Destined

Day Three

"He's alive," I say as I plop down into my chair in the performance area of Sound Bites. Ajax, Joey, and Javier all look up at me with raised eyebrows. I take another gulp of my mocha frappuchino wishing that I wasn't such a lightweight so I could drown myself in liquor before finishing with, "Suicidal vamp...he's alive." 

They all look shocked before Javier says, "Who knew that you're...inspiring words of wisdom could actually work?" 

"Not me," Ajax says, shaking his head. I frown at him and kick his shin, which only ends up hurting me. Ajax, Joey's roommate, had been turned in 1983 when he was twenty-three and 364 days old, a fact that he never failed to bitch about. He'd been turned hours before his twenty-fourth birthday, and-being the good friends we are-we never let him live it down. He never really let the 80s if his mullet and studded black leather ensembles were any real hint; he reminds me of a cross between Stacee Jaxx and Lonny from Rock of Ages; it certainly doesn't help that he plays guitar in a rock band. "Generally, bitching at people doesn't make them listen to you." 

I scowl, "Yeah, well, this vamp is weird. Says he doesn't think like a vamp anymore. Says that he's tired of living." 

"He seems to say a lot of things," Javi comments. 

"I don't know. He's one of those people, you know, the ones who don't seem to volunteer much unless it's like super-duper important." 

"Then why didn't he kill himself?" Joey points out, "If he means what he says?" 

I roll my eyes, "I don't know." 

"Wait just a second, how do you even know he's alive? I thought you left before he became a human-ish bonfire?" Javier inquires. 

Gulping down another helping of my frap, I focus my gaze at the punk rock band setting up on the small stage in front of me, "I saw him." 

"At work last night?" Joey asks. 

"Uh-huh," I nod. 

"Holy shit," says Javi.  

"He said that I was being judgmental because of my feelings that Nan Flanagan is a scary son-of-a-bitch," I shake my head. 

"That's not judgmental...that's a fact." Ajax comments, shaking his head. "That woman is an evil bitch, and every vampire on earth knows it; it's about damn time humans started to notice too. She's completely heartless. My maker hates her." 

The word maker strikes me as I remember what the boy-Godric-had said to the blond man a few days ago. "What is that, Ajax, a maker?" 

Ajax looks at me, "The vampire that turned me into a vampire; we call them makers." 

"Are they all so bossy?" 

"What are you talking about, Lanie? I feel like I'm missing half of the conversation, yet I've been sitting here longer." 

I hesitate, wondering how much I should tell them all about what happened on the roof. I may have told them the general run down, but I'd never offered a play-by-play of what exactly happened. "On the roof," I begin, "the vamp said to this other vamp that he ordered him-as his maker-to leave him. So this vamp just did what he said, no questions. I mean, you could tell he didn't want to, but he did." 

Ajax nods thoughtfully, "I mean, I don't actually think I'm supposed to share with the class." 

"Like we're going to run off and tell the Fellowship?" Joey snorts while Ajax smiles at him and shrugs. 

"Exactly, makers and their progeny-the people the turn-have, like, a really intense relationship. Progeny are really loyal to their makers and usually have a compulsion to listen to their makers and follow their orders. I mean, they can't even be separated for a while after becoming a vampire because progeny feel so emotionally attached to their makers." Ajax confesses, "I was practically attached at the hip to mine; if we split even for a few hours I felt antsy and anxious, and I still listen to him without question. He calls, I come."