Sophie heard water running and realized there must be a half-bath or small bathroom attached to his bedroom at home. “I steered clear of the eggnog,” she sighed when her love returned to the camera, “but I had too much of everything else. Man, my mother cancook. I feel like I out-ate my dad and my uncle combined, but I won’t gain an ounce.” She looked at the space where her skin was taut between her barely-B-cup breasts.
Jesse frowned. “You’re perfect, you don’t need an ounce. I’d love you if you lost ‘em or gained ‘em, though. I can’t gain, either. Food and blood get converted to lifeforce energy, not absorbed in my system. I can put on a couple of pounds for a day, if I work at it before it gets absorbed. Keeps up the muscle mass.”
Sophie hesitated. “Jess?”
“What, Babe?” He settled back into a nest of pillows.
“Speaking of why we look the way we look? My birth father told my parents that his wife had just died in childbirth. He asked them to take me to the police and keep me safe. He had to go. Said he didn’t want to miss the sunrise. Heh.” Her eyes darted from his face to her fingers, dead white. “They searched for him, the police. They pulled footage from the SEPTA station’s camera. As he stepped outside into the sun, he disappeared from the screen. Everyone says he vanished into the crowd.”
“What do you say?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I guess... I wonder about vampires now that I know they’re real. Vampires can’t have kids, can they?”
“Well, no. Not that I know of, anyway. Vampires make new vampires by transferring some of their blood into a dying body. It’s possible he was a human when you were conceived, but not when you were born.” Jesse sat up, startled. “Shit, Sophie. Some vampires— well, look, think of it like a guest in the house. The guest can share your space and leave you alone, or the guest could become a bully and dominate the whole space. A really horrible guest could even force you to move out. They take over.” Jesse’s eyes bored into hers. “In this case, the house is your body. My ‘demon’, the thing that makes me a vampire, is a small, tiny instinctual part of me, pretty content to leave me alone and let me carry on with my own life as long as it gets fed. Some vampires, like the one that first attacked me, she was obviously no longer the ruler. The demon can force your soul out if your soul is weak enough.”
“But that doesn’t matter. Because if my dad was human when I was conceived, then he has nothing to do with why I look so pale, why I have other freaky things going on.” Sophie stopped him, not meeting his eyes. She knew what he was going to say.Was my father one of those soulless types? A killer. Maybe he killed my mother. But then why mourn that woman? Why save her baby?“If he were bad... why’d he save me?”
“Maybe he wasn’t bad. Maybe he used to be. I don’t know, Soph.”
“I don’t, either.” She curled onto her side. “I wish you could hug me until I fall asleep.”
“I wish I could, too. Tomorrow night, I will. For tonight, I’ll tell you a story. About the Night Queen?”
“Oooh, yes, please.” Sophie snuggled into her pillow, hoping the heaviness would lift from her heart.
Jesse’s voice was hushed and mysterious, a storyteller weaving words. “Once upon a time, the Night Queen heard of a sad, lonely king, a king who lived in the snowy, barren forests adjoining her own kingdom. While she lived in the Palace of Night, he lived in the Castle of Snow. She decided that she must meet this ruler who shared her realm, both of them preferring to stay beyond the harsh rays of the sun. So she journeyed to the far north to meet him.”
“From Philly to Pine Ridge?” Sophie inquired, a broad smile on her face.
“No spoilers,” Jesse admonished. “When she came to visit him, she fell in love with his kingdom. It was small, but it was full of kind mages and magical creatures. And— and when she went to see the Snow King, she expected that he would be like all the other royals, demanding to know her ancestors and their titles. None of that mattered. The King fell in love with the woman for herself, exactly as she was. All of his subjects loved her, too. Even though he lived in a frigid land, he gave her a very warm welcome.”
Jesse’s final words, said with a hint of seductiveness, didn’t earn a reaction. Sophie had fallen asleep. “Goodnight, Beautiful.” Jesse blew her a kiss across the miles and gently shut his screen.
SOPHIE’S HEART BEATfaster in relief as she saw the green and gold sign with old-fashioned lettering that bore the words, “Welcome to Pine Ridge!” Underneath the largest letters were smaller ones, “The town with a heart as big as the great outdoors! Population 39,380” and “Home of the Lumberjacks!” Her lips quirked into a grin as she recalled the hockey game they’d attended. So much fun. Such a typical thing to do, two college kids going to a sporting event as a date.
So normal.
The town itself looked normal, even though she was scrutinizing every detail. Tree-lined streets were decorated for Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah, as well as sporting some generic “wintery” decorations like snowmen. Among the houses and small office buildings and gas stations, she spotted a library, churches, a synagogue, a daycare center, several cafes, and little townie boutiques. Pine Ridge was the picture of a slightly larger-small town America. It was ten times the size of Antonia but already gave off an air of friendliness that Antonia didn’t project.
Or it could just be me, Sophie realized. Without ever having set foot in the town, she felt oddly comfortable in it.
Just as she saw the sign for Ridge View, the development where Jesse and his mother lived, she saw the coffee shop Jesse raved about. They were famous for their maple-glazed donuts. Impulsively, she jerked her car into a spot in front of the building. She would pick up a half-dozen, which would hopefully help her score points with Mrs. Smith.
The coffee shop door swung open with a tinkle of silver bells and a waft of heavenly aromas. In the past, walking into a public place would have meant putting on all of her invisible armor, preparing herself for stares, whispers, and outright rudeness. Understanding that some of the comments weren’t aimed at her out of unkindness helped, but Sophie still felt her chest tightening with anxiety.
People looked up as the door shut with another jingle of bells, but no one stared. It was a polite, curious glance to see who had joined them before resuming their crosswords and scrolling on their phones. Only the barista made eye contact for more than a second, smiling broadly and saying,” Welcome to The Pine Loft. What can I get for you?”
“Uh... six maple glazed and two— no, three hot cocoas?” Sophie scanned the slate boards behind the counter as she pulled out her wallet.
“Did you have a good holiday?” Donuts covered in a caramel-colored glaze went into a flat white box.
“Wonderful,” Sophie answered automatically. “How about you?”
“It was peaceful.”
“Same.”I’m making small talk. And no one is even remotely weirded out by me. This is so awesome.
And a little bit strange. I’m used to sticking out like a sore thumb. Being “normal” might take a little getting used to.Without thinking, she blurted, “I’m visiting my boyfriend.”
