A vampire ought to lurk within the darkest, coldest corners of the world, emerging from ostentatious granite mausoleums with a murderous appetite. Vampires burn in the light of the sun and must avoid stepping foot into consecrated ground lest they be cast into the fiery depths of hell. To encounter such a beast is to flirt with certain death, for they will woo you with dazzling smiles and sparkling eyes until they have the chance to strike.
At least, that is what the stories say. But that is all they are: stories.
For who could imagine that the creatures feared by cultures around the world would boldly exist within the sanctity of daylight, their smiles dazzling but rarely predatory, with lifestyles akin to minor celebrities rather than unwelcome tenants of abandoned graveyards?
At present, the sun shone wanly upon the urban Seattle landscape through a dense covering of clouds and the air was warm, if not a bit muggy. On the street corner stood a rather glamorous woman amongst the more mundane pedestrians. She was called Reina Falkenrath, and, perhaps, might have been recognized as a niche content creator and micro-influencer were it not for the lengths she had taken to conceal her identity. Which is not to say that she wanted to remain unnoticed, for many a head swiveled for a second look at the tall brunette whose features were obscured by large sunglasses and a finely-made cloak. Her lips were painted a deep, ruby red and she smelled like the rich warmth of a campfire.
In a city full of many strange individuals, nobody seemed to find it odd that her fashion erred on the side of medieval or that the weather was simply unkind to anybody concealed beneath so many layers of fabric. It was almost as if nobody actually saw her at all, though many went to inconvenient lengths to catch a glimpse of her. Beautiful people were everywhere in Seattle. Like a rosebush, there were many fragrant blooms nestled amongst the thorns, all eagerly admired by the passerby but just as quickly forgotten.
Reina enjoyed the attention. A few centuries ago she may have enacted a bit more caution in the mundane world, but people nowadays had no idea how desensitized they had become to the strange and inexplicable. Nobody seemed to bat an eye at how the small patches of her smooth olive skin glimmered with the beauty of thousands of diamonds when the sun made a rare appearance. She did overhear two teenage girls remark on the quality of her body glitter, however. When Reina smiled at them, suddenly granting them the privilege of her attention, they admired the work done to sharpen her canines rather than recoil in fear of her pearlescent fangs.
It was nice to be noticed in a way that didn’t have any long-term repercussions. The last thing Reina needed was to earn the particular attention of the Volturi. At the thought, her lovely features rearranged into that of mild irritation, perhaps even indigestion. Whatever that particular history was, the woman did not dwell on it long. One only endures many centuries of un-life by learning to let things go. Existence carries with it many upsets and just as many pleasures. On this particular overcast morning, Reina fancied herself a woman of pleasure.
The click of her heels were a staccato metronome as she strutted down the sidewalk, gracefully avoiding puddles on her way to her favorite coffee shop, Five Fangs Brew. The shop was small but lovingly decorated, with several antique armchairs and sofas arranged around low wooden tables stained in a variety of whimsical colors. It was rarely busy though never empty, filled with an odd collection of patrons to complement the niche decor. The aroma of the quaint storefront, a delectable mixture of bitter coffee and caffeinated blood, brought with it the usual pangs of hunger. Most vampires lost all desire for simple human pleasures such as a midmorning latte, but Reina was not most vampires. The scents and smells were not overwhelming, but nostalgic.
As Reina made her way to the queue, her gaze briefly met that of the striking blonde woman just a few spots ahead of her. Her kind blue eyes were tinted red from exhaustion and she wore a paramedic’s uniform, the name Karo embroidered on the chest pocket. They exchanged knowing smiles as the teenagers ordering at the register cracked jokes that no adult understood but found amusing due to the sheer absurdity of the comments. Karo parted her lips, perhaps to wet them with her tongue or maybe speak, but was distracted by the clattering of coins dropped from clumsy adolescent hands and immediately knelt down to retrieve them. Reina observed the act of chivalry from where she stood, dark eyes tracing the webbing of fine white scars on Karo’s arm. This was not the first time the women had encountered each other at Five Fangs Brew. Though they had never spoken, they always seemed to arrive within a few minutes of each other, their eyes seeking a shared, secret glance before parting ways.
Reina’s thoughts wandered while she patiently awaited her turn, attention shifting to a commotion outside near the street when the last patron ahead of her finally stepped aside, revealing the familiar face of the blue-haired barista, Takhisis. She grinned at Reina brightly, sapphire eyes twinkling with affection. “Would you like your usual? Or maybe something different?” she asked, leaning forward on the counter while Reina resisted a smile. “I just updated our menu for spring.” Takhisis always tried to convince her to taste-test some of the stranger menu items designed for the more unusual clientele, and Reina always declined. Although Takhisis was no vampire, she wasn’t quite human either, and some of her creations could be a little…eccentric.
“The usual, please,” Reina replied and reached for her coin purse.
“There’s no need,” Takhisis interrupted, waving away her payment. “Your girlfriend already paid for your drink.” Reina’s eyes widened in surprise, meeting the barista’s mischievous gaze with a mixture of shock and irritation, which only encouraged further teasing. “She must have gotten tired of waiting for you to introduce yourself,” Takhisis chattered between brews, deftly adding a pinch of “blood sugar” to Reina’s coffee before any of the other patrons could notice. “She can only ask me so many questions, and I have so few satisfying answers.”
“Stop glaring at me, you know I have a point,” Takhisis ignored Reina’s expression and passed over the drink. “Now get over there and say thank you.”
Takhisis had often encouraged Reina to interact with some of the other regulars instead of mysteriously lurking at her favorite corner table without much success. She was generally content in her solitude and preferred the impersonal act of people-watching rather than taking the effort to sift through a variety of social niceties which usually resulted in dull, uninspiring conversation. This time, however, Reina found that she could no longer deny her curiosity. Karo was sitting in a faded mauve armchair beside a large window overlooking the street beyond. Her ash blonde hair, which had been tied back in a neat ponytail when Reina first arrived, now cascaded down her shoulders soft waves. Rare golden sunlight streamed through the glass, filtering through a myriad of suncatchers and hanging plants and cast the woman in multicolored dapples of light. Her face was turned away, chin resting languidly on her open palm, giving the illusion of calm though Reina could hear the nervous fluttering of her heart. It was a picture of beauty. One that did not escape Reina’s notice. She faltered in her approach, surprised, unsettled, maybe, that she also felt the stirrings of anxiety.
“Do you mind if I sit here?” Reina asked, taking care to remain beyond the glow of the late morning sunshine. Karo looked up in surprise before nodding her assent, a flush coloring her cheeks as the brunette took a seat in the chair opposite of her own.
“I hope I wasn’t too forward,” Karo began.
“On the contrary,” said Reina, “I am happy that I finally caught your attention.”
“You don’t make it very easy,” Karo retorted, and the women shared an amused smile.
It seemed that all that nervousness was for naught, for as soon as Reina heard the ring of Karo’s laugh, she left all reservations beyond her. They spoke with the practiced ease of long acquaintance, as if they had known each other for much longer than a few short minutes. Karo told the story of her tour in Afghanistan as a combat medic and the struggle of readjusting to civilian life as a paramedic after being medically discharged. Reina shared how she turned her love of books and games into a career, and admitted that her visits to this coffee shop consisted entirely of her daily social interaction, to which Karo revealed that she, too, was guilty of the same. They exchanged stories of their families, learning that they each had complex relationships with their parents. Reina was, at first, dismayed at how much private information she was divulging to this woman whom she scarcely knew, but soon found it all to be oddly relieving. For so long, she had desired to speak honestly, openly with someone about all the things she kept to herself. Karo quickly showed herself to be kind and thoughtful. She never asked too much, and casually changed the conversation if she sensed that Reina was growing uncomfortable with certain topics.
The radiance of the early afternoon sun was eventually concealed beneath a resurgence of clouds. Over the course of their conversation, they had leaned toward each other, bodies angled forward in interest and their drinks long-since forgotten. Neither Karo nor Reina realized how much time had passed until an alarm from Karo’s back pocket interrupted a lapse of silence in which they had found themselves gazing into each other’s eyes.
“Shit,” Karo quickly stood. “I have to get to work, I’m sorry.”
She gave Reina an apologetic look, her desire to stay here apparent from the downward curve of her lips. Flattered, the vampire would have blushed were she able to do so.
“Don’t be,” Reina assured her. “There are more important things than chatting over cold coffee.” Her lips curled in a wry smile.
“Will I see you again?”
“If you’re lucky.”
Karo stepped closer, placing her hand on the table and leaning so her lips were angled close to Reina’s ear. She smelled simply of soap and fresh laundry, but, underneath it, her blood possessed the faintest perfume of roses. “I’ve faced worse odds,” Karo replied with a confident smile, her breath quickening at their closeness. Then, before either woman could be tempted any further, Karo collected her things and disappeared through the door.