by C. Gockel
“Why did you let him bite you, then?” Gertie asked.
“I thought I could be enough for him. I thought he could live on my blood, and then he wouldn’t have to lure the other girls into his arms.”
“He needed more than you alone could give him,” Gertie said.
Mamá nodded. “It was hard to leave him, but I had no choice. A life with him was no kind of life. Fortunately, I met and fell in love with Babá soon after. By the time I met your mother, Jeno was out of my life.”
“How long ago was it that you saw him last?” Gertie asked. “Were you in high school?”
“Three years ago—briefly.” Mamá gazed across the street with a blank look on her face. She moved the pendant on her necklace back and forth on its chain, as though she were in a trance. “I needed his help.”
“With what?”
Mamá continued to gaze blankly across the street, fiddling with her necklace.
“Mamá?” Gertie asked.
“Huh?” Mamá looked at her. “Oh, sorry. What did you say?”
“Why did you need Jeno’s help?”
Mamá climbed to her feet. “It’s a long story. Now, let’s go inside.”
17
Silent Treatment
Gertie avoided the eyes of everyone at the table when she and Mamá returned from their talk. Tired and embarrassed, she went straight to her room and got ready for bed. As she lay there, alone, she allowed herself to cry. She’d been in Greece for less than two weeks, and she’d already managed to make everyone hate her. She closed her eyes and hoped Jeno would come for her. She really needed a friend right now, and, even though she believed most of what Mamá had said, she refused to accept the idea that Jeno could never be a true friend.
She also wondered what Mamá was keeping from her about the help she had needed from Jeno three years ago. Gertie wondered if it had something to do with the fire that had killed Damien.
Mamá’s voice called through the door, pulling Gertie from a strange dream.
“Are you okay?” Nikita asked. “You were crying in your sleep.”
“I was?” Gertie wiped her eyes to find them still wet. She couldn’t believe it was already morning. She’d slept through the night, without waking once. That meant Jeno hadn’t come for her. “Yeah. I’m all right.”
Nikita got up and rummaged through a drawer, pulling out scarves. “You can borrow any of these you want.”
“Thanks. Does this mean you’re not mad at me?”
“I’m not one to hold a grudge. Let’s just forget about it and put it behind us, okay?”
Gertie nodded, one of the knots in her stomach releasing a little. She took a deep breath.
“The shower’s free, girls!” Mamá called. “One of you jump in!”
“You can go first,” Nikita said.
Although Hector never met her eyes or spoke a word to her, the car ride to school was not quiet and solemn, thanks to Nikita. She chatted away about a choir performance they were preparing for the fall festival. She convinced the boys to practice with her on the way. The harmonizing voices took the edge off of Gertie’s anxiety.
Photography class got real awkward real fast when the teacher paired Gertie and Hector together for a class project. They were told to go outside on campus with their equipment and shoot portraits of one another. The background needed to contrast in some way with the person in the foreground. Those were their only guidelines.
Hector and Gertie walked around the campus, aimlessly, it seemed, in silence. There were so many things Gertie wanted to say to him, like, “Please don’t hate me,” “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” “Jeno is not what you think,” and “I need your friendship.” She also wanted to say that if Nikita weren’t so in love with him, she would allow herself to think differently about him, but then she thought better of it. Better to stay silent on that subject.
Eventually they came to the front of the school, to the fountain. The fountain was circular and layered, like a wedding cake. Water poured from the top bowl into three others—each larger in diameter than the one above it. The water eventually pooled into a fifteen-foot-wide reservoir. The bottom of the reservoir was littered with coins.
“Stand there,” Hector pointed to the front of the fountain.
Gertie did as he said. He aimed his camera and took a few shots. She didn’t smile or pose or anything—just stood there.
“Now where do you want me?” he asked.
She glanced around, at a loss. Did it matter?
He took a few steps toward her. “Aren’t you curious as to why I chose this spot?”
“I didn’t realize you had put any thought behind it.”
“We were told to choose a background that contrasted with the foreground, right?”
She nodded.
“Well this fountain is the opposite of you.”
She crossed her arms and waited for him to explain.
“The water flows freely, whereas you hold everything in.”
“Now wait a minute.” She pointed a finger at him. “You’re the one who isn’t speaking to me.”
“What? I said good morning, and you said nothing.”
“You weren’t talking to me.”
“Aha.” He stepped closer. “You assumed I wasn’t talking to you.”
“You’re the one who left when you found out about the bite.”
“Because I knew how upset the Angelis family was. I didn’t want to be in the way.”
“You were angry with me, too. You all were. You all hate me now.”
“I was jealous.” He stepped so close to her, their arms touched. “And I don’t hate you. Neither do they.”
Tears rushed to her eyes. “I was just curious. And I’m not really sorry I did it.”
He took a step back. “Even though it upset everyone?”
She slapped her free hand against her thigh. “I didn’t mean to upset them. Of course I don’t like to see them hurt. But I’d do it again. Hector, I could fly. I could leap from one building to another. I made myself invisible.” She swallowed hard, averting her eyes. “And I could hear people’s thoughts.”
“Whose thoughts?”
“Anyone’s. I didn’t just hear a whole bunch of random thinking. I had to focus on specific people. Most people were asleep, so I just saw their dreams.”
“Most? That means there were others whose thoughts you heard.”
She shrugged. “Random people.”
“You focused on random people?”
Heat rushed to her face.
He shook his head and walked away.
She caught up to him. “Doesn’t it make you feel good that I wanted to know what you were thinking? Doesn’t it show that I…”
He stopped and faced her. “That you what?”
Dare she say, “Care about you”? She held her tongue.
“Didn’t it occur to you that it’s wrong to violate people’s minds like that?” he asked. “You can’t just pop into people’s heads. It’s worse than stealing. Don’t you get that?”
“Oh,” she said. “I didn’t think of it that way. I’m sorry.”
“But you already said you would do it all over again. How can you be sorry?”
“Reading minds. That’s the part I regret.”
“There’s a reason mortals can’t fly, or leap from buildings, or go invisible,” he added.
“Why?”
“Because it’s dangerous. The human body wasn’t made for those things. Do you know how many people die because they get addicted to the powers of the tramps? They get to the point where they can’t stop.”
“I already got this lecture.”
“But still, you would do it again.”
“Just once.”
He sighed. “The bell’s about to ring. Are you going to take a photo of me, or not?”
Around the corner of the building, the lawn was in shadows.
“Over there,” she said. “In the shade.”
He stood
by the side of the building. He crossed his arms and glared back at the camera while she aimed and shot. She only needed one.
As they walked back to their classroom, she said, “I shot you in the shade because you are the opposite of darkness. You bring light to everyone around you.”
She didn’t look at him, and he didn’t look at her, but she could tell her words had affected him.
After two weeks of this same awkward tension between her and Hector—not to mention between her and Mamá and Babá—Gertie found herself missing Jeno. Each night, she hoped he would come; each morning, she woke up, disappointed.
One night, she lay in bed, wondering if she should go looking for him. She had promised Mamá and Babá that she would not walk the streets of Athens alone at night, but that was before Nikita had explained about the Omonoia Hexagon. Now that she knew how to protect herself, things were different, weren’t they? Plus, it wasn’t like Mamá and Babá were always completely honest with her. She lay there for over an hour, weighing the pros and cons. One minute, she was sure she would go; the next, she was sure she would not.
She decided to go for it. She had already lost their love and respect anyway, so, even if they did find out, she had nothing more to lose. She had everything to gain.
She scooped up Nikita’s flip flops and tip-toed across the apartment, letting herself out the front door. Once she was down on the street, she slipped on the shoes and headed toward Omonoia Square.
Gertie avoided eye contact with the people she passed on the sidewalk, but she looked over them, hoping to find Jeno. When she reached the square and still had not found him, she wondered if it would do any good to ask around. The idea of approaching the tramps got her heart beating crazily. Those around her must have noticed, because they looked her way with interest. Frightened, she ran to the center of the hexagon where a few other people had already gathered.
The vampires couldn’t take her by force, even on the outside of the hexagon, but, out there, they could use mind control.
The night air was chilly, and she wore nothing but her tank top and shorts. She rubbed her arms to create heat and stepped side to side as she watched the people in and around the square.
When a man passed by, she took a chance that he might be a tramp. There was something in his confidence and in his gaze, especially the way he eyed the people huddled together in the center of the square. The biggest tell was his extraordinary good looks.
“Have you seen Jeno?” she asked him.
His brows shot up with surprise, disappearing behind his long, dark hair. “Why do you ask?”
“I need to talk to him,” she said, avoiding his dark eyes.
“Then call him.” The man was tall and thin and wearing a business suit, but he had long, untidy hair, and he had dirty hands. He continued on his way.
“I don’t have his number.”
The man stopped, turned to face her, and guffawed. Then he said, “Come here and I will take you to him.”
Gertie cocked her head to one side, considering it.
“Don’t go,” said an older man standing next to her, who was toothless and probably homeless. “He’s a vreak.”
“Butt out, old man,” the tramp said. Then to Gertie, he asked, “Are you coming?”
Gertie shook her head. “No, thank you.” She didn’t trust him.
The tramp asked, “Why do you need to talk to Jeno? Maybe I can give him a message.”
Gertie didn’t see any harm in that. “He’s my friend. I want him to know that. I want to see him.”
“Thee moy,” the homeless man beside her said.
The tramp in the suit stepped toward her and dipped his head. “I shall give him your message.”
When the tramp left, Gertie wished she had gone with him. All she could do now was stand around and wait.
Then it occurred to her why the tramp had laughed at her when she’d said she didn’t have Jeno’s phone number. He hadn’t meant for her to call him by phone. He had meant for her to call out for him.
Cupping her hands around her mouth, she shouted, “Jeno!”
People looked in her direction, but then kept walking.
After a few minutes, she called to him again. “Jeno!”
Maybe he couldn’t hear her as long as she was in the center of the square. With her heart pumping madly, she took several steps, unsure where the hexagon began and ended. She studied the tiles and soon saw the pattern.
“Don’t go out there,” the old, toothless man warned her.
She stepped over the line and shouted again, “Jeno!”
Several tramps walked in her direction.
“Mporo na sas voythYso?” one of them asked. “Can I help you?”
Another soon appeared a few inches away. It was one of the women from the other night. “Elate mazy mou.”
“I’m looking for Jeno,” Gertie said.
“Elate mazy mou,” the woman repeated, gazing into Gertie’s eyes.
Gertie broke eye contact.
“Leave her alone,” a voice hissed as a hand reached for hers.
Gertie looked up, expecting to see Jeno, but it was the tramp in the business suit.
“Come with me,” he said. “I will take you to your friend.”
They broke free of the crowd that had gathered around her, as some of the other tramps called after them.
“Come back!” the old, toothless man in the center of the square shouted.
The vampire put his hand around her waist and lifted her into the night sky.
“Alexander,” he said, when she had wondered what his name was.
“Where are we going?” She felt dizzy and frightened. She still didn’t trust him.
“To a rooftop, where Jeno likes to hang out.”
Gertie thought of Jeno’s real favorite spot—the island of olive trees and sandy beaches.
“Ah. Good idea.” Alexander shifted direction and accelerated in speed.
Gertie’s stomach lurched. She had a bad feeling.
When they landed on the beach, Jeno was nowhere in sight. Before she could cry out for her vampire friend, Alexander clutched her face with his grimy paws and pressed his foul mouth to hers.
She squirmed and shoved against him, saying, “Stop! What are you doing?”
“I know you want this,” Alexander said smoothly, as he held her flailing body against his.
“No I don’t!” she screamed.
“Your lips say one thing, but your mind says another.”
He pushed her down on the sand, straddled her waist, and stretched open his mouth. The moonlight glinted against his long, sharp fangs.
18
Second Bite
Alexander’s fangs sank into her neck. Unlike Jeno, who took a small taste of her blood, the tramp in the suit sucked and sucked for what seemed like an eternity.
Gertie’s head spun. She closed her eyes as the high from the bite made her feel light and airy. When she opened them, Alexander was gone.
She sat up, her head reeling. After blinking several times, the crescent moon finally came into view. Her sharp eyes could make out its craters and the part of it that was in shadows. The stars, too, were distinct bodies rather than their usual blurs of light. She climbed to her feet, brushed off sand, and tried to get her bearings. Which way was home?
Without Jeno to guide her, she was afraid to take off across the sea. She recalled the last time she had fallen into its icy swells, terrified of the predators swimming below the surface.
“Jeno!” she shouted desperately into the quiet night.
When he didn’t appear, she tried to hone in on his thoughts, but she couldn’t focus on him without knowledge of his location. Then she tried Hector. She found him asleep and dreaming. Remembering what he had said—that mind-reading was worse than stealing—she pulled back to her solitary thoughts.
She had no choice but to fly on her own.
With her arms stretched out, she pushed off the ground and into the air. Li
ke the last time, she wobbled as she tried to maintain her balance. First, she flew a few feet above the sand, in case she fell. Once she had the hang of it, she soared higher. Exhilaration surged through her. She’d forgotten how thrilling this was. She experimented with a forward flip, her unintentional squeal shattering the quiet night. When that was successful, she tried it backwards. She flew forwards, backwards, and sideways. She glided slowly and then shot across the sky.
Confident now, she flung herself out, above the sea, in the direction she hoped would lead her to Athens.
From this higher vantage point, she could see the lights along the southern shores of Greece. The buildings soon came into view. Her eagle eyes fell upon the Parthenon, and she went for it, full speed ahead.
Once she landed on the acropolis, alone, beneath the night sky, she cried out, “Jeno!” She imagined him in the secret caves below her. She was surprised when she heard his thoughts, and even more surprised when he reacted to her presence in his head.
Who did this to you? He asked telepathically.
Please come out and talk to me.
That is not a good idea. Go home, koureetsi mou.
Please?
I haven’t fed for many days. I can’t take the temptation.
Why haven’t you fed?
He didn’t answer her directly, but she saw his thoughts. He’d been depressed since they had last parted. He’d wanted badly to see her, but he’d been too afraid.
Jeno, please. To herself, she thought, “How can a vampire be afraid of me?”
Not you. His mind revealed that he was afraid of a broken heart. It’s happened too many times in my long life. I try to avoid it.
Refusing to take no for an answer, she scanned the sides of the acropolis for the entrances into the caves. She found one, boarded up, and, supposing vampires were able to walk through walls, she flung herself against the wood.
The boards crashed to the ground, and she fell on them, but it didn’t hurt.
I guess that’s not how a vampire does it, she thought as she climbed to her feet and dusted her knees.
