The doleful cry of the train's whistle shattered the silence of the sultry summer night. The sound startled a flock of bats and their dark bodies blotted out the light of the pale silver moon. Sitting cross-legged and serene beneath a large Spanish Oak was a pale young man. He watched as the small furry animals flew across the moon, when the cloud had passed he stood up and raised his face to the moon. The soft glow shone off his smooth white features and lit his eerily pale golden eyes. He smiled at the glowing orb and the white light shined on his oddly long canines. Raising his arms as if to embrace the lunar goddess he spun around and around until he became a twirling blur. The wind from the blurred form kicked up a tornado of leaves and they circled the young man like a loose overcoat. Soon the blurred form within the tunnel of leaves became smaller and smaller until it was the size of one of the bats. Suddenly out of the wind tunnel a small fuzzy form rose, flapping its wings, and rising into the bright night sky. The lone bat flew not toward the bayou and the fruit but towards the warm bodies of the Rue Royal and the infamous night club, Lilith's Cave.
The small bat landed in the alleyway behind the night club. The animal began to spin and trash formed another wind tunnel around it, the shape within grew larger and larger until again it was the size of the young man. He stood and shook himself like a dog. Smoothing his hair and clothes he walked around to the front and went into Lilith's Cave.
Inside the red neon lights circling the room pulsed with the heavy beat of the music. In a pit in the center of the bar people twisted serpentine to the music. The young man walked to an empty table and sat down. He was watching the dancer when a slender woman sat down beside him.
"Hello, Gabriel," she sat softly.
"Long time no see, Ashley."
"Still angry with me, I see."
"The creature you see before you, this inhuman body, is your doing, why shouldn't I be, Mother!"
"Isn't it better than having a cancer gnawing away at your lungs?"
"I don't see how now the cancer is eating my blood as quickly as I can replace it."
"Could you have replaced your lungs," he looked at her balefully and she frowned, "please don't be angry with me, it is a terrible thing to have your child hate you for eternity."
"Stop begging, it doesn't suit you. I have become accustomed to this life and it is a interesting experience."
"That is good, those who become bored too young do not last long."
"I'm glad you are satisfied."
"Do you want to dance?"
"I don't dance, I've never been coordinated enough."
"Your forgetting something, Doll baby, you can move like a cat now. All of us can dance look down there in that pit, all of those humans can dance, and so can you. Come along, Gabriele, dance with your mommy."
"Well I suppose it won't hurt me to give you one dance, I haven't had trouble breathing since we met." Ashley led Gabriele down into the dance pit and draped her arms over his shoulders. Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson began blaring over the sound system and they began swaying to the distorted music. Gabriele was surprised by how well he was able to dance now. When the song went off he was reluctant to leave the dance floor. He liked the sensation of dancing so close to this beautiful 'young' woman. It made him feel closer to this creature he had despised for two years. He felt his bitter hatred ebb and be replaced by a peaceful glow. The truth was he had missed her, he had fallen in love with her during the brief time he had known her, and his hatred had mostly been the pain of abandonment. Having her close to him again took away the searing pain and replaced it with a warm feeling of being protected. When the next song came on, an achingly sweet slow song, he held her close to him and began to sway in a soft swishing gait. She laughed softly, sweetly and rested her chin on his shoulder, which was just the right height. She had missed her fledgling just as much as he missed her, the centuries got cold and lonely and having someone to share the ages with warmed the night. It all made her regret leaving the city at all, but it couldn't be helped. A fledgling harbors a deep resentment for their maker the first few months and seeing this pale young beauty hating her would have singed her soul. She loved this child like no other creature she had ever known. He was still innocent, not hardened by the lonely nights, perhaps he would not have to experience them with her by his side. The slow song ended and the next was a fast number. She was in far too soft a mood to dance to the harsh music. She looked into his eyes questioningly and he nodded, he didn't want to deal with the fast music either. They climbed the stairs back out of the pit and left the bar.
"Do you have an apartment here," she asked him when they reached the quite of the dark street.
"An apartment? I thought we were supposed to live in the cemetery." She laughed gently and placed a hand on either side of his face.
"Now I feel really guilty for leaving, you learned everything about who you are from a movie. You don't have to live in a cemetery or sleep in a coffin, I spent the last two years sleeping in a hotel room in London. You poor baby come on I'll get us a hotel room you can sleep in a nice soft bed."
"That sounds nice, but do you have any money?"
"Yes, not that I need it. I could get them to give the room for free."
"How would you do that?
"We can be very persuasive. It's one of our talents."
"Oh you mean like the bat thing."
"The bat thing, you know about that?"
"Yeah, I did it the first time when I was dancing in the moonlight."
"I thought you didn't dance?" She raised her eyebrow and he blushed. "Well anyway let's go get that hotel room, you need a bath."
"I stink?"
"No you just smell a little musty, have you changed your clothes?"
"No I haven't exactly had a chance to go shopping being the way I am and all." She threw her arm around his shoulder like and old buddy.
"Child, you have a lot to learn." Ashley lead him out of the Rue Royal and back into the Garden District. Nestled in the middle of the residential district was a small hotel, the Black Orchid. Of all the monstrous hotels in New Orleans this one was Ashley's favorite, partially because this is the house she grew up in, and because no one even knew it was there. Privacy was her greatest concern when she visited her home town; she still had family living there: family that would recognize her as a young woman, while they had all grown old.When she guided Gabriel into the small b&b the keeper looked up and smiled.
"Ah, Madame, how nice it is to see your lovely face again."
"Hello, Margaritte, is my usual room still vacant?"
"As always, my dear, I still don't see what you see in that dusty little room."
"I like to sleep late, it is the only one without windows."
"Hmm, well, as you wish, dear." She said with a slightly disproving tone.
"I will have a guest with me this time, would you mind leaving me two robes?"
"No, Madame, there will be two robes waiting for you tomorrow evening." Ashley smiled and led Gabriel down a small flight of stairs to a stately, lilac door.
"You know, this used to be a fruit cellar until Margarite bought the house and converted into a room."
"How do you know that?"
"My parents built this house."
"It is realistically antique looking, to be so new."
"I'm older than I look, Darling."
"Oh," he said surveying the room, "where should I sleep?"
"In the bed, silly, where else?"
"Then where are you sleeping?
"Right beside you, where else? Your not turning shy on me, are you?"
"No, it's just the way you left out of here I figured you weren't that interested in being close to me."
"I left outa here like a bat out of hell because fledglings are usually very hurtful the first few years."
"Well, I wasn't, I just couldn't figure out why you had left me alone in this new world. I think I was more hurt than hurtful. How could I be too angry with you? Before I met you I was a street hustler dying of lung cancer."
"It wasn't just lung cancer you were dyeing of, you had HIV too.."
"I what? How do you know?" He asked fear swelling up in his throat.
"I tasted it on your blood, hey, don't worry. The Blood killed it just like it did the cancer."
"It's still scary, think of all the people I could have it passed on to. Think how I would have died, out in the cold without the medication to fend off the pain."
"Well that's all behind you now, there is no pain, no sorrow in this world. Except for loneliness that is."
"You won't be lonely anymore; I'm here for you until the end, if you'll have me."
"Of course I'll have you; I wouldn't have made you if I thought I couldn't stand you for eternity. Now lay down so we can get some sleep."
"There is one more problem; I haven't laid in the same bed with a woman. We didn't get many women down at the gravel pit."
"Don't worry; all I expect from you is to get good days sleep. It's all I want, sex messes everything up. Don't worry it's easier to be gay this way than to be a gay human. We aren't as judgmental."
"I don't know whether I'm gay or not, I was a virgin when I got into the business, and I couldn't bring myself to pursue a relationship because I eventually began to hate even the idea of any kind of sex."
"Well all I need is a companion to pass the centuries with, after a certain age sex doesn't really matter any more." At this point Gabriel lay down beside her and she pulled his head against her shoulder and wrapped her arm around him.
She felt the sun rise. She felt weak and her eyes grew heavy until finally she dozed off to sleep. The day went by while the companions lay together like lost children. Margarita put two fresh robes outside the door and smiled, she was used to Miss Ashley's odd sleeping habits, and it was nice to see her with someone. She was such a lonely young woman.
While the sun was still making red streaks across the bayou Ashley woke up and smiled down at Gabriel. He was young and likely to sleep until the sun slipped beneath the swamps so she went and got the robes and took a bath in the lavish claw foot tub in the bathroom. When she was finished she ran another bath and went back into the bedroom. She went over to the bedroom and gently began to remove Gabriel's clothes. After she had put the pile of clothes in the laundry basket outside the door she picked him up in her arms and carried him to the bath. Slipping him gently into the warm water she picked up a small vase and poured the water in it over his head rinsing the dust from his long pale red hair. He hadn't been lying from the state of his clothes and hair he had been sleeping in a mausoleum and he hadn't taken a bath either.
"It is a good thing our people don't begin to smell ripe, mon bebe," she murmured adoringly. She ran a small rag over his small shoulders and down his stomach. She was surprised when she the rag caught on something. Reaching beneath the water she found the rag snagged on his bellybutton ring. She smiled and laughed,
"good thing you never removed that, the hole would have grown up instantly." She ran her teeth across her tongue it showed no sign of being pierced last year in Paris.
When she had him cleaned off she raised him out of the water and put his robe on him and took him back to bed. She sat beside him until finally the sun slipped to sleep beneath the bayou mud. He stirred and sat upright with a vicious snarl. She burst out laughing. She remembered waking up in a strange room and almost killing whoever was near, it was just part of being young. When he had came to his senses he looked down and then looked up accusingly at her.
"Relax, all you got was a bath, which you severely needed."
"Why didn't I wake up?"
"You wouldn't have woken up if I had thrown your boney butt out in the sunshine." He sat there with a small pout on his face.
"You shouldn't have stripped me, it was very impolite."
"Oh come on you would have killed for a stripper job before I met you."
"Augh," he yelled and stood up, "where are my clothes."
"Come on, don't be angry. Besides you can't leave, your clothes are in the laundry." He sat back down and continued to pout. "Don't be such a drama queen I told you I'm not looking for sex, besides your too young for me."
"I am not I'm twenty, I was eighteen when you changed me."
"You were sixteen when I changed you. You're only eighteen."
"Um, whatever." He said opening the door. Margarita stood with her hand raised in front of the door staring at the nude boy framed by his open robe.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She stammered as she turned her back. Gabriel closed the door and ran to the bathroom. Ashley collapsed across the bed laughing.
"Don't you have anything I can wear." Gabriel called out from the bathroom. A sadistic grin spread across her face as she dug through her suitcases for a black thong. She pulled it and a pair of black jeans from the suitcase and pushed it throught the bathroom door. She listened and giggled as he moaned loudly at the sight of the thong. A couple of minutes later he came waddling out of the bathroom, shirtless, and pulling at the seat of his jeans. He glanced at the evil grin on her face.
"Have mercy I usually wear boxers."
"Oh, don't frown so, you'll get wrinkles."
"Really?" He asked a confused look passing over his face.
"You poor silly little thing." She said a look of pure, genuine sympathy passed over her normally cold features. His face fell and a cold glint filled his eyes.
"You're making fun of me." Once again she kicked herself for leaving this poor childe all alone in the world, he was young even by human standards, and she had waltzed off leaving him to fend for himself, barely more than a boy.
"No, I'm not making fun of you. Now I regret leaving you here all by yourself.
It was cowardly."
"Yes it was," he said turning and scowling at her darkly. "Almost got killed!"
"What!" She asked her eyes flashing dangerously.
"Don't get mad at me, it wasn't my fault, I didn't know that I wasn't allowed there!" He said backing away from the small angry woman.
"Allowed where?"
"Bourbon and Canal. I went there during Marde Gras to see the floats, but some big creep grabbed me by the back of the neck and threw me out." He replied the defensive expression still on his face. A deep growl rose from her chest and he shied away backing into a corner to huddle. The woman was barely five feet tall and was considerably shorter than his five foot five, but he knew she was stronger than he was.
The glint of rage left her eyes when she saw the young boy back into the corner and crouch down defensively. She kicked herself once more but this time for an entirely different reason, she had scared the poor kid half to death
"Gabriel?" She called softly moving towards him. "Gabriel, its okay, I'm not mad at you and I'm not going to hurt you." She slowly reached a hand forward but he flinched and cringed closer to the wall. The boy had seen so much sadness and pain in his sixteen years, before she met him, and after that she left him fend for himself for two years. He clearly expected her to hateful and punch happy as the most of the Johns he had dealt with. He had told her stories, before her gift, of how some of the Johns paid money only to be able to beat the stuffing out of people, the last thing she wanted to do was bring more hurt into this poor boys life. "Gabriel, I swear by the Blood that I won't hurt you, ever. Someone has done something very stupid and has to pay for it, but that person is not you." He peered out at her searchingly and she nodded gently. Some of the fear left his eyes and he uncurled but still sat in the corner.
"Who?"
"What?"
"Who has to pay for doing something stupid?"
"I don't know. Someone thought they could muscle into my territory while I was gone, but they're wrong. The fact that they had the balls to chase my own childe from my territory really pisses me off." She answered him as gently as she could, barely suppressing her anger.
"Oh, well what are you going to do about it?" He asked innocently.
"Somebody…somebody is going to die tonight." A tremor ran through him but he took her for her word and stood up.
"Can we go shopping first?" He asked flinching slightly as the words left his mouth.
"What?"
"Can we go shopping? This thong is cutting in all over the place and I don't have a shirt."
"Oh…sure thing, but you'll have to have something to wear to the store." She turned around and began digging through one of her bags. "Here," she said throwing a black tank top towards him. "It'll come up about your navel, but if you got it pierced you must have wanted to show it off." He shrugged in answer and pulled the shirt over his head. When she began to remove her robe he saw that she had no attention of going into the bathroom to change he darted in there himself. She laughed quietly to herself and called over her shoulder. "You sure you're not gay." She took this to mean that he still wasn't sure, but she was.
"NO!" He shouted through the closed door. He loved Ashley, sex wasn't a pleasant prospect. It still bothered him that she had bathed him.
"It's okay now." She called through the door after she had finished dressing.
"Do you have enough money?" He asked opening the door.
"Don't worry about that, sugar."
"Okay, where's the Wal-Mart?" He asked sincerely.
"Wal-mart." She said nearly choking on the syllables. "No child of mine is going to walk around clothed in Wal-Mart clothes." She said cringing as she recognized her own mother's words coming out of her mouth.
"Wal-Mart clothes are okay for me."
"Ha…" She exclaimed taking his hand and dragging him towards the long black car in the driveway. The car wasn't new, in fact it was older than Gabriel, it wasn't a sports car either, but it was her prized possesion, a '76 black Monte Carlo. Opening the door she barely avoided braining the boy as she pushed him into the front seat. Dashing around the car she climbed in and turned the key. The engine roared to life and she threw the car into gear without looking behind her she tore backwards into the street. She pushed against the accelerator and the car jumped forward at a speed that caused Gabriel to spread his arms and legs out searching for something to brace himself against. She glanced at him laughing. "If we wreck it won't kill you."
"No, but it'll hurt." He replied buckling his seatbelt and digging his heals into the floorboard. She laughed once more but turned her eyes and focused on the road anyway, the boy was right, it would hurt a great deal. After what seems like mere seconds to the frightened Gabriel the car came to a surprisingly smooth stop. He looked out the window to see where they were but all he saw around them were warehouses.
"I'm too good for Wal-Mart clothes, but we're going to steal from warehouses."
"No, no, silly boy. This is one of the most exclusive boutiques in Louisiana." She replied in a grandiose French accent.
"Oo la la, I may be a silly boy, but I am not stupid, I know a warehouse when I see it, I've been on my knees in enough of them." He finished speaking more to himself than to Ashley. She winced slightly at the reference to his former life but circled the car and grabbed his hand.
"If you think I'm lying you'll just have to see then wont you?"
"I guess so," he replied still sounding unsure. She nodded and drug him towards one of the warehouses. On the side near the middle of the building a door made of the same corrugated tin as the rest of the building was barely visible. Ashley knocked on the door causing Gabriel to jump from the loud echoing booms it caused. Tapping her foot Ashley waited impatiently for and answer from the inside of the building.
"What's the password?" A gruff voice called from behind the mettle door.
"Let me in or I'll kill your family." Ashley called almost laughing at the look of horror on Gabriel's face.
"That's no great threat coming from a pygmy vampire." The voice replied laughing.
"Say that to my face you great lug." Ashley shouted through the door slightly annoyed. Slowly the door creaked open revealing a rather large black man in a leather shirt.
"Who's the bebe?" He asked with a heavy Creole accent.
"Rolyn, this is my childe Gabriel."
"Scrawny runt isn't he?" The large vampire asked peering inquisitively. "You always had a thing for strays." Gabriel's face fell and he looked down at his shoes.
"Shut up, Rolyn, the boy's had a hard life. He's been living in a mausoleum since I left him."
"He has?" He asked his voice softening. "Ashley, I told you if you abandoned another one of your bebes you had to tell me so I could watch after them." He said suddenly sounding slightly angry. "He's the first that's managed to survive."
"What!?" Gabriel shouted looking up. "You've given others the Blood and then just left them to die?"
"They all died of stupidity." She said with a noncommittal shrug.
"I almost did too." He replied nearly shouting, "I can't believe you." He turned and walked off.
"You and your big mouth." Ashley said angrily turning to Rolyn.
"Don't blame me because you've an icy heart." She rolled her eyes and walked off in the direction he was headed. "You saw what size he was pick out some pretty clothes and have them sent to Margaritte's." She called before she disappeared into the night after Gabriel. She found him rather quickly; it was easy to follow the sound of his sobbing to him. He had obviously not expected to be followed because he had only gone around the corner of the building and crouched behind a dumpster. Ashley walked up to the sobbing boy and crouched beside him peering at him through her long gold bangs. For the second time she had hurt him without meaning too, without thinking about it.