Fanfic Friday

“The Huntress at Sunset”

A continuation from last week's chapter.

Chapter Three

"So where did you go after your doctor's appointment yesterday?" asked Dusk as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes.

Alondra was tempted to ignore her little sister's question but she knew from experience that Dusk would only repeat it until she got an answer. So Alondra said, "Out."

"I know that, sis," said Dusk. "Out where?"

"I'm guessing she hit the cemetery," said Dusk's husband Leandro. "After all, old habits do die hard."

"No, I don't patrol anymore if that's what you two are hinting at," said Alondra. "I leave all that fun stuff to the younger girls."

"Oh, really?" asked Dusk. "So where did you go? Did you have a sudden urge to attend Midnight Mass or something?"

"No, not quite," said Alondra. "I just found myself in the mood to go out walking and I found myself back in the old neighborhood."

"Er, what old neighborhood?" asked Dusk.

"You know what I mean," said Alondra. "The one in Los Angeles."

"Wow!" exclaimed Leandro. "That must have been some long walk."

"Well, to be truthful, I did take the car at least partway," said Alondra.

"So why did you choose to go there?" asked Dusk. "You haven't gone there in ages."

"Well, last night I found myself feeling nostalgic," said Alondra.

"Oh, really?" asked Dusk. "How come?"

"Do I have to have a reason to feel nostalgic?" asked Alondra.

"No," said Dusk. "I was just worried that you might of got bad news from the doctor yesterday, that's all."

"Well, for what it's worth, I did get bad news from the doctor yesterday," said Alondra. "He gave me a year to live."

"Oh, Alondra!" cried Dusk.

"Don't worry, Dusk," said Alondra. "I got a plan."

"You do?" asked Dusk.

"Yes, I do," Alondra replied."You see I was talking to Persephone last night and --"

"Wait a minute," said Leandro. "What do you mean you were talking to Persephone?"

"Just what I said," said Alondra. "I ran into Persephone last night and we started talking."

"But you always told me that Persephone was your mortal enemy," said Dusk. "That you fully expected to have to kill her the next time you saw her."

"Well, what can I say?" asked Alondra. "I was wrong."

"No, you weren't," said Dusk. "What exactly did Persephone have to say to you?"

"Not much," said Alondra. "Just that she knew I was dying and that she knew a way around that and then --"

"Persephone is not a doctor, Alondra," said Leandro. "And she definitely is not a healer. So what could she possibly mean by --"

"I know what she means," said Dusk. "She was trying to talk my sister here into letting herself get turned into a vampire."

"No, she wasn't," said Alondra. "As a matter of fact --"

"Oh, please don't defend her," said Dusk. "You know as well as I do that Persephone has a way of telling her victims whatever they want to hear so that she can bite them with a lot less fuss than usual. I'm just surprised that you of all people forgot that."

"Hey, I did not forget that," said Alondra. "But after the day I had, Persephone's offer looked pretty tempting."

"Well, I'm glad you turned her down," said Leandro.

"Wait," said Alondra. "Are you saying you're glad I'm going to die?"

"Of course not," said Leandro. "But if you had agreed to let Persephone to turn you, you'd be dead even sooner than you would be if you had let nature take its course."

"You don't know that," said Alondra.

"And you do?" asked Leandro.

"Oh my God!" cried Dusk. "She's actually considering it. That's why she's been so coy about the whole issue."

"No, I'm not -- Hey, would it be so bad if I did go through with it?" asked Alondra. "At least this way I would be alive to see my niece grow up. Maybe see her graduate, get married, start pumping out grandkids..."

"Oh, I get it," said Dusk. "You're doing all this for Grace's sake."

"Well, of course," said Alondra.

"In that case, I should tell you something that will make your decision a lot more simpler," said Dusk. "If you decide to take Persephone's offer and become a vampire, Leandro and I will see to it that you never see Grace again."

"Wait," said Alondra. "You can't do that."

"Yes, we can," said Leandro. "Grace is our daughter, not yours. And even if she were yours, it would not be in her best interest to be exposed to a vampire."

"But I'd be a good vampire," said Alondra.

"Sure you say that now," said Dusk. "But will you say the same thing when you rise from the grave? You've staked enough new-born vampires to know the answer to that question."

"But this is different," said Alondra.

"Sorry, sis," said Dusk. "But you can't have it both ways. You can't turn vampire and still expect to be welcome in this household."

"But I'm dying," said Alondra.

"We're all dying," said Dusk. "You're just a bit ahead of us. Now please leave our house. I don't want to look at you right now."

To be continued...