“Yes. We will,” Timothy said without meeting his eyes. “Again, so sorry.”
He got up from the table and pulled at Melanie. She held a hand to her nose, which was now gushing blood. I guess I was stronger than I thought. Hmm, maybe some of my vampire strength was beginning to develop. Nice. Thierry didn’t look at him; he stared straight forward, the expression on his face unreadable. But as Timothy brushed past him, Thierry reached out to grab the boy’s arm and drew him near enough to say something quietly to him. It wasn’t quiet enough that I didn’t hear it, though.
“Return again and it will be the last thing you do.” His voice was like a glint of metal, the click of a gun’s safety going off. Dangerous. “You, and your human.”
Timothy didn’t answer; he just nodded in a short burst of movement. Then he and Melanie made for the door and the cold streets outside.
“You.” Thierry was now addressing me. I felt suddenly naked, and pulled the empty drink tray against my chest as a pathetic form of protection.
“Uh-huh?”
“Clean yourself up and return to work.” He turned away and went toward his corner table in the shadows.
Didn’t really care for the “asshole employer” tone of voice, but I did feel kind of sheepish about what had just happened. I had to learn to control my temper. Even with potential vampire strength, I couldn’t go punching out everyone who pissed me off. Well, not all of them, anyhow. It would be hell on a manicure.
I hastily reapplied the eyeliner and lipstick, and tried to fix my hair as best I could, given the dissipating reflection I had to work with. I tried not to think about that too much or it started to make my chest tighten with pain and dread. What was I going to do without a reflection? It just wasn’t right.
Zelda came into the washroom to check on me after ten minutes. I had to turn around to see it was her, since her reflection was completely nonexistent.
“How do you manage?” I nodded at the mirror.
She frowned until she figured out what I meant, then shrugged. “You get used to it.”
“I don’t think I ever will. I’m about ready to go throw myself on the next cross I see.”
She studied me. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Yeah. Sort of.”
“Crosses don’t do anything, anyhow. That’s just a lame myth.”
Well, that was good. I was wondering if I’d have to avoid any churches. Not that I went to church much anymore, but it would be nice to have the option. I tried to give her a small smile. “And next you’ll probably tell me that you don’t sleep in a coffin, right?”
She nodded. “Now, that’s true. Although, I can only afford a pine box myself.” She laughed at my look of surprise. “Now I’m the one who’s kidding.”
“Funny.”
She glanced at the mirror. “If it bothers you that much, you can always save your money and buy a shard.”
“Buy a what?”
“They’re called ‘shards.’ It’s a reflective surface that’s just like a mirror, only it works for
us, too. But they’re very expensive.”
“How expensive?”
“If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it. I know I can’t.”
I sighed. “Well, that’s the story of my life.”
“Well, I guess if you hate being a vamp too much, you can always go questing for the cure.”
A cure. More jokes . “Yeah, wouldn’t that be great.” I smiled. “Nah, if I can just make it for a few more weeks, I’m off to Mexico. That’s worth living for, right?”
“Absolutely.” Zelda smiled at me. “By the way, I liked the show earlier.”
“What show?”
She swung her arm through the air. “Knocking Goth girl’s lights out. I wanted to do that the last time they were in. She’s a real bitch. I don’t know what Timothy sees in her.”
“You know him?”
“We used to date. But that was a long time ago. I was going to ask how long ago, but decided I didn’t really want to know.
“You know,” Zelda said. “Now that George is here, why don’t you take off? You look kind of tired.”
“I am. This whole day’s been really exhausting. But I need to talk to Thierry before I go anywhere. He’s my designated answer-man when it comes to this vampire thing.”
“How long have you been vamped, anyhow?”
I zipped up her makeup case and handed it back to her. “Two days.”
Her eyes widened. “Two days? And your reflection already looks like that?”
I glanced at the mirror and grimaced. “Yeah. So?”
She turned away. “Oh… nothing. Nothing at all.”
“No, I think it’s something. What are you trying to say?”
Zelda turned back to me and was chewing on her bottom lip. “It’s just that you don’t
typically lose your reflection to that extent for a long time… unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless you’ve been on a steady diet of…” She paused and looked at me. A smile began to form on her lips. “Oh, that must be it.”
I put a hand on my hip and glared at her. “Am I going to have to punch you out, too? What are you talking about?”
“You and Thierry,” Zelda said, as if that explained everything.
“Me and Thierry what?”
“He’s been giving you his blood. That stuff’s like pure gold at his age, even diluted. No wonder it’s speeding up the process.” She noted my strained expression and my lack of denial. “It’s okay. It’s cute, actually. He needs somebody like you in his life.”