Fashionably Dead Down Under(13)

Wait. WTF? I could see myself?
I grabbed the counter for purchase and heaved in a huge unsteady breath—another thing I shouldn’t be able to do. My body shook as I peered at myself. The self I hadn’t seen since before I died. What did this mean? Was I still a Vamp? Had I become a Demon? Fuckityfuck, I needed to get back home soon before all of this was irreversible.
“Are you okay?” Dixie asked, running over to me and easing my quivering body to the floor.
“I can see myself,” I whispered. “This is not good.”
“Okay,” she said and sat down next to me. “What can I do?”
“Help me get out of here.”
“Oh, Astrid, I can’t,” she said with remorse.
“Then just get away from me,” I hissed and put my hands over my eyes and my head between my knees. Anger boiled inside me and black glitter covered my fingers and traveled up my arms. Coating them like sparkling black sleeves. It was beautiful in a macabre way. I felt the dark power weave its way through my body and settle next to my dormant Vampyre power.
“Oh shit, Astrid,” Dixie gasped and backed away quickly. “Be careful. You could blow us to Kingdom Come with that much magic.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you mean what am I talking about?”
“Oh my God,” I shouted. “If I ask a question, it means I don’t know the answer. I don’t talk just to listen to my own voice. So just spit it out, Cousin.”
“You have dark magic,” she said reverently. “And you have tons. I’ve never seen sleeves like that. Ever. Not even on my dad.”
“How in the fucking hell do I make them go away?” I demanded, terrified that I would blow us up without even meaning to. I had no idea how I had this magic, what to do with it or how dangerous I was.
“Think good thoughts,” she insisted frantically. “Think of people you love. Now.”
I closed my tired eyes and willed Ethan to appear. I reached for him and he gently ran his hands over my stomach. Our child. Our baby that shouldn’t be, but was—against all odds and reason. I let my mind wander to my nana who was in Heaven and then I floated to my dearest friends, Gemma, Venus, The Kev and Pam . . . and the tension left my body. The sleeves disappeared. I was calm . . . I was okay.
I opened my eyes to see a flabbergasted Dixie trembling in the corner of her bathroom.
“What?” I asked.
“What are you?” she asked so quietly I was sure I misunderstood.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“What are you?” she repeated.
I glanced over at myself in the mirror, shrugged my shoulders and laughed humorlessly. “I have no fucking clue, but I’d like you to keep this little episode to yourself if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Not a problem,” she said with a shaky smile. “No one would believe me anyway.”
“Awesome. Now leave so I can shower and then stare at myself. I haven’t seen myself in a while.”
“Will do,” she said, backing out of the bathroom. “Will do.”

Chapter 5
Clean as a whistle and confused as all get out, I sat down in front of the mirror to inspect myself. I traced my reflection and wondered if all Vamps could see themselves in Hell or if I was so freaky I was the only one. I was yanked right out of my pity party by voices. Female voices. Voices I didn’t recognize. Had Dixie told my secret? Had they come to get me and destroy me? Fuck.
“I refuse to accept Einstein’s Snot as my cocktail name,” an angry voice shouted.
“That’s nothing,” another chimed in. “My fucking cocktail name is Hobbit Nipple.”
“You are both imbeciles,” yet another snapped. “Mine is the worst. I’m Rancid Orgasm.”
“But that’s actually fitting,” the first voice squealed with glee.
What in Satan’s name was going on out there? I heard something explode and Dixie scream. I yanked on the sweats that my cousin had left for me and raced from the bathroom to the living room where two very gorgeous women were slapping the fire out of their hair while another supermodel-looking gal laughed hysterically. Dixie stood in the middle, clearly furious with all of them.
“This is exactly why I don’t invite you over here,” she yelled and helped put the fire out on the gals sporting the flames. She raised her hands and water shot from her fingertips, soaking the last of the burning embers from their heads.
“They started it,” the one who had clearly caused the blaze whined.
“If the three of you weren’t addicted to Facebook and playing those stupid name games there would be a lot less fire in Hell,” Dixie snapped at the girls.