by C. Gockel
The tallest of the three women took Gertie by the arm just as she was about to make a run for it.
“Where are you going, darling?” the blonde woman asked. “Don’t be in such a hurry. Elate mazi moy.”
“Leave me alone!” Gertie shouted.
She tried to break free of the woman’s grip, but couldn’t. All three women moved in closer. Gertie couldn’t breathe.
“Don’t touch her!” came a familiar voice. “She’s mine!”
The women hissed as Gertie was ripped from their clutches. Gertie looked up to see the face of her savior.
“Jeno?”
“Come with me. Quickly.”
9
Jeno
“Where are we going?” Gertie asked, as Jeno led her across the semicircle of Omonoia Square.
“The subway. It’s safer for you there.”
They took the steps underground. Jeno used his card to get them through the turnstile. They had barely reached the platform when the train arrived, and its doors swooshed open.
“But the Angelis family will be worried,” Gertie protested.
“I’ll get you home safely,” Jeno said. “I promise.”
Gertie followed him onto the train and sat beside him next to the window in an otherwise empty car. The bright lights brought out more of the beauty in Jeno’s features, especially his dark eyes.
“I should text Nikita.” Gertie took out her phone and wrote, “I’m okay. On the subway, heading home.”
“It seems you and I and public transportation—we have a thing going, no?” Jeno laughed.
Gertie laughed, too. “Those women gave me the creeps. Thanks for helping me.”
“Your friend hasn’t educated you about our city,” Jeno said.
“She and her family are working on it. We went to Crete yesterday. Heraklion.”
“I have relatives there. Did you see Knossos?”
“My favorite part.”
“I like you,” Jeno said. “You’re different.”
She liked him, too. “You don’t meet many Americans?”
“I meet many Americans, but none as interesting as you,” he said. “You’re the first vampire lover, anyway.”
She blushed. “They make for interesting stories.”
“What if I told you the stories are true?” Jeno said, leaning close.
Gertie laughed. “You’re funny.” His gorgeous eyes and beautiful smile were intoxicating.
“I’m not trying to be funny.”
Gertie bit her lip. What was he getting at?
“Those women back there…” he started.
“Were they tramps?” Gertie asked.
“That’s one word for them. Tramps, vamps…”
Gertie’s brows shot up. “Did you say vamps?”
“Those words are pretty much interchangeable in Athens for those who speak English,” he said calmly. “The vamps are the tramps of the city. It’s because we have no economic resources available to us. We have no choice but to live in the caves beneath the acropolis.”
Gertie’s body stiffened. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“I have relatives in Knossos who live in caves beneath the palace ruins,” he continued. “We have no choice because there are no jobs for us. No one will hire us, and we can only work at night.”
“Wait a minute,” Gertie said. “Are you saying vamps? As in vampires?”
“In Greek, they say vrykolakas, and vryks for short, which sometimes gets translated to freaks. Others call us zi̱tiános, which means beggar.” Jeno looked at her with a smile and winked. “You’re different because you understand us. We don’t choose to be the way we are. And you said so yourself, we’re not really any different from humans. We may use people for blood, but humans use one another all the time for different things. And we don’t kill intentionally. It’s against the rules. Humans intentionally kill one another all the time.”
“If you’re trying to freak me out, you’re doing a good job,” Gertie said. “Be serious, now. Those women back there wanted my money.”
“Not your money—though if you had offered them some, they wouldn’t have turned you down. Like I said, we have no economic resources. But they weren’t after your money.”
She bit her lip, and when the taste of blood reached her tongue, Jeno looked longingly at her mouth.
“You smell so good,” he said softly.
When he met her eyes, she felt drawn to him. He mesmerized her. She blinked and pulled herself to her senses. “If they weren’t after my money, then what?”
“Your blood,” he said.
“What?”
“They need it to survive. Like you said, they can’t help themselves.”
Gertie jumped to her feet and climbed over his legs to the other side of the car. “You’re scaring me.” He must be crazy, she thought. She would get off at the next stop.
“That’s not a good idea,” he said. “It’s not safe on the streets of Athens after dark. And I’m not crazy.”
Could he read her mind?
“Yes,” he said. “I can.”
She held her breath as her heart went wild beneath her ribs. She flattened against the wall of the train, as far away from him as possible.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said. “You have no reason to fear me.”
Gertie didn’t move. She stared at him in utter horror. “Stay away from me.”
“Okay. I promise. I just want to talk to you.”
“I want to go home.”
“I will take you there. Just give me the address.”
“No way.”
“Look into my eyes,” he said.
How could she not? He was beautiful. She would do anything he asked.
“You need to calm down,” he said.
She nodded. “Yes, I need to…wait” she broke her eye contact with him. “I know what you’re doing! I’m an expert on vampires, remember?”
“So you finally believe me.” He smiled.
The metro-rail slowed down as it entered the station. Gertie jumped to the doors, anxious for them to open.
“I’m getting off here. Don’t follow me,” she said.
“Vamps are bad here. A few more stops, and I’ll walk you home. I promise.”
She glared at him. “Why should I believe you?”
“You have little choice.”
“I’ll take my chances, thank you very much.”
As soon as the doors opened, she jumped off the train and made a run for it. When she emerged from the station, she found herself at the acropolis, alone. She took out her phone and dialed Nikita.
From out of nowhere, it seemed, a man came up and spoke to her in Greek. Gertie backed away, toward the station and into the light of the street lamp.
The man was tall and thick with dark blond hair and blue, magnetic eyes. He gave her a menacing smile and said something again. This time, the points of his fangs appeared between his lips.
She froze.
He moved closer—slowly, gracefully, as though he wished to catch a fly.
“She’s mine,” Jeno hissed from behind her. Then he said something in Greek.
The taller man disappeared into thin air.
Gertie’s head spun. She thought she might faint.
“Let me protect you,” Jeno said. “You aren’t safe here.”
She turned and searched his face. “Why do you want to help me?”
“Because I like you.”
He lifted her in his arms and flew across the night sky up to the rock—the dimpled natural stone on the acropolis just beneath the Parthenon, where Nikita, Klaus, and Hector had sat with her two days ago. Jeno set her down on the rock beside him, where they stood totally alone. The lights of the city sparkled below, as did the stars above. The acropolis, too, was lit up like a white Christmas tree.
“It’s beautiful, no?” Jeno asked.
Gertie couldn’t speak. Fear and confusion had taken over her mind. Could she be having anothe
r hallucination? Maybe she had a mental illness, brought out by the trauma of leaving home against her will.
“I love my city,” Jeno said. “Even if it does not love me back.”
Gertie closed her eyes and opened them again, trying to wake herself up from the dream.
“This is not a dream, Gertie,” he said. “And you have no mental illness. Vampires have been a part of Athens since ancient times. We are a cult of Dionysus.”
“The god of mythology?”
“There’s that word again. Mythology.” He laughed. “You were so cute on the bus, correcting me about the ways of vampires.”
Gertie’s face flooded with heat.
“The blood in your face is beautiful,” he said.
Gertie opened her mouth and closed it.
“We built a temple for Dionysus here centuries ago, and when it was moved to make way for Athena’s temple, we went underground. We are cave dwellers now and can no longer tolerate the sun.”
Gertie said nothing. Her body had begun to tremble and her teeth to chatter. She wanted to go home. She closed her eyes and willed herself home.
“Because we worship Dionysus, the gods allow us to stay, but they make it impossible for us to live well,” he continued. “As long as we take no more than a pint of blood, we are permitted to drink.”
Gertie’s eyes snapped open. Was he going to drink her blood?
“No,” he said. “And I only drink from the willing.”
Why would anyone ever want such a thing?
“For our powers,” he said, answering her silent question.
She looked at him, careful not to gaze into his eyes for long. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s a reason the people of this city have come to call us tramps,” he said, with a tinge of bitterness in his tone. “We have had to resort to something like prostitution in order to survive.”
Gertie squeezed her eyes shut again, praying to any god who would listen.
“As long as I break no rules,” he said, “the gods will not intervene.”
“What gods?” she asked.
“You know the answer to that.”
“You mean like Zeus? The gods of Olympus?”
“See. You do know.” He grinned.
“So people give you their blood in exchange for sex?” she asked.
He laughed. “No—well, I can only speak for myself. I guess sometimes that might happen.”
“Then what?”
“People give their blood in exchange for our superhuman abilities. Our bite infects them with the vampire virus for about six hours.”
“Wait, are you saying…” Gertie was trying to process his words. “When you drink the blood of a human, the human does not turn into a vampire?”
“As long as we stop at a pint,” Jeno explained.
“And what stops a vampire from drinking more?” she asked.
“Two things. One, it’s not in our best interest to make more vampires because it would severely diminish our food supply. And two, the gods of Mount Olympus would destroy us.”
“All of you?”
“The offending vampire,” he said. “The gods would hunt him down, usually by sending a demigod, since the gods rarely come down to earth themselves. Only my lord Dionysus makes frequent appearances.”
She studied him—his face, his mouth. She wondered if he would show her his fangs, and as soon as the thought entered her head, he flashed them.
She screamed.
He retracted them and said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Will you take me home now?” she asked.
“Of course.”
She expected him to fly her down to the metro station, but this time, when he lifted her in his arms, he flew her across the city towards downtown Athens.
“What’s the address?” he asked in a husky voice.
He seemed affected by her.
He smiled at her thoughts and averted his eyes, as though from embarrassment.
He’s attracted to me, she thought.
His smile widened.
She wondered if he wanted to kiss her, but she tried oh so hard to keep the thoughts in control. She failed.
He met her gaze and said, “Yes. I do want to kiss you. May I?”
He was a vampire who could take her blood by force but was, instead, seeing her home to safety. Wouldn’t she be crazy to turn down the opportunity to kiss him?
“I’m much more than a vampire,” he said in that husky voice. “I want you to know the real me.”
She closed her eyes and leaned in as he pressed his cold lips to hers.
10
Hints and Warnings
When they reached the apartment building, Jeno insisted on seeing her safely inside. He set her down, and together they walked up the stairs.
She wondered why he couldn’t have carried her for the rest of the way.
He grinned. “I like to be inconspicuous.”
Before they reached the door, Mamá flung it open.
“Gertie?” she called down the stairs.
“It’s me!” Gertie replied as she neared the landing with Jeno behind her.
“Marta!” Jeno said with surprise.
“Jeno?” Mamá covered her heart with her hand and stepped back into the doorway.
“You two know each other?” Gertie asked.
“A long time ago,” Mamá muttered.
“Not so long,” Jeno said with a smile.
Nikita and Klaus appeared in the doorway.
“You!” Klaus narrowed his eyes at Jeno.
“I will take my leave,” Jeno said with a bow and a wink. “I hope to see you again, Gertie.”
Nikita took Gertie by the hands and pulled her into the apartment as Jeno disappeared down the stairs. Klaus closed the door behind them and locked it.
“Did he bite you?” Nikita asked.
“No,” Gertie said, surprised by the openness of her question.
“Babá is driving around Omonoia Square looking for you, mad with worry,” Mamá said. “Klaus, can you try to call him again?”
“I’m sorry,” Gertie said meekly.
“No, Gertoula,” Mamá said, wrapping her arms around Gertie. “It is I who am sorry. I should not have allowed you to go alone for your walk.”
As she clutched Gertie close, Mamá said a string of words in Greek, which sounded like swear words.
“I wanted you to feel comfortable and to have time to yourself,” Mamá said. “But I was wrong to let you go so late. I’m sorry, koreetsi mou!”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the vamps?” Gertie asked.
Mamá stepped back from the hug to meet Gertie’s eyes. “I didn’t want to frighten you. You understand, yes? I hoped to keep you away from the darkest secrets of Athens.”
“I tried to tell you this was inevitable,” Klaus said. “You can’t keep that kind of secret.”
“No,” Mamá said, looking at Klaus. “No, Klausaki, you were right. We should have listened to you.”
“Does this make you want to go home?” Nikita asked Gertie with a frown.
Gertie thought about her answer. If Nikita had asked her question a few hours ago, Gertie would have said yes. She had wanted to go home from the moment she had boarded the ferry from Venice. But now that she had met a real vampire…now she was excited and anxious to learn more.
“No,” Gertie finally said. “I want to stay.”
Just then, they heard the key in the door and Babá walked inside.
Mamá rushed across the room to embrace him. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
Babá sighed with relief at the sight of Gertie. “No more walks alone, okay?”
Gertie nodded. As much as she hoped to see Jeno, she would never go out on the streets of Athens alone at night again.
In their bedroom, each sitting on her own bed, Nikita asked Gertie a hundred questions, and Gertie answered them all truthfully, even the part about kissing Jen
o.
“I can tell he likes me,” Gertie added.
“Listen to me, Gertie. He’s just using you for your blood.”
“Then why didn’t he bite me?” Gertie asked.
“Because he knows you’ll come back to him.”
Gertie shook her head. “No. It’s not like that. He says I’m different and interesting. He’s never met anyone like me before. We have a connection.”
“If he cares about you so much, why didn’t he take you to the center of the square?” Nikita challenged.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Omonoia Square has a hexagon at its center,” Nikita explained. “Vampires can’t cross into it.”
Gertie remembered Hector calling it the Omonoia Hexagon. “There was a bunch of homeless people there. They hollered out to me.”
“They were trying to warn you,” Nikita said. “To help you to safety. The beggars spend their nights in the hexagon, when they have nowhere safe to go. They stay there to avoid being seduced by the tramps.”
“Seduced?” Gertie wrinkled her nose.
“Not in that way,” Nikita said. “Though it does happen.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The tramps can’t take you by force,” Nikita said. “But they can persuade you with their eyes and their words. They are magnetic beings, very good at attracting their prey.”
Gertie shifted on the bed and leaned her back against the metal head board. “You just have to avoid eye contact.”
“That’s not always easy to do.”
“Jeno said that humans can have a vampire’s abilities for six hours after the bite,” Gertie said. “Is that true?”
Nikita nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Gertie sat up on her knees, unable to believe Nikita’s nonchalance. “How is that unfortunate? Wouldn’t you love to fly, to read minds, and all of that?”
“People get addicted,” Nikita said. “Once isn’t enough. Then their lives fall apart, and they become beggars in the streets. Most of them die young.”
“Why?”
“They forget their powers are temporary. They fall out of the sky, off buildings, fail to stop whatever object is hurling toward them. They die every day. And the vampires want them to die, because then they can feast on their blood without the fear of turning their victim into a vampire. They hang out at graveyards, waiting to drain the blood of the dead.”
