by Lisa Olsen
“You’ve been hanging around here a lot lately,” I observed aloud, fishing for information.
“I like the company,” Rob replied with another half shrug.
“Really? Because to be honest, Bridget doesn’t really seem like your type.”
Rob gave me one of his rare little smiles before turning back to watch his old movie.
Chapter Thirteen
For the next couple of weeks I did nothing but pour myself into schoolwork, eager to prove to my parents I could recover as easily as promised. It helped that I could retain nearly everything I read and even my typing speed seemed to have picked up since I’d been turned. That and the fact that most of the student body still looked at me like I’d had something to do with Melissa’s death gave me plenty of time to devote to my studies instead of any social engagements. I decided to go one step further though to repair the damage to their trust in me by accepting that solo performance Dean Abrams mentioned during my intervention. Though the idea scared the bejeezus out of me, I needed all the good will I could foster with the school, and I gathered the donation to secure my performance was pretty sizeable.
I traded a few emails with the Dean’s secretary to get the venue and particulars. I’d need to fill a two hour block of time, interspersed with instrumental music. That took some of the pressure off. If I really sucked, they could always rely on the other stuff. Professor Matthews kindly offered some of his time to help me pick a selection of appropriate songs to sing and I learned them quickly enough. I called my mother as promised, and tagged along beside her as she picked out dresses for me to try on.
I decided on a simple black dress. No frills, no bows, sleek and modern. Most importantly it wasn’t too tight, so I could get a proper breath in. Idly I wondered how period singers managed to perform in corsets? I would’ve passed out for sure under so many layers.
As the night arrived, the battle to keep from throwing up consumed my every thought for the entire cab ride to the Swedish American Club, the hall where the event was being held. The thought of throwing up blood was mortifying enough to keep me from eating anything that night when I woke up, but it didn’t help the queasiness that plagued me before every show.
I wasn’t sure if there would be a backstage area or a place to warm up, so I ran through my scales in the car, avoiding the looks I got from the cabbie in the rear view mirror. Luckily, traffic wasn’t bad at all, and I arrived in plenty of time to get a good look at the layout before the guests started to arrive. But as I stepped into the hall, I was surprised to see a single table laid out in the center of the room. Surely they would have set all the tables up by now, shouldn’t they? And where were the musicians? Ms. Hall, the Dean’s secretary, had assured me there would be a ten piece orchestra to entertain the crowd.
Hearing a single pair of footsteps behind me, my eyes squinched shut as I mentally kicked myself for clueing in so late to what was going on. I’d been duped. When I opened them again, Jakob stood before me in a dinner jacket, holding a chair out for me at the table.
“You’re simply breathtaking, beloved.” His eyes glowed with warmth even as mine narrowed in anger.
“And you’re a sneaky bastard.” I turned on my heel to leave, but Jakob rushed past me, quicker than my eye could track, blocking the entrance. “If you think I’m going to sing for you, you’re nuts.”
“I merely thought we could spend the evening together.” His hands came up in a supplicating gesture.
“Well, you thought wrong. I don’t like being tricked.” Despite my words, I had to give it to him, it was a grand gesture alright. No one had ever taken such pains to spend a couple of hours in my company before. Usually it was the other way around, me following a guy around like a puppy.
“Won’t you join me? I know you have no other plans.” A slow grin spread across his face, and I pressed my lips together to keep from returning it. He had me there, I couldn’t say I had somewhere else to be. With a single nod, I took the offered seat, prepared to bolt for the door if he tried anything weird.
“You didn’t have to go through all this trouble, what possessed you to contact the school?”
“If I’d rung you up tonight and asked you for a cup of coffee, as you said, would you have come out with me?”
“Probably not,” I admitted.
“There you see, my need for subterfuge is completely justified,” he smiled in delight over the small victory.
“Still, you didn’t have to pay for my time. It makes me feel… obligated.”
“I hadn’t thought such a thing would bother you, you seem to feel no obligation to me, your Sire, whatsoever,” he sniffed.
“I feel an obligation to the school, that’s why I took this job tonight in the first place. I’ve got to do everything I possibly can to keep them from booting me out.”
“Why do you bother with a school who can’t appreciate your singular talents, anyway? It’s obvious you outstrip them all, they should beg you to affiliate yourself with their piddling institution,” he waved his hand and I had to laugh.
“Somehow I don’t think they see it that way.”
“Then leave it behind,” his eyes blazed with excitement. “I can show you the world, show you wonders you could never dream of.”
Aladdin popped into my mind, singing about a whole new world and I shook my head to clear it. “As much as I’d love to jump on that magic carpet ride with you, I live in the real world, and I have responsibilities.”
“Responsibilities are for humans.”
“Maybe I like being human!” That was the crux of it, why there was such a gap between us. It wasn’t just the age difference or his status as an Ellri. He’d never known what it was to be human and I desperately wanted to cling to my humanity above all else.
“But you are not. You’re so much more, beloved.” He reached for my hand and I tugged it free.
“Don’t call me that. You don’t love me, you hardly even know me.” Just because I reminded him of another girl who I hoped I was nothing like.
Jakob waved my objections away as if they were unimportant. “Then let me come to know you. Let me take care of you, I am responsible for you after all.”
“No, you’re not. I can take care of myself. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home.”
“I’ve seen this hovel you call a home,” Jakob snorted. “You needn’t live in squalor, even my servants live better than you do.”
That was it. I was tired of being treated like a child and piece of property. I might not actually be Anja Gudrun, four hundred year old badass vampire, but I for damned sure deserved a bit more respect! “It may be a hovel by your standards, but it’s enough for me and I’m happy there.”
“Are you? Are you truly happy, älskling? Then why has your light dimmed? When I first saw you, I was immediately drawn to the light that shone from your soul like a beacon, all gentle wonder and delight. That joy for life cried out to me, touched me in a way I haven’t felt in centuries. I knew I must become a part of it. Yet anyone may now see how you’ve lost your way.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have killed me. Did you ever think of that?” The pain of loss stripped my voice raw, and I was only slightly gratified to see Jakob recoil from my words as if I’d struck him. “I’m going home,” I mumbled, heading for the door and that time, he made no move to stop me.
Prepared to head straight to my room, in no mood to watch Rob and Bridget play handsies on the couch, it surprised me to find Bridget home by herself for a change.
“Hey, I didn’t think you’d be home so early. Or did you freak out and kill everyone in the room with the power of your brain?”
“I don’t have the power to do that.”
“But wouldn’t it be cool if you did?” Bridget grinned from ear to ear. “You could just be all I said I wanted diet coke, not regular beeyotch, and then their head would be all splat!”
I pictured an exploding head like a watermelon and the look of shock on the other cu
stomer’s faces; it was enough to bring a smile to my lips. “Yes, that would be pretty cool, Bridge. Are you going to work tonight?” It was hard to tell with how she dressed. I knew she sometimes wore regular clothes under her scrubs in the winter time and it had started to get markedly colder out.
“Yeah, I’m outta here pretty soon. Hey, you should totally come with me. All those old people lying there all helpless, it’s like a smorgasbord for vampires,” she grinned.
“Thanks all the same, I’ll pass.”
“What are you doing back so soon? You didn’t really…” she made a retching sound and I shook my head.
“No, I didn’t get sick. It turns out there was no concert, just Jakob trying to ambush date me.”
“What’s the deal with you and your Sire guy anyway? Don’t you have to do everything he says like on TV?”
“Thankfully no, so far. Or at least, he hasn’t done anything to make me obey him.” It didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of it though. I remembered the pull I felt from him during my performance… God, I hoped he never turned that on me again.
“Did you ask him why he picked you? Because clearly, he must have shown up on a night when I wasn’t around or he could have had all this.” Bridget ran her hands over her voluptuous curves. “I mean, I’m not jealous or whatever.”
“I didn’t ask, but he said he was attracted to my joy for life or something.” Right before he snuffed it out…
“Uh huh, I’m pretty sure that’s guy code for he thought you would polish his rocket with zest,” she waggled her eyebrows at me. “Did you ask him how long he’s planning on sticking around?”
“No, I didn’t get a chance to.”
“Then did you ask him about whether or not he’s gonna openly claim you as his… what did you call it? Prodigal?”
“Progeny,” I corrected her. “And no, I didn’t ask him about that either.”
“Jesus Christ, Anja, did you ask him anything?”
“I guess not. I was too upset with how the night was going.”
“Yeah, a gorgeous, rich hottie schemes to get some face time with you, that’s a real reason to grab for the tissues.” A roll of the eyes was given. “Well, some of us don’t have those problems, but ah, since you’re home anyway, it’s your turn to clean the bathroom.”
“It’s always my turn to clean the bathroom.” It was my turn to roll my eyes.
“That’s what I meant.”
“Doesn’t seem particularly fair since I hardly use the bathroom anymore,” I grumbled, not that she cared.
“Them’s the breaks, kid. Okay, I gotta motor or I’ll be late for work. Laters.”
I had sort of blown the chance to find out more about Jakob. I didn’t even have a way to contact him if I wanted to. For the moment he seemed content to stay in the shadows of my life, never coming right out to declare himself as my Sire except in front of Bishop.
Bishop.
Before I even realized it, I had his picture pulled up in my phone, his adorably confused picture staring up at me (I’d snapped a quick pic of him while he was busy cleaning his guns). My finger hovered over the screen for long seconds, and then the phone was dialing even though I don’t remember actually pressing the button. It rang once, twice… and I chickened out, hanging up before he picked up. I didn’t think I could take his rejection that night. Even if he didn’t answer, I’d see it as its own rejection.
Forcing myself to push past his pic, I was shocked to find Jakob’s picture smiling across the screen along with a contact phone number. When had he put that into my phone? Probably the same time he’d left that roll of money… which I should have already returned to him, I realized with a scowl. Then again, how was I supposed to know when I’d run into him again?
Looking down at my mysterious Sire’s confident grin, I wondered if I shouldn’t try to get to know him better. It wasn’t as if I could count on seeing Bishop any time soon, not while he refused to get in Jakob’s way. Maybe I should give Jakob a shot? Then, once Jakob got to know me and how completely unsuitable I’d be for his companion or whatever he was looking for, he’d move on and I could be with Bishop. And if Bishop never came around…
A knock sounded at the door, and my needy little brain spun a quick fantasy with Bishop on the other side of the door, worried sick because I’d called and hung up without leaving a message. But even before I got to the door I could tell it was a regular human out there. A quick glance at the clock told me it wasn’t nearly as late as I’d thought it to be, and I opened the door to find a delivery of two dozen blood red roses waiting for me with a card that read:
Forgive me, petal. I only wish for your happiness.
J
I thought about sending him a thank you text, but I wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t be leading him on in some way. After putting the flowers in water (the scent of the fresh flowers was amazing to my enhanced sense of smell!), I got back to my school work. Scarcely a half an hour went by and there was another knock on the door. That time the delivery of a small package revealed a long jewelry box. Opening the fancy box, I gasped as a stunning diamond choker necklace set in white gold winked up at me from the velvet interior. It couldn’t be real, nothing that nice could ever be entrusted to a single delivery guy in the middle of the night. Touching the glittering stones with reverence, nevertheless I tucked them away, determined get back to work before I let my mind wander again.
Only Jakob had other plans in mind. Every hour something new showed up on my doorstep, ranging from a carved ivory hair comb, to a box of fine chocolates, with every kind of luxurious trinket imaginable in between. I have to admit, I spent more time speculating what might arrive next than on actual homework, so that I had to finally reach for my phone and try to put an end to it.
“You approve of my gifts?” His voice slid over me like a cool drink of water as soon as I lifted the phone to my ear.
“They’re very nice, but you have to stop. If you want to give me something, give me the gift of peace. I need to finish my studies, you can understand that, can’t you?”
“I understand, but I do not comprehend.” I could hear the frown in his voice. “What need do you have for accreditation? Your path has diverged, you have only to realize you are on a new course now.”
“Haven’t you ever wanted to accomplish anything? I mean, what do you do all night long every day? Don’t you want a sense of purpose for your life?” I couldn’t imagine how he’d filled all the centuries of his existence without striving towards something.
“I have purpose enough. I’d be more than happy to show you how I spend my nights though,” he purred and I fought against the pictures my overactive imagination popped into my mind’s eye.
“I can guess,” I swallowed. “Listen, I really do need to finish this work, I’m almost caught up. You say you know me, then you know how important school is to me.”
“Yes, I do,” he let out a long suffering sigh. “Very well, I will leave off with my gifts for now, but only if you agree to meet me again. This time, there will be no subterfuge, I will provide the coffee as requested and nothing more. Do you accept my terms?” I tapped the phone against my lower lip, weighing the promised solitude against the cost of enduring a date with the man who’d ruined my life. “Anja?” he prompted, a touch of doubt creeping into his voice. It was that flicker of vulnerability that swayed me into agreeing.
“Alright. I’ll meet you for coffee at the Java Hut, but not until Friday night. I should be done with everything by then. In the meantime, please, no more gifts, okay?”
“I knew you wanted to see me again,” he chuckled and I shook my head. So much for that trace of vulnerability.
“Goodnight, Jakob.”
“Until we meet again, älskling.”
It wasn’t until after we hung up that I realized I’d forgotten to ask him any of the gajillion questions swimming around in the back of my mind, and I started on a list so I’d be prepared the next time I saw him.
/> Even without the distractions from his gifts, my thoughts kept running back to my mysterious Sire and I’d add another question to the bottom of his list. Money clearly meant nothing to him, and not for the first time I wondered how vampires amassed their wealth. Bishop seemed to have no money worries either. How did that work when he didn’t have a real job? Or was he on the Order’s payroll? What did a vampire cop earn anyway?
I wasn’t quite sure how my thoughts came to focus on Bishop, but all of a sudden I found myself sitting there staring off into space, remembering the way he looked when I’d wake to find him watching me sleep, or the feel of his arm wrapped around me as I drowsed through those last lingering minutes when the sun went down.
God, I missed him so much… was he thinking about me at all?
Chapter Fourteen
It wasn’t until after I got to school the next morning that I realized I’d forgotten to eat again. Too preoccupied with juggling homework and moody thoughts of my torpedoed love life, I barely had time to down one of the stims on my way out the door when I realized the time.
Already feeling a bit feverish and uncomfortable, I sat through my morning classes, unable to focus with the sea of human bodies surrounding me, each throbbing with their own intoxicating rhythm. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump… The cacophony of beats called out to me, blood pulsing and swelling noisily, drowning out the teacher’s voice.
It was maddening.
What sucked even more was the fact that the stims I took to keep me awake during the day weren’t working as well as they had at first. I’d been meaning to talk to Bishop about it, but then things got all screwed up between us and I hadn’t had a chance. I remembered he said something about them being a temporary solution at best, but what else was I supposed to do?
The teacher’s voice droned on, and I didn’t have the presence of mind to separate it from the din until the clock chimed the end of my torture. With a whispered prayer of thanks, I sat very still until the rest of the class melted away, taking with them the overwhelming temptation to rend and tear. Only then did I reach for another tiny vial, downing the bitter stim in one gulp.
