“Have I not been good to you, all these years? I’ve provided for you, and protected you, and tried to make sure you were happy. Why do you always make it sound like I’ve deprived you of a better life?”
To Angeline’s surprise, Kathryn appeared crestfallen. Did she really think this was better than a normal, human life? To subsist on blood and to be eternally denied sunlight and to skulk around like a common criminal in fear of persecution and death?
“Kathryn, you know that I wouldn’t have chosen this for myself if I had been given a choice. That isn’t a secret. I also didn’t think it was a secret that while you do seem to have my safety as a priority, you’re controlling and condescending and righteous,” Angeline said. She had alluded to all of those things over the years, but that was the first time she had said them point-blank. She wasn’t sure if she should brace for Kathryn’s reaction.
But there was no explosion of fury or sadness. Kathryn nodded slowly. “I suppose I’ve always known that I wasn’t the soul mate you’d envisioned for yourself. Time has marched on, and you’ve stayed with me. We’ve both had our share of lovers and relationships over the years, but we always ended up together.”
Because I’m afraid of you. Angeline knew that had always been a driving force for their seemingly inseparable union. And because I’m afraid of an existence without you.
“Yes, we have,” Angeline said. “And I suspect we always will, because, really, what else have we got?”
“Well, if that isn’t a rousing endorsement of our friendship, then I don’t know what is.”
“But, Kathryn, it’s the truth. If I go out and make a friend tomorrow, I can only have them in my life for, what? Ten years, tops? And then they’ll start to question why I’m not aging. I’d have to make up some illness that keeps me from the sun. If my anger or my hunger ever got the best of me, I’d have a lot of explaining to do about my dental work. It just can’t happen. And if for some reason I did tell them what I really am, and they accepted it, they’d be dead after what, forty, fifty years? And I’d have to go through the grieving process all over again. It’s not worth it.” The more she spoke, the more suffocated Angeline felt by the life she’d been given.
“You’ve proved my point about why you can’t go back to Massachusetts. Someone could recognize you. Your mother could have a panic attack at the sight of you and have you arrested. It’s not worth it,” Kathryn said, mockingly.
“I’m going,” Angeline said through gritted teeth. She brushed by Kathryn, her shoulder bumping Kathryn’s into the doorway.
Angeline knew that Kathryn could have stopped her if she’d really wanted to. She was stronger than her, faster than her, and much more adept at slinking in and out of places unnoticed. All she would have had to do was physically restrain Angeline and that would have kept her in place.
Yet she didn’t. Angeline kept waiting for Kathryn to barricade the door, then to rip the engine out of her car, then to appear on the road to the airport so that Angeline would swerve into a tree. But she did none of those things.
Angeline made it to the ticket counter of the airport in just over two hours from the time she left Charleston. The flight to Boston was leaving in three hours and cost nearly half of the cash Angeline had brought with her. Flying was a rich man’s luxury.
A woman of about thirty-five, short and dressed in a tweed swing dress, entered the restroom. Angeline dropped her bags on the nearest bench and followed her in.
“Shh,” she commanded, pushing the woman up against the wall. She covered her mouth with her hand, the woman’s terrified eyes wide and unblinking. Angeline thrust her into a stall and slid the lock across. Angeline met the woman’s eyes with her own, compelling her to relax. The hypnotization only caused momentary stasis, so Angeline had to work fast. She positioned her mouth beneath the woman’s ear, so there wouldn’t be any obvious wound, and she punctured the skin easily. Angeline drank until she was sated, the euphoria as strong as it was twenty years ago. The high from the first rush of blood was unlike anything Angeline had experienced in her human life. It was intoxicating.
“Sorry,” she whispered, more out of habit than anything else. The woman was passed out, but she would come to soon enough, wondering what the hell had happened to her. Angeline positioned her on the closed toilet seat so that she wouldn’t fall over. She opened the stall door quietly, saw there was no one else in the restroom, washed her hands, and went to the waiting room to wait for her boarding call.
Chapter Eleven
Fog Hollow, Massachusetts, current day
Megan sat at her desk, adding the finishing remarks to the appraisal she needed to send over. She was glad to be back at work, sort of, but it made what had happened at the gas station, and for that matter, Angeline, take on a dreamlike quality. There were times when Megan had to remind herself that those events really had taken place. Two people were dead, and if not for Angeline, she would have certainly made it three.
She was still angry at Stacey and Kristen for blindsiding her at the club, but she knew she needed to cave sooner or later. They’d sent her a hundred apology texts, asking her to call or stop by or something. She’d mostly ignored them except for an “it’s fine” and a quick recap of how the night had ended, which only encouraged them to send a new flurry of sorrys. Kristen promised to never speak to Tricia again, which Megan knew might have been a tad extreme, but still made her kind of happy.
She hadn’t seen or heard from Angeline since that Friday morning when she’d woken to find her recliner back in the living room and a bottle of aspirin on her bedside table. It had been more than a week since then, and Megan had been trying to figure out a way contact her casually. She’d typed and deleted text after text, not knowing what to say to her. Thank you sounded too clinical. Come over tonight sounded too pathetic, like she wanted to repay Angeline for helping her home. I’d like to see you again sounded too date-ish. But in reality, Megan didn’t hate that idea. She was pretty comfortable with the notion that Angeline wasn’t going to hurt her. She still had lots of questions but didn’t want to seem too pushy. Although that ship could very possibly have already sailed. What was the protocol for going on a date with a vampire? Did Angeline do that sort of thing? Was she even attracted to Megan? Megan felt like she was fifteen, only this time instead of a flip phone, she was turning her iPhone over and over, wondering if she should make the first move.
Oh, the hell with it. She punched Angeline’s number into the message box and sent a quick text.
Hey, it’s Megan. Do you want to come over later? Maybe get some pizza or something?
Megan bit her lip while she stared at the screen, willing Angeline to respond. She decided to distract herself with organizing her silverware drawer. Three forks in and she was ready to call it quits, but then her cell phone dinged. She nearly scared Merlin to death by the way she leapt over the chaise toward the coffee table.
Sure. I have to work at 8, so would 6 be ok? I’ll grab pizza on my way over.
Megan checked the time. It was nearly five, so that didn’t give her much time to prepare.
Yes, that’s perfect. See you then!
Angeline responded with a thumbs-up emoji and a smiley face.
Megan’s stomach fluttered. For a brief moment, she wondered if Angeline was doing some kind of supernatural hoodoo on her. But really, what would be the point? Angeline had had plenty of opportunity to make a move on Megan, but she’d always remained distant and respectful. Megan couldn’t come up with a reason that made sense if Angeline had wanted anything more from her.
She wasn’t looking for a relationship. Or at least, not in any kind of active way. Relationships in general didn’t usually end well and were rarely worth the effort and heartache. At least in Megan’s estimation. She had ended things with Jessica six months ago and had been pretty content on her own. She’d been with Jessica for just over two years, but they’d maintained separate lives. They hadn’t moved in together or shared a bank acco
unt. Jessica had only met Aunt Susie once, and hadn’t stayed for more than a few minutes once she realized that Megan wasn’t alone. They both enjoyed their freedom, so the nature of their relationship had worked. But when it became harder and harder to get in touch with her, and Jessica would go an entire week without calling, she’d decided that maybe it wasn’t working anymore. When she suggested that maybe they should take a break, Jessica had readily agreed.
Two days later, Kristen saw Jessica at Pantsuit slow dancing with another woman. And then kissing her. Megan had wanted to rush over to her house and scream in her face, throw herself on her knees and yell “why” at the heavens, but decided that she obviously hadn’t meant that much to Jessica in the first place, so there was no reason to make a fool of herself for something she hadn’t been about to fight for anyway. Her ego was bruised, but it healed pretty fast.
Megan realized that she did miss certain things about being with someone. Nighttime snuggles. A TV watching partner. Someone to fight with about where they would go out to dinner. Good sex. But could Angeline really be that person? Someone who craved human blood and was never going to look a day over twenty-five no matter how long they stayed together? After all, Megan was going to get old. She’d look old. Angeline had money, she’d traveled, she’d presumably been with…a lot of people over the last nine decades. Megan could count her intimate partners on one hand. And she didn’t even need to use all of the fingers. How could she live up to the expectations that Angeline undoubtedly had?
A knock at the door interrupted Megan’s brooding. She stood, straightened her shirt, and ran her hand through her hair. She opened the door to find Angeline standing there with a pizza box in her hand.
“Thank you,” Megan said, taking the box from her hands. She laid it on the kitchen table while Angeline removed her jacket. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think to ask. Do you even, you know, eat pizza?”
Angeline smiled. “I do. I enjoy the taste very much. It has no nutritional value, of course, but I don’t think that’s why most people eat it anyway. Thank you for the invitation,” she said, leaning in to hug Megan.
Megan hugged her tightly, inhaling her fresh scent. She was captivating. She lamented the loss of contact when Angeline pulled away. “No, thank you for coming. And good point,” Megan said, pouring soda into two glasses. She noticed Angeline was already wearing her scrubs. “Have you worked at the clinic long?”
“About a year. I found this town on my way to the Berkshires and fell in love. So I found an apartment, a job, and settled down for a while. It doesn’t pay very much, but I’m not doing it for the money.”
“Does anyone else know?”
Angeline shook her head. She took a sip of her soda. “No. Like I told you before, it’s no easy feat to tell a person. It either ends in disbelief or them trying to kill me, although it’s a hell of a lot easier in this decade. Less superstition and more personal privacy, overall. It’s really just easier to keep it under wraps.”
Megan watched as Angeline took a delicate bite of her pizza. Her long brown hair was down around her shoulders, and that smirk that she seemed to wear so often was playing at her lips. Her full, pink, inviting lips.
“It’s good.”
Megan cleared her throat. She hoped Angeline hadn’t noticed her staring at her. “It is. Thank you again. I know I asked a million questions that night in your office. But can I ask you just a few more?”
“I expected nothing less.”
“I’m sorry, I just feel like I need to get these out of the way so that I can get to know the…other parts of you. Are you sure you don’t mind?” Megan asked.
“Really, it’s fine. What’s on your mind?”
“Do you have any vampire friends?”
“Not anymore.”
“Have you had any relationships?” Megan asked, looking away. It felt like a strangely intrusive question.
“Well, in my old life I was married. If you can believe it. Because most of the time, I can’t. Feels like twelve lifetimes ago, not just one. But I assume you mean since I was turned. I have had a few relationships, yes. One serious. She and I were together for a long time. The others were fleeting.”
Interesting revelations. So Angeline was interested in women. A quick beat of excitement pulsed through her. Though Megan wondered why, over the course of ninety years, Angeline would have only one lasting relationship? With the popularity of vampires (fake ones, but still), and the way she looked, it wasn’t like Angeline would have had any trouble finding willing participants.
“What happened?” Megan asked. She wasn’t sure if that was crossing the line or not, but since Angeline seemed to be open to sharing, she might as well ask.
“She died.”
Angeline didn’t seem to want to elaborate, so Megan wasn’t going to push. She leaned forward. “Do you have any special powers?”
“I can’t fly or anything like that. I can jump pretty high though, like a cat. My hearing is sharp, my eyesight is amazingly clear, I’m faster and stronger than most people, and I can heal from just about anything.”
“And you really think this just some kind of blood mutation? Not supernatural?” Megan asked.
Angeline sat back in her chair and sighed. “I don’t know. Certain things point to the supernatural. Immortality is a big one, obviously. I’ve never seen the face of God, or the Devil for that matter. It’s not like those TV shows where there’s a vampire, and then there are werewolves, ghosts, mermaids, zombies, and whatever. I’ve never encountered any other non-human beings except for vampires. And it’s not like the world is flooded with them either. You have to seek them out.”
“So there aren’t any vampire hierarchies or covens or anything like that? You don’t have a governor to answer to?” The media had a lot to answer for. They’d gotten so much wrong.
“Not at all. I answer to no one and I prefer to keep it that way.”
“How did you become a vampire?”
“Just how you would imagine. I was bit by a vampire, and then forced to drink her blood. If you have enough in you when your body dies, you’ll turn. I was turned by a woman named Kathryn. Not the most benevolent of creatures. She’s not around anymore, which is a very good thing.”
Megan watched Angeline’s face grow darker. She decided it might be a good idea to lighten the mood. “Do you do normal things, like watch TV, read books, play games?”
It seemed to work. Angeline smiled broadly. “Absolutely. I’ve seen just about every sitcom you can imagine, and I was a big fan of Dark Shadows. It’s funny how many things people get wrong about vampires. I like to read self-help books and biographies, mostly. But I’ll read just about anything. E-readers might just be my favorite invention of this century. I don’t play a lot of games, because I don’t really have many people to play them with. I would, though. If you want to break out Trivial Pursuit or something, I’m all for it.”
Megan considered her for a second. “Does it get lonely?”
“Does what get lonely?”
“Being so isolated all the time.”
“Honestly?” Angeline asked, rubbing the back of her neck. “Yes. It does. But if I want to maintain my anonymity, and not fear for my safety every day, I don’t have much of a choice. Here, let me help you clean up.”
The abrupt tone shift made it sound like Angeline was done with the Q&A portion of the evening. Megan supposed she couldn’t blame her. She probably wanted to talk about her favorite places to travel and the cute dogs she doted on at the clinic, and all Megan wanted to talk about were religious relics and retractable fangs.
Angeline stood at the sink washing out her cup. Her hair fell in perfect waves down the length of her back. Megan’s heart began to beat faster, and she wondered if Angeline was able to pick up on the subtle differences in her emotions. That blood bond thing they shared was ambiguous at best. This is it. If I don’t make a move now, I never will. The doubts she’d had earlier were beginning to creep back in, b
ut she brushed them aside. She had plenty to offer. Megan sucked in a breath and readied herself. She walked softly up to her and put her hand on Angeline’s back. Angeline stiffened, but didn’t make any move to stop her. Megan slid her arms around Angeline’s waist, and brought her lips to the exposed skin of Angeline’s neck. Angeline sighed into it and turned her head, allowing Megan easier access.
The electricity of Angeline’s skin against Megan’s mouth confirmed it. This was definitely what Megan wanted. Any thoughts of Angeline’s true nature or what that would mean for them danced right out of her head at the feeling of Angeline’s body melting into hers.
Angeline turned fully, so that their bodies were pressed against each other. She leaned forward, bringing their lips softly together. Megan moaned involuntarily, but her desire for Angeline pushed any embarrassment she might have felt deep into the recesses of her emotions.
Megan sought to deepen the kiss, parting her lips and sliding her tongue along the fullness of Angeline’s lips. It was Angeline’s turn to moan, and when she did, she pulled slightly away. She took Megan’s hands into her own and looked into her eyes.
“Megan,” she said, her voice deep and thick. “I can’t do this. I’m so sorry.”
Megan was taken aback. She took a step backward, inserting about a foot of space between them. “Was it something I did?”
“No, not at all. I want this too. I want you. Believe me, I do,” Angeline said. “But it just isn’t possible. I speak from experience. Our two worlds could never intertwine the way we would want them to.”
For a moment, Megan considered the idea of meaningless sex. She was insanely turned on, and the thought of Angeline walking out the door made her weak-kneed. But she knew that it was probably a very bad idea. Megan was attracted to Angeline, certainly, but she suspected there was more to it than that. Sex would only make it worse.
In the Shadow of Darkness Page 10
