"Yeah," Samantha said under her breath, looking down while Monica sniffed heavily. She then raised her head and said, "Okay, I don"t want the dinner to get cold, so..."
Claire nodded and gave each friend a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. When she wrapped her arms around Monica, she saw Daniel and Antonius standing up from the couch, still talking to each other quietly. They seemed oblivious to the emotions going on a few feet away from them.
Pulling back, Claire wiped her moist face and went put her coat on. The two men gave their half empty gla.s.ses to Monica who put them in the sink. Samantha didn"t turn around in her seat to give the men acknowledgement.
Claire b.u.t.toned up her wool coat and looked at Daniel. He put his arm around her shoulders and turned to the two other women. "Thank you, ladies. I"ll have Claire call you once we are settled in."
"You take good care of her, Dan," Monica called to him as he began escorting Claire outside. The two girls began to follow them out.
"I promise," he said over his shoulder.
Monica and Samantha followed them out into the cold night. They stayed at the doorway, and watched as Claire got into the pa.s.senger seat with Daniel in the middle, and Antonius in the driver"s seat. He started up the van, and Claire took what could be her final look at her friends. As Antonius backed out of the driveway, she waved at her two best friends and kept her eye on them until she could no longer see them.
Once they were out of sight, she leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes. One tear came from under one eyelid and almost slid down her cheek, before Daniel wiped it away. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
"There"s nothing to be upset about."
Claire only swallowed and sat up straighter. As the van drove onto the nearby expressway towards the Verrazano-Narrows bridge to Brooklyn, where it would go through the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel into Manhattan, Daniel began telling her about the seats he got on the plane, how Casames was already in Paris, and how she would meet his brothers. During this, she could hear him speak, but instead was lost in thought.
When he began talking about the exact date of the transformation, she slowly said, "I want to thank you."
He looked at her. "For what?"
She then realized what was echoing in her head, so she quickly said. "For being understanding tonight. For giving us three some time to ourselves." She placed her hand into his. "It meant a lot to me."
Daniel seemed as if he were mildly surprised with his conduct in the apartment. He rubbed his thumb gently over her hand. "They were your friends. And you will see them again, we"ll just have to be careful with how we do it."
In response, Claire placed her head on his shoulder and he brushed her forehead with his lips, ever so lightly.
Back at the apartment, Samantha was wiping clean the kitchen table while Monica cleaned the dishes.
"I"ll finish up my paper while you check out the apartments, okay?" she said. "I guess we should aim for the first week in January to move in."
"Yeah," Samantha sighed. "Hopefully in this area so you could attend cla.s.ses and I could work at the sports bar without hiking all over the Island."
They were quiet as they continued to clean. Once Monica turned off the kitchen faucet and wiped her hands on the dish towel, she turned and softly said, "This is unreal."
"This?" Samantha shot her a look. "You mean that was unreal."
When her roommate made a face in agreement, Samantha roughly headed over to the garbage can and throw away the damp paper towel. "Seriously, he looked ready to pick a fight with me? Just like that? He really must be a psycho if he acts like Mr. Nice Guy one minute but a douche the next." She went to push the kitchen chairs underneath the table.
"Did you hear what he and...that other guy..."
"Yeah, what was his name again? Wasn"t it another name when we first met him?"
"I"m not sure," Monica shook her head. "That was a while ago."
"Well, whatever. What did they say?"
"I don"t know," she looked pensive. "I didn"t exactly hear them, but I knew it wasn"t English."
Samantha was confused. "Doesn"t Daniel speak a few other languages?"
The other girl nodded. "Yeah, but it sounded like they were speaking Latin. I picked up a few words I remembered from high school." Monica frowned. "Who speaks Latin fluently these days?"
It was Samantha"s turn to look pensive. "Yeah, that does sound weird." She paused before saying, "And why did that other guy act like he needed Claire"s permission to come inside?"
The two young women looked at each other in bewilderment for a moment before Monica finally said, "There"s a lot that doesn"t make sense, but I don"t know if there"s anything we can do about it."
"There isn"t," Samantha sighed as she moved away from the table. "Claire"s practically gone; there"s nothing we can do to help her."
She was about to head for her bedroom when Monica said, "Not unless we try to keep in contact with her."
Her roommate looked as if she was about to disagree with her, but instead she said, "Let"s do that, and see what happens."
After an hour of driving, the van pulled up alongside the apartment building"s front entrance. Claire helped the other two load the elevator with her boxes, which took about an hour to bring from the van to Daniel"s apartment.
Inside, the boxes were piled around the living and dining room for Claire to unpack either tonight or tomorrow. "Your choice," Daniel said. "But I don"t want them to be around tomorrow night."
Claire decided to unpack once they returned from dinner. As she and Daniel left the apartment, Antonius followed them but he was going to catch the train back to Brooklyn for another night of rehearsal with his two lady vampires. He asked Daniel where they were going to eat out.
"That j.a.panese restaurant around the corner," Daniel answered. "Claire likes sushi, so I figured she would want to savor the taste."
Antonius smirked and looked at Claire. "Of course, but who"s to say you"ll want to taste that stuff again?"
Annoyed, she spoke up. "You eat regular food sometimes. I could eat that stuff again."
Leaning in to her, the vampire whispered, "Sure, but after you are transformed, you"re going to want something...more tastier?"
She stared back at him, not saying anything. Antonius just laughed, waved good-bye and walked away. She tried to watch him go, but Daniel took her hand and began leading to her to the restaurant. They walked quietly for a couple of block before arriving at Genki Sushi, a small restaurant that had a few tables free.
Once seated, Claire tried to look over the menu, but could not focus. She could still hear her friends" crying and feel their tears. Most especially, she could hear Samantha"s voice, saying the rhetorical question: didn"t they promise to stick together?
Daniel was examining the low lit restaurant"s j.a.panese decoration. When he finally noticed that she had not raised her head for a while, he reached across and brushed his fingers against her hand. "You okay?"
Claire wanted to scream at him. Of course she was not okay. He had destroyed everything for her. Her friendships, her connections to her family, her life as she knew it was all gone. All in the name of creating another vampire. But she also knew she was defeated in this fight and had to go along with turned out to be her fate.
"I"ll be fine. I just need some time to adjust." That was probably the most honest answer she had given him in a long while.
"I understand," he nodded. "I"ll give you some s.p.a.ce before we fly out to Paris."
"How did you make the arrangements in such a short period of time? As in, the hotel and everything?"
"Oh, there"s no hotel. We"ll be staying in the outskirts of Paris, at the home of Vorternon, the eldest brother. He"ll be conducting the ceremony, since its my first time ever creating a vampire, so its a big deal among us."
"You"re moving up, I guess?" she tried to make a quip, but it sounded too sarcastic.
He didn"t seem to notice. "It"s part of the hierarchy. As you"re more trusted, you get privileges. Of course, if you abuse any of them, you lose them. But I"ve done well in my existence. And here I am."
A waiter came by to take their order. Claire asked for several rolls of sushi, which surprised the young man. Daniel held back a laugh while simply ordering fried rice.
"Hey, I"m here to savor the taste, right?" she said after the waiter left with their menus.
"Yes," Daniel coughed. "I just didn"t think you"d overindulge on it."
As they waited for their dinner, they discussed their freelancing, which made Claire realize that she had fallen behind in her a.s.signments. She almost jumped out of her seat when that dawned on her. Naturally, she had too many distractions.
"Relax," he told her. "It"s due before we leave. You"ve got all day tomorrow to work on it, and you"ll be fine."
"But I"ll do a lousy job and they"ll reject it."
"If that"s the case, tell them you"ve been overwhelmed with something. They"ll buy that. It worked for me." He winked at her.
"But I"m not like you yet, and I can"t burn any bridges."
"You"ll be fine, dear. Please don"t get more upset than you already are."
She got quiet and nodded several times while Daniel talked about his ideas for articles that he would do in January. He also brought up his students" essays, which he got via email earlier in the day. Some of the papers he was impressed with, while the other students clearly showed they did not pay much attention throughout the semester. "But they"re done with. Now I got a month off before dealing with another group of brats."
"You didn"t get the Intro to Playwriting?"
"I didn"t, unfortunately," Daniel almost snapped. "I"m going to start looking for another school to teach at. I"m not getting anywhere."
Their dishes came and the two ate. He mainly poked at his rice while watching Claire slowly eat her large plate of sushi. Knowing she probably wouldn"t taste the raw fish rolled with vegetables and rice either again or the same way, she took her time chewing and swallowing. But holding onto the flavor almost proved futile. She could not chew forever and as soon as the sushi went down her throat, the taste lasted for brief seconds in her mouth. If only there was a way she could stop the world so she could relish in her dinner. Such was the way of the world.
It was nearly 10 PM when they returned to the apartment. Claire began to open the boxes while Daniel got on the phone with Michel and Hilde. At first he spoke to them in medieval French, but he switched to modern English when he said, "She"ll be fine here, but if you want to keep an eye on her, you"re welcome to come."
Claire froze at first, then she glanced up. Daniel was looking at her intensely. That was Hilde he was talking to, and he was asking to come over to watch her in case she ran away. What was this? Did Daniel really distrust her this much?
He continued the phone conversation in his favorite language for a few more minutes before hanging up. Running his hand through his hair, he said, "Michel and I are going out for an hour. Hilde already hunted so, she opted to come over and spend time with you. It"s not that I don"t trust you; I just feel you would want some company."
"But she and I don"t really get along," Claire said, still on the floor by the boxes. "Why would she want to hang out with me?"
He threw his hands up. "You got me. Hilde isn"t the most predictable person, so might as well get used to it."
Claire thought back on the last time Hilde spent time alone with her, and cringed at the memory of kissing her while drunk. She vowed not to get wasted on wine this time so she could function well around Hilde.
Fifteen minutes later, Daniel buzzed the vampires up to the apartment and they were at the door in moments. As before, when they entered, they exchanged with Daniel friendly kisses with Daniel. When Michel approached Claire, who was standing next to Daniel, he leaned in to kiss her. At first she stiffened, but then responded to the kiss, albeit limply. Hilde simply gave her a peck on the cheek.
Hilde was quick to shoo away the two men so she could help prepare Claire for her transition. "I"m the oldest here, so I ought to have that responsibility."
"Isn"t that my role?" Daniel didn"t look pleased.
"Yes, dear," Hilde said, mockingly flirtatious. "But she"s going to need some female companionship. She"s not going to see those other two girls again now, is she?"
Those words stabbed Claire in the heart. She knew it was true all along, but wanted to believe there was hope.
The other two vampires left the apartment and Hilde locked the door behind them. She turned to Claire and asked if she wanted any wine.
"No thanks," she said. "I"m still full from dinner."
"Ah," Hilde seemed defeated, but quickly said, "Shall I help you unpack?"
Shrugging, Claire allowed her to help with emptying the box she was working on. It was filled with books, and was not the only box which held nothing but them. Hilde asked her why she didn"t have an eBook reader.
"I can"t afford one," she said as she started piling the hardcovers on the floor. "And my parents weren"t the type to spoil me."
"Well, that will change very shortly," Hilde pretended to examine the back of one book before setting it down. "After all, Daniel did pretty well for himself."
"Yeah, I can tell, with his art work and that necklace he gave me."
"Oh that is nothing!" Hilde laughed as she placed herself in a kneeling position. "He"s very smart, not just with writing and languages. He has a very sharp mind that he has kept hidden from you. But now since you"ll be one of us soon, you"ll get the idea."
Claire slowed down from unpacking her books. She knew Hilde was right. Before he revealed himself as a vampire, she thought she knew everything about Daniel; he was a lover of art, drama and reporting, that was simple. But after his revelation, she saw there was a lot more, besides his vampiric nature. There was a shrewd gleam in his eyes, calculating each and every move. Claire had especially seen it the other night with Casames around. The way Daniel answered to the elder vampire, the way he presented Claire and gave her the necklace, it was all done to show off to the other vampires in the room. As if to brag about his newfound status, something he said wasn"t given to many. She could see it now, that subtle proud tone, the way he smiled at her. Before, she was too tense from Casames" presence and his story on how vampires were first created. But upon reflection, those gestures were bright and clear.
Hilde glanced up from taking a couple of books. She looked a little concerned, though Claire didn"t want to believe it was authentic, even when she continued to speak.
"I"m proud that Daniel is going to be a Defender of the Blood. He is loyal to the Five and obeys their laws, which aren"t many. He"s also a quick thinker and a good a.s.set for all of us. He"s come a long way.
"I remember when I first met him, back before the Black Death," she said in a wistful voice. "He was so lost and unhappy. He was in a miserable marriage and had no place in society. I pitied him and wanted to give him the chance to be free from all that. I could tell when we talked that he wanted to fight against his place in the world. Being a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, even that of a n.o.bleman, was inexcusable. No one cared that it wasn"t his fault who his parents were. He was born out of wedlock and he was destined for h.e.l.l no matter what. That made him angry, that he didn"t stand a chance with anyone, alive or dead. Boy, did he want to fight that. I think that was what made me attracted to him, his fighting spirit.
"Anyway, when I made him a vampire, he soon realized he was free from that world and could be treated equally among us. He relished in his freedom, spending decades and decades enjoying happiness for the first time in his existence. He had no more fears, he was no longer sneered at. He was free."
Claire nodded. "Yeah, he told me that. He really emphasized how unhappy he was before he was made a vampire, and how free he felt." She paused. "I understood a little. I mean, I had a strict Catholic upbringing and when I went away to college, I made a huge effort to forget about all I was taught. It was all done to manipulate and terrorize people. Once I realized that, I felt liberated."
"Perhaps," Hilde twisted a piece of blond hair around one finger distractedly. "But I don"t think you"ll ever understand what life was like for a b.a.s.t.a.r.d in the Middle Ages. You are from freer times where illegitimate children are not looked down upon. I think it will take you years to absorb and understand what Daniel went through before he was transformed."
Claire paused and nodded again. "Yeah, that makes sense." She had to agree.
Patting a book that was resting on her lap before sliding it onto the floor, Hilde had a faraway look in her eyes. For once, Claire had a feeling she was being honest with her. The way she fingered her hair and stared into s.p.a.ce made her believe that maybe this vampire was willing to finally be welcoming towards her.
Unless, of course, centuries had allowed Hilde to master the art of acting and manipulating mortals.
The vampire stopped twisting her hair abruptly and looked at Claire with a hard gleam. She had heard her thoughts and was visibly annoyed. There was silence between the two, as Claire waited for Hilde to make the first move.
Lowering her hand from her hair, she took a deep breath and said, "You know that I never really trusted you. I wanted Daniel to make sure he was making the right choice with you. That"s because I"d known Henry for quite some time. You know, that vampire who didn"t obey the rules, was almost caught by detectives and nearly ruined everything for us?"
Claire gestured her to continue.
"Well, Henry was a big mistake. He was irresponsible before he was made, and he got worse with his newfound freedom and powers. It was all bad judgment to choose him. Since there has always been people hunting for vampires since the Five Brothers, we all had to be careful around the detectives, police, you name it. We used our mind tricks to get many to believe that vampires really don"t exist, but there were just so many people. Those that slipped the cracks became hunters.
"As you probably know, there are secret units with many police departments in major cities all over the world. New York has had one since the turn of the 20th century. They were on our case by the time the new millennium came because of the d.a.m.n technology that made tracking down killers easier. And also because of Henry. He was from London and madeby one of us in the 1800s. He was about nineteen. For decades, he stayed with his maker, being obedient, traveling the world with that person as new vampires are supposed to." Hilde emphasized her voice at those final words.
"But then, in the 1970s, he wanted his freedom. The whole world had changed and it was more free than it had ever been. s.e.x was more out in the open, music became more fun, partying was available for all people. Henry wanted to take part in it, instead of observing it from the outside. It made perfect sense to all of us because we noticed the change. Before, we had hedonism all to ourselves, but now the world was like us in many ways. I guess religion mattered less and there was no stopping anyone anymore. It was time to have fun.
"So, Henry begged to be on his own. He wanted to mingle more with mortals to absorb this new world. But his maker refused mostly because the Brothers give the final word on who gets to be on their own, and they didn"t like Henry"s suggestion. But he kept fighting with his maker until eventually it wasn"t worth it anymore. The two split and he went out on his own. That was about twenty years ago.
Claire was confused. "If the Brothers give the final word, how did they split?"