The Week I Was A Vampire (21 page)

             
“Please,” Jude said, setting Lux’s body on the ground in front of Daniel, “save her.”

             
Somewhere in the distance, the church clock began to chime and Jude was vaguely aware of the biting cold drying the tears that were slipping down her face.  Everything swirled and as the ground rushed up to meet her, she saw Daniel bite into his wrist and cradle Lux to his chest as he fed her his blood.  Assured her friend would live, Jude gladly succumbed to the darkness.

Monday Morning

After Life

Jude woke to gray skies and a blaring alarm clock.  Reflexively, she cursed Monday mornings as she rolled over and silenced her alarm, stretching out in bed as she reminded herself that yes, she did actually have to get up.  So, with much effort, she rolled off her bed and instantly regretted sleeping with her window slightly ajar because now her room was freezing.

              “Spring,” she muttered as she pulled on her bathrobe, “please come quickly.”

             
A present wrapped in blue paper sat at the foot of her bed, but she ignored it, assuming it was from her parents and deciding to open it after she was showered and dressed for school.  On her way out of her room, she made sure to close her window all the way and left her bedroom door open, hoping the heat in the rest of the house would filter in and warm her space by the time she returned from her shower.  It was a fact of life that going from a hot shower to a cold room was not pleasant, especially when you had to get dressed in said cold room.

             
As she showered, she tried to decide what she wanted for breakfast.  Toast sounded too plain and her usual fruit and yogurt just wasn’t doing it for her.  Granola sounded alright, but what she really wanted were some chocolate chip pancakes, preferably made by Simon, since she had this horrible lack of grace and skill that prevented her from expertly flipping pancakes.  But pancakes would have to be a weekend thing since Simon would be dead to the world until noon.

            
 
Dead.
 
Jude halted, vanilla scented soap in hand and frowned.  The combination of death and pancakes brought fuzzy memories to mind that really didn’t seem all that real.  Things about vampires and a devastatingly beautiful blonde girl forever stuck in the body of a child.  She could clearly see in her mind’s eye a man with dark eyes and a woman disappearing in a cloud of sparks, as though she weren’t exactly human, despite her appearance.

            
 
Except for those eyes
,
Jude absently and oddly thought as a pair of shimmering blue eyes came to mind, but the name of their owner was just out of reach.  Brushing it off, Jude finished her shower and stepped out, wrapping a blue terry towel around her before taking stock of her appearance in the mirror.

            
 
Still the same
,
she thought glumly as she took in her uneven complexion and frizzy orange hair that didn’t land her in the “you’re actually an attractive redhead” category.  Frowning, she dried her hair and applied her makeup, wishing for perfect skin and hair that never needed any styling.

             
“Daniel,” she said as she stepped into her room, a name attaching itself to the dark eyes she’d sworn had been a dream.  Daniel Ward had been the boy she met at the party on Sunday night, along with his rude younger sister, Jessica.  Jessamine.

            
 
Jemima
,
she thought as she slipped into a pair of jeans and pulled on her favorite navy sweater.  She wondered how the Wards were settling in to life in Holden and briefly wondered if Simon, amid all his flirting with the young blonde, had managed to get her number.  Something told her she should call and befriend the girl.

             
Once she was dressed, Jude focused her attention on the blue box still resting at the foot of her bed.  She pulled the lid off and removed a thick layer of glittering tissue paper before pulling out a bottle of vanilla scent body wash.  Attached to the bottle was a card that said,

            
 
So you don’t slip.

Suddenly, the events of last week came crashing into Jude’s mind and she staggered, dropping the bottle as one event after another bombarded her.

             
There was the bloodlust and the cravings and eating everything in the kitchen in an attempt to resist the urge to eat Simon or anyone else who was unlucky enough to cross her path.

             
Jemima, the spoiled rotten blonde vampire who had attacked her.  The little girl who only wanted to grow up, but still desperately craved a normal childhood.

             
Daniel, Jemima’s older brother who had rescued her.  Her sire.  The reluctant vampire turned against his will when all he wanted to do was live and die with a woman he loved named Elaine.

             
Daphne with her red hair and sophisticated demeanor that went out the window the second she drank champagne. 

             
Mafe, Daphne’s sire, who chose to walk around looking utterly plain and human and was ready to die.

             
Tess, the mysterious immortal who seemed to know everything about everyone.  The one with the shimmering blue eyes and welcoming personality that contrasted sharply with her predatory gate.

             
Kyle, Tess’s charge who was a werewolf.  He’d rescued her from school when she’d stupidly gone in to try and take an English test.

             
Grigori, the annoying and unsupportive wizard who’d said she wouldn’t make it through the week.

             
Lux, who’d been unwavering in her belief that Jude would triumph.

            
 
Lux.
 
Her mind screeched to a halt as the events of last night slowed inside her mind, letting her relive every moment of when the vampire inside her had almost won.  She cringed as she recalled the fear of the boy on the skateboard, but sighed in relief as she remembered Kyle had stopped her from killing the child long enough for Daniel to get him to safety.  Just when she thought she couldn’t handle any more memories, her mind played it’s final card, which was the most important.

             
Lux, dying from a human sickness.  Lux, dying as she bled out on the sidewalk because Jude had hurt her.  Lux, dying as Jude begged for Daniel to save her friend and screaming at his reluctance to do so.

             
Then, a clock chiming and Jude feeling the vampire presence leave her just as Daniel fed Lux his blood.  Then, nothing.

             
Spinning around, Jude ran for her bedroom door only to come to a crashing halt when she saw someone blocking her path.

             
“You know,” the figure said, leaning against the doorjamb with their arms and legs crossed, “you were supposed to open your presen
t
befor
e
you took a shower.”

             
“L-Lux?” Jude stuttered, staring at her friend who was perfectly alive and healthy, her purple hair hanging over her shoulder in a solitary braid.

             
Lux smiled, revealing a pair of pointy looking canines.

             
“Do you think your brother would let me bite him?”

Epilogue

Forever Young

Lux stood off to the side of the decorated gymnasium as she watched Jemima dance with Simon.  The blonde vampire had finally gotten over her desire to turn Simon into a chew toy and was now treating him like a human being.  Er, like a person.  Lux had a feeling “chew toy” and “human” were synonymous in Jemima’s mind, despite how hard Jude tried to change her views.

              “You know Simon is in love with you,” Jemima had told her earlier in the evening as they, along with Jude, primped for prom.

             
“You make it sound like a terrible thing,” Jude had said.  “For all you know, he could be her Knight in Shining Armor.”

             
“More like a Loser in Tinfoil.”  The formerly annoying blonde vampire had smiled then, and Lux and Jude had known she was merely joking.

             
“Admit it, Jem,” Jude had said, “you’re just jealous Lux has a boy taking her to the dance while you’re stuck with me.”

             
“More like stuck with myself.  Don’t pretend Daniel isn’t going to steal you away as soon as we arrive.”

             
“One day,” Lux had said while making a grand show of reading Jemima’s palm, “you’re going to fall in love with someone who works with fish.  I hope you like seafood.”

             
Apparently, Jemima didn’t like the idea of falling for a fisherman, but then Lux commented saying she might fall in love with a fish, which is when Jude had to intervene before the vampire relatives killed each other.

             
Speaking of the magnificent Jude Carstairs, Lux smiled as she caught sight of Daniel twirling her best friend around the dance floor, the pair of them looking smart and elegant in their gown and tux.  Jude had opted for something in navy, her go-to color, while Jemima had jumped to the opposite end of the spectrum and picked a princess champagne dress that was covered in so much glitter, she looked like a disco ball, or a sparkling cupcake; Lux really couldn’t decide.  She had to admit, though, Jemima’s fairytale on crack dress paired nicely with Simon’s ruffled shirt and breeches, which Lux had insisted he wear so he’d coordinate with her red, Victorian styled dress.

             
“Why aren’t you dancing?”

             
Lux turned to see Tess, dressed in black as usual, leaning against the wall behind her.  While the girl appeared relaxed, her eyes lazily roaming over the crowd, Lux had come to realize in the past few months that Tess was never completely at ease.  The girl had a hypersensitive sixth sense for danger, as well as the skills needed to eliminate any threat that came her way.  What danger she could possibly find at Holden’s high school prom though, Lux didn’t know.

             
“My dance partner has been commandeered,” Lux said and pointed to Jemima and Simon, even though she knew they were already on Tess’ radar.  No one at the party could so much as get a glass of punch without Tess knowing, a fact that was slightly eerie when Lux let her mind wander over topics such as, “How much power does Tess Banewood have?” and, more importantly, “What is she?”

             
“They look happy,” Tess said, inclining her head towards Daniel and Jude who were swaying comfortably on the dance floor.

             
Lux smiled, but it never reached her eyes.

             
“She’s never going to choose him,” she said.

             
Ever since Lux’s transformation into a vampire, she’d spent a lot of time with Daniel and his family, learning the ins and outs of the vampire world.  Because Lux didn’t go many places without Jude, and because Jude and Daniel had agreed to get to know each other, Jude had found herself spending most evenings at the Ward house, the solitary human in a house full of vampires. 

             
Kyle, on his monthly trip to Holden, would drop by and add a werewolf to the mix, but for the most part, it was just Jude, Lux, and the Wards, with Tess making a guest appearance every now and then. 

             
Still, despite Jude’s immersion in the vampire world, courtesy of her best friend and the Wards, Lux knew her friend was no more interested in being a vampire than she had back in January when she’d survived the weeklong transition and came out the other side as a human.

             
“You don’t think she’ll change her mind?” Tess asked and while Lux knew Tess probably already knew the outcome of Daniel and Jude’s relationship, she seemed genuinely interested to hear Lux’s take on the scenario.

             
“Jude loves being human too much to give it up,” she said.  “Daniel may love her, and she may be falling in love him, but her love for him is never going to outweigh her love of being human.”

             
“What you mean to say,” Tess said, stepping up to Lux’s side, “is that Jude’s love for her family will always outweigh her love for you.”

             
Tess’ words were a sucker punch to the gut, but Lux had been dealing with this now familiar blow for a while and managed to breathe through the pain.

             
It had been easy at first, adjusting to the life of a vampire.  Lux’s self-control was, as Daniel had said, astounding, and because Lux’s mom had a background in the supernatural world, she hadn’t panicked when her daughter came home one day as a vampire.  Her dad, miracles be real, had taken the information in stride, being more interested in Lux’s newfound fangs than anything.

             
The real adjustment had come when Lux dumbly asked Jude how things were progressing with Daniel and if she’d be joining their merry band of nightwalkers any time soon.  A painful conversation had followed as Jude explained that despite her growing love for Daniel and her unquestionable devotion to Lux, she couldn’t give up her human life.  Her family wouldn’t understand the way Lux’s family had and that was the moment Lux realized the truth:

             
No matter how much Jude may wish to be a vampire, to stay with Lux and Daniel, she would never be able to give up her family.  Watching her parents and brother eventually die was something Jude Carstairs refused to do.  It was a choice Lux had never gotten to make.

             
“They’ve talked about it,” Lux said when she realized Tess had now directed her full attention to the baby vamp in front of her, even if Lux knew a part of her attention was still on the partygoers.  “Daniel understands that Jude will never become a vampire, but that doesn’t change the fact he loves her.  They’re going to stay together for as long as they can, and then they’ll go their separate ways.”

             
Lux smiled at the couple in question, watching Jude laugh at something Daniel said.  She briefly wondered if he could hear her conversation over the sound of the music, but knew Tess wouldn’t be having this conversation with her if Daniel could overhear them.

             
“And what will you do,” Tess said, “when it’s time for you to part ways with Jude?”

             
Lux frowned and blinked back the tears she could no longer cry.  She’d never given any thought to her plans for life after Jude, but now it seemed she had to.

             
“I don’t know,” she admitted.  “I figure I could pass myself off as her younger sister or a cousin.  I don’t have to give her up just yet.”

             
“You’re right,” said Tess, “you don’t.  But one day, Jude is going to die, as is your family, and then you’ll have to give them up.  It’s better to have a plan in place now because life is unpredictable, as you should know.”

             
Lux knew exactly what Tess was referring to, thinking back to her failing heart that would’ve eventually given out.  She, more than most people, understood what it was like to think you had all the time in the world, only to find out your body wasn’t able to keep up with your dreams of the future.

             
“Call me,” Tess said and produced a small business card with a number scrawled on the back.  “Anytime, but especially if you’re ever in the city.  We can get you installed in the supernatural community and I have some friends I think you’ll like.  I know Mafe has been teaching you how to be a vampire and a witch, but I know some other people you might benefit from spending time with.  All your choice, of course.”

             
“Thanks,” Lux said and took the card, tucking it away in her clutch.  “I’m sure we’ll see each other someday.”

             
“Of course we will,” Tess said, “and I’m looking forward to it.  Now go enjoy your prom.  You may have an infinite number of lifetimes, but that doesn’t mean you should skip out on this one.”

             
Lux laughed and thanked Tess, watching as the immortal disappeared from sight as though she’d never been there.  She didn’t get the chance to dwell on Tess’ offer before a familiar and lively dance number began to play.  Before she could react, Jude had rushed up and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the middle of the dance floor where Simon, Daniel, and Jemima were already dancing away.

•§•

Later, the crowd would quiet as the principal stood up to announce the prom king and queen, the student population exploding in an uproar of cheers and hoots as the captain of the football team was crowned king.  A similar, albeit more hesitant and a bit confused cheer would sound throughout the gym when the title of prom queen went to Judith Carstairs.

             
As Lux watched her friend receive her crown, she cheered louder than everyone else.  She had an infinite number of lifetimes; Jude only had this one, and Lux was determined to make it the best life imaginable.