The Week I Was A Vampire (8 page)

             
Jude nodded, accepting his answer, before the trio continued to move forward, Lux still unconvinced they were in the right place.

             
At last, Daniel came to a halt before the small cabin Jude had seen through the trees from the road.  It was almost picturesque with warm light pouring from the windows onto the pristine snow.  She wondered if this Grigori person ever left the house; the snow around the door looked completely undisturbed.

             
“Look closely, Lux,” Daniel coached.  “You may not be able to perform magic, but you can certainly see through the glamour, if you try.”

             
“Glamour?” Lux said, staring blankly at Daniel.  It was nice, Jude had to admit, to not be the only one in the dark for a change.

             
“Like the appearance of a vampire,” Daniel said.  “We’re not supermodels to each other, but we have a sort of glamour that makes us appear almost unearthly in our beauty to others.  Not only does that glamour enhance our appearance, but it can also be used to draw humans to us, depending on how much energy we put into it.”

             
“So Jude is glamoured?” Lux said and Daniel nodded.

             
“Just enough that people will stop and stare at her.  Not enough to lure in prey and when she learns to control it, she’ll be able to pass as an ordinary human.”

             
“Like Mafe,” Jude said, suddenly realizing why the ancient vampire had seemed so ordinary.

             
“Exactly like Mafe,” Daniel said before turning back to Lux.  “There are many forms of glamour and right now, Grigori is using a glamour to conceal his home from human sight.  You should possess the ability to see through it, though.”

             
Lux stared into the empty space, concentrating hard on the undisturbed snowy glen in front of her.

             
“It’s like a clicking,” Jude said from behind her.  “Like something in your eyes just clicks into place.”

             
Lux thought about eyes clicking into place, thinking that a strange description, before she felt her own eyes click and gasped as a fully formed cabin materialized in front of her.  Spinning around, she saw Jude as she had once been- uneven complexion and green eyes- before the glamour flew back up and her friend returned to her supermodel good looks.

             
“It’s hard to see through a vampire’s glamour unless you’re a vampire,” Daniel said, “or unless they allow you to see them.”  Lux frowned, kicking her boot clad foot against the snow covered ground until a cool touch beneath her chin forced her to look up.  Her own strangled sound of surprise was perfectly mimicked by Jude, who was finally seeing Daniel without his glamour for the first time as well.

             
Still possessing bone structure to kill for, Daniel’s dark eyes lightened to sea glass green and his skin was slightly pockmarked.  His dark hair looked mostly the same, but had lost its brilliant sheen.  When he smiled, his teeth were crooked and there was a prominent cleft in his chin.  All in all, he seemed utterly plain. 

             
As soon as Lux had that thought, Daniel’s glamour returned and he was once again the perfect and vibrantly handsome vampire she’d originally met at the lake house.

             
“Glamour is a fun thing,” Lux concluded.  “Now can we go meet Grigori?”

             
Daniel gestured for Lux to lead the way and she did, enthusiastic now that she could see where she was going.

             
Jude caught up to Daniel and reached out a hand to touch his cheek, pulling back when he turned to look at her.

             
“Chickenpox,” he said simply.  “I didn’t listen when my mother told me not to scratch them.”

             
“How human,” Jude said and Daniel smiled, taking her hand in his.

             
“Just because I’m a vampire,” he said, “doesn’t make me any less human than you or Lux.  My humanity is still intact, Jude, just like yours will be if you choose to become a vampire.”

             
“I won’t,” she said, shaking her head.  “I could never do that.”

             
“Maybe you’ll find a reason to.”

             
Jude pulled away from him and hurried after Lux, catching up to her friend just as she knocked on the front door of the cottage.  It swung open and the bearded man who opened it looked like an emaciated Santa Claus.

             
“You must be the soon to be vampire Tess told me about,” Grigori said, looking pointedly at Lux.  The girl shrugged and pointed to Jude.

             
“Hate to break it to you, old man,” Lux said, “but you’ve got the wrong potential nightwalker.  Meet Jude Carstairs.”

             
Grigori’s bushy eyebrows knitted together as he looked between Jude and Lux, trying to decide who was the vampire and who was the human.

             
“Are you sure it’s not you?” he said, looking back at Lux who shook her head and pointed to Jude once more.

             
“She’s telling the truth,” Daniel said, joining them on the front porch. 

             
Grigori nodded to the vampire before welcoming them in.

             
“Wait a second,” Lux said as they stepped inside.  She shed her coat before rounding on Daniel.  “I thought vampires had to be invited in to people’s homes.”

             
Daniel nodded, confirming her statement, while Grigori told them to follow him.

             
“We can be invited into any home,” he said, “but only by someone who lives there.  Otherwise, it’s like an invisible barrier is placed around the house that we cannot breach.”

             
“So who invited you in the other night?” Lux said and at this, Jude turned to face Daniel who looked a bit sheepish as he smiled.

             
“Nothing can keep a sire from their child,” he said, glancing away from Lux’s intent stare and instead looking at Jude.  “Nothing can keep me from you.  Should you ever be in trouble, I’ll feel it and I’ll come for you.”

             
“Well this is romantic,” Grigori said from where he stood in the doorway.  “Please though, I’d like to get this over with so I can get back to my television show.”

             
“You get cable out here?” Lux said, suddenly more interested in Grigori’s technological setup than her friend’s weird connection to her sire.

             
“Is that why I feel this way about you?” Jude said as the pair hesitated in the hall.  “Because you’re my sire?”

             
“That depends,” said Daniel, stepping closer to her.  Suddenly, Jude was glad her heart couldn’t beat anymore, because it would’ve been thrumming away like a jackhammer.  “How do you feel about me?”

             
“Jude!” Lux called.  “Get your transitioning butt in here so we can fix you.  Gosh.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you wanted to be a vampire.”

             
Jude ducked her head and stepped away from Daniel, but he caught her hand and she felt compelled to look back at him.

             
“It wouldn’t be all bad,” he said, “if you chose to be like us.  Like me.”

             
Jude pulled her hand out of his grip and had the feeling she was only able to because he let her.

             
“We should catch up with them,” she said.  “You know, so Grigori can get back to his show.”

             
Daniel nodded and followed her into what turned out to be a small library filled with books and glass jars marked in languages Jude had never seen before.  Even if they’d been in English, she was fairly certain she still wouldn’t know what the jars contained.  One such jar looked distinctly filled with eyeballs.

             
“At first I thought you needed a spell or a potion,” Grigori said, from his spot in a red wingback chair, “which surprised me because aren’t your Mafe’s kid?”  His question was directed at Daniel who nodded.

             
“Daphne is my sire,” he said and Grigori nodded in response.

             
“Thought so,” he said.  “You’re not pretty enough for Mafe, then again, you’re not pretty enough for Daphne either.”

             
“My sister was turned by Daphne,” Daniel said and his tone left no room for discussion. 

             
Grigori seemed unperturbed, but Jude’s curiosity was peaked.

             
“Figured if it was a spell or a potion,” the man prattled on, “then Mafe could whip it up no problem.  Heard she was a damn good witch before she was turned and from what I’ve seen, she’s only gotten better.”

             
“Mafe was a witch?” Lux said, turning away from the bookshelf she’d been browsing.  “I thought witches couldn’t be turned into vampires?”

             
“This ain’t the movies, kid,” Grigori said.  “Anyone, save for a werewolf and a few choice demons, can be turned into a vampire.  Granted, I’ve never heard of a nymph being turned into one, so maybe they can’t either.  Witches, though, are fair game, although they lose their magic and can only do spells and potions after they transition.  But you’re not here for a Supernatural 101 lesson, so we can move on.”

             
“You have a book,” Daniel said, “that has information on how to turn someone back into a human once they’ve begun to transition.”

             
Grigori looked at Daniel for a moment before fixing his attention on Jude.  She resisted the urge to fidget.

             
“Let me guess,” he said, “lover boy over here got overzealous in his snacking one night, gave you his blood to heal you, and then you died in some tragic way?  That sounds like a sad love story, honey, but that doesn’t explain why you want to go back to being human.  Aren’t teenaged girls supposed to want to spend eternity with their undead beaus?”

             
“His sister attacked me,” Jude said, “and while you’re right about him giving me his blood, you’re wrong about the rest.  I didn’t die tragically and he’s not my beau.  I’m just a normal girl who would really appreciate getting back to her normal life.  Now can you help us or not?”

             
Jude saw red for a moment, but the sensation quickly passed as Daniel seized her hand in a bone crushing grip.  Or, it would be bone crushing if she were entirely human.

             
“I see,” Grigori said, looking between the two before rising from his seat.  He moved Lux out of his way and pulled a thick volume down from the shelf, wiping away a layer of dust before dropping in onto a worktable shoved up against the wall.

             
“For dramatic effect,” he said before returning to his seat.  “Basically, the only cure for someone in your position, Miss Carstairs, is a healthy dose of wishful thinking.  There’s no record of the supposed cure working, nor does it sound like anything more than rumor and, as I said, wishful thinking.”

             
“Why not?” said Jude.  “What’s the cure?  How do I transition back?”

             
“Your vampire friend can explain the why not part,” Grigori said, “because he’s bound to understand.  You see, Miss Carstairs, the transition period lasts a week, thanks to you being a redhead.  I don’t know why it’s a week, though, and I don’t know anyone who does.  Maybe it’s something holy having to do with the number seven, but either way, you’ve got a week long transition period.  Drink human blood and you’ll turn into a vamp.  Don’t drink human blood and you, lucky duck, will get to be human again.”

             
“So what you’re saying,” Jude said, a hope flaring inside her, “is that old myth about redheads coming back as vampires is true?”

             
Across the room, Lux barely suppressed a squeal of delight and although she didn’t say anything to Jude, the transitioning vampire understood what she was so excited about.

            
 
Yes, Lux
,
she thought ruefully
,
I may have paid attention to some of your vampire rants.

            
 
“Of course it’s true,” Grigori said.  “Under normal circumstances, the option would be to become a vampire or go back to being dead.”

             
“Normal circumstances?” Daniel said, joining in the conversation.

             
Jude liked the fact she wasn’t the only one not in the know.

             
Grigori jutted his chin out at Jude causing his scraggly and stained beard to sway.

             
“Your potential kid here died with vampire blood in her system, right?  Well, since that kept her from dying the good old fashioned way, she can go back to being a living and breathing human, assuming she makes it through the week.”