Penny huffed and puffed and even did a few moves that looked like martial arts. I wanted to trot out that cliché and growl, "Go ahead and make my day." But in the end she slouched back to the couch without making a serious move.
"I've got to tell her sometime. She can read me too well. Even without the vampire tricks." Penny sighed when I sat across from her again. "She'll know something's off with me."
"Then avoid her. Text, tweet, e-mail-whatever the hell you two do-but let her know you're too busy to meet. You're not telling her, Penny. Not yet anyway." I hardened my heart when it looked like she was going to tear up again. Why me? Even a rock star had been easier to handle than this. No crying from Ray; he'd been more about colorful adjectives and mourning his Black Label Scotch.
"For how long? And when we do get together, am I supposed to just arrange to see her at night and hide my fangs?" Penny kicked her backpack. "Which I realize I'm not exactly in control of yet."
"No, you're not. Glad you've figured that out." I reached down and slid the backpack out of range. "Concentrate. Mind over matter. But be aware that your emotions affect your fangs. You're upset and down they came."
"Yeah, well, this whole thing has me crazed." Penny's eyes widened. "Seriously, controlling any of this seems impossible right now. I was around a human at Damian's. Just the smell of that blood, pumping through her veins, and I wanted to jump all over her and take a bite. Which is skeezy. You know?"
"Not skeezy at all. It's your new nature. It'll settle down after you've done this awhile." I leaned forward. "But, whoa. Mortals at Damian's? Are you telling me he has pets there? I thought the council didn't like that kind of action."
Penny frowned. "Maybe I wasn't supposed to say anything. I never saw a vampire bite anyone." She sagged, like she was tired of the whole thing. "Which is weird. But Damian is hot, don't you think? The women were all over him. My guess is he could do whatever he wanted with them, once they were in his bedroom."
"Forget Damian and think about how you reacted to being around those mortals, Penny." I waited until she looked up at me. "To the blood. You craved it. Couldn't think of much else when you heard that sound. The pumping. Smelled that fresh-in-the-pipes juice. That's bloodlust, fledgling. And you've got about as much control over it as you did when you used to drive past McDonald's and smelled those fries."
"Which means zero." Penny looked at me in horror. "So you mean that, while she's still human, I could be a danger to Jenny? My own sister?"
"True enough." I nodded. At least this would buy me some time to work with Penny and keep her from spreading the word that, hey, vampires were in town.
"You're right. What if I go postal when I smell Jenny's blood and attack her?" Penny clapped her hand over her mouth, smearing her black lipstick.
"Entirely possible." I watched her tear up again and searched for reassurances. Facts were, though, fledglings were notoriously hard to control when they were thirsty. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of synthetic out of the fridge.
"Drink this. When you're well fed, you're less likely to get out of control when you're around a mortal-we call them mortals, Penny." I smiled and patted her shoulder. "Come on. I still consider myself a human, don't you?"
"Y-y-yes, I guess. When I can think at all." She twisted off the cap and took a swallow, made a face, then looked at the label. "This isn't as good as what Damian gave me. Must be cheaper. And I don't think I'm crazy about A positive."
"Sorry. We'll figure out your faves later and make sure the council springs for it." I opened a bottle for myself.
Penny took a deep swallow. "Any other tips about being around mortals besides filling up first?"
"Not yet, but you don't go see Jenny without me. I can always intervene if it looks like you're losing control." I smiled. "I know you're smart and think you can figure all this out for yourself." Penny flushed and I knew I had her. "But give me credit for having been there, done that, a time or two. Okay?"
"I get that you're ancient." Penny looked me over. "Incredible to imagine. That you've been around since before airplanes, telephones"-she tipped her cold bottle at me-"microwaves!"
"Yes, a lot's changed. But some things never do." I gave her a stern look. "New vampires need guidance. And primal urges are what get you in trouble. Things you can't rationalize, Einstein."
Penny at least looked thoughtful as she sipped her synthetic. "Still, I can't imagine attacking my own sister. I haven't even tried taking blood from a, uh, mortal yet, just been drinking the bottled stuff. Wouldn't have a clue how to even go about feeding, as Damian called it, except for what I've seen on TV or movies and that looks pretty messy. What do you do about your blood supply?"
"I stick to the bottled stuff. That's why I have a fridge full. And I drink it cold because I spent a few years in Las Vegas and decided I liked it cold on a hot day. Plenty of those in Texas too." I smiled. "Feel free to nuke yours if that floats your boat. And help yourself whenever you feel the slightest bit hungry. Promise me that."
"Sure. But obviously not all vampires stick to the bottle." She brushed her neck. "The guy who took me down used me for his breakfast, lunch and dinner."
"I'm wondering why he didn't just drain you and leave you for dead. Turning you vampire is serious stuff. A responsibility for the sire and obviously a mistake in Austin." I leaned forward. "Did Damian tell you anything about that?" Gossip, I loved it. What can I say? It's one of my minor vices.
"He said this guy was starting his own little family. I remember the man, he said his name was Vince, calling me ‘Daughter' when he dragged me to the shack where that other vampire found me." Penny shuddered and drained her bottle of synthetic. "He was deranged, dirty and touched me in a way that my dad would never . . ." Penny shuddered again. "Sick bastard. Anyway, Damian said the council didn't tolerate that kind of thing, the turning part. Guess I know now it earned him the death penalty. Earned me one too." She set down the bottle on my magazine and wiped her wet cheeks.
I wanted to hug her again, but I could see she had decided to try to move on. I had to admire her for that.
"And immortality, Penny. Like you said before, that's the cool part." I sighed when I saw her dig into her bag and pull out a compact.
"Damn, I keep forgetting, we really can't see our reflection. Jenny will hate that." She snapped the compact shut with a frown.
I gritted my teeth against the urge to argue about Jenny again. "We all hate it. But I have a computer setup in my bedroom that works like a mirror. Help yourself. You've got mascara and lipstick everywhere." I wondered what this sudden urge to tidy up was about. Was she still thinking to make a break for it? Just because she felt full of synthetic . . . I'd definitely keep a close eye on her.
"Seriously?" Penny darted into my bedroom and came out with the white laptop with the mini-cam. "This is neat."
"It was a gift from Ian MacDonald. He's a California vampire and a techno-genius. He invented it and a lot more cool things to help make the vamp lifestyle more livable. You'd love him. He's a very clever guy."
"Sounds interesting." Penny quickly fixed her face, which unfortunately included adding a new coat of black lipstick, then closed the computer. "Makes me think, though. I need my stuff. From my apartment. How do I explain to my family and Jenny that I'm moving here?" She swept her gaze around my admittedly tired-looking digs.
"What's wrong with here?" I'm not much for housekeeping and spend most of my time downstairs in my shop, but the mix of secondhand treasures and Ikea bookshelves wasn't that bad. Especially when compared to dorm rooms and college apartments.
"Nothing, really. I like the location. Sixth Street is cool, though a little farther from campus than where I'm living now. Guess we can make this work. It's near the end of a semester. Logical time to move, if I'd been thinking about it." Penny sighed. "Didn't mean to come off as critical. This place is nice, much nicer than my digs. Blame my attitude on the vampire thing. I'm still reeling. Who knew you guys even existed?"
"That's because we're careful, Penny. Your sire's behavior could have put a spotlight on us." I had been through quite a few near misses in my time. Rogues made life uncomfortable for all of us. "It sounds harsh, but the council did the right thing, taking him out."
"Yeah, would hate to think he was still running loose out there, making more daughters." Penny shuddered. "So I'll move in here, learn the drill. But I need my stuff-research books, my big-ass computer and my cat. Damian said he arranged for someone to feed him every day, but I have to go get Booger."
"You named your cat Booger?" I shuddered. "That's cruel and unusual."
Penny smiled for a moment. "What can I say? He's fifteen and Jen and I have had him since he was a kitten. We liked the sound of the word and my mom hated it. So of course we kept saying it." Her lips trembled. "My parents! God, I can't just let them get old and die when I could turn them too. And Gram!" She grabbed me again.