Random Acts of Sorcery (9 page)

After Cassie had dressed and breakfasted on an oatmeal raisin cookie, the two of them walked to a nearby parklet in Cassie’s neighborhood. The tiny park only had a swing
set and a couple of old ride-on toys for toddlers, but it was a place that Cassie had fond memories of. Even when she was too old to play with playground toys, she had spent many a summer afternoon sitting on the swings, reading. For a while, it had been the only place she could walk to by herself.

It was still early Sunday morning, so the park was completely empty. Cassie sat down on her favorite swing, and Miri took the one next to her. For a while she was silent, collecting her thoughts. The sounds of tweeting birds filled the air, and the thought that spring was on the way calmed her.

Miri rocked back and forth gently on her swing. “Are you ready to talk about it now?”

“Yeah,” said Cassie. She took a deep breath.

“So like I said, it was fine, for a while. But then we started getting undressed, and I realized what he was, you know? I was really scared, and he didn’t seem to get why I was scared, which made it worse. I had to get out of there, so I just put my clothes back on and started running. He was trying to say stuff to me but I couldn’t hear him, I just needed to get away.”

She exhaled and looked down at the pebbles between her feet. She expected Miri to take immediate issue with what she had said, but instead the vampire was silent for a few moments.

“What do you mean you ‘realized what he was’?” asked Miri, puzzled.

Cassie flushed.
If I had a dollar for every time I blushed or cried lately, I could pay for four years at Harvard.

“You know! Don’t make me say it!”

Miri put her hand on Cassie’s.

“No, I don’t know. I’m not making you spell it out to be a pain. I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Please help me understand.”

“H-he,” Cassie started, starting to feel a surge of panic at the memory. “He doesn’t look human, he’s a monster. He’s a demon, Miri! If he was just a guy I think I would have been okay with it, but I couldn’t…it just wouldn’t have….” She trailed off, feeling pathetic.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to chase the disturbing images from her mind. Miri was thoughtful for a while, just swinging gently back and forth. When she finally spoke, it was in a quiet, gentle voice.

“Cassie, have you ever seen a naked man before?”

Cassie swallowed. “Huh?”

“I mean, have you seen what men look like when they’re fully naked? Your little brother doesn’t count.”

“Um,” Cassie thought, still flushing.
“Not exactly.”

“Really?”
She could hear the incredulity in Miri’s voice. “Movies, TV, Internet, you’ve never seen a naked guy?”

Cassie turned to Miri, piqued. “Do you know what my Mom would do to me if she caught me looking at stuff with naked guys?
Of course not.”

Miri facepalmed.
Other than Mike, Cassie had seen very few people literally facepalm in real life. “How can a kid living in the information age be so sheltered? Cassie,” she said, standing up and putting her hands on Cassie’s shoulders. “Physically, there’s nothing weird about Sam. On the outside he’s 100%”—she seemed to rethink that—“Well okay, 99% human. A solid 95%, whatever. In any case, everything you saw was totally normal.”

Instead of flushing, Cassie felt herself pale. “That
can’t
be normal.”

“Arrgh!”
Miri exclaimed, running her hands through her hair. “Don’t they have sex education at that stupid school of yours?”

“Well yeah, but they didn’t show us real pictures of naked people. That was all about showing us what STDs were and telling us to use protection over and over.”

Miri sighed and put her hands on her narrow hips. “I can’t believe this. You freaked after absolutely nothing, made him feel like he was Frankenstein, and I can’t even be mad at you because it’s not even your fault. You couldn’t deal with it because no one’s taught you anything.”

Cassie was still processing what Miri had said. “So wait, you mean what Sam was like when he…when we…all men are like that?”

Miri just looked tired. Cassie doubled over and put her face in her hands.

“Oh my God, I have to apologize to him. I’m such an idiot.”

“You are going to have to explain it to him, at least.”

At that, Cassie felt a wave of dread pass through her stomach. Suddenly, she felt angry that Miri was standing over her, giving orders. Maybe it was just a distraction from her own shame at making such a mess of things, but suddenly, the redheaded vampire seemed like the enemy.

“Well, it’s all well and good for you, isn’t it?” said Cassie, crossing her arms in front of her. “You come out of this looking great.”

Miri’s face remained completely blank at that.

“What?”

Feeling stronger in her anger, she stood up. “You should be thrilled, now you can have him all to yourself. Not that that’s stopped you before.”

There was a pause while Miri processed what Cassie was saying. Then her hazel eyes flashed, and Cassie took an involuntary step back; she could practically feel the anger radiating off of the other woman.

“Oh, you stupid idiot!
It was for you, you sheltered little princess!”

“Huh?” said Cassie.
For her?

Miri started pacing. “Do you think that Sam’s the type of person who hooks up with lots of people and gets laid? Do you really think so?”

This was going in an unexpected direction. “Uh, well no….”

“He isn’t, you know him, he’s too afraid of hurting other people. And he had no interest in me either.” At that, she turned and looked at Cassie. “Until I pointed out to him that it would be a lot safer for you if at least one of you knew what you were doing.”

Cassie felt numb at that; it was like she’d felt too many emotions in the space of such a short period of time, and now she was fresh out of them. “Wait so…you’re saying that you two were only doing that…because….”

“Even then, he didn’t agree to it right away,” Miri continued. “I think he always thought of himself as above all that. You know how he is. But he knew I was right; guys can be dangerous when they’re inexperienced.”

It made sense. Even when Cassie was convinced that Sam and Miri were intimate, she still hadn’t quite believed it of him. She couldn’t believe he would do such a thing for his own gratification, but she knew he’d go to great lengths to try to protect her.

Still, she couldn’t quite let go of her anger at Miri. “Okay, I believe you, but it all seems awfully convenient. You get to…to be all over him, and then act like you’re doing me a favor?
Really?”

Miri smirked and played with a belt loop on her jeans. “Hey look, I’m not saying it’s exactly torture for me. Tall, snarky demons are my type,” she said with a grin that showed a hint of her fangs. “So I’m not going to lie and say I’m being all self-sacrificing here. But the thing is, it really is for the best,” she said evenly.  “He doesn’t want to hurt you, and with that, experience helps a lot.”

Cassie frowned, finally feeling the anger ebb away; as much as she wanted to stay mad at Miri, the vampire was making entirely too much sense. “Is he really that worried about hurting me?”

“Oh hell yes,” said Miri. “He was about as repressed as I’ve ever seen, and when people like that finally let go, let me tell you, they let go
hard
. He didn’t want you to have to deal with that.”

Cassie blinked. “So…he ‘let go’ with you instead?”

Miri grinned wider, this time showing off her fangs to good effect. “Ohhhhhhh, he did. Want all the gory details? I totally kiss and tell.”

“Oh my God, no!”
Cassie said, putting her hands over her ears.

Actually, I kind of do, but I don’t want to hear it from Miri. I think if I had to listen to her explain it
, I would literally die of embarrassment.

Miri’s smile faded and she tilted her head nervously. “So, you’ll talk to him? Let him know that you don’t really think he’s a monster? He’s really hurt right now, you know?”

“Okay, okay!” Cassie yelled. “I’ll do it if you promise never to talk about this again.”

“Oh, my innocent little Angelfood cake,” said Miri, putting an arm around Cassie’s shoulders. “Come to think of it, Sam is only the second-most repressed person I know.”

All Sam wanted to do was sleep, but he just kept waking up. He managed to successfully fall back to sleep once earlier in the morning, but by the time the sun was streaming through his bedroom window, he was wide awake for good. But he
could think of absolutely nothing he wanted to do, so he stayed in bed, staring up at nothing.

In times past, he could have at least distracted himself by counting the cracks in the ceiling, but this apartment was too newly renovated, and there were no cracks to be found anywhere.
Maybe I should move back to Bob’s Motel
, he thought.
They liked me there, right? I didn’t eat too much of their cereal.

He heard a whooshing noise, and sat up in bed just in time for Vladmira to fly into the room and make a beeline for his shoulder. He grimaced a bit when her tiny claws bit into his skin, but for the most part, he was used to it by now. He moved a finger up to her mouth, which she dutifully nibbled.

“Where have you been, anyway? You missed a chance to fly into Cassie’s pretty hair,” he said. He hadn’t noticed until now, but the little bat had been oddly scarce for the last 24 hours; usually, she swooped through the apartment at least a couple of times a day, and sometimes even slept hanging upside down from his reading lamp. Maybe even she could see the disaster with Cassie coming a mile away, and had given the place a wide berth.

Just then the phone rang, and the sound of it scared Vladmira off his shoulder. He grabbed the phone off the night table, fully expecting it to be Serenus calling to berate him about what a mess he’d made of everything. When he saw that the caller ID said
E. Buckley
, he raised an eyebrow.

“Eugene?”

“Samuel. I apologize for the disturbance. However, there’s something I need to discuss with you, and I’d prefer not to do it over the phone. Would it be acceptable for me to call on you now?”

“Uh….” Sam’s eyes searched the room. He had been in quite a state last night, and the apartment showed it; he wasn’t eager to show Eugene the mess he’d made of his thoughtfully-furnished new home. “Tell you what, how about I come to you instead? I could use an excuse to get some fresh air.”

Eugene paused before answering. “That is fine. I’m sure Ethan will be happy to see you.”

I don’
t understand that kid. If he’s so smart, shouldn’t he know better than to like me?
“I’ll be over in about 45 minutes.”

“Excellent,” said Eugene,
then hung up.

Sam quickly showered and dressed, glad to be needed for something. If Eugene hadn’t called, he might have just stayed in bed all day. When he brushed his teeth, Vladmira perched back on his shoulder briefly. It was a comical sight: him with a mouth full of toothpaste suds, while his animal familiar grinned at her
own reflection in the mirror, flapping her wings to see her double do the same. He found himself smiling almost despite himself.

It was only a ten minute walk to Eugene Buckley’s penthouse, and the abundant sunshine made it a pleasant one. Remembering that he hadn’t eaten, he bought a croissant from a food truck parked outside Eugene’s building, and watched the façade of SilverHawk Games thoughtfully while he ate. Maybe he should buy a little gift for Ethan? He considered it briefly, but decided not to. He didn’t know much about any of Ethan’s card games, and would probably end up getting the wrong thing.

When he rang the doorbell at Eugene’s penthouse, the boy himself opened the door. “Sam!” he exclaimed, and the happiness in his face improved Sam’s mood by several degrees, even as he found it baffling. “Wanna see the awesome deck I’m making?”

“Uh, sure,” said Sam, following the skinny boy through the entryway. When he reached the living room of the penthouse, he stopped and did a double take; Eugene’s apartment had seemingly been colonized by cardboard boxes. Cardboard boxes full of cards. He nearly twisted his ankle tripping on one of them on the way into the room.

Good thing I didn’t get him any more cards. Eugene would have to start storing them inside the piano, because that’s the only place left.

“I’m making a purple/orange deck, and it’s hard because there are so many different models for orange decks online, but nothing for dual-color,” he explained breathlessly. “That’s why some of my cards are out, sorry about the mess.”

Sam’s eyes widened.
SOME of his cards? He has more?

Eugene announced his presence by clearing his throat. “I apologize for the mess as well. Normally I wouldn’t let him keep al
l these boxes out at once, but”— and here his eyes narrowed at Ethan—“he keeps telling me he’s almost done.”

“I am almost done!”

Eugene looked unconvinced, but turned away from the boy and towards Sam. “Will you step into my office?”

Sam nodded and began picking his way through the cardboard obstacle course. Ethan frowned.

“I was going to show him my best deck,” the boy said, and the obvious disappointment in his voice made Sam’s heart ache, just a little bit. He smiled at his young familiar.

“I’ll make sure to see it before I leave,” he said, and Ethan beamed.

Eugene’s office was impressive, decorated with fine paintings and various knick-knacks that looked museum pieces. Miri had told him that Eugene had replicated his office from the Buckley’s New York apartment almost exactly, and Sam had no reason to doubt her. He sat down on the antique bar stool in front of Eugene’s desk, strangely feeling more comfortable than he would in a plush chair. It seemed like the vampire’s tastes somehow suited him.

Eugene sat down and shuffled some papers, seemingly thinking about where to begin. Sam would be patient; Eugene’s thoughts were worth waiting for. Finally, Eugene pulled a manila folder out of a drawer and passed it across his desk to Sam. When Sam opened the folder, inside was a page cut out from a newspaper.

“Have you ever seen this man?”

Sam studied the image. It was full-color, so either it was from a modern newspaper, or it was from the Lifestyles section of an older one. The picture featured a grinning older man in a sleek grey suit, flanked by a pretty young woman in a cocktail dress. The man’s face looked weathered, but in a way that many women probably considered handsome, and he had mischievous blue eyes that made him seem young at heart, despite the grey hair. The caption read
O’Donnel Donates Another New Wing To Auburn Hospital
.

“No. Who is he?”

Buckley steepled his fingers. “A rather well-connected vampire I know.”

Sam studied the picture more closely. “You really can’t tell from this that he’s a vampire at all, even though he’s showing his teeth.”

“I’m sure Thaddeus would take that as a compliment,” said Eugene. “He contacted me yesterday. He would like to pay a visit to our fair city this week.”

Sam frowned. “Will he be bringing his own food supply?”

“No doubt. Whatever his other flaws, he would never stoop to attacking humans in someone else’s territory; of that, you can be sure.”

Sam handed the manila folder back across the desk. “Sounds like you have a history with this guy.”

“I have more history than I know what to do with.”

Sam frowned. “Correct me if I’m wrong here, but isn’t there no reason to involve me? He’s a vampire, and he wants to visit; unless he makes a nuisance of himself,
it’s fine if he deals with the local vampires, meaning you. He shouldn’t merit my personal attention.” Sam felt like an utter windbag saying it, but it was true; knowing who he had to entertain versus those he could safely ignore was of paramount importance. He would be just as happy to entertain no one, but etiquette was too important in politics, and couldn’t be taken lightly.

Carefully, Eugene put the folder away. “Norma
lly, that would be true. Except...” He seemed to struggle for what to say next.

“Come on, Eugene. The suspense is ridiculous.”

“…except, he’s the only living person ever to have attended another blood status hearing. He will be considered an expert witness at your hearing.”

When Sam’s face showed confusion, Eugene continued. “Do you know why half-demons, such as yourself, don’t take the step to become vampires? One would think that it would be useful, to have more than a human lifespan at one’s disposal.”

“Because it doesn’t work. A demon can become a vampire, but loses his magic in the process,” said Sam. He was pretty sure he remembered Serenus telling him that.

“Correct. But we only know that for certain because Thaddeus tested it,” said Eugene. “A few hundred years ago, he made the change hoping that he would be able to keep his abilities as a demon. He was unable to, but since he was dying at the time, he’d had nothing to lose.”

“Interesting,” said Sam, thinking. “To be honest, I’m surprised the court let him live. I would think a vampire running around with all that arcane knowledge would be considered too dangerous.”

“And he is dangerous. But he’s also very, very friendly and charming.” Eugene sighed. “Were it anyone else, they would have been killed the moment they no longer had the power to protect themselves, but he survives.
And thrives.”

Sam knitted his brow. “What demon does his clan serve?”

“George Graellen.”

“Ah.” Sam exhaled slowly. “So you’re saying I should give this guy a respectful welcome, otherwise he could make my life difficult at the hearing?”

“Well, in theory, nothing you do at this point should affect his impartial judgment in the service of the court,” said Eugene. “However.” He left the rest unsaid.

“He’s going to want something, and whatever he wants is going to be something I don’t want to give him,” said Sam, starting to get angry again. “There’s no way he’s just going to show up, have a few drinks, say ‘nice entourage you have here’ and go on his merry way.”

“It’s very possible,” Eugene admitted, “But I think you should hear him out, at the very least. If he makes a request, you can always deny it; but if he has a chip on his shoulder because he thinks you didn’t show him the respect he is due, that could be very, very inconvenient for you.”

“I can see where this is going, though. He’s probably going to give me some kind of ultimatum, and if I don’t agree, he’ll really be gunning for me at the hearing. It may be safer not to put myself in that position.”

Eugene leaned forward and spoke quietly, so quietly that Sam had to strain to hear him. “I know it’s not my place to make this decision for you. All I can do is advise. And right now, I strongly advise granting him an audience. It’s possible that what he wants will be something you’re willing to relinquish.”

“I wish I could believe that,” said Sam. He sighed. “Listen, do you mind if I talk to Serenus? I’d like to get his take on this.”

“Not at all, go ahead.”

Sam took his phone out of his pocket and dialed the professor, expecting his oldest friend to greet him with some sly remark that would set his teeth on edge. Instead, the phone rang several times,
then there was a prerecorded message that said that the user that Sam was trying to reach was out of range. Sam hung up and frowned, looking at his phone.

“That’s strange. Ser usually answers his phone, and I’m getting a message saying that he’s out of range.”

“Are you concerned for Dr. Zeitbloom’s wellbeing?”

“A little, yes,” said Sam, thinking. “There’s no reason why he should be out of range. He wouldn’t go anywhere without telling me.”
Would he?

“If you like, I can send someone to the professor’s apartment to see if anything is amiss.”

Sam turned off his phone and shoved it back in his pocket, getting up off the bar stool as he did so. “Please do. Figures, the one time I actually want his opinion….”