From Yesterday

VERY, VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE READ MY STORY 'BENIGN AS THE BLOOD FALLS' FIRST. THIS IS A BIT OF A SEQUEL TO IT, BECAUSE IT INVOLVES THE SAME CHARACTERS AND EVENTS. THIS STORY WILL BE VERY UNCLEAR UNLESS YOU READ MY OTHER STORY FIRST! OK, READ:1

The morgue didn't smell the way Vincent had thought it would. As hardcore badass as he would have liked to pretend he was, he had never been near dead bodies, really.2

The truth was, he was one hell of a sheltered vampire. He had never experienced death firsthand, not until Tanya. Which was why his fingers grappled extra-long with the lock on the body drawer, and why his hands shook, not from the refrigerated, carefully-managed air of the room, but with fright.3

He had loved Tanya. Looking back on it, he wasn't sure if he had loved her like a boyfriend, or loved her like a master. As frightening as it could be sometimes, he could feel a sick, overwhelming sense of domination towards her. She was so small, so short and slender and frail, like a little porcelain doll. As his fangs had burst into her veins, he had relished the faint rosy flush that had risen to her ghostly cheeks, the way her large, dark green eyes had rolled back in her head with fear.4

He slapped his forehead with the flat of his hand. I'M A SICK PERSON. WHAT'S IMPORTANT NOW IS GETTING TANYA OUT OF THIS WALK-IN FREEZER.5

Finally, the drawer rolled open, and there lay Tanya, a large, nasty, half-rotted wound in the center of her chest where the stake had impaled her, five deep, bloody slashes trailing down her collarbone where she had scratched herself, and tiny driblets of blood at the corners of her mouth, where she had kissed Starlight for the last time.6

Jealousy was Vincent's fuel as he pulled the small body away from the stainless steel counter. SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE LOVED ME, BUT THE LAST THING SHE WANTED TO DO WAS KISS HIM.7

Shoving her tiny form into the body bag, he zipped it up and tossed it over his shoulder.8

And then he walked away with his prize, his jewel, leaving the room full of abandoned memories.9

It was a flashback. That was the only way to describe it.10

Tanya was wearing her favorite shirt, a dark, dark blue one with a silver flower beaded onto the front. She was hoping that Vincent would notice that she looked nice in it. (It was her most flattering shirt, or so she had convinced herself).11

"Hey, Vince," she said, maybe more to get his attention towards her than anything else.12

He yawned and turned to face her, without sitting up. It was a warm, sweet, hazy summer's evening, and they were both sprawled on the front lawn, relishing the fading heat. WHAT IS IT? he thought lazily.13

She smiled. He still preferred communicating telepathically with her. That was one thing she loved about him. He claimed he didn't do it with anybody else. It made her feel special, in an odd way.14

"How do you bring a vampire back to life?"15

He bolted upright suddenly, and Tanya was surprised to hear him speak aloud.16

"I shouldn't tell you about that."17

"Please do, Vincent. You can tell me without talking if it bugs you too much."18

He sank slowly back down onto the grass, only this time he reached for her hands and pulled her down next to him. She nestled down comfortably in the crook his arm made, and played with a few strands of her jet-black hair as he thought.19

FIRST, YOU HAVE TO KILL EIGHTEEN YOUNG GIRLS, ALL UNDER SIXTEEN YEARS OLD. YOU MUST THEN BRING THEIR BLOOD TO YOUR MASTER, AND THEN TAKE THE CORPSE OF THE VAMPIRE AND BATHE IT IN BLOOD. THEN YOU LEAVE IT AS AN OFFERING FOR EIGHTEEN HOURS, ONE HOUR FOR EACH INNOCENT GIRL YOU SLAYED. AFTER EIGHTEEN HOURS, THE VAMPIRE WILL HAVE BEEN RESURRECTED.20

She shuddered, despite the heat. "That's sick."21

"Yeah," he croaked. "It sure is."22

Tanya opened her eyes. Vincent was lying down beside her, but they weren't on the lawn. They were in Vincent's bedroom. And she wasn't dressed in her favorite blue shirt. Instead, there were thick, gauzy bandages wrapped around her bare chest. Self-consciously, she rolled to her side, balling up into a fetal position.23

VINCENT?24

TANYA, IT'S ME. YOU'RE OKAY.25

BUT...STARLIGHT...THE IVORY BALL...HE, HE KILLED ME...her mind blundered through a different memory: Starlight's lips on hers, her fingers knotted in his halo of blond hair as he stabbed a stake into her heart, and then splashing into the ballroom's fountain, sinking towards the tile bottom, fading into black.26

I BROUGHT YOU BACK, TANYA. THE WAY I SAID I WOULD.27

YOU NEVER SAID YOU WOULD. She wrapped her arms around herself even tighter. AND YOU'RE TRYING TO TELL ME THAT YOU KILLED EIGHTEEN INNOCENT YOUNG GIRLS FOR ME?28

I'D DO ANYTHING FOR YOU, he replied, a pleading edge to his voice.29

She laughed aloud. YOU'RE A PARANOID, OVERPOSESSIVE FREAK, AND YOU KNOW WHAT?30

He didn't respond, but she was already getting to her feet.31

I'M GLAD STARLIGHT'S THE LAST GUY I KISSED.32

And she slammed his bedroom door, leaving him alone.33

It didn't take much. She threw a couple of acorns at the window, shouted her story up at him from below his balcony, and convinced him to let her in. Starlight stood on the deck, hair a mess of small, tentacle-like blond spikes, pajama pants hanging on his hipbones, shirt off, looking about as dishelved as they came.34

"What is it, eleven o'clock at night?" he mumbled, letting her breeze past him. "And why in the hell aren't you wearing a shirt?"35

'Long story." She yanked open his drawer and pulled one on, a short-sleeved black one that hung loosely over her jeans. She smiled as she inhaled the scent of his blood that soaked the fabric: a warm, passionate smell, just like him.36

"So how do you feel?"37

She couldn't resist grimacing. "Thirsty."38

"I'll bet." He shifted around a bit.39

She cleared her throat. "Um, we need to talk."40

"Listen, Tanya, I can't even begin to say how sorry I am for-for what I did, you know? I mean, I never wanted to-to kill you, and I-I DON'T hate you for what you are, so–" he stammered. She shushed him.41

"Stop. You sound like a madman. I forgive you one thousand percent, by the way," she chuckled, tossing a smile at him over her shoulder.42

He sighed, obviously relieved. "Great. So, friends again?" he held out a slender hand.43

She grabbed it with her smaller one. "Totally."44

TANYA! TANYA, WHERE ARE YOU?45

LEAVE ME ALONE, VINCENT. I'M FINISHED WITH YOU.46

He was angry now. NO, YOU'RE NOT. I TURNED YOU, TANYA. YOU'RE MY BRIDE.47

LEAVE ME BE. I DON'T WANT ANY PART OF YOU.48

BUT I KILLED FOR YOU, TANYA! His voice was pained now.49

She snickered and glanced out the window. A full moon was welling up, its edges tinted with a rusty red-brown. Its surface was carved with craters, which winked at her like a dozen huge, milky eyes. She turned back to Starlight and led him out to the balcony, where they could both admire the moon.50

NOBODY WHO KILLS IS WORTH MY TIME, she informed Vincent.51

He started to reply, but she tuned him out and faced Starlight, leaning up on her tiptoes to sniff the tender skin of his neck.52

His throat contracted, and then relaxed. "Go ahead," he offered, in a fairly normal tone of voice.53

She smiled and licked her lips, and then dove in without hesitation, nibbling his throat, gulping the thick, sweet serum from the puncture wounds on his neck, her heart fluttering with pleasure as the hot blood sailed down her throat, at last quenching her thirst.54

His eyes were bright with tears when she pulled away. "I'm so glad to have you back," he told her, his voice cracking with emotion on the last word.55

She beamed. "I'm glad to be with you."56

TANYA. PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO ME. TANYA-57

She touched the side of Starlight's face. "Gimme a kiss."58

And he did, as the full, pewter moon disentangled itself from the swarmy black clouds and glowed softly on them, illuminating their shadows in a mess of silver and white angles. It was beautiful, it was poetic, and it was magical, and coupled with the kiss, it was enough to make Vincent's voice fade slowly away, to the back of Tanya's mind, as her lips locked against Starlight's.