by D. R. Perry
“Go. I’ll talk to you some other time.” Bianca waved the backs of her hands at me in a shooing gesture.
I nodded, not bothering to try to explain to Bianca that she wouldn’t remember me next time. I had a vampire to catch. Coincidence made certain events more likely to repeat, but it couldn’t be that absolute. Lynn had beaten that devil only two weeks earlier. I had to hope I could, too.
Chapter Five
Henry
My thoughts were in the past, remembering the night Dahlia died and the book found its way back to Providence with me. My feet were on auto-pilot, and I focused my hearing on the tinny Walkman headset’s tones of Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus. I kept on walking down College Hill all the way to Weybosset Street. I headed further down into the city until the rattle and thud of a drum set and seriously amped-up bass guitar drowned out my music.
I turned left on Empire Street and stopped in front of a bank of flier-festooned windows. The chalkboard sandwich sign in front of the AS-220 billed a cover band, The Mission of Sisters. They were a Goth tribute, covering all the classic Post-Punk pioneers. I laughed so hard I coughed, leaning on one hand against the red brick between entrances. Irony was a church, this bitter laughter my solitary prayer. When I got some semblance of control over my hitching sides, I pulled a black cardboard pack of clove cigarettes from my jacket’s inside pocket. My Zippo followed.
A flick and a puff sent me even further back in time. The memory shift was like the one time I’d been given morphine in the hospital, all leg-loosening wobble and white-cotton haze. Drugs didn’t affect vampires unless we fed on someone inebriated enough to need medical attention. I didn’t want or need them. Memory was my poison, the only substance I could use now.
With my eyes closed to the high-polished flat-ironed hairstyles and yoga pants as clubwear, I could almost pretend it was still 1985. The illusion would break the second I opened my eyes to find an empty wall instead of her and Neil leaning nearby, limbs a tangle of comfortable affection. Neil was a Null Magus, whose powers saw through and stopped other spells. He’d been the only one of our old circle to keep in touch after she died and I turned. Cancer had gotten him back in 2004. Nothing I remembered or imagined would ever bring them back.
I held the clove so loosely, I could barely feel the papery filter between my fingers. At first, I thought I’d dropped the cigarette. When a puff of smoke and unmistakable vapor of living breath met my nose, I knew better. I opened my eyes to see Maddie, of course. Her satchel bulged with the weight and breadth of the book Dahlia’s ghost had entrusted to her. I wondered why she’d wanted Maddie to have it instead of her sister, Headmistress Thurston. She had no idea how heavy that book really was, and she shouldn’t be carrying it. I should be nothing to her but some guy who helped her pass a class. I was dangerous, not just because I drank blood, but because of coincidence. She risked potentially fatal bad luck just by having me around.
“Sorry for stealing your smoky treat.” She took another puff. “They remind me of home. Dad smokes these.”
“He shouldn’t. They’ll kill him.” I held out my hand, a wordless request to get my cigarette back.
“They can’t.” She shook her head, puffed again, then exhaled a stream of smoke through her nose. “He’s a vampire, like you. Turned back when I was two.”
“I’m sorry.” I pulled the pack and the Zippo from my pocket, lighting up a replacement for the smoke she’d bummed.
“Why?” Maddie’s gaze pinned me with frank curiosity, like a bug to a specimen card.
“All the natural and man-made restrictions. The world is cruel to vampires, with good reason.” I stared back, wounded by her interest. If she wanted the truth, I’d give it to her. “Kind of sucks for your family, doesn’t it?”
“Dad’s worth it, dealing with all that.” She turned her head to take another drag, but still managed to keep her eyes on mine the whole time. “Doesn’t your family feel the same way?”
“I don’t have a family anymore.” Even though I barely whispered it, she heard my confession.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” Closing my eyes, I kept a tighter grip on my cigarette this time after taking a drag. “They’re all in a better place than I am now.”
“You have friends.”
“Not so much.” I opened my eyes, stared down into hers as though I could find what she meant in there.
“Tony, Bobby, Blaine, and Lynn are good people.” She arched one eyebrow. “Even though I have to repeat myself every time we meet, I consider them friends. Why not you?”
“They could be if I let them. In the ever-popular words of Tony, ’Ain’t happening.’”
“Fine. If the people busting their behinds to figure out how to stop a Summoner from trying to kill you aren’t enough, what about me?” She stubbed out her cigarette on the wall, then tossed the butt in a can. “I went back to where you got attacked, then chased you halfway across town. Pretty friendly, huh?”
I had nothing to say to that. She’d stepped in front of a stake for me. I’d never really understood why anyone did that sort of thing. I froze up when things got dangerous, relying on the bravery of others. It wore me out. Maddie gazed up at me through a haze of smoke, her eyes shining between thick, dark lashes. I felt like I owed her an answer.
“Surgeon General says being my friend is hazardous to your health. The reason I don’t have any from back in the day is that the ones who stuck around ended up dead.” I took a drag, grimacing as I tasted filter. “The ones who ditched me went on to do very well for themselves.”
“Hazardous friendship is better than none at all.” She plucked the stubby butt from me, tamping it out and tossing it to join the one she’d finished. “And the last time I checked, you were the one getting attacked, not me.”
“Grims go after anyone around. You saw what it did to the Lounge.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“It’d have a serious problem attacking a Magus with Umbral Affinity, even one as inexperienced as me.” Her smile wasn’t punctuated by fangs like mine but looked just as predatory. “Grims are pure shadow. I could hide from one for years, and with more study, I could eat one for breakfast. And if I had its Anchor, it'd be toast.”
“Good point. But still. I drink the blood of the living. Not exactly a safe friend to have.”
“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “I brought my dad his sundown pick-me-up until I left for school. No one sees me coming or remembers where I’ve been. If I wanted to, I’d be more dangerous than you. Next argument.”
“I remember you.” I slouched against the wall. “Always will. And there are other types of exceptions to your forgettable rule that could happen.”
“Yeah, but I’m not likely to join a wolf shifter's pack or trade in the brainiac roommate for a Faerie one. Even you wouldn’t be able to see me when I’m hidden.”
“Touché.” I was still too depressed to smile, but I stood up straighter.
“Are they playing This Corrosion?” Maddie glanced over her shoulder at the chalked sign. “Suffering Shadows, they are!” She dug around in her bag.
“What are you doing?” I pushed off from the wall.
“Getting five bucks so I can pay the cover and go dance.” Maddie pulled her hand out of her bag, gripping Lynn’s notebook instead of a wallet. She dropped it back in and tried again.
“Stop that.” I put my hand on her arm.
“I’m going in there and having fun while people can still see me, Henry.” She stopped rummaging, blinking up at me. I could sense her blush even though I could barely see it.
“As you should.” I held out my arm. “But I’m paying. It’s the least I can do for someone who followed me all the way down here just to drag me out of my funk.”
“No Funk. Post-Punk.” She smiled and took my arm. I thought she felt feverish even through the thick leather of my jacket. We walked up to the entrance and through it, then past the bar and to the door leading into the venue
. They asked for our ID, and I tried not to look too relieved to see them put a yellow plastic bracelet on Maddie’s wrist. She was over twenty-one. At some point, I’d ask her why she started school so late, but now wasn’t the time.
As we stepped into the dim room where the band played, she immediately moved to the music. I straightened my arm, letting her go to the middle of the space in front of the stage. I hadn’t danced since the Twentieth Century. It’d take more than this to get me out on anything resembling a dance floor after all that time.
I headed off to the edges of the room, nearly running into the table with the band’s merchandise on it. I picked up a card with a web address on it, shaking my head and musing. Even five years ago, they would have had stacks of CDs instead of cards with QR codes and coupons for downloads. I could read in the dark that they had both covers and original material available online. Maybe I’d check out some of their original music. They seemed to know and love the old-school stuff, and I had found nothing new I liked listening to in a long time. Even the campus band Night Creatures hadn’t impressed me much. They sounded like Fall Out Boy.
After pocketing the card, I glanced up at the band. They looked more Emo than Goth, but that probably had more to do with their budget than tastes. This Corrosion ended, and I recognized the opening riff of Swamp Thing by The Chameleons. A head of riotously curly black hair turned. My eyes met Maddie’s and her smile nearly blinded me, even in that dim room. I only closed my eyes for a second, and then I stepped across the invisible line that divides those who do from those who do not. I danced.
Decades fell away again. The only real difference I felt between past and present was the lack of an aridly fragrant stale smoke atmosphere between us and the drop-ceiling. I couldn’t forget everything that came after the days I breathed for reasons besides speech or meditation, but I decided I’d take what I could get. Close was enough for me. My lips moved along with words I thought I’d worn out over the last thirty years.
This time, I was the one who made eye contact. She looked away first, but only as far away from my eyes as my lips. I glanced down to see hers moving, too. We lip-synced in unison about whether storms came or just showers.
The music took me and I spun on my heel, my body making movements nearly as automatic as the shapes of the lyrics on my lips. When I turned back again, I tried to find Maddie. She’d vanished. It wasn’t just a trick of the light or an Umbral memory lapse. A spike of fresh and cold wintry air met my nose. It came from the back of the room. I followed it and found a door marked “Exit Only.” I shouldered through.
It only took a moment for the red to overtake the edges of my vision. I had to get my blood-lust under control before I killed someone and got myself exposed to the sun. Rhode Island didn’t have capital punishment, but people willing to “daylight” a vampire lived all over the world. They didn’t care much about the laws on the books. Ironic that I had to watch every move I made while people like that got away with a slap on the wrist for murder.
The heady copper scent of human blood threatened to distract me as I dragged the rubberized nose clip out of my pocket. My Extrahuman sense of smell was always on, but not breathing wasn’t enough to block out the scent of blood. Sometimes it was more like a curse than a special power.
I’d just about gotten myself under control, still following the anguishing and familiar blood scent. I focused on enhancing my hearing just in time to pick up a muffled cuss word. I stopped trying to move like a human and made a leap for the source of the sound. Rough brick walls whizzed past on either side until I landed five feet away from Maddie and the piece of shit who had her pinned against the wall.
“Your wallet’s in here somewhere, freak.” The mugger’s free hand rummaged in her satchel.
“You’re never finding it, bozo.” I could barely believe my ears. Maddie’ sounded more like an angry shifter than a frightened magus. “If I want, I can make it so you’ll never find anything again.”
I had no idea whether she was bluffing. My psychic powers had never leaned toward lie detection. I stepped closer, hissing and baring my fangs.
“You think your vampire pal’s going to scare me?” The thief flipped his hand over, revealing a tattoo in the shape of a crucifix. His middle finger shot straight up in the air as though for good measure.
“Oh, give me a break.” I rolled my eyes. “Really?” I pulled my arm back and curled my hand into a fist, ready to give the attacker a right hook. “After all this time, people still think that works? I'm Protestant, and fisticuffs never go out of style, pal.”
“Don’t you dare touch him. I won’t be the reason you go to jail.” Maddie’s eyes flashed with deep, dark anger. And then, that deep darkness grew.
I had to step back to avoid it, but still, I peered toward them as the darkness emanating from Maddie’s eyes enveloped them both. I heard a choked cry and then the staccato bass sound of sobbing. With my vampiric hearing, I knew right away that was the attacker.
The softly hollow click of chunky boot heels was the next sound I heard, then a murmur as she deactivated the amulet. A shadow emerged from the bruise-purple cloud of darkness at the end of the alley. Its shape sharpened and clarified into a petite feminine form. Maddie slipped her arm under mine, forcing me to either turn and leave with her or let go. I chose the former.
“I’m sorry.” She adjusted her satchel strap on her shoulder. “I was trying to improve your night, but got the opposite result.”
“I’m a little scared to say this to you right now, but you’re wrong.” If my heart could beat, it might have broken out of my chest just then.
“Oh?” Maddie glanced up at me.
“Yeah. This is the most interesting night I’ve had in decades.” I grinned down at her.
“Interesting in the Confucian sense?” That eyebrow and one corner of her mouth tilted up in tandem.
“All that and a bag of Eastern philosophy.” I let her escort me all the way up Empire Street to Weybosset. “Thanks, by the way.”
“You’re welcome, I guess.” She pointed to the chain still hanging around her neck. “I thought I shut this off. Wearing it to go out dancing was probably a bad idea.”
“How so?”
“I’m not used to watching my surroundings like that. I thought that guy was marking someone else.” A little rill of laughter escaped her throat. “I forgot I wasn’t forgettable.”
“Aren’t you worried he’ll want revenge or something?” I looked over my shoulder.
“Nah. He won’t remember me.” She shivered a little. I resisted the urge to put my arm around her.
“Wow.” I walked on with her in silence, unable to come up with the right words until we passed The Arcade. “You weren’t kidding about Umbral magic. If you’re this competent, why bother with lab classes? The Headmistress would probably let you test out of those.”
“I want to take them, learn more about Magic Theory first-hand, and see other schools of magic in action. I need to master control, too. I can only really use my powers when something’s got me upset. That’s sloppy, not competent.”
“I understand.”
“Of course, you do. It takes vampires at least two years to get a handle on things, right?”
“Even longer if they’re on their own.”
“Is that what happened to you?”
“Sort of.” I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to tell her. “Things were different before the Big Reveal. Some vampires back then thought it was a measure of strength to see how long the newly turned could fend for themselves. Kind of like free-range parenting, but completely different.”
“Oh.” Maddie gripped my arm tighter. I’d expected the opposite. “Dad had help the whole time.”
“And of course, he had your mom to help him.”
“Nope.”
“Wait. So he’s the Magus and then got turned.”
“Guess again.” Maddie’s lips wore a smile, and her tone was still light. “Mom’s a Psychic. Precog
.”
“Huh. I’m stumped.”
“It’s okay. My great-aunt was the one who inherited Grandma’s powers, but she died before I was born. I’ve had no training at all. Grandma pissed off the Sidhe Queen. Some Seelie hound called a Spite ate most of her powers. She tried showing me a few little things, but I learned more from her books, to be honest.”
“So that’s why you’re here at PPC.”
“Exactamundo.”
“Gesundheit.”
Our laughter mingled all the way up College Hill. I walked her all the way to her dorm, reminding her to keep the amulet off until she needed to use it for class. She nodded, backing up on the steps outside the dorm until she was my height. Her smile was open, genuine. I hadn’t even wanted to kiss anyone since last century. I couldn’t stop myself and leaned in, brushing my lips lightly against hers.
Maddie ran her hands lightly down the back of my head, brushing through my hair before coming to rest gently on my shoulders. I wanted more from her than I could even imagine asking. The pricking of my fangs against the inside of my lower lip warned me not to let this go any further. I hadn’t fed in over twenty-four hours and drinking from a human in public could get six months in prison.
I tried not to notice the way she watched my face when I mentioned I had to go home and get a drink but failed miserably. Maddie looked as hungry as I felt. Her disappointment was palpable as I excused myself for the rest of the evening. I ought to try to avoid her in the future, but I had one problem. The psychic impression I’d made of her was indelible. I’d never be able to forget Maddie May, no matter how much I wanted to or what I did.
Chapter Six
Maddie
“Jeez, Maddie. What are you, hungover?” I hadn’t heard my alarm going off until Lynn picked up my phone. “Get dressed and down to the dining hall stat or you won’t make it to class on time.”
Instead of turning off the chime blaring out from my phone, she dropped it next to my head on the pillow. I sat up and tapped the button on the screen to shut it down. Rubbing my eyes and yawning, I wondered why I felt so tired. I hadn’t had time for a drink. Then, I remembered the mugger, and Henry kissing me. That worked on my drowsiness like intravenous coffee.
