by C. Gockel
14
First Bite
Although Gertie had tried not to let it show, it had been obvious to everyone that she and Hector weren’t speaking to one another. Nikita’s spirits seemed lifted by this, and so her good mood made up for the quiet tension between the other two as they all enjoyed Babá’s special cake. Gertie was too numb inside to taste it, but she ate it anyway.
After Hector had left, and Gertie and Nikita were alone in their room with the lamp out, Nikita said, “I’m sorry about earlier.”
“It’s okay.”
A few seconds later, Nikita asked, “So it really wasn’t a date?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
Nikita turned on her side to face Gertie. “Can you tell me what you two talked about?”
“He told me the story of his birth—about his parents.”
“Oh.”
“That night on the ferry, when he jumped in, I thought he was trying to kill himself,” Gertie explained. “I don’t know how I thought I could help, but I jumped in after him. And then when he called to his father to help us, well, I thought it was a dream or a hallucination. I thought he had drugged me.”
“It was too hard to believe,” Nikita agreed.
Gertie didn’t add that she had awakened without her clothes on in Hector’s bed. She also didn’t share what had happened last night, when she had gone with Jeno. She didn’t want Nikita to know, because she was hoping Jeno would come tonight, and she didn’t want her to try to talk her out of it. Gertie wanted to thank him for protecting her from his sister—because she knew that’s what he was doing. She also wanted to tell him to never mess with her mind again. Erasing her memory was unacceptable, and she wanted him to explain why he had done such a thing.
Plus, she really wanted to see him.
“So Babá and Mamá seemed especially happy tonight about Phoebe,” Gertie said, changing the subject.
“If you would have seen Phoebe after school before today, you’d understand why. Kids made fun of her.”
“I hope they won’t at the American school,” Gertie said.
“Me, too. Maybe they will be more understanding and tolerant.”
Gertie rolled to her side and leaned on one elbow. “Do you think she’ll ever talk again?”
“I don’t know. The doctors say maybe in time, but it’s been three years since the fire.”
“Oh.”
“The fan in her room caught fire. Babá says that when he woke up from the smoke and ran into their room, Phoebe was sitting up in bed and staring at the flames. She must have been in shock. He thinks that’s why she won’t talk now, because she couldn’t talk then.” Nikita’s voice broke. “She might have saved Damien.”
“It’s not her fault.”
“I know that. But she doesn’t,” Nikita said through tears. “At least, that’s Babá’s theory.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Nikita sniffled. “I know. It’s okay.”
Gertie listened to Nikita’s sniffles until they both fell asleep.
Sometime later, Jeno’s voice awakened Gertie. He called to her in her head.
“I’m outside waiting for you,” he said.
She folded back her covers and tip-toed to the front door. She let herself out quietly, and then crept down the stairs. Jeno was bathed in moonlight on the sidewalk, looking as beautiful as ever.
“Good evening,” he said, as she descended the steps to the sidewalk.
“Kalo apogeyma,” she said with a smile.
“Ah. So you already know Greek?”
She laughed. “Yep. The whole language.”
“Eisai omorfh,” he said with a grin.
In her mind, she asked what that meant.
“You look beautiful,” he replied.
She blushed.
“And even more so with the blood in your cheeks,” he added.
She started to ask him about last night.
“It was ugly—the fight with my sister. She got really vicious. I didn’t want you to have nightmares.”
“Oh.” She supposed that was a good reason. “But I’m a big girl. I can handle it, okay?”
“Okay.” He took her hand. “I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?”
His hand on hers sent chills up her arm. How could she not? “Yes.”
He walked with her along the abandoned sidewalk. “No shoes again tonight?”
“Aren’t we flying anyway?”
“As you wish. Where to?”
“Maybe not the acropolis this time. Somewhere safe, where we can be alone.”
“There is no such place in Athens at night. Maybe we should go to an island I know.”
“Where’s that?”
“Just south of here. It’s full of olive trees and sandy beaches. Some of my people used to live there in caves in the center of the island, but the human population was too small to sustain them, so they migrated elsewhere.”
A shiver swept down her spine. She kept forgetting that Jeno was a real vampire who wanted blood, and his description was a frightening reminder.
“Don’t be frightened, koreetsi mou,” he said. “I will take good care of you.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground. They went higher and faster than they had the previous night. Her belly fluttered and her knees twitched.
“Don’t let go,” she said.
“Never,” he whispered in her ear.
She enjoyed the sensation of his body pressed against hers. His muscular arms and hard chest exhilarated her. Her legs felt heavy as they dangled out of control beneath her, and it both comforted and excited her to be in his arms. He must have been listening to her thoughts, because she heard him sigh and felt his grip around her tighten. Then he placed the tops of his shoes beneath her feet to stop her legs from dangling.
“So thoughtful,” she said to him in her mind.
He whispered in her ear, “The pleasure is all mine,” and his breath sent titillating chills down her neck.
She closed her eyes and relaxed against him.
Soon they neared a small island surrounded by nothing but sea. He took her down to the sandy beach, where gentle waves lapped onto the shore. The bright moon and stars reflected on the water and in Jeno’s twinkling eyes.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“One of my favorite places, for getting away. Maybe one hundred people live here—if that.”
“Have you brought other girls to this place?” she asked.
He grinned. “No one as interesting and as beautiful as you.”
“Nice evasive tactic.” She laughed. Of course someone who had been around for centuries had brought another girl to his favorite spot. Why had she asked?
He laughed, too, as they sat together on the clean sand and gazed out at the sea. She wondered again if he wanted to drink her blood.
“I’m not hungry tonight,” he said.
“The old man?”
“No.” He chuckled. “It’s so strange to me to discuss my feeding habits with a human. No, I can’t drink from the same source each night. For each pint, I must wait one month. In the case of the old man, who wants my powers often, I take a quarter pint once a week.”
“How can you tell a quarter of a pint from a whole?”
“Easily, believe me.”
“I suppose you’ve had a lot of practice.”
“More than I wish for anyone,” he said softly.
He moved a strand of her hair from her eyes, and his touch brought another round of chills dancing up her body. She looked down at her toes, digging in the warm sand. She was surprised by how warm it felt, when the breeze was chilly.
“The sand absorbs the sun all day,” he said. “It stays warm for many hours, but it will be cold soon.”
“How old are you?” she asked. “I mean, how long have you been…”
“A vampire? I’m one of the originals.”
“What does that mean?”
�
�Back when Dionysus first turned away from the Olympians,” he explained.
“Because Hera was angry, right? Zeus fathered Dionysus with someone else.”
He arched a brow. “Very good. Yes, Semele. Hera was always making trouble for Dionysus, so he left to live on his own, and he created a set of companions.”
“The Maenads.”
“How do you know so much?”
“I read a lot.”
“My mother was one of the first Maenads. When she went wild on the wine of Dionysus, she ripped my arms from my body and drank my blood.”
Gertie shuddered. “How horrible. Oh my God.”
“All of the Maenads did that to their loved ones. My mother did it to my sister and father, too.”
“That’s how you became vampires?”
“Not quite. Zeus scolded Dionysus for his carelessness, so Dionysus repaired our bodies and turned us into the living dead. He thought his wine would sustain us, like it does the Maenads, but he was wrong. We need blood to survive. If we go more than two weeks, we go into a kind of coma. That happened to my father, because he refused to drink from humans. Back then, the only way to do it was to kill them. We didn’t know any other way to survive.”
Gertie shuddered.
“My sister and I joined the first cult of Dionysus. Our cult built the temple on the acropolis in Athens. Over time, the gods created rules for us to abide by—rules to protect both humans and vampires. They send their demigods to enforce the rules.”
Gertie thought of Hector.
Jeno shifted on the sand, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Yes, he is one of the enforcers, but the rules are more beneficial to mortals than they are to vampires. Lord Dionysus has hinted at reform, but it’s never come to pass.”
“What are the rules?”
“We aren’t allowed to kill humans, or to take their blood without their consent.”
She recalled the women in Omonoia Square.
“You can’t blame us for using every technique at our disposal,” he said. “We must sometimes be very persuasive. Not many humans are willing.”
I am, she thought.
Jeno’s eyes widened. “This isn’t something to rush into.”
I’ve given it a lot of thought, she said in her mind.
Jeno shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Just once, to see what it’s like.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’m afraid you won’t want to visit with me after,” he said. “I really enjoy your company, and I don’t want to risk not having it anymore.”
“I promise that won’t happen.”
“I don’t want you to think of me as a vampire. I want you to like me as a boy—a boy who is falling in love with a girl.”
She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, and this made Jeno gasp. “Oh, me. You are so lovely in the moonlight.”
“I do think of you that way, Jeno,” she said, moving her face closer to his, her heart pumping wildly.
He looked at her mouth. Then he closed his eyes and kissed her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and enjoyed the sensation of his sweet kisses. Her fingers twisted into the curls of his thick, brown hair. He moaned and kissed her harder. She pressed her body against his, and he picked her up and set her on his lap. Her hands explored his back, his shoulders, his biceps, his neck, his face. She pinched his earlobes between her fingers, and he moaned and laid her on the sand.
“You are magnificent,” he whispered.
In her mind, she said, Drink from me.
“Are you sure, Gertie? This is what you want?” he asked.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Oh, please, yes.”
He kissed her lips once again, and then he slid his mouth down her throat. A sharp pain penetrated her flesh, but was numb in an instant. The star-filled sky spun in circles. In a few moments, Jeno looked down at her.
“Are you okay?” he asked gently.
She continued to gaze at the spinning stars. “Oh, my,” she said, breathless.
15
Vampire Powers
“Whoa!” Gertie shouted as she lifted herself from the sandy beach into the night sky, unsteadily. She wobbled side to side, back to front, trying to maintain her balance. “The stars are so close to me. How high are we?”
“Your vision is sharper. The stars are still very far away.” You are so adorable right now.
“I can read your mind! You better watch out, Jeno! I can hear your thoughts! You are thinking that I’m adorable! Hee-hee-hee!” She lost her balance again. The high from his bite made her light-headed. “Yikes! Am I falling?” She looked down. She was hovering just a few feet from the surface of the sea.
He laughed. “You’re doing fine.”
“Hey! I can walk on water!” She moved her legs, pretending to walk. “Oh! Better idea! We can go back in time!”
“Um, vampires don’t time travel,” Jeno corrected.
“Didn’t you see Superman?”
Jeno looked at her blankly.
“Do vampires go to the movies?”
“Often,” Jeno said. “When we have money.”
“We have to fly very fast in the opposite direction of the earth’s rotation. Let’s see.” She put her finger in her mouth and then lifted it into the air. “The earth rotates counter-clockwise. Right?”
“How do you know such a thing?”
“I told you. I read a lot.” She put her hands on her hips. “This means we have to fly clockwise if we’re going to stop the earth and make it turn the other way.”
“Stop the earth?” He busted out laughing. “What are you talking about?”
“Come with me!” She soared up into the dark night. It was exhilarating and scary. Don’t look down, she told herself.
“We can’t stop the earth, Gertie.” He caught up to her. “Don’t you think airplanes would have done that if it were possible?”
“That’s right!” she stopped in mid-air. “We have to break through the earth’s atmosphere.”
Jeno stopped an instant later but was going so fast that he had to backtrack several feet to get back to her. “Break through the atmosphere? How would we survive?”
“That’s right. No oxygen. Wait, do vampires breathe?” she asked.
“Of course we do. How else would we oxygenate the blood we drink?”
“But…”
“Our bodies would deteriorate without oxygen.”
“Oh.”
“And, besides, from what I’ve read…”
“Wait,” she said. “You read? Vampires read? Get out!” She planted both palms on his chest and shoved. He didn’t move but a few inches.
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not just a vampire. And yes, we have a lot of time on our hands. We go to the movies. Some of us read. In the dark. With night vision. Sheesh!”
“What books have you read?” she asked. “Do you have a favorite?”
“I’m a huge fan of historical fiction,” he said.
“I love historical fiction! I love learning about the past! And our textbooks at school can be so dry!”
“I think I enjoy it for different reasons than you.” He winked. “I like laughing at all the parts they get wrong—even the historians get most of it wrong. Sometimes it seems on purpose, in my opinion. They want to rewrite history.”
“That’s why we should go back in time! Then I could see the past for what it really was!”
“Surely you know what happens when an object breaks through the earth’s atmosphere,” he said.
“Oh, yeah. It burns,” she said, deflated. “Then how did Superman do it?”
“Isn’t he a cartoon character?”
“Comic book,” she said.
“So no time-travelling, my little vampire lover. Okay?”
“Okay.” She looked at him—really looked at him—for the first time since he had bitten her and realized
she had x-ray vision. She could see though his clothes.
He lifted his chin and guffawed.
She broke out in hysterical laughter, too, as heat rushed to her face.
“Do you like what you see?” he asked.
If she could see him, he could see her, too. Her cheeks burned with blood, as she grew quiet. He laughed even harder.
“Don’t be shy,” he said. “On this very beach is a nudist colony. Many of these islands have them. It’s natural, especially in the tropical heat.”
She looked again over his body through his clothes.
“Take as much time you need,” he said in a cocky tone, posing for her.
She punched his arm.
“Ow! Don’t forget, you have super strength, too. And that hurt.” He pretended to pout, looking incredibly sexy.
She giggled and rubbed his arm, enjoying the feel of his firm bicep beneath her fingertips. “Oops. Sorry.”
He smiled, leaned in, and kissed her.
They took off flying over the sea back toward Athens. Jeno let her take the lead, but he directed from behind, his arm around her waist, his palm against her mid-drift, his front snug against her back. He pointed out landmarks down below as they passed them. He flew with his face right beside her own, speaking into her ear. It was romantic and thrilling to have him close and to see so far. With her night and x-ray vision, she could see the minute details of the ruins and architectural gems he named. Gertie had never imagined that she’d have a tour of Greece in quite this way.
As they neared Athens, Gertie imagined swinging from building to building, like Spiderman.
“We can do whatever you’d like,” Jeno said in response to her thought. “I’ll take care of you.”
They descended to the top of a skyscraper and landed on the roof. The wind was brisk, and few cars were out on the streets below.
