Damien’s hands looked a bit older as he reached out to Josanna. They were bigger, stronger, and veinier. “It’s okay,” he said. He stood in the glistening sun of a meadow, while Josanna was concealed in the shadows of the dense forest of the Netherworlds.
She placed her gloved hand in his, and he helped her navigate over the bramble growing up around the tree line. The grass was nearly up to her knees, but Damien had carved out a path for her. He was an inch or two taller than her now. She lowered her black lace parasol and let the rays of the sun wash over her. She lifted her face up to the sky, and midnight black strands of hair fell away from her face like a veil of night slipping away. She stretched out her arms and twirled and danced, tossing her parasol around her.
“So what do you think?” He was so proud of himself.
She stopped twirling and looked around. “There.” She pointed. “That would be an excellent spot for a little cottage. A little cottage out in the woods.”
“Okay, but I’m talking about the big ball of burning gas in the sky. Well, I guess it’s not a big ball of gas now... more of like... a self sustaining electric current that emits UV light. Wow, I essentially just turned this world into a giant tanning booth.”
“I can’t tell the difference. It feels like the real thing. Except the real thing would turn me into a giant ball of flame.”
“Never made a lot of sense to me- vampires burning in the sun, not in the literal sense, anyway. But metaphorically speaking, vampires are the dark, primal aspects of nature, and the sun is the bright goodness of society-”
Josanna groaned and rolled her eyes. She yanked on the sleeve of his button down. “It’s a curse, Damien. It’s just a curse. Your curse was just a curse. It doesn’t mean anything.” She swayed and danced away from him, further into the field of grasses and wildflowers.
Damien laughed to himself. “Because, if you make it mean something you’re giving it even more power?”
Josanna yelled over her shoulder at him. “I can hear you. You’re doing it again.”
“Okay,” he called after her. Damien bent down to take off his boots and socks to walk barefoot in the grass. He said, “I will stop giving everything you say layers and layers of meaning.”
“Good.” Josanna was balancing on a log with her parasol held high in the air above her head.
“Kinda hard when you speak in straight riddle, though.”
“Do not,” she said.
“Do too,” he quipped.
“I’ve gotten better.” She hopped off the log.
“Yeah. Okay. Maybe you have,” he conceded.
She hopped up to him and took in his face. His face was older. Happier. Calmer. She smiled and wiggled as he continued to stare back into her big dark eyes. “What do you think?” She asked him.
“About what?”
“About a cottage here? Wouldn’t it be perfect? With a porch and a gazebo in the back?” She started to walk again, so he followed.
“A gazebo? Well, now you’re getting a little extravagant, don’t you think?” he teased.
“No. It would be old and weathered and covered in Moon Flower vines.”
“That would be cute,” he agreed.
“Maybe someday,” she said.
Damien’s brow scrunched. “Yeah. Maybe someday.”
“Alec is going to love this! Can you imagine him telling all the vampires they can now walk in the sun?”
Damien gave a fake smile. “Oh, I can imagine. Something about the dawn of a new age. Leaving the dark ages behind us. Something to that effect.”
***
When they returned to Darkside, Alec was sitting at his desk in the study. He was surrounded by his people, celebrating the success of the day. They were drinking blood from crystal glasses and smoking cigars in an elevated frenzy.
“This is amazing,” Gabriel said, “It’s so fresh! So rich.”
“What was the total count?” Alec smiled as he lifted his cigar.
“Sixty-seven!” said one of the men.
“We can go again in three hours. They are rebooting the system now,” said Gabriel.
When Josanna walked in, Alec smiled. He stood and waved for someone. “Get Josanna a glass. Josanna, you haven’t tasted anything like this before.”
Alec didn’t notice Damien slip into the room behind Josanna. He crept along the walls as she entered into the center of the room.
Josanna walked up to Alec. Someone handed him the glass, and he attempted to pass it to her. But, she beckoned him to bend down so she could whisper in his ear. She wasn’t able to say much before Alec’s head popped up to look for Damien.
“Gentlemen,” Alec addressed the room, “if you haven’t met him yet, this is my very special guest, Damien Parker, son of Grim Enterprises’ Thanatos.”
The men in the room, who had already been informed of Alec’s door-slam moment, turned and applauded Damien.
Damien blushed and shrank.
Someone reached out to shake Damien’s hand, but then Alec was right there, pushing the guy’s hand down. “Damien is going to be my right-hand man, so get used to seeing him around here. And keep your teeth off, gentleman. He’s mine.” The men cackled with bloodstained, toothy grins. And Alec laid his hand on Damien’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “Carry on with the celebration,” Alec said, and the men dispersed into smaller groups of revelry. Alec leaned towards Damien and whispered, “Are you feeling alright today?”
Damien was confused by the sudden change in tone. “Yeah. Fine. Why?”
“I know the last few days have been-”
“I’m fine. Really. I appreciate it.”
“Good, because if you need anything-”
“Alec, I’m fine.”
“Now, Josanna was saying you needed to tell me something?”
“Oh, well... We just went for a walk in the sun. I made a fake sun. It was nothing.”
Alec became very still. He addressed the room, “Let’s move the party downstairs. “Once only he, Damien, and Josanna were alone, he closed the door to the study. “How could you do this?” Alec asked.
Damien sank into a chair.
Josanna was confused. “But, don’t you want to go see it? Alec, it’s wonderful!”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“It’s the sun, Alec,” Josanna said, dumbfounded.
Alec moved back to his desk. “I have made my reputation on Darkside, on night clubs. The entire premise of my work is that Devereaux and his lot pretended to be something they are not. And now you’ve gone and made a fake sun, so we can feign frolicking in the daylight? Tonight of all nights! No. No, you-”His cutting gaze landed on Damien. “...are going to get rid of it. Vampires belong to the night, and if Victor gets his little polished fingers around this fake sun, he will win! Get. Rid. Of it.”
Damien shrugged and began wringing his hands. “It’s already gone. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“Good man,” Alec said.
Josanna looked back and forth between them with disgust on her face. When her eyes caught Damien’s, he sank even deeper into his chair. Her fists were balled. Her jaw was set. She let out a frustrated cry and stormed from the room.
Damien closed his eyes and flinched when the door slammed closed behind her.
“Don’t worry.” Alec smoothed down his blond hair, “I’ll deal with her later. Drink?” Alec pulled whiskey from his desk drawer. “I got it specially for you, my friend.”
“Sure. Listen, Alec, I-”
“No need for an apology. What is done is done.” Alec poured them both a drink and passed Damien a glass. “Now, to catch you up on our recent victories. There have been so many. You coming to live here is one. Your father’s vain attempt to steal you from me, another.” Alec smiled. “Now, my scientists have my portal up and running, and my team has gone to the Mortalworld and successfully returned.”
“Wow. That really is something.”
“The portal did glitch though and damaged some cargo, but hiccups are bound to happen.”
“Nothing important I hope.”
“Not terribly. But, now, with your help, I believe we can make a glitch-free portal. What do you say?”
“Uhh...” Damien hesitated, and he could tell Alec didn’t like it.
“I see. You’re right. This has all been a bit sudden. But, Damien, you and I, working together, I can see it. Let me show you the project. When you see it, there will be no denying its pertinence. Let me show you, and then you’ll understand. This is the future.”
