by Gayla Twist
“Not really.” I shook my head. “The island was entirely uninhabited when our hostess bought it in the nineteen sixties and the closest inhabited island is only populated by the Sentinelese. They are the world’s only remaining Paleolithic people. So even if they see something strange, like humans flying through the air, they have no way of communicating it to the rest of the world.”
Haley immediately picked up her phone and started tapping at the screen. “What are you doing?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“How do you spell Sentinelese?” she asked, concentrating on the little rectangle. “And Paleolithic?” she added after a moment.
While we were in Cleveland, Haley had spent her own money to acquire a new cell phone. I found the little devices that mortals were constantly clutching to their faces annoying to the extreme, but she insisted that a cell was one of life’s essentials. “But why?” I asked. It seemed like a complete waste of time and money to me. I wasn’t opposed to wasting money, but I was worried that Haley would become one of those compulsive cell phone users who couldn’t even look up from the screen to cross the street or climb a flight of stairs. “Is there someone you wish to call?”
“No,” she said with a rueful laugh and a small shake of her head. “Mostly I want it to be able to look things up.”
“What things?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know; whatever things I want to know more about. I’m still in high school, you know, and you’ve been on the planet for a century. I don’t want to have to ask about every word that you use and that I don’t understand. I want to be able to look stuff up on my own.” To Haley’s credit, she didn’t tap at the devil box constantly. She called her mother sometimes, but she mostly used her cell as a portable encyclopedia.
“S-e-n-t-i-n-e-l-e-s-e,” I said, obliging her. “They’re hunter-gatherers. They don’t grow any of their own food and they don’t have a method for creating fire.”
“Wow,” Haley marveled as she scanned the little screen on her iPhone. “Talk about going off the grid.” Then she frowned. “Why are we bothering these people again?”
“We’re not bothering them,” I said with a laugh. “In fact, we’ll go nowhere near them. The Sentinelese have a tendency to shoot arrows at anyone who gets too near their beach. And I have no intention of getting staked just because I’m mildly curious about primitive man. We’re heading to the next island over, Little Berapi, and we will leave the Sentinelese alone.”
“What’s on Little Berapi again?” Haley asked. She kept her voice casual, but I knew she was probing to see if I’d slip and reveal anything interesting about where we were headed.
“You’ll just have to be patient,” I insisted, like I was scolding a much-indulged child. “And no using your phone to cheat.”
“Can’t you tell me anything about it now?” she asked, reaching over and shyly pressing her hand into mine. “Just a little bit?”
“Alright, fine,” I said, immediately capitulating. I was quickly finding it almost impossible to deny Haley anything. “As I said, fifty or so years ago a billionaire vampiress bought the island with the intention of ending it all.”
“She what?” Haley interrupted. “You mean… Why would she want to do that?” Her eyes were round with concern for this bored billionaire that she’d never met.
“Oh,” I muttered. Haley had caught me off-guard. She was still a fledgling and in awe of immortality. It was way too soon for me to show her the other side of the coin, as far as living forever. This gave me reason for concern. I’d already told her we were headed for Little Berapi. I couldn’t suddenly give orders to turn the yacht around just because I was worried my progeny would become infected with the malaise of world weary vampires. “I’m not sure…” I said. “Probably for the same reason any mortal would.” This was true, on some level.
Haley nodded, her face solemn, as if she completely understood.
“Come here,” I said, pulling her deck chair closer to mine and wrapping my arms around her. I needed to kiss her and make this awkward moment disappear. I could tell that my poor darling understood too thoroughly the vampiress’ state of mind and I hated that she knew those desperate feelings. I couldn’t erase her past, but I could do my best to make Haley Scott feel happy and loved.
“Oh, Dorian,” she sighed, sinking into my embrace.
I hoped all thoughts of suicide were a thing of the past. I would make sure those kind of horrible feelings had no place in her future. I decided we would continue to Little Berapi. There was plenty to do and see on the island without showing Haley everything it had to offer. The most intense experiences were not for the eyes of a fledgling and I mentally kicked myself for ever thinking of taking her there in the first place. Haley was a spirited young woman, but I knew that she also needed to be treated tenderly. People’s pasts didn’t disappear just because they’d grown a set of fangs.
Like most of the undead playgrounds, the resort on Little Berapi was a series of building connected by light-proof tunnels. That way we could move around easily during the long daylight hours of the tropics. Our hostess, Madame Renee Cordier, had become a passionate environmentalist since buying the island. She was often heard saying phrases like, “If I’m going to live forever, then I want the planet to be worth living on.” Even though critics would say building a giant complex on an island that was previously untouched by human hands was not very green, Madame Renee made up for it by donating all of the profits from her resort to the green organizations that she felt were doing the most good in the world. Plus, she tried to ensure we humans had as little environmental impact as possible.
“Welcome,” Madame Renee said, greeting us at the beach as we flew ashore. The water was too rough to arrive by boat, so the crew stayed aboard with most of our luggage while we made for land. “Dorian, it’s so delightful to see you again. Are you here this time to experience everything the island has to offer?”
I knew what she meant, but I dodged her questions by kissing both her cheeks and replying, “We’re here for little relaxation and to spend some time together. Nothing too intense, as far as communing with nature.” I hoped my words made it clear that Haley and I were very much together and that I didn’t want to expose her to the more shocking features of the island.
Renee turned her attention to my progeny. “And who is this fresh face?” she asked.
“Madame Renee Cordier,” I said, and then I gestured toward my progeny. “This is Miss Haley Scott. Haley.” And then I said to Haley, “This is Madame Renee.”
“Enchanted,” Renee said, extending her hand. She had a massive amount of dark hair that flowed down her back and nearly touched the sand. A kimono style gown of iridescent greens and blues caressed her body like she was a mermaid leaping from the waves.
“Hi,” Haley all but squeaked. I could tell she was intimidated by Renee’s grand manner.
“My darling girl, you look like you barely know how to fly. Are you sure you want this son of Pan corrupting you so soon after earning your wings?”
Haley looked surprised and a little wide-eyed. She wasn’t yet used to the frequently provoking conversations of many vampires. “None of your troublemaking, Renee,” I interjected. “My progeny is not a plaything for you to toy with, you devious feline.” I kept my tone light, but I wanted Madame Renee to know that I wasn’t joking.
“Progeny?” It was Renee’s turn to show surprise. “I never thought I’d live to see the day when Dorian Vanderlind became a maker.”
“That’s the wonderful thing about immortality,” I said, keeping my voice as light as possible. “If you stick around long enough, you can see almost anything.”
Madame Renee stared at me for several seconds before releasing a deep, throaty chuckle. “Dorian, you do have a way about you. It makes me so glad to see you again. Come,” she said, starting to make her way across the beach, heedless of her beautiful frock’s hem dragging through the damp sand. “We have wonderful rooms arranged for you. We onl
y had one suite available, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” she said and I could tell she was suppressing a smirk. “And there should be quite a show tomorrow night,” she added, glancing over her shoulder at us. “Your timing is as impeccable as ever.”
“What sort of show?” Haley asked, as we headed across the beach toward the main building.
The question had been directed at me, but Renee chose to answer. “We’re going to have a bit of a blow,” she said. “Possibly later this evening, if my volcanologists are correct. But the real display should be tomorrow.”
“Volcanologists,” repeated Haley, perplexed. “As in volcanoes?”
“Precisely,” Renee said with a smile. “That’s precisely what I meant.”
“Okay…” Haley sounded slightly uneasy. “Why?”
Chapter 3
Dorian
“Three active volcanos right on this island,” Haley exclaimed, once we were alone in our suite. “This island, that is way smaller than… than… Rhode Island. Much smaller! Have you lost your mind? Has everyone here lost their minds?”
“It’s fine,” I assured her. “We’re in no danger. Everything is fine.”
“How are we not in danger?” she demanded. “If there’s an eruption, then there’s lava, there’s hot ash, there’s burning… I don’t know, gases… Did you know that most of the Romans who died when Vesuvius erupted died from being smothered by the falling ash, not from the lava?”
“Haley,” I said, wrapping my arms around her in an attempt to be comforting. “We’re vampires. If there’s too much ash during an eruption, we can just fly away.”
“But what about the mortals?” she demanded. “Aren’t there mortal workers on this island? What happens to them? How are they supposed to get away?”
It was to Haley’s credit that she was still worried about the lives of mortals, even after becoming a member of the undead. “I’m sure Madame Renee has an emergency evacuation plan,” I assured her. “Plus, there’s the volcanologists. They must know what they’re doing.”
“I hope so,” she said, biting her lip and looking distracted.
“I’m sorry,” I said, taking a step away from her. “I wanted to show you the wonders of the undead world — things mortals can never see — but maybe we should wait until you are no longer a fledgling? I should have thought to go easy on you until you’ve acclimated more to being a member of the undead. Maybe we should return to Tiburon. Or Paris, if you enjoyed yourself there.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Haley hurriedly assured me. “I guess I still have mortal brain,” she added with a laugh, thunking herself on the head. “But seriously, will you check on the evacuation plans for everyone? I don’t think I could enjoy myself otherwise.”
“Of course,” I assured her. “I’ll speak with Madame Renee.”
“Thank you.” She drew closer and wrapper her arms around me. “So why are we here?”
“Because,” I said, looking deep into her eyes. “I am going to show you something wonderful.”
Just then there was a soft chiming and the lights flashed. “What’s that?” Haley asked, doing her best not to look alarmed.
“It means that there is a volcanic event worth seeing,” I told her. “It shouldn’t be a big one, but maybe we should wait until tomorrow night, just to give you a chance to adjust to the idea.“
“No,” she said with a lift of her chin. “We should get out there and see what natural wonders the world has to offer.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. I really shouldn’t have brought her to such an intimidating place.
“Yes, I want to see the volcano. I want to see everything,” she insisted. “As long as I’m with you, then I feel like…” There Haley faltered as she searched for a simile.
“The world is your oyster?” I suggested.
“Yes.” She gave me a radiant smile. “I never had a chance to try oysters and they sound totally disgusting, but when I’m with you, the world is my oyster.”
As we exited our bungalow suite, it was immediately apparent that there had been a rather abrupt emission from the volcano. Ash gently floated down from the sky like dingy Christmas snow. Haley immediately started to cough. Her brave front evaporated. “We have to get out of here,” she said, grabbing my arm and trying to pull me toward the beach.
“Haley, relax,” I said. “You don’t have to breathe.”
“I can’t breathe,” she said, coughing harder. “We have to get out of here or we’re going to suffocate.”
“Haley,” I said, sweeping her into my arms and rocketing us both into the air. “You are a member of the undead. You are a vampire. You don’t have to breathe.”
And then suddenly she was laughing. She flung back her head and released a squeal of delight. “The ash tickles, like snowflakes,” she said closing her eyes. “Only without the cold.”
“Let go take a closer look at the eruption,” I told her, loosening my grip on her waist as she began flying on her own.
“Oh, yes,” she said, looking gamely around. “Where is it? I want to see it. I want to see everything the world has to offer.”
Taking her by the hand, I began flying in the direction of the volcano that was spewing ash. Once she knew the direction in which we were headed, Haley took the lead, pulling me after her. The ash became so thick that it no longer reminded me of a gentle snowfall. This was more like a blizzard. Would things get worse? Would the lava start to flow and the island have to be evacuated?
Noxious gases began blasting us in the face as they came billowing out of the volcano, followed by a spray of sparks. I saw Haley gag for a moment, but then she got ahold of herself. She began playing with the air like it was a water feature at an amusement park. She threw herself against it and was bounced away. She leapt on top of a blast of gas and got thrust high into the sky, then she floated back down to me, laughing. Sparks were turning her clothes into tatters and singeing bits of her hair, but Haley didn’t seem to care.
“Is it strange that I had to die to feel so alive?” she asked, rushing up to me.
I caught her in my arms and we went twirling through the air on a jet of steam together. “It seems like the most natural thing in the world,” I told her as my clothing also began to shred and tatter.
Haley had been so caught up in the moment that she hadn’t realized what we were inadvertently doing to our clothes. She poked her finger through one of the rents in my shirt, gave me a surprised look, and then laughed with delight.
The volcanic event lasted less than twenty minutes. After that the ash and sparks stopped filling in the air, the jets of gas quieted down. “That was wonderful,” Haley said as we alighted on the ground. “To think, I’ve never been to Disneyland, but I’ve danced in the air while being blasted with volcanic ash.” She giggled a little and then added, “You sure do know how to show a vampiress a good time, Mr. Vanderlind.”
Covered in grime and dressed in tatters, we looked like a couple of street urchins from when I was a boy. I told Haley of my memory and it made her smile. Cocking her head to one side, she said, “I always wanted to meet a centenarian so that I could ask what it was like to live a hundred years ago. It seems odd that you’ve lived so long.”
“Well, not quite a hundred years,” I told her. “Not yet, at least.”
She frowned a little. “I suppose one day I’ll have lived that long. It’s so hard to think about. It just seems so surreal.”
“Haley, you’ve only been a vampire for a few months. Let’s not worry about eternity just yet. Let’s live in the moment,” I told her as I wrapped my arms around her, kissing her lightly on the lips. Haley pulled slightly away, smiled at me, and then sunk into our embrace.
“Let’s go back to the suite,” Haley said in a husky voice, once we’d been kissing for several minutes.
I’ve never worried about being chaste. I’ve never really seen the need. For the undead, the act of love is strictly for pleasure. There is no concern about preg
nancy or the spread of disease. I’ve always thought that if both parties were enjoying themselves, then that was all that mattered. And I made it a point of pride to ensure that whoever the lady was that I was with, always had a remarkable time.
With Haley, things were different. It’s not that I didn’t want her — I wanted her more than any female that I have ever known — but being with her intimately just seemed too monumental a thing to rush into. I wanted to wait. I wanted to take things slow. But waiting was proving to be one of the greatest challenges of my immortality.
Haley, on the other hand, did everything within her power to crumble my resolve and it sometimes led to conflict between us. She used every opportunity to try to tempt me. I just couldn’t get it through her stubborn head that I was determined to be a gentleman. This led to us spending more than one day apart, when I would have preferred to hold her in my arms while we hid from the sun.
But after the eruption, Haley was on good behavior. I think we were both too exhausted from travelling, and then the stimulation from the volcano, for us to get up to too much mischief. I usually had trouble finding any rest during the daylight hours, but that day I was able to slip into the void that we vampires consider sleep.
I awoke the next evening to find that the space on the bed next to me was vacant. Where had Haley gone? I got up and changed into some fresh clothes. There was an empty carafe and a soiled glass on the counter in the kitchen area of our suite. I glanced at the clock. It was much later than I expected. The sun had already set. There was a brochure for Little Berapi open on the counter. It had obviously been flipped through. Haley must have grown bored while waiting for me to rise and decided to explore the island a little on her own.
A small alarm bell went off in my head as I saw which page my progeny had left open. Haley was still a very new vampire and there was a portion of the island that I wanted to keep hidden from her. It wasn’t that I wanted to conceal anything from her — not in the grander sense of things — but it had become obvious that Haley was much too tender at the moment to face the most extreme activities that the resort had on offer.
