Beautiful Death

by Christina Moore

  Ash dropped his arms and let out a soft sigh. “Did you find what you were searching for?”

  “Uh, yeah,” Tristan said, eyeing him carefully, happy that they had at least stopped yelling at each other. If it came to blows, Tristan was sure he wouldn’t win in a fistfight against a vampire. Short or not. Though, he did owe Ash a bloody nose. He studied the vampire for a moment, wondering what he thought of that. When the other man made no motion to Tristan’s thoughts, he sighed and picked up his suitcase. “I came for my clothes—not that I don’t appreciate the ones you gave me, but it’s just nice to have my own things, you know? Oh, and I found the folder with the information about my birth mother. Masuyo, her name is Masuyo... uh, Uruwashi. The vampires or whatever had been here might have been searching for it too, but it fell behind the desk.”

  “They were vampires. Jikininki leave a distinctive scent,” Ash said softly and then raised his voice. “May I see the information?”

  Tristan nodded and walked out of the room to the kitchen. He picked up the folder and turned to find Ash had snuck up right behind him. Tristan jumped back, ass hitting the counter and gasped softly. “Christ dude, you’re too quiet,” he mumbled, giving Ash a dirty look. “Make some damn noise will ya? Wear a fucking bell or something.”

  The vampire gave the tiniest of grins. Tristan sighed and handed Ash the folder. He flipped through it for a minute, stopping to read a page here and there. Finally, he shut the manila flaps and handed it back to Tristan without a word, jaw stiff.

  “That good, huh?”

  Ash shook his head, expression blank. “I can read kanji, but…”

  “But what?”

  Ash motioned for the folder again. He opened it across the counter and Tristan moved closer to look over his shoulder, hesitant, but drawn at the same time. He furrowed his brow when his stomach started to tickle. When Ash shifted his weight to his other foot, his loose hair brushed across Tristan’s bare arm. Tristan eyed the side of the vampire’s carefully blank expression while he flipped through the pages of the folder and wondered what it was about Ash that confused him.

  Ash motioned to the page he had been searching for, pointing out the two kanji symbols. “Uruwashi,” he said, “can be loosely translated to ‘beautiful’ with a slightly different romaji—roman letter spelling, than what is offered here, inconsequential really. Either way of spelling is not a typical Japanese surname.” He flicked purple eyes up to Tristan for only a second. He was trying very hard to remain neutral but the tightness in his jaw betrayed his unease.

  Tristan had to resist the urge grab the smaller man and shake the shit out of him. He was just so frustrated. And confused. And, yes, afraid.

  “However, when you look at the kanji form of your surname, it holds a clear and different translation. Many surnames consist of several characters, such as yours here.” He pointed at the first symbol. “This one does in fact denote the meaning ‘beautiful’. However this one,” he pointed to the second symbol, “Shi, signifies... death.”

  “Beautiful Death? The fuck does that mean?” Tristan whispered and looked down into Ash’s pale eyes. The other man shook his head somberly, finally letting go of his carefully held emotions and allowed Tristan to see how confused he was. Great, Tristan thought, he doesn’t know either. So much for finding answers. Instead, more questions. What a beautiful disaster.

  10: Masquerade

  SEX on wheels was the brand new crisp, clean white Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster parked in front of Ash’s house. The top was down, showing a bright red leather interior. Tristan damn near wrecked coming up the driveway, drooling over it. Funny though, he was sure Ash hadn’t said anything about expecting company. Not that he really expected him to. Tristan managed to park his car without incident at the end of the driveway next to the Benz and grabbed his suitcase from the back seat. Ash was parked by the time he caught up to him. The vampire set his helmet on the gas tank and shook out his hair. Tristan gave him a long look, still surprised to see him without his hair pulled back in the dark maroon leather barrette he liked so much.

  He jabbed a thumb in the air towards the roadster. “Who’s this?”

  Ash slowly turned to look up at Tristan with a worried expression. This bothered Tristan. In all the days he spent with the dude, he’d never seen that expression. He was a vampire, what did he have to be scared of? Ash turned away and started for the front door, ignoring Tristan’s question. As they passed by the expensive sports car, Tristan glanced inside. It was empty, of course, except for a black gym bag on passenger seat floor. Again, Tristan wondered who it could be. Who could possibly make the fearless Ash, fear?

  Inside, Tristan dropped his suitcase with a heavy thunk in the foyer and chased after Ash who kept walking in without taking off his shoes. He stopped just behind the short vampire, inside the doorway of the Great Room. All of the lights were out and there was a huge fire burning in the hearth, big enough to light half of the enormous room brightly. In one of the small red chairs at the piano, was a man. He couldn’t have been much older than eighteen. He watched the newly arrived pair over laced fingers, elbows resting on the armrests. Behind his hands, he was grinning secretively, making his eyes crinkle. He wore a simple white button-up dress shirt, open at the collar, tucked into light-wash jeans. Pale feet naked. His thin, white hair—not too dissimilar from Ash’s shade—was streaked with ribbons of darker gray and silver, brushed his jaw where it hung over his face. Tristan frowned, eyeing him with new consideration thinking that humans didn’t visit Ash—not as guests anyway. Then again, when did Ash take his “meals”?

  “Lucien. What are you doing in my home?” Ash’s eyes were held open widely as he stared at the unwelcome guest. “You had better not have touched Haruka…” The words were defensive, but his voice shook.

  “Oh, Ash,” the vampire, obviously Lucien, said in an accent Tristan couldn’t quite place. “So it is you. Almost didn’t recognize you. I meant to come by the other night but heard you were out on an errand…” His lips pulled sharply into a dark, closed-mouth smile. Ash made a disgusted noise through his teeth, but he was shaking ever so slightly.

  Ash really was afraid. Just who the hell was this guy anyway?

  Lucien stood with a melodious laugh and glided towards the pair, eyes on the tall American. “And who are you... human?” “Human” was a deep noise that brought Pandora running into the room, growling. Lucien never bothered to look at the angry dog as she took a defensive stance next to her master, teeth bared.

  Tristan agreed with her. He balled his hands into fists. “Look, you son of a—” Ash slipped in front of him, brushing him and forcing him back a step before he even realized what had happened. Tristan sucked in a sharp breath, amazed at the quick movement. Just out of arms reach, Lucien stopped and laughed, flashing all fang.

  Knew it, fucking vampire.

  “Lucien,” Ash snapped.

  Eyes still on Tristan, Lucien said to Ash, “That fucking McBastard was actually right. Ha! The rumors of your new human pet are true. You and your toys, honestly.” He finally looked to the other vampire. “But you know that’s not why I am really here... Aaash.” Lucien grinned wickedly at the shorter vampire and wiggled his eye brows. The look made Tristan want to slug the bastard in the testicles.

  Ash dropped his shoulders and turned, tilting his head down to hide his face. “I must speak with Lucien in private, Tristan,” he said softly from behind a veil of long hair. “If you will excuse us, please.” He pushed past Tristan and started down the hallway towards the back of the house with Pandora following. Arrogant, Lucien pushed passed Tristan, shouldering him hard enough to knock him off balance.

  Tristan made a rude noise, hurrying after them down the hallway. “Hey asshole—”

  The vampires turned. Lucien grinned, pointed to his chest. “Do you mean me? Or that one…?” He motioned to Ash behind him, standing inside the double doors of his bedroom.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re d
oing?”

  “This is between the grownups, son. Why don’t you run along to bed now?” He gave a dismissive gesture that made Tristan’s blood boil.

  Tristan narrowed his eyes at the smug ass vampire and stepped forward, but Ash darted around Lucien and stopped him with a cold, hard hand on his chest. He blinked down at the short vampire in surprise.

  “Please, leave him to me.”

  “Don’t fucking like him.”

  Ash gave a forced smile. “Neither do I. But I can handle him.”

  Lucien laughed loudly and pushed his way into Ash’s room. “Oh you think so? That would a first.”

  Ash shook his head, eyes shut tightly. When he opened them again and looked up into Tristan’s deep blue eyes, something in Ash softened. “Trust in me.”

  Tristan’s jaw tightened and his eyes flicked to Lucien. He was behind Ash, arms crossed over his chest, giving Tristan a big fucking stupid grin. Even though Ash was a vamp too, and knew the dude, Tristan was worried. There was something very wrong with Lucien. He could just… feel it. He didn’t have any words for Ash and only nodded. Ash gave a slight nod in return and closed the bedroom doors softly, shut him out.

  “Fuck,” he growled and turned to find Pandora had stayed with him. He knelt to her. “You don’t like that vampire shithead either, huh?”

  She stuck her tongue out, panting so that it looked like she was smiling.

  “Smart girl.”

  Suddenly there were raised voices from the other side. The two vampires were screaming at each other in another language. Tristan didn’t understand a word of it, but felt the hate, distain in those foreign words and spared a quick thought, hoping that they didn’t get into a real fight. He had no idea what kind of damage two vampires could do to each other and still live, but he was sure it’d be one epic battle.

  Ash’s angry voice, in English again, filtered out of the room muffled and Tristan hesitated. “Lucien! I will not ask again. Why have you come?”

  “Such a face! Show me the real Ash, this game is boring!” Lucien laughed and Tristan felt a tingle across his skin and suddenly shivered. He couldn’t help it when he pressed his ear to the door. He respected Ash’s privacy enough, but that had nothing to do with it. He was worried.

  “Princess brat sent me,” Lucien said, laughing. “She wants you to come see her. And bring your little play thing along.” He paused for a moment. “He doesn’t know about you, does he?”

  What? That Ash was a vampire? Thought that was obvious by now. He couldn’t hear Ash’s response, only a soft mumble.

  Lucien laughed again. “Oh, you’re as much fun as I remember. You think being a man will change the way he feels?”

  Tristan flinched back. “What the hell…?” What he feels? What Tristan felt? What, like he liked Ash or something? That was crazy. God, he wasn’t even gay… not that there was anything wrong with that, but seriously, he liked breasts and vaginas too much.

  “Leave.”

  Lucien laughed again. “I heard another rumor. I heard that you’ve been stripped. What does it feel like? I’ve heard you can still feel your old memories like a shinigami whispering in your head.”

  Now Tristan was just confused. About everything.

  “I asked you to leave.”

  There was that laugh again that made Tristan’s middle tingle and his skin run with gooseflesh. He decided he’d heard enough—it wasn’t his business. He motioned for Pandora to follow. “Come on, let’s go girl.”

  Tristan found his way to the other side of the house and stumbled upon Haruka’s room. Despite all the noise he was making, the woman was fast sleep in her bed. Tristan left her there, where it was safe and headed back to the Great Room. He pulled the chair Lucien had been sitting in closer to the doorway, facing the hall so he could watch for when that smug bastard left. No sooner did he his ass meet the seat then Pandora jumped up into his lap. Grateful for the company, he petted her slowly while she dozed off to sleep. He wondered if at one point he dozed off too because when he looked up again, the fire was nothing but embers, the house dead quiet. The clock above the bar said that fifty minutes had passed since they got home. And then he heard it again. The sound that had roused him from the twilight.

  Light, sure footsteps sounded down the hallway towards him and they didn’t sound like Haruka’s. Lucien stopped as he passed in front of the doorway. The boy vampire smiled wickedly, fingertips playing over his lips. The white cotton shirt he had on earlier was torn at the collar and dotted in red. “All yours. Hope you like sloppy seconds, human.” He gave that irritating, bad villain laugh again and left, leaving Tristan sitting alone, stunned.

  Realizing exactly what the asshole just said, Tristan pushed Pandora from his lap and jumped to his feet. The panic rose as he quickly ran towards the back of the house to Ash’s room. The door was pulled shut, but not latched, showing a band of light from inside.

  “Hey, are you okay? Ash...?” Tristan stopped inside, eyes going immediately to the lump in the middle of the floor. It was Ash, doubled over, face pressed to the floor, hidden under a curtain of long ashen hair stained with blood. That pale purple robe he was wearing the other night was draped over his back, but Tristan could see the blood on his arms and legs where they stuck out. Tristan realized with a start that the vampire was crying.

  “Oh my god, what happened?” Tristan asked louder, taking a step forward.

  Ash hadn’t noticed him until that moment and his head suddenly snapped up. Tristan gasped when he saw the red tears. And the anger.

  Ash snarled, baring every bit of fang he had. “How dare you enter my chambers unwelcome!”

  There was something else was not right about his face, but then, Ash didn’t give Tristan the time to figure it out. The vampire was suddenly across the room and on him. Tristan’s feet left the floor and his back was slammed against the wall next to the doorway with such force it took his breath away. Ash held him a foot from the ground against the wall as if he weighed nothing. The vampire shoved an arm up under his chin, just barely reaching, threatening to cut off his air. Tristan gasped and looked down into cold eyes. He'd never seen Ash so angry, those sharp fangs bared—at him. Instant terror, cold and immobilizing, seized him. Was he wrong in trusting a vampire?

  “I, what... A-Ash—” Tristan struggled to say, “What’s—” His eyes were drawn down and he couldn’t finish his question. “No way,” he whispered. Ash’s robe had been left behind on the floor where he was lying, presenting the vampire nearly naked. Shock and confusion tingled though Tristan as he realized what he was looking at: a lace bra holding a set of magnificent breasts and tiny panties that held no boy parts.

  “Hol-y shit,” he choked out, “you're really a girl?”

  Ash flinched, blinking at him. After a stunned moment she sneered again and dropped him. Tristan fell to his feet with a grunt, his head smacking the wall behind him. Still stunned, he slipped to the ground, slumping against the wall. Ash gave him a good view of her naked backside in the thong she wore as she went across the room to pick up her robe.

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me? I feel like an ass now, calling you a dude all this time.”

  And Ash certainly wasn’t a dude. Not with those slender hips, small waist and less than small breasts. Ash turned and gave him a dark look as she slipped on the kimono and tied it closed tightly. He was slightly grateful she covered up—helped him concentrate. A little. Ash took a seat at the dressing table facing him, swiping a hand across her cheek to dust off the blood flakes and crossed one long leg over the other, exposing the bare line of thigh all the way to her panties, hint of hip showing. That alone was almost more distracting to Tristan than her underwear.

  “Seriously, were you or were you not a dude an hour ago?” They were only subtle differences, but he could tell her cheekbones where higher, lips plusher, and her nose was thinner now. He didn’t imagine those things.

  “I was what you saw.”

  “And that means?”<
br />
  She heaved a deep sigh and he couldn't help but notice the swell of her breasts under her kimono. “Yes, I was masquerading as a man.”

  “How?”

  “As one of my powers, I can change the way I appear to others. My features, fangs, everything. It costs me energy to maintain the aura, but not so much that it is overly bothersome. I prefer to appear as male to the public when I go out.”

  “Get hit on less,” Tristan offered and Ash nodded. He could understand why. She was fucking hot.

  “Typically I release the ability when I am home, however,” she said, her expression shifting into utter blankness, “you thought I was a man and in being that I was not ready to expose myself to you just yet, I chose to continue to masquerade. After you discovered my vampiric nature…” Ash shrugged lightly. “I simply decided not to change. I had surprised you enough.”

  “That was really you the other night, wasn’t it?” He asked and her eyes widened. “It wasn’t some weird dream about a chick you. It was you.”

  Ash forced herself to relax. “I had told you to wear that charm.”

  “Huh?”

  She looked him straight in the eye. He was instantly uncomfortable. And it had nothing to do with sitting on the floor. “It was a protection charm.”

  “A protection charm? That silly cloth bag?” ‘Wear it against your skin. It will keep the nightmares at bay.’ That’s what she said.

  “Yes,” she said sharply.

  “Well,” he said with a laugh, “it didn't work.” He still had that same old nightmare of that night his family died.