Philadelphia 1980
An angry voice followed me, and crawled up my skin.
"Soulless bitch!"
If you ever want to piss a vampire off, call 'em soulless. I
wasn't that scared little slave girl I use to be, running away from angry
voices. Things changed. I no longer ran from danger, I ran beside it.
The homeless girl, I've ignored the past two nights, reached
out to me as I crept by. I halted in front of her. Her oily blonde hair fell
flat on her slender shoulders.
She gazed up at me. Sadness shadowed her almond shaped eyes.
She smelled like an old sandwich, and her clothes were dirty and worn.
What could she have wanted? I wasn't giving her money. I
glared at her young tender neck, but I wasn't hungry. She took my hand and
emptied her left pocket. Pennies, quarters, and nickels filled my hands.
"I'm Diamond, if you ever want to talk�"
Her voice was hoarse, she harbored a cold. I opened my hand,
dropped her money in front of her, and crawled away. She yelled behind me. I
turned around and kicked her hand, as she was picking up her money.
"What's your problem?" she said.
"Right now, you are," I said.
"You had a problem before me," she said.
I was so despondent I hadn't noticed the blue dress I had on
for the past two days. It was wrinkled and stained with my last victim's blood.
Flyaway hairs stuck out from my ponytail and slapped me in the face when the
wind blew. My stockings had a least three runs in them, and my flat shoes were
scrapping the ground.
"It's dangerous for a young girl to be on the streets?" I
said.
"It's more dangerous for some young girls to be at home," she
said, standing up and stuffing her money into her jeans."
She was telling the truth. I felt her pain.
"Are you hungry? Do you need money for food?" I asked, looking
down on her.
"Why? You gonna throw some more on the ground?"
"What a sparkling little mouth you have. Let's sit on the
bench. The ground is cold." I said, walking over to the bench and sitting down.
She hesitated, but joined me on the bench. She was careful not
to sit to close. I could still smell the pepperoni on her breath.
"You gotta name?"
"Cheetah."
"That's original," she said, taking a pack of Newports out of
her pocket.
"Why are you on the streets?"
"I'm gay, so if you're gonna get freaked, I can leave now."
"That's why you're not at home?"
"My dad thinks if he beats the shit out of me, I'll date men."
"That makes a lot of sense." I said.
Narcissist glided towards us like a graceful figurant.
"Kitty, what a nice surprise, you've come to visit me."
"I've gotta go," Diamond said, as Narcissist sat on the bench.
"No! Don't go." I said, but it was too late, she had already
walked away.
"Did I scare your dinner off?" Narcissist said.
"Leave me," I said. "I'm not here for you."
"But you are in my city," he said.
"Not for long. I'm leaving soon."
"Stay as long as you like."
There was an uncomfortable silence; I waited for him to break
it.
"It's a beautiful night to feed together," he said. "And you
look hungry."
Narcissist took a deep breath pretending to enjoy the air. I
was waiting for him to flash his fangs. He liked showing his canines. He thought
they made him look sexy, but then again, he thought everything made him look
sexy. He worshipped himself, and thought others should worship him. Vanity was
his poison of choice.
He sat beside me on the bench. His white long sleeve ruffed
shirt, and tight black pants made him look out of place, but I'm sure he didn't
care. He was more than a thousand years old, and didn't look a day over
twenty-five. He resembled an Indian, with his tanned skin, and his long dark
hair.
"I already fed." I said, glancing at the long slender nose
that complimented his narrow face.
His wide thin lips curled up to smile. He laughed rich and
melodious instead. I tried not to smile, but I couldn't help it. His beauty was
undeniable. He used it to attract weak followers. I was usually clever enough to
stay out of his path. That night, I was too caught up in myself, to smell him
coming.
"You're lying," he said.
I watched humans strolling by, each giving Narcissist the
second look he deserved. He was used to the attention, and smiled with
acceptance.
"Don't ignore me Kitty!" he said grabbing my arm, and flashing
his fangs.
How did I know I would see them?
"Please, I'm not well, and don't call me Kitty!" I said,
pulling away.
I didn't want to anger him. Narcissist was known to rip a
vampire's throat out for less than I was doing. Most other vampires stayed away
from his city due to his low tolerance level. A few unlucky vampires challenged
him, and he tortured their poor souls before he killed them. I heard it was
pretty messy. He chopped their bodies up, and fed the parts to his demon dogs.
It wouldn't have been so bad, if they were dead at the time. He wanted to send a
message out to the other vampires. I think we got the message, loud and clear.
"You're telling the truth. What is wrong with you?"
"I don't know."
"Come stay with me. I will take care of you."
"And become one of your slaves? I don't think so," I said,
unable to hide my irritation with him.
"I would never turn a queen into a slave, even if the queen
started out a slave. I'm offering you a seat beside me," he said, taking my hand
and kissing it gently. Chills shot up my spine, and passion surged through my
body at the same time.
"Slave? What are you talking about Narcissist?"
"Oh, don't worry, Kitty, your secret's safe with me."
Narcissist was no more a stranger to slavery than I was. His
beauty backfired into a curse. An elder vampire fell in love with him.
Narcissist was in love with an Egyptian princess, who was promised to him.
The night of their wedding, the elder vampire killed
Narcissist's new bride, and captured Narcissist. He turned Narcissist into a
vampire, and locked him away in a dark castle for over 200 years. No one knows
how Narcissist managed to kill the vampire and escape. It's been said;
Narcissist still couldn't speak his master's name without shivering. He can't
look on a rose without severe sadness. Know one would probably ever know his
story; he'd rather kill than talk about it.
I wanted to say, "You were the worst kind of slave, a
vampire's lapdog." I wanted to say it so bad, it stuck in my throat, like a
man's adam's apple, but I knew better. I was feeling low, not suicidal.
"I'm not interested in joining you. Please leave me to my
troubles," I said, sitting back on the bench and folding my arms. We watched as
two lovers strolled by, arm and arm.
"This is my city. What are you doing here if not to join me?"
"Philadelphia does have other attractions," I said.
"Don't get caught up in those attractions," he said. "It could
be more dangerous than being locked in a coffin with hungry snakes."
"I'm just visiting," I said. "I plan to go back to Europe in a
couple of days."
"You must come see me before you leave, Kitty."
I hated when he called me Kitty. He did it to piss me off. He
turned his attention to his perfectly filed fingernails. That meant he had no
more interest in the conversation.
"I will stop by if I get a chance," I lied, and got up to walk
away.
"Enjoy your visit Kitty, I will see you again, before you
leave," he yelled behind me.
Why did that sound like a threat to me?
