AllFreeNovel
Share Us
One woman with shocking silver hair and a figure to die for wore a black Yves St. Laurent Rive Gauche dress and Chanel ballet pumps with ribbons that wrapped up her legs. She looked stunning, even more so due to the brilliant crimson on her lips and nails that contrasted with her wan complexion. I blinked. That was Sassy Branson, the reclusive socialite mentioned in last month's Seattle Magazine. I read several local magazines to keep up to speed with the city and recognized her picture from an article about some big charity fund-raiser held a few months ago. So Sassy was a vampire? Who would have guessed?
A couple of the other vamps in the room were staring at me with obvious interest, their nostrils flaring, but when Menolly put her arm around me, they kept their distance. One of them, a geeky-looking man with a ponytail and a layer of thin fuzz covering his chin, was dressed in a Microsoft T-shirt and a pair of holey jeans. He slowly winked as he caught my gaze and raised his bottle as if in salute.
I swallowed and pressed closer to Menolly. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea—"
She snorted. "You think? But now that we're here, why don't we stick around for a little while and see what's going down?" Her eyes flashed, and I had the feeling she was enjoying watching me squirm.
I cleared my throat. "Am I the only one alive here?" Somehow I'd expected more family support to show up.
"Don't let it bother you," a voice said from behind us. "Members are prohibited from drinking from the other guests while on the premises. You'll be safe enough, at least in body. We don't control the fantasies of our participants."
I whirled. The man who had spoken was of average height with bleached blond hair. He wore a tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows, a pair of tidy jeans, and plastic-rimmed square glasses.
Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "I didn't know vamps ever needed to wear glasses."
"Force of habit," he said. "The glass is purely for show. I can't seem to get used to going without them. I'm still a relative newborn. In fact, I'm the one who started this group." His gaze slid over Menolly, slowly drinking her in. "If you don't mind me saying so, you're stunning."
She looked startled, and I knew what was running through her head. It had been a long time since anyone but Delilah and I'd said that to her. Humans found vampires irresistible, but it was that old undead charm that did it. For a fellow vamp to comment on her beauty was quite another matter.
"Thank you," she said slowly. "I'm Menolly. This is my sister, Camille."
He nodded. "And you're both part Faerie, if I'm not missing my guess. We're about to get started, so please take your seats, ladies."
As we made our way to our chairs, Menolly was quiet. I expected her to make some catty comment regarding the seedier-looking members of the audience, but she seemed preoccupied.
The vampire we'd been speaking to took the podium and gazed out over the twenty or so members of the audience. "Welcome, children of the night and their guests, to the regular weekly meeting of Vamps Anonymous. For those who are new, let me explain why we're here."
Menolly squirmed in her seat, glancing around. Nobody else seemed out of place, so we were probably the only newbies around.
"We're a group of recently transformed vampires—along with supportive relatives—who are all facing the difficulties inherent with adjusting to a new way of life. Or death, if you prefer. I used to be a psychiatrist before one of my clients decided I'd be better off as a vampire. Now I counsel my peers. I'll begin the introductions." He held up a hand and waved. "Hi, I'm Wade, and I've been a vampire for five years."
The audience rang out in unison with a resounding, "Hi, Wade!"
Menolly blinked, and I could see her fighting back a smile. The enthusiasm in the room, which had been so lacking before the meeting started, now reverberated from the walls as each person—vampire—gave their name and the standard speech and was met in return with a hearty welcome.
When the round-robin came to Menolly, she grabbed my hand, giving me a Please don't make me do this look.
Wade must have noticed her reluctance because he called out, "Please, don't be nervous. I know this may feel silly at first, but it's a relief to have a place where we can discuss what it's like to be undead. These weekly meetings are open to both vamps and their living family. We also have a private vamp-only meeting every two weeks for discussions of a more personal nature."
Slowly, Menolly let go of my hand. She stood up, looking like she'd rather be anywhere but here, and in a clear voice said, "Hi. I'm Menolly. I'm half-Faerie, half-human, and I've been a vampire for twelve Earthside years."
As she sat back down, everyone shouted, "Hi, Menolly!" and that faint smile crept back across her face.
By the time the meeting was over, the vampires were doing their best to be civil to me and not stare like I was a Big Mac with fries on the side.
Menolly exchanged a few phone numbers. Sassy Branson, the socialite in the Rive Gauche dress, seemed especially attentive. She still retained enough of her humanity to be taken in by our Sidhe charm, and we found ourselves—Delilah included—invited to her annual holiday cocktail party in early December. It crossed my mind that we'd be a definite social coup for her, though she did caution us to avoid mentioning that both she and Menolly were vampires.
"My friends haven't figured it out yet, and I'd like to keep it that way," she said, a savvy look on her face. "They just thought I'd taken ill for awhile, and I play up my eccentricities to keep them guessing. It was lovely to meet you, girls. Camille, you're a good sister to bring Menolly to the meeting."
Wade also made sure to get our number, and Menolly seemed only too happy to give it to him. On the drive home, I glanced at her.
"Are you mad at me for taking you there?"
She stared out the window. "At first I was, but now… I suppose not." She shrugged. "You might be right. It might be good for me to know a few other vamps who don't seem hell-bent on playing the big, dark, and ugly like most of the ones back in OW. Sassy sure doesn't dress down."
And with that, I knew that I'd been forgiven.
* * *
