Whats her name?
WHAT'S HER NAME?
Celine
The velvet couch flies across my private suite, crashing into the table and knocking over several glasses of thick, red liquid.
“That’s my bloodwine !” snaps Lexi. “Do you have any idea how much that costs?”
“Sorry! I’m sorry!” Hallie says, zipping over to retrieve the chaise. She lifts it easily in one arm, but overshoots and accidentally tosses it in the air again. Clumsily, she catches it, and places it back in its original spot with an anxious chuckle.
We’re showing Hallie how to get used to her vampiric abilities. Well, I’m showing Hallie how to use her powers. Renata is in the corner, distracted by emails on her phone. Lexi is surveying us with a glass of blood-wine in her manicured hand. To complete the ensemble, Tudor sits in the center of the room like a judge on his bench.
“Be nice to your sister,” he says to Lexi. “She doesn’t know how strong she is yet.”
“I’m doing my best,” Hallie says, earnestly. She adjusts the thick-rimmed glasses on her nose. “I just feel so… restless .”
“When you’re alive, your heartbeat keeps you grounded,” I explain to her. “Now that you’re dead, you’re animated by the blood that you consume. Drinking will make you feel better. Let’s go find you a breather…”
“Oh! Um, that’s ok…” she stutters. “I drank some animal blood, so I’m not feeling very hungry at all...”
I narrow my eyes at her. “ Are you sure?”
She avoids my gaze. “I don’t think I’m ready to drink human blood.”
“You’re not what ?” I ask, incredulous.
“It’s sort of an ethical gray area for me,” she says sheepishly. “You know, I used to be a vegetarian…”
Renata snorts, not looking up from her phone. “Well, that’s a new one!”
Lexi shakes her head at Tudor. “This is ridiculous ! She doesn’t know anything about the magical world, and she doesn’t even want to drink blood ?”
Renata turns to Lexi, an eyebrow raised. “Leave her alone! You’re just jealous that you’re not the youngest any more.”
“I’m not jealous! I just don’t see why Tudor needed to create another progeny. Especially after everything that happened with Ced-”
I shoot her an icy stare.
“That’s enough, Alexandra,” Tudor says sternly. Lexi tosses her bleached hair over her shoulder with a dramatic sigh, but doesn’t push it.
Our Creator rises from his seat and walks up to Hallie. The newborn vampire bites her lip anxiously, almost cutting herself with her sharp fangs.
“This is an excellent opportunity,” he says, taking her by the shoulders. “In just a few months, I’ll join Elmwood Magic Academy as a professor. Hallie will accompany me as an incoming student. Any vampiric skills you still require, you can pick up there.”
Hallie’s face lights up. “A magic school? Really?”
Tudor nods. “We need to ingratiate ourselves with the witches, at least for now.”
“Witches?” Hallie gasps in amazement. “Like… witches witches?”
“Pick up as much magic as you can,” Tudor says. “It might come in handy. We’ve got to learn everything we can.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Hallie says.
Lexi rolls her eyes. Tudor has a familiar glint in his eye. Renata and I exchange glances.
“Here he goes,” I whisper.
She rubs her temples. “I don’t have time for this. I have a hotel to run!”
“For too long, vampires have remained insular,” Tudor says grandly. “Fearfully guarding our own practices, but also disregarding the practices of others. Slowly, the great vampire clans were picked off by larger, more diverse groups. We can’t continue to turn a blind eye to magical politics. We have to pick a side, to make a stand! Our very survival depends on whether we choose the right allies…”
“Ten grand says that he mentions the Algernon dragon shifters,” I hiss at Renata.
“No way I’m taking those odds!”
“I’ll take it!” Lexi whispers. “And the loser has to write the winner’s annual review!”
“Deal!”
Tudor paces back and forth with centuries-old grandiosity. “The Hecate witches think their power is solidified, unshakable. But their certainty will also be their downfall. Comfort is a dangerous thing in the magical world. Remember the Algernon dragon shifters…”
“Damn it!” hisses Lexi.
I grin at her. “I’ll send you my quarterly reports, Lex.”
“They too thought they were safe,” Tudor continues, looking ominously at Hallie. She gazes at him with reverence and awe. “For centuries, the dragon shifters ruled the magical world with wisdom and unquestioned strength. But they refused to share their practices with anyone else. The isolated themselves, right to the very end. Tragically, the ancient art of dragon shifting died out after the War of the Final Fire.”
“Wow,” Hallie gasps. “There seem to be a lot of wars in the magical world, is that something I should be worried about?”
“Yes,” Lexi says.
“Absolutely,” Renata adds.
“You’ll be fine,” I say.
“You will be fine!” Tudor raises a finger in the air dramatically. “Because we are not going to fall prey to fear and retreat like the dragon shifters. We’re going to choose our allies carefully, but keep our enemies close…”
There’s a quick knock on the door.
“Enter!” I shout .
The door opens and a head peers in. It’s the bartender from before. Her gentle hazel eyes widen when she sees all of us.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she says. “Another crate of bloodwine was just delivered, I wondered if any of you…”
“Ugh,” Renata says, shooting Lexi a look. “I can’t drink any more of that stale grape juice!”
“What would you know about taste?” Lexi retorts haughtily. “All you ever do is boss everyone around and complain about how much you have to do. You wouldn’t know quality if it staked you in the heart. ”
“I think it’s sort of nice,” Hallie says.
“Celine, control your sisters, please,” Tudor says primly, as he walks to the door. “I’ve got important business elsewhere.”
I cross my arms. “Me? Why do I have to deal with them?”
“Because you’re the oldest,” Tudor responds.
He turns to exit the suite, then stops when he spots the bartender. He tilts his head as he regards her. “Do I…know you from somewhere?”
She shrinks back against the door. I can smell the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Tudor has that effect on breathers.
“She was in the hotel room, when Hallie was turned,” I say.
“Hmm,” Tudor hums. He leans in closer toward the poor bartender, his nostrils flaring. I know that look. He’s picked up on her scent.
Her lips tremble in fear. I get the sudden urge to throw myself between her and Tudor. It takes me completely by surprise. I could never imagine getting in the way of my Creator and a breather he wants to drink from. It would be an exceptionally dangerous move.
But I can’t stand the way he’s looking at her.
“Tudor,” I interject. “I believe Xia was looking for you earlier. Something about the security for our…guest.”
This is enough to distract my Creator. He looks back to me with a nod.
“Yes, we need to prioritize our defense,” he says. “If you see her again, tell her I’ll be in my office.”
“Yes, father.”
He exits.
My sisters didn’t notice anything, of course. Renata and Lexi are still bickering like toddlers. Hallie shrieks from across the suite. She accidentally cut herself on one of the shards from the broken wineglasses scattered across the floor.
“Look, Celine!” she says, holding up her hand as the cut quickly vanishes. “Look how fast I can heal now!”
“Be careful,” I tell her. “Your healing ability uses up your reserves of life force. If you’re not going to drink from humans, you need to keep a close watch on how much you’re using.”
“I’ll be ok,” Hallie says confidently.
The bartender quickly takes her tray to pick up the pieces of broken glass. Today, she wears her hair in box braids, pulled into a knot at the top of her head, with two braids hanging down to frame her face. Two small gold hoops glitter at her ears. Gold, not silver. I also notice that she’s not wearing her silk uniform. She’s switched it out for a dark green sweater dress. It hugs her body tightly, showing off her long legs.
Hallie helps her, zipping around with supernatural speed and depositing the pieces of glass on her tray.
“Thank you,” says the bartender, a genuine note in her voice. She gives the young vampire a warm look.
I regard her with curiosity. Living humans almost always look upon vampires with some mixture of fear and desire. But there’s only kindness in her eyes as she watches Hallie retrieve the glass. It’s strange.
She jumps a little as she looks back to me.
Her expression changes as her eyes meet mine. There it is. Fear…and perhaps desire?
Then something else. An emotion I can barely recognize. Her gaze flicks away again.
Her voice lowers as she addresses me. “I didn’t say it before…but thank you for convincing your Creator to turn Hallie. You didn’t need to do it.”
I don’t answer her, paused by her strange familiarity.
What is it about her? I can hear her heart thrumming, like the beat of a hummingbird’s wings. I understand how Tudor would desire her. There’s a sweet, almost ethereal scent coming off of her skin that’s intoxicating .
She’s intriguing. And intriguing is dangerous in this world.
But I’m not sure if it’s dangerous for her…or for me.
Another knock on the door interrupts us. It’s our executive assistant.
“Celine, Renata, Lexi,” she says, her eyes flitting back and forth between us. “There’s an urgent call that requires your attention. One of the big investors. You’re needed in the boardroom immediately.”
The bartender turns away to exit the suite. She takes the tender warmth of her heartbeat with her. I feel a flutter of disappointment in my chest.
“We’re coming, Lily,” I reply. Then I turn to Lexi. “You stay with Hallie.”
“What! Why?”
“She’s a newborn, you have to keep an eye on her.”
Lexi huffs. “That’s not fair , you two always leave me out!”
“Too bad,” Renata says, her pointed heels clicking on the hard club floor as she speed-walks away. “You’re younger, and Tudor said Celine was in charge!”
“Don’t let Hallie out of your sight!” I say firmly to Lexi as I follow Renata out, deaf to Lexi’s high-pitched protesting.
Both the living and the dead part as Renata and I make our way across the club.
As we go past the bar, I can’t stop my eyes from finding the bartender. She’s taking the order of a man who looks at her a little too attentively. I have a sudden urge to head to the bar and rip his head off…
Renata gives me a sharp look as we wait for the elevator. She crosses her arms, her Rolex glinting on her wrist. “What’s her name, Celine?”
I glower at her. It’s a stupid joke. When you’ve been sisters for two hundred years, you start to accumulate them.
“She’s a good bartender,” Renata says. “Whatever you do, try not to scare her away, ok? We’ve gone through six bartenders in the same number of months.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I reply icily.
She tilts her head, a smirk at the corners of her lips. “You must really like her.”