-The Turning-When I woke up I was dead. I didn't immediately realize this. I thought I just had a bad case of food poisoning. But no, I was a creature of the night—and I'm not talking Ebonics. I was a vampire.I know how this sounds. Who knew that vampires actually existed? I've watched the campy movies and TV shows just like everyone else. And for that reason alone, I could not have dreamed that vampirism is based on truth.Let's face it. I don't meet the profile of the typical girl turned vampire or girl turned vampire killer. Bella is too tragic, Buffy is a cheerleader, and I'm a black girl from the 'hood. I work nine to five at a local cable company. Drop-dead gorgeous men are not stalking me, and my rounded body does not fit neatly into a size two. So when I awoke that night sicker than I had ever been in my life, hugging the porcelain god, and puking my guts up, I just attributed it to that damned buffet at Club Midnight. It would be a while before I realized that I h
I touched my hair where golden highlights had sprouted and ran my hands down my body--my much thinner body. I wasn't wearing a bra under my T-shirt so I could feel that my breasts had perked up considerably. My waist had narrowed, and when I felt my stomach it was tight and muscular."Oh ... shit." I gripped my ass, fearful that my ghetto-booty would have disappeared. I was relieved to find it still present and even more booty-licious since I now had an hourglass figure. I'm not saying I was a size two, but I was freaking hot!I paced back and forth cursing and admiring my new looks. Again I tried to determine if I was afraid—I should have been, but I wasn't. I looked too damned good, and I wasn't even going to pretend. I tried to piece together the exact events of what happened once I left Club Midnight with what's-his-name. Tige. If he wasn't a rapist, then did we … do it?It was fuzzy. We'd driven to his place, I think. I remember a sparsely furnished apartment. He'd been talking
Under any other circumstance I would have eaten it up, but I did not want the attention tonight and wished they would go about their business. I spent more time declining invitations to dance than I did in searching for Mr. Rasta man.As I searched the crowd, I felt a tingling that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I looked around, ignoring the guy who had been leering at me.Across the dance floor was a man who looked so out of place I'm surprised I hadn't noticed him earlier. This man looked as if he would be more at home at the Country Club, not a dance club.He had blonde hair and blue eyes and wore dark pants, a white shirt, and a black tie. If he weren't Caucasian, he'd look like a follower of the Nation of Islam. I guessed his age to be mid-thirties, and he was damn pale. His skin was almost translucent, so I knew he had to be a vampire like me. ."Hey, Sista, where you going?" I ignored the leering guy and headed across the room. For the first time I felt fe
"Where is Tige?""The Rasta? I don't know. When I woke up he was gone. Can somebody tell me what is going on?"The woman dressed like a Greek goddess glanced at one of the men. He was dressed conservatively in a gray suit, his dark hair combed straight back, his style straight up early eighties politician, as if he were going for the Ronald Regan look. What was wrong with these vampires? Didn't they know people didn't walk around dressed like that anymore?Brother Man, though, was different. He wore all black and matched me. He wore nice pants and an expensive looking silk shirt. His almost shaved head gleamed, and he sported a neat goatee. He had a gold stud in his earlobe and understated jewelry on his fingers and wrist. He gave me the eye, starting at my feet and stopping at my eyes. He frowned slightly before crossing his arms and turning away.I dismissed him, too. He was going to be of no help to me. Thanks, brotha."Look," I said. "If you can tell me anything at all tha
I checked the time. Shit, I needed to be home before sunrise. I couldn't stop thinking about that Vampire that I'd killed—well … that had made me kill him. He was ashes just like that. Poof! I sped up.By the time I got home, my stomach hurt so badly that I almost doubled over with cramps. I was ravenous. My mouth watered, my gums tingled, and my pointy teeth lowered.I grabbed my purse and hurried into my apartment before any of my nosy neighbors saw me and thought I was on something.I opened the fridge and remembered how the soda had made me sick. Maybe meat would be better. I grabbed an opened pack of hotdogs and shoved two into my mouth, chewing greedily.I vomited them into the sink. I fell down to my knees and cried. How was I supposed to satisfy this hunger? I didn't crave blood. And I was in no condition to go prowling the night looking for somebody's neck to experiment on. Besides, I wasn't going to be caught out there this close to dawn.My ex had been hinting for a boo
After Kent left I tried to sort through my feelings and thoughts. There was no mistaking it. I was no longer the person I had been twenty-four hours ago—if I was a person at all. I wasn't going to get any help from other vamps. They were going to try to kill me. Tige, the Rastafarian, was who I needed to be talking to. Somehow I didn't sense malice in his actions. He had turned me because of the accident. But where was he? Tony had mentioned a Rogue who made a Third—me. Why hadn't he come back to help me, though?Okay, it was a big problem, but I had other pressing concerns. I was one of the undead, so how the hell was I going to work my nine to five? And my friends and family were definitely not going to be happy about this. And you know what? I kinda liked the sun. And I'd never be able to eat another chocolate bar. Also, I'm not sleeping in a coffin! I'm not going to be a fashion victim either. If I had to be undead, I was going to still rock my DKNY and BABY PHAT.I stopped m
Instead I thought of some reason that he wouldn't want to see me at work—like if I had spinal meningitis or hepatitis…"Well my doctor said that this…rash isn't contagious…as long as the pus stops draining from the sores. But if you really need me in I don't mind wearing gloves. And I can spray disinfectant just in case he's wrong and this stuff all over me is actually contagious. Well…I'll just call in later in the week. Bye." I hung up the phone contemplating how I would handle work, and something became clear to me. I believed that somehow I was coming back from this. I'm a Vampire. Why the hell am I worried about what to tell my boss? My death, unfortunately, superseded my ability to hold a job. I was about to hold another pity party when I heard a noise outside my door. Somebody or something was standing outside my apartment door.Fear like a cold hand gripped me. "Who's there?" I whispered from my bedroom."Let me in," a voice said more in my head than out loud.My breath c
"It's in the way you talk," Tony interrupted, "the way you sit, even the way you continue to breathe even though you no longer need oxygen in your lungs." His gaze returned to me. I caught my breath and held it. Damn. He was right. I was making myself breathe. That was why there was such an air of calm about him. It wasn't only that he was a cool guy.He wasn't breathing.I was having a tough time staying focused on what was important instead of on how fine Tony was as he paced back and forth in front of me. "I, um, am I in trouble for killing that man last night? I mean, it was kill or be killed.""Johan? No. Had it been an actual kill you would have been given his seat on the Council. We understand it was his recklessness that caused his death."I could see that there was something more, or Tony wasn't exactly pleased about something, but the human part of me didn't want credit for a murder, and the Vampire part wasn't developed enough to understand why I should."Johan." I spo