Why is it always Pete's your fledging unless you need my help? Henri thought angrily, Then miraculously Pete suddenly by magic becomes our fledging.
"Could you have been any crueler by telling Pete relationships between boys are only about sex?" Henri said harshly. "That is such a falsehood."
"I am doing my best to be as cruel as I can be," Christov cried. "The two of them have got to get over each other."
Too insecure about their relationship to say anything else, Henri guiltily rammed down his furious words to stay quietly raging in his thoughts. He only had the courage to say, "You're wrong about Josh. Pete will not be interested in joining a coven of young night walkers.
"Has he met any young night walkers yet? Except for that wretched Michael who wanted to trap Pete for all eternity in some psycho marriage and in the library doing all his research for his books. Michael is years older than Pete. How do you know what Pete would do if he came face to face with a young, devil of a handsome, fun night walker?"
"He'd be scared to death if he met that sort of boy. Pete would go running and hiding behind Josh!!"
"Right. Hiding behind Josh. Hiding from what he is. A night walker who has no business consorting with mortals or other types that are alive," Christov cried out passionately, "I will not have Pete get his feelings hurt by Josh. I will not!!"
"Don't throw a fit," Henri said, "It's not like you to be this upset. Let's eat. You'll feel better,"
"Sorry," Christov mumbled, hating the taste of that word, "You're right, I am famished. Let's eat. Damn it, and here I have to worry about Pete running around with Josh. What if they get busy doing God knows what, and what an embarrassment it is to God to know. What if Pete decides he wants to see what would happen if he tried to be a sun walker, and, and, he burns!!"
"Pete's not Walt Disney's little mermaid. I'm sure he doesn't wish he could grow legs per say like the mermaid did so she could be a mortal woman, and be with her Prince Charming," Henri said, knowing better not to laugh at Christov. Not out loud anyway.
"How do you know!!" Christov said tightly, "Vampires do go crazy you know."
"Let's hunt," Henri sighed.
"What if Pete tries to switch bodies with a mortal? He goes running to tell Josh the good news so Josh can transform him into being a sun walker. Pete gets hit by a truck," Christov moaned "he dies, and it's because of Josh. All because of Josh. I hate Josh."
"Christov, Josh would not allow Pete to switch bodies with a mortal. He loves Pete for who he is. Besides Pete doesn't know how to switch bodies with a mortal."
"Sure Josh loves Pete for who Pete is," Christov snored in disbelief, "Before we hunt I have to do something."
Pulling pieces of white brick wrapped in tissue paper out of his pocket, Christov went out of the crypt and made streaks of white on the crypt's steps. Then he went inside and drew a stick figure holding a key in its hand
"Saint Peter," Christov said, "The white brick will keep evil spirits out of our way. Saint Peter will usher the good ones in. It will keep any witch from crossing us and giving us bad luck."
He pulled out from his pocket saint cards of Saint Michael, the archangel, and Saint Christopher who carries souls across the river. Taking up one of the corpse's dry finger bones, he cut open his own finger and bled onto it. "There the power in the bone will keep the wicked out too. Come on. This charm I made of the bone will draw us to a victim too."
"Christov my love," Henri said smiling.
"Your what!!" Christov said in a low voice, taking a small packet of salt, shaking the salt on the bone to insure the magic would be white.
"My friend, let's eat."
Going out of the crypt with Henri , Christov heard his name being whispered.
Leaning against the crypt was a tall, straight, colored woman who could pass as being Spanish. A trignon on her head. Little curls went down her face, and big, gold hoops were in her ears, her dress was blue cotton. Her low cut bodice showed off her bust.
"What you doing putting white brick on the stairs of a crypt you be dwelling in you hungry spider," she drawled.
"Henri, I need to hunt alone, I'll catch up with you," Christov said, seeing right through the lady Henri couldn't see.
After Henri left, Christov said, "Well if it isn't Marie Glapion. You sweet thing. I was just thinking of you. How is your mamma doing, sainted Marie Laveau?"
"She's doing fine," Marie Glapion said. Her dark eyes sparkling like jet black jewels on a dress of mourning, "She earned her place, my mother did, for all her nursing she did of the sick during the yellow fever epidemic. Visiting condemned men in prison. She earned her heavenly crown. God didn't mind her being a voodum queen. He don't mind prayers of any sort.."
"Except prayers for harm," Christov said, giving her a smile he hoped would chill her a little. Her laughter just went spilling straight into his face.
"How come you didn't think I was my mother. Sainted Marie?" she said, throwing her long hair back, teasing him with the sigh of her pretty throat.
"I heard stories about you. What you looked like. I wouldn't suspect Marie Laveau would be doing mischief. I thought vampires couldn't see ghosts," Christov said impatiently.
"They can if the ghost wants them to see them," she said mockingly, 'So you having a little trouble with your boy wanting someone improper? The thing to do is make a mixture of gun powder, mud from a wasp's nest, flax seed, cayenne pepper, BB shots, file, blue stone and dragon's blood. Put this mixture in a bag and throw it at that unsuitable boy's house. It will rid you of him."
"Don't think I haven't thought of it?" Christov laughed, "Why aren't you with your mother Marie Laveau?"
"Because that bitch of a sister of mine Madame Legendre is hanging out with Momma Laveau. After our momma died my sister Madame Legendre did everything she could to whiten up the family name. Down playing our heritage of voodum, and toting up Momma's good deeds, making momma out to be a kind of white magic healer. Hell, momma danced just as naked under the moon as I did with my yeller gals for sale to the white boys. Madam Legendre made the family name so white most of her sons and daughters moved north so they could pass for being born white. Through by that time there was truly only a lick of colored blood in the breed. Madame Legend keeps me away from heaven and Momma. Says I disgrace them both."
A little girl went flirting about. She walked right through the tombstones.
"You know I like to get little babies no one wants, put them up in my chimney, and smoke them like hams. They fetch a serious price they do,. Those little mummies," Madam Glapion taunted the child, "Go run, lest I capture your soul for the power it would give me."
"You used to kill babies?' Christov said, watching the child's ghost who was daintily ignoring them both. Her little legs floated above the frost
"My daughters used to midwife for people. They'd bring me a still born or two," madam said, shrugging her shoulders, "Didn't matter to me much if they were stillborn or not. Memories keep me grounded. The more people remember you the more they can see you. Folks still write books about me Whitewash my tomb and give me flowers and gifts. That's why Inez is so grounded, " Madam said, watching the child with a seriousness a cat reserves for a song bird.
Twisting her head about, her plush lips drawing back from her teeth, she said, There's someone messing with the old gods, pulling on the gods wings for their attention. You take care Christov. Mark you pray to Saint Pete for protection from things that have a bite to them." She grinned, opening and snapping her mouth shut.
"I'll be careful," Christov said nonchalantly.
"The boy who is after your child he has children himself, doesn't he?' she said thoughtfully, "Strange coupling that be for children to be around."
"Don't worry about it. It will never happen," Christov said nastily.
She watched him leave strolling through the crisp leaves. If he were mortal his footsteps would make a crunching sound.
"Come my child," she whispered to the white light playing with a funeral wreath.
The child ran to her. The child stood in a puddle of water. The ghost swung her all but transparent child in her arms, saying, "My good little girl. The world is so wicked. Children need to be protected from the wicked." Her body and the child's body sunk into the ground.
"Christov," Henri said peeking out from behind a tomb, a look of concern on his face, "You have to see this kill I found in one of the crypts."
"It was probably left by the youngsters," Christov said approvingly, "Smart of them to leave the remains of their meal in a crypt. What is the big dead? You never will guess who I just saw."
Why is it always Pete's your fledging unless you need my help? Henri thought angrily, Then miraculously Pete suddenly by magic becomes our fledging.
"Could you have been any crueler by telling Pete relationships between boys are only about sex?" Henri said harshly. "That is such a falsehood."
"I am doing my best to be as cruel as I can be," Christov cried. "The two of them have got to get over each other."
Too insecure about their relationship to say anything else, Henri guiltily rammed down his furious words to stay quietly raging in his thoughts. He only had the courage to say, "You're wrong about Josh. Pete will not be interested in joining a coven of young night walkers.
"Has he met any young night walkers yet? Except for that wretched Michael who wanted to trap Pete for all eternity in some psycho marriage and in the library doing all his research for his books. Michael is years older than Pete. How do you know what Pete would do if he came face to face with a young, devil of a handsome, fun night walker?"
"He'd be scared to death if he met that sort of boy. Pete would go running and hiding behind Josh!!"
"Right. Hiding behind Josh. Hiding from what he is. A night walker who has no business consorting with mortals or other types that are alive," Christov cried out passionately, "I will not have Pete get his feelings hurt by Josh. I will not!!"
"Don't throw a fit," Henri said, "It's not like you to be this upset. Let's eat. You'll feel better,"
"Sorry," Christov mumbled, hating the taste of that word, "You're right, I am famished. Let's eat. Damn it, and here I have to worry about Pete running around with Josh. What if they get busy doing God knows what, and what an embarrassment it is to God to know. What if Pete decides he wants to see what would happen if he tried to be a sun walker, and, and, he burns!!"
"Pete's not Walt Disney's little mermaid. I'm sure he doesn't wish he could grow legs per say like the mermaid did so she could be a mortal woman, and be with her Prince Charming," Henri said, knowing better not to laugh at Christov. Not out loud anyway.
"How do you know!!" Christov said tightly, "Vampires do go crazy you know."
"Let's hunt," Henri sighed.
"What if Pete tries to switch bodies with a mortal? He goes running to tell Josh the good news so Josh can transform him into being a sun walker. Pete gets hit by a truck," Christov moaned "he dies, and it's because of Josh. All because of Josh. I hate Josh."
"Christov, Josh would not allow Pete to switch bodies with a mortal. He loves Pete for who he is. Besides Pete doesn't know how to switch bodies with a mortal."
"Sure Josh loves Pete for who Pete is," Christov snored in disbelief, "Before we hunt I have to do something."
Pulling pieces of white brick wrapped in tissue paper out of his pocket, Christov went out of the crypt and made streaks of white on the crypt's steps. Then he went inside and drew a stick figure holding a key in its hand
"Saint Peter," Christov said, "The white brick will keep evil spirits out of our way. Saint Peter will usher the good ones in. It will keep any witch from crossing us and giving us bad luck."
He pulled out from his pocket saint cards of Saint Michael, the archangel, and Saint Christopher who carries souls across the river. Taking up one of the corpse's dry finger bones, he cut open his own finger and bled onto it. "There the power in the bone will keep the wicked out too. Come on. This charm I made of the bone will draw us to a victim too."
"Christov my love," Henri said smiling.
"Your what!!" Christov said in a low voice, taking a small packet of salt, shaking the salt on the bone to insure the magic would be white.
"My friend, let's eat."
Going out of the crypt with Henri , Christov heard his name being whispered.
Leaning against the crypt was a tall, straight, colored woman who could pass as being Spanish. A trignon on her head. Little curls went down her face, and big, gold hoops were in her ears, her dress was blue cotton. Her low cut bodice showed off her bust.
"What you doing putting white brick on the stairs of a crypt you be dwelling in you hungry spider," she drawled.
"Henri, I need to hunt alone, I'll catch up with you," Christov said, seeing right through the lady Henri couldn't see.
After Henri left, Christov said, "Well if it isn't Marie Glapion. You sweet thing. I was just thinking of you. How is your mamma doing, sainted Marie Laveau?"
"She's doing fine," Marie Glapion said. Her dark eyes sparkling like jet black jewels on a dress of mourning, "She earned her place, my mother did, for all her nursing she did of the sick during the yellow fever epidemic. Visiting condemned men in prison. She earned her heavenly crown. God didn't mind her being a voodum queen. He don't mind prayers of any sort.."
"Except prayers for harm," Christov said, giving her a smile he hoped would chill her a little. Her laughter just went spilling straight into his face.
"How come you didn't think I was my mother. Sainted Marie?" she said, throwing her long hair back, teasing him with the sigh of her pretty throat.
"I heard stories about you. What you looked like. I wouldn't suspect Marie Laveau would be doing mischief. I thought vampires couldn't see ghosts," Christov said impatiently.
"They can if the ghost wants them to see them," she said mockingly, 'So you having a little trouble with your boy wanting someone improper? The thing to do is make a mixture of gun powder, mud from a wasp's nest, flax seed, cayenne pepper, BB shots, file, blue stone and dragon's blood. Put this mixture in a bag and throw it at that unsuitable boy's house. It will rid you of him."
"Don't think I haven't thought of it?" Christov laughed, "Why aren't you with your mother Marie Laveau?"
"Because that bitch of a sister of mine Madame Legendre is hanging out with Momma Laveau. After our momma died my sister Madame Legendre did everything she could to whiten up the family name. Down playing our heritage of voodum, and toting up Momma's good deeds, making momma out to be a kind of white magic healer. Hell, momma danced just as naked under the moon as I did with my yeller gals for sale to the white boys. Madam Legendre made the family name so white most of her sons and daughters moved north so they could pass for being born white. Through by that time there was truly only a lick of colored blood in the breed. Madame Legend keeps me away from heaven and Momma. Says I disgrace them both."
A little girl went flirting about. She walked right through the tombstones.
"You know I like to get little babies no one wants, put them up in my chimney, and smoke them like hams. They fetch a serious price they do,. Those little mummies," Madam Glapion taunted the child, "Go run, lest I capture your soul for the power it would give me."
"You used to kill babies?' Christov said, watching the child's ghost who was daintily ignoring them both. Her little legs floated above the frost
"My daughters used to midwife for people. They'd bring me a still born or two," madam said, shrugging her shoulders, "Didn't matter to me much if they were stillborn or not. Memories keep me grounded. The more people remember you the more they can see you. Folks still write books about me Whitewash my tomb and give me flowers and gifts. That's why Inez is so grounded, " Madam said, watching the child with a seriousness a cat reserves for a song bird.
Twisting her head about, her plush lips drawing back from her teeth, she said, There's someone messing with the old gods, pulling on the gods wings for their attention. You take care Christov. Mark you pray to Saint Pete for protection from things that have a bite to them." She grinned, opening and snapping her mouth shut.
"I'll be careful," Christov said nonchalantly.
"The boy who is after your child he has children himself, doesn't he?' she said thoughtfully, "Strange coupling that be for children to be around."
"Don't worry about it. It will never happen," Christov said nastily.
She watched him leave strolling through the crisp leaves. If he were mortal his footsteps would make a crunching sound.
"Come my child," she whispered to the white light playing with a funeral wreath.
The child ran to her. The child stood in a puddle of water. The ghost swung her all but transparent child in her arms, saying, "My good little girl. The world is so wicked. Children need to be protected from the wicked." Her body and the child's body sunk into the ground.
"Christov," Henri said peeking out from behind a tomb, a look of concern on his face, "You have to see this kill I found in one of the crypts."
"It was probably left by the youngsters," Christov said approvingly, "Smart of them to leave the remains of their meal in a crypt. What is the big dead? You never will guess who I just saw."
"Who?" Henri said impatiently.
"Madame Glapion," Chrisotv said a little shame faced, "I was praying to Saint Peter for protection and she appears of all people."
"Have you been drinking from a wino?' Henri cried exasperated.
"I haven't even killed anyone yet,' Christov said defensively.
Then you're having delusions from hunger, Look at the body I found in the tomb," Henri insisted
Following Henri inside, Christov put his fingers to his nose. Henri put his hankie to his nose. His eyes watering from the stench.
TBC
"Who?" Henri said impatiently.
"Madame Glapion," Chrisotv said a little shame faced, "I was praying to Saint Peter for protection and she appears of all people."
"Have you been drinking from a wino?' Henri cried exasperated.
"I haven't even killed anyone yet,' Christov said defensively.
Then you're having delusions from hunger, Look at the body I found in the tomb," Henri insisted
Following Henri inside, Christov put his fingers to his nose. Henri put his hankie to his nose. His eyes watering from the stench.
TBC