Melabeth the Vampire (22 page)

We entered into a little study area, and there Alice took a seat on a small couch,
and then patted the seat next to her. I sat down, and asked, “So you’re the master of this house?”

Alice’s face exploded into a smile; in fact, in this moment, she looked loveable. Then she said. “You’re smart; most take longer to figure it out. They always think Ezra’s in charge, and I turned Ezra myself. Ezra turned Charlotte and Michael, and I turned Lea, kind of a mistake on my part. How old do you think I am?”

“I don’t know?”

“That’s not a guess. You’re not even trying.” She demanded like a child.

“Two hundred,” I guessed.

“You’re half right.” She smiled in glee.

I was more than a little taken aback. In fact I wasn't even sure if I even believed her. “So you’re saying that you are 400 years old.”

She looked at me funny. “Over, actually; I was turned in 1587. And you know what is even more amazing than that?”

“No” I said hoping this wasn’t another guessing game.

“Well that settles it; nothing is more amazing. You don’t even believe me.” Alice said.

“How do you know I don’t believe you?” I asked.

Alice turned her head like an owl, and then said. “You have great power, with no knowledge. Yet your mind powers don’t match. In fact, I dare say you don’t have any. I left myself open to you; I didn’t block you at all. You should know if I am lying, and the blank look on your face says you have no idea what I am talking about.”

“Maybe I am too young for mind powers.”

“No,
” Alice said quickly, then added, “You’re too young to fly. You’re too young to spirit walk, but you should have some signs of mind powers. Even Lea can control minds of lesser animals, like bats and rats. And, then again, I still do not know how you fought me in the field. How did you see through my spiders?”

Doesn’t she know that her mind tricks don’t affect the second sight? Wait, maybe I should not tell her about
that power. So I lied and said, “I am not sure.”

A slow wicked smile spread across Alice’s face. “Do you think you can lie… to me?”

I just looked her back in the eye. I wasn’t about to let her bully me. “No, no, I don’t. I am just not ready to talk to you about that. Soon, I promise; tell me why you think I can fly?”

Alice smiled. “Nicely played, still you didn’t answer me, and showed
no fear. Then even tried a subject change.” She let out a laugh. “Fine, we will play Melabeth’s game, but know this; you will tell me later, and dolly never forgets.”

“Where is your doll?”

“Sleeping silly, and to answer your question, the reason I said you could fly is because I saw you do it. After you fed on those drunken teens, you flew, not far, and then landed on a boulder. There you lay for at least an hour.”

I kind of remember that now. “You saw all that?”

“No, I entered your mind and you showed me.” Alice said with that wicked grin.

“Really!”

“Really, don’t worry too much about what you show me. You are… difficult to read.” As Alice said this, there was a look in her eyes. I knew this look. It was the look of someone who had a mystery in front of them, and they had to solve it.

Alice went on. "Go shopping with Charlotte. I need to talk with Michael and Lea."

"Ok." Is all I could say, I wasn’t doing a good job of hiding my power. I hoped Nicks would not be mad at me.

"She is back and ready to go,
" Alice stated.

"Who?"

Alice looked at me as if I were slow. "Charlotte, time to shop until you drop."

"How do you know that?" I wondered.

Alice pointed to her head, and then said. "Don’t worry, I’ll teach you."

"Great, I will go join Charlotte." I got up and started heading out of the room.

Then Alice said, "Melabeth… one more thing. I love my family; control yourself, Lea is as close to me, as if she were my own child. Ok maybe not that close, but I do protect my family."

"Ok, I will."

As I left, I couldn’t help but think, Alice may have been a crazy child, but there was more. She loved her family, so just maybe, she is not all bad.

And, just maybe, they will help me find my way.

A Happy Thought

C
harlotte had been waiting for me.

On the way to the mall, she had a few small complaints about having to travel further. I soon found out her favorite mall was the Inland Mall, the same mall I killed those Order Members at, and it was obviously not a good idea for me to pop in any time soon.

Charlotte had this huge black, Chevrolet Blazer K5; it had oversized tires, with oversize steel bumpers front and back. It had big round spotlights on the top, and on the front bumper. Charlotte told me she had a great love of cars.

When I asked her why, she said,
“I was turned in 1928, at the age of twenty. Ezra and I met at a speakeasy where I liked to dance as a flapper. Let’s just say I can remember my first car ride. Cars were all the rage in the twenties.”

We d
idn’t talk much on the ride to the mall, and, when we started shopping, we never stopped talking about clothes. Come to find out me and Charlotte had a lot in common when it came to dressing up.

We both liked dresses, and we both liked older styles. Of course I could barely pass for eighteen, and she didn’t even look twenty. She had a fake ID that said she was twenty five; she told me she needed to get a new one
soon. I asked her how I could get one, but she dodged the question by pointing at a dress.

“O
h, my, look at this, you would look like you were on fire in this. Let’s try it on you; come on slow poke.” And off to the dressing rooms we went.

We shopped at a dizzying rate, and, before I knew it, we had more boxes than we could carry. We had to make more than a couple of trips to the Blazer.

At one point, Charlotte wanted to go to a bar to get a drink, and do a little hunting. I got into the Blazer, and we were on the way to the bar, when Charlotte said, “I need you to show some control. I know you can do it; NO killing.”

I felt so grateful toward Charlotte and the Whites for all they had done for me in such a short period of time. So, I said. “I will control myself, and if I haven’t said thank you for all these clothes, thank you for everything.”

“You have already thanked me ten times; that’s nine times more than you needed, ” Charlotte said with a big smile.

She never turned her head from the road. Then it went quiet. Without the clothes, me and Charlotte didn’t have a lot to say. I thought Carrie's constant talking was a bother, but now I can see its usefulness. If Carrie was in this car, there would be no awkward silence; then again, there would be no silence at all.

After a little while longer, Charlotte said, “I hope you know that I am going to be jealous of you.”

Caught off guard, I asked,
“Why?”

A strange smile crossed her face, “because my husband can’t stop talking about you. Alice too, but I really don’t care what she goes on about.”

I was almost speechless but not completely. I wanted her to know how I felt, and fast. Speaking quickly, “Charlotte, I have no interest in your husband.”

“Are you sure?” Charlotte asked calmly. She wasn’t upset as she spoke.

“YES.” She wasn’t upset, but I didn’t like being second guessed.

Charlotte laughed. “You are a spirited one, but you should be careful to remember, that I am not Lea, and I was just teasing you, for the most part.”

I calmed down a little. “What do you mean… for the most part?”

Charlotte let out a deep breath before she continued. “I love my time with Ezra it is most important to me. When I say you have an interest in my husband, I didn’t say sexual. You wish to learn how to fight, and my husband wishes to teach you. So you see I am jealous because he will want to spend so much of his time with you. Don’t worry; I wouldn’t hate you, but some days I may not like you.”

I wasn’t sure what to think of that. I didn’t want to steal her husband away. “I will not train with him if you like.”

Charlotte laughed and then took a quick look at me before returning her eyes back to the road. “I love you. You didn’t even lie when you made that offer, but don’t worry about it. You need to learn how to fight, and I will help. You have blood and sand in your future… Do you like to dance?”

I don’t know what made me smile bigger, the fact she said she loved me or that she sounded as if she wanted to go dancing. I was going to ignore the ominous bloody future. I was sure the blood and sand was a reference to fighting in pits.

Trying to hold back my eagerness, I
said, “I love to dance and sing. I haven’t been dancing in a long time.”

“Have you been dancing as a vampire?” Charlotte asked.

“Well, not at a club or anything. In the woods… not really.”

Charlotte made a turn, and then pointed at a sign in front of a building. “Well then you’ll love our hunting grounds tonight. This is a great dance club, and we will grab a bite while we’re there. Stay close to me; this is an adult club; if anyone who works there asks your age; I will do the talking. When they ask for your ID, just raise your empty hand in front of their face; I will do the rest.”

“What will they see?”

“An ID, silly girl; I can make them see things. Now I am no Alice, but then again these are just humans. It will take a stro
ng mind to defy me. Let’s go.” With that, Charlotte parked the Blazer and hopped out. I jumped out and followed her into the club.

It was fun dancing with Charlotte. After a few songs, Charlotte found another partner. She passed him off to me; then she went and found another man. The man she left me to dance with was drunk, but I could also tell that she had messed with his mind.

He had no problem letting me take him into a dark corner of the dance club, and there I fed. I stopped before he passed out but barely. I helped him to an empty booth and then just left him there. Not long after I walked away, he passed out; not one person noticed or cared.

Charlotte did the same thing to another man; then she found two guys that were cruising for a good time. She brought them over to me and introduced them. Then we let them buy us drinks. We laughed at their jokes and over all pretended to like them. After some time Charlotte told the guys she would like to get out of here. Of course the guys thought this was a great idea probably because they thought they were going to get lucky.

Both these men were older, around their early forties. Once we had them out in the parking lot, where no one could see, we had our way with them. We both fed until the men passed out. We did put them into a car so that they wouldn’t get cold. They would wake up there in the morning, and then they both will try to remember what had happened the night before, and what doesn’t make sense they will blame on the booze.

My mind was still recalling all the new songs that I had heard at the club. When I looked over at the clock inside the truck, it wasn’t even that late. We had left the club around midnight. I still had a long night ahead of me; I was excited about learning from Ezra. I really hope that does not hurt my relationship with Charlotte, because I was really enjoying her company.

It was a strange thought, that I might have more friends now in death, than I did in life. I was feeling a little drunk from the blood I had taken in. I laid my head against the window and watched the world go by. After a few minutes, Charlotte turned off of the main road and started heading down a dirt road.

I had to ask, "Where are we going?"

Charlotte laughed, and then said. "Running… after a big meal I like to run."

I picked my head off the window and started looking around. I could already feel that I was mostly sober now. I answered by saying. "That’s sounds like fun."

After ten minutes or so, Charlotte found a place to park under a few trees. There weren't very many trees; this was high desert. There were bushes of all shapes and sizes, but every once in a while there would be a couple of oak or pine trees bundled up together.

We got out of the vehicle and started to run; I left my shoes in the truck. I loved the feel of the ground against my bare feet. The sharp rocks and plants didn’t hurt for more than a second, if at all. The wind in my hair felt wonderful as the scenery flew by. It was amazing how fast me and Charlotte could run.

I was not sure but I would bet that I was running close to sixty miles per hour. In the open parts we would flash over great distances; we moved so fast it felt as if I were watching someone change a channel.

The best part about running is that it wasn’t like working out. I wasn't sweating, and my breathing wasn’t labored; in fact I didn’t even need to breathe. I took in air as we ran, just to bring in the smells that brought the world alive. I didn’t know all the different senses I was taking in, but each were wonderful in their own way.

Of course the best part of this was my sight. It may not have been day, but who cared when you could see the world as I did. The world was full of color and shadows, and not even the mice escaped my sharp eyes.

We worked our way up the side of the hill and toward the ridge. At this point we were jumping from boulder to boulder. The plants gave way to huge rocks, as we reached the crest of the hill. From here you could see everything; below was the valley floor with a river of lights. The crest of the hill ran upwards towards the mountains. I followed Charlotte as she jumped, ran and climbed up the rocks. She finally came to rest at the top of a large rock. This rock stood above everything except the distant mountains.

I jumped up to the top, and joined her; the view was breathtaking. On top of the rock the wind whipped my hair around as I surveyed the land. I spoke first, by saying. "This is the best part of being a vampire."

Charlotte responded flatly with. "Maybe." Her mind was elsewhere, so we stood in silence for awhile.

After an undetermined amount of time, Charlotte spoke. "Let me tell you about Michael."

I wondered why she wanted to tell me about him, but I didn’t ask; instead I just said. “Ok.”

Still staring off into space, Charlotte asked me. “So, what do you think of Michael?”

“He seems pretty cool.” I answered before I thought about it. I was never one to bad mouth someone especially to their mother.

A small laugh escaped Charlotte’s mouth. She turned and looked at me, then said. “That is the first time you have lied to me.”

“What I meant to say, is he’s an asshole.” A sad looked crossed Charlotte’s face; I regretted my remark as fast as it flew out of my mouth. “Well that wasn't a nice
way to put it. I just met him, and I am sure once I get to know him… I am sure he is not an asshole all of the time.”

Charlotte went to the edge of the boulder; there on the other side of the rock was a steep cliff. Charlotte sat down with her legs hanging off; she motioned to me to come and sit next to her.

“No, don’t make excuses for feeling the way you do, and, if I were honest, he is an asshole. He is also my son that I love deeply.”

I sat down next to her. There was sadness in this conversation that I didn’t understand. I said. “Just because I said he was an asshole, I didn’t mean that I don’t like him.”

Charlotte, looking at me, smiled. “I know; in fact I think you do like him. Don’t forget I can tell what you are feeling.”

“Wait…” I tried to interject.

“Don’t get upset.” Charlotte interrupted me. “Let me tell you about my son, and then you will understand.”

I was not sure what she was trying to say, but I guess one needs a history lesson to understand. I said. “Fire away, I’m all ears.”

Charlotte launched into her story. “It all started in 1969. Someone broke into our home during the day. When Ezra went up to investigate, he believed it was vampire hunters. When he went around the corner where he knew someone was standing, he attacked. We are strong, and Ezra is really strong. He hit the boy so hard, it shattered his skull. It only took Ezra a second to realize what a mistake he had made, for the boy he hit was Michael; Michael was homeless, and he was only nineteen. He had just broken in to find some food. Poor kid, not only did he pick a house full of vampires, but it was also empty of food. When I came to see what had happened, I was amazed by Michael's beauty, he lay on his back in front of an open fridge door. Even though he was lying on his back bleeding out of his head, he still was handsome. Also understand that I had now lived for forty years with Ezra and Alice. Alice likes to play the child, but she is not a child. In fact, she has always taken care of me. I had been longing to have a child, the one thing I couldn’t have. So when I saw Michael lying on the floor dying, I asked, no I begged Ezra to save him. Ezra didn’t want to do it, but, as you well know, I won that fight. Ezra fed Michael his blood; it took so much to save him that there was no chance that he was not fully addicted. He had two choices; go without our blood and die, or turn. So, to cut to the chase, he spent almost six months as a Ren. Then he finished the transformation and joined the family. Even though he didn’t take to all the hand to hand combat that Ezra was always trying to teach him, we found that he had other talents; his ability to control animals is second to none. He was happy and brought great joy to our house. We had all forgotten what it was like to be young; these were good times.”

“So he was happy once?” I asked.