Chapter four

I flagged down the bartender and ordered another drink. My eyes were glued to the wall clock as it slowly ticked the hours away. People filtered out as those who were more drawn to the night retired for the evening. 

The ice in my half-drunk glass melted and the remaining tiny cubes settled to the bottom.

"Another?" the bartender asked.

I nodded, picking up the remaining whiskey, and swirling it about before downing it. 

"Daybreak is in one hour!" the bartender announced.

It was the last call for vampires. Those that were full blood would dust if caught outside.

Finishing my drink, I paid and headed out the door. The streets were empty and it was unusually chilly out. For a Thursday it was relatively easy to flag down a taxi. I slid into the backseat and felt like melting into the smoke-absorbed leather.

"Market Square Place," I mumbled.

The driver nodded and stepped on the gas. The lights of the bars from South Side began turning off as we zipped past. The lightening sky signaled that dawn was fast approaching and all vamps had better be taking cover. Of course, any self-respecting vampire was already inside and tucked into bed. Every few weeks a case would come in about someone pushing it and ending up as a pile of dusty rags on the sidewalk, but most were smart enough to get out of the way of the sun's ray. I didn't have that problem though. I managed to get the best, and I suppose worst in some cases, attributes of my human mother and vampire father.

"Kind of pushing it, aren't ya?" the driver asked.

"Pushing what?"

"Your time out. Don't your kind gotta be in by sunrise?"

"My kind? Do you even know what my kind is?" I asked bitterly.

"Well, bloodsuckers of course," he said pulling up in front of my building.

"Fortunately for me, I'm the only one of my kind," I said handing the driver twenty dollars.

"What's that mean?" he asked.

"Forget it," I said taking my change from him.

I was glad downtown was so close to the South Side. It made for short cab trips, and awkward conversations never lasted long. I stood on the sidewalk waiting. The cabbie didn't pull away. He sat there with his car idling, watching me. I scoffed as the man stared. He didn't even move to try and stop me from dusting myself.

The sun crept over Point State Park and covered downtown in its glory. I thought the man's eyes were going to pop from his head as I closed my own eyes and turned my head toward the rays.

The vampire attribute I hated? I couldn't feel the warmth. I was cold. Always cold.

"You're human?" he asked from his seat.

"No," I replied.

"Werewolf?"

"Not even close."

"Then what the hell are you?"

"Nothing. I am nothing," I muttered while walking away.

The lobby was empty. This was the one time of day we were all the same. I rode the elevator to the fifteenth floor with my fingers crossed that nobody else would get on.

A loud meow greeted me as I shuffled into the apartment.

"I know I'm late." I kneeled down and scooped the fat cat up in my arms.

He nuzzled my chin and commenced a loud, rumbling purr.

"Aren't you a happy boy today?" I scratched his chin while he stretched out across my shoulders.

He stayed wrapped around my neck, his body vibrating from the purring, as I got out our dinners. He abandoned me only after his food was in his dish. I stood at my counter poking the reheated blood pasta, watching him happily scarf down his shredded chicken. I took a few bites, not really all that hungry, before leaving the food sitting on the counter. As the sun shone through my windows, I stripped and pulled the thick black-out curtains shut. I climbed into bed pulling the soft-down comforter up to my chin in an attempt to warm my body. 

I stared at my ceiling just thinking back. Thinking about growing up. I had a conventional childhood for the 1500s. My family was well off and close with the crown but as things go with vampires, as everyone around us aged and we didn't, we faked our deaths more than once. 

Mother didn't remain human for long after my birth. She'd gotten sick during an outbreak of the sweating sickness and on her deathbed, father bit her. He never wanted to, but he always said life without her wasn't worth living an eternity.

She had this ability that nobody else did when she was still human. At least nobody else that we ever ran into. She was preternatural. She was able to nullify my father's vampiriness when they touched. She was able to nullify any supernatural with her touch actually. It wasn't talked about. I don't remember hearing her parents, my grandparents, ever speak of it out loud. What I do know is that our house was one of the few without any ghosts.

That's how she ended up pregnant with me.

The vampire venom attached to the human blood cells while I was still in the womb and I acquired traits from both of my parents like a normal baby. Just some of those traits were a little special.

I slipped into a restless, dream-filled sleep. It was a dream I had so many times before. My mother labored with me in a darkened room lit by a fireplace with a team of midwives scurrying about. 

The labor lasted longer than it should have and I was told everyone feared we would both die.

Little did they know that was not even close to something that could kill me, but my birth could have ended my mother's life. She always tells me not to fret about it because things have turned out fine. 

I stirred a bit when Socks jumped into bed. He made his biscuits on my stomach before finally settling down and drifting into his own sleep. His chirps and purrs helped lull me into an even deeper sleep. A sleep I hadn't had in such a long time.

He always knew how to put me to ease. Even if it was just him being a typical cat.