Chapter Text
"Paul, what the hell took you so long to come back with...?" David asked from the antique wheelchair. Its frame creaked and groaned as he adjusted his legs. Paul didn't have any takeout in his arms. Not even so much as a pizza box. Not that they required mortal food, but the meal after... the meal had become a nightly ritual. "And who is this?"
A woman carrying some sort of large leather case followed behind Paul. She froze mid-step. "Uh, Paul, are you sure this is...?" She was petite but curvy, with a wild mane of dark hair that only came down to her shoulders but had quite a bit of lift away from the sides of her face.
"Is she dessert?" Dwayne asked, as he rolled past the cave's crumbling fountain on his skateboard. He stopped short right in front of her, and flipped his board up into one of his hands, reaching toward her with the other. "I'm Dwayne." Dwayne took her offered hand, turning it over in his, tracing the colored smudges on her fingers, before brushing a soft kiss against her knuckles.
Marko was preoccupied restitching a loose patch on his jacket, on the broken-down couch. His mouth was full of pins, lips pressed close together. Still, he managed to whine, "I wanted egg rolls. With hot mustard and sweet and sour sauce."
"Paul, you said I was supposed to..." Her eyes darted around the space.
Paul was all but vibrating from what looked like a combination of nervous energy and excitement. Bouncing a little on the balls of his feet, almost like a boxer, his gaze darted between Dwayne and David. "Uh, guys, this is Lisa. She's an artist. She brought her art stuff."
David rose from his chair and stalked toward them, and offered her a curt bow. "We send you out for Chinese and you come back with an artist? I don't understand. Again, as Dwayne asked, is she dessert?" With a devilish grin, he added, "One way, or the other?"
She blew a strand of hair away from her eyes, and huffed. "I don't know who the hell you think you are to insinuate that I'm going to..."
"David. I'm David. And the man with the mouth full of pins and needles is Marko."
"Enchante," Marko mumbled, still absorbed in his project.
"Where the fuck do you get off?"
"Generally? In this vicinity. The beds are a little dusty, but serviceable. Or on the beach. Sand gets everywhere, though I do enjoy the sounds and scent of the ocean. Sometimes by the boardwalk, while it's open, if I'm feeling feisty." David answered, rakishly interrupting her oncoming tirade.
"You live... here?" Her jaw dropped, irritation forgotten in a moment of confusion. "Why would anyone choose to..."
"For the last time, Paul, why is she here? As delightful as this has been, inquiring minds want to know." David asked again.
"You know how we don't show up in photographs, right? And that none of us have reflections? So we have to help each other get ready, every night. Not that I mind. Honestly, if I wasn't a vampire, I think I'd make a pretty bitchin' stylist."
"Word!" Dwayne nudged Paul with his shoulder. "You know all the tricks. Just look at my hair." He tossed it over his shoulder, and smiled. "But..."
"'Vampire?' You're not only high as hell, but also delusional? I knew this was too good to be true. The amount of money you were offering me, just to..."
David laughed. "What money?"
Lisa spun on her heel and stamped her foot. "Paul! What does he mean, 'what money?'"
"Well, we can get some. We have our ways. And I'll pay you what I promised. Please don't leave. None of us have... Can you imagine never seeing your face reflected, or being able to hold onto keepsake photos of you and your friends? Your partner? Or partners?"
"Everyone has a reflection. I'll prove it. Hold this."
She thumped her large case against Paul's chest. He accepted it with an audible "Oof."
Fishing around inside it, she pulled out what looked like a small purse. "I know I've got it here... Ah! My blush compact. Stand next to me, Paul, and I'll show you."
Paul dropped her bag. He draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close, pressing a kiss against her temple, and nuzzling against her face.
"See? You're right... Wait, you're not there. But... It's got to be the angle, or a trick of the light, or..."
Then, Paul vamped out, while she was still turning the mirror and tilting it, trying to solve the mystery. "Fraid not."
She looked over her shoulder, doubtless with a witty retort on her tongue, and once again froze, mouth agape.
"Dammit, Paul," Marko muttered, pins and jacket set aside. "I was almost done. And now we'll have to deal with..."
"Marko, be careful where you leave your sewing supplies. Last time, Dwayne sat on..."
"Aw, Dwayne, you don't like being my pretty little pin-cushion? I thought you liked a bit of..."
"Marko! We have company. Perhaps not for long, but nonetheless." David clapped his gloved hands together. "Paul, what are we doing with her? Clearly, you brought her here for a reason? We still have yet to establish that."
"She's hot," Dwayne added, lifting a bit of her hair and sniffing her neck. "And she smells like funnel cake. I bet she's sticky-sweet."
"Can we not all just calm down a moment?" Paul gently shoved Dwayne back. "Quit invading her space."
"Never thought I'd hear Paul telling us to calm down." Marko had left his jacket folded neatly over the arm of the ratty couch. He approached, as well. "Dwayne's not the one with his fangs out. And you got all up in her business first. As usual."
Paul took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
She was turning her head, following their movements as they fenced her in, between them.
"Lisa, we're not going to hurt you," Paul said, once he'd settled.
"Your eyes. They're not..." Lisa started, reaching for his face, and touching him, as if trying to make sure he was real. "They were red, and gold. Blood and honey. And now..."
"What do you mean, we're not going to hurt her? We have to now, do we not? She knows where we sleep, and what we are. What the hell game are you playing here?"
Paul's chin dipped down to his chest. Like a dejected little boy, he answered, "I thought you'd be excited. All of you. Even you, David."
David snorted, and lit a cigarette. "You thought wrong," he answered, on his first exhale.
"But we could have her draw us. She works on the boardwalk. Lisa was just packing up her supplies, after a day of sketching tourists, and I...You're always reminiscing about your early memories with Dwayne. How you wished you still had those antique tintype portraits you had made, back when..."
"Wait, exactly how old...?" Lisa asked, eyes wide.
"Remember the New Mexico Territory, David? Lincoln County? 1871. The summer night you thought you'd saved my life." Dwayne smiled.
"I offered to buy you a drink, after, not realizing I would become the drink," David answered. "Having chased away your feed."
Paul cleared his throat, as Dwayne and David exchanged glances so heated, even he looked uncomfortable. Not that David cared. "Jeez guys, why don't you just..."
Dwayne positively leered at David, interrupting Paul. "I got you drunk on cheap whisky and took you upstairs, and we..."
"See, David?" Marko shuffled his feet, and nibbled on one of his leather gloves. "This could be fun! She could draw us first, and then..."
"No!" Paul pushed her behind him.
Dwayne darted between Lisa and the cave entrance before she could even think about escaping. But he was smiling. "Did you see any of her art, Paul? Is she good?"
"Well, I only got a quick look at her sketch of the boardwalk. The one I guess she was making, just for herself, after business slowed down?"
"Yeah, that's right." Lisa began backing away from Dwayne and in the process, bumped into Paul, from behind.
Surprisingly, she picked Paul as her safe bet, gripping the back of his jacket in both hands, and cowering. "Paul, maybe this was a bad... I think maybe you should escort me out."
"Aw, you're shaking," Paul said, turning and wrapping his arms around her. "David, hear me out."
"Does 'vulnerable during daylight hours' mean nothing to you, Paul?" David asked.
"Don't I get a say in...?"
"No." David dropped his smoke and crushed it beneath his heel. "But I tell you what. I wouldn't mind a portrait of the four of us. Or each of us individually? Maybe me with Dwayne? If you do that, I promise, we'll only drink enough to keep you here, unconscious, until tomorrow night. I suppose we could keep going until you run out of art supplies, or inspiration, or..."
She swallowed. "Blood?"
David smirked. "That, too."
"But I'll need water. Food. A bathroom, and clothes, and... this cave is no place for..."
"I'm afraid that's my best offer, Lisa. Shall we say, a portrait a night? Assuming we like the first. We can help accommodate the rest, within reason."
She burrowed closer to Paul. "Do I have a choice?"
David tilted his head, and eyed each of them, in turn. They'd follow his lead. "There is another way," he said softly, stepping up and caressing her face. "Immortalize the men I love, on paper, and maybe one night, we'll immortalize you, in return. You could prove useful, as a means to pass the centuries."
"Become... like you."
"It's not so bad, pigeon." Marko crouched down on the cave floor, already checking out the contents of her case. "Wow, you've got a lot of stuff in here! What is all this?"
"My oversized drawing pad, oil pastels, charcoal, pencils. Some watercolor and acrylic paints, and separate pads for those. I like to vary my portrait methods. That way, even locals come back more than once."
They could all hear the tremor in her voice, smell the fear rising off her skin. But she hadn't tried to run away screaming.
"Smart." Dwayne nodded his approval. "But Lisa, just think. You'd have enhanced senses, and all the time in the world to further develop your skills. And this cave could maybe use a bit of..."
"Hey," Paul interrupted. "I did a damn fine job decorating this..."
"Yeah, but change is good, right?" Marko asked, from beneath them. "It's nice to see something evolving as the time passes, since we don't." He stood, having found the drawing of the boardwalk. "Look at this, guys. It's..."
"Well, it was a quick sketch, not..."
"Don't sell yourself short, Lisa," Marko insisted. "You're quite talented."
"But to never again see the sun? And having to feed off..."
"Yes, immortality is not without its cost." David tipped her chin up. "It's noble, however, is it not? Suffering for your art? What did you say of Paul's eyes? 'Blood and honey.' You have an artist's mind. Think of everything you'd see, in the moonlight. By firelight. Soaring through the skies."
Her jaw dropped. "You can fly?"
"But first, you'll have to earn your keep. Spill some ink, and some blood. Sadly, the nights don't last forever. I suggest you get started. Marko? Some refreshments, for the lady, if you please. I knew I shouldn't have sent Paul."
"Hey! Just because I..."
"The last time, you brought back frisbees." Dwayne laughed. "But we did have fun playing with them, outside. Chasing each other along the shore. Remember, David? Go easy on him. Who knows? She may prove a mate worth saving."
"I saw her first, so I..."
She thumped Paul's chest with her hand. "Consent, Paul. This isn't 'finder's keepers.'"
"You don't know how good it can be, when we feed, if we're slow, and gentle. Just you wait."
"Blood and honey," she mumbled to herself, toying with a lock of Paul's hair, twisting it around her fingers. "Ground rule: no nudes. At least, not tonight. It's been a long day."
The four of them laughed.
Even David. "You could be right, Dwayne. I feel younger already."