The Week I Was A Vampire (16 page)

             
“What?” Lux said.

             
The dark haired girl stepped forward and leaned against the counter.

             
“Tarrochi,” she said, reaching out an arm so she could trace a finger along one of the cards lying face down on the kitchen counter. 

             
Lux had been organizing the deck based on the numerals painted onto each card, but paused as she took in the sight of the girl’s arm. 

             
Thin white marks covered her skin, almost like silver veins under the glow of the kitchen lights.  But she knew they weren’t veins, but scars- a million tiny scars forever ruining the girl’s skin and yet, somehow, she was the most beautiful girl Lux had ever seen.

             
“They’re not tarot cards,” Lux said, jumping to the defense of the deck of cards.  They were a family heirloom and she didn’t want anyone thinking negatively of them.

             
“Of course not,” said the girl.  “They’re tarrochi cards.  Used as a teaching tool in Italy sometime during the 15th century, if I’m not mistaken.”  She flipped the card over and stared down at Apollo, frowning in distaste.

             
“My great-grandmother made them,” Lux said and then, based on what Daniel had said about her great-grandmother, she added, “Luciana?”

             
The girl nodded.

             
“I remember her,” she said.  “She was a little girl when I met her, but I remember her.  You have her eyes.”

             
Lux smiled and ducked her head at the compliment, before looking back up at the girl.

             
“Mafe?” she said.

             
The girl smiled, her blue eyes brightening as she did.

             
“Tess,” she said and Lux relaxed.  While she may not know what Tess was, at least she knew she wasn’t a vampire.  Ergo, there was no danger of her being made into a midnight snack.

             
Flipping carefully through the cards, Lux pulled two from the deck and slid them across the counter towards Tess.

             
“These are my favorites,” she said and Tess cocked her head at the pair of cards.

             
Genius of Time had been parred down to simply Time.  It was depicted by a woman dressed in white with long, dark hair.  A clock dangled on a golden chain from her fingers.  Her eyes were demurely downcast and her lips were turned down at the corners.  All together, she looked sad.  No, not sad, heartbroken.

             
The other card was the King card, curiously depicted by the same black-haired woman, who was now dressed in black.  Instead of a clock, she held a sword in her hands and a red thread had been tied around her wrist; the loose ends had been left to dangle.  She wore no crown, but stared out from the card with an expression Tess had seen many a monarch wear in her lifetime.  This woman needed no decorative headpiece to declare her authority.

             
Both women, however, sported blurred features, as though the artist hadn’t quite decided who they were supposed to be yet.

             
“It’s funny that the king is a woman,” Lux said.  She traced a finger lovingly over the woman in white.  “And they look like the same person.  Do you know why?”  She looked up at Tess who shook her head and gestured for Lux to hand over the deck of cards.  The younger girl did and Tess shuffled through them.

             
“Luciana took some creative liberties,” Tess said, pausing to hold up what had once been the card for Grammar.  Renamed “The Reader,” the card depicted a curly brunette boy with blue eyes holding a stack of books.

             
“You haven’t met him,” Tess explained, “but maybe Jude told you about him.”

             
“Is that-” Lux started, but couldn’t believe the ridiculousness of her question.  Still, Tess nodded.

             
“Kyle?” she said.  “Yes.  Luciana thought he talked funny; she didn’t know he was quoting Shakespeare all the time.”

             
“How accurate is the painting?” Lux said.

             
Tess shrugged.

             
“Accurate enough.”

             
“Damn,” said Lux.  “I’d tap him faster than a keg at a party.”

             
For a second, Lux was worried she might have offended the mysterious immortal, but Tess threw her head back and laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls.

             
“With a wit like that,” Tess said, “you could give my smart ass godson a run for his money.”  She continued shuffling through the deck until she found the card she was looking for.

             
“You’re missing a few,” she said and Lux frowned.

             
“Lost,” the human said.  “It was a complete set once, but my grandmother thought they were tarot cards and tried to get rid of them.  My mom took some and my aunt took the rest.  After my aunt died, those cards went missing.”

             
Tess stared at Lux for an unnerving moment before showing her the card she’d drawn from the deck.

             
“The Artisan,” Tess said.

             
Lux took the card and examined it carefully, looking for a hidden meaning, but found none.

             
“Should this mean something to me?” Lux said.

             
Tess smiled.

             
“That’s Luciana,” she said.  “Your great-grandmother painted herself as the Artisan.”

             
Lux’s eyes widened as she stared at the card with a renewed interest.  Her fingers traced the dark curls pinned neatly beneath the colorful scarf her namesake wore and followed the curve of her great-grandmother’s smile until she reached her eyes- pale blue with a dark indigo ring, just like Lux’s.

             
“She was beautiful,” Lux said.

             
Tess handed the deck of cards back to her.

             
“You all are,” she said.

             
Lux frowned, wondering what Tess meant by that.  She had a feeling the immortal wasn’t referring just to Luciana and her descendants.

             
“Is it lonely?” Lux said.  “Living forever?”

             
Across from her, Tess’ face turned contemplative and Lux believed for a moment that she might get an answer.  She was thus surprised when Tess reached across the counter and traced a finger along Lux’s lifeline.

             
“About as lonely as dying,” Tess said.

             
Lux’s face drained of color and she snatched her hand away.

             
“How did you know?” she demanded, voice cracking, but the immortal was unfazed.

             
The front door opened and banged shut.  Tess tapped the Time card still lying on the counter and smiled.

             
Lux watched the card shimmer and sharpen, her eyes widening as she recognized the painted woman.

             
“You have a strong spirit,” Tess said.  “A shame your heart cannot keep up.  Goodnight, Lux.”  She stepped from the kitchen and was gone.

•§•

“Oh, hello,” Jude said as she stepped into the foyer, nearly bumping into Tess as she did. 

             
Tess smiled and shrugged on her jacket, black like Jemima had said, and asked Jude how her evening with Daniel had gone.

             
“I’ve got to have the biggest mouth,” Jude said, “because I’m pretty sure I managed to fit both feet.”

             
Tess glanced down at her snow boots before shrugging.

             
“They look fine to me,” she said and Jude managed a meager smile.

             
“Lux is in the kitchen,” Tess said, pointing behind her.  She went to step around Jude, but the girl blocked her way.

             
“Did you know?” Jude said.  “Did you know what Grigori’s book said?”

             
Tess ceased her attempt at leaving, not looking the least perturbed as she nodded.

             
“Yes,” she said and Jude frowned.

             
“Then why send me to him if you already knew what he’d tell me?”

             
Tess reached out and placed a hand on Jude’s shoulder.  A tremor ran through her body at the contact.  Whatever Tess was, it was powerful.

             
“Because you needed to hear you couldn’t do it.  You had to have someone to prove wrong.” 

             
Tess moved towards the door again, but Jude reached out a hand and caught her arm, releasing her almost instantly.  A jolt had traveled up her arm upon touching Tess and it felt as though ice water had been pumped into her veins.

             
“I need to talk to you about something,” Jude said.  She glanced around Tess to be sure Lux was in the kitchen.  This wasn’t something she wanted her friend to overhear.

             
“Is this something about you almost killing Lux?” Tess said.  “Or is it about the pact you made?”

             
Ashamed, Jude dropped her gaze to her feet, but Tess’ finger under her chin forced her to meet the gaze of the peculiar immortal.

             
“Did Lux ever tell you about the origin of vampires?” Tess said.

             
“Someone named Lilith created them,” said Jude.  “But Lilith wasn’t a vampire.  She was a...”  She trailed off, unable to recall what Lilith had been.  Lux had mentioned it before, no doubt more than once, but Jude’s mind had gone inconveniently blank.

            
 
Much like the night Jemima almost killed me
,
she thought a moment before another voice could be heard inside her mind.

            
 
Lilith was a demon
,
Tess’ mental voice calmly said.
 
A fallen angel, to be exact.  She used to kidnap children and turn them into her immortal servants.  Why do you suppose vampires are so often referred to as Children of the Night or Lilith’s Children?

            
 
“So they were demons too?” Jude said, but Tess shook her head.

             
“Created by one, yes,” she said, “but not wholly demonic.  They were, after all, originally human; an entirely different creation.”

             
“God’s creation,” Jude said.  She slumped against the wall and rubbed her eyes, wishing she had Lux’s know-all about the supernatural.  She had a feeling it would make her life much easier.

             
“There are two sides to you, Jude Carstairs,” Tess said.  “There is the side of you that is God’s creation, and the side of you that is Lilith’s doing.  You attacking Lux was not your doing; your opposing sides are simply duking it out.”

             
Jude smiled slightly at Tess’ expression before straightening up.

             
“Like the two wolves,” she said, referencing an old parable she’d heard at school once about two wolves who fought one another.

             
“Which one wins?” Tess said.

             
“The one you feed.”  Jude thought about Lux with her confidence in her own identity and her inherent goodness.  Could Lux survive the transition without losing herself to the darkness of Lilith?

             
“Her faith protects her,” Tess said.  “Lux has something to believe in; you do not.” She nodded towards the door and Jude stepped aside so Tess could get around her.  As she crossed the threshold, the mysterious immortal turned back to look at Jude.

             
“It’s not the blood talking, you know,” she said and Jude frowned.

             
“What?” Jude said and Tess smiled reassuringly at her.

             
“Whatever your feelings for Daniel are,” she said, “that’s all you.  Goodnight, Jude.”

             
“Goodnight,” Jude said, staring at the door as Tess shut it behind her.  Before she could think too much on what the immortal had said, a strange odor reached her nose.  Had it not been so faint, she’d have gagged.  For a moment, she thought it might be Simon, but this smell had a more rotten stench and she followed it into the kitchen where it grew only stronger. 

             
Perched on one of the barstools was Lux, her purple hair hanging long and wet down her back as she munched on a bag of chips.  Her eclectic deck of cards she usually toted around were stacked neatly beside her.