The Quill Pen Killer
Book i, Vampire DeAngeliuson
written by Kara Skye Smith
© 2009 Kara Skye Smith
All rights reserved
Fae-tality Publishing
August, 2014, 3rd Edition
IBSN#-9781442161986
Dead - i -cated to
Jeremy, Eden Steeps, Joshua, andi
The Quill Pen Killer
Chapter One: Young Sleuth
At the end of a long, winding avenue at the crest of a rather steep hill, sits an extraordinary, old house of immense proportions. This house has all the scary stuff of a house in a really good ghost story, like turrets and gothic iron work, old doors that creek and little windows that poke out of attic bedrooms. It has a library and a foyer, just like the houses in most real crime stories, but this house, has never been the featured location of a real crime. Not until today, anyway. And it has not had but one ghost it's entire existence despite it's eery appearance. This house - this mansion, as it truly be named - bears a little plaque near the door which reads: the family DeAngeliuson.
The family DeAngeliuson is not your typical family, and it is not a family to disappoint the exterior of such a house. The DeAngeliuson mansion is home to a vampire. A vampire as blood thirsty and beguiling as any known throughout history; at least he was, until he 'settled' here, in this house to raise a family (and curtailed his lifestyle, somewhat, from his blood thirsty days, as many a father does when he settles down to raise a family). His entire family consists of his darling, doll-dressed, daughter Jessica. And their house manager, Mattressa.
Although this vampire puts up a good front at remaining savage and daunting, he really does cross swords with fright-life when it comes to his darling daughter; he is really quite smitten with her. This cover up, a vampire loving a daughter while not letting slip his 'celebrity' evil amounts to quite a juggling act on his part, yet falls short of noticed by his precious Jessica, who is sitting, at the moment, on a stool up at the counter eating an apple and reading a book. Jessica adores books, even more than she adores clothing. This day, as with many, she wears a cotton, yellow print dress with red and white flowers, tights, a ruffled underskirt, plus sturdy, red shoes that last, and last, with a copper buckle on the side. She wears glasses most of the time although she does have a pair of contact lenses that her father bought for her, and at this moment, she pushes her long, brown hair back away from where it has fallen in front of her glasses, unclipping and clipping her hair back into the barrette she is wearing, all without taking her eyes off the book as she reads.
The only thing less understood by Jessica's father than Jessica's refusal to wear black clothing (good vampire black), is her insistence that reading is a proper past-time for a vampire's daughter. He'd much rather see her out haunting, carousing and practicing the art of enchantment. Their opinions in such matters clash and although he adores her, he spends much of his time being disappointed in her bookishness and downright reluctance toward being a vampire. The house manager, who has been with Jessica for as long as she can remember, and nearly as long as since she was born, lifts up her head, from her washing, at the sound of the front door and begins to nervously move both hands through the air as if putting away the frowned-upon book from two feet away in thin air.
"Miss Jessica, your father is on his way in here. He'll want to see you're out shopping or doing something young vampires do, as he keeps saying, whatever that is." Jessica keeps reading.
"Jessica! Did you hear me?"
Jessica doesn't look up, " Huh? "
The maid, still making the shooing motion with her hands bursts out loudly," Hurry!" Just as she says this she turns at the sound of Jessica's father entering the room.
He looks at Jessica and groans, "You're reading!" Jessica, at last, looks up from her book clueing in to the scene in front of her: the maid's nervousness and her father's disappointment. She gives them both a sheepish grin.
He sets his keys down on the counter, "You read yesterday."
Jessica shrugs, "Yeah. So."
"So we've discussed this. It's not apropos to a vampire's style, and at your age, Jessica, really. So many other things you could be doing. Nastrillia is coming over tonight. I want you to, well, didn't I tell you to go shopping today? I did. I told you. A new dress, at least one, b-l-a-c-k."
"Another girlfriend?"
"What's with the another part? I am a vampire, have you forgotten? I don't suppose you're counting." He lifts up the bookmark on the counter. Holds it with only two fingers as if it might give him a rash.
"Yes, you have forgotten. And, yes, she's my new girlfriend. I'd like for you to make a good impression. Do you think you can do that? I'm really just trying to get you out of this house, away from those books! Books, Jessica?! Most girls like dresses, boys, parties. Especially vampire girls, I mean, it's a little embarrassing. We're one of the oldest, most prestigious vampire families on the hill, and you're wrapped up in books!" He takes out his wallet while he is talking and hands her $40.
"Have your nails done, please at least try to look like a vampire. And, there isn’t anything wrong with blood red for a color. It's embarrassing."
Jessica sighs, " They'll just break. I'll bite them.” He glares at her.
She picks up the money, "Ok-ay. I'll but I'm only going so I can read my book while I'm having them done." The maid laughs until Jessica's father shoots her a disapproving look.
"Speaking of bite, Jessica, you outta be out there, you know, practicing enchantment, visiting haunts?...instead of sitting in here, nose inside that book all day..." Jessica slaps shut the book.
"All right! I'm going." She stuffs the $40 into her pocket.
"I'll just spend it on books, you know, and I don't like that color!"
Her father yells after her, "What vampire doesn't like red? It's like you hate blood!" He looks at the maid.
"You see? You see what she does to me? See how she treats me?"
The maid shakes her head, "No."
Jessica sneaks her way into the library of the large, old house. As she enters she inhales and smiles a little. She loves the scent of the old, leather bound books mixed with the potpourri Mattressa, the maid, has added to the little urn that sits on one of the book shelves as a decoration. The scent is warm and peaceful. Jessica runs her fingers across several of the volumes and then reaches for a stack of books she has set aside in the corner of the second shelf and plops them on the door. Jessica crosses her legs and sits down next to them on the floor of the library. She opens the book she is holding and props her elbow up on a stack of several other books. She pushes the nose of her glasses back into position and begins to read. Just as she finishes the first page and turns to the second, the door to the library opens and Jessica hears several pairs of footsteps, the sound of boot heels on the wooden floor.
She startles and sits up, grabs her knees and pulls them close to her, making her shape as small as possible, not wanting to be caught or seen at what she is doing and, more importantly, at what she is not doing. She peeks out from the shelves and stacks of books. She can see her father's boots from under a table. She quickly crawls under the nearby wooden desk, her book still in her hand. She dares not even breathe loudly. She holds the book up to her mouth and presses it against her lips, trying not to let escape the gasp that is hanging on the tip of her tongue. She listens.
Her father's voice is low and on edge, "What seems to be the problem, and a call first would have been nice. We could have set up an appointment."
The ghoul in the room replies, "Where do you get off?! Huh?" He taps Jessica's f
ather's lapel and turns to his friend.
"Listen to this guy. An appointment."
"We're ghouls. We don't need an appointment. You owe us money."
The first ghoul laughs, "An appointment - to break in on your family, here. We were just stopping by to do that..."
His ghoulish friend adds, "House call." "Yeah!" Jessica's father takes a step back ward toward the door. "I don't want any trouble. I've got my girlfriend here."
"I need that money - you need the peace and quiet. Give us the money. We'll go. You have a nice quiet evening with your girlfriend."
Jessica's father puts his hand down on the desk Jessica is hiding under.
His voice waivers, "Right at this moment, I don't have..."
The ghoulish fiend takes a step closer to Jessica's father, "You don't have the money. You don't have the money. He doesn't have the money."
The other ghoul, "I heard."
"What are ya gonna do?" Jessica shifts nervously and the book she is holding falls to the door. Jessica breathes in quickly, her eyes open wide and she lowers her head into her dress against her knees and hugs her knees tighter.
The ghoul nearly growls, "What was that? You hiding somebody in here? Huh, wiseguy?"
Jessica's father pretends to look around, not taking his eyes off the two ghouls but for a few moments, "Jess.... Jessica! No. Might be my daughter, upstairs, you know."
"What can you pay? I wanna get this over with."
"About 2,000. I can get you the rest by, o, next month."
The ghoul exclaims, "Next month! Try next week."
The ghoul's friend leans in close enough to Jessica's father that he can feel his breath on him as he hisses out the words, "Go get it. We'll be outside. And that little noise you got over in the corner can relax. Let's go."
The ghoul's friend prods him out through the door, "Don't be slow about it." All of the pairs of boots walk out of the room and the library door closes.
Jessica exhales loudly, "O evil!" She fumbles for her cell phone and dials.
"Raven?! It's Jessica. You won't believe this. You gotta come over here. I just overheard my father and two ghouls. I don't KNOW what he's doing with ghouls! No, I'm not exaggerating! No, this isn't like last time. You can't? Tomorrow then. You could talk to Father while I look around, for clues, find out what's going on... Could you? O that'd be great."
Jessica hears Mattressa's voice booming down the hallway, "Jessica! Jessica! Dinner is ready! Jessica?... "
Jessica turns her back to the sound of her voice being called and clutches the phone ever tighter. "You're a true friend. This is going to be something big. Oh okay, gotta go. My father has a new girlfriend over for dinner... yes, again...."
She mocks enthusiasm, "Time to dine and drink with the drip-of-the-week number ten! I'll see if I can unearth any new evidence over dinner. Do not leave your phone's side! I'll call you if I discover anything. I'm glad you're here to help me. I've got to figure this out. O okay. Well bye." Jessica hangs up the phone and then crawls out from under the desk. She peeks around the corner as if still spooked by the words of the two ghouls and then meets up with.
Looking both ways, she nearly bumps into Mattressa out in the hall. Mattressa puts her arm around her, "There you are. Where have you been hiding?"
"Nowhere, why?"
"I just couldn't find you, that's all. Are you ready for dinner?"
"No, but I'll go. Is she horrible?"
"Who?"
"Father's new girlfriend."
"O yes. Aren't they all?" She giggles. Jessica lets go a smile and her nervousness releases with it. Her shoulders drop and she leans in toward Mattressa's shoulder.
"Now that I think about it, I really am hungry."
"Good. I've made something delicious."
Jessica enters the dining room and looks at the table. Her father and the unwelcome new woman are seated as close together as possible, holding hands while her father looks into the woman's eyes whispering words Jessica chooses to ignore while the woman shushes him, looking down and then back up at him, giddy and bashful. Jessica clears her throat to interrupt the two of them and seats herself directly across the table from the pair.
Both hands up on the table in fists, Jessica looks up at her father, "Well! This is uncomfortable." Jessica moves her hand while Matressa begins to ladle tomato soup into Jessica's bowl.
Jessica says quietly through clenched teeth, "Thank you, Matressa."
Jessica's father picks up a basket of bread and takes a piece out, "This is really good bread. Mattressa makes it herself. Dip it into the soup. Tastes almost like the real thing, you know?” he smiles at Jessica who does not appear amused by his humor. Then he dips a piece of his bread into Nastrillia's soup and lets her take a bite.
After which, Nastrillia annoyingly coos, "Oooh! Yummy!"
Jessica looks at her father and smirks at the sound of his date's choice of vocabulary. "So, you're a food columnist, a restaurant reviewer? No? Just a guess. You go to school, then? First year of college, I'll bet," under her breath she adds, “or first grade.”
"You didn't get me, you know, and Nastrillia doesn't go to school," he says.
"Hmmm. Not quite ready yet?" Jessica asks, slyly.
Her father laughs, "No, Jessica, Nastrillia makes false reports of innocents who she puts up for the slaughter and kills her friends with wicked potion. You could learn a lot from her," he says obviously joking, but Jessica is not quite sure.
She does not laugh, "In other words, she works with you? On the show?"
"Exactly, darling. Costume decorator."
Jessica sneers, "Nice. Raven started a new cremation business."
"I hope this goes better for him than school has." Jessica dips her bread into her soup, "I'm sure it will. He's already making a lot of money."
"Nastrillia's job is lucri..."
Jessica interrupts, "Yes, but does she do the time?"
"Actually yes," Jessica's father reaches across the table and picks up her left hand, "How are your nails? Done."
Jessica holds up her fingers under the light. They are short and stubby unlike the blood drinking sort – on view, her father worries, for all the world to see.
"Time got away. Sorry. Maybe tomorrow. Although I think I'll start writing. I'm working on something new." She turns her head to one side and looks at him intently from the left.
"A crime story." She watches his reaction. She looks away with a groan, almost nauseous as he reacts only to the soup Nastrillia has dribbled by handing her a napkin and dotting at the drips of soup.
Nastrillia gobbles down the bite in her mouth in a hurry to add something to the conversation, for the first time catching an open moment to avoid exclusion, "Is that what you want to be? A writer?" She says, almost with too much enthusiasm.
Jessica replies, "No, a fireman."
"Oh. That's," Nastrillia looks at Jessica's father, "unique."
Jessica's father points out, "She's pulling your leg, darling - obviously."
Mattressa, almost feeling sorry for this girlfriend rather than the usual snub toward the many girlfriends Jessica's father has dragged in front of Jessica to meet the daughter he adores, interrupts the awkward silence.
"How is everyone's soup? Good?" Jessica's father smiles as his girlfriend, again in mid-chew, bursts out another, "Yummy!" comment and Jessica rolls her eyes while glancing at Mattressa.
Jessica's father noticing a smirk on both the women of his household's faces excuses Mattressa from the table, "Don't you have a family to get to? Somewhere?”
Mattressa remarks, "Oh, didn't know you could let me
go, thought I had to be your angel in the event that you
needed one. But I'd like to go, to them, as long as I'm done
here."
Her father looks about the table, "You're done here."
Mattressa bows her head and leaves the room.
Jessica thinking her father's behavior nearly as rude as her own stands up t
o follow her out, "Don't know how you do it, Father. Can I please be excused now?"
Her father smiles, "Party to go to?"
"No. Just going to my room."
Her father looks at her plate, "You hardly ate."
She shrugs, "I ate enough."
"Then go," he gestures toward the door.
Jessica makes a face, "Thanks."
Up in her bedroom, Jessica puts on her night gown and takes the hair clip out of her hair. She catches sight of her short, often chewed on fingernails and sighs. A squeaking sound comes from the cage in the corner and Jessica walks over to feed her pet rat.
"There you go," she says in a nurturing voice half an octave above her usual tone. She watches him devour half a cracker and then breaks off another piece and sets it in front of him.
"Okay and some of this."
Jessica looks at her rat a while, then she mocks her father's voice, "Party to go to? I don't see what all the fuss is about. Being vampire doesn't have to mean being different, does it? I like staying home. With you."
Jessica puts the last bit of cracker into the rat's cage. Then she looks up into the doorway as she hears one knock on the door. The door is open just a crack and she can see one eye of her father's peering through it. She almost laughs but remembers she is pouting and holds back her laughter.
"What are you doing?"
Her father asks, "Can I open the door?"
"It's your house."
He pushes it open.
"Jess, darling, I just wanted to say good night and... I didn't mean anything down there, at dinner. For your own good, your social benefit. I just want you to be more like other girls... you know..."
Jessica nods her head, "You mean more like the stellar conversationalist you had with us at dinner tonight?"
The Quill Pen Killer (Vampire DeAngeliuson Book 1) Page 1
