?"

  Rosalie broke away from a knot of yearlings, whose auras indicated they were close to panic. "The pickets have detected hunters all around the cemetery."

  "That is not unusual. They watch us all the time. They will not violate the neutrality of the grave, we just need to be careful when we leave."

  "No, these are Alexandrians!"

  Alarm seized her, for the first time in decades. "Madre del Dio! Recall the pickets immediately. Have everyone assemble here. We will make our stand among the crypts, where we have cover."

  "What of Connie?"

  Giovanna did a mental double take. She had forgotten about her! "I left her with Angela. Go, find them, and bring them back here. I will get her home."

  "Right away." Rosalie disappeared as she ran off towards the obelisks.

  "Attention!" she called out. The Vampires ceased their anxious babbling and turned towards her.

  "We all know the threat posed by the Alexandrians, those traitors to their own oath. The elders among us have fought them before; we know how to deal with them. You youngsters, gather with the elders, obey their commands; that is your only chance of survival. We have the advantages of night, power, and home ground, but we must use them well. So listen, and deploy as I instruct."

  The Vampires gathered closer to give her their full attention.

  Angela moved so fast that Connie soon lost sight of her, but she kept running in the same direction until she reached a two-story mausoleum with huge brass-covered doors. She stopped and looked around, trying to find the child Vampire.

  "Over here."

  Connie looked and found her standing on the peak of an obelisk, balancing on one foot.

  "That was so cool!"

  Angela jumped down, grinning at her. "I am glad you liked it. What do you think of this?" She walked over to a stone bench, slipped one hand underneath the seat, and lifted it off the ground over her head.

  "Whoa! Will I be able to do that when I'm a Vampire?"

  Angela set the bench back down. "Not at first, though you will be stronger than you are now, but the longer you live, the stronger you will become."

  "What else can you do? Can you fly?"

  "No, I cannot, but I can do this." She sprinted towards the mausoleum and jumped, not all the way to the roof, but about a third of the way up. She landed on the wall, touching it with the palms of her hands and her toes, but she didn't fall. She scrambled up like she was crawling across the ground, and over onto the roof before she turned over onto her back.

  "Wow! That's totally wicked!"

  "Is that good?" Angela sat perched on the edge of the roof, dangling and swinging her feet.

  "It's way better than good! It's awesome!"

  Angela hopped down. "You asked me to help you improve your vocabulary, but I believe there are things you can teach me as well."

  "Like what?"

  "Like, about this time and how to fit in better."
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  "Well, yeah, sure! I mean, after I'm a Vampire, we'll be friends. We'll spend all sorts of time together and teach each other all kinds of neat stuff."

  "Vampires do not have friends."

  "None at all?" Connie couldn't imagine not having friends.

  "We hunt for our blood. That means we hold territories, alone. Any other Vampire who enters our territory is a threat and must be chased off or destroyed."

  "But what about Rosie and Giovanna?"

  "Rosalie is twice my chronological age, and Giovanna is 500 years old. They are my elders and masters, not my friends. They look out for me because of my size and inexperience, but I am now powerful enough to defend myself, and my memory is returning. Soon I will not need their help."

  "So, you don't have any friends at all?"

  "No."

  "Well, then, I'll be your friend. I think that's why Giovanna put us tagether. She must've known you needed one, and when I'm turned, I'll need one, too."

  "That may be difficult."

  "No it won't, not if we try ta make it work. I mean, how are we gonna teach each other stuff if we can't get together?"

  "I had not thought of that."

  "So, okay, maybe we can't hunt together, but if we hafta be together to learn from each other, we can do other things as well. Things friends do."

  "That sounds reasonable. How do we become friends?"

  "Aren't we friends already?"

  Angela blinked, as if surprised. "Are we?"

  "We like each other, don't we?"

  "I suppose. Yes, I think so."

  "And we're having fun together, aren't we?"

  Angela grinned. "Yes!"

  "Then it's already done. But there's a way we can make it official." And she held out a fist.

  Angela looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "I do not understand."

  "Make a fist and punch mine with it. But be careful! I'm not as strong as you yet."

  Angela hesitated, but she raised a hand and pushed it towards Connie. She moved her hand