The Spiders' Tale

6. Dining Etiquette

The sky darkened almost instantly. The sun that shined so brilliantly mere seconds ago was now enveloped in layers upon layers of lavender purple clouds. Rain would fall soon, but for now the world would dryly bask in this eerie gray glow. Dragomir was grateful, for he could not bear if the weather forced him to hide under a roof. He could not go back into his home. The pitying eyes of all his neighbors was far more bearable than the empty eyes of his father.

Of all the faces that stared, Vivian’s was the only at which he stared back, mouth opening and closing. He wanted to say something, but all that came out were wordless gasps and sobs. No tears. Not yet. 

“Dragomir.” The VanDer daughter crossed to him, kneeling on her cloak and holding her trembling hands over his face, moving them closer and further as if she were unsure if she wanted to touch. One of her delicate fingers found his forehead and brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. “Shh, Dragomir, shh...”

He could barely breathe. The coppery smell of death was in the air and clogging his lungs. His whole house would reek of it by now. So when Vivian held him in a close hug he told her, “I can’t go back in there.” However muffled by her shoulder this statement was, she somehow understood.

“I know,” she answered, “I know.”

Dragomir felt her heart beating against his breast. He heard her lungs inflate and deflate as she inhaled and exhaled, and he felt her breath tickling his ear. Everything about her was warm - her touch, her breath...her blood...

A hunger in his chest manifested. Hope for his fangs retracting was lost, for it took every ounce of effort to keep from turning his face slightly and sinking his teeth into her soft neck. His muscles tensed and he held his breath in an attempt to take his mind off it, but this would only work for so long. 

“I need to do something,” he whispered, “but I don’t know what.” His stomach growled. He stared at the ground in response, concentrating with all he had. He saw a little of her cloaked shoulder and back. Beyond that was the mud-coated cobblestone path. Wisps of her dark hair tickled the tip of his nose. To help distract himself, he also concentrated on holding back a sneeze.

“Don’t shoot the messenger!” called a man’s voice from afar. The crowd turned, opening a window for Dragomir to see the old man striding down the hill, his matted beard flying behind his head and his oversized coat billowing in the winds of a coming storm. His hands were up in submissive surrender, yet his overall demeanor was without fear. The closer he approached, the slower his steps became and the easier Dragomir could hear him catching his breath. “Don’t shoot the messenger,” he repeated.

“Dr. Winston,” murmured Dragomir. Vivian pulled away and peered over her shoulder.

The gray haired scientist stepped his way into the crowd’s circle. Addressing Dragomir, he said, “I came as soon as I could.” His great brown eyes carried a sincerity the boy couldn’t deny. Then, facing the rest of the neighbors he announced, “Marius does not intend to terrorize our little town. Don’t shoot the messenger,” he quickly mentioned before a narrow-eyed Mr. Christian could put out a passionate accusation.

“You spoke to him.” Dragomir didn’t mean it as an accusation or a question. It was a statement.

“He spoke to me,” was his instant response. “He came to my door...with your father’s heart in his hand,” he added regrettably, gaze dropping to his feet as he scratched his neck. There was a general groan of grief and disgust from the people. “That aside,” he continued, raising his voice a twinge, “he says the rest of you are safe and have nothing to fear. He will do nothing to harm you for so long as you do not attempt to attack him. The brutal murder of Alexandru Dodrescu -” His voice cracked on the name. After taking a moment to regain his composure, he carried on. “The murder of Alexandru was a private matter in which Marius...took into his own hands. Now if you would all give the boy some space; Marius has some words for him alone.”