STY 

I should have been at home taking care of my Aunt Avie, but, in a manner of speaking that was exactly what I was doing. Ben and Sandra had hurt her, and badly (by the state of her) so, someone needed to take care of them. And I was just the witch (or should I say the b word) for that job.

Ben and Sandy had just been married, at old lady Gale's behights. And what a f-ing grandiose thing it was too. But, let's not dwell on that. It's far more fun to discuss what I did to the pair of them. Of course, this little plot of mine was sans my Dear Aunt's knowledge. I wouldn't sully her with such dastardly acts.

Ben, I knew from personal experince, was one of those Type A people that liked his I's dotted and his T's firmly crossed and any setback ruffled his feathers, although he'd never let it show. So, I knew that messing with there travel plans wolud be a brillent place to start.

They were set to depart on a Saturday, the day after that chimerical affaire. Impersonating Sandy, I quickly change that to a Sunday and downgraded the flight from First Class to Coach making sure that Ben was in firmly seated in Coach while Sandy remained in First Class. They were supposed to be staying at the Hotel de la Tremoille. I changed that to the Hotel Georgette. So, I basically downgraded them from a five star hotel to a three star one. I swapped their bubbly from their posh slection, Alfred Gratien Cuvee Paradis Brut NV Champagne, to a rather horrid  Korbel Brüt. And that was just for starters.

With Ben being the inveterate poltroon he was, I knew that the ring that they'd be using would be the old family hairloom, that rather fatuous and pretentious thing that should be burried with his mother, whenever that old bat kicks the bucket (not that that's going to happen anytime soon. Constane Gale is going to out live my great grandchildrfen, assuming that I do in fact have children and they reproduce, I think. Maybe hell won't have her and heaven, certainly, doesn't want her.) So, before I sent the ring to him (on the pretense that it would be eaiser to give it over by post than in person) I used a little witchy jiggery-polkery and charmed the thing so as to make Sandy dearest feel très unatteactive and uncomfortable in her own skin while making sure that Ben couldn't keep away. I knew that the fastest way to get Ben's goat was to danggle something in front of him that he couldn't have. Sandy wasn't getting away scot free either. That little charm had a secondary purpose other than making her feel like the rubbish she was. Whenever Ben would touch her she'd experince a sensation that a million blue-hot knives were boring into her skin. (Thank you Mrs. Rowling for that brillent bit of inspiration.)

"My Lord, Celestyn," Aristo, my mother's Valet (or rather, the Valet whom my mother, as the Consort to the current Vampire King, has had asigned to me — I should probally get into the habit of calling him either Aristodemos or Mr. Marius, as that's what I should call him when we have company. It's seems that Vampire society, expecially amogst the gentry, hasn't evoluved out of the dark ages) said to me, bringing me out of the stupor that my memories had me in.

"Aristo, I told you, I don't know how many times, to call me Sty when it's just the two of us," I said.

"I thought you would like to know that a pair of boys have just arrived at your home."

"Well, I shall be off shortly."

"I trust that everything has turned out to your satisfaction, then, my Lord Sty?"

"Thus far, yes."

"If you'll permitt me to say, My Lord, but, Master Gale was simply not up to my standards when it comes down to it."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Yes, well. Will, that be all for you, my Lord?"

"Oh, Aristo. Modest, as ever, I see. That will be all. I think I'll be off, now."

So, there I was walking through the back door of my own home when I gunned down. Or rather, I'm knocked off my feet as a bolt of purple lightning slammed into my chest like a bloody f-ing Mac Truck. I'm sprawled out on my back and I heard one of the boys mutter something to the effect of "Well, we know whom the Sith in the family is". I can feel the snow-capped grass presssing into me, the cold wetness of it seeping into my bones. My eyes are open and all that I can see is a sea of black. I know that my eyes are open because I can feel the wintery wind blowing across my face. That's when it hit me. I've gone blind. I wonder if a damphire can actually go blind?

Then I feel his presence. I know it's one of the boys by the lollop of his steps, and the smell coming from him. It's so much like my own, only he has that coppery smell that a pure human has where as mine is a more astringent.

At first he doesn't say anything. He just kneels down beside me. He's clearly in shock and at a loss as to what to do with himself. I'm just grateful that as a damphire I has an augmented healing factor. That's probally the only reason I'm alive at the moment. I needed to feed, and badly. But, I wan't going to feed from him. As Aristo would put it: You can eat with family, but, you can't eat your family. But, I can feel my reslove slipping. My fangs start to desend.

Then, all hell breaks loose. As I hear Aunt Avie shout "Celestyn, no," I feel the rush of magic as she sends him flying across the yard, before I feel her presence next to me. Her smell became stronger. This is followed by her empirical command of "Here, eat" as she pressed her wrist to my mouth.

"Well, so much for not eating your family," I thought as my fangs found purchace. My eye shight returned almost instantly. My first impulse was to keep drinking, but, somehow I found the will to control the blood lust. I'd tasted forbidden blood and I had to say that I wanted more, but, that could wait till later. "I don't know about you, but, I could really use a drink," I said in a weak voice.

"Welcome back," Aunt Avie said in to my ear. "Lucky for you, Celestine's a wicked bar tender."

"I know," I mutter as she helped me get back on my feet. My witchy power is to know what other people know and to possess thier gifts whenever I've had a taste of their blood. (As my dear aunt would put it I'm like the X-Men's Rouge, except I'm oral instead of physical.)

"So, how about a drink," I said to the boy called Celestine as we made our way into the house.

"What the fuck just happened," He shot back in reply.

"So, that's them," I mutter to Aunt Avie.

" Sty, chéri, pas devant les enfants," She said as she sat down at the table.

"That only works when the children in question don't infact speak françias," The other boy, Céleste, said hotly. "And I'd also like to know what the hell just happened."

"Well, then," Célestine said with a slight chuckle, "We must be serious if we're freely using profanity. But, seriously, what is going on Aunt Avaline?"

"Simply put, We've got a Vampire in the family," She said as she took a sip of her cocktail.

"Well, A damphire and a vampire, technically," I said.

"And we've got a father whom's insane, Grandpearents that are invisible, and a mother whom may or may not be dead," Célestine said sarcastically.

"Well done, Prue," I shot back, picking up on his sudo Charmed refference.

"I thought you were a acarpous serial bride," Céleste shot back.

"Thanks a whole lot for reminding me. And I am."

"Then, whose child is he, because last I checked the only other family we have is our Dear mother whom got red-rummied," Célestine said.

"Mon Deau," Céleste said as he slung back his drink and refilled before he asked, "How is that possible?"

"How is what possible," Célestine said thickly.

"That's not fucking possible, Lestie," Célestine said from behind a sip of his drink.

"HOW," Céleste shouted at our Aunt and myself.

"Adelaide was pregnate with Celestyn when she was attacked —"

"— BULLSHIT! I would've known if my mother's eggo was preggo," Célestine shouted back. "She couldn't so much as fucking sneeze on Pluto without me being there to say "bless you" and handing her a damn tissue."

"Well, she was pregnate. And if you know your mother so well answer me this: what was her true power?"

"Well... she was... her power was... Ok, so, I don't know her as well as I thought," Célestine relented bitterly.

"As I was saying, Adelaide was nine months pregnate with Celestyn when she was attacked by a vampire," Avie said.

"He wasn't just any old vamp though," I said. "She was attacked by His Highness, the Vampire King Akasha de Sangrial. Appearently he was looking for someone to be his consort and Mother Dearest was everything that he was looking for."

"I might sound like a bloody idiot for asking, but, if she was turned into one of the living undead, then how are you still alive," Céleste asked as though he were talking about the weather.

"Asha's blood half turned me. I'm a Damphire," I said wistfully.

"And that fucking means what, exactly," Célestine shot back.

"You have quite the potty mouth," Aunt Avie said as a smile played at the corners of her mouth.

"I'm working on controling it. Thus far, I've been unsucessful."

"It means that I'm a human whom possesses the preternatural speed, strength, et cetera of a Vampire, but, until I kill another vampire I'll still have a heartbeat. That also means that I have an immunity to most things that harm a vampire."

"So, if I stake you you won't die," Célestine asked me.

"Would you die if a stuck something sharp and pointy into your heart? Yes, I'd die, Mr. Smart Arse," I said.

"If your alive, does that mean she's alive," Céleste asked so quitetly that if I hadn't had a vampire's hearing I wouldn't have heard it.

"That's complicated," I said.

"Yes, she lives, but she's not the same women you remember," Aunt Avie said.

"What, is she like the Queen of fucking Evil, now," Célestine shot back hotly.

"Basically, yes," I said,"I gainded the power of asorption from Sangrail. When he turned Mom, well, she's different."

"Different how," Céleste said.

"Ok, you remember the sceen in Queen of the Damned when Akasha would flick her wrists and vampire's would explode," Aunt Avie said.

"What does a fucking movie have to do with anything," Célestine said hotly.

"You know, Tine, to be the one that supposed to have the gift of foreknowledge you are really quite clueless sometimes," Céleste said. "So, Mom's like some wicked uber-vamp?"

"Basically —" I start to say before I become aware of a presence. "I don't want to alarm anyone, but, we're about to get a visitor."

"Is he one of your's, Aunt Avie said in a calm voice, but I could feel the panic rooling off of her in waves.

"No, I don't recognize his smell," I said in a flat even voice. "Stay here. Auntie, you know what to do," I said as a sped out the door and attempted to tackled the visitor.