Michael stepped inside the door and scanned about. The living room of the house was already filled with party goers, all of them in costume. Michael saw everything: elaborate cosplay anime characters, a few “sexy” versions of normal costume fare, even a guy in a sheet pretending to be a ghost. It was a Halloween party, one open to the public but largely attended by university students from Villanova.
Michael had sent Mitch and Boar onto campus over the past several days to see what they could find in this regard. He gambled that the mage who lorded over the campus in secret would take no notice of two seemingly-mortal intruders into his territory. They had come back with news of the party, held at a home in Conshohocken, just a little ways north of the campus, outside walking distance certainly, but not too far for a SEPTA ride.
“So why are we here again?” asked Boar. He was costumed as a pirate and looked rather dashing in his period outfit.
“To have a little fun.” Michael admitted. His costume was more generic, at least for him: a long black trench coat with a variety of toy guns (and one real one) tied around his waist. Dyed black hair and sunglasses completed the Neo from The Matrix movie look for him.
“I can live with that.” Mitch admitted. His costume was the most original. Army fatigues, with a replica M41A Pulse Rifle from the movie Aliens over his back. On his pants, he’d made a pouch for his Palm Pilot PDA device, making it look like some manner of military electronic device. He’d also added a few other various props from scavenged electronics, completing his techo-soldier costume.
The three of them turned heads as they entered, but after the initial “wow” at their costumes, most people turned back to their drinks and their conversations. “Good,” Michael thought. “Let them take notice of us but not too much.”
“There is one other reason we’re here.” Michael reiterated to his companions. “Talk, listen, meet people, and see if we can find any clue as to identity of the wizard who claims mastery over Villanova’s campus.”
“That won’t be easy.” said Boar.
“I know.” Michael admitted. “But do what you can. Make friends, score a girl or two. We may not learn much tonight, but we have to start somewhere.”
“This would easier with a mind-reader.” Mitch commented. “Like Sarah.”
“We’re not exactly on the best of terms right now.” Michael growled. “I asked. She wanted to stay behind.”
“Alone?” wondered Boar.
“Julia will keep her out of trouble...and Solomon. I believe Julia’s got another combat lesson tonight with him.”
“Probably didn’t ask nicely enough.” grumbled Mitch under his breath.
“What was that?” replied Michael angrily.
“You keep acting like you’re the wounded party in your little spat.”
“You’re one to talk. You’re as much a part of this as...”
“Guys! Enough!” interrupted Boar forcefully.
“Fine. I screwed up.” confessed Mitch. “I admit it. I was stupid. But so were you, Michael. Did you even think for one second what a shock it was going to be for her to learn that Rebecca was here? You should have told her.”
“There wasn’t time. She was in torpor, remember? And the first thing she did after waking up didn’t exactly endear me to the two of you.”
“How many times do I have to admit I fucked that up? How many times do I have to apologize? At least I’ve repented, fessed up about what I did wrong. You might find doing the same with Sarah will get you back in her good graces. But you seem determined to hold a grudge against the both of us. Not smart, given what we’re facing.” Having spoken his mind, Mitch gave Michael a dismissive gesture and walked away. “I’m getting a drink.” They heard him say as he wandered off.
Now Michael was in a sour mood again. Michael opened his mouth to let out some manner of curse or complaint, but Boar cut him off.
“Would you stop it?” said Boar, his own patience growing thin. “Mitch is right. You are being way too hard on two of the three people in this world who trust, respect, and love you more than anything. He made a mistake and he’s owned up to it. But you haven’t owned up to yours.”
“It wasn’t a mistake. There wasn’t time to fully brief Sarah on why we came here before we had to appear before the Prince.”
“I recognize that, but you also need to understand how this looks to her. You refuse to because you want to use Rebecca as a bludgeon against Sarah for sleeping with Mitch. Stop looking for reasons to hate us. The three of us would follow you into hell. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“You all have a funny way of showing loyalty. Each one of you second-guesses me all the time.”
“Do you truly want us to just be yes-men? Sycophants who only tell you what you want to hear, instead of what you need to hear? You’re impulsive, Michael, and there are times when that’s appropriate and it works out for the best. But there are also a lot of times when you, in particular, can benefit from hearing a Devil’s advocate. This is one of them. What’s that line from that god awful boring Star Trek movie you like so much? An XO’s duty is to point out other options.”
“Captain, as your XO, it is my duty to point out alternatives.” Michael corrected the quote for him, from the first Star Trek movie.
“The point stands.”
Michael nodded. “Alright. I’ll stop blaming Mitch and Sarah for their tryst. I guess I didn’t realize how much that hurt. I didn’t want to admit just how angry it made me.” He paused. “I didn’t want to believe I was that big of a hypocrite. To be that unfair.”
“That’s more like it. Finally, a moment of honesty. Well, there’s been more than enough pain inflicted on all of you by all of you lately. I’m the bystander and it hurts me to see all of it. Long past time it stopped. Now, what you just admitted to me, you need to say to Mitch and you need to say it to Sarah. And you also need to make some sort of amends for shocking her about Rebecca.”
“Very well.” Michael agreed. “I’ll do that. But can we get back to the party? I didn’t expect this to turn into a therapy session.”
---
Paul sat in his apartment staring into a computer monitor, his face aglow with its light in the dark room. On screen was a diagram of a communications satellite, the same one his sire had been investigating at Langley the month before. But like Dylan, Paul saw nothing out of the ordinary.
There came a timid knock at the front door. “It’s not locked.” Paul bellowed out. But he did not hear the door open, only another knock that followed a moment later. Annoyed, he got up and went to the door and opened it.
Kathleen jumped when the door swung open, as if surprised to see someone open a door at her knocking. Paul dismissed her reaction and growled an impatient “What do you want?”
“I...thought...” she stammered shyly. “...Michael’s apartment.”
“Next floor up.” Paul gestured. “He and Sarah live up there. Apartment 32.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“I doubt he’s home. I think I saw him and his two friends head out in Halloween costumes earlier.”
“Oh...” Kathleen grew crestfallen.
“Why don’t you come in?”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Kathleen, stop it. You’re not.”
Kathleen wandered inside. “You don’t have to be so nice to me. No one else is.”
“But I am.” said Paul softly.
“Everyone else is afraid of me. You just feel sorry for me. I’m not sure which is worse.”
“Fine.” said Paul with exasperation. “If you want to want to have a little pity party, be my guest.” He paused. “Why did you want to see Michael anyway?”
“I don’t know.” Kathleen answered. “He told me to come here.”
“Michael summoned you?”
“No. I don’t think so. Maybe.”
That seemed odd to Paul, but he’d long ago stopped trying to figure out their little group’s so-called leader. “Well, I know he’s out.” he repeated. “Make yourself at home. I’m working on something in the back room, so if you’ll excuse me.” Paul wandered back to his computer. Kathleen followed.
Inside the computer room was a twin bed and Kathleen crawled up on top of it and sat lotus-style to watch Paul at his work. “What are you doing?” she asked after a few minutes.
“Something Dylan wanted me to look at. This is one of Comcast’s new transmission satellites, a huge project they’ve been putting together for a couple of years now. Big expansion of their network. Dylan thinks there’s something funny about these satellites, but neither he nor I can figure out what.” Paul let out his breath in frustration. “I wish I could figure it out.”
“Why?”
“Dylan turned me because he found out I work, or rather worked, for Comcast. Inside track and all that. So far, it’s kinda helped. I’ve been able to pull up this stuff with some old passwords they haven’t changed since I ‘disappeared.’ I figure if I can scratch his back and get him what he wants, maybe he’ll scratch mine.”
“And what do you want from him?”
“It's a long story. Anyway, I largely grew up without my mom. It was weird. According to what my Dad used to tell me, she’d show up, they’d fuck like rabbits for weeks, she’d get pregnant, she’d live with him through the pregnancy, and then take off once the baby was born, leaving the kid behind. She did that twice, once with me and then once with my sister Janice and then never came back.
“So, Dad did the best he could with the two of us. We were all really close. Dad was really big on teaching me to protect my sister, to take care of her. ‘She doesn’t have a Mom,’ he used to say. ‘She needs you all the more and it’s the duty of the strong to protect the weak.’”
“I’m guessing something happened.”
“Well, Dad got cancer when I was 22, right out of college. He was friends with some folks in the Rigas family and got me a job with Adelphia and I worked there while taking care of him. Janice, for whatever reason, decided to run away from home around that time. I was caught. Trapped. I couldn’t leave Dad. I couldn’t...” His voice trailed off, his tone full of regret and frustration.
“Anyway, Dad died about a year later.” said Paul after a brief pause. “I also got word that Janice might be here in Philadelphia. So I pulled some strings and got a job down here with Comcast. Started asking around about my sister, trying to find her. That made me cross paths with some of the wrong people and I ended up in that burglary ring that got me turned into a vampire.
“So, that’s my story. I’m just some IT guy who came to Philly to find his sister and ended up a vampire. But I figure if I get Dylan what he wants, he’ll help me find her.”
“And what will she do when she learns what you’ve become?”
“I don’t know.” Paul looked at her. “So what’s your story, Kathleen?”
“My life isn’t nearly as exciting as all that. I was just an odd awkward kid growing up. Too damn smart for my own good. I graduated high school at 16, had my MD at 21. The only medicine I was really good at was forensics. After all, the dead don’t talk to you.”
“Why are you so timid around people?”
“I don’t know. I just always have been. Look at me. I’m not pretty. I’m not sexy. I’m boring. I’m pathetic. Nobody likes a nerd. I’ve lived with the envy of others all my life. They all wanted to be smart like me, when all I wanted was to be like them. Comfortable, pretty....happy.”
“You’re far too hard on yourself. Things aren’t always what they seem. My story is a long way from happy, if you hadn’t noticed. Worse now, in a lot of ways, after what’s been done to me.”
Kathleen gave a grim chuckle in reply to that. “The same for me. It was bad enough as a human. But now I’m kindred, the childe of a monster everyone is terrified of. And because of who he is, I’m now the center of attention in a world of predators and monsters. If I thought the scorn of my schoolmates was bad, the glares of a hundred vicious and frightened vampires is far worse.
“And then there’s the voices. Sometimes I think it is my sire. Sometimes I can’t tell. Telling me to go places. To do things. To talk to people. I don’t know how to do all that. I’m no good at it. I’m a person of books and science, of logic and predictability. People aren’t predictable. They frighten me. And I don’t know what to do with myself half the time. I’m just so lost sometimes.”
“I’ve met my fair share of awkward folks. Shy folks.” said Paul sympathetically. “You’re right. People are kinda unpredictable at times. And having a sire who is, from what I’ve heard, the embodiment of chaos doesn’t help matters much.”
He reached out and took her in hand. Her eyes flashed in fear at his touch, but he held fast. “Look at me.” He demanded, forcing her to look him in the eyes for the first time. “We may be unpredictable, but we’re not all villains. Yes, I am a vampire and yes, there were times when I could be a bit of a bully as a kid. But I loved my father and I love my sister. And every one of us crazy unpredictable people has something in them that’s good. Even you. You’re smart. Stop being embarrassed about that.” He reached up and brushed back a bit of her long stringy hair. “You’re also not as ugly as you think. Your eyes are beautiful.”
Kathleen smiled faintly at his praise. “You’re just saying that to be nice.”
“And that’s the sort of thing you need to stop. Presuming all these ulterior motives. I don’t lie to people, Kathleen. I meant what I said.”
“Others lie. People have lied to me all my life.”
“You’ve got to learn to take that risk. It’s how the rest of us have gotten where we are. You won’t find happiness hiding away from life. You’ve got to let go of your fear and take a leap of faith from time to time. Trust people. Trust what they say. Will it backfire on you? Sure, from time to time, but when it doesn’t that’s when you realize it’s been worth it.
“Look. I’ll make you a deal. You and I seem to be the orphans, as they say. Everyone knows who your sire is but don’t want to admit it out of some superstitious fear. Everyone in Michael’s little group knows Dylan is my sire, but they can’t admit to it because the Prince will retaliate. Something about a rule or a law that can’t be broken. Either way, we’re kinda alone. It makes sense that you and I should be allies in all this. Partners....”
“...friends.” Kathleen finished.
“Sure.” said Paul with a smile. “Look at it this way. I’ll be your life coach. I’ll do my damnest to get you out of that little shell you’ve been living in and get you a taste of what life can really be. Hell, you just might find some happiness along the way.”
----
Michael found himself a beer, or at least some pale tasteless facsimile of one, and parked himself against a wall, acting too-cool-for-school and seeing what happened. Of course, he’d willed his powers to life, making himself appealing and unavoidable by the benefit of his vampiric nature. It seemed to have worked. A cute blonde in glasses, dressed like a mermaid with a bikini top and a long shimmering blue skirt, began staring at him. Michael drank her in as she began to walk towards him.
Mitch swooped in and caught the girl by the wrist. “Hey, let’s dance.” He insisted, urging her to go out to the back yard and join the party out on the lawn. Michael merely smiled as Mitch pulled the girl away. “Let him win a round,” Michael figured. “I’ll take the sloppy seconds this time.”
With that near-miss, Michael decided to change venues. The dance party outside was even less subdued than the drinking-game festivities of the interior, so he followed some distance behind Mitch and his new paramour.
He scanned about, looking for a new victim. There was a good hundred or so people out back, all dancing to a hired DJ spinning Comin’ Back by Crystal Method, a some dark dance track that met Michael’s approval. With the noise, Michael wondered how long it would take before the cops were called out.
He finished his lousy beer and tossed the cup into a nearby trash barrel. It was then that he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Three people, in the shadows around the bend of the house, gesturing animatedly. With the noise of the dancing and music, even Michael had trouble picking out what they were saying to one another, but it sounded angry. One of the figures was female, so Michael decided to intervene.
As he drew closer, Michael could make out more of what was going on. He see them more clearly now. All three looked a little on the young side, as if they were high schoolers who had crashed the college party. The two boys were nondescript punks, scruffy, blonde, and ugly and looked a lot alike, dressed like Mario and Luigi from the Mario Brothers video games. The girl was Latina, slightly heavy set with the biggest set of boobs Michael had ever seen on a person. Her costume was that of a French maid and very sexy.
As he got closer, he could also more clearly hear what they were saying.
“Come on, Mia. What’s the problem? It’s not like you don’t put out for everybody.” said Mario. He reached out and squeezed one of the girl’s tits hard. She slapped his hand away. Undaunted, the guy reached out again. This time, Michael caught his hand and held it fast.
“She said no.” said Michael forcefully.
Luigi, who was the bigger of the two fellows, puffed himself up as if to intimidate Michael. Michael shot him the look that every vampire could do, the cold dead look of one who has taken life before. Luigi backed down, gave his companion a swat to communicate they were going to find greener pastures. Both retreated quickly.
“Not the first time I’ve had to do that.” said Michael more jovially, remembering a similar scene at his villa with Keiko.
“You sleep with one guy.” snarled the girl. Her voice was thick with some manner of Latin accent, but the accent did nothing to hide her anger. “And they all think you a slut. Let me guess. You want the same?”
“I’m just the guy who chased off two assholes who couldn’t take no for an answer.” said Michael disarmingly. “What happens now is up to you.”
She softened at that. “Sorry.” she admitted. “I...”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t blame you for being angry. I’m Michael, by the way.”
“Mia.” At that moment, the music changed. It sounded like Exile’s “I Want to Kiss You All Over,” only it had a Latin flair. Must have been a cover, but whoever or whatever it was, Mia smiled at hearing it.
“You want to dance?” Michael gestured back to the crowd. “Maybe it’ll take your mind off of things.”
Mia nodded. “Sure.”
As they danced to the song (Michael would later learn it was by No Mercy), Michael tried to figure out a way to work the lyrics into a some sort of pick-up line. But “I want to kiss you all over” was anything but subtle.
The song came to an end and another dance track took its place. Mia was in a much improved mood. She followed Michael out of the crowd and over to the bar, where Michael fetched them both a couple of beers.
“You’re pretty when you smile.” Michael said offhandedly.
“I’m not used to being treated nicely.” she admitted. “Most guys see these...” She cupped her breasts. “...and it’s all that matters.”
“Well, those are nice too. But I really like what I see up here.” He traced his finger around her face. Michael looked behind her. On the far side of the lawn, he could see an old treehouse, a leftover from the childhood of their host. Two people were just now coming down from it, so Michael figured it free. He motioned towards it. “Why don’t we go someplace we can talk?”
Mia nodded and the two of them made their way across the lawn, through the crowd, and over to the tree. “Ladies first.” Michael said with exaggerated politeness, playing up the gentlemanly aspect that appeared to be winning him some points with Mia.
Of course, it wasn’t quite so gentlemanly when he began to follow her up and got quite a view up her exceedingly short costume. That had not been his intent and he hoped she didn’t notice.
“So, you a student?” she asked, as she sat down on the edge of the treehouse’s short balcony, dangling her legs off the side. Michael took a seat next to her.
“Yeah, but not at Nova.” Michael fibbed. “I just moved here from Virginia and looking to get back into school. You?”
“No, I’m still in high school. My Mom and Dad are from Puerto Rico. They came to find work, so I grew up here in Conshohocken.”
“So what does he do?”
“He owns a landscaping business. Big one, one of the largest in Philly. He tries to employ as many Latinos as he can, figuring that he got lucky and made it rich, so he’ll give back as best he can.”
“That’s noble of him.”
“I’m glad you think so. A lot of...” she paused, uncertain if she wanted to keep saying what was on her mind. “...white guys usually don’t have a lot of nice things to say about us.”
“The world is full of assholes.” Michael emphasized. “Don’t let them get to you.”
“At least you’re not one.”
“I have my moments.” teased Michael disparagingly. “Two of my friends were reminding me of that earlier tonight.” He looked at her and smiled. “We’re all human. We all make mistakes.”
“I’m wondering if I’m making a mistake right now.”
“Oh?”
“The last time I let a guy take me away from a party to a private spot, I gained a reputation.”
“I said before whatever happens tonight is up to you. All I asked of you was to talk."
"Yeah, but I'd rather do more than talk." she said slyly. She finished her beer and motioned with her head towards the treehouse behind them. Michael smiled and followed her inside.
---
After a while of watching Paul work at his computer, Kathleen wandered out from the room to the living room and from there to the balcony that overlooked the parking lot below. It was nearly midnight, but the city and suburb did not seem to be slowing down much on this Friday night. Still, things below were quiet, which was how she liked it.
A solitary figure emerged across the street and made his way over to the lot. He looked up and Kathleen met his eyes. She stepped back only to run into Paul.
“Hey, I’m sorry I’m not a good host." said Paul. "Maybe we can go out. Catch a late movie or something.”
“I have to go. I came to see Michael.”
“Is he back?” Paul moved beyond her to look down into the lot. He did not see Michael’s car. He did not see anyone. “He’s not here.”
“I need to go.” Kathleen repeated. She began to move away.
Paul grabbed her hand. “Kathleen, why? Before you said you didn’t know. What’s the reason you need to see him?”
“Please...” she pleaded. “You don’t understand.”
“This is about your sire. He’s using you to get to Michael, isn’t he?”
“Please.”
“You’re not his slave, Kathleen. Don’t go.”
“I have to.” She pulled free and dashed out the door.
“Like hell.” said Paul angrily. He chased after her.
Paul’s apartment was only on the second floor, so it was a quick dash for both of them to make to the ground floor and out into the parking lot. When Paul came outside, he saw Kathleen some distance ahead of him with a strange man, dressed in flamboyant and colorful clothing.
“You will not interfere, whelp.” growled the man, looking fiercely at Paul. His gaze was like lightning. Pain seared through Paul’s mind, the likes of which he’d never felt before. The world began to spin and then there was nothing but darkness.
---
Michael pulled into the parking lot in his Falcon with Boar and Mitch both in tow. It had been a pleasant evening for all three. While they didn’t come away with any likely candidates for their mage opponent, they did all meet up with various students from Villanova and made an impression. Mitch was also delighted that he managed to steal the mermaid girl right out from under Michael.
Given their recent history, Michael thought there something moderately disturbing about Mitch’s smugness, but he figured he’d browbeat his friend over his indiscretions with Sarah enough for one night and perhaps forever. He also said nothing about his own tryst with Mia, since it seemed likely a previous lover had been a little too loose-lipped about being with her. He decided not to repeat that mistake, even if he knew with complete confidence neither Mitch nor Boar would turn that news into gossip fodder.
Michael stepped out of the car and immediately spotted a body lying crumpled on the ground. “What the...” Michael muttered aloud and he dashed over. The others climbed out and ran over as well.
“It’s Paul.” said Michael.
“I didn’t think vampires could be knocked unconscious.” said Mitch.
Michael looked Paul over. “They can’t.” he admitted. “But he’s more catatonic than out cold. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Yeah, we have.” said Boar. “Remember Sarah after Max burned down her coven?”
Michael looked at Boar. As if he’d wordlessly received a command, Boar shifted into a wolf and dashed off to search for any interlopers.
“I’ll take care of him. Check your place.” said Mitch.
Michael dashed upstairs to his apartment. Sitting outside the door, curled up on the floor with her head on her knees, was Kathleen.
“What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you. I wanted to talk.”
“Sarah and Julia...” Michael was going to say “are home” but when he pushed on his own door he found it locked. He quickly fished out his keys and opened it.
On the kitchen table was a simple note. “With Solomon. Be back by dawn. Julia.”
“You seem worried.” said Kathleen.
“Something happened to Paul. We found him downstairs crumpled up on the ground.”
“Oh, my! Will he be alright?”
“I would guess so. Mitch was taking him up to his apartment and Boar is looking for whoever did it. I came up to make sure Sarah and Julia were safe, but it seems they weren’t even here.” Michael glared at her suspiciously. “Did you have something to do with this?”
“Me? Why would you think that?”
“Something Sarah told me once. About how she has the power to scramble up a person’s brains with her telepathy. You also are a childe of Ernie and I’m guessing that power comes from him. Did you do this?”
“No. Paul is my friend. The only one I have. I’d never hurt him.”
“And Ernie himself? Is he here?”
She shook her head. “No, no, God, no. I...” The mere mention of her sire seemed to send Kathleen in a fit of panic.
“Hey,” Michael took hold of her and gave her a gentle shake. “Sorry I asked. I guess you’re just as scared of him as the rest of us are.”
Kathleen tried compose herself. “He’s not here now, but he was. He tried tonight to take me.”
“He what?”
“He was here. He came. He tried to take me over again, to possess me like he did at the Art Museum, but I fought him. Paul, he barged in on us, and interrupted everything. I ran up here to find you and I didn’t dare leave.”
“So it was Ernie.” Michael felt a bit of bone-chilling fear run through him to discover that Ernie had been that close. That he’d been on the property, mere yards from Michael’s new haven. Where he and Sarah lived and slept the day away.
There came a rapping at the door. Michael turned and saw Mitch. “I got Paul squared away. I think he’ll be alright.”
“It was Ernie.” said Michael. “He came for Kathleen and Paul got in the way.”
“Son of a bitch...” cursed Mitch. “If Boar finds him...”
“Boar’s smart enough not to tangle with him alone. Sounds like we had a near miss. Our infant vampires proved a little unpredictable for Ernie.”
“Two babies versus an Elder doesn’t sound like a fair fight to me.”
“It’s not, but Ernie seems particularly keen this time on keeping himself hidden. Having Paul come up on him unexpectedly spoiled his plans. Paul’s probably lucky he only got the shock to the system that he did.”
“Ernie’s not a fighter. That might be the best weapon he has.” speculated Mitch.
“And it might be a lot more powerful than we’ve seen so far. Worst mistake we could make is to underestimate him. Everyone seems intimidated by Ernie in some way. He didn’t get that reputation by being a weakling.”
“No, I’d imagine not. I’ll go see if I can find Boar.”
Michael turned back to Kathleen. “Well, regardless of anything else, it seems Ernie's gone now. You’re safe.”
“You don’t know what it’s like.” she began to cry. “When he’s in your head. Controlling your every move. You can see. You can hear. But he’s the one making you do things. Making you say things. It’s awful. To be in your own body but not in control.”
“I can’t imagine.” Michael admitted. “My lover Sarah is terrified of him and probably for the very reason you’ve said. She's afraid he'll do that to her."
“I can’t make sense of what’s happening to me. Why’d he pick me? I’m a nobody. I liked being a nobody. I wanted to stay a nobody.”
“Our sires,” Michael explained. “and some of our companions often have a way of understanding our desires better than we ourselves. I don’t believe you wanted to stay a nobody forever. In fact, I think that’s the last thing on Earth you wanted. If I can sense that, so did he. Ernie has a habit of playing the part of a twisted genie. Your wish is his command, giving you everything you desire in exchange for you giving him what he wants.”
“And what does he want?”
“Me.” Michael admitted. “Among other things, I’m certain, but I’m definitely on the list.”
“Then the last place on Earth I should be is around you.”
Michael shook his head. “If he can hit me through you, then I can hit him back through you. No, Kathleen, I want you right where you are. I’m glad Paul has a soft spot for you and has brought you into our little conspiracy. Since it seems you’re Ernie’s primary tool right now, it’s good to have you close. You know the old cliche about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. I’d much rather have you here where we can keep an eye on you than out there where Ernie can do as he pleases with you without any scrutiny.”
“If he takes me again, he’ll know all that. He can read my every thought when he’s inside me.”
“Then we need to do our damndest to keep him from taking you again.” Michael gave her cheek an affectionate stroke. She flinched. “You really don’t like being touched, do you?”
“I’m not used to it. I’m not used to any of this.”
“Well, you were tenacious enough to keep Ernie out of your head long enough for Paul to surprise him. I’d be willing to guess you’re tenacious enough to overcome your shyness and fear of people too. You’re going to need it if you’re going to survive in this world of shadows and monsters.”
“Paul said he’d be my friend. He said he’d protect me.”
“Good on him. I will do the same.”
“Can you touch me again?” she asked demurely. “I think I kind of like it.”
There was something so awkwardly innocent to her question that Michael had to suppress a laugh. He did so in large part because he figured laughing at her was about the worst thing he could do in that moment. Michael stroked her cheek again.
“Am I pretty? Paul thinks my eyes are nice.”
“He’s right.” Michael paused. “You really don’t believe in yourself at all, do you?”
“I guess not.”
“To be a medical examiner as young as you are is pretty remarkable. You were what, 23 when Ernie turned you?”
“25. I’d been at that job for four years when he made me a vampire.”
“That’s pretty impressive. Maybe one in a hundred million people could pull off something like that. Oh, ye of little faith, why do you doubt yourself so?”
“Because when you’re that smart. people are scared of you. They call you freak and wierdo and nerd. They think you’re ugly and after you hear that for years upon years, you stop believing anything but that.” She chuckled bitterly. “Maybe it’s fitting I’m a monster now.”
“Don’t go there.” warned Michael. “That’s a dangerous slope. The more you believe in the monster inside, the stronger it becomes. The more you feed it, the more bestial you’ll become. I’d rather you started believing in the person you are, the human. Feed her instead of the beast.”
“How do I do that?”
“You can start by discarding all this damned self-pity you have for yourself. You are not ugly. You are not a freak. But I could say those things until I’m blue in the face and it won’t matter unless you start believing them.”
“It might help if I had some evidence to the contrary.”
To that, Michael could not help himself. He laughed. “Now that’s a scientific mind at work. You want evidence? Take Paul, for instance. He cares about you, that’s obvious. He might even be attracted to you, given the way he looks at you. The way he jumped to your defense at the Art Museum. I doubt he does that for just anybody. You mean something to him. You matter.”
“And you?”
That caught Michael a little off-guard. “Okay, well what evidence would you like for me to provide?”
“I’ve never been on a date. Never been kissed. Never...” she let her voice trail off.
Michael laughed again. “I see where this is going. Why am I not surprised? I do have that reputation, I suppose.”
“You’ve been with one girl tonight already. I can smell her on you.”
Vampire senses, Michael had to remind himself, were not something he alone possessed. He gave her a sharp look. “Yeah, I know a thing or two. But are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Maybe.” she said, now unsure of herself. “I don’t know...”
“Stop doubting and just take a leap of faith. Yes or no?”
She leaned in and gave him a solid kiss right on the mouth. It caught Michael off-guard again, since he was expecting a verbal response. It was a clumsy kiss, and showed that she’d been honest about having no experience. He pulled away almost immediately.
The look on her face as he pulled back was one of horror, as if she believed she’d done something terribly offensive. “No,” Michael said gently. “Not like that. You don’t just mash your lips up against somebody. Gently, let your feelings come through. More like this....”
---
Michael had spent several hours gently seducing Kathleen. It reminded him very much of Kris Keller and his first time with her all those years ago in Blacksburg. Taking the lead, worshipping every inch of her, being gentle, showing her different ways to experience sexual pleasure. He wanted Kathleen to enjoy herself and that was his focus. But as Michael saw the whole of her, body and soul, he found himself more and more aroused. Kathleen was a long way from the prettiest girl he’d ever bedded. In fact, she was pretty close to the ugliest, but that ceased to matter pretty quickly. He found much to like in her awkwardness and her curiosity. He taught her as best he could: how to kiss, how to pleasure herself, how to take a man inside her, all sorts of things.
He bought her to climax numerous times and eventually himself. He rolled off of her and pulled her into his arms. They kissed and it was a far better one than their first.
“Is it what you expected?” he asked.
“Not really.” she admitted. “Better in some ways. Just felt weird in others.”
“Never feel you have to do something in bed that you’re not comfortable with.” Michael instructed. “It’s about feeling good and making someone else feel good. Not...
The door to the bedroom flew open with a bang. Kathleen yelped in astonishment and Michael sat up. Sarah was standing in the threshold, her eyes full of hate and murder.
“I don’t believe you. You fuck another kindred in OUR OWN BED.” she screamed in fury. Kathleen staggered away from the bed to the wall, trying to use the sheet to cover her nakedness. “And with her!”
Kathleen let out a humiliated sob and tore out of the room as fast as she could run. Michael slumped back on the bed, letting out his breath in frustration.
“No good deed goes unpunished.” he lamented aloud.
“Good deed?” barked Sarah incredulously. “Jesus, Michael, can you truly be that stupid?”
“What are you talking about?” He sat up again.
“Did you honestly just sympathy fuck her thinking you were doing her a favor? Ernie was inside her! I could see him piggy-backing on top of her soul.”
“What? That’s not possible.” Michael retorted, slowly realizing that he’d been had. He slumped back onto the bed again, defeated. “Son of a bitch...She seemed so sincere.”
“Maybe she was. Maybe he was just along for the ride instead of controlling her. But it doesn’t matter. Goddamnit, Michael, you are such a sucker. Any girl comes along, even an ugly one, with a sob story and you’re all ready and eager to unzip your fly and give her a nice hard injection of happiness.”
“You may recall that’s how we started.” retorted Michael angrily.
“Yes, it was.” conceded Sarah. “And, in truth, your compassion for people is one of your better qualities. But Ernie knows that too and you let him take advantage of it tonight. You can bet he’ll find a way to use this against us.”
“I’m sorry.” Michael apologized. “It wasn’t...I honestly was trying to help her.”
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