A Long Story

"It was maybe five years ago. I had just turned eighteen, and was new to the city. My parents had died recently, and since then I just wandered around wherever I wanted to go. I just wanted to put as much distance as I could between myself and the scene of my parents' murder.

"One night, after I had familiarized myself with the city and its inhabitants – human and vampire – I was jumped. I fought the punks back – they were only human – but one of them stole my necklace, which means more to me than anything now. I tracked them down to a dirty alley in one of the less fashionable districts and demanded they return it. They laughed at me, but their leader was so amused that I had come after them that he said, 'Look, I'll make you a deal. I'll give you your necklace back if you do one thing: steal the Dandy leader's derby.' The others all laughed and crowed at me. I fired a few shots into the air to make them desist. I would have killed them all, but I swore never to lower myself to the level of the demon who had slaughtered my family. So I went in search of the vampire I would come to know as William.

"It's not too hard for a girl traveling alone to find a vampire, it's just a matter of finding the right vampire. Luckily, William wasn't far that night. I heard him following me after a while, and turned to face him with the message that I had a proposition for him. He seemed surprised, then amused. He asked me what my proposition was.

" 'A local gang of thugs have stolen something very important to me,' I said. 'They say that they'll return it, if I manage to appropriate your derby.' William laughed. When he had finished, I continued, 'My proposition is this: if you will give me the loan of your derby for the night, then when I return it I will give you some of my blood as well. Sound fair?' "

"William studied me for a time. 'You realize, of course, that I could easily kill you without thinking twice about it?' he asked me. I answered that I did, I merely hoped that he would have the good grace to hear me out first and consider my offer. Smiling, William gave me his derby, along with a card with the address where I might return it. I tried not to show my surprise, but thanked him and waited for him to walk away first. I know better than to turn my back on a vampire."

"He just let you leave?" asked Pete in surprise. "That doesn't sound like him."

"Maybe he was in a gambling mood," replied Tanith with a shrug. "All that I cared about was that he hadn't killed me before I could get my necklace back. I did then, though the thugs were shocked that I had even tried to get William's hat, let alone succeeded. They wanted me to join them, but I told them no dice. I took my necklace and left them. I walked for a long time after that, just thinking about how damn lucky I'd been. William could have killed me; the thugs in the alley could have killed me. I had escaped death with all that was mine in my possession. Something had to go wrong eventually, right? That's what I thought, at least. Maybe William would kill me when I returned his derby. I was tempted to keep it, but I knew better. I went to return it after about an hour's wanderings. The address on the card led me to a lavish Victorian mansion in the nicest part of town. I turned up the collar on my jacket and went to the door. Probably just to show off, someone opened it before I could even raise my hand to the bell. I wasn't impressed."

"Now that sounds like the Dandies we all know and hate," said Joe, nodding. Andy laughed, and Tanith smiled faintly.

"They always were on the theatrical side," she agreed. "Well, anyway, the door opened without me knocking. 'Ah, so you're William's guest,' the vampire who opened the door said, looking me up and down like a piece of art. His smirk faded when he looked in my eyes. He showed me inside. There were vampires everywhere, all of them dressed like Godfather wannabes. They were playing cards, checkers, chess, feeding on pretty girls hardly older than myself, or just talking. But they all stopped and turned to watch me. I tried not to make eye contact. The vampire who let me in led me to where he said William was waiting for me. As I looked at him, I saw that he wasn't much older than me, if any older at all. He was good-looking too, with dark brown hair, puppy eyes, and a sweet, boyish charm. I almost smiled.

"He stopped eventually outside a set of beautiful double doors and knocked twice. William's voice called for him to come in and he turned to me. 'You're on your own now, sweetheart,' he said with a grin. Then he grabbed my hand and pecked it with his lips, adding, 'By the way…my name is Brendon.' Then he was gone. I was confused, but I tried to pull myself together as I went through the doors. I walked into the biggest and most beautiful library I had ever seen. William was sitting in a red leather armchair, sipping tea of all things. He smiled at me as I looked around.

" 'I knew you would come,' he said. 'Do you like my library?'

" 'I have never seen so many books all together before,' I said softly. 'And the artwork is exquisite. Is that a reproduction of the Laocoön Group?'

" 'Very good,' said William. 'Again you surprise me. How did you know that?'

" 'I took an art history class in school.' I sat across from him when he indicated I should do so. There was a glass table between us, meant for playing checkers or chess. I placed his derby on the table and his smile widened as he took it and placed it on his head.

" 'What is it, exactly, that was so important to you that you were willing to risk your life making a deal with me?' William asked me. I had been wearing my necklace hidden inside my shirt, but I drew it out then to show him. He asked to see it, and I let him.

" 'The ring around the bottle was my mother's,' I told him. 'She had it forged from her parents' wedding bands and her own.'

" 'And what's this grey powder inside the bottle?' he asked.

" 'My parents' ashes,' I answered. 'Actually, just their hearts. The rest are in the family mausoleum.'"

"Oh my god," said Pete softly, looking from Tanith's eyes to her necklace.

"That's…you carry your parents' ashes?" asked Patrick, almost disbelieving.

"It's a way of feeling that they're still with me," Tanith answered. "I know it's a little unorthodox, but it makes me feel better."

"Yeah, we know what you mean," said Andy. "Our folks all skipped town on us before the vampire border patrol was established."

Tanith nodded sympathetically, though she wanted to finish her tale. Noticing this, Andy added, "Please continue."

Tanith smiled faintly again. "Well, I knew William was toying with me. Looking him in the eye was difficult, but I did as I asked, 'Don't I owe you something?'

"William laughed. 'I would have thought you'd be hoping I had forgotten.'

" 'I never go back on a deal,' I said.

" 'There's no hurry. We have all night,' he answered. 'Do you play chess?'

"I was wary, but I told him that I did. He pulled out a beautiful set of glass chess pieces and set up the game. He played black, I played white. As we played he asked me questions about myself: Where was I from? How old was I? How had my parents died? What was I doing in the city, and how did I like it here? Who taught me to play chess? I answered honestly: Central Jersey, just eighteen, they were slaughtered by a vengeance demon, looking for trouble and enjoying it, and my father. I could feel those dark eyes of his on me the whole time, gauging my reactions to his questions. I knew he wanted something from me, and it wasn't just blood. Still, I wasn't too worried. What was the worst he could do to me, if I wanted to die?"

Pete snorted, but didn't interrupt. Tanith continued:

"After a little more than an hour I tipped over his king, declaring, 'Checkmate.' William was surprised, but also impressed. I took that as a good sign, though I still had to keep from shivering when he smiled at me. 'What's your name?' he asked me.

" 'Tanith Venator,' I said, this time gauging his reaction. If he knew my name, he didn't let it show.

" 'My underlings call me "sir",' he said. 'You may call me William.'

" 'Pleasure,' I replied. I was trying hard not to yawn or look like I was falling asleep, but it was past four in the morning and I hadn't eaten or slept in a while.

"William must have noticed this, and stood up. 'It's getting late. It's time we finish our deal,' he said. I stood up and turned my collar down, baring my neck. William pulled me to him and stroked my cheek, almost like he was going to kiss me. In a sense he did, but it wasn't on the mouth. No one who hasn't been bitten can understand the emotional tsunami that I felt then. A vampire's bite is without a doubt the most potent emotional sensation a human can experience, better than any drug but just as addicting." She glanced at Pete, who nodded. She noticed Patrick and Andy with the same understanding look. She wasn't too surprised; it was nigh impossible to live in such a city without being bitten at least once. "He drank slowly, but I lost strength fast. It wasn't long before he was holding me up, keeping me from collapsing to the floor. I was holding onto him, my head on his shoulder. Finally he stopped, and I saw his frightening smile before everything went black.

"I dreamed about sitting on a tree swing on a hill overlooking a beautiful lake while William pushed me, and woke up on a bed in a room I didn't recognize. From the décor, I determined that I was still in the vampires' mansion. My neck throbbed where I had been bitten, and I felt dizzy and lightheaded when I sat up. It passed soon enough, and I saw a note on the nightstand. It was written in an elegant, old-fashioned script, simply saying that I was welcome to explore the house as I pleased, so long as I didn't try to open any locked doors. I could leave, of course, but it was desired that I stay for a time. I don't know what possessed me, but I stayed. I freshened up in a bathroom in my room and changed into clothes I found in the wardrobe – and just my size too, now wasn't that nice? – before going to explore the house. I was very hungry, and though I didn't think vampires would have any need of human sustenance I sought out the kitchen. There was food there, as well as the beautiful young women I had seen the night before. From the scars on their necks, I determined they must live in the mansion to be fed on from time to time. Pomme de sang, they called themselves, which literally means 'apple of blood'. They smiled at me and said I was so lucky that William had "kissed" me, as they called it when they were bitten. None of them had had the honor. I didn't know how to answer, so I just asked if I could have something to eat. When I was done I left to explore the library.

"The library had three stories, and I had barely started exploring the second when William arrived. He smiled at me and told me I looked lovely in the skirt and blouse I had chosen. Red, apparently, was his favorite color on a young woman, and he told me I wore it particularly well."

"You wore red in a mansion full of vampires?" asked Pete incredulously. "That's like signing your own death warrant!"

Tanith shrugged nonchalantly. "I told you before, I wanted to die." Pete had to agree that she had told them this. "I thanked him, but still didn't quite trust him. I couldn't deny, though, that he attracted me. He was handsome and charming, and I was so young and naïve. I had never had a boyfriend before, or even any kind of male attention, so the attendance William treated me to was lowering my guard and winning over my better judgment. He got me to say that I had nowhere to stay, so invited me to stay at the mansion for a while. I do not know why, but I agreed.

"In the nights that followed I was treated like a princess. No one was allowed to touch me. The house was mine to explore as I pleased. I found myself feeling happy for the first time in a long time. I had a beautiful house, good food, nice clothes, and fascinating company. And William…ah, William. Whatever was happening between us, I found that I liked it. He was a prince to me, always asking how he could make me more comfortable, or if I had everything I needed or wanted." The band knew all too well how irresistibly attractive Dandies could be. That is, until the spell broke and you realized that their fangs were in your jugular. "I grew comfortable in this environment too quickly, I think, but I didn't think about the dangers. After about two weeks, William set me up with a rather nice apartment not far from the mansion. He told me he'd be watching out for me, and if I ever needed anything I should come to him immediately. I would always be safe in his house. I knew he was planning something from the way he smiled at me, but I didn't care. I trusted him. We walked together often. I was slowly getting off a vampire's schedule, but I always had time to walk with William. Sometimes we'd have tea together in my apartment. He was amazing and fascinating, and I loved to listen to him. We grew closer in those private nights alone together. And then came the night that William sired me."

"Did you ask him to, or something?" Joe asked. "You said you wanted to be a vampire before."

"No, I didn't ask," Tanith said. "Well, not consciously. I admit I had my suspicions about his intentions, but I didn't know when to expect it. It happened one night when I was coming back from the book store. I had music in my head and books in my hands and wasn't thinking about anything else outside of myself at the time. After a while, though, I got that prickly feeling on the back of my neck that you get when you're being watched. I looked around, but there was no one there. I walked faster, but I couldn't shake that feeling. I heard someone laughing and saw a shadow in the alley. I smiled then, thinking it was William trying to scare me. He knew I love being scared, but it's hard to do. I set my books down on the step outside the apartment building and went into the alley, calling William out. I heard laughing again, but no one showed. I checked all the shadows and behind everything…and then I realized that I was trapped against the back wall of the alley if someone came at me. I turned around and suddenly William was just inches in front of me, raising his arms to trap me against the wall.

" 'I can hear your heart racing, Tanith,' he said. 'I know you're frightened.'

" 'You don't scare me,' I laughed, but he had caught me by surprise to say the least. He smiled at me, and I knew he was planning something. Before I could say anything, he had his teeth in my neck. He held me close to him as he drank from me. I was surprised and almost scared, but I experienced that dizzying feeling of euphoria as I had when he had first drunk from me and my fear faded. He drank more this time, and it wasn't long before I had sunk to the ground, unable to stand on my own anymore. William drew back after a while, kneeling behind me and holding me braced against his leg. I looked up at him and saw that he had made a deep cut in his own throat. Smiling he lifted my head, holding my face to the wound, and I drank deeply. I felt his arms around me, but this seemed somehow outside of me. Nothing existed anymore but the blood. That was all that mattered then. I fell back when I felt a terrible pain in my chest and everything went black. When I woke up I was in my room in William's house. And I was a vampire.

"I can't say that I didn't enjoy it at first. William gave me a beautiful coffin of golden-brown wood with a one-way mirror on the lid. He and I were close, very close." She sighed and shook her head. "Ah, the hell with it: I was in love with him. I loved his charm, his wit, even his arrogance and ruthlessness. He was powerfully attractive, and I was so unsure of myself. But as time passed, I began to feel that he was losing interest in me. After the first two years I felt that he saw me as something pretty to look at, like his paintings and artwork in the library. Brendon was my solace then. He and I grew closer as William and I grew apart. Brendon was almost the opposite of William: he was clownish and playful, always making me laugh. He was so sweet and warm, not cold and distant like William. Loving William, I realized, was like loving a statue of ice. But Brendon was real. He was alive. And he loved me. And if William noticed our relationship he showed no interest. Brendon and I didn't even try to hide our feelings for each other. I suppose William had grown bored with me, that I was just a pleasant distraction now and then. And then there came the night that I discovered the awful truth about William."

"He waxes his eyebrows?" guessed Joe. Tanith blinked in surprise, then burst out laughing along with the rest of the boys. Joe grinned cheekily. "What? It's not natural for a guy to have such perfect eyebrows!"

"I don't know anything about that," Tanith said between giggles. Her mirth subsided and her smile faded slowly. "No, what I found was much more personal. One night I found my way into a hidden room in the cellar, and was exploring when I found the setup for an arcane summoning ritual: the ritual to summon a vengeance demon. And the focus of the ritual was a handkerchief and a ring that I recognized as my father's and mother's respectively. William had summoned the monster that slaughtered my parents. William had killed my family."