PRELUDE TO DISASTER
Sarah was definitely not enjoying her alternate-universe Valentine's Day! What she had been looking forward to was Ethan sweetly trying to sweep-her-off-her feet by finally taking her to an expensive restaurant (expensive by a small city teen boy's standards) and nothing weird or awful happening. To finally set-right the disaster that was their first date!
Then it would have been to the dance. Sarah knew from Erica (and how Erica knew, Sarah had no idea!) that Ethan had used his "Musetronics" band money to order roses. Ethan had (naively) bragged that he had also had his dress pants let down, as he had grown a few inches since the last time he wore his suit.
Sarah hadn't planned on being invited to an after-party, but she had a few romantic ideas of her own with which to end Valentine's Day.
And to top it all off? Valentine's was a Friday. So no school until Tuesday! Not until Tuesday, as, in Ontario, the following Monday was the "Family Day" holiday.
But now, this was all out of the picture.
Instead, Tempus Mercator Daemonium had "set up" Sarah with a guy named Dirk. Dirk, and not Doug, Dwight, Darren, Dino, Dexter, Dawson, or Dagwood.
Dirk had a Dalmatian, and in Sarah's eyes, the boy had a creepy leer and his nose looked as if he was perpetually going to snicker. The blue eyes were shallow and icy. Even the dog looked irritated to be in the photo.
"I'd choose him over human Ethan" said Erica, looking at his photo. "How many guys have a cleft chin?"
"And nose stuck in the air" said Sarah, looking disgustedly at the photo.
"It's a selfie" said Erica. "What guy takes a good selfie . . . without a selfie stick!"
Sarah broke her date with the guy. But being nice, she called him up to explain she had to take the babysitting job at the Morgans. It wasn't Dirk's fault she didn't know who her boyfriend was!"
Erica listened in to the conversation.
"WTH! Are you serious? Do you know who you're dumping? What do you think you're doing to me! What am I going to say! WTH! I'd care, but I can always get another date. I can go stag and pick up a girl in five minutes! Like I'd go anyway! And Sarah . . . that time you karate slammed me . . . sheer luck!
"If you don't smarten up Dirk" Sarah said tersely, "I'll come over and karate slam you a few more times."
"If you're going to come over . . . ." said Dirk, lightening up.
"Only to karate-slam you" Sarah returned acerbically. "I have some new moves I need to practice. I'll let you decide whether to tell everyone you hurt yourself . . . or that I beat you up."
"Well, uh, yeah, I respect you need to keep the babysitting money flowing" said Dirk, in a more amicable voice. But suddenly he became angry again; "WTH Sarah! I know you've always had that thing for Captain Morgan. And . . . you're not going to get Morgan away from Trixie, you know! Even if you babysit his sister!"
Dirk hung up quickly, apparently fearing Sarah would use some karate moves over the telephone.
"I'm almost thinking of actually going there, right now" said Sarah wryly. "And practicing my karate on that creep."
"I thought Ethan and his geek posse were immature" observed Erica. "But this guy? Tempus screwed up there."
"No, he knew what he was doing" said Sarah impatiently, throwing down her phone. "It's funny, in a demented way. Dirk's like Jesse and Hottie Ho-Tep in a way. He seems romantic, but shows what a jerk he is. Dirk even has a couple of Ethan's flaws. Ethan can be immature and jealous. And there's the guy Tempus chose for me. The worst of both worlds.
"Dirk . . . what a jerk!" rhymed Erica.
"Well, at least he's not evil" said Sarah, shrugging.
"We think" shrugged Erica.
Ethan and his new best friend Hodges were taking their girls in Ethan's "Brunnermobile". As Hodges had asked Erica to the dance; Erica too was walking with Sarah to Ethan's house. It wouldn't do for Erica to wait at her own house . . . her mother thought Erica was dead over two years.
Sarah was in her coat and jeans, while Erica had managed to buy a new dress much like the actual dress she had intended to wear to the dance in the new world.
"I don't know why we're even spending another night in this reality" Sarah complained.
"Because you won't double-cross Jane" Erica replied. "You and werewolf Ethan are all about keeping to your bargain. Even if Jane's only like nine and she won't remember anything once our reality's restored. I wish you would, I hate being in a world where I'm supposed to have been killed by Ethan two and a half years ago."
"Don't say wish again" Sarah complained. "That reminds me, Ethan v. Coach Ed. We'll need to keep our promise to Jane."
"What does . . . oh, you told me. Benny said that supernatural contracts are binding. Do you actually think a promise to Jane counts?"
"I don't know" said Sarah. "But I'm not willing to take the risk."
"Well, we'd be crazy to" Erica acknowledged. "If Tempus Mercator can use it to block us resetting our history, he will."
"It would be crazy to get out of the deal" said Sarah frowning. "But how crazy is poor werewolf Ethan to go out during the full moon, even if he has the magic talisman that keeps him human!
"Poor werewolf Ethan?" asked Erica. "You feel sorry for him? Even when he's going out with the bimbo Trixie!"
"We talked it over" said Sarah, shrugging. "This Ethan's only ever dated Trixie. He's torn between her and me, and doesn't want to betray either of us. You should have seen him! And I don't really want to betray the Ethan I know."
"Two-time Ethan with Ethan?" asked Erica, with an eyebrow raised. "I actually think I get it. It's all that worm Tempus's fault anyway for putting you in this position. One thing I do swear, Sarah, if we ever get out of this, I'm never going to complain about you're dating Ethan again. Ethan's never dated you, and he's wanting to turf Trixie already."
"It's complicated" said Ethan, as he opened the door. "I heard you as I walked to the door. Sorry."
Erica glared at Ethan, but Sarah was appeased by Ethan's sheepish smile.
Ethan, Sarah was amused to see, was wearing the same black suit with black tie she had first seen him wear to the Fly Me To The Moon dance. Well, it was a similar suit as there was no way it could had been let out enough to fit this Ethan.
Ethan's smile faded, as he started to stare intently at the full moon hanging low in the sky.
Sarah thought that Ethan, for a teenage werewolf, under the full moon, and only human through a talisman, he looked neat and handsome. But Ethan was definitely uneasy and restless. He gave the full moon the finger as he slammed the door.
"I almost howled" explained Ethan, putting his hands in his pockets. "I always have to watch that. One of the big problems is I actually really like doing it and I've talked myself into thinking it's no big deal because we used to do it in Mole Scouts."
"But you don't howl because you're a kid pretending to be a wolf" Sarah pointed out. "It's your werewolf instinct to howl. It's harmless, but I don't think you really like acting like a dog."
"I know" Ethan acknowledged, with a shrug. "Especially in front of you. You know, I was just looking at my photos and medals from the last couple years. Full moon or not, it's my last night before I go back to the way I'm supposed to be. So think of it as my last night alive. Ethan the Werewolf Jock. I'll going to make the most of it. But no more howling tonight."
Ethan laughed.
"You're not even angry anymore?" asked Erica suspicious.
"Hey, I still hate that Tempus too for making me even choose what Ethan I like best. And losing my new friends. But I liked being a geek . . . and was okay with everything that went along with it. If ever can get my hands on that demon for tampering with my life, I'll tie his arms in a knot.
"That's easy to say" Sarah pointed out.
"Yeah, well . . . where's my bro Hodges. He's gonna make me late picking up Trixie."
"Bro, Hodges in the house" said Hodges, who had apparently taken Benny's old short-cut through the backyard.
Erica didn't think much of Hodges' forest-green suit. Sarah didn't think much of the "bros" chest-bump and shoulder punching.
"Ready for the night of your life, Erica?" said Hodges, as he put his arm around Erica.
"You have no idea, Jarod" said Erica wryly, deftly removing his hand from her shoulder.
Jane walked down the stairs carrying a new Debbie Dazzle as the other teens left.
Ethan was the last to go.
"Thank you, Sarah, for understanding" Ethan said in an undertone.
"Don't thank me too much" Sarah replied, shaking her head. "You're just making the situation worse."
"Got it!" nodded Ethan, as he retreated out the door.
Jane closed the door after her brother, and looked out the window.
"Wait for it" Jane advised Sarah, as Jane looked outside waiting.
"What?"
"He made it halfway to the car, now he's stopping. It's got him. Ethan's looking up and . . . ."
"AAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"Ethan does it at least once during the full moon" Jane observed. "A full, head-tilted-back howl. Sometimes he tries not to, but he can't help himself if he goes outside. But at least he gets it out of his system."
"At least we're getting away from that darned dog!" Ross Morgan shouted, as he carried two suitcases down the stairs. "It's going to be howling all night now. It's the full moon."
"You won't miss us, Jane" asked Samantha, hugging their daughter.
"I'll be okay" said Jane. "Sarah's here tonight, and Ethan's responsible . . . even if he's a little boring."
"We really appreciate this, Sarah" said Ross Morgan. "I don't think we'd have been able to go away this weekend if you hadn't come to babysit."
"At least one good thing happened in this reality" Sarah thought, as she accepted a list of phone numbers from Samantha. "But I didn't think it would be Ross and Samantha getting away for the weekend."
Trixie wore a tight, low-cut, mini-dress, and high heel shoes. It should be remembered she was blonde and 43-25-37. And Ethan's eyes practically bugged out when he picked her up at her house (her mother being at work). Instead of the roses he should have bought Sarah, he had bought Trixie a corsage.
In fairness, Ethan, here, too, had thought of roses. But Trixie, unlike Sarah, had dropped several covert hints about wanting an ostentatiously large corsage for Ethan to pin on her dress. Which of course Ethan did, kissing her as he did so.
"How do you think I look now?" said Trixie in a sugary sweet voice as she twirled about
"Awesome" said Ethan.
He physically picked her up between his arms as she giggled in what Ethan thought was an unbelievably sweet tone.
He kissed her.
"Oh, Morgan" said Trixie, as she snuggled up to his face. "Ooh, get me my jacket. Hicks might not let me in the dance without it. I'll take it off after I get past him. And keep on holding me!"
Ethan felt possessive as he carried her warm body. He sort of wished she'd keep the jacket on so no one but him would be able to look at her. But he blinked it down, as the familiar feeling of the amber highlighting his eyes returned for just a second.
Ethan maneuvered to pick up the jacket without putting down Trixie.
"I sort of wish we could just stay here" Ethan joked.
"Not tonight" chided Trixie. "Oh, I can still feel your pulse. There's the jacket!"
"Do you know it's a full moon" Trixie crooned, as Ethan placed her down.
"Uh-huh" said Ethan, who lit a cigarette. He gave another to Trixie, and lit hers with the end of his.
"On Valentine's Day. Is there anything more romantic?"
Ethan didn't answer, but gave the moon the briefest of looks.
"Ooh, I love how your hair bristles sometimes."
"Huh?" asked Ethan, abruptly, feeling his scalp. "How much? It is growing?"
"No. You can't see hair grow! But it's fighting the gel you put in it. Why are you so tense? Oh, you're wearing that silly waffle-necklace family heirloom thing. You're always tense when you take that thing out."
"It's good luck" Ethan said, smoothing down his hair.
He sighed with relief.
"You shouldn't wear anything that lame" chided Trixie. "But I love the way you're looking at me. I know you're just going to tear off my dress now."
Trixie giggled. She stopped at she saw Ethan's surprised face.
"I-I wouldn't do that" stuttered Ethan, who felt his face flush with embarrassment from the comment. Ethan turned away.
No matter how enamoured Ethan had felt a second before, this struck him as a stupid, mood-killing and off-putting thing to say. Many boys would find the comment seductive, at least if coming from Trixie. But it made Ethan feel less than human; or, at the very least some type of lowlife.
"I didn't mean it . . . uh . . . ." tried Trixie.
"I think you mean literally" Ethan explained.
"Like" cooed Trixie, putting her hand on Ethan's arm. "You're cute, strong, only you're so uptight. I like it when you let loose. I love it when I help you loosen up."
"And you're incredibly hot" thought Ethan. "But what the hell do I see in her besides her looks?"
And, for an instant, he pictured himself with Sarah instead of Trixie . . . in spite of Trixie's unbelievable figure.
Ethan had been more torn between the remembrance of his crush on Sarah versus his relationship with Trixie than he thought. And it occurred to Ethan how natural it was for his to think this; his life was a fraud imposed by a demon. Sarah was hot, but she was smart, every minute they were together . . . she was the girl-next-door-type he used to dream of. How did Trixie get between them . . . ."
Ethan growled angrily.
"I love it when you do that" cooed Trixie.
"I love how you love that" said Ethan, whose eyes seemed to glaze.
Ethan and Trixie shared another kiss.
"How did I become such a jerk!" thought Ethan as he followed Trixie out the door. "Well, I shouldn't really question which girl I like. Jerk or not, I'm gone tomorrow. Like I told Sarah, I'm going to make the most of tonight!"
While this was going on, Erica had to deal with Hodges. Hodges wasn't exactly a moron, so he had now realized that Erica wasn't so much interested in his camping adventures. Kayaking, fishing, spear fishing, hiking, these were his favourite topics. Especially when he was able to brag about his awesomeness.
Hodges found Erica to be vague about herself. That, of course, came from Erica having been dead for two plus years in this reality. And in the real world, the most exciting thing that happened to her was being a vampire . . . and she really couldn't tell Hodges that either.
Ethan had mentioned to Hodges that Erica, also know as "Estella", cousin to Sarah, first and foremost liked Dusk and vampires. That wasn't any good, as Hodges had barely heard of Dusk, besides, what little he knew of vampires was of the monsters-who-sleep-in-coffins type beliefs.
However, Ethan also mentioned that anything cool or stylish also appealed to Erica.
So Hodges went to another of his favourite topics. Hodges had actually used this technique on a couple girls already, Erica was the third.
Hodges, the Dorval expat, figured Montreal was cool and stylish enough, so he regaled Erica with how he went with his old pals into Montreal. And how he'd like to take her there. And how, according to Hodges, it was by far the coolest city in the country. And the clubs they'd go to (which were actually for over eighteens, but Hodges didn't tell her that and lied about going to them himself), and the spots they'd see.
Hodges hit a few wrong notes.
"What other city is so diverse it's famous for Montreal-style bagels, Montreal-smoked meat, but is also famous as the birthplace of poutine with bacon and tourtieres, minced-pork pies.?" Hodges gushed.
This food talk reminded Erica of Benny. Still, Erica was getting interested in spite of herself; she could get interested in a friend of Ethan's after all. He wasn't really that bad. It wasn't as if she was actually with Benny, was it? And Hodges wasn't Rory either.
All this meant, Hodges was able to get his arm around Erica again. It helped that they were in the back seat. He leant over to kiss her and . . . she let him.
"He's a good kisser" thought Erica, after "Captain Morgan" and Trixie returned.
What could be said about the Valentine's Dance at Whitechapel High? It was chaperoned by Principal Hicks and Mrs. Hicks, with an assist by Mr. G. and Ms. "LOL" (the drama teacher). There were all sorts of pink, red and white hearts plastered over the gym. And the student council had spent half its budget on getting a live band instead of a DJ.
And somewhat incongruously, the school's basketball trophy stood proudly next to the punchbowl and the other refreshments.
This meant a lot of high-fiving, chest bumping, and Ethan adroitly downplaying his awesomeness in the big-game as if it were no big deal.
For the moment, Ethan dispatched his doubts and was enjoying life as he knew it. The big man on campus dating the head cheerleader.
"The band's so romantic, Morgan" said Trixie to Ethan, as they slow-danced.
"I thought the council should splurge on this dance" said Ethan, not mentioning his own finances took a hit on that corsage.
Ethan and Trixie slowly ended up near the punch bowl. Ethan offered to get Trixie some punch, while she sat down for a moment.
"I knew you'd get over your nerdiness someday, Morgan" joked somebody.
"Hey, Skyler, buddy" said Ethan. "About time you showed up"
Ethan punched Skyler in the shoulder. And it seemed like he meant the punch.
Skyler rubbed his shoulder with a frown.
"The rich dude couldn't get a date?" joked Ethan.
"I have a date" said Skyler. "She's amazing. She just stepped out a moment. Coquette's her name. I met her yesterday when I got a hold of the beer for the party."
"Oh yeah, your bro's 19?"
"Makes it easy, bud. Man, you are awkward when you pretend to be 19."
"Yeah, but I can pull it off . . . But, uh, Coquette? Is she French?"
"Yeah. She's also first year at Western."
"Dating a cougar?" joked Ethan.
"Only in her first year. She's hot, not old. She's 19, 20 at the most. And she's stacked."
"How'd you get her?"
"Haha" laughed Skyler sarcastically. "It's easy. I turn her on, she's seen my picture in the paper. Then I just pretend to be interested in talking and look smart; the things she seems to like books, things like that. I mean, I just skimmed through a couple Wikipedia pages and now she thinks I know something about French history and philosophy."
"But she's going to expect you to talk about that later" Ethan pointed out. "That's going blow up in your face, buddy."
"By then I'll score with her" said Skyler. "She's totally worth the effort. I mean, you have this hang-up . . . you, dude, want to date one girl long-term. We're in high school dude!"
"Trixie's worth holding onto" said Ethan broodingly.
"Yeah" said Skyler. "But Coquette is something you don't see around here either. She stepped out for a minute. I'll introduce you."
"Thanks, but . . . what reeks" said Ethan suddenly, sniffing. "You smell something dead?"
"What are the hell are you talking about?" said Skyler. "All I have on me is my phone and my cigs. That's Coquette texting now."
Ethan looked around suspiciously, and shrugged it off.
Elsewhere during the dance, Erica decided she was definitely okay with the date with Hodges. He was fun without being too geeky for her taste.
"Still, even in this reality I'm too good for him" Erica thought to herself, as Hodges went to get punch for them both.
"Yeah, I know you're too good for him" said Tempus Mercator, who had somehow de-aged himself a few years to better fit into the teenaged crowd.
He pulled out his pack of cigarettes, and lit one.
"What are you here?" Erica asked mockingly. "Trying to steal a soul again. Or are you here to smoke on school property?"
"Just to remind you, you don't have to go back" said Tempus. "You can write your own future if you'll play ball. I thought it was a good sign you're hanging around an extra day just to make the alternate timeline Jane and alternate timeline Ethan happy."
"I don't care myself" said Erica coldly. "But Sarah made a deal with Jane."
"I know all about your self-enforcing bargain" observed Tempus irritably.
"So Sarah was right about that."
"Maybe" said Tempus coolly. "But that doesn't mean you'll be right about anything else. Do you actually think your other plans will work?"
"Why are you here then?" retorted Erica.
"You know the student council threw half the budget on this dance" the demon said with a smirk and a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because it's one of the two formals this year, not counting the prom for the graduates. A teenaged St. Valentines."
"Hey there, young man!" said Mr. Hicks, who was carrying his "Best Principal" mug filled with coffee, not punch. "Are you actually smoking?"
Erica was distracted by Mr. Hicks, and turned to find Tempus gone.
"That's grounds for immediate suspension" said Mr. Hicks, looking around Erica. "You know that it's not only against the school rules, it's very unhealthy. Who was he? A friend?"
"Far from it!" Erica replied truthfully.
"I'm sorry, I don't remember your name?" Mr. Hicks inquired.
"Her name's Erica Estella" said Hodges, as he returned. "She's visiting from out of town."
"Very good" said Mr. Hicks politely. "I hope you enjoy out stay. Jarod here's one of our best athletes. But you might tell Jarod what I said about smoking!"
"I probably heard it before" said Hodges irritably, as Mr. Hicks left. "Hicks is, you know, the principal. You know how they are. But speaking of smoking, Morgan and Skyler wanted me to join them for a smoke" said Hodges. "I can pass, you're worth more than a smoke."
Erica looked at him.
"I think you should work on your flirting" said Erica harshly.
Hodges rubbed his neck and laughed nervously.
"Worth way more than a smoke?"
Ethan and Trixie joined Skyler Barton as they went to the nearest exit doors.
And then Ethan stopped in his tracks.
There was standing, just outside the door, a very, very old man in a black coat and sporting a bow-tie.
"Blood and rot!" said Ethan, startled. "You reek of blood and rot!"
Trixie giggled.
"Ah, un chien méprisable" said the old man. "Vous êtes un loup-garou!"
Ethan's eyes went yellow. In the immediacy of the old man, he didn't try to hide it.
"I've never seen an old blood sucker before!" growled Ethan.
"What the hell are you talking about Morgan?" asked Skyler.
"Bro! Stay back from him" warned Ethan. "He's dangerous."
Ethan stood in front of Trixie, guarding her.
"Have you gone psycho!" said Skyler with exasperation.
"Bro . . . look at his eyes and teeth!" said Ethan.
"I . . . whoa!"
Trixie screamed.
The old man glared with yellow glowing eyes and fangs pulled out.
There came a sudden gust of wind.
Ethan, Trixie and Skyler were looking at a tall statuesque brunette in a tight fitting black dress. Coquette had traded her mink for a less conspicuous black woolen coat with a fur collar.
"Coquette!" said Skyler.
"Silencieux, idiot!" ordered Coquette, and her eyes glared their piercing yellow.
"She hypnotizes" said Ethan in awe, for in this reality Ethan had never seen a vampire hypnotize before.
"It is called glamouring, mon ami" said Coquette, licking her lips. She looking at Ethan with disdain.
Ethan tried to pull Skyler away, but he was standing still and drooling.
Coquette raised her hand.
"I hear and obey Coquette!" said Trixie.
"Not you too!" said Ethan.
Ethan forget Skyler, and tried to grab Trixie's arm.
"ANDRE!" ordered Coquette. "Tiens le!"
"Get off of me, you damned reeking bloodsucker!" yelled Ethan, for Andre had clinged onto his arms and tried to hold him.
Ethan clenched his fists and flexed his arms, and it was enough to lift Andre off the ground and, bizarrely, in a position when the superannuated vampire decided to do an immortal's most deadly hunting move; the swoop down and capture.
Ethan wasn't going to let that happen. In the instant before Andre could fly away at super-speed, Ethan managed to move his right fist behind his head and clocked Andre in the jaw.
Andre hit the brick wall of the school hard enough to leave a impression.
"Au secours, Mademoiselle" begged Andre as he slide to the floor.
"Now to finish you off" growled Ethan, angrily he stomped his foot on Andre's torso. "I just have to find something to stake you with."
The next instant Ethan found himself picked up by his collar and necktie and thrown on the ground. He had forgotten about Coquette.
Ethan rubbed his throat and growled angrily and matched his yellow eyes into the beauty looking down at him.
Then Ethan remembered Trixie, and even his bro Skyler, and looked worried.
Coquette laughed arrogantly, and put her hand up. She glared into Ethan's eyes.
Ethan suddenly found himself forced to look down on the ground. Trying to jump up, he found he couldn't.
"Ce fut une expérience d'apprentissage . . . it was a learning experience, my friend, to find why you could not be close to a vampire without being driven to mad anger" said Coquette coldly. "It was the smell of undeath, which you can detect and not stand. And for our kind, what do you smell like? An uncouth wild animal who has been rolling in the mud. Andre, ca va?
"Je vais bein" said Andre.
"Ça suffit. Vous ne pouvez être qu'une seule personne. Eh bien, mon ami poilu, je sais qui tu es. Ethan, le voyant, mordu par un loup-garou et maintenant quelque chose de beaucoup moins que l'humain ou le vampire. I will translate for you. You can only be one boy. My young friend, I know who you are. Ethan, the seer, bitten by a werewolf and now something far less than human or vampire."
"I'm far more than you" Ethan said through gritted teeth.
"Your collar is open, and I see, you are only human through the intervention of your special amulet" laughed Coquette melodically. C'est le moyen facile de traiter les loups-garous réticents. It is the easy way to treat reluctant werewolves. For it takes more and more skill for the lycanthropy to be reversed; but this is to pure of heart the next best thing. But you pay for your little cheat, mais non? Your power against me is diluted! I can, with the effort, kidnap you in my power. But what to do with you?"
"Tuer sa petite amie! Puis tuez son ami! Puis tuez-le!" exclaimed Andre. "Or let me Madame!"
"He says to first kill your girlfriend, then you friend, then you" said Coquette amiably.
Ethan said several things in reply, none of them complimentary.
"Silencieux!" ordered Coquette.
Ethan found his voice cut off in mid-word.
Coquette looked carefully at Trixie.
"She is quite a beauty, Ethan" said Coquette. "I would love to treasure it forever and keep her at my side as my maidservant."
"Mademoiselle!" said Andre.
"Do not worry, Andre" laughed Coquette melodically. "She would be too much of a bore. And the blood of a young maiden is not to my taste . . . maiden did I say? I am somewhat helpless in the Anglais on occasion. Elle est jeune, c'est vrai, mais elle n'est certainement pas vierge! You see, my so well-meaning young loup garou, back in the seventeenth century we had very severe ideas as to what constitutes a maiden faire. But, I shall not let one of us harm her, Ethan. She is such a pretty thing."
"Mademoiselle?" objected Andre.
Ethan could do nothing but stare angrily.
Coquette looked at Skyler.
"But this boy is different. He is my date and dinner tonight, Ethan" said Coquette, and she turned to look at Ethan. "Healthy and full blooded. He sealed his fate when he dared ask me to his, how you say, kegger. And angered me when he claimed to know philosophie francais. But I think I shall prefer my Skyler Barton as a late night snack, after we attend his party. It is usually tre gauche, but I would prefer my blood seeped with beer tonight."
Ethan struggled with his invisible bonds, but still couldn't move.
Coquette looked down at him and gave a fanged smile.
Overcoming a deep revulsion, she grabbed Ethan's chin and looked deep into his eyes.
Ethan too shuddered, but was forced to look back.
Eventually the yellow in Ethan's irises were defeated by Coquette's glare, allowing her to look straight into his natural deep brown.
"Mon jeune loup-garou, my young werewolf, this is a skill of my own, unknown to Jesse, Anastasia and Harlow. It takes effort. I can see past the savageness in your eyes . . . même dans tes yeux sauvages, je vois ton intellect naturel, courageux et ta personnalité altruiste. Vous avez, en détruisant Jesse et Anastasia, jeté une fortune entre mes mains. Vous êtes plus utile en tant qu'ennemi vivant qu'en tant que conquête morte. Alors, je vais vous épargner, mais cela m'amuse que vous m'aidiez à brouiller les pistes ce soir en infligeant mon proper version du massacre de la Saint-Valentin à vos amis. ANDRE!"
"Mademoiselle says by destroying Jesse and Anastasia, thrown a fortune into her hands. She cares not for the vampires paysans, but for our survival. You are more useful as a living enemy; someone who Madame can paint as an ongoing threat to the survival of vampires and the vampire council in this city. So, she shall spare you."
Coquette raised her hand. Again, her eyes glowed horribly.
"DORMEZ VOUS"
Ethan and Skyler fell instantly into deep stupors.
"Morning bells are ringing!" sang Trixie. "Morning bells are ringing! Ding Dang Dong . . . Our Team's the dynamays, we're really going to . . . ."
"Idiot" Coquette said. "SLEEP!"
Trixie started to snore.
"It is good no one saw us, Andre" said Coquette, as she admired her handiwork. "Ah, what a seer this Ethan was. Even as a repulsive loup-garou he is magnifique! I have looked into his soul. I tell you Andre, should I have found him I would not have sought and found death as a young girl. He is, of course, like any boy not faultless. The petty jealousies and envies and the adolescent nonsense. But before he was a werewolf . . . no wonder he was the seer. But even now, there remains deeply the heart that is pure that truly seeks the best for all. His soul hopes for the girl he is destined to meet . . . the ame souer, soulmate they say en Anglais. But now, of course, I repeat, he is truly repugnant to me."
"But Mademoiselle, is he not dangerous?
"He is useless" laughed Coquette, "His being turned into a loup-garous was truly boon to our side, the forces of darkness that enshrouded us and gave us the life immortal. Still, it seems that fille idiot was telling us the truth when we captured her outside les salle du conseil des vampires.
Coquette again spoke first in French, and repeated herself in English.
"Maintenant Ethan, tu ne te souviendras de rien de tout cela! Vous ne réaliserez même pas que je suis un vampire ! Et Trixie et Skyler, vous oublierez aussi André et vous ne vous souviendrez que de m'avoir rencontré à cet instant! Now Ethan, you shall not remember any of this! You shall not even realize I am a vampire! And Trixie and Skyler, you shall too forget Andre and shall only remember meeting me this instant!"
"This is Coquette" said Skyler, as he removed the pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
"I am, how you say, pleased to meet you all" said Coquette smiling. "You must excuse me, my spoken English, is, how you say, not yet too well?"
"I'm Trixie" said Trixie dumbly.
"Oh, you are such a pretty thing"
"Oh, thank you!" Trixie giggled.
"And, your name?"
"Ethan Morgan!" said Ethan, returning the greeting. "My friends call me just Morgan. Don't worry, your English is awesome."
Ethan looked at Trixie, Skyler and Coquette, and again at Coquette, when felt something was definitely off. He was about to say something, but then caught glance of the full moon shining down.
Ethan quickly stuffed a cigarette in his mouth, stopping himself from giving his instinctual and full-throated howl. This saved him a lot of embarrassment, but it also made his lose his train of thought.