Chapter 5 #3
“Before I forget to tell you, the money is there for you from the burin. It’s a considerable sum too.
I guess this Wayne person knew how to invest his money from your mother, and he did well with the ponies as well when she did.
I never bet on something that is supposed to be a sure thing, but I guess people do win those sorts of things. ”
“How did you get your money? I mean, did you start out life as a vampire with funds?” He said that he’d been from a very wealthy family, much like the others in their group.
“So when they died, you inherited it all. I guess that’s a good way to have funds.
I never knew who my other family was. For all I know, they could have been wealthy as well. ”
“Your mother would have had to have gotten her money from somewhere, knowing how she gambles. I would imagine that they cut her off when she’d been growing up, or they might well have been as broke as she was when she was arrested.
” He’d told her again about her mother being taken to jail, and she had a couple of questions about that, too.
“She went without too much in the way of fanfare. I guess she told them that you were going to pay her bail, and there hadn’t been one set as yet.
Being such a small town, about those kinds of things, we’ll have to wait until the circuit judge comes through or take her to Zanesville for a hearing there.
She’s racked up quite a bill at the hotel, and she made a mess of the room as well. ”
“That sounds like something she’d do. Make a mess of something that didn’t belong to her.
She never kept house either. That was something that fell to me as well.
” He took her into his arms and held her while she looked so sad.
“How can a person who is supposed to love you treat you so terribly? I was only a kid that she took advantage of all the time. Then, when she found out what I could do, it was like I was only good for one thing.”
“I’m sure to her you were.” He realized that he shouldn’t have said that, but it was out now, and he held her when she started to cry.
Pulling the shadows around them so they’d have some privacy, he let her cry out all her misery while he held her tightly in his arms. “I love you, Tabitha. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.
And I would shout it to the world, given the chance. ”
“Thank you. I needed that.” She looked up at him, and he could see that she was still tender. Kissing her lightly on the mouth, he told her that she needed some dinner and that things would look better. Just as they were leaving the store, he came upon a man whom he’d seen before.
He didn’t know him at first, only his face. Then, when it came to him, he was surprised to figure out that he’d been turned into a creature of the night. Nodding once at the man, he walked by him and out the door to the awaiting car. They were gone before the man could recognize him.
“Did you know him?” He explained that at one time he’d been a friend. “He didn’t look like he is anymore. What happened? Or would you rather not tell me?”
“His name is Ruby Frank. We met one night when I was hungry for a meal, and he was the only one that I could find. This was before I could be out in the sun for any length of time. Anyway, when I fed from him, he had no way of knowing what I was about, so I took what I needed, left him a little cash, and was on my way. But he remembered me and came to find me.” He thought about what the man had wanted from him.
“He demanded that I change him into what I was. I have no idea to this day how he found me or what I was. But his demands didn’t go unnoticed by the townspeople.
Finally, after several weeks of him hounding me, I had to show him my monster, and he finally left me alone.
For a time, anyway. I wonder who he got to change him. ”
“Is that important?” He said that he didn’t know, but it must have been someone old, as young vamps usually kill their victims when they try to change them, and he’d been sickly all his life.
“So he somehow tricked someone into changing him, and now he’s a vampire too.
He looked sort of sickly. Like he was suffering from something.
I thought that once you were changed, you became a healthy person again. ”
“That’s what I find so weird. He did look like he was sickly, now that you mention it, and he smelled of old blood.
Like he’s not feeding well, and when he does, it’s from the dying.
” That part was true; they couldn’t feed from the dead, or it would likely kill them.
He told her that in passing so that she’d know if he ever changed her.
“Oh well, I suppose that he’s no longer my concern, but I’d like for you to keep an eye out for him.
There is no telling what he’d do if he found out you were my mate.
I don’t know what he’d do, but there is no point in taking the chance.
You know his face now, and that’s a good thing. ”
For the rest of the day, they talked about some of the rules that he had to follow, even as an older vampire.
There weren’t many that he didn’t follow, but he was sure that if someone were to go over his life, they’d see that he didn’t follow a great many of them.
He’d gotten old by his wits, and he wasn’t going to change his ways about that and get himself killed at this late in the game.
Tabitha seemed to be in a better mood all the way around after the day they’d spent together.
He was happy too. It had gotten him out of the house and around others, which was both a good thing and a bad thing.
He didn’t much care for people as a whole and would just as soon not have to bother with them at all.
But he did have his Tabitha, and that was enough for him right now.
Tabitha was nearly standing on her feet, asleep when they got back to Brew’s home.
After talking with the other couple for a few minutes, telling them of the house that they’d gotten, she went up to bed.
He couldn’t wait until they shared a room together, even if it was just so he could be near her.
But that time would come, and he’d not rush her.
She was his world right now, and Sirous was going to do his best to make sure that she was happy with whatever came between them.
He loved her, and that was enough for right now.
Brew and he talked through most of the night. He’d told his best friend that Tabitha had been feeling lonely and explained how that had happened. Brew felt bad for that and said he’d try to refrain from talking solely about vampires from now on, and he appreciated it. He then told him about Ruby.
“I can find out who changed him. It might have been someone that we know, and it’ll be easy to get the information.
I have access to a lot of things now that I’m getting better at my job.
Even Calla is getting better with her magic.
But I’ll look into it and see what I can find.
” He said that he didn’t know why it was important, but he just felt in his gut that it was.
“Then I’ll look into it for sure. There is no point in ignoring your gut when it so strongly tells you something.
I’ve learned the hard way about that sort of thing.
Don’t put it off if you can help it. I’ll look into it tomorrow. I promise.”
With that promise, he made his way up to bed. He didn’t need to rest, but he was reading a good book and wanted to get back to it. He loved to read and was happy that Brew had such an extensive library.