Dracula Hearts of Fire Book two of Dracula Hearts
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

ANNIE BLURRED AWAY FROM THE BURNETT FOUNTAIN toward the sounds of the screams, and to her surprise, it was over a mile away, but of course, she now had vampire hearing. She came upon an old vampire that appeared to be about a dozen years younger than her, but it wasn’t a genuine attack. A family of four was amused by the old vampire that had been turned when he was seventy-seven. A young boy with tight curly blond hair and his sister were pretending to be scared of the vampire, and it had become a competition of sorts to see who could scream the loudest, and the 6-year-old girl was the winner. Alastair showed them his fangs, but they were in no danger as he was an old family friend. Annie was relieved as she found the situation so cute that it made her smile. Screams not tied to genuine terror were a relief.

Annie sat down on a nearby bench and watched the goings-on as Alastair took notice of her and did a double take. After the parents insisted the children were making too much noise, they finally calmed down, and the 5-year-old boy stomped his foot when told that he was no longer allowed to scream. Annie thought he would have been the cutest of a hundred 5-year-old boys. The old vampire went over and sat next to Annie, stared at her, and smiled. They stared at one another, neither wanting to look away. It was a peculiar thing for two strangers to do, turning out to be awkward for both of them. She thought that the way he was looking at her was familiar. They finally had to laugh.

“My my my, you are quite the beauty, aren’t you,” he said to Annie. “Where have you been all my life?”

“That line is older than you.” Annie gave him a look that could scare the bark off a tree. She knew how times had ravaged her looks, at least in her opinion. What was the old buzzard’s angle? “Would you like me to grab that bottom lip of yours and pull it over your forehead? One more comment about my looks, and you’ve had it.”

Alastair realized that he had made an error. How was he to explain his situation? “I beg your pardon, madam; my name is Alastair. One of my talents is seeing everyone as they were when they were young. I can see you as you are today, but it always reverts to the young woman you were at your peak. So I see you as quite the beauty.”

Annie thought about what he had said but had never heard of such a thing, but what she knew about vampires could be put in a ring box with room to spare. “Lucky you. How I wish I could see myself as if I were young. Now I look like the wicked witch run over by a truck. I can tell you I don’t need a mask for Halloween.” She observed Alastair’s yellowish-green aura but had no idea what it meant; she watched the colors swirl around him.

“Yes, it’s a peculiar thing that’s been with me from the start. In the beginning, I wondered why there were no old people around; to see people as they were, I had to concentrate. It gave me a headache.”

“Don’t focus too hard on me, or you’ll burn your eyes out. This vampire business is complicated. I hope I don’t become an evil monster sucking the blood out of the innocent.”

Alastair looked into Annie’s eyes. “I can tell a couple of things about you even though I don’t know you from Adam. You are a kind soul, and you are new to the club. Your scale is tipped way over to the good side. Your right tendencies far outweigh the bad. I’ve learned to read vampires fairly well.”

“What do you mean I’m new to the club?”

“The vampire club.”

Seeing that Alastair was engaged in conversation, the family moved off to the protests of the children; they were pacified when they were told they were off to get ice-cream. They waved to the old man, and he happily returned the farewell, blowing all a kiss. He had an old cane with a sword inside it that he leaned on. He was a distinguished-looking gentleman and not bad looking.

Annie smiled at the thought of how he perceived her. “Oh yes, I should have caught on to that. Everything is so different for me now. A few days ago, I had months to live; now, I may have centuries. My black and white life has turned to color.”

“Yes, getting used to being a vampire can take a long time. You thought those screams were serious, didn’t you? I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Annie. I thought I would have to kick your ass all the way to Maine. So how does that thing work with children? Do you see them as they’ll be when they’re older?”

“No, I see children as they are. Can I ask you a question, Annie?”

“Who’s stopping you?”

“I was just wondering who turned you. I could sense your energy from quite a ways away. Was it an ancient one? Were you attacked?”

“No. Take a guess at who turned me.”

Alastair thought about it and didn’t want to offend her. He was usually quite honest with his words, but one had to be careful with a stranger. Her personality was yet to be fully developed as a vampire. “There are too many vampires in the world for me to guess that.”

“Would you believe that Dracula turned me?” Annie smiled at him, and her beauty was distracting.

Alastair looked into her eyes and tried to mind her but discovered he couldn’t. It was too soon to make judgments on Annie, but there was something that he liked about her. “Dracula turns very few from what I gather, but I’m certainly no expert on him. Never met him.”

“Well, he is handsome, I can tell you that.” Annie adjusted her hair, and she appeared to be gorgeous to the vampire sitting beside her. So beautiful, in fact, that he had to look away from her ample bosom. “Believe it or not. Dracula is the one that turned me. I asked him, and I was surprised when he did it.”

“Annie, I’m not sure if I believe that or not. Maybe you’re trying to take me for a ride? Perhaps that’s your sense of humor? What’s important is that we go somewhere and have a cup of coffee.”

Annie did notice that he was, in fact, looking at her as if she was once again young and beautiful. She had missed that look, and after all the years that had passed, she had almost forgotten it. It was the beauty of and the beast of testosterone. There was such desire in those blue eyes. His pupils were expanding, and she liked that. “I don’t know you from the man in the moon. Alastair, you see, I don’t really look young and beautiful.”

The vampire smiled. “And I don’t resemble Brad Pitt, so what. Both sides of you look pretty darn good to me. I don’t understand why you’re so critical of yourself, but I’d like to. Besides, I’m just asking you out for coffee, not to get hitched. We can talk and discover a little more about one another. Perhaps we could be friends or more.”

Alastair was a bit too bold for her liking. “You know bad guys almost always pretend to be good guys, and when they get you alone, they rip your arm off and beat you with it. I don’t know you.”

“You could mind me and see what you think?”

“I don’t know how to do that.” Annie looked Alastair up and down; she approved of his style, looks, and demeanor. Dracula had warned her that some old vampires liked to prey on new vampires, but he did appear to be okay. She could certainly use a friend. “Would we call it a date?”

“If we went for coffee? If you want to call it a date, we’ll call it a date; if you want to call it something else, we’ll call it something else.”

“I’ll have to think about it. After all, you’re a stranger and a vampire. That makes you a strange vampire. For all I know, you could be into eating old women for dinner. Did you know that you can pick up the phone and call for blood just as you’d call for a pizza?”

“Yes, the world is changing. Look at that cloud up there. What does it look like to you?”

“Looks like a cloud. Why, what do you see?”

“Annie, doesn’t that cloud up there resemble a cup of coffee?”

She studied the cloud, but it looked nothing like coffee. “I don’t see it.”

“That man over there with the old Fedora, the shape of his head, don’t you replace it looks like a cup of coffee.”

Annie looked at him and sighed. “What’s wrong with sitting here and talking? Are you trying to get me into your lair? We can talk here as well as anywhere else.”

“Sitting here can’t officially be called a date. I’d like to say that I can assure you that I am a fine gentleman, but I can’t. Friendship takes time. Some believe in love at first sight, but I believe it’s more lust than love. But a cup of coffee only takes about a half hour. We’d be in public for all to see.”

It was much too soon to determine whether he was a good vampire, but she felt comfortable around him. “Do you work for Juan Valdez?”

“Juan Valdez is a fictional character.”

Annie had to smile. “Well, then, I won’t tell you that I’ve met him. You must be lonely to be so desperate to get at me.” She laughed at her statement.

“I have a few friends, but none of the opposite sex. The life of a vampire can be lonely and sometimes dangerous. The nights are long, I suppose. Lately, for whatever reason, my thoughts have gone back to a long-lost love. Elizabeth White was quite fetching and had a pleasant personality. She was also a vampire, and we spent almost fifty years together. She became attracted to another vampire, and I didn’t fight for her because I figured she either wanted me or didn’t. That was one of my biggest mistakes. I think she wanted me to fight for her. Years later, I found out that he had killed her. I know there is no point in dwelling on it, but it still haunts me. Elizabeth always wore this particular perfume, I don’t know what it was, but even now, when I smell something similar, it brings me right back there. Scent memories can be so powerful.”

Annie felt sorry for him. “Most of my friends have passed away, so I know what it’s like to be lonely. I am never lonelier than when I wake up from a dream with old friends, only to be hit in the face by reality. My dreams have always been so vivid.” Annie thought about it and then changed the subject. “Don’t you replace it funny how young people look at old people? They don’t just see people; they see old as if old is part of one’s personality.”

“Annie, that is true. They judge with a single glance as if they will never grow old. At least the ones that get turned into vampires won’t have to deal with that.”

She looked into his green eyes. “All right then, let’s go have that coffee.”