Authors: Danielle DeVor
Once Nossy arrived at Vlad’s chamber door, he smiled. “Shall I make my presence known? Or, shall I enter unannounced and scare him?” Nossy mumbled.
A mischievous glint surrounded Nossy’s eyes. He was much too ornery of a creature. He did what was natural to him.
Without a sound, Nossy blew on the lock mechanism of the door, and smiled when the door opened by itself silently. Carefully, he crept across the floor and looked this way and that, trying to locate the glum vampire. And then, he spied dark hair just peeping out about a wingback chair near the fireplace. Nossy tiptoed across the floor, and struck, grabbing Vlad around the shoulders.
“Ahhhhh!” Vlad jumped up from the chair. He turned around quickly, already in a fighting stance. “I should kill you for that.”
By this time, Nossy couldn’t help himself and was rolling about the floor in hysterics.
“Oh you think you’re so funny, don’t you?” Vlad dropped his arms to his sides and watched the elder vampire roll around the floor like a newborn pup.
“Of course I do. If I wasn’t funny, you would be so bored.” Nossy collapsed onto his back and lay, panting.
“So, to what do I owe the honor of your esteemed company?”
Nossy rolled over and propped himself up on one arm, facing his friend. “I have a surprise for you.”
Vlad sat down on the arm of the chair he had vacated and watched his friend. “Oh you do, do you?”
Nossy grinned. “Yup.”
“You are the only vampire I know who switches between speaking in proper correct English and American slang in a nanosecond.”
“What can I say? I’m talented.”
Vlad shook his head. “We digress my friend. What is this surprise you are blathering about?”
Nossy sat up and bowed his head trying to hide his mirth. “It’s nothing.”
“Nonsense! You didn’t creep all the way down here just to scare the life out of me. And besides, you already told me you had a surprise.” Vlad crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Nossy raised his head. “Well, you don’t have to be a fuddy-duddy about it. Especially after what I’ve done for you.”
Vlad rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes. You are the most wonderful vampire in the world. Now, get on with it.”
“Very well. You’ll be happy to know that Mathias has agreed to attend the holiday celebration, even though the likes of you will be in attendance.” Vlad stared at him. Nossy knew that he finally had his friend’s attention.
“How did you manage that?”Vlad asked.
Nossy smiled, his face once again gaining his ornery expression. “Does it really matter?”
* * * * *
Mathias couldn’t believe Nossy. He was so out in left field that Mathias couldn’t tell if he had any ulterior motives or not. And there seemed to be a lot of fuss over a holiday thing. After his parents died, he hadn’t really cared about doing much of anything that had to do with family.
True, he’d always liked getting presents, but his new life left no way to get a present without it costing anything. There was no one that he could trust enough to accept a present without a thought. He didn’t know what Nossy had planned, and hoped that it wouldn’t turn out to be another piece of drama in his life. That was something he could do without.
He had lost all hope of being normal. He knew that there was no going back. At one time, he would have sulked until he managed to get what he wanted, but he knew the truth now. Truth demanded maturity and responsibility. He wasn’t sure what he could do to help his situation at the moment except avoid those who needlessly placed him in the face of danger.
The childlike part of him wondered what the celebration would be like, but the adult part expected disaster. The only logical thing to be done was to keep his eyes open and his mouth shut. Every nerve in his body would be centered on waiting for attack.
The days that followed passed by in a blur. It was not a blur of unknowing sentiment, but rather, a blur of trepidation. Mathias spent his mornings ensuring that he was in the condition to fight. Logically, he knew that if he was to manage to save himself, he needed to be trained to fight again. There was no muscle memory to speak of, and the only experience he had in this lifetime was the time on the streets which only served to give him a high tolerance for pain and a desire for survival.
Three days before the holiday celebration, Mathias swallowed his nerve and tapped on the door to Nosferatu’s bed chamber with a claw. He could hear the older vampire slowly and laboriously make his way to the door. Mathias had to wonder if he was doing it on purpose. He jumped when Nosferatu opened the door suddenly and appeared within a nose of Mathias.
“You rang?” Nosferatu asked in a lecherous tone.
Mathias shook his head. The old vampire was completely batty and mimicking an old monster TV show. “I just wanted to ask you a favor.”
Nosferatu grinned. “And what would that be?”
“I want to learn to fight.”
Nosferatu stood and stared. “Why?”
Everything had to be difficult. Mathias had to keep himself in check so that he wouldn’t lose his temper and destroy his chance to be re-trained. “You know the world I’ve come from. You know the world I remember, and you have to ask why I want to learn to fight now?”
Nosferatu sighed. “If you remember so much, you should already know how to fight.”
He needed to know. If he was going to survive, he needed it. Plus, he needed to know how to if he ever got the chance to go after Nic, but Nosferatu wasn’t going to help him. He’d just have to find someone else. “Just fucking forget it.”
Nosferatu placed a hand on Mathias’ shoulder. “Wait. I didn’t realize it was that important to you. But if you can remember, why do you need to learn?”
He paused, pulling his thoughts together. It wasn’t easy, keeping the past and the present straight. “The mind remembers, but the body is weak.”
Nosferatu raised a bushy eyebrow. “Huh?”
He was tempted to just let Nosferatu read his thoughts, but he didn’t like the thought of anyone in his head. “I remember how to do it, but I’ve never done it. My body doesn’t remember how because I’ve never fought that way in it. And being this young, I can’t do the things I remember doing because my body isn’t capable of it.”
Nossy nodded. “Well then, if that is what you’d like to do, then yes, I’ll teach you.”
Mathias blinked. He was actually going to do it. “Thank you.” He turned and began to leave to go back to the room that had been his since he began staying with Nosferatu.
“Wait.”
Mathias turned. “What?”
Nosferatu cleared his throat. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but is there anything that you would like as a holiday gift?”
Mathias’ eyes turned dark and became glassy. The one thing he wanted wasn’t even possible. “Nothing that you would be able to provide.”
Chapter Twelve
Mathias paced in his room. He was very nervous. If it wasn’t for the fact that Nosferatu had questioned his bravery, he wouldn’t even be in this mess. One of these days, he would get around to trying stop thinking like a street kid. When he was back with Lucretia, he would have jumped in and attacked without even thinking. He’d been living under the “attack first, ask questions later” rule. Things were different now, but he still had no other protection than his paranoia and awareness.
He had an hour to go before the holiday celebration. It was either going to be all right, with just minor irritations, or it was going to be an all-out bloodbath. If he were to bet on it, he would take the odds on the bloodbath.
He walked over to his bed where a fine black suit was laid out like a shroud. It was strange really. He could remember a time when he would have been overjoyed at having the chance to wear something made of fabric so fine. Now, he looked at the garment in disdain. It was a symbol of everything he didn’t want to be.
He quickly undressed, picked up the suit, and sighed. He looked down at his body, seeing the various scars he’d gained on the street that hadn’t disappeared once be became a vampire. It was strange. In all the books, once you became a vampire, your physical imperfections disappeared. But in this tilted thing he now knew as reality, he kept his scars— and not just the physical ones.
He took a deep breath. He could feel them coming.
* * * * *
“Mathias?” Nosferatu asked from the other side of the door. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah... hold on.” He took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. It hadn’t been the first time he’d seen himself in the mirror at the University, but there was something about his reflection now that seemed off.
“Nosferatu?” Mathias waited for the elder vampire to enter.
“Yes?”
Mathias pointed at his reflection. Nosferatu began to laugh.
“What?”
Nosferatu calmed himself. “Vlad never bothered to tell you, did he?”
“Tell me what?”
“A vampire does not age in a standard manner, of that, I am sure you are aware.”
Mathias nodded.
“Because your body is not fully developed, it will continue to age until you reach an adult state.”
Mathias nodded again. “Yeah, I heard all that.”
“But apparently, Vlad neglected to tell you how you’ll age. You see, your body no longer operates on your time, but on the changes in the rotations of the Earth, the seasons. To your body, this is the new year.”
Mathias turned and looked Nosferatu in the eyes. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that it’s time to get acquainted with your new face, buddy boy. According to our law, you just turned sixteen.”
Mathias clenched his brows. “That makes no sense.”
“Of course it does, you just need to stop thinking like a human, and begin to think like a vampire.”
“What, so every vampire has the same birthday?”
Nosferatu laughed. “Of course not, you silly boy. There are days of birth, days of death, and days of rebirth. In a way, you are rare that in your birth, your death, and your rebirth all occurred on the same day. All this means is that you will only age the amount you would during a given year in one day. This occurs in late winter until your body is completely grown. After you are completely grown, aging stops.”
Mathias sighed. “Birthdays are a lot less complicated.”
“Come now, it is time we got you to the celebration. I sincerely do not believe you will want to miss Vlad dressed as that red-nosed reindeer.”
“What?” Mathias asked, his eyes wide.
“Syke!” The batty vampire ran down the hallway. Mathias laughed and tried to run fast enough to keep up.
Finally, they reached the doors of the Great Hall.
* * * * *
Mathias halted at the doors; the magnificence to behold was unlike anything he had seen before. Evergreen trees were bedecked in ornaments that were encrusted with the finest of materials. Statuary of gilded angels were nested amongst bejeweled stars of David. It was almost as if someone had taken something from every known religion around the world and placed them in the Great Hall. In a far corner, a gilt Poseidon watched over a sea of Buddhas— it was probably the most bizarre thing that Mathias had ever seen.
Finally, Mathias spied Nosferatu beckoning him from across the room. Looking around at the various people surrounding the elder vampire, he saw no familiar faces, so he approached.
“Mathias, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Tangsomchai? They aid us in the importation of fine items from Thailand.”
Mathias looked at the kind-looking couple and bowed to Mrs. Tangsomchai, as his lessons in manner had dictated. Mr. Tangsomchai was wearing a polished black tuxedo. Mrs. Tangsomchai wore a silk pant suit that looked like it came from their native country. Both of them were small boned and short with dark hair and eyes.
“What a polite young man,” Mrs. Tangsomchai said.
Mathias beamed. Before he knew it, he was guided into a chair by Mrs. Tangsomchai. Nosferatu smiled and nodded to Mathias, then turned his attention elsewhere.
Mrs. Tangsomchai placed her hand on Mathias’ jaw and spun his head to face her.
Mathias raised an eyebrow.
What the fuck?
“Would you give us the honor of sharing our meal?” Mrs. Tangsomchai asked.
Mathias looked at the table and found it laden with delicacies of the like he had never seen. Fish pieces in some sort of red sauce, fried rolls that looked sort of like egg rolls, noodles that looked spicy with a hint of red too them, it all looked amazing. “Eh, sure.”
Mrs. Tangsomchai quickly loaded Mathias with a plate of food that looked like it would feed fourteen dinosaurs. He accepted the plate graciously, but found himself puzzled.
“May I ask a question?” Mathias asked.
“Why of course, Master Mathias.” Mr. Tangsomchai said.
“When we were introduced... Nosferatu... he didn’t give me your first names.”
“Ahh, is that all? The answer is very simple. Our language is sometimes difficult for the western tongue to adapt to. Your Nosferatu has difficulty with the pronunciation.”
Mathias was surprised. This was the first time he’d ever heard of Nosferatu not being able to do something. “Oh,” was all he could think to say.
After that, he did what every teenage boy does when faced with a plate full of food, he grazed. After a moment, he looked up to see the Tangsomchai’s watchful eyes staring at him. He smiled, and their faces visibly relaxed, content that he was happy with their cuisine. While he found some items that he wasn’t fond of, he ate them anyway, not wanting to offend. After his plate was cleared he smiled again.
“We will not hold you any longer, Master Mathias, as we know that you are very busy. We had asked Nosferatu if we might have the pleasure of meeting you.” The proud couple stood and bowed to him.
Mathias stood up from the table and returned the bow, not sure of what else to do. “Before I leave, can you tell me what all of this means?” He pointed to all of the mixed decorations.
“Ah, as I am sure you know by now that this is a school for our kind. Because the parents can be rather old or rather young, our children are raised in whatever religion is common to the family. Since the school does not have the ability to give time off for every religious holiday that occurs from the fall through winter, we allow the children this party to celebrate all customs,” Mr. Tangsomchai said.
While he hadn’t expected such a detailed explanation, Mathias was grateful for it. “Thank you for your help.”
“Perhaps you might visit us in our homeland during the summer holiday?” Mrs. Tangsomchai offered, smiling.
Mathias returned her smile. “Perhaps.”
Mathias left their table and wandered around the hall.
After looking all over the room, Mathias located Nosferatu near the other end of the hall, visiting with Vlad. While he wasn’t exactly overjoyed to be in Vlad’s presence, he knew he didn’t have much choice.
“Ah, so there you are!” Nosferatu promptly shoved a warm mug into Mathias’ hands.
“You know very well where I was.”
Vlad burst out laughing, promptly dropping his reindeer nose into a pint of cider. “How could you, Nossy?”
Nosferatu simply grinned.
Mathias was not amused. He had been made a part of a joke, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. “What?”
Vlad coughed and composed himself. “I’m afraid, Mathias, that you— as you Americans say— have been had.”
Mathias was finding the entire evening increasingly un-amusing. “And how is that?”
Nosferatu chocked on his cider. Vlad rubbed his temples.
“So she asked you to visit them during the holiday did she?” Nosferatu asked, and then promptly burst into hysterics.
Vlad coughed, again. “Mr. and Mrs. Tangsomchai are routinely notorious for doing their level best to find a way to marry off their hoards of daughters to vampire royalty.”
Mathias twitched. “What are you talking about?”
Nosferatu placed his hand on Mathias’ shoulder. “The Tangsomchai’s believe in the old ways. I believe, Mathias, that they were planning on you coming to Thailand. And once you’d arrived, they would then offer you your choice of their daughters-- as well as a hefty dowry.”
Mathias pursed his lips. “What the hell were they thinking? I’m only sixteen-fucking-years-old!”
“Mathias! Language!” Vlad placed his hand on Mathias’ arm.
Mathias was about to counter when he noticed that the hall had grown silent. He turned in the direction of the gazes around him and found himself facing a pair of green eyes and the smell of roses overpowering his senses. She was dressed in a long satin dress that emphasized her body. Her breasts looked like they would spill out of the dress if it wasn’t for the boning of the dress holding them in.
Mathias saw that every head in the hall was turned toward them, their eyes focused on their Queen. He couldn’t take it. His blood started pounding through his veins. The anger kept building. Before he could strike, Mathias felt a pair of hands holding him in place.
“Be still, Mathias.” Nosferatu whispered in his ear.
The Queen smiled slowly, giving Mathias more than a simple show of fang.
“Why, this is not the proper way to address your Queen,” she said. She raised a claw to Mathias’ face and scratched it, drawing blood. “But I must say, you do clean up rather nicely.”
Mathias cursed himself for being so stupid. He knew better than to let his back face the room. He could feel the blood pooling on his face and then the scratch healing itself. He breathed hard.
“Now, now. Do not make a scene, young Mathias. You and I have unfinished business. You are not pure. Because you have been made without my approval, I have decided that you should be tested for your worthiness for the vampire world. You’ll get your notice soon enough.”
In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
“Calm down now, Mathias.” Nosferatu ushered Mathias into a chair nearby. “You did rather well tonight. We are proud of your restraint.”
“She could have taken me out-right then!” He never made mistakes like that. His time as a child was making him soft. He needed to think more like a killer.