by A K Blake
She wasn’t sure what to make of this outburst. On the hand, it was true the Progressives claimed they knew how to convert humans into vampires, but she had always thought them deranged, their ideas decidedly in the realm of mad science. However, the longer she entertained the idea, the more it made sense. Iona had said she suspected the Progressives of taking Jedrick and faking his death, and this man who seemed to be his father had mentioned the animal corpses she’d seen. What other reason was there for killing so many while leaving the meat intact? Lux wasn’t sure how well a vampire could survive on animal blood, but she imagined it would take quite a lot to add up to a human.
In any case, the theory was easy enough to test. After choking down squirrel blood for so long, any vampire would have a hard time resisting the scent of her optime. She imagined several national newspapers would be interested in this kind of story if she could get proof. None of it seemed very legal, and hurting the Progressives would just be a happy coincidence if she made some money off of the scoop. She did so love a challenge. Maybe this trip would prove more diverting than she’d thought.
“Ok, Mr.?”
“Uro. First name’s Etral.”
“Mr. Uro. I’ll see about this vampire problem for you.”
“You’ll kill it?”
Lux frowned. “That’s not what I said.”
“Well, that’s what we need, a vampire hunter!”
Her response was icy. “I said I’ll see about it. I’m not killing anyone.” Everything about this interaction was rubbing her the wrong way.
He grunted. “Guess we don’t have much choice. Be better if you brought its head on a pike.”
“Look, I realize this is hard for you to wrap your head around, but if that really is your son, he’s still a person. Having fangs doesn’t change who is he.”
“I think I know my own son, and that thing is nothing like him. You’ll see when you find it. Or maybe it will find you.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I know a monster when I see one.” Lux turned to go.
“You leaving the scotch then?”
She considered the bottle. Uncorking it, Lux took a draw, smacking her lips in a big show and wiping her arm with her sleeve. She looked back up at him. “You know, on second thought, I might need a little liquid courage. If I’m going to be hunting vampires and all. You all stay safe in there.” Giving him her biggest, most dazzling smile, she sauntered away.
Taking a few more draws, she stopped when she reached roughly where she’d found the animal massacre, still far enough away that she couldn’t smell it yet. Taking out a tumbler glass she’d planning to use in the village, Lux rolled her sleeve above her veinguard and hit “stream.” Brilliant red sprang from her arm, slopping against the sides, where it glowed like a stained glass window in the dying light. She left a generous amount, almost twice what she’d normally give. But the poor thing certainly seemed in a bad way, and it wasn’t as if anyone else was lining up to buy it. Setting the glass on a tree stump, she sprinkled a few drops around it for good measure.
It was finally getting dark in earnest, and she was tired, having gone all day without vis or matra. She supposed she could grab some from the camper, but it wasn’t every night you met your dead best friend’s ex-boyfriend-turned-vampire. It would be a shame to miss something. Sitting down and setting her spore to record, she waited.
***
Despite her best efforts, Lux was asleep when he arrived, dreaming about Drowan, but it was all mixed up. They were at Madame Pollona’s, her first giver house, and Lux was only thirteen. Drowan kept talking to her about his children and pulling and pulling at her arm until it stretched out like taffy. He wrapped it around his neck like a fleshy, pink scarf, then took a shocksword from his pocket and sliced off her arm at the elbow. The cut end swung freely in the breeze, brilliant and red like a wool-knit pattern. It was a relief to be jolted awake, though she wasn’t sure what had woken her. The cup of blood was where she’d left it, untouched.
Then, in a burst of motion and sound, he appeared.
Jedrick looked nothing like she’d expected. She had pictured a country boy, tanned neck and sloping shoulders. Instead, he was lean and cut, clearly starved from his time in the woods. The lines of his body were sharp through his worn clothes. Far from tan, his white skin practically glowed in the moonlight, his cheeks and the backs of his hands dappled with little brown freckles. A shock of bright auburn hair blurred like fire as he flickered across the clearing. If Iona had mentioned that Jedrick was a redhead, it must have slipped Lux’s mind. She’d always had a thing for red.
There was no mistaking his relation to the man in the village, not with hair like that. But whatever he may have been before, he was certainly a vampire now. He stopped a few feet from the tree stump, sniffing, then his head snapped toward the glass of blood. He flickered forward, stopping just short of touching it. Lux didn’t breathe. Any other vampire would have noticed her by now. She was only about two meters away. But Jedrick didn’t look quite right. There was something crazy about the way his eyes fixated on the cup, his pupils massive with only a thin ring of green, and she could hear heavy breathing almost like panting. His hand shook as he stretched it toward the stump. Putting a finger on one of the spilled droplets, he brought it to his lips, tongue darting out like a chameleon.
The change that came over him was instantaneous. He made a strange noise, a sort of roar and chortle all at once. Snatching up the cup, he began gulping it down, smacking his lips as thick crimson ran down the sides of his mouth, coating his chin and dripping down onto his chest. Stains blossomed across his shirt. Lux thought she could understand now why the villagers called him a demon. He did seem to be a bit off. Maybe this was what happened when you converted a human. Maybe the brain couldn’t handle the change.
Just then, Lux’s spore made a pinging noise. She finally had a signal, what perfect timing. Far, far too slowly, she reached to mute the sound, but she knew already that it was too late. Jedrick’s head snapped up. Throwing the cup to the ground, he flickered forward, stopping just out of arm’s reach. If possible, his eyes went even wider than before. “Who are you? Wait, no, it doesn’t matter. You’ve got to get out of here, it isn’t safe!”
“Hey, look, calm down. It’s ok. My name is Lux, and—”
“Oh no,” he sniffed, “Beneficent Dieda...is this blood yours?” He looked horrified, clutching at his shirt as if that would remove the stains. “You have to get out of here, I can’t be trusted! You don’t understand, I’m not safe!”
“Look, it’s ok. I’m trained in giving blood like this. I can help you. If you’ll just let me—”
“Who sent you, the Progressives? Isn’t it enough what they did to me? Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“Hey, I’m not with the Progressives. I’m here because of Iona. We were friends in the—”
“Iona?” Like his father, Jedrick did not seem happy to hear her name, though his anger seemed tinged with other emotions as well. His face twisted into a frown, his brow furrowed. “She knows I’m here? But then why would she send you instead of—no, it doesn’t matter! If you’re not going to listen to me, then I have to leave. I can’t be trusted, I’m telling you it’s not safe! Get out of here. And I don’t care who sent you, don’t you ever come back!”
With that he disappeared, flickering back the way he had come, though Lux noticed he stopped to scoop up the bloody glass on the way. So then. It seemed Iona’s formerly human lover was a newly minted vampire after all. And, despite his protestations, it was clear he would be back for more. Oh yes. This story had gotten ahold of her now. She was thoroughly intrigued. It was just a shame Iona hadn’t lived to see it all unfold.
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