by Maria Arnt
“I mean, how much time does it take to write one silly story? I get that you’re working undercover, but can’t your fake identity go home for the holidays?” Julia chided.
“It’s not that simple, Mom,” Tanya nearly yelled.
“Well I didn’t say it was, honey,” her mom switched gears, voice turning sympathetic. “It’s just really important to me, and your dad just misses you terribly...”
Tanya stopped pacing at one end of the room and put her head against the wall. Of course, she would have to bring her dad into this. Her mother didn’t pull punches when it came to manipulation. “I miss you guys too,” she sighed.
“Just try to work something out, Tanya. Can you do that for me?”
Rolling her eyes, she sighed again. “Yeah, Mom. I’ll try.”
“Great! Well, I’ve got to run, or I’ll be late for my shift. See you soon, sweetie!” Her mom hung up before Tanya could even respond.
She was momentarily tempted to throw the phone at the wall, but resisted the urge since it would probably go right through it, or shatter into hundreds of tiny pieces. She was familiar enough with her inhuman strength to know better.
Instead, she flopped down onto her bed, breathing in the lilac scent of Nana, remembering. In the summer, when school was out, Tanya would spend the day over at Nana’s house, and she’d tell her all about how she’d come over from Russia along with Tanya’s grandparents in the ‘60s, escaping from the KGB, and coming to America for a better life. She used to tell Tanya stories of winter in Siberia, where a single blizzard would pile snow all the way up to the roofs, and the town would dig tunnels between all the houses. She and Nana would eat shaved ice and dream away the muggy Ozarks heat.
It calmed her down a little, but it also made her homesickness worse. She put up no resistance as the tears began to roll down her cheeks. It was just so damn tempting. Her brief taste of freedom had left her even more torn. She knew now that she could run away, but that wasn’t the problem.
She didn’t trust herself.
Besides that, there was the matter of timing. She couldn’t just leave Beatrice here now.
As if her thoughts had summoned her, there was a brief, timid knock on Tanya’s door.
She sighed. She didn’t feel much like talking but didn’t want to be alone either. “It doesn’t lock,” Tanya complained by way of invitation.
The door opened slowly, and Beatrice poked her head in. As soon as she caught sight of Tanya, she tutted and came the rest of the way in, shutting the door behind her quietly. Without hesitation, she sat on the edge of Tanya’s bed and immediately began rubbing her back in soothing circles.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop...” Beatrice said cautiously.
Tanya gave a watery chuckle. “I was shouting. And...” she waved a hand limply, “vampires.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Your mother wants something of you?” Beatrice prompted.
“She wants me to come home for Thanksgiving!” she wailed.
“And you don’t want her to know.” She put it together quickly.
Tanya laughed without any humor. “She doesn’t even believe in vampires. But it’s impossible, anyway.”
“Master Seth has forbidden it?” she guessed.
“Not exactly.” She rolled over and wiped the tears off her face. Beatrice produced a handkerchief quickly, and Tanya took it, awkward with the memory of Seth’s similar gesture. “They’re too far away, about seven hours’ drive. I couldn’t make it in one night.”
Beatrice pressed her lips together, facing some internal struggle. “Could you not stop somewhere for the day? A motel room, a ‘do not disturb’ sign, a little duct tape, and you should be able to make a light-proof haven in the bathroom. Not comfortable, but at your age you won’t be uncomfortable, you’ll be insensible come dawn.”
Tanya sat up. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Why hadn’t Seth? She frowned, suspicious.
“But Tanya, won’t your parents... notice?” Beatrice cautioned. “I’m not sure what you looked like as a human, but if my case is any indication, the change can be quite drastic.”
Looking her over, Tanya realized why she hadn’t recognized her as a vampire: she was very plain. Her skin was flawless but pale and a little jaundiced. Her features were symmetrical but boring. Her black hair shone, razor-straight, but it had no volume or depth of color. In all, she was pretty but rather unremarkable for a vampire.
“What did you look like before?” she asked cautiously.
“Oh, I was quite ugly,” she said cheerfully. “That was part of the problem, really. I always knew I wanted to be a nun. My parents were papists when that was still very unpopular in England, and they were fiercely devout. It wasn’t even fully legal until after I was born, you see. My parents were poor, despite the family business in clocks and watches. My brother managed to become one of the first Catholic lawyers, though, and married well, so they didn’t need me to stay on, you see.
“But I wanted it to be a choice. I suppose I was prideful, had spent too much time reading The Lives of the Saints and imagining myself in it. When I left for the convent in Brussels, I imagined myself leaving behind a string of grieving suitors.” She sighed.
“I was not rich, and I was not pretty. But I didn’t want anyone to think that was why I took vows. I wanted to prove my devotion, I suppose.”
“What happened?” Tanya breathed, too caught up in the story to remember her own problems.
Beatrice’s expression turned grim. “I got what I wanted: a suitor. Handsome, rich, and well-heeled. Master Michael Adler.”
There was a long, heavy pause. “So you never made it to the convent,” Tanya mused sadly.
Beatrice grimaced. “I did, eventually. The first time I ran away, that’s where I went. Predictable. It didn’t take him long to find me.”
“The nuns couldn’t keep you hidden?”
She stared down at her hands. “They tried. He used his control. He made me...” her breath hitched, and her expression turned steely. “He killed them, through me.”
Tanya was at a total loss for words. She had thought Seth a monster, but nothing he had so much as hinted at even came close to that.
“I was much more successful the second time,” she said, turning cheerful again. “But then, it was the Blitz, and everyone was leaving England in a panic. I managed to join an order of hospitallers just before they left for France. He was in America at the time, and apparently I wasn’t worth the risk to go chasing after, and I went back with some Canadian nursing sisters. It took him nearly three decades to find me again.”
“But... how? The sunlight...?” Tanya wondered.
“Survivable, by that age, in a full habit and gloves. I pleaded a sensitivity to light, what you call migraines now, and they were more than happy to give me night shifts,” she explained.
“What did you... I mean, how did you feed?”
Here Beatrice’s face fell a little. “I didn’t, as much as possible. And the Blood of Christ sustains me far beyond that. But... men were dying, and I... I eased some of their pain. I suppose I did become something of an angel, if only the Angel of Death.” After a somber moment, she chuckled. “Do you know, that’s what I thought you were at first? In the darkness, your face was... transcendent as you crept up on poor Smythe.”
Tanya laughed at the thought of herself as an angel, and at Beatrice’s sympathy for her would-be rapist.
“But we are off topic,” Beatrice reminded herself. “I imagine the change altered your appearance as well?”
“Yeah, but I have an idea for that.” Hopping off her bed, Tanya sat down at her vanity. “I didn’t wear foundation much before since it didn’t do much to cover the freckles and tended to make me break out anyway, but I usually have a couple rejected bottles stashed somewhere in here.” After a few minutes of fruitless digging, though, she still couldn’t find it. “Where is it? It’s not like it grew legs and walked off....”
The realization o
f what must have happened hit her. “Seth!” she yelled, knowing full well he could hear her through the door. By the time she had wrenched it open, he was already halfway up the stairs, a look of concern on his face.
“What did you do with my makeup? Like half of it is missing!” she demanded.
Beatrice hovered in the doorway, clearly shocked by her outburst.
Seth blinked for a moment, equally perplexed. “I ah, well I suppose I disposed of some of the items which were expired or that you would no longer need,” he said slowly, still unsure why she was so upset.
“What do you mean?” She hadn’t expected to be so honest about it, and his answer confused her.
“Well, honestly I don’t think you would need any of it, but I understand that ladies like to use colors and such. However you certainly wouldn’t need anything to correct flaws,” he mused.
“Oh.” Of course she wouldn’t, being perfect and all. Tanya wanted to stay angry at him for throwing her things away, but it made a lot of sense, and her anger was obviously upsetting Beatrice. She sighed. “Well, I guess I’ll hit up a drugstore or something,” she muttered, more to herself. Shopping—now there was a weird thought.
“I’ll go get my keys,” Seth offered hesitantly.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’d really like to go on my own,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Well I’m glad you want to get out on your own,” he said, although he didn’t sound happy in the slightest, “but I haven’t taught you to drive yet. Beatrice, can you drive?”
She shook her head rapidly, still mute.
“I thought not. And I haven’t any cash to give you, either.”
Tanya groaned. She couldn’t drive, and she didn’t have any money. There was no way she could make it home on her own. Defeated, she sat on the floor and leaned her head against the railing.
After a moment, Seth sat next to her, passing his feet under the railing and letting his legs dangle over the balcony. “What’s wrong, Tatiana?” he asked softly.
Since she had fed off him, he’d fallen back into the habit of using her full name when he was being... affectionate. Somehow, it just didn’t bug her like it used to. Maybe it was a battle she didn’t have the energy to fight. Turning her head, she studied the erstwhile Master vampire. She hadn’t planned on telling him where she was going, but it was swiftly becoming obvious that she wouldn’t be able to do this without his help. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask for it.
To her surprise, Beatrice came to her rescue, joining them on the balcony floor, on Tanya’s other side, her back to the railing. “Tanya’s homesick,” she said sympathetically. “And her mother is pitching a fit that she won’t come home to visit.”
He paused a moment. “Ah. I see. And you need the makeup for...?”
“To make myself look human,” Tanya said, miserable.
Seth nodded. “Right. Smart thinking. Fortunately,” he moved to stand, “I have exactly what you need.”
She stared up at him, perplexed. Hadn’t he told her, just a few weeks ago, that such a thing was impossible?
He seemed to understand her hesitation. “I know I told you before that it couldn’t be done,” he held out a hand to help her up. “But at the time I thought you would take much longer to learn how to feed properly. It didn’t seem as though you would have an easy time of it,” he explained.
She stood without his help. “Well maybe I just didn’t have the right motivation,” she countered.
Left hanging, Seth turned to help Beatrice instead. She accepted his hand gracefully, and he smiled, taking her hand on his arm like an old-fashioned gentleman. “Indeed. We won’t be able to stay long, but—”
“About that,” Tanya interrupted him as she followed them down the stairs. “A, there’s no way you’re actually going with me to my parents’ house, B, if we drive at night, then seal ourselves in a hotel room for the day, we can have a lot more time before we have to go back.”
He paused at the bottom of the stairs. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he admitted.
Tanya shrugged. “Beatrice’s idea, actually.”
Beatrice blanched and pulled her hand from the crook of Seth’s elbow as if expecting him to lash out, but he gave her a brilliant smile.
“Of course! I imagine you have traveled quite a bit in your evasion of Michael’s unkindness. It’s been a long time since I had a child to worry about, and I hadn’t taken modern conveniences into consideration.”
“You know, it’s really weird when you refer to me as your child,” Tanya complained. “Seeing as you’re sleeping with me.”
“It is the traditional term a Master uses for his young thralls,” Beatrice explained as they passed into the study.
Seth pulled what looked like a small fisherman’s tackle box out of a bottom drawer of his desk and placed it on the surface.
“And is it traditional for them to sleep with their children?” Tanya made a face.
Seth sighed. “Actually it is. Might I remind you that vampire ‘children’ are consenting adults?”
“You’ll forgive me if I’m not really convinced about the whole consenting part, for obvious reasons,” Tanya snapped, gesturing to herself and Beatrice, who seemed to be trying to become invisible by shrinking into herself.
A dark look crossed Seth’s face, and for a moment Tanya thought he was going to rise to the bait and start arguing with her. But he glanced at Beatrice’s pained expression, and it passed. Instead, he opened the small box to reveal a collection of powders, creams, and brushes. It was, Tanya realized, a professional makeup kit. “There are times when I need to appear aged or, as in your case, mundane. It’s amazing what you can do with stage makeup these days. I remember when it was all greasepaint and soot,” he chuckled. “I should be able to create a semblance of your former appearance. When were you thinking of going?”
“Thanksgiving,” she said bluntly.
He frowned. “But that’s this Thursday.”
She nodded.
“Won’t they try to feed you?” Beatrice asked suddenly.
She shrugged. “Not really. Mom doesn’t enjoy cooking all that much, and Dad’s family always has a big, traditional get-together the weekend before, with turkey and all the trimmings. Usually, the day of we eat pizza and watch old movies. I can beg off the pizza if I say I’m on a diet.”
Seth shook his head. “You’ve really thought this out.”
Tanya laughed. “You can blame my mom. Once she gets an idea in her head, she makes sure to get it stuck in everyone else’s, too.”
“Stubbornness must run in the family,” he grumbled. “I suppose I shall make the necessary arrangements, then.”
“Cool.” Tanya got up and made to leave, but paused in the doorway when Beatrice stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. She nodded significantly towards Seth, who had already turned away. Tanya sighed.
“Yes?” he asked without turning to look at her.
“Just... thanks, I guess,” she murmured begrudgingly. “This really means a lot to me.”
At this, he did look up. “I do what I can for your happiness, Tanya.”
She frowned, but lacking a witty response to that, simply nodded and left them both.
24
Tanya woke up suddenly the next evening. It took her a while to recognize what had her heart pounding and the hair on her arms standing on end: Seth. Set.
His power unveiled.
Once she was able to identify the thickness in the air, she calmed a little, frowning. Why would he... Beatrice.
Dashing out of bed she was momentarily grateful she had put on actual pajamas the morning before, as she had no time to change. She nearly tore the door off its hinges and opted to skip the stairs, vaulting the balcony railing to make a three-point landing on the floor below.
As she stood, she caught sight of a terrified Beatrice, pressed against the wall near the study door, as if she could disappear into the brick. She held a rosary clos
e to her lips, which moved with no sound. Her eyes were fixed on something inside the study—Seth. Tanya could feel the waves of power radiating from within, could hear the anger in his voice.
It was as she feared, Seth was furious at Beatrice for suggesting she should be allowed to go home.
Bracing herself against the storm, Tanya strode into the study. At the last moment, Beatrice caught sight of her and put out a feeble hand to stop her. Tanya ignored it, brushing past.
But when she entered the study, Seth was facing away from the door. “No, you listen to me, you insolent, mewling infant,” he growled. “If you can’t take proper care of your toys then you don’t deserve to have them!”
The absurdity of his words made her stop short. He turned, as if sensing her, and it was only then she saw the cell phone gripped tightly in his hand.
“No, she is a person and a lady at that. Your actions are absolutely inexcusable. Beatrice is under my protection now, and if you value your life, you will do nothing to approach her.” His expression was one of deadly, chilling ire. Even though she realized it wasn’t directed at her, it made her knees wobble. Holy fuck, that’s a whole new level of angry.
There was a pause in his tirade as a litany of threats and insults poured from the cell phone, culminating in shouting, “I will take back what is mine from the clutches of your disgusting, rotting corpse!”
To her surprise, Seth smiled, albeit a dangerous, deadly smile. “It would be my very great pleasure to see you try,” he purred calmly, and then hit ‘end.’
Tanya stood there, breathing hard, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her mind had realized the truth: Seth had called to chastise Beatrice’s Master, as promised, and it had not gone well. But her body was primed for a fight.
Seth held her gaze steadily, and though she felt his power begin to ebb, it was obviously a struggle for him. He wanted to fight, too.
“Tatiana, darling,” he said, in a poor imitation of light-heartedness. “Would you like to spar?”
Tanya nodded enthusiastically and slipped easily back into a fighting stance.
