Authors: Liz Newman
"Halloo? Oh yes...the interview. Could you kindly reschedule for tomorrow? You know I only get up when the sun is up. The conference room. Of course the one with the mirrors. Ten is good. Thank you. Uh-huh. Yes. Thank you." Cupid gently placed the phone back on its cradle.
My voice rasped with a feeling of gravel in my throat. "Why?" I asked Patrick.
"You'll be all right," he said. He leaned down over me and pulled slightly on the arrow. I exhaled sharply, anticipating great pain but feeling only a slight pinch as the arrow slid out of my chest with a slurping noise. Bending my chin to my chest, I stared at the wound as the gash sealed closed. The space between my breasts looked whole again, as if the wound never even existed. I leaped to my feet with agility.
"What the hell was that?" I demanded.
"That was test one," Patrick said. "I'm sorry, Eden. He had to see how far gone you were. Had you changed completely, you would have become very dangerous to us. The arrow would have killed you. As it is, you are still half-human and capable of love."
I turned to Cupid. "I came to you guys for help and you shoot me like I'm some kind of deer. Jesus Christ! I'm getting the hell out of here."
"What about Aoleon?" Cupid asked.
"What about her! It's you she's looking for, and the feds are looking for her, and Patrick is looking for someone to feed to her. Whatever beef you might have has nothing to do with me." I ran my fingers through my locks, coated with blood. "Your problems have become my problems, the feds’ problems are my problems, even the evening meal, whoever that poor soul is, is now my problem."
"Ah, there she blows," Cupid said as he shrugged. "It's five o'clock. Pretty safe to say Aoleon's going to come looking for her soon."
Patrick stared out into space with a pensive look, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "Give me the key to the suite."
"Now you're talking." Cupid reached into a drawer and threw a card key at Patrick. Patrick caught it with one swift motion, moving so quickly his fingers flashed open and shut. "She'll be safe there. I think. Edie, you best take this bow and arrow with you if you want to live past tomorrow. Once Aoleon finds you're not bringing her dinner, she'll be flaming mad. And I don't mean hibachi." He chuckled heartily at his own joke as he removed a garment from the top drawer of his desk and chucked it in my direction. "And wrap this scarf around your bloody head."
"When I think of the alternatives," I said as I caught the scarf, "suddenly a hundred years of slowly growing old doesn't seem so bad. Compared to hell." I tied the scarf around my head and took the bow from Cupid's outstretched hands. Picking up the bloodied arrow, I placed its end into the band and pulled it back, aiming it at Cupid's head. "What will happen if I shoot you?"
"Eden," Patrick said. "That's really not necessary."
"Oh, I think it is." I stretched the band back even farther.
Cupid stood his ground, straight-faced. "Nothing will happen, my wayward one. As long as love still exists, I shall go on living. I'm only lending that to you, sister. Run along now. And stay safe." He smiled crookedly, waggling his fingers at me.
I brought the bow to rest at my side. "If I didn't still believe in love, I would have shot you."
"I know, doll. I know. Patrick, see you tomorrow."
I threw the bow on the ground and ran out the door as Patrick called out after me, into the deserted hallway, with my arms and legs pumping. My hands slammed into the metal door push. I threw the heavy door open, emerging out into the cool Las Vegas night. In my tight silk jersey halter dress and silver heels I ran until the faces of the laughing crowds strolling along Las Vegas Boulevard blurred around me. Anger and the feeling of betrayal coursed through my body, spurring me to move faster with newfound supernatural strength as I left the city behind and dashed out into the outskirts. I stopped when the darkness of the desert surrounded me.
My knees buckled and I sank to the ground on my knees, weeping. Snakes, insects, and dark things slithered underneath the cactus and rocks, hissing and sliding and crawling. I threw my head back and gazed at the full moon. "Why! What good...to turn me from one creature to another. It's not fair," I sobbed. "It's not fair." The eye of god stared back, cold and silent.
I rested my cheek upon the sand, still warm from the day's heat. I lay there for a while until I heard a rustling noise far above my head. In the sky flew a large black bird against a backdrop of stars and eternal black. The human-sized bird alit upon a desert cliff, high above my head. In the darkness, the animal's head was nothing but a nub. I could not make out a beak or any facial features; it was merely a black bowling pin with wings. The bird thing shuffled to the side, its claws scraping upon rock. A shudder of fear coursed through me as I rose to my feet. Three other birds in the air followed, perching upon the same cliff. All seemed to be watching me, waiting for my next move.
My breath came faster as my heart pounded. I whirled around and sprinted back toward the city. The voices remained silent.
* * *
"Eden," Patrick murmured as he answered the door. "I was worried about you."
I strode into the luxury suite at the Paradise Bayou. "I can't do this alone," I said.
"You don't have to. Come in. Rest."
The sofa and loveseat in the luxury suite at the Paradise Bayou was upholstered with purple velvet. The walls and rugs were trimmed with marabou feathers, which exuded the scent of pink cotton candy. The side tables, baseboards, and wallpaper were trimmed with gold flecks that hinted of sparkle and celebration.
"Promise me you won't ever make a decision about my life without consulting me. Ever. You have to understand I know what's best."
"You put your life at risk for years. How could I know?"
"Not then," I snapped over my shoulder. "Now. Promise. As my friend."
"I promise, Eden." He wrapped his arms around me. "I promise. So now you know what you may become; now you know what I am."
"Maybe we can find a way to enjoy what we are."
He pulled his head back. "I think we can. What do you think of the suite?"
I pulled away from him. "I've never been in a room this nice," I said as I twirled around. "I mean, outside of work. Guess when I was working I didn't notice much." I pressed a button on the remote near the oval king-sized bed and the drapes parted to reveal the Las Vegas skyline at dusk. From my vantage point, I could see the glittering replica of the Eiffel Tower and the gushing fountains of the hotel a few buildings over. I placed my forehead against the cool glass, watching Patrick's reflection as he strode up to stand behind me.
I turned and faced him as he gazed at me. "What?" Up until this point, I thought he saw me only as a very attractive friend. I still couldn't believe someone as handsome as he was could possibly feel any romantic notions toward a woman like me. Especially if he was a
ZOM-Bie
, as Cupid so emphatically put it. Now, as we stood in a hotel room, he seemed very masculine.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he ran his finger over the middle of my chest where the arrow had hit.
"Fine. It's like it never happened."
"You won't always bounce back so quickly. She needs to change you fully, or the wounds will stop healing."
I nodded as I stared at him, mesmerized by the look in his eyes. I could always appreciate prurient interest but wilted under the guise of one who sought to look deeper into my soul. As Patrick looked at me now.
"We are both creatures of the night now," he said. "This day may be the last we will ever see. Every day we will change. You will become a vampire in a matter of time. Incapable of love."
"What about the myths of vampires falling in love?"
"That only happens in the movies," he said. "Vampires are animals. We are all animals, but vampires are animals at their base form. Maybe not all. Maybe only the ones I've met. And when you are an animal, there is nothing left to love but things that have no heart. Like booze, whores, drugs. My mouth is running away from me again. Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."
"Of course not. I'm not...that person anymore. I never will be again even if I am changed. How can I become again what I already was? I was incapable of love, but now..." My hands caressed his shoulders and looped around his neck.
"How can you be so sure?"
I threw my arms around him and held him close. I panted as I forced myself to hold back in a way I never had before. I held him tightly for one more second before I pulled away and bit my lower lip as I turned from him. I crossed my arms over my middle and hugged myself close as I strode to a plush sofa and sat down. "Because now that I know I will either die tomorrow or I will live for a very long time, I actually want to take care of myself. The time...the time makes all of the difference. When I was a child, I simply thought about how much longer until I leave this house full of people who were horrible to me. When I came to Vegas, it was how long until I could leave the club. How long until I could leave my boyfriend. How long till I could end my life or drink myself to death. How long until my next meal, my next hit, my next high. How long? And now, I realize I have all of the time in the world, or only a matter of hours. And here I am, with you, and you're looking at me the way you're looking at me. I want to be with you. Forever. Even if forever is only a matter of hours. The CIA is coming to kill me, if Aoleon doesn't find me first. Did you mean what you said to Cupid?"
"Yes." He sat next to me and kissed my forehead. "I did. And I do."
"Why?"
"Because you're mine. I knew that from the moment I first saw you, strutting into the bar in those horrible tight dresses and heels. I knew you were mine and I'm not good enough for you, so I let you go until I felt you calling me back. When you kissed me, it was like you needed me, too. You and I might have a destiny to share. So what if that destiny is short-lived. Or death. She won't let us live," he sighed. "And she is everywhere."
I twirled my finger around a lock of my hair as my brow furrowed in worry. He brought the tip of my finger to his lips and kissed it. "If it's the death of Aoleon, then so be it, but I want you and I...you and I together. I told the agents they should kill me. I wanted nothing but a quick and painless death." I bent my head and placed a hand on my stomach as the sense of emotional emptiness welled up from within and overtook me.
"Where would that leave me? You know, the best part of my day was watching you walk into the Paradise Bayou. It brought some sense of stability to my life, because I knew every evening around five o' clock you'd saunter in. Eden Sayers, with your long, dark hair and sad smile."
I laughed through my tears. "Patrick, everyone there looked at me like I was some kind of parasite. I guess I was. I've lived a terrible life. Done nothing to bring good to anyone."
"You brought something to me."
"Something minimal. What are you going to have them write on my headstone?
Here lies Eden Sayers, she made a zombie feel normal by whoring at a casino every night at five o' clock.
I mean ZOM-Bie
.
"
Patrick shook his head. "I would have someone write
Here lies Eden Sayers, a beautiful woman with so much heart it killed her inside, but she still stayed beautiful. No matter what..
" Patrick sat down beside me and massaged his forehead with his hand.
"You know what struck me about you, Eden? When you turned and found me sitting beside you? Your humanity. You walked into the casino with this air of desperation and confidence, something so pitiful and commanding of admiration all at once. You had this way about you that said 'kiss me or kill me.' I thought you wanted death. I thought that would be the best way to set you free. So I brought you to those women knowing it would happen quickly for you. But when we were in the alley, I realized I couldn't do without you in my life. Even if it was only just seeing you traipse into the Paradise Bayou at night."
"Kiss me or kill me," I laughed through my tears. "I like that. You have a lot to make up for, you know."
"I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I swear." Patrick reached over to the nightstand and pulled a tissue from a gold- leafed container. I wiped my eyes and nose. Running his thumb over my cheek, Patrick brought his face closer to mine. I gazed at him until my eyes lowered to meet his lips, and in that instant, his lips were kissing mine.
I intertwined my fingers into his hair and let his lips dance. He brought me closer to him and I sighed at the feeling of his chest pressing so close to my heart. There was nothing more I had wanted ever in this world than to be at one with him.
*
* *
"What happens if a vampire and a zombie have a baby?" I said as we lay naked under the blankets. His fingers danced over my shoulders as he placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head. The blankets rustled with our movements and brought a feeling of comfort.
"Slow labor," he chuckled.
I giggled and nestled the side of my face into his shoulder. "Why did you pick me? You could have any woman in the world. You're handsome. Beautiful, even."
"Beautiful? You wanna put me in a dress and do my make-up? I might be game depending on the dress."