Not talking to her parents about it had probably been a mistake. Still not talking to her parents about it definitely was a mistake… but she couldn’t quite make herself admit to being such a wimp for the past six years. It made zero sense how she’d gradually isolated herself emotionally from her parents and siblings. The only reason she could think of was wanting to lessen the pain they’d feel if she ended up dead at school.
After Sarah almost died, she couldn’t keep acting rude and abrasive to hold her family at arm’s length. Her big sis hadn’t been the most awesome of siblings before. Sierra always adored her older sister as the perfect balance between old enough to be a protector and young enough not to feel like Mom. But, Sarah—being an ordinary teenager—had friends of her own and stuff she wanted to do. She usually made excuses to avoid hanging out with her younger siblings. Even if it hadn’t been from malice or anger, it still bothered Sierra. Her pride got in the way of admitting how much she truly felt. Sophia had no such qualms and openly clung to Sarah, crying if ignored. Watching Sarah act annoyed by Sophia’s overt neediness further pushed Sierra away from showing any outward signs showing how she felt about her big sis neglecting her.
But everything changed when the family almost shattered.
Generally, Sierra loved the new normal. Not only had her family come together in a way totally unbelievable to imagine a year ago, her nightmare fuel changed. She still kinda worried about someone showing up at school with a gun, but bad vampires or other as-yet-unseen paranormal monsters scared her more.
She also didn’t have any credibility left in terms of being, as Dad would say, a ‘hardass.’
Sarah saw her hiding under the shelf in the warehouse, crying and shaking as bad as Sophia having a nightmare. No more secrets. Sarah hadn’t told anyone about it, either. Rather than leave her terrified about blackmail or mortified, it opened a door. She could talk openly about her fears to at least one person now and not fear ridicule. Kinda silly to think about keeping secrets from a vampire anyway, but she trusted her big sister’s promise not to eavesdrop on thoughts.
Dad once used the idea of ‘building confidence’ as a reason to take taekwondo classes. At the time, Sierra smirked at him. However, he’d been right, even if her increased confidence came from sword skill instead. It helped she cheated more than a little by asking Dalton to essentially ‘upload’ some of his knowledge into her head.
Vampire blood tasted absolutely horrible, but again, small sacrifices.
Surprisingly, Sierra didn’t feel any jealousy toward Sophia for having magic nor Sam for collecting demons, but couldn’t bear the thought Sophia might be the one protecting her someday. Her younger sister had always been the receiver of protection. Learning how to fight plus the boost from vampire blood kept everything normal. Sierra protected Sophia, just like in the D&D games Dad ran. Warriors stopped monsters from eating the mage.
Sierra’s arm twitched.
She stopped, reset her stance, and repeated the sword motion.
Her other arm twitched, and a weird cramp gripped her side. It didn’t hurt so much as felt unpleasant. Figuring she might’ve pulled a muscle or something, she decided to stop for the night and go to sleep. After stashing the sword under the bed, Sierra headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and use the toilet.
An odd sensation scratched at her stomach as she crossed the hallway, like a bunch of mice with teeny claws clinging to her skin. She lifted her shirt to look. No wounds, but her body seemed a bit too gaunt. Like every other Wright in the house, she’d always been rail thin. Now, however, she felt too skinny. Worried, she let the shirt drop back over her belly and hurried into the bathroom to the sink.
Staring at herself in the mirror didn’t help.
Her face looked gaunt, cheeks sunken. Dark shadows under her eyes gave her an almost ghoulish visage. She half expected to see her canine teeth extending into fangs like Sarah’s. Fortunately, they didn’t. The more she stared at herself, the more she became aware of a deep-seated craving making all the nerves in her limbs tingle. Not quite hunger in a literal sense, but she definitely wanted something.
No, not ‘something.’
Blood.
Specifically, vampire blood.
“Uh, oh.” She nibbled on her lip. “Shit. Not good.”
Sierra looked down at her hands. They didn’t shake—much. Could be from fear as much as her body demanding power. Her mind raced. What to do? Obviously, continuing to rely on vampire blood to boost her strength and speed couldn’t continue. Sarah worried about side effects. Dalton didn’t believe anything bad would happen, but he’d also been talking about problems like ending up mind-controlled or a brainless servitor to a vampire. He never mentioned withdrawal. Continuing to have vampire blood might not do bad things to her, but stopping kinda felt like it would.
Two tiny fangs extended into view below her upper lip.
Sierra gawked at herself in the mirror for a second before jumping away with a gasp, clamping her hands over her mouth. It took her a second to stop shaking and realize her tongue didn’t bump into any abnormally pointy teeth. Hesitantly, she leaned close to the mirror again and opened her mouth.
Normal teeth.
I’m seeing crap.
Sierra shoved a hand up under her shirt, pressing against her chest. Heartbeat normal. Fast normal, but she still had a heartbeat.
Am I having a nightmare when I’m still awake?
She scurried out of the bathroom and veered left into Sophia’s room. Her little sister stretched out in bed, surrounded by a small army of stuffed animals. Light from her Kindle made her face seem whiter than normal, her lemon blonde hair aglow. A puffy pink nightgown concealed the shape of her scrawny frame, making her look like a cloth doll with a plastic head and hands.
“Soph!” Sierra rushed over to the bed. “Do I look weird to you?”
“You always do,” deadpanned Sophia without looking up from her e-book.
Sierra grabbed her arm. “I’m serious. My face is like changing and…” She pulled her shirt up to show off her stomach. “I’m deflating.”
“Huh?” Sophia glanced at her.
“It’s the vampire blood,” whispered Sierra. “I think it’s starting to wear off and I’m like going a little nuts wanting more. When I checked myself in the mirror, it’s like watching Sare sleep.”
Sophia shook her head. “You look normal.”
“I don’t have fangs, do I?”
“No. Stop.” Sophia poked her. “You aren’t turning undead.”
Sierra paced for a moment, then crouched and lifted one side of the bed a few inches.
“What are you doing?” Sophia grabbed a tumbling stuffed unicorn before it fell to the floor.
“Testing.” Sierra set the bed down and stood. “Still have some left. But it’s gonna wear off, soon. Am I shaking?”
Sophia watched her for a moment. “Maybe a little, but you’re probably scared.”
“I am not.” Sierra folded her arms, bit her lip, then looked down. “Okay, maybe a little.”
“It’s probably dangerous for you to keep drinking vampire blood.” Sophia lifted her blankets aside so she could scoot over and sit on the edge of the mattress. “We’re too young for coffee. Vampire blood’s gotta be worse. If they sold it at stores, people would need to be twenty-one to buy it, like beer.”
Sierra sat on the bed beside her sister, swiping her feet back and forth over the carpet. “Feels like I’m super close to Sarah now. When we’re in the same room, I like know how she feels. Even know what she’s gonna say a second before she says it.”
“Mew!” Klepto crawled out from under the blankets and walked into Sierra’s lap.
“Yeah.” Sophia skritched the kitten’s head. “You have a blood link or something to her.”
“Uh huh.” Sierra pet the kitten, not sure what to say. Nothing sounded like a good idea. If she stopped asking Sarah for a sip of blood here and there, she’d go back to being an ordinary twelv
e-year-old. It wouldn’t make her magically forget how to use a sword, but she’d be too weak and slow to have any chance against a bad vampire. If she kept taking blood, other bad stuff might happen to her. A cop came to her classroom last year to do a presentation about drugs. She remembered him talking about withdrawal. The longer she stayed on vampire blood, the worse it would be to stop. What if it got to a point where she couldn’t? Would she go crazy for it?
As soon as she started shivering, Sophia put an arm around her back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Scared.”
“I don’t like seeing you scared. You’re the brave one. I’m the chicken.”
Sierra chuckled.
“Don’t worry. You look fine. It’s all in your head.” Sophia yawned. “Don’t have’ta be scared of turning into a vampire overnight. Doesn’t work that way.”
“I’m not worried.”
Sophia’s ‘gimme a break’ expression almost made her laugh.
Klepto peered up at her. “Mew.”
Even the kitten noticed.
If she admitted to being afraid, Sophia might not feel better whenever she tried to protect her from stuff… but Sarah said everyone, even superheroes, got scared sometimes. Sierra let out a long, slow breath.
“I’m not scared of what might happen to me. I don’t wanna be too weak to stop bad vampires from hurting you or Sam… or Mom and Dad.” She squeezed her toes into the carpet. “I hate not being able to do anything but hide.”
Sophia nodded. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. You are kinda shaking. I think you should stop having vampire blood before it messes with you too much.”
“I have to. Not gonna let bad vamps, or any of the other weird stuff, hurt us. Don’t care what it does to me.”
“Hey.” Sophia squeezed her hand. “I got an idea.”
“Uh oh.” Sierra snickered. “What’s going to end up covered in pudding this time?”
“Nothing. Not gonna summon a faerie.” Sophia tapped a finger to her chin. “Maybe I can try to enchant you so you’re strong and fast without needing vampire blood.”
Sierra stared at her for a long minute. “Oh, that couldn’t possibly go wrong in any way.”
“Hah.”
“Seriously. You tried to fix that one kid’s clothes and almost destroyed the school.”
“I know, but… I’m not gonna do anything right now. Need to research.” Sophia held up one hand. “I promise I won’t use any magic unless I’m totes convinced it’s safe.”
“Mew,” chirped Klepto, sounding happy.
Sierra tilted her head. “So… you’re not going to do anything.”
Sophia stuck out her tongue.
“Well…” Sierra looked down at her hands. Even if Sophia didn’t notice, she saw the trembling. It didn’t come from fear. Her body slid downhill toward normality and did not like it. She needed the surge of power, the confidence it gave her. Every charge of vampiric blood made her feel like she played Call of Duty for real. Stronger, faster, tougher than everyone around her.
Crap. I’m an addict. She had to stop now before it became impossible to do. If she could hide her fear of being shot at school from everyone for so long, she could keep a lid on her craving, too. Her sister had twice paused time in a small area. Pulling off a mild enchantment had to be possible, if unlikely. Most things Soph tried to do magically went haywire. The only time her magic worked right is if she happened to be terrified, desperate—as when Mom almost told her to get rid of Klepto—or angry.
Her mousy little sister had a weird look in her eyes. A look she’d never seen before. It almost seemed as if Sophia had decided to do whatever it took to protect her. The role reversal embarrassed, amused, and—she begrudgingly accepted—comforted her. Sarah’s almost death could have torn the family apart, but it had the reverse effect. They’d become tight.
I gotta stop trying to do everything myself. We help each other.
“Well, what?” Sophia blinked.
“Umm. Okay.” Sierra put an arm around her. “If you think it’s safe. Let’s try it.”
12
The Old Ways
Intro calculus had to be my weirdest class this semester.
While I’ve never really adored math, I’m also not one of those people who despises it. Math doesn’t even count as a ‘necessary evil’ to me. It’s not evil, merely tedious. Calculus does things with math the Universe never intended—sort of like those ghouls who put bacon on ice cream. Wait, no. That is pure evil.
It’s 9:27 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13th. Why isn’t that a series of horror movies? No one really likes the middle of the week. The Wednesday the Thirteenth films. They could have an undead monster crawl out of a lake and just do tedious stuff to make the day last forever. Or maybe they’d have an undead camel asking everyone what day it is and brutally murdering everyone who didn’t answer correctly. Okay, yeah, makes sense why no one made those movies. Anyway, I’m sitting in my last calculus class for the semester, listening to Dr. Mercer ramble about the reasons students who aren’t going into science or technical fields might want to consider taking on additional math classes. Only she could consume eighteen minutes to say ‘mental aerobics help you stay sharp and think about everything, not only math.’
This is also most likely my last calculus class in general. There’s no reason for an English major to take such heavy math. Yeah, I’ve decided to swap majors. Going into computer programming only because it’s what my dad does plus the idea it would let me ‘work from home’ isn’t the greatest reason. No newbie programmer gets a work-at-home job. I hadn’t been worried about a job forcing me into the office, confident vampire mind control would guarantee me work-from-home permission. Of course, it would be just as easy to add myself to the payroll of some giant corporation as a ‘consultant’ and collect a modest salary without having to actually do anything. Yeah, it’s scummy and basically stealing, which is why it didn’t occur to me as a serious option. Whether or not I’m going to end up needing income at some point, going into a field should involve me being interested in it. Programming is cool and all, but it’s not my passion.
My problem boils down to me not really having a passion. Sophia already wants to go into cosmetics as a career. Not a beautician, though. She wants to work on movie sets doing makeup for film actors, maybe even special effects type stuff. Hate to say it, but by the time she’s grown up, there probably won’t be too many studios left using practical effects. Heck, computer graphics are getting scary good. They might not even use real actors anymore by the time she’s out of college—or whatever sort of school one goes to in order to learn how to do movie makeup. Everything will be on computers. Granted, she could go into computer art. Sierra wants to make video games. She’s also one of those people who consider math evil. Dad is eagerly awaiting the wail of existential anguish when Sierra realizes making video games is all math.
Sam’s like me. He’s never expressed anything close to an interest in any particular career.
Guess I count as moderately lazy and unmotivated. Is it normal for a kid in high school to already know exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives, or is that considered weird? What kind of society are we living in where everyone’s forced to slot themselves into a career path as early as possible? Ninety-eight percent of us bust our butts to make two percent rich. Of course, not entering the rat race isn’t an option for ordinary people. The world doesn’t offer too many paths for anyone refusing to play the game. Become homeless or go out into the wilderness and try to live off the land, which is basically the same thing in different surroundings. ‘Homeless’ people live in cities. ‘Survivalists’ live in the woods. Neither has a debit card or takes routine showers.
Sigh. I’m too fond of modern amenities to abandon civilization. Hard to get a Wi-Fi signal deep in the forest. Plus, squirrels don’t open Starbucks franchises, so getting coffee would be a pain in the ass. Vampirism, weird as it is to say, feels like the
Universe sensed my conundrum and sent me an express ticket out of the rat race.
Awesome.
I’m also not particularly passionate about literature, but an English degree kinda works since nothing else really calls out. I do like reading. Can do it anywhere, and the employability of whatever degree I get is entirely irrelevant to me. Honestly, there aren’t too many majors less useful for getting a good job than English unless you count stuff like anthropology or generic liberal arts. Not condoning the perception, just saying. Society doesn’t reward people for pursuing their passions. It benefits those who do what consumerism demands.
Anyway, for the first time all semester, Dr. Mercer ends her class on schedule without being under the effect of mind powers. The woman is not a fast speaker. Her class routinely ran ten to twenty minutes past time. Well, considering today’s session consisted mostly of her going over the final test scores and being here to answer questions and provide academic guidance, that we still didn’t officially end until 9:28 p.m. probably counts as going long. Calc took place on Wednesday and Friday, but the school’s closed on Friday, making tonight the final session.
I’m glad to be finished, but oddly, I kinda miss Dr. Mercer already. As annoying as her slow delivery could be, she’s like a character from a television series you start off finding irritating, but by the time the season’s over, you love them.
So, yeah. I’ve got philosophy and sociology tomorrow night and then I’m done for summer. It’s almost more astounding to think I’ve got one year of college under my belt than one year of being a vampire. Mostly a year, anyway. Friday, June 22, 2017 had been my last day as a mortal, so I’m technically ten days shy of being a vampire for a full year.
Vampire Innocent | Book 12 | Ancient Vampire Death Cults & Other Annoyances Page 9
