Ancient carelessness
ANCIENT CARELESSNESS
Celine
“Tudor wants to see you,” Renata says with a frown. “He arrived an hour ago.”
“That was fast,” I reply, masking my voice with a casual lilt. It’s only been a few days since Cedric came to the club. Given Tudor’s preoccupation with his new teaching gig, I’m surprised he took the time to come. “Where is he?”
“In the club,” Renata replies, tapping the toe of her pointed heel on the floor. “He’s not happy with you.”
“He should be.”
“You know why he’s not.”
I wave a hand at her. “Let me handle this.”
She huffs as I turn to the elevators.
Despite my outward confidence, I steel myself as I enter the club. It’s a busy night, and the air is heavy with desire and conquest. I start to feel my hunger rise. After I deal with my Creator, maybe I’ll find myself some dinner.
I carefully avoid looking toward the bar as I make my way through the crowd.
Tudor is typically easy to spot. It has nothing to do with his appearance. His age gives him a heavy presence that can be felt by vampires and living humans alike. Both tend to give him a wide bearing.
But I don’t see him anywhere on the dance floor. He must be deeper in the club, probably enchanting some poor customer at this very moment.
When I open the door to my private suite at the back of the club, I’m not surprised to see him sitting comfortably in my favourite spot, a scantily-clad breather upside-down on his lap. He drinks from an artery in her thigh. Her head and long hair drape down over the couch, her dress bunched up around her waist.
Tudor doesn’t stop drinking, or acknowledge my presence when I enter. I close the door behind me with a conspicuous bang .
“Nice robes,” I say wryly, referring to the deep violet, academic robes he wears. He hasn’t bothered to change since coming from the academy. “So thoughtful of you to take time out of your busy teaching schedule to drop in on us.”
His gaze flicks up at me, but he doesn’t stop sucking on the thigh of the breathless human. I avoid looking at her face.
“If you’re busy, I can come at another time,” I say.
For another full minute, he drinks. My irritation starts to build. I can’t help noticing the slowing heartbeat of my Creator’s helpless victim. Her face is dazed and pale.
Now I realize the game he’s playing, and my irritation crests into anger. I cross my arms over my chest.
Only now does he pull his fangs away. A river of red gushes from the girl’s open wound and down her bare leg and hip. She must be young. Her hair is a dark brown, with a hint of red. Her eyes are…
I don’t look. I force my gaze to meet Tudor’s.
Now he speaks. “You interfered with Lazarus’s business. Again . After I expressly told you not to.”
I struggle to steady my voice. “You have no reason to be angry with me. Lazarus and Cedric were selling drugs laced with witch magic to our customers, making them susceptible to injury. The club and casino are a significant source of income for us. If they scare away the whole customer base…”
“What customer base? The breathers ? Who cares if they’re drugged?” Tudor’s eyes narrow. “That would be better for business. It brings in more vampires who can feed easily. I’m sure that’s what Cedric was thinking of. He always had a keen business sense.”
“ How can you say that? Cedric betrayed us, he betrayed you , his Creator! How can you just let him go and join Lazarus?”
“Is that what this is all about? You’re hurt that your brother left?” he smirks. “You’ve got to overcome those petty attachments, Celine. We’re vampires . Betrayal and heartbreak is how we live. Your brother was offered a better deal, and he went to Lazarus. I’m not happy about it, either, but you can’t keep whining about it forever. This is why I create more progeny. So I can lose a few if need be.”
My fangs protrude slightly in anger, but I push my rage down. It’s no use shouting at Tudor, no matter how infuriating his words are. He licks a bloody lip and continues.
“We can’t let such trivial feuds break our focus. We have bigger things at stake.”
He takes the girl’s limp legs and pulls her closer to his mouth, sucking at her bleeding wound again.
She’s very still, almost not moving.
“Tudor, if you’re still thirsty, I can find you another breather. It looks like this one is almost drained.”
He doesn’t stop drinking, and I feel a hint of fear build up in my chest.
“Tudor… Father , please…you don’t need to drain that human, there are many more…”
“There are many more, and nobody will care if this one goes missing.”
He chuckles deviously at the expression on my face. My fingers itch for my dagger, but I’m forced to stop myself.
There’s nothing I can do. And he knows it.
With ancient carelessness, he tosses the girl’s body to the ground. She crumples soundlessly to the floor in a heap, no longer bleeding. Tudor stands and dusts off his long robe.
Then he whispers in my ear, “This is my club, Celine. My empire. And your little feud with Cedric is now over. If I catch one more whiff of your insolence, you’ll experience my full wrath.”
I close my eyes. “I understand.”
“You’d better. I wouldn’t hesitate to stake you myself. Or better yet, one of your little sisters . Since you’re so preoccupied with your siblings. I’ll let you choose. Not Renata, she’s too useful to the operations of the hotel. Maybe Lexi, or that new one. ”
“I understand .”
“Good. I won’t warn you again.”
And with a self-satisfied swoosh of his robes, he departs, leaving the door to my suite wide open.
I kneel down beside the girl, searching for a pulse.
But I already know it’s gone. I turn her over and shut her eyes. Then I pull her dress down.
It’s more dignity than I’ll get, if Tudor decides to stake me.
“Xia!” I shout.
“Yes, Celine?” says Xia, entering the suite. “I just saw Tudor, is he back from-”
She stops when she sees the girl on the ground. I pull out a driver’s license from the pocket of her dress.
“Xia, could you tell Lily to find the closest relatives of this girl. Ensure they’re adequately compensated. Anonymously. Make sure it’s untraceable. She’ll know how.”
“I…of course…” Xia whispers, taking the wallet in a shaking hand.
“I’ll take care of the body.”
Once it’s done, I return to my suite. I’m not interested in drinking this evening, although I know I should.
I just want to be alone.
I sit down at the piano, and start to play a familiar piece.
I never played the piano when I was alive. Pianos were rare, impossibly expensive for a poor family like our’s. But we loved singing. Not the stuffy church hymns. The songs you could sing in a group, around a fire with drinks in every hand.
Part of me wishes I could remember them. Part of me is glad that I can’t.
And there’s something else I can’t remember. A detail I’m shocked could have slipped my mind.
Her name.
What was her name ?
The chime of the elevator shakes me from my reverie. The doors open and Renata steps into my suite, her face even more anxious than usual. She doesn’t say anything, just walks over to me, her shoes dipping into the plush carpet.
“I’d like to be alone,” I tell her, without looking up from my music. I have to keep playing. If I stop playing, I might fall apart.
“I’m not leaving you alone,” she says. “I heard what happened. Xia told me.”
“I don’t need your company.”
“Are you sure about that? You look like you’re brooding.”
“I’m not brooding.”
She sighs deeply. “Celine, maybe it’s a good thing to stay away from Cedric for a while…”
“I’m going to stay away from him. Tudor made sure of that.”
“Yes, but Tudor shouldn’t have done that! It’s horrible, I’m sorry you had to see it. I know that that must have been awful for you, given your history with him…”
I stop playing. I rise from the bench, turning toward her.
“Who told you about that?” I demand.
“Cedric did. Before he left. We were talking about how we were created, and he mentioned what happened when you were-”
“Don’t ever mention it again,” I snap. I wish I had fed more recently. I don’t like how agitated and restless I feel.
“Fine,” she says, throwing her hands up. “I was just trying to help.”
“I don’t need your help.”
She shakes her head, then turns back to the elevator.
“Don’t you ever get sick of being so cold all the time?” she says, pressing the button curtly. “If you keep going this way, you’re going to end up just like Tudor.”
I hiss at her as the elevator doors slam shut.
And when I know she’s gone, I drop to my knees, hot bloody tears rising to my eyes.
I can’t push back the memories now. They come flooding in.
Memories from a lifetime ago, when my heart still beat and the blood in my veins was my own. When the summers warmed my skin and the nights were for sleeping.
When my sister and I shared a small room, just a tiny bed for both of us.
Until one night I came to bed late. I’d been up watching the chickens, a shotgun in hand. A mysterious beast had been feeding on them. We thought it was a wolf, or perhaps a fox .
When I came back to my sister’s room, I discovered the culprit. A monster I could never have imagined.
A monster feasting from my little sister’s tiny body.
A monster with violet eyes.
A monster that came for me next.