The Week I Was A Vampire (10 page)

Wednesday Night

Drawn

The gate was open when Jude arrived, so she pulled up the drive and parked in front of the steps just like Daniel had done on her first, and thus far only, visit to the Ward house.  Upon reaching the front door, she thought about knocking, but then figured if Daniel could sit in his car outside and hear her brother cooking, then Mafe should have heard her pull up.  Deciding to test the rules of vampire etiquette, Jude opened the door and stepped inside, shedding her coat.  She left it hanging on the coat rack as she ventured inside, eyes involuntarily wandering over to the far side of the foyer where the floor to ceiling windows were dark.  No figure lurked in the shadows, not even when Jude checked with what Lux called “vamp vision.”

              Daniel was right, she mused as she took the stairs up to the library, Lux really did need to come up with better names for Jude’s vampire skills.

             
“I’m glad you let yourself in,” a soft voice said. 

             
Jude turned away from the library doors to find Mafe standing behind her in the hall, dressed in a sapphire blue dress similar in style to Jude’s own.

             
“Vampires aren’t much for formality in their own homes,” she said, “but humans seem to love any excuse to dress up.”

             
Jude ducked her head, embarrassed when Mafe gestured to her silk dress, but the vampire quickly dismissed her unease.

             
“It’s not a bad thing,” Mafe said.  “You’ll find in this family, we tend to always dress nicely, not because we are dressing up, but because we are accustomed to the finer things in life.  I blame Daphne for that.”

             
“Your child, right?” Jude said and Mafe nodded before stepping around her and opening the library door.  Jude followed her, taking her cue from the vampire and sitting down in the same chair she’d sat in last time.

             
“Daphine Valois,” Mafe said.  “French nobility, but she’d been ill ever since she was a child.  The sister of one of my handmaidens tended to the young Daphine, which is how I found out about her.  She wasn’t afraid when I told her what I was, and asked if I could save her.  Despite her frailty, she was full of life and I found I couldn’t let such vitality die.  I’ve never once regretted my choice, nor has Daphne.”

             
“I think that’s good,” Jude said and faltered a bit when Mafe looked at her curiously.  “I mean, that you didn’t turn her against her will.  That it was her choice.  I think that’s good.”

             
Mafe nodded before stoking the fire she had going.  She stared down at the flames with an affectionate smile.

             
“We can feel warmth,” she said, “but can never truly be warm.  Nor can we ever be cold.”  She turned her attention back to Jude, the smile never faltering.  “My family make me feel warm inside, especially Daphne.  Her love sustains me, you could say.  The bond between sire and child is always unique, yet always profound.”

             
Jude thought about Daniel and how her undead heart flared to life whenever he touched her.  If bonds were unique, what would their bond turn out to be, assuming she didn’t last the week?  Then again, Daniel seemed determine for her to make it, so perhaps she shouldn’t be having these thoughts.  It felt almost like a betrayal to him.

             
“You feel drawn to Daniel because his blood created you,” Mafe said, returning to her spot on a chaise lounge.  “It is also because of his blood that you feel at ease around me.  The same blood is in all of us, and while you will never feel the loyalty you feel towards Daniel towards anyone else, you will always feel a connection to those of this bloodline.”

             
“Even Jemima?” Jude asked begrudgingly before she could stop herself.  She winced, hoping she hadn’t offended Mafe, but the girl seemed unfazed.

             
“It’s true my grandchild is not the easiest to deal with,” Mafe said, “but try to understand it from her perspective.  For her entire existence, it has always been her and her brother.  She has never once had to compete for his attention.  Then one day, a human girl came along and Jemima knew she was going to be demoted.  Not replaced, mind you, but the love for a lover can sometimes outweigh the love of a sibling.”

             
Jude listened to Mafe’s story intently, wondering who this human girl was.  Mafe’s pointed stare made her insides squirm and with a jolt she realized who Mafe was talking about.

             
“You can’t mean me,” she said.  “Daniel and I only talked for a few minutes at a high school party.  How could Jemima have known I’d come to mean something to him?  Heck, how did he even know?”

             
Mafe smiled her signature calm and serene smile, which made Jude feel like the vampire truly was ancient and had seen everything life had to offer; nothing could ruffle her feathers.

             
“When you live as long as we do,” Mafe said, “you reach a point when you simply know the effect someone is going to have on your life.  When Daniel saw you for the first time, he knew you were going to mean something to him, just like Jemima knew you could replace her as first in her brother’s affections.  Furthermore, I knew the moment you stepped into my home that you were determined to be human once again.  Every fiber of your being is screaming to be human, even as it changes into a vampire.”

             
Jude stared off into the fire, picking at a loose thread in her dress as she did.  It didn’t seem possible, living forever and developing a talent of just knowing who was going to be important in your life.  Had she walked into school that one day years ago and did a cursory scan of the room, she would not have pegged the then pink haired Lux Reading as her future best friend.

             
“So all of this happened because Daniel thought I would mean something to him,” Jude muttered.  “Why couldn’t he just leave me alone?”

             
Mafe leaned forward and grasped Jude’s hand, pulling the loose thread from her fingers, thus ceasing an action that could possibly ruin her dress.

             
“If the love of your life walked into a room,” Mafe said, “wouldn’t you want to get to know them?”

             
Jude shook her head and pulled away.

             
“Not if I had a sibling that would try to kill them out of jealousy,” Jude said.  “I almost died that night.”

             
“Of course you did,” Mafe said, “and then you did die the next morning.  Yet here you are.”

             
“Yet here I am,” Jude said, rising as the urge to pace became too great to resist.  “What is that even supposed to mean?”

             
“It means the Fates are not easily deterred.”

             
Jude whipped around at the sound of an exotic voice and found Tess standing in the doorway. 

             
The woman, or girl now that she saw her up close, was dressed in all black, which made her bright blue eyes even more luminous.  Granted, if Jude looked closely, it looked as though those eyes were glowing all on their own.  Some vampire instinct Jude had told her that Tess was most definitely supernatural, and powerful at that.  It was still strange, though, thinking of all that power being contained in someone who looked only a couple years older than herself. 

             
What struck Jude as even stranger, though, was the fact she couldn’t hear the steady ticking of Tess’ heart the way she could hear Lux and Simon’s.  Furthermore, she lacked even the barest scent of blood as though she had none at all.  Even Daniel and Mafe carried the faintest scent of blood, which left Jude even more puzzled.  What was Tess?

             
“What do you mean the Fates?” Jude said and watched as Tess entered the room with a slow and easy gait that reminded her of the jungle cats she’d seen at the zoo on a school field trip one year.

             
“The Parcae?” Tess said, trying out a different name.  “The three sisters who control the life and death of everyone on this earth.  They like things going as planned and you were meant to die and come back in transition.”

             
“I am not made to be a vampire!” Jude shouted, a red haze similar to one the she’d experienced at Grigori’s flooding her vision once more.  But then Tess was there, a beacon of light, and Jude felt the anger instantly fade the moment Tess touched her.

             
“I’m not saying you were made to be a vampire,” Tess said.  “As far as I know, you could have been made to prove there’s a way to endure the transition and become human again.  But you were destined to meet Daniel and you should decide what he could or already means to you before you give up this opportunity.  Granted, if it’s simply a matter of not being ready for such a transition, you have a couple more years before you’d surpass Daniel’s human age, so you could always wait, if you decide he is what you want.”

            
 
He.
 
The word spun around inside Jude’s mind.
 
She said “he” and not “it.”  Not if being a vampire is what I want, but if Daniel is what I want.

            
 
“I don’t know what I want,” Jude admitted, voice cracking as the urge to cry welled up inside her, but the tears did not come.  And if she chose the life of a vampire, she knew they’d never come.

             
“You have time,” Tess said.  “I know humans regard life as short and yes, compared to a life as long as Mafe’s or my own, that’s true.  But you do have time, Jude.  Vampirism is forever, but so is humanity.  You will not lose your humanity if you choose to become a vampire.”

             
Jude opened her mouth to argue, thinking of all the conversations she’d had with Lux about this very same thing, and added Jemima’s unprovoked attack to the list of reasons why vampires lacked humanity.  But Tess cut her off, as if she knew what she was thinking, and considering the brief mental conversation they’d had the last time Jude had visited the Ward house, she supposed Tess could.

             
“You know Daniel,” Tess said.  “Does he lack humanity?”

             
She had her there and even if Mafe hadn’t heard what she’d been thinking, the three girls in the room knew Tess was right.

             
They all stood there, silent, until Tess looked over Jude’s shoulder and nodded to Mafe.

             
“I’m headed back to the city,” Tess said.  “Kyle is staying here for a little while longer.”

             
Jude looked at Tess, wanting to ask who Kyle was, but stopped when she saw a strange look on the girl’s face, as if she were listening to someone who wasn’t speaking.

            
 
That’s exactly what I’m doing
,
a now familiar voice whispered inside her mind.  She did her best not to jump, but still flinched at the mental intrusion.

            
 
Stick around and you might get used to it.

             
“Take care,” Tess said aloud, patting Jude’s arm.  “Good luck.  While there’s nothing wrong with being a vampire, I would like to see you pull through this.  It’ll be a story for the ages.”

             
“Thank you,” Jude said, albeit hesitantly because she was unsure if what Tess had said was a compliment or not.

             
With one backwards wave to Mafe, Tess disappeared in a shimmering mist as though she’d been a ghost and not a real, flesh and blood person.

             
“She did that to show off,” Mafe said and Jude turned to look at the vampire who was smiling fondly at the space Tess had once occupied.

             
“Have you known her long?” Jude asked and Mafe gave a curt nod that said no more questions about Tess would be allowed.             

             
“Do you have any other questions for me?” Mafe asked and gestured for Jude to sit again.  “I know you’re not planning on becoming a vampire, but surely you must be curious.  I must say, your generation has some interesting theories about my kind.”

             
Jude personally didn’t have any questions, but thought of Lux sprawled out on her bed, wondering about sunlight and vampires using Twitter.

             
“Do you burn in the sun?” Jude asked and Mafe nodded.

             
“The younger you are,” she said, “the quicker you burn.  At my age, I could take an early morning stroll and feel only weakened, but the stronger afternoon light would surely kill me.”

             
“And stakes?” Jude said.  “I know silver works, but does garlic and holy water repel you too?”

             
“Everything except garlic,” Mafe said.  “It’s not so much we’re repelled by it, but I don’t know of a single vampire who has a taste for the stuff.  There are a few other strong foods out there that we avoid, unless we were very accustomed to them in our life.  I, for one, cannot tolerate ginger, but an oriental friend of mine has no problem with the stuff.  Jemima loathes sauerkraut, but Daniel, who frequented a German pub back in England, has no problem eating it now.  Granted, we don’t need to eat to survive, but it’s still enjoyable for most of our kind.”