Dracula: Hearts of Fire (Dracula Heart's) (2 page)

    “I think so. What happened? Did I actually faint?
How embarrassing!
”

    Her mot
her sat on the carpet gazing
up
at her.
She had never felt awkward around her daughter until now.
Perhaps this moment would be the start of her rebellious years, but she hoped not.
What in the world had she been thinking?
Knowing one’s parents was something that should be known to everyone
, the basic nature of understanding oneself
.  The links that formed a family tree was important stuff.
“You did
faint
a
nd your father caught you.” Allison’s head gestured toward
Dracula
who was standing tall
beside her
.

   
Dracula smiled as he raised his eyebrows.
He
was
handsome
in his Armani suit and had
captivating brown eyes.
He was as impressive as they came
, even vampires wanted to run at the sight of him
.
His striking face was fortyish and
excepti
onal; he made lots of pupils of the opposite sex widen with interest
.
Dracula
looked down at Jenny and didn’t know what to say.
It was strange being up close and personal with his daughter for the first time and not knowing much about her
except for what Allison had told him
. It was an awkward situation for all of them.
The vampire had butterflies in his stomach for the first time
in centuries
. Jenny actually forced him to look away because of the guilt.

   
“What were you thinking Mother?”
Jenny
remain
ed
in a state of confusion. It’s not that she couldn’t believe it but it was a lot to process in such a short time.
The truth could be like a sandstorm in the desert, a difficult thing to push through
, but once
beyond
it everything was
a lot clearer
.
It would take some time for her to sit comfortably in his presence.
Her mind had shifted into high gear and she couldn’t slow it down.
The girl wasn’t sure if she wanted to believe it or not
, but the expressions on their faces was compelling evidence
, besides the fact that her eyes resembled his
. What would her friends say? Then she remembered that she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.
What a secret to be tasked with keeping.
“So Dracula is really my father?
And this is not some sort of sick joke?
”

   “
No, y
es
he’s your father
.”

    “Luke, I mean Jenny I am your father.”

    “You didn’t think it necessary to tell me that Dracula is my father?
I mean Dracula, come on!
”

    Dracula attempted to infuse a bit of humor into the situation. “Look into my eyes.”
He
was immediately aware of
the error in judgement
and felt stupid
. It was a
rare thing for him to feel
awkward
but there it was
.
The Master was ill-at-ease,
uncomfortable, and even a little self-conscious. No foe could ever faze him yet little Jenny had instantly insti
lled
in him
a state of guilt
with just a tinge of panic.
 
Life still had
surprises for him
after all
and in a way he appreciated it
.
It had not been the boring day that he had expected.
H
e crossed his arms but thought
it might appear too stern for the situation. Dracula felt like running away, that made him shake his head slightly and smile.
It was a challenge for him to not change into a bat and fly off.

   “Shut up,” said Jenny. “You owe me a hell of a lot of birthday presents
, DAD
.
And that was some way to meet my FATHER, MOTHER.
”
She placed emphasis on both her parents.
“Oh, by the way, you’re father just happens to be Dracula. Nice.
What would you like for lunch and by the way your father is Dracula.
Lots of ways to tell me MOTHER.
”
She gave stern looks to both of them, one at a time, and lingered on Dracula’s eyes.
Neither parent knew what to say in their defence.
He could technically blame it on Allison but he wasn’t going to do that.
Dracula
could not recall anyone ever staring at him for that length of time, and again it made him smile.
It appeared that she was a chunk off the old block.

    “What would you like
for all
of
those birthdays
?”

   
Jenny thought that she would hit him
with something big
and of course expensive
.
It was common
knowledge that Dracula was
rich;
at least that’s what everyone thought.
“A
red
Ferrari
458 Italia
?
Push button start, very nice.
”

   “Done,” said Dracula.

    Allison shook her head. “You’re not buying her a Ferrari
; she’s not old enough to drive.”

    “She can play in it in the driveway until she’s old enough.
Some kids have a dollhouse, she’ll have a Ferrari.
What’s wrong with that?
”

   
Jenny observed their bickering and liked it; it could be useful in the future.
Perhaps she could pit one against the other as they would both have plenty of guilt for years to come; at least she hoped that would be the case.
She could get her father to buy her a seat on one of those flights into orbit.
She
looked up at Dracula and then at her mother. “Mother, is he serious?
I’ll bet he’s rich
though
. Does that mean we’re rich?
”

   
There it was. Another reminder of things that should have been revealed, but Allison was beginning to doubt her
own judgement. Should she
inform
or not inform, that was the question.
A parent’s guidance was like walking a tightrope, one way or the other they were going to fall.
Allison didn’t know how her daughter was going to deal with the information she was about to deal out
, but the hand was a hot one
.
Maybe it was the occasion for a proper cleaning.
It was time that all the cards were thrown on the table
, although her conscience was waving a red flag on this one
.
She was starting to regret get
ting
out of bed.
“You’ve always been rich Jenny, from the day you were born.
”

   
Jenny’s cute face scrunched as she attempted to figure out what she was now talking about.
“Say what now? What
the heck
is that supposed to mean?”
Jenny stared at both parents, first at one and then the other, and then back again.
Sounded like gobbledygook unless it was an attempt at diversion.
Of course this was the perfect place for diversionary tactics.

    “Your father opened a bank account for you the day you were born, but you don’t get it until you’re eighteen.”

    “
Really?
How much are we talking about? A million? Two?
”
             

    “Let’s just say that you’ll never want for money.”

    “
Nice answer.
He was serious about the Ferrari?”

    “Oh, he probably is
, but no, you’re not getting a Ferrari
.
Dracula, w
hat happens when she turns the key
or presses the button
and heads up the road at two hundred miles per hour?
”

    “That seems unlikely.
”

    “I wouldn’t go more than a hundred and fifty.”

   
Silence ensued as they all considered the situation in their own way.
Dracula was happy with having the opportunity to stare at hi
s progeny up close and personal, and like her mother she had fire in her eyes and he liked that.
He expected nothing less.
Jenny also had areas of her mind tha
t was blocked even to him
, and to her father that was most interesting.
What kind of powerhouse had his genes created?
He could tell that she was a little frightened of him but he also knew that an entire mafia family couldn’t make her cough up that information.
He considered that she was probably exceptional to such a degree that even he couldn’t imagine
it; this
made Dracula
very
proud of his daughter.

  
Jenny considered that if Dracula was her father, how freaking powerful did that make her?
Would she one day be the new Dracula? No, she knew that was a stupid thought.
But if she was a wizard descended from Dracula did that make her the most powerful? The answer to that was probably not because a wizard was a mixture of power, knowledge and experience. She thought that if she was dumb enough to become overconfident it would most likely get her killed.