Of Light and Darkness: The Vampire's Daughter

There was a knock at the front door then. He stopped. Curious. Patients always came in through the office door in the back. If it even was a patient. Who could be visiting now? He looked at the carved owl clock on the wall. It was a little after midnight. Charlotte couldn’t be back so soon. That was when he remembered what she mentioned to him last night. Evangeline.

He quickly shoved his papers back into the bottom drawer, and inhumanly sped to the front of the house, taking him about half a second to get from one end to the other. He adjusted his corduroy vest and opened the front door to find the sultry Witch standing before him in a curve-hugging, black dress that only came down to the middle of her thigh.

“Good evening, Evangeline. What can I do for you?” he asked, maintaining his gentleman-like qualities. He did not allow his eyes to stray any lower than her face.

She scoured the house behind him, no doubt looking for Charlotte. Her wine-colored mouth twisted into a wicked smile and she walked in, letting the door slam shut behind her.

* * *

The harsh wind whipped Charlotte’s matted hair around her face, blinding her as she pushed through it. She was so stupid. She could get rid of some of her pride to go back and at least grab her sweater. The night air was freezing. Her teeth chattered as she hugged her arms tightly around herself. The leaves flew easily from the trees to the wet ground. She saw almost every pair of tavern doors bolted shut, and even the most restless night creatures had turned in for the evening. Nothing was dumb enough to be out in weather like this.

She grimaced as she continued to play their argument over in her mind. He was just as prideful as she was, if not more. Maybe she really would have gotten to live a normal life if he had just left her where he’d found her almost eighteen years ago. Maybe, if he had just gone on about his magical, otherworldly business, someone from her own race would have rescued her instead. Someone normal. Someone safe. Someone who would have turned out to be a lot less confusing, because they would have aged just as she did. Someone she would — no matter what — think of as nothing more than a parent.

Charlotte blinked back the image of Valek’s devastatingly beautiful face behind her sour tears. Crossing her arms over her chest, she dug her nails into her arm, trying to distract from that which was causing her internal pain.

She rooted around in her satchel to see if there was anything left of the traveling potion Evangeline had given her. To her dismay, she pulled out two empty glass bottles. She couldn’t run away now, even if she really wanted to. And she didn’t really want to. As much as Charlotte didn’t want to admit it, she could never leave Valek. But having those spells would have made hunting for him easier at least. Now, she just had to be lucky enough to find someone on the country road. A farmer, perhaps. Though, she knew stumbling across another human wouldn’t be likely on a night like this.

Thunder thrashed somewhere very close by, causing her to leap out of her skin. She decided if it started to rain heavily again, she would turn around and go back. Valek would just have to stay thirsty for one night. She held her arms up to shield herself against the heavy wind as she continued to push through. Maybe she shouldn't even wait for the rain. Maybe she should just turn back now.

“Do you need a lift somewhere, love?”

Charlotte looked up to see an enormous man with four long arms and four long legs walking easily beside her. Clearly the storm was of no worry to him — a Phaser that was only half-changed into his animal form. How unfortunate it must be to turn into a giant spider.

“No, thank you!” she yelled over the wind. No matter how kindly the old man’s face seemed, she was never to speak to strangers under any circumstance. Occult creatures were very dangerous more often than not.

The half-spider looked up at the threatening sky, the cavernous lines in his human-like forehead wrinkling.

“Seems like a bad time to be out here on your own. Where are you off to, little girl?” He ruffled his bushy mustache.

“I live with the Vampire, Valek Ruzik,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m out hunting for him.” She hoped mentioning Valek’s name would be enough to scare the spider off. For some reason, a rather negative stigma had been attached to Vampires recently. Valek hadn’t seen a drop of business in months, aside from Evangeline’s run-in with the Lycan. Charlotte thought again of Mrs. Price’s ignorant words.

The man’s face shifted into an even kinder smile upon recognizing the name as he continued to follow her.

“Ah, yes. Valek! Do send him my regards, will you? It’s been ages since my operation,” the man recalled. “But a girl like you shouldn’t be out here in this kind of weather. There are other things, besides me, that like to stalk in weather like this. They’re just waitin’ for something delicious like you. Why, you don’t even have a sweater,” he observed.

Charlotte stopped again and frowned up at him. It was hard to see through the heavy gusts. “I have to go for him! He can’t go on his own! It’s against the Regime law!” she called over the wind.

The man with the eight appendages thought for a moment. “Those awful Wizards. I have no idea how they’re able to keep the power over some er’ these other Occult people. Especially Vampires. Vampires are very powerful, too, ya know,” he mused. “Why, they’re just a bunch of wisecrackin’ old Elves is all those Wizards are.” His mustache ruffled again.

Charlotte blinked up at him. She hadn’t really thought about that before. What kind of creatures were the Wizards exactly? “Are they really Elves?”

“Yes’um.” He grumbled. “Wisecrackin’ ones. Thinkin’ they're so great just ‘cause they’re all so book smart.”

Charlotte had to chuckle.

“Anyway, I think maybe you should be gettin’ home. There are Lycans and Fairies about in weather like this. Why, you could catch a serious cold, too.” He adjusted the aviator’s goggles on the bridge of his nose.

“What are you doing out here, then?” Charlotte asked, amused now.

“Where there are Fairies about, there are arachnids about.” He winked at her.

That made sense. He was a spider. Spiders eat flies. Well, technically the Fae weren’t flies but they were close enough, she decided. She cringed and grimaced as she pictured the strange man chomping down on one.

“A delicacy!” He licked his chops.

Thunder sounded over them again and a single drop of rain splattered on her nose and then another on her cheek.

“Come!” the man said, gesturing to himself. “Hop on. If you don’t want to go home now, I’ll get ya somewhere safe at least. Maybe not dry, but safe.”

“How do I know you won’t eat me?” Charlotte crossed her arms, half-joking.

He put his two front hands on his hips. “You don’t look like a Fairy to me!” He chuckled.

She laughed, too.

“Besides, I don't have a taste for humans. Too mealy.”

The ground disappeared beneath Charlotte’s feet as one of his large hands grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her onto his back. She marveled at how high up she was. His limbs seemed to be twice the size of his body.

“Ready?” He beamed at her through one, goggled, red eye.

She sucked in a breath of the balmy air through her nose. “Ready.” She gulped and gripped both hands around the scarlet material of his scarf.

They were off. She crouched, keeping her head low, grasping even tighter to him. He moved like lightning through the alleyways of the town, up on the rooftops and down over the cobblestone streets. She shut her eyes against the tunnel of cold rain and the fear of being thrown off.

He was much faster than Aiden’s horse, and a lot scarier. She hardly recognized the city that should have been too familiar to her as it flew by. Everything was a dark, gray blur, once in a while illuminated by the glow of a passing streetlight. She could hardly tell what direction they were going in, but there was something about this Phaser she truly trusted. She kept her face hidden in his back until she felt the large spider lurch to a stop.

“Here we are,” he said confidently. One of his enormously long arms helped her onto the ground. She felt slightly disoriented, but she smiled politely at him and nodded once.