Hungry is the Night - Page Three
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Catlin woke in a cloud of wonderful scent. She buried her face further into the pillow, then abruptly came fully awake. She sat up and was checking the soles of her completely healed feet in amazement when Gabriel came into view, holding a milkshake.
"Good evening, mon chaton," he said as he handed it to her.
"Evening? Oh, shit."
Catlin looked at her watch, and saw that it was 7.00.
"I suppose it's too much to ask for that it's 7.00 a.m."
Gabriel smiled.
"I'm afraid so. But I can take you to Mayland Shopping Centre, if there's anything they missed."
"Thanks, but I can take myself. Hang on. What do you mean, anything they missed?"
Gabriel gestured behind him, and Catlin stood to be able to see over the back of the couch. The couch was new - it was a lovely deep, rich red, which it hadn't been before. There was a new TV in her cabinet, and new vases, dinner setting and crystal glasses in the cabinet. Catlin moved past him towards her bedroom door, and stared into her room in astonishment. The bed had a new mattress, and new sheets which looked like they'd been ironed. The quilt was missing, of course, as she'd been sleeping on it, but the room was otherwise exactly how she'd left it - perhaps neater. Her clothes were clean, pressed, and put away, and a small vase of roses sat on her desk. In the bathroom, the cabinet doors had been fixed, the bath was empty, and new red towels hung on the rail. She opened the drawer, and found brand-new make-up, each piece still in its package. There was no sign that Michael had ever been in the apartment. Catlin stepped out of the bathroom, and noted that the fridge was closed. She wouldn't have been surprised to open it and find it full of food, but instead, she looked at Gabriel.
"My mirror?"
"Is being repaired. It'll be back by the end of the week. The china specialist was much faster."
Catlin opened her cabinet, picked up her one and only Lladro figurine, and saw that it had been carefully mended. She put it back down and picked up one of the three sparkling new lead crystal vases, which matched the one in her bedroom.
"These aren't mine."
"They are now. We couldn't tell what the old ones had looked like, so I picked them."
"So you are responsible for all of this? The new towels, the new bed, the new couch?"
"Oui."
"Why?"
"You were upset, and I wanted to make it right for you."
"I see."
"You are angry with me. Why?"
"It's an invasion of my privacy! I only met you a week ago! And you're buying me furniture and washing my underwear?!"
"It wasn't me, personally, mon chaton. I was sleeping, just as you were."
"Oh, and that makes it alright?"
"I don't understand, mon chaton. I bit you, turned you; It is my responsibility to take care of you until such time as you are able to take care of yourself. Why can you not accept that?"
Catlin threw the empty milkshake container at his head with a shout of frustration. Something in her mind was whispering that she should go to him, that he would make everything better, and it only made her more angry.
"You're such a male! I can take care of my god-damned self! I don't need you hovering around, picking up after me, buying me new things and following me around like we have some kind of relationship! I don't know you! I don't want to know you! Now go away and leave me the fuck alone!"
Gabriel was smiling at her, infuriatingly, and the whispers in her mind were stronger.
"And I will not "come here"!"
"Mon chaton," he began.
"And stop calling me that!"
"Mon chaton. If, and I repeat, if you were not a vampire, you would not have been able to resist my "Come here". You would have woken, in the day, when there were strange people in your home."
He moved, suddenly, and Catlin stepped aside just as he would have grabbed her around the waist.
"You would not be able to avoid me," he smiled wider, flashing fang, "and you would not have fangs."
Catlin stared into the mirror he held in front of her face, and at the sharp white fangs that curved down, gently indenting her bottom lip.
"You put these on me when I slept," Catlin accused, trying to pry them off. "Ouch!"
"Non, mon chaton," he replied, fangs extending further as he took her hand from her mouth and brought it to his own. "The fangs are yours."
He licked her bleeding finger, and seemed disappointed when it didn't bleed more.
"They extend when we are angry, hungry, or... excited. Vampire saliva helps wounds to heal - when you feed, you bite, you drink, and when you're done, you lick the wounds to heal them. They don't heal straight away, of course, but they don't get infected and they don't take longer than a day to vanish. If you're feeding off another supernatural - another vampire, werewolves, for example, their accelerated healing may make the wound close over before you're done. Sticking the point of your tongue in the wound while you're feeding will keep it open. No need to assist another supernatural in healing themselves."
Catlin snorted.
"Right, werewolves. And they're just going to say, "Hey, vamp, come and suck my blood". Sure."
"It's been known to happen. Usually preceding a fight. See, you are not so angry now. Your fangs are retracting."
Catlin watched as they retracted into her gums, leaving her with normal looking teeth. Perhaps a little pointer than normal, sure, but all in all, nothing too abnormal.
"Your fangs are still out."
"Yes, as I said, strong emotions cause them to extract. Hunger, Anger, Love, Lust..."
"Uh huh. And you're hungry."
"Not quite, mon chaton. But come. You need to call your friend, Mary-Kate, and then you need to come with me back to the house."
"Why?" Catlin asked, all fight gone out of her.
"You need to meet my... sister."
"Your... sister. That was convincing."
"She is not my sister in the traditional meaning. But we have the same sire."
"I see. Another vampire."
"Oui. And then, you will need to meet my sire, and we will petition him for your entry to our nest."
"Your nest?"
"Don't argue, please, mon chaton. Just call your friend, shower, and dress. I will explain on the way."
"Alright. While I do all that, go get me some food?"
"The milkshake did not satisfy your hunger?"
"Not nearly. I want Chinese. Sweet and Sour chicken and fried rice. Scoot."
Gabriel sighed, and then he left.
"So, have you tried biting him with them?"
Catlin laughed as she put the finishing touches on her makeup.
"No, MK, I haven't tried biting anyone with them."
"Guess that means you didn't do the nasty with him them. Shame. I've been wondering if he's circumcised all day."
"Mary-Kate!"
Laugher trickled through the phone line, and Catlin smiled as she opened her wardrobe to look over her clothing.
"Hey, if you're going to sleep all day forever now, can I have your red sun dress?"
"It's only been one day!"
"And you won't need the matching sandals either, so can I have them too?"
"MK!"
She laughed again.
"Only kidding, pet."
"I thought best friends were supposed to be supportive, not scrabbling to decimate my wardrobe the second I shuffle loose the mortal coil."
"You're not dead, darling."
"No, but if what he says is true, I'm not exactly alive any more either, am I?"
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.
"I'm not sure I like this, pet."
"I'm not sure I like it, either. But what can I do?"
"Well, at least nobody knows that you're dead. Expect me, of course. And it's not like you ever see your mother. So as long as you move house every 15 years or so, you'll be fine. 'Cause people will believe that you're a mature 20, up to being a young 35, but go much beyond that and they'll wonder. Or will you still age? That would suck, when you're 102."
"Thanks, MK, as always, your vote of confidence is overwhelming."
"Hey, we can work it out, babe. Not sure what you'll do about your finances. Perhaps every 50 years or so you should will it to yourself. Ask tall, dark and handsome, he'll help you figure it out. If it's all true, of course."
"Of course."
Catlin wriggled into a pair of close-fitting black jeans.
"I wonder if that means that my red dress will be a fraction too tight for the rest of my life? Or unlife, or whatever."
"You'll just have to get one of those tummy-sucking underwear."
"From Sue's?"
"Yeah. Now that's a thought, where are you going to buy your underwear from?"
"That is worrying. Maybe I'll have to send you in to get it for me."
"And what about when I die?"
"I'll ask Juniper."
"My god, can you imagine, Juniper in bras?"
"You have a good 12 to 15 years before you have to worry about that. And probably 17 before she'll be secure enough to go into Sue's and help me out."
Mary-Kate laughed, and Catlin slipped into a bright red top with long sleeves and a scoop neckline. Black boots and leather coat completed the outfit.
"You dressed?"
"Yeah. Just need to brush my hair."
"I'll let you go then."
"Alright. I'll call you in a few days."
"Take Care, pet."
"You too, MK."
Catlin hung up the phone, and spend a few minutes fiddling with her hair, before declaring it good enough. She walked into the lounge to find Gabriel reclined on the couch.
"I didn't hear you come in."
"I thought I would give you privacy for your phone call. Your Chinese is on the counter."
"Thank you."
Cat started eating, studying Gabriel as she ate.
"So tell me about your family. You said sire before, what is that?"
"My sire is the one who made me. In most cases, this means nothing, however in my case, my sire is also the head of my house."
"What does that mean?"
Gabriel sighed.
"Let me put it this way. In our society, there are five houses - Violet, Heliotrope, Blackthorn, Orchid and Hellebore. Each vampire belongs to a house, and if a vampire goes mad or wants true death, it is the responsibility of his or her house to take care of it. I am of Orchid house, therefore, so are you. Within each house, there are many nests, or groups of vampires living together, helping each other. Some are permanent, some are liquid. Liquid nests are just made up of a group of vampires who happened to be in the same place at the same time. Permanent nests have structure, and territory, and any vampire who wishes to enter our territory must negotiate passage, or petition for permission to stay, from the Master of the Nest. Our nest is permanent, and our Master of the Nest is my sire, and is also the head of the Orchid house."
"So we're going to ask permission for me to stay here."
"We are going to ask permission for you to join our nest. This means you can stay here, yes, and also affords you the protection of our house against Michael and the little angel, as well as rival vampires and other supernaturals."
"My day just gets better and better," Catlin muttered.
"Are you finished, mon chaton?"
"Yeah, I'm done eating. Let's get this over with."
Gabriel stopped in the shelter of the grey stone porch, water dripping from his coat onto the dusky red tiles, turning them red where the water fell, like drops of blood. It had started to rain on their way over, a light drizzle that had turned into torrential downpour in true English summer fashion. The dash from the taxi to the doorway had soaked them both, and she looked ruefully at her soaked top. Gabriel removed her coat and shook the water off it, then did the same to his own. He then paused with his hand on the door.
"Mon chaton, I need to know your name."
"My name?"
"Oui. You have never told me, and I haven't wished to pry, but I need to know before we enter the house."
"You didn't pick it up along the way?"
"Your friends call you cat, pet, kitten. You answer to all three."
"Cat is short for Catlin. Catlin Elizabeth."
"Thank you, mon chaton. I am Gabriel Marcus d'Soissons."
He bowed, and Catlin was left thinking she should curtsy or something.
"Are you ready? Shall we enter?"
"Will you walk into my parlour?" Catlin muttered, as he opened the front door with a flourish, and she followed him into the house.
He closed the door behind him, and Catlin looked around the inner porch. An elderly gentleman appeared in a doorway to their right, and Gabriel smiled at him.
"Alfred, will you take our coats to one of the girls to dry off?"
"Yes, Master Gabriel."
He took their coats, and Catlin looked at Gabriel.
"He's human?"
"Yes. He and Helene have worked here for years. There's others that you'll meet, but that will wait for later."
Gabriel opened a second door straight ahead, and ushered her through. Catlin recognised the main staircase from her previous visit, and glanced towards her escape route. Gabriel took three steps in front of her, then suddenly stopped walking, causing Catlin to narrowly miss colliding into him.
"So, this is your latest pet, Gabriel?" asked a cool voice from above them.
Catlin looked up the magnificent staircase, and swallowed. The girl in the middle of the staircase was beautiful, and Catlin instantly felt out of place.
Should have worn a dress, she thought, looking at her jeans and damp top disparagingly. But then, it's not like he told me what to expect.
The girl was small and slim and obviously Japanese, wearing a traditional red kimono with her hair in an elaborate knot on the top of her head, with two gold chopsticks protruding. Her makeup was impeccable. The only thing that hinted she hadn't just stepped out of 16th century Japan was the colour of her hair - she had dyed it purple.
"A bit busty, isn't she? Not your usual type at all. Looks far more like one of Damien's wenches."
"Better than having none," Catlin snapped, pretending she wasn't jealous of the girls small high breasts.
Bet she doesn't even need to wear a bra, Cat thought jealously.
"Meow. The little lost kitten has claws. Don't worry about that sunlight hair, darling, it'll dull down after a few hundred years."
"Enough," Gabriel interrupted, spoiling Catlin's comeback. "Jade, this is Catlin. Catlin, this is my sister Jade."
"Hello," Catlin murmured, eyeing the girl.
"Hello," she mimicked. "I suppose you want me to do something with her?"
"Would you mind helping her?"
"Oh, alright. Come on, little cat, we'll see if we can make you presentable."
The girl turned and started back up the stairs.
"Go on. I'll find you later."
Shooting daggers at Gabriel, Catlin followed Jade up the stairs.
"Hmm."
"What?" Catlin snapped, temper slowly fraying.
The girl had been poking and prodding at her for over an hour, handing her things to try on, then snatching them back before they'd even been properly buttoned.
"That one actually suits you. Step down, I'll fix your makeup before I fix your hair."
"What is wrong with my makeup?"
"It's been rained on and it's smudged."
Catlin sighed, and sat in the indicated chair, watching as Jade produced pots and brushes, then shut her eyes while she fussed over her face. She supposed that she should be grateful that Gabriel's sister was helping her, but really...
"So. What has Gabriel told you about being a vampire?"
"Um. Garlic, crosses, holy water, reflection, sleeping all day, sunlight..."
"Did he tell you about the blood lust?"
"Uh, no."
"Not surprising. He's so squeamish around women."
Jade finished Catlin's face and started unrolling the rollers she'd put in her hair.
"We need blood to survive. In the first year, you'll need to drink from a human at least once a week - possibly more. In time, you'll be able to cut down. I have it down to needing to feed between once a month and 10 times a year. I don't know how often the boys need to feed, as we tend to feed more often than is necessary to survive, but Gabriel's gone for six months without feeding once, and Alex has gone for years. I think it's sort of like weight lifting - the more you practice, the longer you can go, but to be honest, going without makes you weak, tired, lethargic, cold... I don't know why anyone would want to not feed unless they had to. As you get older, it'll take longer for the weakness to start. A word of warning, though. If you start to feel tired, or sick, tell one of us, and we'll take you hunting. If you leave it too long, you'll find yourself standing over a dead body with no recollection of how you got there. It's not worth the risk."
"I don't know if I can."
"You can. Trust me." Jade's expression softened slightly, as she added, "I take if you haven't had any yet?"
"No."
"I'm hunting next week. If Alex accepts you, and you've trained to a sufficient level by then, you can come with me."
"But..."
"There are rules, if you hunt with me. One, I only drink from people who won't be missed, in case I get carried away. The homeless, usually. Failing that, I prey on predators. Men who think I'm an easy target. How are you at self defence?"
"Passable. I've been taking Jiu Jitsu classes for 10 years. Before then I did kick-boxing."
"Really. Well, if Alex accepts you, we'll train together before we go hunting, and I'll see if you're good enough to be out by yourself. You will be stronger, so it will take you a few days to get used to your new strength. Does that sound acceptable to you?"
"Yes."
"Good. Two, unless the boys are along, I tend to drink from men. I'm less likely to be remembered if I leave the bar after being picked up by a man, than I am if I leave the bar after picking up a woman. Unless, of course, it's a gay bar - but the scene there is fairly close-knit, and a lot of them know each other, so it's more dangerous."
"You prefer to pick up women?"
Jade shrugged.
"Women taste better. The boys agree, but I've known others who disagree, so I'll let you make up your own mind. Gabriel told you how to stop the bite?"
"Yes."
"Good. Did he tell you anything about Alex?"
"Is that your sire?"
"Yes."
"Not really. He told me about the houses and the power structure."
"Then you know that Alex has to approve you for you to be allowed to stay here?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let me tell you a little about Alex. He is over 3000 years old. How much older, we're not really sure, but picking a rough date, we've decided that he's 3271 years old. He was turned during the Trojan Wars, by a fellow soldier. Never bring it up."
"Why not?"
"The soldier was his comrade in arms, and they travelled the world together. He was killed by the church in AD 300, after they had been together for almost 1500 years. It still hurts him to think about it."
"Alright. So Alex was a Greek? Alexander?"
"He will tell you his name if he accepts you. It is a sign of great honour."
"Well. I wish I'd known that before I told Gabriel mine. Jerk."
Jade smiled.
"You know, you're alright, for a little cat."
Catlin hissed at her, and Jade broke into laughter, which suddenly made her seem more human, more approachable, and Catlin found herself smiling back.
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