Daisy After Life (Book 1): Perdition

by Demers, Raven J.

  "Did she?" Perdita asked.

  Daisy laughed. "No. Not according to Daddy. His father was a mayor of their small town, and Daddy the younger brother. Their people had high hopes for both the boys, but when Daddy met Momma, there wasn’t anything to keep them from marrying. I came along three days before the storm, before they moved to an even smaller town. Too small to bother putting on state road maps. They took up farming, and Daddy’s uncle adopted a young boy whose parents were lost in a house fire. That boy was Nathaniel."

  The child's eyes widened. "He’s your cousin?"

  Daisy gave a strong nod, "Momma nearly had a fit over our romance, too."

  "Ew. You were cousins!" Perdita said, sticking out her tongue.

  "Oh, yes, but not by blood. He’s a bit older than I am, and —"

  "Nu-uh! Now you’re fibbin’, Anthea. Nathaniel’s too young to be older than you."

  Daisy laughed, and patted her head. "Nathaniel was born about three or four years before me. He died younger, is all."

  Perdy stared at her bare toes in silence, wiggling them into the dirt, and pondering this. "Will you and Nathaniel go to Hell someday?"

  Daisy sighed. "I don’t know, sweetheart. God willing, I’ll find my redemption and be offered peace." She sat still, listening to the child’s heartbeat and thinking of the days when her daughter, so small as this girl, sat in her lap.

  Once more the child thought of a question, "If your Momma and Daddy didn’t teach you about God, who did?"

  "My husband, Henry Shaw. We met when I was young, not long after Nathaniel and I ended our relationship." Perdy made a face. "Henry was handsome. We met at a county social, and talked long into the evening. We both shared a love of the woods and mountains. I was finishing high school, and he attended a local college. He showed me how he saw the natural world I loved as a part of God’s grand Creation. The harmony and rhythm of life." Daisy's eyes took on a distant quality, and Perdita grew restless. Even in the warmth of the sun, she felt cold in the arms of her protecting vampire.

  Perdita tugged on Daisy's sleeve. "What happened? He told you more about God?"

  She grinned. "Yes, and he asked me to marry him. His only condition was I attend church with him, and in exchange, he promised to give up smoking. I loved him so much, I agreed."

  This confused Perdita even more. "Why?"

  "Sometimes," Daisy began slowly, "when you love someone and want to spend your life with them, you agree to compromise to make each other happy. It was a small matter to me, so I didn’t mind. He gave up his cigars, and I went to church on Sundays. The way I see it, we’re all too small to know for sure what’s out there. The mystery is too big for us to be certain one way or the other. After years of Sundays, it became a habit.

  "Besides, his brand of Christianity involved speaking to the land, and I could relate enough to respect the rest. Actually," she chuckled, "I used to tease him about how we both converted. In his own way, he practiced my beliefs through his love of nature, and in this way we managed many peaceful years together. Until he passed away."

  Perdita gave this story some thought, and formed a question. "But you died, don't you know whether there's a God?"

  Daisy shook her head. "No more than I did then. I didn't have the same death experience most people do, so I'm not sure I can speak to that. I went through the motions of death, and woke up again a few days later in a grave." Daisy made a gruesome face, causing Perdy to giggle. "That's not exactly the same as death, really, more a long nap." Into a nightmare, she thought, but didn’t share it.

  The child's stomach growled. "We had better feed you. Let's see if any of the new clothes I made for you fit. There wasn't much left to work with, but we might be lucky today."

  They headed back into the cottage, and Daisy did her best to feed the child on peaches, but it wasn't enough. Time to brave the world.

  She went through the garbage can and dug out two filthy hundred dollar bills. Though she laughed at the absurdity of it, she attempted to wash off the black sludge that coated them until they only looked a bit stained. "Let's leave these in the sun to dry, and get you clean. We’ll need to head to the nearest grocery if you're going to have a proper meal."

  Once again, Daisy readied herself for the flames that never came to scorch her skin. As they stood in the sunlight in front of the cottage, Daisy closed her eyes, and lifted her face to the warm rays. The humidity coaxed beads of sweat to emerge on Perdita's forehead. She let the child climb up onto her back, and held onto the small limbs encircling her neck. "Ready?"

  Daisy took off at great speed, heading for a large grocery store in a small suburb. For a moment, she’d considered a more isolated mom-and-pop, but thought they would stand out even more there than at a big chain. Less likely to have questions asked of us, she realized. As they neared the edge of the woods, Daisy slowed down to a walk, doing her best to look human.

  They made their way along a dusty road toward the main shopping center. When they arrived at the automatic glass doors of the store, Daisy set Perdy down, and they padded barefoot through the aisles, a basket hanging from her arm. Since she didn't know how long it would be until she could find a safe place for the child, she had to make her money stretch. Although Perdy reached for sugary cereals and snack bars, Daisy had learned many years before how to prevent such foods from ending up in her basket.

  She selected large bags of rice and oatmeal, dried beans and dried fruits. Nuts and seeds, butter and milk. Peanut butter, honey, flour, fatback, and cooking oil. Perdita started to pout, but Daisy smiled and shook her head. "I promise you'll like what I make."

  At the produce aisle, she considered the raw vegetables, and grabbed some collard greens and carrots, but for the long-term, she pulled bags of frozen vegetables like broccoli and succotash from the freezer. After adding three large, whole chickens, and an enormous bunch of bananas, they headed for the register with an overloaded basket and Perdita’s arms carrying the sack of grits she insisted they purchase.

  The clerk's eyes widened at the overflowing basket and the old woman who carried it without a show of strain. The odd pair—a fair-skinned, white-haired woman and a young Latina child—were scrutinized by the woman behind the counter who assisted in removing the chickens from the top of the precarious pile of food.

  "Haven't seen you here before," the clerk said. She gave a sniff that showed she thought the whole situation out of place.

  "I’m visiting family," Daisy said, ruffling Perdita's hair. "Especially my granddaughter." She did her best not to tremble as the sweat and floral perfume smell of the clerk belied the blood beneath her skin.

  The woman lifted an eyebrow as she eyed the food and scanned it, but said nothing. She made a thoughtful sound and peered over the counter at the small child whose black hair fell around her like a curtain. "Would you like a sucker, honey?"

  Perdita’s enthusiastic bounce, earned her a proffered lollipop. "Thank you, ma’am," she said, but Daisy took it from her and told her she could have it after a proper meal.

  "Paper or plastic?"

  "Could I please get a couple of those cloth bags?" she asked, pointing at the rack behind the counter. The clerk added them to the order, and Daisy helped bag the groceries. The better she played her part, the faster they could leave the store.

  Everything was going well, until she handed the clerk one of the hundred dollar bills. "What's this?" she asked, rubbing at the brown stain recently dried into the fiber.

  "Been saving it in a tin can. It got wet and rusted," Daisy said. The woman's face flushed slightly, quite assured that she was being lied to. Daisy smelled the rush of blood, and gripped the checkout counter tightly.

  "I'll have to check with my manager," she said.

  Daisy narrowed her eyes. "If you’re not going to accept my money," she said, and reached forward to remove the bill from the woman's hand, "then I will take my business elsewhere." Because if I stay here any longer, you're going to be my next meal, she thoug
ht.

  Something in the fierce gaze of the old woman struck the clerk as ominous, and she jumped slightly. "No, it's all right. I've got my pen here somewhere." She fumbled for the security pen on her register, drew a line on a clean corner of the bill, and made a point of waiting to see the color change. The cashier frowned, made change, and handed it to Daisy with a trembling hand.

  "Thank you," Daisy said. "Enjoy the rest of your day." She smiled sweetly, and lifted Perdy up onto her back with a single motion of her right arm, and without caring one whit who saw her, grabbed both grocery bags and barreled through the open door.

  As soon as they hit the tree line, Daisy broke into a run, and Perdy broke out in a peal of laughter. That was close, Henry. Too close.

  Despite the tension, she laughed as well, and they made their mad dash in the sun toward the cottage. Perdita did indeed enjoy the food Daisy prepared, first the oatmeal as a late breakfast, and the early supper of chicken, rice, and vegetables. As dusk neared, Daisy grew tense, wondering whether her pair of tormentors would return. She brought down a book from the attic and read part of it to Perdy before bed. Once the child slept, she lifted herself from the bed and checked the windows, using her acute senses test the area.

  No sign, she thought, but they could be masking their scents.

  After preparing herself with more of the stolen blood and a change of clothing, she headed outside the cottage, standing near the door, in case she saw any sign of attack. Nathaniel never returned the night before, and after two hours past dusk, he still hadn’t shown up at the cottage. If she could, Daisy had decided, she would find him or at least try to figure out what happened to him when she fled.

  Convinced the woods were not filled with stalking vampires, she locked the cottage door and set out. At first, she thought she would retrace her steps, but found little sign of Nathaniel except at the immediate location of the fight he had with Guilherme the previous night. She ran back towards the location of where they had discovered the unlikely pair embracing against the wall. Again, the faint traces of a trail grown cold.

  Not knowing how she would be received if she went near Valerie's house, she decided to leave it for last, and instead searched some of the locations where Nathaniel might seek food. Ranging across the rooftops, and taking shortcuts through alleys and side streets, she checked the blood bank. Not here. She made her way across the city, back and forth, searching with her eyes, ears, and nose.

  What if he masked his scent? She started to lose hope. If that's the case, then I might not find him until he wants to be found. It occurred to her, it might be a good idea to do that as well, in case she was being followed without realizing it. Nathaniel had said they were being watched before, and she didn't notice it then. The memory of Addie materializing at the park was enough to stop her running to focus. This time she thought about her walk in the sun with Perdita piggybacking along.

  There, she thought, and moved forward, thinking of the warmth of the sun and letting go of her hunt for Nathaniel. In this manner, she made another run through the city, occasionally having to stop and retrain her focus. As she neared the heart of downtown again, she thought about her lesson at the dance club, and wandered toward it, still imagining sunlight.

  None of Nathaniel's scent lingered around the club, but Daisy thought she should ask the bouncer at the door. Katy, she remembered, and walked up to the plump woman who smiled at her the instant their eyes met. "Good evening, Katy," she said to the young woman, who tried to keep one eye on the line of people working their way through the door.

  "Evenin'," the woman said back. "Can I help you, ma’am?"

  Daisy wasn't wearing her disguises: the veil, the gloves, and Nathaniel's hypnotic suggestions. Nothing covered the signs of aging on her hands or face.

  "I’m seeking a young man named Nathaniel. I know he visits here sometimes."

  "Oh yeah," Katy said, looking at her more closely. "You seem familiar. You his momma?" she asked.

  "Great aunt," Daisy lied. "He’s not been by as promised, and the family is worried about him."

  Katy said, "I haven’t seen him. Not for a few nights now. Do you think something’s wrong?"

  For a moment, she considered saying yes, but Daisy held her tongue. "I’m certain he’ll turn up. He can be rather impetuous at times, and it makes an old woman worry," she said, giving a dismissive laugh.

  Katy gave Daisy’s arm a comforting pat. "Would you like to get some water or tea inside? You look a bit parched."

  "Oh, I’m not sure I would be welcome, and the music’s too loud for these ears," she said, but then saw movement and picked up a familiar scent from someone who passed by the door behind Katy. Nathaniel might not be in there, but there was a chance her aimless wandering led her there for a reason. "Then again ... a glass of water would be welcome."

  As soon as she entered, the concentrated scent of dozens of humans hit her. Their sweat mingled with the raised temperature of their bodies to create an elixir moving through the air. The humidity didn’t help matters, and Daisy swooned, as her thirst overwhelmed her will. She gripped the nearest surface—a chair at an empty table—and considered making her way right back out the front door, when she saw a struggle toward the back.

  Doing her best to focus solely on that motion, she made her way around the main dance floor, her eyes shifting left and right, and the ache in her chest and gut making it a struggle to move her feet forward at a human pace. All the maneuvering of her prey caught her attention again and again, and she continuously had to will herself to look away, to focus. Another odd movement, out of sync with the rest of the patrons. Definitely someone there.

  Whoever it was fled through the emergency exit at the rear of the building. Daisy followed, not sure what she would find, but called to discover who attracted her attention. She glanced back once, at the start of another fast-paced song. Human bodies threw themselves into the air and whirled and undulated in ways that made her want to sink down into a crouch and pounce into the heart of them. Whoever she could catch first would be the beginning of a glorious feast. As they tried to run she knew she would hunt them one by one until she could devour them all.

  I will not let the monster win, she told herself.

  It took pronounced effort to remind herself of who she was before exiting through the door into the back alley. Daisy stepped out into the night air, sucking down gulps of it to clear her senses of the thick smell of sweat and blood behind her, only to have it replaced by something more immediate. She shut the door behind her.

  Two human scents grabbed at her attention before the sounds of the struggle did. She looked to find the source. There, against the wall. Though it was unlit, Daisy saw two bodies pressed against the building. For a moment, she hesitated, remembering the previous night's encounter, but the horrendous scene before her shocked her to her core. A young woman struggled and made sounds of protest. The man shoved her face into the brick of the building across from the club. The girl cried.

  The man standing against her was much larger and taller. His aging good looks familiar. Rick.

  He pulled the woman's skirt up, exposing her underwear. She gave a muffled scream behind a crude and hastily forced gag.

  Rick pulled a blade from his pocket—a box knife, Daisy realized—and clicked the blade into place. Daisy appeared behind him, her hand on his wrist.

  Surprised at the unexpected contact, he stared at the fingers wrapped around his flesh before fully comprehending what was happening. He glanced over his shoulder to see a pale figure, eyes lit with fire. Daisy spun him around and away from the woman, no, she's just a girl!

  A growl came to her throat as she stared at the man she held captive.

  To the young woman righting her skirt and removing the gag, she said, "Run. Get far away from here." The girl hesitated as she tried to make sense of the scene, still paralyzed from her encounter, but finally, fear and logic spurred her into action and she took off as fast as her bare feet would carry
her.

  Daisy turned her attention back to Rick, who had been struggling in her grip the whole time. She’d barely noticed. She squeezed his wrist tighter, and he dropped the box cutter on the ground with a clatter. He tried to say something, he muttered to himself frantically, pleading. The smell of urine suddenly dominated his immediate person, though the cologne and musk remained.

  And the blood, Daisy thought. Her hunger rose and control ebbed. She had little desire to control herself in the face of this terrible man.

  "How many girls?" she asked him.

  He continued to mutter to himself, a whimper interrupting his incomprehensible pleas. She asked again, and this time his eyes snapped to hers, before he shut his tight. With her free hand, she gripped his face.

  "How many girls have you hurt?" she asked. Her nails dug into his cheeks.

  Rick kept his eyes squeezed tight, tears springing to his cheeks. "I don't know. I don't!"

  Daisy lifted him up into the air, dangling him above her small frame. He cried out and kicked at her, but the blows fell like those of a small child in a tantrum. She ignored his inconsequential wrath.

  With the toes of her left foot, she lifted the box knife up, and took it with the hand previously holding his wrist. The urge was too strong. The monster in her started chanting: Drain him. Take him. Feed.

  The pounding of this mantra grew louder with the slamming rhythm of his heartbeats. She did her best to resist, but Jared had been right. There were only two likely outcomes for vampires like her, and she couldn’t walk out into the sun to die.

  At least it's not Perdy, she thought before the razor slashed the length of his arm, and the hot, pulsing, living blood came racing out of him and into her awaiting mouth.

  Distantly, she was aware he screamed. At first. The more blood he lost, the greater his dizziness, and he soon no longer found the strength to even struggle. Meanwhile, Daisy came alive. The tender spots remaining from the wound Valerie created dissipated until they simply didn’t exist anymore. She lowered him to the ground once his heart stopped beating, and remembering Nathaniel's warning, resisted the urge to place her mouth on the body and drain the dregs.