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  “Is Aerin here?”

  “No, she went out with friends to dinner.” Lie. She nodded as she looked to the parlor then back to me,

  “Is it alright if I wait here?” She looked to Klaus as he sucked his breath in then headed off into the house. I knew in his heart that if this were his home, she would be dinner.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” I glanced to Octavius as he stared at her.

  “Is something going on here? I mean is she in some kind of trouble?” I shook my head as I stepped closer to her,

  “I’ll call you when she gets home. Go back to your hotel. Everything is fine here.” She was staring into my eyes as her eyes glazed over for a moment then cleared as she nodded,

  “Um sure, I’ll do that.” She turned away slowly then headed for the door. She looked back at us then said,

  “You know my dad tried that trick on us all our life and it never worked. I’m not sure what game your playing, Rent, but I will find out. I’m sure you’ll want to remedy this before my dad comes around here.” And with that the door was shoved closed by Marc. He looked at us all then said,

  “Was that a threat? That sounded like a threat.” I felt it in my bones that Carter would not be thrilled his daughter was spending time in a coffin somewhere up North.

  “Oh stop being a baby, she’s going to be more than fine. Carter will be happy and everything will return to normal.” I looked to Klaus as he wiped his mouth then shrugged,

  “I couldn’t pass up a good meal.”

  “Who was in my living room?” Octavius inhaled the air as he groaned,

  “Did you kill her sister?” Klaus stopped as he cursed,

  “That was her sister? Carter’s daughter? Well, I guess this visit has been great but I think it’s time I head home.” I looked to Octavius as I cursed inwardly,

  “This is not good.”

  “Do you want me to take care of Aerin?” I shook my head,

  “Just get her out of that coffin for god’s sake.” He nodded quickly as he began to retreat from the house.

  6.

  I stood on the corner of Coliseum with Nina on my arm as we crossed the street. The air was cool as summer was now fading away. I looked at her as she smiled at me. It felt wrong to be this happy with her. I thought about Aerin lying in a coffin somewhere far away seething in her anger toward me.

  “What are you thinking about?” I shrugged as I looked into her green eyes and replied,

  “I was thinking about Aerin.” She nodded as I had recently come clean and explained as much as she could comprehend.

  “Well hey, that’s good that you’re letting yourself think about her. It’s good to make amends with everything that happened.” I nodded as we followed the tour into the house open for the public.

  “I heard this place was for sell.” I looked to the tour guide as he smiled and nodded.

  “That’s correct, oh Mr. Tres! How wonderful you stopped by. Is the house on Harmony ever going to join the list of houses to tour?” I laughed as I took in his round face and receding hairline, he wore thick glasses and I knew this was the highlight of his otherwise quiet life as a realtor.

  “Actually I was thinking of putting the house up on the market. I think it might be too big for me.”

  “Let me guess, not enough parties for that ballroom?” I nodded as I smiled,

  “You got me! This house is actually more to my liking. I wasn’t thrilled with the fact that the Dumas family felt it only necessary to have two bedrooms.”

  “I agree although I do love the enormous closet in the master bedroom. Mrs. Dumas really loved her shoe collection.” I was aware of her love as I had found old Polaroid pictures in the drawers of her shoes. I was also aware that the tour guide named Ted was a fan as he was staring at Nina’s red heels.

  “Uh yeah, so are you the one to talk to about this place?” He shook his head as he handed me a business card,

  “You’ll want to call my brother David, he’s handling the sale. The previous owner was just fed up with the city and the repairs after the hurricane.” I looked around the manicured yard then to the house; which was in no great disrepair.

  “He was upset that the sidewalk was cracked from the trees after the storm.” I looked to the slight cracks in the walk outside his gate. I rolled my eyes as I looked to Nina already wandering in with the tour.

  I had not heard from Klaus all summer. I knew in my heart that Carter would eventually turn up once he got wind of his daughter’s disappearance. I had to remind myself that in fact both of his daughters had gone missing in my city. I thought about Cate’s body lying on my parlor floor and having to dispose of her in a swamp that was far from the city. We had sat in a small boat in the dark with her body wrapped in my favorite wool rug. It would pain me to have to drop it here in the murky water.

  “Has it occurred to you that Klaus never cleans up after a meal?” I had stared into Octavius’ face as I laughed,

  “Are you saying I should turn in his vampire card for being a nuisance?”

  “That isn’t a bad idea if you think about it.” I stopped laughing as Octavius raised an eyebrow,

  “I am not getting rid of Klaus.”

  “Are we not monsters as your lover kindly stated?” I shoved the roll of wool into the water, it landed with a slight splash. I wiped my hands on my jeans as I looked to him,

  “Let’s get out of here, the swamp give me the creeps.” He started up the motor to the boat as we began to move slowly from the dump sight. I really hoped her body would sink but I looked back to see the rug had drifted back to the surface. Damn her and her eating disorder.

  “Oh please, I’ve heard stories that we could feed from reptiles.” Octavius was now moving faster through the water and we were headed back to the shore.

  “I don’t want to think about what that would taste like.”

  “Chicken?” He looked back at me smiling as I shook my head,

  “You are not a comedian.” I vowed to never let a human in Klaus’ sight within my house.

  “So did he tell you where they have Aerin locked away?”

  I didn’t know where Aerin had been sent. The bond between us had grown silent. The last I knew she was somewhere cold and surrounded by ice. I hoped that she had frozen in her coffin. The threats had grown quiet not long after she had been taken and Cate had died. I thought about Klaus and his offer to silence her.

  “I don’t think she is dead,” I looked to Marc as he sat before me. We sat before filled glasses of absinthe and shots of whiskey.

  “I’ve heard this was Dylan Thomas’ last meal.”

  “I think the absinthe did him in.” I sighed as I took my shot then prepared my little green drink and downed the contents,

  “Then let death take me.”

  “You should be so lucky,” said Marc as he lowered his head, “I feel badly for Aerin. I took her to that club.”

  “You didn’t force her hand, Marc.” It was hard to prove my point when his heart ached. It was then that I realised that he loved her. Again, I had managed to break another person’s heart in the process of being foolish.

  “I put Chloe in her path. I think I knew what would happen. It just happened so fast.” I nodded as I stood and patted him on the back,

  “Don’t let it get you down, let me take you home.” He nodded as he got to his feet and followed me to my roadster. I inhaled the night air and caught the scent of something ancient and sweet. I scanned the crowd of revelers until my eyes fell on the blond man in the dark suit staring back at me. Even a hundred years apart and the smirking grin hadn’t faded. His skin was still pale but his eyes glowed a deep blue. He waved to me and was soon at my side, he put his arm around me as he pulled me away from Marc. The boy was unaware that I was gone. We stood near the closed French Market as he stared into my face,

  “My dear brother…it has been a long time!” He embraced me as I pushed away,

  “I’m afraid I have bad news.”


  “Oh the girls? Don’t worry about them…tell me you are healed from our last battle?” I sighed as I pulled open my shirt to show the absence of scars,

  “Good! I feared I had been too hard on you. Now I know you were worried about the issue with Aerin.” His face was round and I could see the resemblance to Aerin and her sister. His nose still had the same upturned shape that gave him a sense of snobbery. I still could not recall where we had found him. Octavius swore we were brothers, I groaned at the thought of Aerin being my relative.

  “Yeah, I still haven’t learned where she is.”

  “Oh that’s nothing, she’s with me. I’m still unclear how she ended up here though. She was supposed to be in Paris with Noel.” I shook my head as I said,

  “I don’t think that was his name but he’s dead.”

  “I gathered that…we have a lot to catch up on…know any place I can get a bite?” I shrugged as he held up his hand then shot off into the dark. I stood awkwardly knowing he was feeding on a lost tourist. I cursed inwardly knowing we would have to keep a low profile in the cemeteries now. He returned after a short moment as he smiled,

  “Well don’t worry about her now, she’s at my home resting. Still hates you but I’m sure she’ll get over it. Women. Her mother was a hard woman and I still don’t remember what happened to her.”

  “Did you kill her?” His face grew dark the way his daughter did when she knew she had caused trouble,

  “Not that I know. But the eighties are hard for me to remember.” I ran my hands over my hair as I replied,

  “We thought you would have been angry. I mean we didn’t think Klaus would drain Cate in one sitting.”

  “Oh that old kook should be put out of his misery. You want me to do it? I know how fond of him you are.” I shook my head quickly at the thought,

  “So you really aren’t upset about Cate?”

  “No, she had a serious drug issue. I’ll miss her but at least I know where to see her.”

  “Then you’ll be spending a ton of time in Houma.” He wrinkled his nose as he replied,

  “Couldn’t you have put her in your tomb?” I shrugged as I remembered Marc was still at Jean Lafitte’s.

  I sat outside my house that night looking up at the porch light shining. I thought about Nina as she slept in the house. In my heart I knew that our time had come to an end. Now that Carter was back she would not be safe around him. I got out of the car and looked back to see him standing on the corner as he waved to me. I looked away and knew that he would have disappeared into the night. Carter was another of the ones that believed in going indoors during the day. I had a hard time associating with others that were not as old as myself. It felt strange to be amongst the younger generation and their inability to share thoughts or do anything short but whine for more blood.

  “Zombies,” I muttered as I opened the door. I surveyed the darkened room and shut the door behind me. I thought about how I would break her heart but couldn’t think of one thing to say. I was more of literal person. I would have to go out and pick up a few random girls.

  “It doesn’t have to be like that,” I turned to see the thin shape standing the parlor room doorway. It was dark and so even with the moonlight shining through the window I could make out her long blonde hair and thin build.

  “As long as you’re father is around – it has to be done.” She wore the same clothes she had been buried in. She smelled of earth and rot. She moved slowly toward me as she said,

  “Do you not like my newly acquired scent?”

  “I was sure you were finished with me,” I replied as I flipped on the light in the foyer. She stood before me covered in dirt, her face had been wiped but her fingernails showed she had dug her way out. She had scars from the icy surface she had scrapped against. Her blonde hair was covered in clumps of mud. I could make out blood stains on her green sweater.

  “My father found me but refused to help get me out. He said that Klaus would be angry with him. Is he really so afraid of you all that he cowers before you?”

  “He’s not well liked and the last time we met it was in battle.” She stared back at me with a dead glare,

  “I fed on an infant that he brought me. He said newborns have the most powerful blood. I didn’t believe him but here I stand feeling strong.” The stains looked fresh and I thought of Nina upstairs. She smiled as she looked up to the ceiling then looked back at me.

  “Do you hear her heart beating?” The house was filled with the scent of death. I shut my eyes as I realised I would not be breaking up with her tonight. The severing had been done for me once again. I inhaled and realised that again I could not catch Aerin’s scent.

  “My father made sure to bind me to him when I was above ground again. We’re not bound anymore, Rent. It’s over.”

  “Baby it was over a long time ago.” Her eyes filled with rage as she rushed toward me and I moved out of her way. The door opened as Carter entered and grabbed his daughter by her hair and dragged her from the house,

  “Maybe Klaus was right for once.” She fought against him as he pulled her along toward an awaiting car. I watched as she was pushed into a dark sedan,

  “I will kill you!” She was silenced with electrical tape and shoved to the floor of the car. He slammed the door shut as he headed back toward the house,

  “I figured she would have stayed home tonight. I’m sorry about that.” I held up my hand as I said,

  “It’s fine, look the sun will be up soon.”

  “I could set her out in the sun for you, brother.” The thought was not a bad one. It was wrong to agree with Carter even now. But I thought about Nina lying in the bed upstairs with her throat exposed and replied,

  “Do what you think is necessary.” He nodded with a grin, it was one I knew so well and soon he was back in the sedan. I watched the car disappear around the corner and knew I would be taking a drive into the swamps once again. The air felt cold now and I knew that summer was officially over. I turned and headed back for the house. I knew making a deal with Carter was always a bad idea. But I also knew that having Aerin popping up from time to time would have been an even worse idea.

  “I made a deal with Carter,” I said into my phone as I shut the door. I could hear Octavius suck in his breath as he replied,

  “I suppose it could be worse…at least Aerin is out of your life now for good.” I thought about what he had repeated then replied in a low voice,

  “Are we not monsters?” I could hear him laugh on the other end as he said his goodbye and retreated to his room for the day.

  7.

  We stood amongst the tombs once more. I looked to Matthieu as he stood watch and returned my gaze.

  “Quiet night…must be the cold.”

  “Are you thinking we should hit the Quarter?” He nodded as he glanced at his watch,

  “The clubs should be getting thin about now. Surely some bartender would welcome the help with the stragglers.” Though the bars stayed open twenty-four hours we always found a willing meal. Although for me all it took was a plate of hot food. Matthieu having caught my thought turned his nose up.

  “Does Carter share your weird affliction?”

  “No, I’m the only of my kind.”

  “That’s a shame,” I looked to Octavius as he glanced at the clock on his phone,

  “Let’s hit the Quarter before dawn.” I agreed and we were headed for the gates of the cemetery. I thought of how sedate Carter had become since his return. If the death of his daughters had not affected him surely it was something else.

  “I think Carter has grown with time,” said Matthieu. We stared at him as he shrugged,

  “He still feeds on the wrong people.”

  “Are they getting noticed?” Octavius nodded,

  “There was a report of a girl found in a dumpster with what appeared to be an animal wound to her neck. It’s only a matter of time. I’ve heard the police chatter and they think its some lunatic with fake teeth going t
oo far.”

  “Not good…we’re going to have to stick to the blood bank.” It was dangerous to have a body count within the city. It was a very thin line between the hunt and a willing participant.

  “We dispose of what we feed upon,” had always been the motto. This was never a law Carter followed. I thought a moment as I recalled Klaus and knew he never followed our rules. It was not rare to force our kind to fast when the body count rose. I was only glad we now had a refuge in the blood bank.

  I stood in the empty corridor at the blood bank waiting for Matthieu. It was a quiet night and I wondered where the others had run off. I checked my phone as Octavius stepped out of the room,

  “You should see the hot little number in there,” he winked at me as he brushed his long black hair away from his face. I shook my head as I put my hand up,

  “No, keep them far from me at least for awhile.” He laughed as he shook his head,

  “She’s got a nice set of…”

  “Hey be nice I think she works with my wife,” said Matthieu as he exited the room. We stood in the corridor chatting for a minute before taking in the time and separating,

  “How are things with Marc these days?”

  “Oh you know he’s moping around the house but it doesn’t stop him from going out every night. I think he’s finally going to move out soon.” Marc had moved from fledgling to holding his own within the city. I thought of a time when Marc was still human and a small infant. I nodded as we headed for my car,

  “You want a ride back to your place?”

  “No, I’m going to hang around here.” I smiled as I thought about the girl in the blood bank,

  “Are you going to wait for her?”

  “She gave me her number,” he said with a smile. I shook my head as I headed for the exit with Matthieu.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” I got into my car and pointed toward home. I didn’t have it in me to wander the streets anymore. The car was immediately flooded with the sounds a hip-hop mix that Nina had given me. My heart ached for her though we had only been together for a summer. I picked up my ipod as I switched the playlist and settled on a jazz tune. The sun was already fighting its way into the sky and I only hoped that my dear friend had sought refuge in a dark place. I pulled on my sunglasses as the sun was already high above me as I made my way off the freeway and headed for my place.