The first thing she became aware of was thirst, a dull, persistent thirst that pulled her slowly out of the silence and the dark. The second was that she ached all over.
Get up, Mariah thought. Just move.
It was hard. Her body was stiff, her muscles resistant to the very idea of movement. She could almost hear them creaking as she levered herself up.
This is the worst hangover ever, she thought. Way worse than that time... wait. What's wrong with my mouth? What?!
Everything came rushing back in an instant.
"Madonna Santa!" she cursed. "I'm a vampire!"
Alright, she thought, I'm a vampire. We'll deal with that in a minute. First things first, find Genie and get her out of whatever trouble she's gotten into with Johnny P.
"Hey Jeeves, you're awake," she called out.
"Stephens, ma'am," the butler corrected.
"Right, sorry," Mariah said. "Have you seen Genie? Ms. Genevieve? Or Aadi? I mean, Mx. Bheeda?"
"No, Ms. Huntley," Stephens said, rigid politeness crossing easily into dry sarcasm. "I might be able to assist you better if I hadn't been unconscious for much of the evening."
"Ok, fine, that one's on me," Mariah admitted. "Genie's in trouble. What did she say... if Genie's in trouble look for her in... something about a garden."
"The estate has a very fine hedge maze," Stephens offered.
"No, that's not it," Mariah muttered. "Bones! Look for Genie in the garden of bones. You got one of those?"
"I'm not sure what you mean, Miss," Stephens replied. "Perhaps if I didn't have this headache."
"Oh, I'll find it myself," Mariah snapped in frustration.
Porco miseria! she thought, running out into the night. Why can't prophecies be in plain language? 
---------------
Garden of bones, Mariah scoffed. You couldn't just say graveyard, mia amata? No, you've got to be all poetic.
I should have known she'd be here, Mariah added to herself. Confrontation with my vampire murderer in a graveyard. I guess that was inevitable.
"Alright H, let Genie go," Mariah said. "It's me you... Dio Santo! Johnny P... you killed him!"
"Yes," Ms. H smiled coldly. "He provided me with all sorts of information about you, and dear Genie here, over the past months... but now you are both mine, and poor Johnny had outlived his usefulness. Except as food."
"Oh, Johnny," Mariah sighed.
"He betrayed you, my dear," Ms. H said. "Why would you feel badly for him?"
"Johnny was a thief, a conman and a textbook narcissist," Mariah replied, "but that doesn't mean he deserved to die."
"Let Genie go," Mariah repeated. "You've got me. I'm here. I'm a damned vampire. You don't need her."
"Oh my dear, you're both mine," Ms. H hissed. "You see, I need dear Genie here to send a message to her mother. Luna needs to understand that she will do what I tell her... if she wants to keep the daughters she has left."
"Has left? You mean... I'm not going to let you kill Genie!" Mariah snapped.
"My dear child, I'm not going to kill Genie," Ms. purred. "You are. I know you can feel it... the Hunger, burning inside you. You have no idea the pleasure... and the power... that comes with slaking it. You will drink her blood and grow strong."
"I won't do it," Mariah said forcefully. "Besides, you're too late. Aadi has the Villareal files, enough to take down the Altos."
"Nick Alto is a useful ally, but hardly essential to my plans," Ms. H sneered. "Besides, your little friend will never make it off the island. My other children are hunting them down as we speak.
"As for feeding, soon you will have no choice," she continued. "The Hunger cannot be denied. You will feed, draining poor Genie here. Just as Kat and Crowe will drain dear little Aadi.
"When we are all strengthened by new blood, you will lure lovely Miranda to you," she went on, "and I will have her at last! I will drain her blood and power before the Dark Court and they will give me everything I deserve! Straud's title, his wealth, his power... it will all be mine!"
"You're actually crazy," Mariah gasped. "You're doing all of this to hurt the man who hurt you."
"He took my life from me!" Ms. H roared. "I will take everything of his."
"I get that. I really do... but there's one thing I don't understand. Why..." Mariah gasped, as suddenly she did understand. Suddenly, everything was very clear. "You're afraid."
"Straud is weak! I am not afraid of him," Ms. H snarled.
"Yes, you are," Mariah countered. "You've been afraid of him for a hundred years. He killed you, turned you. He did unspeakable things to you, made you do unspeakable things... and you couldn't stop him. He was too strong. They're always too strong. You got away from him and you've been striking back for decades... but you've never directly confronted him, have you? Because he's always been too strong... but now he's missing, hiding. Now you can move against him, hurt him without ever having to actually face him.
"But I wasn't talking about him," Mariah pressed on. "I've been trying to figure it out... you're so hot for her, but you've never gone after her directly either. You sent Claudette and Max V. When that didn't work, you started working me to get to her. You're a hundred-year-old Master Vampire... you could have taken her any night you wanted... but you're afraid! Because she did the one thing you never could... she faced him and she beat him. A teenage girl, alone, and she beat him! Dio santo, she beat him so hard no one has seen him since! You're terrified of her!"
"Are you quite finished?" Ms. H snarled.
"No. I have one more thing to say," Mariah said.
Under the light of moon, Mariah called out. "Miranda Silveroak-Goth!"
With a flare of light and a rush of wind, the youngest of the Guardians of Glimmerbrook Watch appeared in the graveyard.
"About time," Miranda said. "I was going to start looking for you soon."
"Genie," Mariah started.
"Got it," Miranda replied, speaking a Word and gesturing with her wand.
Like a spring breeze blowing away the fog, Miranda's spell cleared Genie's mind. Confused and surprised, Genie leapt to her feet and rushed to her friend's side.
"What? What's going on?" Genie stammered. "Johnny..."
"We've got you," Mariah said soothingly.
Mariah added firmly to Miranda, "She sent her minions after Aadi. Go, help Aadi."
"What about her?" Miranda glared at Ms. H.
"Go," Mariah said confidently. "I've got this."
No comments:
Post a Comment