We took our belongings and tearfully left the town house we had been residing in in London. We lived there for five years. In comparison to all our past abodes, London seemed like home. In truth, this was simply because we lived there the longest. But now we had nowhere to go; no relatives or relations of any kind. Our only true acquaintances were our immortal brethren.
Now we have no place in the world. My only comfort is that Dymeka is still by my side.
I know I shan’t weep for the betrayal of my friends for long. Those couples were growing far too tempestuous to be together for long. I know the reason for their mistrust. It is the reason Dymeka took me and fled without hesitation. Our curse has rules: chiefly, that we remain immortal only until one of the six intentionally kills one of us. I would never do it, not after the many lifetimes we have spent together. However, I cannot say with certainty what they would do, at least not after tonight’s events.
Dymeka no longer has any faith in our brethren. He is determined we change our aliases and start anew in a different land. While we have, on countless occasions, done so, this instance we are not hiding from suspicious neighbors. We are hiding from our cursed brethren. I have never feared for my own life, for no illness or mortal can slay me. I had no need to fear Death but tonight was the first night, of which I am certain there will be many, where I feared for my future and that of Dymeka’s.
Chapter 3
Esmeralda
I tied a bandana around my head and flexed an arm in the mirror. “We can do it!”
“Quit fooling around up there and get started!” my aunt shrieked from downstairs.
I slouched out of my confident posture and wrinkled my nose at my reflection. I didn’t know what was worse; cleaning or the thought of tackling the mountain of homework I’d been given. It was my first day. Who gave students homework on the first day? Apparently, all of my teachers.
I heaved a mournful sigh before leaving my room. My aunt had already gathered all the cleaning supplies I might need, piled them into a bucket, and left them in the hall. A vacuum sat next to the bucket. I grabbed a handle in each hand and proceeded to the head of the stairs. The mansion was old enough to still have mahogany floors. Creaks sounded under my feet. There would be no sneaking around while I was staying here, not with the old bat’s freakishly keen hearing.
“Where should I start?” I called down the stairs.
From this vantage point, I saw my aunt sitting in the pink plush chair across the fireplace in the sitting room. She seemed to be knitting something while watching her soap opera.
Aunt Dinah turned just slightly to holler back, “Start with the rooms at the end of the hall. Those are the ones that have been vacant the longest.”
“Wicked,” I muttered. “Dust city.”
I wasn’t wrong. My eyes welled up and my nose started twitching just after I opened the door of the farthest guest room. I sneezed multiple times before I was even able to get a good look at the room.
It was larger than mine, I noted with annoyance.
It had a queen-sized bed, matching bedside tables, a dresser, a window, and a closet. Dust particles danced in the light streaming in through the pale-yellow curtains. I strapped on a circular mask to protect my nose and got to work.
I was marching downstairs with a pile of dusty sheets and pillowcases half an hour later, tired and frustrated. “I ain’t gonna survive cleaning this place. I sneezed so much I’m pretty sure I threw my back out.”
“You’re fine,” the old lady said without even bothering to look away from her knitting.
I gave her the stink eye before turning the corner and loping into the laundry room. Once I’d tossed the sheets into the linen basket, I removed the mask from my sweaty face. I stopped in the kitchen for a glass of iced tea and wandered back to the sitting room. Leaning an elbow against the back of my great aunt’s chair, I took a sip.
I grimaced at the bitter taste and forced myself to swallow. “You gotta buy something other than tea, Grandma.”
She harrumphed. “Why?”
“We youngsters need stuff with more flavor. Juice, soda, lemonade, anything other than tea.”
My aunt pursed her lips for a moment. “I’ll consider it.”
“That’s mighty big of you. Thanks.” I glanced at the TV. “Whatcha watching?”
Aunt Dinah slapped her knitting project down over her knees. “Don’t you have homework to do?”
I pushed away from the chair, making faces at the back of her head. Then I retreated to the stairs.
“You keep doing that and your face is going to get stuck that way.”
I spun around, but my great aunt had returned to her knitting. I loudly imitated one of her harrumphs and went to my room. Placing the glass of iced tea on my dresser, I decided to continue my quest to get the window open. The old bat had included WD40 in the bucket of cleaning supplies so I used some of it on the hinges. I opened the window as far as it would go and took a deep, greedy breath. The autumn breeze felt so good on my warm face. After snatching the pack of cigarettes from my messenger bag, I sat on the windowsill and enjoyed my afternoon smoke.
Peering down at the little package, I realized I only had five cigarettes left.
Well, that would be the end of my “disgusting” habit. Aunt Dinah gave me a whopping five dollars for lunch every day. I had a better chance of stealing from her impenetrable bedroom and convincing her
