Parallel World

Chapter 30

"Oh, how I hate being humble! Living under the radar, only mingling with vampires, being careful... I want my life back, I want to live like I lived in the 19th century, in a mansion with servants, partying like there's no tomorrow and not caring that someone could find out my secret! No cameras, no tabloids, no globalisation, people weren't rushing around like crazy and technical progress had only just begun. It was the Golden Age. Oh, how I miss all that!"

That was Clayton, utterly bored as usual. He had fallen victim to the Vampire Plague: once one had a century or two behind them, they started feeling as if they'd already seen everything in life. And that's when they remembered that there's an eternity ahead of them.

He went on and on about how great life used to be, how he used to spend money like it was going out of fashion and organise grand balls that lasted weeks. It drove me nuts every time and now, staring at my new ankle boots, I started wondering why I even listened to him. I couldn't stand such moaning and associated it with idleness, laziness and spoiledness. To say that the best days were past us and there was nothing worth living for? Rubbish! Was that why we'd gained immortality? To constantly complain how bad life is?

I had never felt that way myself, there were so many things I wanted to see and try. My whole world revolved around chemistry, everything else came second. Work in the lab, keeping up with new discoveries and patents, reading chemistry magazines... There was no space for boredom in my life. I wanted to stay up to date with the academic side of chemistry and, so far, I had three masters degrees in organic chemistry. I felt content for a while whereas Jack, for instance, was considering enrolling at a uni again and getting a fifth degree in IT.

While I was thinking how to respond to Clayton, he started looking around. I knew who he was looking for and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. The nightclub door opened and I saw Medora and Rebecca. Clayton livened up and rushed towards them. Medora's face had a neutral expression, Rebecca looked peeved. Had he managed to get on their nerves, too? Come to think of it, Clayton had managed to annoy half the club. What I found strange was that this trio always claimed they'd met here in New York some twenty years ago but they acted as if they'd known each other for ages and had been involved in some shady stuff together.

II

"Clayton has got the blues again today, he's completely unbearable," Rebecca said as she ordered SLOOD. I was temporarily pouring drinks whilst the real bartender was sorting out the basement.

"I know. I had to listen to his logorrhea before you came to rescue."

"He's so stuck in the past he's got no capacity for the future. I did like the nineteenth century but I have nothing against the twenty first. Life goes on. Nothing stays still."

Rebecca paid and was about to go back to her table when she froze.

"No way," she uttered.

I looked in the same direction and saw a vampiress entering Glory & Shame. I don't think I'd ever seen her before, definitely not here. Visually she reminded me of Sandora but that's where the similarities ended. Sandora radiated warmth and made you want to be in her company. This vampiress, however... There was something odd about her but I couldn't yet tell what.

Rebecca dove into the crowd, it was clear she didn't want the stranger to see her. That was enough to ignite the spark and make me curious. Who was the stranger and why had Rebecca reacted in such a way?

III

"Good evening, my name is Jadwiga Radvilaite," the vampiress said as she stretched out her arm.

We shook hands. She was one of those vampires who'd heard about me and Jack and now wanted to meet at least one of us in person.