I was still so upset the next morning that I could hardly find the energy to get up out of bed. I played absentmindedly on my contraband cellphone; it was nice to be able to anonymously keep tabs on my friends and family via the internet even if I couldn't talk to them. Apparently Jen and Tommy got engaged right after graduation. Nice.
I should be there, as her maid of honor. T feeling of darkness clouded my thoughts. Self pity was a dangerous thing. After all this time, all it brought was unhappiness. There is no point in crying over what could have been. My tears were shed that first night, and now I refused to waste a single one remembering what I thought my life would be.
Evra kept pestering me, and asking what was wrong, but I wouldn't tell her. I didn't want her to know that she was right. That I did care about Mr. Crepsley more than just a mentor.
I only perked up when Evra told me she'd met Sam and R.V. after the show.
"Sam loved it," Evra said, "especially Cormac Limbs. You should have stayed to see Cormac in action. When he sawed his legs off . . ." She fanned herself.
"I'll see him next time," I mumbled. "How did R.V. take it?" Evra frowned.
"He was not a happy camper." I bit back the urge to laugh at her play on words. It wasn't an appropriate time to be joking,
"The goat?" I winced, my head still half buried in my pillow.
"Yeah," Evra said, "but not just that. I said we bought the goat from a butcher, so it would have been killed anyway. It was the wolf-man, the snake, and Mr. Crepsley's spider that bothered him the most."
"What was wrong with them?" I groaned and rubbed my eyes.
"He was afraid they weren't being treated right. He didn't like the idea of them being locked in cages. I told him they weren't, except for the spider. I said the wolf-man was really quiet offstage. And I showed him my snake and how she slept with me." She scoffed. "As if Pepper, her majesty, is being mistreated." Evra rubbed her snake's head affectionately.
"Did he believe you about the wolf-man?" I asked, finally finding the energy to sit upright.
"I think so," Evra said, "although he still seemed suspicious when they were leaving. And he was very interested in their eating habits. He wanted to know what we fed them, how often, and where we got the food. We have to be careful with R.V. He could cause problems. Luckily, he should be leaving in a day or two, but until then, beware."
"What an asshat. Doesn't that hippie have trees to protect?" I quipped. I stretched upward and relished in the feeling of my bones popping into their right places.
Evra laughed, "Why don't you come out today? The weather is beautiful outside. We can go swimming?"
My stomach felt like it was tied in one giant knot. "I'm not feeling up to it today." I settled sadly back into bed.
Evra's beautiful green eyes softened as she patted my head. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
I felt tears spring forth from my eyes as I told her what happened the night before.
"Wow, you'd think for a vampire he wouldn't be so blind." She smiled. It wasn't a sarcastic smirk, or a smug grin like she usually wore, but a genuine empathic gesture.
"You're telling me." I grumbled unhappily.
The next day passed quietly. Sam didn't show up until later on in the afternoon, and none of us were in the mood for playing. It was a cloudy day, and we were all a little out of sorts. Sam only stayed for half an hour, then went home again.
I was hoping to make my rounds quickly before sunset and then retreat to the safety of my tent but such was not the case. I was holding a basket of freshly folded sheets for Evra when someone grabbed me by the wrist.
It was him.
"What do you want?" I snapped. "I don't want to talk to you right now!"
"Stand over here, where I can see you better," the vampire said, pulling me roughly into the light. He tilted my head backward with his bony fingers and rolled up my eyelids to check the whites of my eyes. He told me to open my mouth and peered down my throat. Then he checked my pulse and reflexes. "How do you feel?" he asked.
"Harassed!" I said trying to pull away from him.
"You look a bit weak," He grunted. "Have you been drinking much blood lately?" he asked.
"As much as I'm supposed to," I replied sarcastically.
"But no human blood?"
"No." I said softly.
"Okay," he said. "Get ready. We are going out."
"Hunting?" I asked.
He shook his head. "To see a friend." Something in his tone told me not to push it tonight. Despite not wanting to be anywhere near him I shut my mouth and followed along for the time being.
After a while we approached a city and Mr. Crepsley slowed down. He stopped outside the back of a tall building. I wanted to ask where we were, but he put a finger to his lips and made the sign for silence. The back door was locked but Mr. Crepsley laid a hand over it and clicked the fingers of his other hand. It opened instantly. He led the way through a long, dark corridor, then up a set of stairs and into a brightly lit hallway. After a few minutes, we came to a white desk. Mr. Crepsley looked around to make sure we were alone, then rang the bell that hung from one of the walls. A figure appeared behind the glass wall on the other side of the desk. The door in the glass wall opened and a brown-haired man in a white uniform and green mask stepped through. He looked like a doctor.
"How may I-" he began, then stopped. "Larten Crepsley! What are you doing here, you old devil?"
The man pulled down his mask, and I saw he was grinning. "Hello, Jimmy," Mr. Crepsley said. The two shook hands and smiled at each other.
"Long time no see."
"Not as long as I thought it would be," the man called Jimmy said. "I heard you'd been killed. An old enemy finally rammed a stake through your rotten heart, or so the story went."
"Pity it's just a rumor," I mumbled to myself. Crepsley shot me a glare and gave my shoulder a warning squeeze/
"You should not believe everything you hear," Mr. Crepsley said. He nudged me forward.
"Jimmy, this is Samantha Shan, my apprentice. Sam, this is Jimmy Ovo, an old friend and the world's finest pathologist."
"Hi..." I said unenthusiastically as I inspected my manicure for any chipping before extending it to the man.
"Pleased to meet you," Jimmy said, shaking my hand. "You aren't a ...I mean, do you belong to the club?"
"She is a vampire," Mr. Crepsley said.
"Only half!" I corrected.
"Please," Jimmy winced. "Don't use that word. I know what you guys are, and I'm fine with it, but that 'V' word never fails to freak me out." He shivered playfully. "I think it's because of all the horror movies I watched when I was a kid. I know you're not like those movie monsters, but it's hard to get the image out of my mind."
"You're a pathologist?" I asked, clearly confused. "So you like, study trails or something?"
"I cut corpses open to see how they died," Jimmy explained. "I don't do it with a lot of bodies — just the ones who died in suspicious circumstances."
"Lovely." I grimaced. Studying foot trails sounded a lot better in my opinion.
"This is a city morgue," Mr. Crepsley said. "They store bodies that arrive dead at the hospital or die while they're there."
"Is that where you keep them?" I asked Jimmy, pointing at the room behind the glass wall.
"Yup," he said cheerfully. He swung up a section of the desk and invited us through.
I was nervous. I expected to see dozens of tables piled high with sliced-open bodies. But it wasn't like that. There was one dead body, covered from head to toe with a long sheet, but that was the only one I could see. Otherwise it was a huge, well-lit room, with big filing cabinets built in the walls and lots of medical equipment scattered around the place.
"How is business?" Mr. Crepsley asked as we sat on three chairs near the corpse on the table. Jimmy and Mr. Crepsley didn't pay attention to the dead person, and since I didn't want to look out of place, neither did I.
"Slow enough," Jimmy answered. "The weather's been good, and there haven't been many car accidents. No strange diseases, no food epidemics, no collapsing buildings. By the way," he added, "I had an old friend of yours in here a few years back."
"Oh?" Mr. Crepsley responded politely. "Who was that?" Jimmy sniffed heavily through his nose, then cleared his throat.
"Gavner Purl?" Mr. Crepsley hooted with delight. "How is the old dog — as clumsy as ever?" They started talking about their friend Gavner Purl.
I looked around while they were speaking, wondering where the bodies were kept. Finally, when they paused for breath, I asked Jimmy. He stood up, and told me to follow. He led the way to the big filing cabinets and pulled one of the drawers out.
There was a hissing sound, and a cloud of cold air rose from inside the drawer. When it cleared, I saw a sheet-covered form and realized the filing cabinets weren't filing cabinets at all. They were refrigerated coffins! "We store the bodies here until we're ready," Jimmy said, "or until their next of kin come to collect them." I looked around the room, counting the rows of drawer doors.
"How….clever." I cringed.
Jimmy shook his head. "We've only got six guests right now, not counting the one on the table. Like I said, it's quiet. And even during our busiest times, most of our storage space goes unused. It's rare for us to be half full. We just like to be prepared for the worst."
"Any fresh bodies in stock?" Mr. Crepsley asked.
"Wait a minute and I'll check," Jimmy said. He consulted a large pad and flicked through a few pages. "There's a man in his thirties," Jimmy said. "Died in a car crash just over eight hours ago."
"Nothing fresher?" Mr. Crepsley asked.
"Afraid not," Jimmy replied.
sighed. "It will have to do."
"Whoa! You can't drink from the dead!" I exclaimed, I tried to back away but the vampire grabbed the back of my shirt. Even with my vampire strength I was no match for him. I whimpered and tried pulling away.
"Why not?" he asked, I could tell he was close to losing his temper.
"It isn't right. It's not fair to drink from the dead. Besides, the blood will be all gross!" I whined.
"It will not be at its best," Mr. Crepsley agreed, "but it will do for bottling. And I disagree: A corpse is the ideal person to drain, since it has no use for the blood. It will take a lot to fill these bottles. Too much to take from a living person."
"But still-" Crepsley gave me a dark look and I quickly shut my mouth.
"Samantha doesn't speak like a vampire," Jimmy remarked.
"She is still learning." Mr. Crepsley grunted. "Now, lead the way to the body, please. We have not got all night."
Jimmy slid out the body of a tall blond man and whipped back the sheet. There was a nasty bruise on the dead man's head and his body was really white, but otherwise he looked like he might be sleeping. Mr. Crepsley made a long, deep cut across the man's chest, baring his heart. He arranged the bottles beside the corpse, then got out a tube and stuck one end into the first of the bottles. He stuck the other end into the dead man's heart, then wrapped his fist around the organ and squeezed it like a pump. Blood crept slowly along the tube and into the bottle. When it was almost full, Mr. Crepsley pulled the tube out and jammed a cork into the neck of the bottle. He stuck the mouth of the tube into the second bottle and started filling that one. Raising the first bottle, he swallowed a mouthful and rolled it around his gums, as though tasting wine. "Good," he grunted, licking his lips. "It is pure. We can use it." He filled eight bottles, then turned to me with a serious look on his face.
"Samantha," he said, "I know you are reluctant to drink from a human, but it is time you got over your fear."
"No," I said adamantly, folding my arms in defiance.
"Come now," he growled. "This person is dead. His blood is no good to him anymore."
"I refuse to drink a single drop! Not...Not until you apologize to me for the other night." I snapped. "Besides, drinking from a dead person is disgusting!"
I knew I was being difficult but tough luck for him. I was tired, hungry, and still upset.
Mr. Crepsley exploded. "You will have to drink human blood eventually. This is the best way to start. And I will not apologize for testing your loyalty when you have done nothing but fight me this whole time!"
"Maybe I wouldn't be so resistant if you opened up to me every now and again!"
"Um, listen, guys," Jimmy said. "If you're going to feed, I think I should get out of —"
"Quiet!" Mr. Crepsley snapped. His eyes were burning into me. "You have to drink," he said firmly. "You are a vampire's assistant. It is time you behaved like one."
Tears welled in my eyes, "Is that all I am to you? An assistant?" His silence was answer enough. "Please, don't make me do it." I started crying. It was a fake cry, but super effective. My tears were my best weapon against the older vampire.
"Typical woman!" Mr. Crepsley sighed and shook his head. "One night you will realize how silly you are being," he said. "I just hope, by that time, you are not beyond being saved."
Mr. Crepsley thanked Jimmy Ovo for his help, and the two started talking about the past and their friends. I sat by myself while they chatted, feeling miserable, wondering how long I could go without human blood. I desperately tried to gather my feelings.
Why was I so upset with him? I should be pleased that he viewed me as just an assistant. The vampire took me away from my family and friends. But all I could think about was his kind words. The fact that he halted our travels just for me which led consequently to introducing me to my bestfriend.
How his lips were so soft against mine, and in his arms I finally felt like the world was a safe place.
What is wrong with me?
When they were finished, we walked downstairs. Jimmy came with us and waved good-bye. He was a nice guy and I was sorry we'd had to meet under dark circumstances. Mr. Crepsley didn't say anything the whole way home, and when we arrived back at the Cirque Du Freak, he tossed me angrily to one side and pointed a finger at me.
"Why are you behaving like a child? If you die it will be my fault: by all our clans standards you are spoiled. I've indulged you far too much! And it will cost your life in the end." He nearly screamed the last words out. His face was almost as red as his hair. I took a tentative step backwards and nearly tripped.
"Why can't you just apologize for treating me like a child? Why don't you trust me!"
Mr. Crepsley growled and stormed off to his coffin. I screamed in rage and ran back to my room.