Chapter 4: Moonlight
Mon, 9 Oct 2034
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Mon, 9 Oct 2034
“‘C-E-A-N-A?’ I thought it was spelt like ‘K-E-N-N-A.’”
Cathy smiled. “Wait until you see how ‘Dearg Due’ is spelt.”
“I searched up ‘Irish vampire’ and found the spelling. Don’t think I’ll ever be able to learn any Gaelic language.” Skye saved the contact. She was surprised, and a little impressed, that someone who predated the invention of glasses owned a phone.
Ceana’s arrival had rounded the vampire population to a neat one hundred. A litre of blood a day for each, seven a week – equivalent to a hundred and forty human bodies. Luckily, those weren’t actual bodies.
This week, it was just Skye doing deliveries, so it’d be a long night’s work. Music, caffeine, and drop-off addresses ready, she headed off.
First stop was Marked: the tattoo parlour Dominic worked at. Tattooing for vampires had to be done with silver needles, or else they’d heal before the ink even settled in. That added an extra sting to the process. Not that it deterred Dominic, though. He had added a fresh blackwork piece on his neck since he was turned.
He met her at the back door. “Hiya. Good show on Friday. You looked braw.”
“Thanks.” She offered the box.
Dominic scratched the back of his neck before he took the box from her hands. “I’m giving Fish-Face a tattoo tomorrow night.”
“Nixie’s getting a tattoo? Of what?”
“Anything. We just want to see if it stays after he turns into water,” Dominic answered with a toothy grin.
Skye smiled, shaking her head. “There’s no iron in tattoo ink, is there?”
“No, it’s all good. Don’t worry.”
They said goodbye, and Skye returned to her deliveries.
The midpoint of the deliveries was at a flat located on top of a jazz lounge named Opaque. Emnilda, an adynamos Sunborn, stayed there. According to Cathy, Emnilda had fled Poland two months ago after the local Enforcer killed her Sire and tried to do the same to her. She had dark olive skin, suggesting her family may have immigrated to Poland.
The Sunborn opened the door almost immediately after Skye knocked. Tonight, her wavy black hair was tied into a high ponytail, which sharpened her face; she had a pronounced jawline, high cheekbones and thick brows, giving her an otherworldly type of beauty.
“Hi, Neon Black.” Emnilda’s honey-coloured eyes sparkled. “I liked your performance on Friday.”
“Oh, you were there?”
“Blush isn’t my usual scene. I didn’t stay long.” Emnilda took the delivery. “I perform downstairs. You should come watch, support a fellow performer.”
That piqued Skye’s interest. “That sounds nice, actually. I’ve not been to Opaque in a while.”
Emnilda smiled, showing the pointed tips of her canines. “I’ll see you there sometime, then.”
“Yeah, will be good. We’ll chat soon.” Skye headed back down to the van and left for her next delivery at the graveyard.
Bastet sat waiting by the oak tree. This time, her tail was wrapped neatly around her paws, making her look like one of the statues of her namesake.
“Hello, Divine Protector,” Skye greeted as she set down a box. Bastet meowed in approval. “Yes, I’ve done my research. Did you pick the name?”
Bastet dipped her head in a nod.
“Do you protect the graveyard?”
The cat purred. Skye’s instinct was to offer a hand, but this was not actually a cat. She wasn’t going to insult Bastet by treating her as one.
“Nice.” Skye stepped back into a playful bow. “See you next week, Your Ladyship.”
Bastet hopped onto the box and puffed her out chest in pride. Skye could swear she saw a smile on the cat’s mouth.
Skye’s deliveries went on into the early hours of the morning. Second last on the list was the Red Bloodsucker herself. She stayed on the outskirts of the city in a dingy flat built in the noughties.
Skye put on some faux bravado before she exited the van and approached Ceana’s flat. The door opened before Skye reached it. The vampire’s eyes glowed more than Skye remembered. That’s a Decay thing, right?
“Hello, Ceana.” Skye held up the box. “Here’s your first delivery.”
Ceana took the box and lazily pushed it onto the counter. “Thank you.”
Skye hesitated. She felt that she needed to say something more. “You adjusting?”
Ceana’s thin brow lifted.
Skye clarified, “Are you settling in?”
A faint, ghostly grin lifted onto Ceana’s lips. “You should go. It’s nearly three.”
“Oh. Yeah, ‘course.”
Ceana nodded before abruptly shutting the door.
Alright. Suppose that could have gone worse.
Now, the last delivery of the night: Benny. He was a short drive from Ceana, but Skye’s eyelids were growing heavy on the dark road. She turned on the van’s semi-cruise control on the highway. She usually didn’t like the self-driving features vehicles had, but this setting was useful for this dull stretch of deliveries.
Benny’s cabin was dark and quiet, as always. Skye quickly deposited the package at the gate and returned to the warm van. But, when she tried to revive the vehicle, it did nothing. A red message blinked on the dash:
Battery at 5%!
Plug in to make sure you’ll make your return trip!
“What?”
After its use, the van should have been charging, so this shouldn’t be possible. Unless those two recruits didn’t plug the van back in, leaving it to run its temperature system the whole week. In Skye’s sleepy state, she must have not noticed the red warning on the screen earlier on.
Still, five percent would be enough to at least get to the edge of the city. But nothing she tapped was overriding that setting. “Shit. Stupid thing.”
The van then talked through its speakers.
“Battery at 5 percent,” said its sickly-sweet AI.
“Mine, too, you wanker,” Skye grumbled. She gave up and grabbed her purse.
“Please charge so that you will make your return trip.”
She dug out her phone to text Cathy. ‘Battery dead, I need –’
The door flung open. Skye bit her tongue to contain her scream. There, with an arm over the driver’s door, stood a broad-shouldered man. Despite the chill, he wore only torn jeans and a sleeveless top. The moonlight reflected off his coarse skin. He smelt like something between mould and a stable.
Fuck, fuck. Why didn’t I lock the door?
Without looking, she sent the half-written text to Cathy. The man violently snatched the phone from her and threw it into the bushes. Skye cursed herself for not bringing the silver spray Cathy had given her on the first night.
Benny’s lips pulled back to reveal crooked teeth, including two elongated canines. His eyes also shone, and his ears tapered into sharp points. Skye had yet to see a vampire fully flaunt their Decay like this.
His voice was gruff. “You came later than usual.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry,” Skye said stiffly.
Benny peered into the car, looking at the message on the dash. “Wish I could help. I don’t have electricity.”
“That’s OK.”
The vampire rubbed his unkempt beard, as if thinking. She could tell by the focus in his gaze that he wasn’t deliberating anything. “Why don’t you come inside?”
“I’d rather stay here. It’s warmer.”
Benny reached over to unclick Skye’s seatbelt. She tried to fight his arm back, only to have her wrist clamped in a bone-breaking grip. He plucked her out of the vehicle. She heard her phone ring as he dragged her away. Benny used his free arm to pick up the box. He kicked the gate open, the metal clattering, and tugged her along into the dark cabin. The smell hit her, smothering her.
“Uh, wh-why are you…?” Skye stammered as she tried to thread together a question.
“I don’t often have guests.”
“Cathy would rather–”
“Ha!” Benny barked a laugh. “That adynamos cunt? She’s useless. These blood bags are shite. Damn near expiry.”
Benny flung Skye into a grimy couch. She swore she heard the scampering of a rodent above. Part of her felt relieved that it was too dark for her to see just how repulsive this place was.
Benny tore the top of the box off and started to unpack the blood bags into a fridge. The white light was blinding. Guess he has electricity after all.
She pulled her scarf over her nose to try to breathe through the stench. “So… I’m… a guest to you?”
Benny shut the fridge. “Been wantin’ to have one of youse over.”
“Why?”
“I can help you.”
Skye dug her fingernails into her scarf. She had to hope Cathy was on her way. I just got to buy time. “What do you mean by help me?”
“You shouldn’t be an adynamos.” Benny stepped over to sit on a wooden stool. In the shadows, his glowing eyes was all Skye could make out. “Why are you workin’ to become one of those? And an Enchanter adynamos, of all things. Enchanters are only good at stealin’ and lyin’.”
“I have reasons.”
Benny made a noise akin to a growl. “Tell me, then.”
She had to tell him something. But it needn’t be the truth. “I don’t want to grow weak and die. So, when I got offered the job, I took it.”
“That’s it? That’s all?” Benny eyed her. “Most young people don’t think about that.”
“Youth makes you better at running, but death can still catch up to you.”
Benny spat on the ground. “Stop being a smart bitch and talk normal.”
Keep your cool. “My dad died young, so I’ve been thinking of death my whole life.”
“Bein’ ethereal is no promise of immortality. You can still die.” Benny’s gleaming eyes narrowed. “Especially if you’re an adynamos worm. You shouldn’t be working for that Cathy.”
“She treats me well.”
Benny guffawed. “I’m sure she tucks you in at night, gives you a wet kiss on the forehead. But she’s no good as a Master.”
Skye frowned. “She isn’t my Master. She’s my mentor.”
“Familiars call their to-be Sires ‘Masters.’ See, she doesn’t teach you anythin’. And you’ll become some twentieth generation, adynamos bitch.”
“She’s actually a fourteenth–”
“You have one chance to become immortal. Don’t choose a fucked deal from the start.”
Skye surprised herself when his words gave her pause.
Benny seemed to notice that. He leaned forward and smiled; his fangs shone with spit. “I can give you a better deal.”
“I’d… I don’t think we’d be a match, in terms of familiar and…” Skye didn’t want to use the term ‘Master.’ It made her feel sicker than the odour of this place.
“You won’t be a familiar. Familiars are for vampires who can’t wipe their own arses. I can turn you tonight. In two weeks, you’ll be up and runnin’. Then I’ll teach you.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I’m tired of adynamos slugs.” He pointed a finger at Skye. “You’re a smartarse, sure. You need to get that knocked outta you. But you’re no slug.”
“You don’t know anything about me.” Skye doubted that he even knew her name.
Benny bristled. “I can tell.”
She was certain, then, that he didn’t care about who she was. She happened to be here, and that seemed reason enough for him to pick her. He’d strike her into whatever shape he wanted her to take.
Fear and cold was making her shiver. She buried her face further into the scarf and forced herself to take a deep breath. She had to keep her nerve but also had to be careful. “What would you teach me?”
“How to be a Lupine. We’re pack creatures. And we work differently to the others. Got our own rites, laws.”
Lupine. She surmised he could transform into a wolf. “Is it only you, currently, as a Lupine?” Are you lonely? was what she was asking.
He sneered, “There’re others. Turned on me.”
“I’m sorry.”
He stood up, a looming shadow. “I don’t need pity.”
“It’s admiration, not pity,” she corrected before she knew what she was saying. When she saw him hesitate, she spoke, calmer, “You want to rebuild what you had. That’s admirable.”
Benny’s shoulders relaxed, even if just marginally. “You get it. You’re gettin’ it.” He stepped closer, blotting out the moonlight from the single window. It was if the darkness followed him.
“I think this is rushed, though,” Skye said. “I… please let me think a bit more. Learn a bit more.”
“Got an eternity to learn after you wake up.”
“If that’s so, then what’s a couple of days to mull it over?”
Benny was silent for a while. Skye wished she could see his expression to get any inkling of whether her bargaining was working. His posture stiffened, and she felt her heart sink. “You’re toyin’ with me.”
Then, his head jerked to the side. He snarled and rushed to the front door, shoving it open. Skye heard a car come to a stop on the dirt road.
“No fuckin’ way,” Benny muttered. He almost sounded scared, but that quickly turned into anger. He stormed out, spitting Scottish Gaelic.
Cathy? Skye wondered. But surely that wasn’t possible, not so soon.
Skye bolted to the doorway. She spotted a figure that was too short and skinny to be Cathy. And, those green eyes… Ceana. The Dearg-Due’s cheeks were hollowed out and she was baring a set of large fangs.
Benny had become hunched, his pale skin growing dark fur. He yanked his shirt off and propelled himself into a four-legged sprint, transforming into a large wolf. He neared the Enchanter, growling, teeth ready to bite–
And then he yelped in agony, falling to the ground, violently writhing. His cries filled the night; his eyes stared without direction, horrified.
Ceana idly sauntered over to Benny. She stepped on his head, looking down at him.
“Did you hurt her?” she asked.
An animalistic whine came from Benny’s jaws, managing to pronounce a barely understandable answer. “No.”
“Would you like me to kill you?”
“N-no.”
Ceana took a step back. She gestured for Skye to come over. Skye did so.
Ceana ordered Benny, “Get back into the cabin and stay there, you mutt.” She released him from whatever held him. He raced into the cabin, his tail tucked away and ears flat. Skye watched the darkness within the cabin door, as if he may launch out of it again.
The opening of a car door broke Skye’s fixation. Ceana stood by a red hatchback. She lowered herself into the driver’s seat.
“Wait, my phone.” Skye hurriedly searched the nearby bushes. It was so dark, though.
Ceana stepped over beside Skye. The Enchanter quickly located the device, picking it up and holding it out for Skye. The screen protector was shattered, but it seemed otherwise fine. “Here.”
Skye sighed in relief as she took it. Her fingers brushed over Ceana’s, the cold of the vampire’s skin feeling like a sting. “Thank you.”
The pair headed to the car. Ceana started it and drove off. Even as Skye warmed herself up, her shaking worsened. The reality of how close she’d come to being turned was hitting her.
“You’ll show me the way to your home?” Ceana asked.
“Yeah, of course,” Skye murmured. “How did you know I needed help?”
Ceana answered flatly, “Cathy called. She sounded panicked about Benny, so I said I’d go find you.”
“Thank you.” Skye’s eyes drifted to the car’s sunburnt dash, the tinkling beads that hung on the rear-view mirror, and then a Disney-themed blanket strewn over the backseat. “This isn’t your car.”
Ceana nearly smiled. “My neighbour’s.”
“How’d… you get the keys?”
Ceana shook her head. “Cathy keeps you idealistic about this life. It’s irresponsible.”
Skye wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She decided that it was better to not say anything. She slung her arms over herself and stared at the road outside, the amorphous treeline giving way to the lights and brick of the city. She muttered directions until they got to her complex. Once there, Skye said thanks to Ceana one more time before exiting. She walked with quickening footsteps. The memory of Benny’s stench followed her. Once inside, she locked the door and broke into tears. She breathed herself out of a panic attack.
I’m not going to get a wink of sleep.