Cameron couldn't sleep. So much had happened in the last couple of days and waiting to hear from Elias was driving her mad. She had no excuse to stay up late as far as her parents were concerned, so she had gone to her bedroom to pace, read, pace, flip through magazines, and pace some more.
It was almost two-thirty in the morning.
Propped against her pillows, Cameron put her book on the nightstand and looked at her dimly-lit room. "Danvy? Are you here?"
A minute passed without a sound.
"Danvy, I saw you saunter into my bedroom hours ago. You're either under my bed or in my closet. A few more seconds passed.
"I'm in the closet."
Cameron looked over at the closed doors when she heard the muffled voice.
"Please do not take that in any way other than my actual location at this precise moment."
When the doors didn't open, Cameron stood and crossed to them and shoved one aside. "Are you going through my underwear?!"
"No, I'm not 'going through' anything. I specifically chose the ones on the top. Do you use Snuggles fabric softener," Danvy said quickly before Cameron grabbed his arm and pulled him out from her clothes, "'cause I love that little bear."
"Out!" She said, grabbing various bras and panties that seemed to have made their way into Danvy's pockets. In the light he was able to study the hot pink pair in his hands. "Give me those!" Cameron said, shoving her recaptured undergarments into the laundry basket.
Danvy seemed nonplussed. He sauntered over to her chaise lounge and plopped down, grabbing a magazine.
"Seriously, how were you going to protect me by staying in there?" Cameron asked, shutting her closet and crossing the room.
"Watchful eye. No one can see in 'cause you still have those blankets on your windows, and were one of your parents to come a knockin', I doubt they would be pleased to find a man in your room." Danvy started studying a "who's hot, who's not" photo spread.
"Well, they're asleep now. You can stay out here." She went back to bed and fluffed her pillows before leaning back and grabbing her book.
Danvy eyed Cameron without moving his head in her direction. "You know, reading those will do you no good."
Cameron's eyes lifted to stare at Danvy. "Why not?"
"Because as wonderful as Anne Rice is... and don't get me wrong, I love her stories, they are very entertaining... it's all human imagination." Danvy went back to his magazine.
"So vampires don't have to avoid sunlight? They don't need to drink blood? They don't ever kill people? You know Louis even says he's okay with crucifixes which seems to be the case with you guys."
Danvy pursed his lips. "Okay, she's right on those accounts." When Cameron rolled her eyes, he quickly explained, "Rice's vampires are monsters who hide from society and see people as food. Like cattle. They're also undead and have weird supernatural powers like flying. And they dress funny."
Cameron glanced at Danvy's outfit. "Really? Done any pirating lately?"
"Hey, personal choice! You saw Bastian and Mahi... they dress like normal people. I'm eccentric." He sighed and put the magazine down. "Look. Vampires are a thing of media. Some fantastical idea that romantic authors played upon to thrill a very bored group of readers hundreds of years ago. It was exiting. And, it evolved. I mean, for crying out loud, I have a pulse! I was born, not bitten, and my father's heart beats as sure as mine. I am not a vampire!"
"No, you're a dhamphir. Isn't that what you called..."
my baby?
Cameron blanched. The whole idea of "my baby" was new to her. "That sounds awfully close to vampire. So what is Elias?"
"An immortal."
"One that drinks blood and can't go out in sunlight."
"Yes. No. Look," Danvy said, getting flustered, "by all means, call the immortals you've met 'vampires' if you wish. It's the easiest term available to humans. Which is why their children are called dhamphir; those that have a 'vampire' father, " he said, making quotation marks with his fingers.
Cameron became even more confused.
Danvy finally turned toward her, setting the magazine down. "There are real vampires out there... or, what you would consider vampires. But their foreheads don't go all beastly and their teeth don't morph into grotesque fangs. They're... it's really hard to explain. They're more like a cross between your zombies and vampires myths. They are the walking dead. Demon-possessed immortals."
"You do know that the vampires on 'Buffy' have demons inside them right?"
Danvy growled in frustration. "Okay, I'm going about this wrong. Let's start over. At the beginning." He took a breath and let it out, calming himself. "There are a very few number of immortals in the world in comparison to humans. These beings to not die. They do not fully live either, which is
why
they do not die. They do not reproduce red blood cells like animals that grow old. Like humans. So they must borrow... take... that life source from others. Animals work but only for a short time..."
Cameron pictured a long-haired Brad Pitt sucking on a bunch of rats in a sewer and scrunched her nose.
Danvy rolled his eyes and continued. "Animals do have certain DNA characteristics similar to man. As do plants. This is why the immortals can eat food. I think your mythological vampires only drink blood and can
not
eat, right?
"But in the end, humans are the best source. A few sips here or there will sustain an immortal. They need more when too much energy is exerted or they are wounded, or if they haven't fed for a long time. Just like a human in need of a transplant; just more frequent. It's not a bloodbath like your movies have displayed; no immortal would be so grotesque. Not one of our kind anyway. Killing someone isn't necessary, but it will sustain an immortal for several weeks if they took enough blood to end a human's life."
Cameron absentmindedly touched the place where Elias had bitten her.
"Do you drink blood too?" Cameron asked, eyeing Danvy warily.
"I don't need it to survive if that's what you mean," Danvy said, leaning back on the chaise. A toothpick materialized in his hand and he stuck it in his mouth before propping his hands behind his head. "When you grow up around this stuff it really does not seem as bad as you humans seem to think. Like breastfeeding. You don't get all squirmy at the thought of a baby sucking liquid from its mother's body. It's a part of nature. Well, this is our nature."
Cameron made a face.
Danvy grinned. "Look, human blood does nothing for me. I can produce my own blood cells thank you very much. But the blood of an immortal has healing powers and provides energy. Among other intense forms of energy I'm sure you've already experienced.
Cameron's cheeks heated. "None. Of your. Business."
Danvy chuckled. "Birds and the beasts, sweet cheeks. You didn't end up a Blessed One without doing something naughty."
"And how is that even possible?"
"Well, now, that's opening a whole new can of worms." Danvy turned to look at her, his characteristic smirk gone. "You sure you want to hear it? 'Cause that path is something you would have been prepped for before..." he flourished his hand around, gesturing at her stomach.
Cameron sighed and marked her page before putting her book down on the blanket draped over her legs. "It's like you said. I should have known whatever you are about to tell me before," she repeated Danvy's gesture, flinging her loosely-pointed finger around at her stomach, "this."
Danvy grinned.
"I deserve to know."
"And you want to hear it from me? Not some supped-up version from a bunch of girls in your Circle or a to-the-point lover's whisper from Elias? 'Cause I will give it to you plain and simple with no whipped cream and cherry on top."
Cameron rolled her eyes. "Danvy."
"Okay, just wanted to make sure you were all receptive to my intel." Danvy leaned back, his hands going behind his hands once more. "How about we start with the fact that your child is the reason Elias isn't a cold-blooded killer?"
Cameron's eyes widened.
***
Kristie rolled over to face Daman, her eyes having adjusted to the darkness at some point during their little escapade. Her room was still very dark but what little light came from various electronic devices twinkled in Daman's dark eyes.
"Why did we have to be quiet?" she asked in a whisper.
Daman stroked her sweat-soaked brow and answered quietly, "No reason, other than several others stationed outside have very good hearing. And I like to keep moments like this private."
"Oh." Kristie said.
She slapped him.
Scrambling out of her bed, Kristie stomped to the bathroom. "What the hell, Daman? When she turned to glare at him, she was surprised to see he was right behind her, his face stern and... Oh shit, was he aroused again?
She shoved him, barely making him move. "Are you... I mean... for fuck's sake Daman, you ever heard of using a condom? Jesus fucking Chr-"
