Vampire Greek: The Burning King

“As pretty as you look right now, little girls shouldn’t be wearing this much makeup.” Roman crouched down and began to wipe the makeup off Caitlyn’s face. He was surprised she was willingly letting him do it.

“I kind of thought you’d squirm away.” He replied, cracking a smile.

“I don’t need to. She was magical, and this is magic makeup, so I bet it’ll come back all by itself.”

Roman thought about that for a second.

“God I hope not. I can’t keep walking around with a four foot tall fashion model.”

She laughed and Roman looked at her smile. Then, to her surprise, he put his hand on her face and held her mouth open.

“Move!” She pulled away. “What are you doing?”

He put this index finger on her upper teeth, feeling the ones in the front.

“No fangs.” He murmured. “I don’t know how, but I think Aphrodite cured your vampirism.”

“Are you sure? ” Caitlyn asked him, getting serious. Even with his superior sense of smell, he couldn’t tell the difference between her now and then.

“You tell me. ” He replied. “Are you still hungry? Are you thinking about blood? Do you have any stomach problems right now? ”

“No.” She answered. “Not at all.”

“Interesting. I wonder why she didn’t change your clothes into whatever her maidens wear.”

“Their clothes were thin and see through.” Caitlyn replied.

“I guess it’s a good thing she didn’t then. ” Roman laughed. A strong gust of wind hit them, and Caitlyn shivered.

“Let’s go back to my house and warm up. I’ll hunt while you’re asleep.” They turned to walk home and Roman instantly felt a huge sense of dread. He felt like he was in some sort of danger, and he didn’t know why. He stopped walking for a second and looked around. There was nothing to see. Cars passed but he was sure nobody was watching him. The anxiety started to ease until Caitlyn noticed he wasn’t walking behind her anymore.

“What are you looking for? Do you see something?” She called out to him, about twenty feet away.

“Nothing. I just got distracted. ” Roman jogged to catch up to her, and just like that, the panic and fear built back up into his chest. He started to sweat and his pulse quickened before he even caught up to her.

It’s her! He realized, slowing down.

She’s giving off some weird energy, almost like the one that stopped me from touching Aphrodite’s light. Why did Aphrodite do this?

“What’s wrong with you?” She asked, concerned.

Roman didn’t explain at all. “We need to get home.” He told her.

Roman had two other bedrooms in house besides his own, but she chose to sleep in the living room because it had the biggest tv. He gave her a shirt and some shrunken gym shorts to wear as pajamas while he washed her clothes.

“What’s your favorite color Caitlyn?” He asked.

“Green.” Caitlyn replied, keeping her eyes glued to the television.

Roman tapped a few buttons on his phone and suddenly, all the lamps in his living room turned green.

“Whoa!” She said, amazed. “How did you do that?”

Roman waved his phone. “With an app and some very expensive lightbulbs.”

He walked towards the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was practically nothing in there. He wished Claire had bought more food. He went over to his pantry and pulled out bags of chips and chocolate bars.

“Since you aren’t a vampire anymore you’re going to need some real food. But since I don’t have any, you’ll have to settle on junk food for tonight, is that okay?”

“Yes!” She screamed, elated. “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten this stuff this late!”

Roman thought about her parents, and what they would’ve probably given her. It was almost one in the morning, there was no way they would even let her be up this hour. He walked down the hallway heading to his room, briefly stopping to turn up the thermostat. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Roman unlocked his phone and walked to his room. He had to talk to Claire. He didn’t know what to do anymore.

Before he could say hello, an angry Claire snapped through. “What did I tell you about calling this late?!” She shouted.

He pulled the phone away from his head but he was sure she already busted his eardrum.

“Dang, I’m not calling you for whatever you’re thinking! It’s about Caitlyn!”

Silence.

“What?” She demanded, sounding drowsy.

“The goddess Aphrodite reappeared and... I don’t know exactly, I think she claimed Caitlyn and got rid of her vampirism.”

“Are you serious?!” said Claire, now sounding more alert.

“Yeah. We didn’t even go hunting. Her eyes are normal, her emotions are back, and she seems to be acting like a regular kid.”

“That poor girl. She most be bawling her eyes at right now.”

“No, she isn’t. That’s one of the things that creeping me out. That, and she has some type of energy, or aura, around her. It feels like Aphrodite.”

“And you said Aphrodite cured her vampirism?”

“Yeah. That’s what it looks like. That means I can’t take her to vampire council. We don’t know when or if Aphrodite will take her. What am I supposed to do?”

“We’ll figure it out.” Claire yawned.

“She can’t stay here. I’m too young to be taking care of other people. ”

“We’ll find a solution, okay? Now let me sleep. I’ll come over in the morning.” She hung up before he could respond. Irritated, he threw the phone and it slid off the other side of the bed. He laid back and closed his eyes, listening to Caitlyn laughing in the living room. It felt like he had a hole in his stomach. His fangs had sank into his bottom lip, but he didn’t mind. That pain helped him focus.

I can’t wait any longer. He thought. I’ll just become a bat and fly out the window. I’ll be back before she notices.

Roman went to change into some throwaway clothes. He had no intentions of clean kill. He needed something he could easily dispose of. He opened the closet door and reached in, but he felt something approach him.

“What Caitlyn?” He asked, assuming it was her. “I changed my mind. I’m not going to wait till you fall asleep, but I’ll be right back I prom-”

He turned around, but she wasn’t there. He heard her laughing about something else in the living room. Walking away from the closet, he stepped slowly towards his door.

This Aphrodite crap has me paranoid now. There’s nothing in my house.

He thought right before something leaped on his back and pinned his hands to his sides.