“Good evening.” Said Michael, pulling open Rebecca’s coffin. He did his best to match Deborah’s bad Bela Lugosi accent that she had used on him on his first night as a kindred.
Rebecca looked up at him and simply shook her head. “Is that supposed to be funny?”
“I thought you’d appreciate the joke.” Said Michael with a smile. He looked down at her. She had gone to sleep in her coffin in the nude and now he was delighting in her immodesty. It seemed so out of character from the innocent and rather chaste young woman who a year before had refused him after the dance.
She got up. Michael walked over to the table and sat down. He just watched as Rebecca looked herself over, as if not believing herself what she had become.
“This is real, isn’t it?”
“Every bit of it.”
“Not a mark. No zits, no discoloration, nothing.” She walked before a mirror to marvel at herself. “Every blemish gone.”
“One of the gifts of our kind of vampire. We are reborn flawless, beautiful. The same as we were and yet not.” He stood up and moved behind her, running his hands across the soft skin of her shoulders and arms. His fingers lingered at the butterfly tattoo on her upper right arm.
“That stayed, I notice.” she commented.
“And I’m all the happier for it. Not the Rebecca I remember, but I like that you’ve so adorned yourself.” He gave her a playful kiss on the neck.
“So what sort of ink does she have?”
“She?”
“The one that turned you.”
“What makes you think it was a she?”
“A guess. But a right one I think. Someone had to teach you how to do what you did to me last night. Shawn never…” She paused, remembering.
“She has a Chinese dragon.” Michael interjected quickly. “Its head by the shoulder, snaking down to the center of her chest, with its tail curled under her breast like so.” He traced with his finger the path that Deborah’s dragon tattoo followed. “It’s quite beautiful, as is she.”
“I killed him, didn’t I?”
“Yes, he is dead. And when Corwin arrives, we will need to find a way to dispose of his body. You will also need to learn to temper your hunger. We need not kill to feed and the dead tend to draw too much attention to us.”
“I feel like I should be more upset at what I’ve done, but I’m not. I killed him and I don’t feel anything.”
Michael smiled, almost imperceptibly. It had worked. Her lack of remorse was due to the bond between them, not any lack of conscience on her part. Three times, she had fed from him, twice without even knowing it. The first in the 2-liter of soda Corwin had offered on the night of their arrival. The second, dropped with the drug into the sodas Corwin had given them at Hokie House the night of their supposed food poisoning. The third was the blood that brought her to unlife.
“Perhaps," he suggested coldly, "it is proof that he wasn’t as important to you as you once thought.”
“Maybe” Said Rebecca, confusion in her voice. “But even so...”
“I wouldn't dwell on it. What's done is done.”
They were interrupted by a rapping at the door. Corwin walked inside, accompanied by Julia. “Ah, just in time.” Said Michael.
“What’s going on?” asked Rebecca.
“Time to clean up the mess." said Michael. "All of you, outside.” He moved quickly between the new arrivals and headed out the door. He walked over to the parked car where Shawn’s body still lay in the mud. A light rain was falling and fog had descended upon the woods.
“The rain will provide a good rationale.” Said Michael.
“I don’t follow.” Said Corwin.
“We have two lives whose disappearance we have to make excuses for.” Michael hoisted Shawn up into the front seat of the car. “Car accident will work. Slick road. Unfamiliar territory. Crash and burn to mangle the bodies beyond recognition. Two closed casket funerals and no further questions asked.”
Michael looked at Julia without saying a word. “We’ll need to find a second body and burn the car.” She replied.
“Yes, A Jane Doe in the morgue would be nice, but we might be able to make due with less.”
“My parents will bury their second child. Only John’s left.” Said Rebecca with a quiet whisper.
“Yes, how tragic.” Said Michael somewhat apathetically. “Speaking of that, it might be of some use to our purposes to play up the unfortunate tale of these two tragic figures. They did, after all, come to our wonderful town to pay respects to a friend who had died by suicide.”
“Isn’t that a bit risky? Tying these two to you?” asked Corwin.
“Hiding in plain sight.” Said Michael with a dismissive tone. “The more detail that emerges in the police report and in the press will convince people that all the proper authorities have done their homework and that there’s no need to inquire further into the real fate of Shawn and Rebecca.”
“And how would they know that?” Julia asked.
“Why, Blacksburg’s finest will no doubt have interviewed the person who saw them alive last, a mutual acquaintance of the suicide victim.” He looked sharply at Corwin.
Julia nodded.
“It seems we have our story. Now you guys just need to make it real. Come, Rebecca. Let’s leave these two to their work.”
Michael headed back inside and wiped the rain from his hair. “This doesn’t feel right.” Said Rebecca.
“What do you mean, my dear?”
“You’re writing me off like you did yourself. Everything back home I must leave behind: my parents, my brother, my friends…”
“There are costs to pay to be what we are.” Michael pulled her into his arms. “In truth, I struggled with the same regrets. The same concerns when I was turned. It’s normal.”
“Is it also normal to feel nothing at having killed someone? And not just someone, but someone who had shared my life for the past year, who’d been intimate and caring and loving towards me? I know who I am, Michael, and I know the person I should be would have been utterly traumatized to have taken a life, any life, let alone the life of someone close to me.”
“That I have no answers for.” Lied Michael.
“How did it feel for you?” she asked bluntly. “You’ve killed; I know you have.”
“Twice. Three times, if you count Shawn. It may have been by your hand, but…” Michael let the thought trail off.
Rebecca nodded. “Yes, I suppose so. You knew what I would do once I became what you are.”
“I warned him to leave. He didn’t listen.”
“It does bother you.” Deduced Rebecca. “You remember each one. You consider yourself to blame for Shawn. But why does it affect you and not me?”
“You underestimate yourself.” Said Michael. “The dark gift deadens certain emotions, yes. But the fact that we are having this conversation is proof in my mind that Shawn’s death has not left you unmarked. You may not feel what you think you should feel, but what you’ve done disturbs you nonetheless. That’s good. We need to hold on to that which keeps us human.”
“Because we are monsters.”
“Never doubt that. Alright, Rebecca. It is time for you to learn as I did what it means to be a wolf in the midst of lambs.”
----
It felt odd, Michael had to admit, to find himself in the role Deborah had taken on just one year before. Here he was, imparting what wisdom and knowledge he had, to his childe, a newly turned vampire who knew nothing of the world she had just entered.
After they had left Julia and Corwin to the task of disposing of Shawn's body, Michael drove Rebecca to downtown Blacksburg for her second night of hunting. As Deborah had done with him, he intended to teach Rebecca restraint while feeding. Shawn's unfortunate demise was easily covered up, but further deaths would draw attention to them. Michael was particularly anxious about this. It was bad enough to endanger the Kindred's sacred Masquerade, but he could be doubly damned for embracing a childe without permission.
“I see why you love this town so much. Why you wanted to come all the way down here to go to school.” commented Rebecca as they walked up Main Street. All around them were students enjoying the Saturday bar rush.
“You have all the benefits of a large city with few of the drawbacks.” admitted Michael. “Culture, entertainment, a lively nightlife, but little traffic, noise, crime, and all the other mess. Here, regardless of your interests and hobbies, you can find a kindred spirit. There are clubs for just about everything on campus and many of the townsfolk participate. Of course, part of that is because many of them are former students themselves, the ones that couldn't handle the work.”
“That would be me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I'm not the student you were and you know it. Books and learning all that dry stuff, no thanks. I'm more theatrical than academic. I'm much more at home on a stage in front of a crowd.”
“People come to this school for that too. Boar and Mitch were both theatre majors.”
“Who?”
“Two friends. You'll meet them soon enough.”
“Are they like you?” She paused. “Like us?”
“No, they are still human although they know the truth.”
“Like Corwin and that policewoman?”
“Yes, they too. But one must be careful. The most sacred and important of our laws is to keep ourselves secret from those around us. That is the reason you must not kill when you feed.”
Rebecca looked embarrassed for a moment. “I...” she began.
“A baby must learn to crawl before walking. So too a vampire often kills in their first feedings before learning restraint and control.” Michael stopped walking and turned her to face him. “This lesson you must learn quickly. Secrecy is not our only law. There are...hierarchies, systems of government, and one must often obtain permission from one's betters before creating another of our kind. When I turned you, I did so without permission and if any other vampires find out, we could be in a lot of trouble.”
Rebecca nodded. “You broke the rules to bring me into your world. You wanted to be with me that badly?”
Michael nodded. It was a lie of course. But it had been less than 24 hours since she'd been turned. There were many nights yet to come for Rebecca to learn the fullness of the curse he had inflicted upon her.
Rebecca smiled, content with his answer. “So, how does one keep discrete when trying to drink someone's blood? It's not exactly normal human behavior.”
“There are a variety of means.” said Michael, continuing his walk. “You are more physically powerful than your prey, so you can overpower them like a robber in a dark alley. But that's rather crude, if effective from time to time. It's quick and easy. Personally, I prefer a subtler tactic.”
“Such as?”
“Well, consider what you saw in the mirror earlier tonight. A body without blemish; sexy, seductive, beautiful. As a member of the Daeva clan, you have latent powers to enhance that. Draw your prey into your web, seduce them, ravish them, and leave them breathless, all the while drawing what sustenance you need without them ever knowing. People in the throes of passion tend to overlook certain things.”
“But, isn't that a bit disloyal?”
“To whom? To me? Oh, come now. There's a difference between sex and love and you know it. Besides, seeing you take some pretty young thing into your bed, seeing them utterly under your power, that's kind of a turn on.”
“Is it now?” she said with a curious smile. "You've changed. You used to be so moral, so judgmental. I find it hard to believe you'd find me with another woman arousing. That just isn't you."
"Much has changed." admitted Michael. "I'm free of all that now."
"Free?" she repeated. "And so am I."
Michael nodded.
“Well, shall we go find some pretty young thing then?”
“Don't be so hasty. The night is still young. It's one thing to know how to hunt. It's another to know what to hunt. It is still yet another to know what to do once you have someone at your mercy under your fangs. Here is the most important lesson. For it is after you bite that things become most critical. We are creatures of passion, and restraint is not in our nature. Thus, you must be cautious not to take too much or your new found lover will die in your arms.”
“How will I know?”
“I was told you will simply know and that was proven right to me.”
Rebecca nodded. “Alright. Let's try. I'm getting hungry.”
They wandered inside Bogen's. Michael himself immediately began scanning around for a meal for himself. He was being somewhat particular tonight. Contrary to his usual habits, he wanted something quick and easy. No calculated seduction for him. He wanted a quick bite so he could focus on Rebecca and her lessons.
He soon spotted a group of four sorority sisters in a booth across the restaurant. One of the four had clearly had a few too many and was passing out in the booth. Her friends, either apathetic or oblivious, seemed more interested in their conversation and in checking out the comings-and-goings of various young men to notice.
“So,” interjected Rebecca, momentarily distracting him, “seeing me with someone else is a turn on?”
Michael nodded and returned his attention to the four sorority girls. Two of them got up and headed towards the bar. A third lingered for a moment to check on her now unconscious friend before following. Michael saw his chance.
So did Rebecca.
As Michael moved carefully towards the booth, Rebecca intercepted the straggler. She gave the blond a piercing stare, which stopped her in her tracks. Michael paused to see what would happen next. Rebecca walked up to the sorority girl and grabbed her, pulling her into a passionate kiss, right in the middle of the restaurant.
Michael could hear the comments of disgust, annoyance, and arousal explode from all the nearby observers. With all eyes, or at least most, now centered on Rebecca in the middle of the room, Michael slipped into the booth undetected and went down on the sleeping sister's neck.
He drank quickly and quietly. No one noticed him, and even if anyone was watching, what they would see would appear no more odd than a guy making out with his girlfriend. Michael had spent the last year teaching himself to mask the Kiss as a kiss and now it was proving useful.
That skill that Michael had practiced, Rebecca seemed to come to naturally. She moved from the lips to the neck and only Michael, with his sharpened senses, could tell that her fangs were drawing blood beneath her mouth. She held the kiss for a few seconds and then released her prey. The girl staggered a bit, flushed with passion, looking at Rebecca with confusion and desire, before continuing on to the bar to join her friends.
Michael rejoined her. What he said to her earlier was true. Watching her in action was arousing, especially when she was with another woman.
“That came to you way too easily.” commented Michael, standing up as Rebecca approached.
"Which part? The feeding or my choice of victim?" retorted Rebecca.
"Both," Michael looked her up and down, as if this young woman that he had loved and obsessed over for years was a total stranger to him now. Was this behavior something that had she had hidden from him for all the years he'd known her, or something new? Michael didn't know which.
"I always told you I had things about me that I couldn't tell you." she paused. "This was one of them."
"Really?"
"Yeah." she admitted. "But, as you said, I'm free now. I've never had the courage to do that before, no matter how much I've wanted to. It's fun."
"Your first step into a larger world."
"One you've already taken. So, I'm disappointed. You got to watch me in action. Would've been nice to see the newer bolder Michael Allens at work tonight.”
“One kiss wasn't a lot of action.”
“I thought the purpose of this lesson was to be discrete.”
“That wasn't exactly discrete. This may be a college town, but there are still some behaviors that people find a tad shocking. Even for me. I never knew. I would never have guessed you swung both ways."
"I never told anyone. Never acted on it until tonight. You've given me quite a gift." she gave him an affectionate pat on the cheek.
“You didn't take much. That came naturally too.”
“Again, discretion. Having her pass out in my arms would have made a bigger scene.” Michael obviously couldn't disagree with that. Once again, he looked her up and down, mystified. All that had taken him weeks and months to master seemed to come so easily and naturally to her, and she'd been a vampire less than a day.
Rebecca brushed past him and headed towards the patio door. Michael followed her outside in the cool autumn night. Because of the temperature, few were outside.
Rebecca leaned against the railing and breathed deeply, taking in the scents and aromas of the town around them. “Give her a few minutes.” she said as Michael moved beside her. “I'm sure she'll come looking for me. I'll bet you $100 she's bi or a lesbian, probably in the closet like I was. But I've awoken something within her, and I don't think she'll be satisfied with just a kiss. If you think what I did in there was hot, just wait until I take her home.”
“Caution, my childe. It's never wise to reveal your lair to your prey, especially since the purpose of this exercise tonight is to leave them alive.”
“Dark alley, back of her car, either one would work instead.”
“You take to this life almost too easily.”
Rebecca shrugged. “Maybe so.”
“Alright, it is time for the teacher to become the learner. What makes you so certain that your prey tonight is homosexual or has those tendencies?”
“Little clues. Hints. They way she walks, carries herself. The way she smells. Her awkwardness at her friends ogling those guys. Subtle, almost imperceptible, but still there. You've never picked up on that sort of thing?”
“A woman's a woman to me. Whatever their normal inclinations, they seem vulnerable to my charms.”
“And gay men?”
“I don't hunt men generally.” answered Michael. “In a pinch maybe, but they're more the snatch-and-grab types for me. Although...” he paused for a moment, “there is a way they can be fun. Taking some arrogant ass down a peg or two before snacking. It's quite a treat to see some frat boy or football player who thinks he's all that try to beat me up. That is fun, but I don't seduce men or specifically hunt gays in order to feed. That I don't enjoy.”
“How do you know? Maybe you should try sometime.” she suggested slyly
“No, thank you. I don't exactly have the proper anatomy for a dick to feel good going into me.”
“You don't have to be on the bottom.” she teased.
Michael gave her a sidelong glance that indicated he was done with this line of conversation. Rebecca took the hint and shrugged. “You've given me the freedom to be who I am. I just wondered if maybe there was some of that in you too.”
"No, and it's not that I haven't had the opportunity to explore that. It's just not there." He looked at her. "Does that disappoint you?"
"No. You are who you are. And I think you know who that is now more than ever." She paused. “She's back.”
Sure enough, the sorority girl had come out onto the patio. She looked about, clearly searching for someone. Michael stepped away from Rebecca and moved further into the shadows. Now, with Rebecca alone, the blond girl approached.
“Glad I didn't take that bet.” thought Michael to himself.
----
Michael did watch for a time as Rebecca ravished the girl in the alleyway behind Bogen's. There was an almost feral passion to the two of them and Michael did find it arousing, and the temptation to join them as he sometimes did with Deborah emerged. But he let it pass.
He walked away, close enough to still hear them, but far enough that the sounds of their sex were not distracting or overpowering. He watched the masses of students and townspeople on the street, waiting for Rebecca to finish. He didn't worry that Rebecca would control herself. Everything about her unlife seemed to come easily and naturally to her, as if she was born to become a vampire.
It scared him, in some ways. He began to wonder if her lack of remorse of Shawn really was just the blood-bond, or was there something truly that cold and unfeeling within her. He did not like such thoughts, but the evidence was there nonetheless.
And then there was this newly emergent bisexuality. Rebecca was right about one thing: His former self would have responded to that with moral indignation, even if deep down he found it stimulating. Still, he'd seen Deborah hunt and seduce women on occasion so that no longer shocked him. But Rebecca? Sweet little church girl that she had once been? It was nearly impossible to imagine her in the arms of another woman, and yet that was exactly what was going on just a few short yards behind him.
“She's your reflection, Michael.” The thought came almost as an epiphany. “Just as it was all a ruse and a mask for you, so too was it for her. This is her true self now emergent, unhindered by religion or morality or conscience. All that she once wanted to do, she now feels free to do. Just like you.”
That realization brought no comfort. For along with it was the voice of Mathias. “You have a spirit of wrath about you. Someday, it will get you into more trouble than you know.” Michael shivered visibly at that, even though the temperature was hardly that cold. But his thoughts were chilling. “What if she reflects me there too?”
Act Two Chapter Six
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