Chapter 9

ROSE

Eleanor’s soft singing woke me up. When I checked the time, it was already midnight. Cursing under my breath, I got up in a rush.

Demetrius had disappeared, and I couldn’t hear the twins nor Aric in their rooms. I dressed in a long blue dress decorated with gold thread and slipped into Eleanor’s room.

She was sitting on the floor, wearing a bright red tutu, leather leggings, and a long-sleeved striped turtleneck. Her outfits were already pretty special. I couldn’t help but smile.

She was next to the fire, a small pad on her knees, drawing like her life depended on it. She was surrounded by crayons and colored pencils with the occasional felt-tipped marker.

She hummed to her artwork, her hand vibrating over the pad as she filled in a dress with a bright red pencil. I watched her, not wanting to disturb her.

She looked up eventually and grinned at me.

“I’m hungry!” she said seriously. “Look, it’s you, Mother! See? See look at her hair! It’s you.” She waved her pad back and forth at me, getting up and wiping the pencils off her tutu.

I moved toward her and folded myself on the floor elegantly. Eleanor plopped back down on my lap.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and looked at her drawing, anyone would have thought it was nothing special, but to me, it was a masterpiece.

I saw the thick lines and the spaces that had been badly colored in, but I noticed the small things; the mixture of gold, red, and white in my hair, the way it billowed across the paper.

I saw the deep blue in the large, badly-shaped eyes and the small fangs pointing through the thick red lips.

My body had a good shape, and I had a large head, a neck, and a body. The legs and arms were attached to the right places, and I wore a large triangular red dress.

“Well done, honey. It’s a really good drawing.”

“It’s not finished yet,” Eleanor told me seriously, reaching to pick up her red pencil again. I handed it to her and wrapped myself around her, watching as she continued coloring in the dress.

“There’s a lot of red because I like red,” she told me, pointing out the red lips, shoes, dress, and hairband.

“Hmm, I’m not sure red is my favorite color. I like indigo,” I replied.

Eleanor paused then reached for another crayon. She held it up to me, smiling.

“Is this indigo?” she asked, smiling. I nodded slowly, gazing at the light purple pencil.

“Yes, that’s indigo, well done. You know your colors,” I praised her.

“I like colors. Next time, you can wear an indigo dress!” she exclaimed happily, continuing with her red pencil.

“Next time is going to have to wait. Come on. We’d better get you fed.” I stood up, picking Eleanor up with me. She dropped her pencil and pad with a small frown.

“And I should probably feed too,” I added, closing my eyes and trying to ignore her fresh sweet scent.

Eleanor chatted to me happily as we made our way up to the cathedral. I heard footsteps above us. Aric appeared, leaning over the second-floor balcony.

“Aric!” Eleanor greeted him with a wide grin. Aric smiled slightly.

“Eleanor, Mother,” he nodded at us formally.

“Aric, would you mind getting me something to eat? I’m hungry,” I asked as I put Eleanor down on the large table.

“Later,” he replied, disappearing behind the organ. Pursing my lips, I pulled out a large box of human food from under the table. I put it next to Eleanor, and she peered over it, clinging to the sides.

“Let’s see, cereal?” I suggested, pulling out a Kellogg's cereal box.

“No cereal!” she pouted, looking through the box. She pulled out a piece of parmesan and grinned at me. “I want cheese.”

“Unfortunately, you can’t eat cheese for breakfast. I’ll get you a glass of milk. How about some toast?”

She thought about it, tapping her chin with her finger, then smiled. “Toast with strawberry jam,” she informed me. I nodded and smiled.

“Sounds yummy,” I replied. It sounded disgusting.

I set the toaster up on the table, plugging it into the wall. I’d fashioned a kind of disappearing kitchen. I had bought a sink, a fridge, and an oven, which all folded back into the wall.

I had also created shelves full of culinary gadgets. There had been a lot of complaints about her food smelling and being visible, but they accepted my disappearing kitchen.

Eleanor fished the bread out of the box. I watched her slide a piece of bread into the toaster and push the button.

“Watch it and catch it when it pops up,” I told her, reaching for the refrigerator. I grabbed a bottle of milk and a glass on top of the table and poured her a large glass of milk.

Eleanor was watching the toaster intently, leaning over and letting the steam warm her face.

She let out a small yelp when it popped up and grabbed it. I set a plate out in front of her. She tossed the toast from one hand to the other, shouting, “Hot! Hot! Hot!”

She dropped it on the plate and blew on her hands.

“Did you burn your hands?” I asked, gently taking her small hands in mine. I felt they were a little warmer than normal, but she smiled when my cold skin met hers.

“Yup, but you make everything better, Mother,” she cooed. I smiled at her and ran one hand over her short brown curls.

“No, honey, you do,” I replied, then handed her the jam jar. Her grin widened, and she grabbed the spoon next to it.

“Can I put it on the toast?” she asked enthusiastically. I put my hand around hers.

“Let’s do it together,” I answered, flipping the top open easily.

Together, Eleanor and I spooned the jam onto her piece of toast. She licked the spoon while I spread the jam with a knife and cut the piece of toast into small triangles.

Eleanor ate excitedly, chatting with me about her drawings and the snow. I listened, watched, and smiled.

When she’d finished, quite a while later, she hopped off the table and took her plate over to the sink. She twisted the tap and put the plate under the hot water.

I took over scrubbing the mostly clean plate while she kept her hands in the hot water. When I switched the water off, she pouted and rubbed her hands together.

I handed her a towel while I cleared up the rest of her food. She handed the towel back to me with a big grin.

“Now, what do you want to do tonight?” I asked her, leaning against the fireplace. She crossed her arms over her small chest and put on a thinking face.

“Can you read a story?” she asked, giving me a wide grin and blinking at me. I smiled and nodded.

“Of course. You go and pick one. I’ll be right with you,” I told her. She nodded and scampered off downstairs again. I glanced up at the balcony. Taking a step back, I crouched and sprang up.

I gripped the side of the railing and flipped myself over. Aric was bent over the organ, scribbling notes on a sheet of paper.

“I need you to go now, Aric,” I told him sternly. He glanced up at me, scowling.

“Mother, I’m busy.”

“You’re writing music. It can wait half an hour.”

“I’m on a lead. Please don’t bother me,” he snapped.

I growled at him. I sped to his side and ripped the paper out of his hands. He turned to hiss at me, his eyes glowing red, his fangs bared.

“Mother, give it back,” he growled, taking a deep breath.

“I will if you go get me something to feed on. Aric, it won’t take long, anything will do.” He stood up, running his fingers through his thick blond hair.

“Fine, I’ll be back.” He walked past me, snatching his paper from my fingers. I watched him leap over the side of the railing. He raced across the cathedral floor, and the door slammed behind him.

Pursing my lips, I slipped off the balcony and landed in a crouch. I hurried back downstairs.

Eleanor was waiting for me, sitting on the floor next to her fire.

She was surrounded by all her picture books. She held one up to me with a wide grin. “This one first!” she cried happily, patting the space next to her.

I folded myself on the floor and picked her up on my lap. I glanced at the book in her hand and smiled. It was about fairies.

She’d taken a liking to fairies and mermaids ever since I’d started buying her books.

I wrapped one arm around her waist and held the book up so we could both see the pictures.

“Do you want to read with me?” I asked, pointing at the first word.

“Once upon a time!” she giggled, knowing the words off by heart. I squeezed her.

I wasn’t reading for long when I heard the cathedral doors burst open and heavy footsteps marching toward the staircase.

I stopped reading and lifted my head, catching Aric’s scent and, with it, the sweet smell of fresh blood.

“Mother! Keep reading! Please,” Eleanor rocked in my lap, pointing at the book.

“Hold on, honey,” I replied, shifting her off me and handing her the book. The blood smell was getting closer, and I could hear small whimpers.

Gritting my teeth, I stood up to leave when Aric appeared in the doorway.

He snarled, blood smeared on his lips and eyes flashing red. He held a young woman’s arms, letting her collapse on the floor, her wrists bleeding.

I hissed, immediately moving in front of Eleanor.

“How dare you!” I spat at Aric, feeling my eyes flash red.

He ignored me and knelt beside the girl, holding up her wrist and staring into her eyes. His expression softened slightly. He licked at the blood on his lips and let his red eyes cool back to blue.

“When you want to commit suicide, you have to cut up toward your elbow, or the wound will clot,” he told her in a smooth, calm voice.

The girl stared back at him, her eyes wide open, trembling all over.

“Aric, get her out,” I ordered him, turning back to Eleanor and taking a deep breath so I wouldn’t smell her blood scent.

She stared up at me, her eyes wide. In them, I saw my face mirrored, my red eyes and sparkling fangs.

I blinked and shut my mouth, then picked her up and turned her away from the girl, but she craned her neck around, her eyes wide.

“Mother,” she breathed, staring from me to Aric to the girl.

“Aric!” I hissed. He grabbed the girl again and disappeared, picking her up and taking her with him. I hugged Eleanor close to my chest, then set her on the ground again.

“Why don’t you keep drawing that lovely picture of me. I’ll be right back,” I promised, kissing the top of her head. Eleanor nodded, wide-eyed, and picked up her drawing pad.

I hurried out of the room. Aric was waiting in the main hall, near the fire. The human girl sat at his feet, cowering.

“Aric! How dare you bring her down to where Eleanor can see her?” I hissed at him.

“Mother, please, have something to appease your thirst before you tear Eleanor’s head off yourself,” Aric answered, pushing the girl toward me.

“She won’t be missed?” I asked doubtfully.

“She committed suicide,” he replied simply. I nodded and marched toward the human. She inched back from me.

“Please…please…oh my God, please, I didn’t mean to be rude! I swear, I was just angry,” she babbled, shaking her head fiercely, thick tears rolled down her cheeks.

I stared at the blood clotting at her wrists. Her heart was racing in her chest, filling the room with her sweet bloody fragrance.

I knelt beside her and took her arm in my hand. Her skin was rough and warm, and I could feel her blood pulsing under my touch. Her eyes met mine, and she blinked slowly.

I stared at her, keeping my eyes a cool shade of blue. She closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath. Her heart rate slowed.

“You committed suicide. Such a shame,” I told her, stroking her immobile cheek. She slumped back against the floor, her heart almost at a stop, her body calm.

I glanced up at Aric and scowled before flashing my eyes red and digging my fangs into her already open flesh.

I sucked the warm blood out of her body, listening as her heart stopped. I pulled back and wiped my mouth with the back of my palm. Aric was leaning against the fireplace.

“Tasty, a bit too drugged,” he said calmly. I stood up, letting the girl’s wrist fall from my grip.

“Aric, why did you bring her down to where Eleanor could see her? I don’t want her seeing that sort of thing!” Aric arched his brows.

“Mother, we’re pureblood vampires, we feed on humans, she is a human, don’t you think she should know that we hunt her kind?”

“She’s three! She’ll understand in time.”

“Do you expect her to keep loving you? When she knows what a ruthless killer you are?” He gestured to the girl’s body at my feet. I drew back my lips and hissed.

“I am a vampire, Aric. Killing humans is part of what I am. Being your mother and Eleanor’s mother is another part of me. She will understand.”

“You think too highly of her.”

“No, I am her mother, and I love her.”

Aric arched his brows, crossing his arms over his chest. “Mother, how would you feel growing up where everyone around you had already threatened your life at least once?”

“Aric, I have no choice in this matter, you know that. Thank you for getting me lunch, but don’t you dare do anything like that again!”

Aric bowed his head, then stepped around me. I watched him crouch, then bound up to the second floor. He flipped over the railing and disappeared. I glanced down at the girl at my feet and frowned.

“When you go out again later, bring her back where you found her!” I called to him, moving swiftly toward the staircase.

“Get the twins to do it!” Aric muttered back.

Eleanor was absorbed in a new drawing. As I approached, she lifted her head and stared at me.

“Who was that, Mother? That lady?” Her eyes were wide.

I stared at the picture. She’d drawn the girl, with her black coat and blue jeans and her short dark hair. And the blood gushing out of her wrists.

She held the picture up so I could see better.

“Eleanor, I’m so sorry. You can’t understand it. Just Aric playing a game. I’m so sorry you had to see her,” I answered, moving toward her and cradling her in my arms.

She wrapped her small arms around my neck and held on tightly.

“Why was Aric so scary?” she asked in a small voice.

“Aric was just playing. He wasn’t scary. He was just playing,” I assured her, pressing her face into my shoulder.

“Why were your eyes all red, Mother?” she continued. I took a deep breath.

“We were just playing. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“You had long teeth.”

“I know.” I hugged her tighter, closing my eyes and listening to her breathing and racing heart.

“You were scary too, Mother. You scared me,” she insisted.

“I know, honey. I’m sorry. I know. I know.” I paused and sat down on the floor next to the blazing fire. Now that I had fed, her sweet-smelling blood wasn’t nearly so tempting to me anymore.

I handed Eleanor her drawing pad and ripped the drawing of the girl out.

“Here, you draw something nice,” I told her as she scooted out of my lap to move closer to the fire, out of my freezing arms.

She stared at me, then started drawing. I watched her hand flash across the paper, smearing the lines she’d already drawn.

She chatted to me as she drew, telling me the whole story of a mermaid who had indigo hair.

It wasn’t until the cathedral doors opened and I heard the twins get home, giggling, that I realized how much time had gone by.

It was nearing four in the morning, and the sun would be up in a little more than two hours.

“Cute, for a human, but way over his head,” Venus giggled as she and her twin raced downstairs.

Soon they were standing in the living room. I saw both their noses wrinkle as they caught the scent of Eleanor.

“Who?” I asked pleasantly, turning away from Eleanor for a second. Venus paused, staring at Eleanor, then shrugged.

“Adolescent party going on in Fairbanks, we crashed it, and there was this guy who thought he could get us in his bed at the same time.” She laughed freely. Phoenix’s eyes twinkled.

“But don’t worry, Mother, we didn’t kill him.” She grinned.

“Yeah, he just might be unable to have any children.”

“Ever.” The twins giggled again, wrapping their arms around their waists. I smiled, slightly amused.

“You’re too old for him, twin.” Venus nudged Phoenix.

“Disgusting boy being interested in older women!” Phoenix agreed, tossing her fiery red hair.

“Girls,” I paused as they faced me. “Did you feed? That was the point of your adventure after all.”

The twins nodded. “We found a tasty reindeer,” Phoenix assured me with a sweet smile. Venus licked her lips then giggled. I rolled my eyes.

“Good. Where’s your father?”

“Still out, I saw him feeding on a musk-ox. He looked a bit crabby, so we decided not to share,” Venus replied.

“Anyway, Father doesn’t know how to share,” Phoenix added, grinning.

“I’ll say,” Aric slipped into the room silently. I hadn’t even heard him coming. He glanced at Eleanor on the ground and frowned.

“Why don’t you three go do something interesting?” I dismissed them. My three children all looked doubtful but left.

I turned back to Eleanor. She glanced at me and yawned.

“Tired?” I asked, moving toward her and pulling the pad from her hands. She let go freely and reached up so I could pick her up.

I carried her toward her small bed and put her down. She buried herself under the covers, immediately making humming noises. I smiled and pulled her out.

“Just get changed first, then you can have your nap,” I told her, pulling her tutu off as well as her turtleneck shirt.

I barely had time to slip her nightgown on before she leaned away from me, curling up under the sheets.

I watched her sleeping for a few moments, then moved out of her room, closing the door behind me.

I joined my children in the cathedral where they lounged on the table, the twins still giggling and gushing over their party. Aric ignored them as he sketched something on lined paper.

When I got closer, I saw they were notes.

“They’re getting bold though, those humans,” Phoenix gushed, trying to look serious.

“Please, they’re complete wimps. We just gave him what? One little kick? And he was howling for his momma!” Venus grinned widely.

“Yup, and what a delightful sight it was,” Phoenix agreed.

“If you girls don’t have anything vaguely interesting to talk about, do you mind?” Aric waved them away, flashing them a wide grin.

The twins shrieked and launched themselves against him, baring their teeth. Aric grinned. They were all laughing as the twins pinned him to the ground and screamed at him in his ears.

I leaned against the table, watching my children play fight. Aric got a hold of both twins and launched them off his body, crouching to prepare a strike.

He hissed at them, grinning. The twins crouched in beside each other, tossing their hair back and flashing their eyes red.

“Don’t break anything. Don’t be too loud. I don’t want you waking up, Eleanor,” I told them, walking swiftly past them as Phoenix struck at her brother.

They shouted joyful replies as I exited the cathedral.

As soon as I was outside, I sensed Demetrius was home. Following my nose, I ended up in the stables. Demetrius was leaning against one of the stalls, stroking a mare’s soft muzzle.

I approached slowly. He cocked his head to one side, listening to my footsteps.

“I haven’t seen you all night,” I gently admonished as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“I was here, and out, and you were sleeping. You’re staying up so late, you’re sleeping most of the night,” he replied, moving out of my arms to slip over the door of the stall.

I leaned through the window and watched him pick up a large brush and started brushing the shiny flanks of the chocolate horse.

“I’m sorry, but I have to give Eleanor some sunlight.”

Demetrius nodded once. “Have you fed?”

“Yes, Aric brought me a suicidal girl.” I frowned slightly.

“I cleaned her out. I think you pissed him off pretty bad, though. He’s really into his new composition,” Demetrius told me.

I shrugged one shoulder. “He’s got plenty of time to write,” I answered. Demetrius smiled slightly.

“Yes, he does.” He glanced up at me, running his fingers through the horse’s mane. He sighed, then smiled.

“You look beautiful,” he told me, dropping the brush and moving toward me slowly. I smiled back at him as he cupped my face in his hand and stroked my cheek softly.

I gazed into his deep green eyes. They burned into mine as he slid one arm around my shoulders and pulled me against the stable door. He kissed me softly.

“Come, let’s spend some time together before you have to take Eleanor out into the sun again,” he breathed in my ear before jumping over the door and pulling me tightly into his arms.