“After this, I will consider my debt paid in full,” Rebekah told her.
“I worked for you over two hundred years, and this is only the second favor I have ever asked of you.” Olivia’s voice began to rise, but she shook her head and took another drink from wineglass. “But it’s as you say. This is the last time I call upon you.”
“Very well.” Rebekah’s lips curled up ever so slightly, revealing a hint of a smirk, and she turned to me. “Where is this child of yours?”
“Um, she’s hiding out,” I said. “I didn’t know I was supposed to bring her.”
“I’m certain it’s for the best that you didn’t,” Rebekah said. “How old is she?”
“She’s five,” I said. “And she’s been a vampire since November.”
“I see.” Rebekah pursed her lips and didn’t elaborate.
“You can help her, though?” Milo asked. He’d loosened his grip on Bobby, becoming more interested in Rebekah and what she could do for Mae and Daisy. “You can make it so she stops killing people?”
“She’s a vampire. Of course I can’t guarantee that,” Rebekah said. “I can help her learn control. It’s a myth that child vampires never grow up. We don’t, physically, but with time and practice, we gain the same emotional and mental maturity as our adult counterparts.”
“She eats bugs and kills animals,” I said, and everyone looked disgusted at that. “Can you stop that?”
“Yes,” Rebekah nodded. “It’s fairly common for child vampires to be unable to control their hunting impulse. In truth, vampires do crave more than blood. We were meant to kill. But with time, that urge can be dulled.”
“How long does that take?” Milo asked.
“It depends.” Rebekah tilted her head, thinking. “A decade before I’d let her live in a community with humans. Half-a-century until she matched your level right now. In a full century, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between her or Olivia, as far as control goes.”
“A decade?” My jaw dropped. “You’re saying she should live on some deserted island for a decade?”
“I prefer somewhere colder, but yes,” Rebekah nodded. “I’ve called in some acquaintances, and I have found us a place to live in Greenland. We should stay there, off the grid, for the next ten years.”
“That seems like an awfully long time,” Bobby said, echoing my thoughts exactly.
“For you, perhaps.” Rebekah gave him a condescending smile. “For me, for the rest of us, it’s a blink of the eye.”
“It’s longer than a blink of the eye for me,” Violet muttered. She’d stayed to the side of the room, avoiding Rebekah. That child vampire must’ve creeped her out the same way she did me.
“So, what do you think?” Olivia asked me.
“I think its… amazing.” I smiled gratefully at her. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”
“Right now, you needn’t do anything,” Olivia returned my smile easily. “But eventually, I’m sure that I’ll think of something.”
“So, Rebekah?” Bobby asked, and she rolled her eyes when he spoke. “What’s it like being a child forever?”
“It’s an endless hell,” Rebekah said, accidentally betraying the emotion she felt. She hurried to erase it, though, so she turned to me. “I would like to leave in the next few days. Is that enough time to make arrangements with the child?”
“Um, yeah,” I nodded. “It should be.”
“With this settled, I’d like to excuse myself.” She stood up and turned to Violet. “Violet, isn’t there a human you’ve prepared for me somewhere?”
“He’s not really ‘prepared’ for anything, but there’s a guy in the room next to mine.” Violet pointed to the door. “And he’s open to… feeding you, I guess.”
“Olivia, you really must get better help,” Rebekah said as she walked around the couch, the hem of her skirt sliding across the floor. “One must have a reasonable chef on hand to prepare the food.”
“Violet isn’t help, Rebekah,” Olivia said, watching her as she disappeared into the guestroom. “Rebekah doesn’t understand that everyone in the world isn’t her servant. Despite that, she does know what she’s talking about, and she can help you, Alice.”
“How do you prepare a human?” Violet interjected, staring warily at the bedroom door even after Rebekah had shut it behind her. “Am I supposed to salt them or something?”
“Rebekah prefers it when someone else opens them first,” Olivia explained and pointed to her own neck. “Make an incision in the throat to get the blood flowing. Rebekah claims they bleed faster that way.”
“That’s interesting,” I said.
“I was gonna go with disturbing,” Bobby said.
“What the hell happened to your face?” Violet asked, referring the icepack Bobby had clamped to his eye.
“Got punched,” Bobby shrugged.
“How bad is it?” I asked.