Urban Mythic: Thirteen Novels of Adventure and Romance, featuring Norse and Greek Gods, Demons and Djinn, Angels, Fairies, Vampires, and Werewolves in the Modern World

by C. Gockel

  “Klaus, can you move like that?” Joy asked.

  “I’m afraid not,” he said.

  “I could help you with that,” Jeno said.

  Gertie clapped a hand down onto Klaus’s shoulder. “Why don’t you give it a try?”

  Klaus glanced at Jeno, who gave an encouraging nod.

  “Okay. Come on,” Klaus said to Joy as he led her away.

  The other teens watched as Klaus expertly moved Joy across the dance floor. Then Gertie noticed Jeno moving his fingers in subtle motions in front of him.

  Incredulous, she wondered if Jeno was really helping Klaus to dance.

  Jeno gave her a smile and a nod. “He asked me to.”

  “Who asked you to do what?” Nikita asked.

  Jeno did not reply, but kept his focus on Klaus.

  Gertie leaned closer to Nikita and explained what Jeno was doing.

  “So that’s why you looked so smooth out there,” Nikita said to Gertie. “Jeno was helping you, too.”

  Even Hector seemed delighted by Jeno’s puppeteering. It was quite entertaining, Gertie thought with a smile.

  Eventually, Nikita convinced Hector to dance one dance with her. It was a slow song, and as he took her in his arms and held her close, Gertie felt her stomach tighten. Jeno reacted immediately with a frown.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” Gertie suggested while Hector and Nikita and Klaus and Joy were still on the dance floor. “Klaus can handle the dance on his own from here.”

  Jeno broke his tie to Klaus, who immediately looked a lot less smooth as he swayed with Joy to the slow music. Gertie stifled a snicker as she led Jeno out of the gym and into the cool night by the fountain at the front of the school. A few others passed by. Some kids were already being picked up by a line of cars that had formed in the parking lot.

  “I need to ask you a favor,” Gertie finally said.

  “Ah,” he said, somewhat sadly. “I should have known.”

  “What do you mean?” Gertie asked.

  “I should have known this night could not be as perfect as it seemed. Everything in my life comes with a catch.”

  “There’s no catch.”

  “You asked me to the dance so I would bite you again,” he accused.

  She looked up into his doubting eyes. “I wanted to ask you to the dance way before I thought of asking for the favor.” She opened her mind to him, allowing him to see her concern over Phoebe.

  “This isn’t the way to solve her problem,” he cautioned.

  “You could do it for me, then. Find out what’s wrong with her.”

  “For such probing, I need eye contact.”

  “So?”

  “I haven’t been invited into their apartment.”

  “Then bite me. Please? I could help them—the whole family. They’ve done so much for me.”

  She stretched her chin up and rested it on his chin. “Please, Jeno? Just once more. You know you want to, anyway. I can tell.”

  “Of course I want to,” he said with a sigh. “I want nothing more than the taste of your blood, except to be desired by you as a man.”

  “You can have both.” She caressed his lips with hers. “Please say yes. It would make us both happy.” She closed her eyes and kissed his throat, feeling the breath rush from his lungs.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his, overcome by the sensation of his large stature, his strong arms encircling her waist, and his breath, though cold, against her.

  He kissed her hard, and she melted into his arms.

  Then he whispered, “Not here.”

  He waved his hand at the passersby and then lifted her up into the night sky. He flew with her away from the school, away from the city, back to the rock beneath the Parthenon.

  21

  Third Bite

  The night was cold. Gertie shivered in Jeno’s arms, but he could do nothing to warm her. She distracted herself with the beautiful lights of the city, which looked much like the stars above them. When they landed on the rock, Jeno took her into a tight embrace.

  “My poor baby,” he said. “You are so cold.”

  He moved his hands up and down her arms, trying to create heat.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” Gertie said. “Why don’t you come see me more often?”

  Jeno frowned. She wished she could read his mind.

  That made him smile. “I’m trying to—how do you say—proceed with caution. You frighten me, koureetsi mou—especially in this red hot dress. It’s my favorite color.”

  “How?” Frightened seemed like a strong word.

  “It’s not nearly strong enough. I can’t get you out of my mind. I think about you every moment of every day. This is not good for you or for me. We need to take things slowly.”

  “Why?” She bit her lip. “I don’t understand.”

  He gazed at her mouth, as though anticipating blood. He snapped his attention back to her eyes and said, “We must both make it past the lust.”

  “Lust?” Although she thought he was hot and she wanted badly to kiss him, she wasn’t ready for sex.

  He chuckled at her thoughts. “Your lust for my power and my lust for your blood.”

  “I don’t lust for your power,” she said.

  “Isn’t that why we are here tonight?”

  “We are here tonight because I want to help the Angelis family.”

  “Let me tell you something, koureetsi mou,” he said softly. “You remember the woman I told you about, the one whose deathbed I was leaving as I met you on the bus?”

  Gertie nodded.

  “How many times in the thirty years I knew her do you think I drank her blood?”

  “I don’t know. Hundreds of times?”

  He shook his head. “Not once.”

  “Why not?”

  “One taste of her blood, and I wouldn’t be able to get enough. It’s easy sometimes to confuse love and lust. I wanted to love her. And I did.”

  “You knew her thirty years, and you never drank her blood?”

  “Not until the night she was dying, and then only because she asked me to.”

  “She wanted to become a vampire?”

  Jeno sighed. “No. She knew how hard such an existence can be. She never wanted that.”

  “Then why?”

  “Because she loved me, and because she wanted me to have her blood in my veins as she was leaving this world for the next.”

  “Oh.” Gertie looked out over the city below. Now she wished she had never asked Jeno to bite her. No—she was glad she had. To experience his amazing powers was something she could not regret. And after one more bite, she would never ask for another. She just needed one more night of mind reading. She bit down hard on her lip and turned to Jeno.

  He stared with longing at the blood beading there. “You did that on purpose.”

  “Kiss me.” She reached her mouth to his.

  He cupped her face in both hands and gently licked her lips. A moan escaped his throat as he pressed his mouth hard against hers. She felt him trembling as his touch turned feverish. He ran his hands from her cheeks to her neck, pressing his thumbs against her pulse. She had aroused him past the breaking point.

  “Indeed,” he whispered right before he sank his fangs into her throat and drank.

  The bright stars in the sky turned into swirls and swirls of light, spinning like the images at the end of a kaleidoscope. Gertie felt so light and airy. Was she floating?

  “Thee moy.” Jeno wiped the excess blood from his mouth onto the back of his hand and then licked his hand clean.

  Gertie had barely noticed. So many sounds and images and scents were hitting her all at once.

  “Are you okay?”

  She closed and opened her eyes as she was assaulted by his thoughts.

  This was a mistake. She is overwhelmed.

  “I’m okay.”

  The spinning lights finally settled into a fixed point, and she could now see that the star
s were more than light. She could see they were distinct bodies, and outer space was full of many moving objects. She felt small and insignificant, but for only a moment, for her eyes then moved to the earth itself and to all the houses and cars and people below, and she felt like a powerful being among them.

  I am a powerful being.

  “Yes,” Jeno said. “But don’t let it go to your head.”

  His last word reminded her of her purpose. She needed to get inside Phoebe’s head. It was time to discover what was preventing Phoebe from speaking, and what had lately made her withdraw more than usual.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked her. “Some things are better left unknown.”

  “I’m sure. Can you help me?”

  He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned her back against him and tried to relax.

  “Focus on the Angelis apartment,” he coached.

  “Yes, I’m looking at it now.”

  “Can you sense the little girl? She is walking around in the kitchen.”

  “Oh. Found her.”

  Gertie reached into Phoebe’s mind, searching her memories. Phoebe’s indecision about what she wanted to drink was getting in Gertie’s way.

  “How can I read beyond her current thoughts?”

  “It’s better to be close to her, so you can look into her eyes.”

  Gertie hadn’t anticipated having to face Phoebe, but she’d gone this far. She couldn’t give up now. “Will you go with me?”

  “Of course.”

  They held hands as they flew. Gertie was no longer cold. In fact, now that the dizziness had worn off, she felt strong, energetic, and focused.

  I am a powerful being, she thought again.

  “This is true,” Jeno said. “Even without the vampire virus in your blood.”

  Gertie didn’t think so. It was a nice thing for Jeno to say, but she knew it wasn’t true.

  “You have to believe in yourself,” he said.

  She read the string of thoughts that followed.

  This beautiful, intelligent girl has no self-confidence. Her parents have ripped her limbs from her body, too. Did they know what they were doing to their daughter? Or were they like my mother—driven by forces beyond their control?

  “You have such deep thoughts,” she said, and was unable to stop her own: for a vampire. “I didn’t mean that. You have deep thoughts for anyone, for any kind of being.”

  She covets my powers but abhors my race, just like everyone else.

  “No. that isn’t true! I don’t abhor your race. I love vampires, remember?”

  Fictional ones, his mind accused.

  They arrived and landed on the sidewalk in front of the Angelis apartment.

  “No. You do believe me, don’t you?” she asked.

  “You have good intentions,” Jeno said. “But your attitudes betray you.”

  Gertie frowned.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I loathe myself and my race, too.”

  Gertie grabbed the lapels of his blazer in both fists and brought him close. “I could never loathe you, Jeno. I’m falling in love with you.”

  He made no comment, but his thought was, We shall see.

  Gertie sighed. “Can you come with me?”

  “The rules governing the ways of vampires are strict,” Jeno said. “I have to be invited into a home before I can enter it.”

  “I’m inviting you.”

  “You are a guest. I don’t know if that counts.”

  “Hmm.”

  “I’ll be right here, koureetsi mou. You can do this.”

  “What exactly am I doing?”

  “Sit with the girl, and look into her eyes. Look deeply, and you will find what you are looking for.”

  “I can’t be seen by Mamá and Babá. They think I’m still at the dance.”

  “Take off your clothes.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  “Use invisibility, until you’re alone with Phoebe.”

  “But then when I appear to her, I’ll be naked.” That would certainly freak her out.

  “Use an illusion to cover yourself.”

  “How do I do that?”

  There’s not enough time to teach you. “I’ll do it for you. Now take off your clothes and go, before the dance ends.”

  Reminding herself that he had x-ray vision anyway, and turning with embarrassment away from her own x-ray view of him, she pulled her energy inward—just like a turtle into its shell, until she could no longer see herself. Then she slipped out of the red dress and handed it to him.

  He laughed at her. “Your underwear, too. Unless you want your bra and panties to appear to be floating around on their own.”

  She slipped out of them, her face red hot with mortification, and handed them over, too.

  “Shoes,” he said.

  She bent over to undo the strap, but couldn’t without seeing her own fingers.

  “Let me help you,” Jeno said.

  He crouched at her feet and unbuckled her straps. Then he slid off each shoe. It was sensual and sad at the same time. She felt like Cinderella in reverse.

  She shuddered. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure,” he said. “And stop already with the embarrassment. I can’t see you when you’re invisible. Besides, I can see through your clothes anyway.”

  “Like that helps.” She laughed nervously.

  Someone is coming. He balled up her clothes and hid them inside his blazer. He left her red pumps on the steps.

  I’m terrified. She couldn’t hide her thoughts. What if I get caught?

  You don’t have to do this.

  Yes, I do.

  She flew up to one of the opened windows and climbed inside, right by the television. It was on, and Mamá and Babá sat together on the sofa watching it. As quietly as she could, she crept from the room and down the hallway, looking for Phoebe.

  22

  Phoebe

  The youngest member of the Angelis family lay on her cot in Mamá and Babá’s bedroom watching a video on Babá’s phone.

  Before making herself visible, Gertie asked Jeno to remember to give her an illusion of clothes.

  No worries, he said.

  She stifled a laugh. Here she was, sneaking into her host family’s apartment, naked, invisible, and using vampire powers to read the mind of its most fragile member, and Jeno was telling her no worries.

  You don’t have to do this, he repeated.

  Gertie stepped back into the hallway, checked to make sure neither Mamá nor Babá were in sight, and then released her energy from its turtle shell. She was astonished to see herself in the same dress she had just given to Jeno.

  You’re good, she said to him.

  I’ve had a little practice.

  Phoebe noticed her as soon as Gertie re-entered the room.

  “Hi, Phoebe,” Gertie said, as casually as she could. “Mamá and Babá don’t know I’m here. I wanted to ask you something.”

  Gertie had never spoken directly to her, so she was surprised when a look of panic crossed the girl’s face. Phoebe dropped the phone on the cot and moved to the corner of the room, with her back against the wall.

  “Don’t be scared,” Gertie said. “I just want to talk.”

  Phoebe did not seem comforted. She continued to glare back in horror at Gertie.

  At least she’s looking into my eyes.

  Look deeply, Jeno said. Make her look deeply into your eyes, too.

  “Look deeply into my eyes,” Gertie commanded, gently.

  Phoebe’s eyes locked onto hers. The little girl flattened against the wall, her heart pounding out of control, and her mouth strained open, as though she were silently screaming.

  Gertie was wracked by guilt for putting her little friend through such terror. “No need to be afraid, Phoebe.”

  Gertie looked beyond her friend’s eyes, deep into her brain, and was shocked by the vision that began to unfold before her.


  Gertie was lying in a bed in a room filled with smoke. Across from her, a toddler stood in a crib, gripping the rails.

  Damien.

  He had thin, dark curls on his round little head, and his dark eyes were blinking against the smoke. The pacifier he’d been sucking on fell out of his mouth and onto the hardwood floor.

  Gertie found it difficult to breathe. She looked near the closed door to the source of the smoke. A fan was making a grinding sound and sparks and flames shot from its motor. One spark shot out and leapt onto the curtain just above Damien’s crib. The entire window was soon in flames.

  Gertie wanted to scream, but no sound came from her throat. She lay there, paralyzed with fear.

  Damien fell down on his bottom in the crib. He choked out a cry, and then he disappeared behind a veil of smoke and flames. Gertie tried once more to scream.

  The door to the room swung open. Babá met her eyes with a look of horror and shouted at her to get out, but Gertie couldn’t move. Then he began a horrid dance with flaming blankets and pillows as he struggled to rescue Damien. The baby’s body was limp in Babá’s trembling arms as he headed for the door.

  “Elate mazy mou!” Babá shouted, which Gertie now recognized as, “Come with me!”

  Babá ran through the door, but Gertie was still paralyzed and now barely able to breathe. Seconds later, Mamá ran to the bed and swept Gertie into her arms. She rushed from the apartment and out onto the street, where Babá stood with Damien, who was badly burned and no longer moving. She hoped with all her heart that he was sleeping.

  Mamá sat Gertie up on her feet and rushed to Damien. Her ear-splitting shriek made Gertie lose her balance and fall onto the curb.

  Gertie looked for Nikita and Klaus and saw them screaming near the building for everyone to get out. Others ran down the steps and into the streets, coughing up smoke.

  “Na me voi̱thí̱sei!” Mamá shouted into the dark night. Gertie understood it to mean, “Help me!”

  Then Gertie had a shock. Mamá added, “Jeno, na me voi̱thí̱sei! Sas iketév̱o̱!”

  Jeno?

  Yes, koureetsi mou. Marta called to me, and I came. Let’s go now. You know what happened.

  Gertie wasn’t ready to go. She continued to gaze into Phoebe’s eyes and relive that awful night.