Dead Girls Don't Cry (9 page)

The opening grew, expanding towards me. Cold air rushed into my face, whipping back my hair. Oh God, not space!

The hole had better not lead to an outside airlock. Prior kept saying vampires were perfect space travelers, but I didn’t want to spend an eternity floating in space, eventually starving. A gaping maw, the portal enveloped me, swallowing me whole.

I’m not ashamed to admit it. I screamed. Loudly and with gusto.

The hard wind ceased. I blinked a few times. My fear was misplaced. Thank goodness. I was in an empty chamber. Dim lighting from an unseen source cast long shadows. As far as I could tell, there were no windows or doors. I was trapped.

I tapped the bracelet. “This is your fault. If I find a hammer, you’re coming off.” I momentarily contemplated sawing my hand off, then discarded the notion. Too painful and probably impossible to do to oneself unless in really dire circumstances. I wandered around testing the walls, finding no seams or crack.

“Great. There’s no way out of here. Where’s a hacksaw when you need one? I wonder if I could chew my hand off.” I gnashed my teeth.

The blasted bracelet buzzed, probably nervous. A faint humming emanated from somewhere in the room. The tune, tantalizingly familiar.

The music spiraled around the chamber. With each new note, a glowing rune appeared and floated in mid-air. Out of arms reach, they circled around me, appearing in various shapes and colors.

“Lovely,” I groused. “What’s the point? I don’t understand.”

The music grew louder. A rune flew toward my head. I dodged it. When I turned to evade a return strike, another one snuck up on me and landed on my neck. I slapped at my throat as if swatting a mosquito. A futile gesture. Instead of a sting, a comforting warmth filled my throat. The constant ache, the one that kept me from singing, eased and lifted.

I had always assumed I couldn’t sing anymore because I wouldn’t allow myself too. Now, a new possibility existed. The guilt and despair had physically hurt my body. A century is a long time to carry one’s sins. A new lightness filled my spirit. I hummed along with the tune, the vibration in my throat pleasant.

After another moment, I recognized the song— “Daisy Bell” otherwise known as “A bicycle built for two.” An oldie, even to my ears. The lyrics popped into my mind. With new found confidence, I sang.

The runes danced to my timing. The acoustics in the room amplified my voice, giving it the haunting quality Jonathan had loved so much when I was human. It was then, the metaphorical ton of bricks crashed onto me. Again. Blood tinged tears coursed down my cheeks. I grieved for my maker, my friend. The lover I could have had, had I not refused him so adamantly.

Mirroring my unhappiness, the runes colored red, hovered nearby, bouncing to my sobs. Finally spent, I let out a harsh breath, wiped up the tears, and cleared my throat.

I squared my shoulders and spoke to the runes. “I’m not a scared child anymore. I’m not a stripper either. I’m a sire. Head of my family. Thank you for the gift of my voice.”

A halo of light circled me as the symbols sped up around me. The rotation screeched to halt, ending the light hula hoop.

“Now, will you show me how to get the hell out of this room?”

~ * * * ~

I whistled a happy tune as I sauntered back down the hallway toward what I hoped was my room. The rune chamber had ejected me onto a main hallway. I recognized one of Jay’s telltale marks. When I approached an intersection, buoyed by the return of my voice, I confidently took the left hand path. About five minutes later, my certainty wavered when I realized I had no idea where I was. Again.

I re-traced my footsteps and found the cross roads. I veered right this time. I didn’t find my room. I found the cargo hold, larger than any area I had encountered on the ship thus far.

Stasis chambers lined the walls and ceilings, hung in neat, organized rows. The air, while fresh, smelled metallic. The entire room was tinged green from the overhead lighting making it appear gloomy.

The boxes were a uniform matte gray, with a see through front. Like display cases at a giant doll store. Each occupant wore a thin metal head band and appeared to be in a restful sleep.

I ticked their names off mentally in my head as I reviewed each box. Pearl slept in the last box, before Ian’s family appeared in the lineup. The intimidating scarred vampire scowled even while slumbering. I shivered. I’d better stop doing it. I suspected he was the type of vampire who got off on fear.

The rogues were an eclectic bunch. There were bouncer types: big, brawny vampires. We had some of them in the family too. Then there were the accountants or brains of the operation. While they looked like they were afraid of their own shadow, they could hack into anything, make any deal and launder money like no one’s business. Not sure how useful they would be on Mars. More concerning were the ass kickers like Mr. Scar. They could be an issue down the road, if they didn’t like to follow the rules.

In the distance, a door slid open, then shut with a metallic clang. “Cherry?”

“I’m over here.” I walked toward Jay. At first, I didn’t notice the change in the boxes’ occupants.

“I don’t know what happened. One minute I was—”

“Jesus Christ!” I barked. I blinked, rubbing my eyes. It had to be a hallucination. “Who the hell thought it was a good idea to send these guys.”

Row upon row of revenants filled the stasis chambers. My flesh got the creepy crawlies looking at their semi-translucent complexions. I was no expert on them, but due to an abundance of spiritual energy, revenants were more ghostlike and faded when not concentrating. Unlike the vampires, who still wore street clothes, the revenants were attired in standard issue USI jumpsuits. Someone planned their addition.

“Cherry,” Jay warned from a few yards away. After several human lifetimes together, I knew when Jay was afraid. The faint tremor in his voice, the thin press of his lips told me everything I needed to know.

I raced to join his side. “No. Not—”

“Flesh eaters.” Jay turned on his heel, heading for the exit.

God damned zombies. There were at least twenty-five of them, dead eyes staring straight ahead. They didn’t sleep like the rest of us, but they could still hibernate. Thankfully, the chambers kept them incapacitated.

I followed Jay out into the hall. The tips of his hair stood on end, reminding me of a victim of too much static electricity. “This has to be Prior’s doing.”

Jay sighed, resigned. “There’s nothing to be done about it now. I know I’ll be sleeping with my eyes open from now on.”

I couldn’t be as practical as Jay. “Yeah, well someone has some explaining to do. You should go rest.”

Jay gave me a knowing look before we parted ways. The,
I know you’re going to raise hell
,
look.

“Take it easy on Prior. He’s a smart vampire. We’ll need his expertise to survive.”

I waved at Jay and made my way to the ship’s mess hall. The single common room on the whole ship, and of course, no Prior. A familiar blond haired vampire poked his head up from a game of solitaire.

“Still skulking about the ship?” Ian’s crisp accent made my girl parts warm. He arched an eyebrow.

Crap. “Yes, I am. And do you know what I found in the cargo hold?”

“I haven’t the foggiest, but I bet you’re gonna tell me.” Ian patted the chair next to him.

I fingered the playing cards, covetous. “Where did you get these?”

“I brought them with me. We can play later. You had something to tell me. Yes?”

I told him what Jay and I had discovered. I kept the rune chamber to myself. If I told anyone, it would be Jay. Not Mr. English, who while sexy and desirable, may also be a two-faced murderer.

Ian gathered up the cards, shuffled then dealt us each a hand. He coolly eyed me from behind his cards. “You need to stop being so prejudiced against other species.”

“What?” I spluttered. “Since I’ve met you, I’ve almost been drained by revenants and eaten by zombies. Sorry, but it’s kind of hard to feel the love.”

Unfazed, he continued, “Are all vampires evil?”

“Of course not.” Irked, I snatched up the cards and fanned them out, my eyes not seeing them.

“The same is true of revenants and zombies. They’re not all bad. Nor are they angels any more than we are.”

“Spare me the lecture.” I folded my hand, “Look, when we land on Mars, we have to work together. We can’t always be worried about inter-species unrest.”

“I agree. That’s why Jonathan invited the rogues.”

The room tilted sideways for a moment. I gripped the edge of the table. Ian was more devious than I thought. Once we got to Mars, he could easily overpower my family and enslave us. Or worse. My hand went to my throat. Eat us for dinner.

“You seriously need to calm down. No one will hurt you or your family. I guarantee it.”

“So you can read my mind too?” I wanted to fling the cards at him.

“No. I’m not that talented. Your emotions are so open, I can practically see the words springing from your charming red-haired head.”

Undeterred, I pressed him, “Why is it you know so much about this mission? You joined at the last minute.”

Ian placed a card in the discard pile and drew a new card from the deck in the center of the table. “So did you, if you recall. I’m knowledgeable because I’ve read Prior’s reports and I attend the morning briefing.” He was adult enough not to add,
so there
. “I know you didn’t ask for any of this to happen to you. If it’s any consolation, I’ve been in a similar position. The best thing you can do is prepare. Keep in mind, your whole family was in stasis when Jonathan died.”

Which meant none of them knew he was dead. I covered my face with my hands, remembering Pearl’s resentment. There were factions in the family that could challenge me.

“You need to be ready for their reaction. Are you willing to fight to stay in charge?”

The words came out immediately. “Yes.”

“Good. Fretting is not the same a planning. Now pick up your cards. Go fish.”

~ * * * ~

Bleary eyed, with what I’m sure, were scary bloodshot eyes, I staggered into the briefing room. I had stayed awake and read through every one of Prior’s dry, tedious reports. Ian’s timely reminder ringing through my head— I needed to pull my head out of my ass and pay more attention.

Jonathan had once told me a good leader did more than wield power. You also needed to have better information than everyone else. Some ancient Chinese philosopher said that.

And the surprised expression on Prior’s face made the hours of drudgery worth it. His mouth hung open, pen poised in mid-air as if he had been frozen in time. Ian’s approving smile gratified me.

I took a seat at the table next to Ian and stared at Prior until he continued. He resumed motioning to a stat chart on the wall. Satellite pictures of Mars were displayed in a continuous loop on a paper thin display panel floating above the table. It was hard not to run my hand over it checking for wires.

“As I was saying, in a week, we’ll come into an area we call the Veil.” He pointed to a black smudge.

I raised my hand.

After an exaggerated sigh, Prior acknowledged me. “Yes, Ms. Cordial. This isn’t a classroom. Feel free to ask your question.”

I sheepishly pulled my hand down. “What is the Veil?”

Prior beamed at the chance to continue to be the smartest vampire in the room. “The Veil is a fold in space/time. Are you familiar with those terms?”

“I’ve watched Star Trek. I get the general concept.”

Strangled snickering escaped from Ian. Prior didn’t seem to notice. He closed his eyes, probably counting to ten to remind himself that he must suffer fools like me. “Close enough.”

He wrote the word “Ship” on one side of a piece of paper and “Mars” on the opposite side. “When traveling through the Veil, distances between places are vastly reduced.” He folded the paper in half so the “Ship” touched “Mars”. A trip that would take two or more years on a human vessel will take us mere weeks.”

Thank goodness. “Why are we bringing zombies and revenants?”

Ian grunted, “Give it a rest.”

Prior shifted his papers around. “The decision was made by USI’s benefactor.”

“And who might that be?” I asked, knowing full well the answer would be—

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Then tell me this. Who is in charge of the colony once we get down there? It sure as hell better not be Captain Twit… Trent.”

Prior ignored my gaffe and looked at me like I was dumb. “You Ms. Cordial. You are the reigning sire of your family, therefore you get the job.”

I was dumb. A smart vampire would throw herself out of the airlock.

~ * * * ~

Once Jay wiped the tears from his eyes over my rendition of Prior nearly busting a nut over my questions at the briefing, he grew serious. “It’s a great honor to lead a new colony.”