Page 55 of Twisted
“You didn’t want to be turned, did you?”I blurt before stopping myself.Maybe it’s rude to ask someone you’re not close to, but she is my sister-in-law, after all.
“I didn’t,” she answers with no hesitation.“I was very much against it.”
“Did they ask you?”
“Zeke did, many times.And I told him,not on your tintype!You think I’d trade my heels and my jazz for a coffin and fangs?I like my giggle water and my daylight too much to go pullin’ a Dracula act.”
“But you’re a vampire,” I state, not directly asking if she was turned against her will.
“It took some convincing, that’s for sure.”
“What changed your mind?”I ask, though I’m sure it’s morewhochanged it.
“The thought of my Zeke having to watch me grow old and die.I love him, almost as much as he loves me.”
I smile.“That’s the right way to do it: find a guy who loves us more, right?”
“That’s what my mama said.If I were ever to settle down, find a good man with a good heart.My daddy wasn’t a good man with a good heart.He was a good hunter who was good at drinking beer and taking his anger and emotional issues out on my mother.”
“Oh wow.That’s a lot to unpack.”I fill a glass with water and take a big drink.“Your life wasn’t easy.”
She shrugs.“I’m pretty.I had it easier than a lot of women born into the Order.”
I take another drink.“It wasn’t that long ago that women were even considered to be on equal playing ground as the male hunters.In a lot of ways, we’re still not considered such.”
“Well, men are stronger,” she starts and comes over to the sink, rinsing out the wine glass before putting it in the sink.“But as you know, strength doesn’t have everything to do with hunting.”She whirls around, smiling at me.“Tell me, did they let you have access to all the weapons?Not to clean but to use?”
“Yeah.Whatever I wanted, though with this,” I start and hold up my hand, letting magic spark around my fingers.“I didn’t need as many weapons as the others.”
Her blue eyes grow wide and she leans in, slowly coming closer to the magic.“How do you do that?I know it’s magic, but…golly!”
“I can’t really explain it.I just do.”I shrug and close my fist, absorbing the little strings of magic.“It’s like pulling energy out of the air.I suppose you can get all scientific with how everything is made up of energy and all that, but I just like leaving it at that.It'smagic.Much easier.”
“It is.What about spells?Why do some things work and some don’t?”
“I’ve wondered that too,” I tell her.“Why do you need the right combination of words sometimes and other times it’s just about intention?Maybe if I was part of a coven I’d know the answer.”
“They really limited you, huh?”
“In terms of learning magic…yeah,” I confess and it feels good to say that out loud.Before, it felt like I had to be so grateful I was allowed to do the little bit of magic I was permitted to do.Now, I know it was because they didn’t want me to get too powerful to control.
Because how could they have used me to try and make super-soldiers if I could fight them off?Keeping your subordinates dumb is a way to stay in power, after all.I finish my water and turn to get more.Seeing the wine glass reminds me about how vampires only drink blood, making me question this whole theory of them being suppliers.
Why would vampires want drugs?Not for themselves.I think?I actually have no idea if a vampire can do any sort of drug.They can’t consume alcohol, but what about something injected, smoked, or snorted?
“Hey, this is random, but can you do cocaine?”I ask Mabel.
“Why would I want to do that?”She looks at me curiously.“Do you do cocaine?”
“No, I never have.I was just thinking about how vampires can’t eat or drink and it made me wonder if you can ingest other substances.”
She tips her head as if she’s thinking about it.“No.We don’t.But we can have a human get high or drunk and then drink their blood and feel the effect for a little bit.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hm.”She bobs her head up and down.“The blood doesn’t taste good, but it can be fun for a bit.”
“Interesting.”
