"Dinner With Dracula"

Dinner With Dracula

Rufus hollered into his bizarrely large speakerphone, telling us to stop what we were doing and focus on what he was claiming to be ‘the most important news of his Television career’. The mindless zombie crew stopped rolling the cameras and the room went silent. You could hear one of the light crew guys fall flat on his face somewhere in the back.

Rufus, the director, is a funny-looking man with scorching fire for hair and a complementary short temper. 

“I am delighted…no…honored to be the bearer of good tidings!” Rufus exclaimed, hair lit up and eyes filled with glee. You can sometimes expect him to speak in such a way that befits the grandson of Hades, Ruler of the Underworld. Except unlike him, he picked Television Crews and cameras over three-headed Cerberus and ruling the deadly deceased.

He went on, “I was just on the phone with The Scarlet Gazette magazine, and they featured us as their #1 Vampire Reality show hits of the century! Huzzah to you, Crimson Heirs! We are known!”

“Huzzah!” Everyone echoed in unison, including my family, the said stars of this unexpected triumph.

Rufus turned hurriedly and whispered something along the lines of, ‘Call my mother, this’ll finally show her’  loudly to his assistant.

I’m Eva, but my full name is Evanescence Drac, and as you probably already guessed, I am vampire just like my family. Only unlike common vampires, being related to the Count Dracula puts us in this sort of royal bloodline. We live in a big, gothic-style castle with pointy pillars and huge halls and fancy furniture that belongs to medieval century kings and queens.

To think that it was only last month when Rufus and his zombie crew showed up at our gates with a ginormous camera pointed at us and a clipboard containing contract papers is almost too absurd to even comprehend. How quickly all of this seemed to happen had taken my family on such a ride that it sent our heads spinning faster than we could run, which is extraordinarily fast for any vampire. Everyone knows that. 

I peeked behind the grand purple curtain overlooking the village beneath us. The sun was setting, finally. This meant Rufus and his crew would pack up and leave us for at least twelve hours. It also meant we could soon leave the castle and do our own thing for a while, under the comfortable sheet of darkness that we so long to be under.

My uncle, Count Dracula, is coming over tomorrow to finally spend some time with me, my nervous wreck of a father, sweeter-than-pie mother, and conniving little brother. We haven’t seen him for a few decades. I glanced at my brother, Eryx, who was staring blankly at the crew making their leave.

I approached him, “Eryx? You ok?”

“Huh,” he broke his gaze and looked at me rather stupified, “what?”

“You looked distracted. What are you thinking about?”

“Oh,” he seemed to realize quickly, “nothing, nothing.” He stuck his hands in his trouser’s pockets and strode away with his signature, ‘whatever’ look.

Eryx, being only a few immortal years younger than me, has never looked so lost before. Usually he plays a trick on Rufus or the crew right before they leave. It’s in his bloodline to be the prankster, ruthless comedian of the ancestry. But just now his mind seemed to be elsewhere, which is never a good sign with Uncle Dracula’s visit being so soon. I knew I had to speak with him privately, but not now.

Dad came in, rubbing his pale, bloodless hands together in a nervous spirit. “Well, that was a fun evening, wasn’t it?” Mom came in with him, happy as a clam, and gave me a reassuring look. We all knew Dad and his jittery personality. It’s not his fault that he’s camera-shy. Rufus went through extremes to even find a camera set that will capture us on video, when vampires are known exclusively for having reflections and tapes of us visually impossible. Though Dad’s hands were beginning to get clammy with perspiration and a crease would soon form between his somber eyebrows, we knew he was going to be fine.

Mom, on the other hand, was very happy with Rufus and his crew’s round-the-clock hovering over us. No matter how many bright lights interrupted our family dinners, or how many times Rufus has hollered into his megaphone something he didn't need to holler, Mom was always there with a warm smile plastered across her excited, flawless face. If you didn’t know her, you’d think it was almost creepy. Unlike Dad, she adores the spotlight. And even more, she adores Dad. She held his jittery, cold hand and merrily skipped down the hallway like a little girl and without saying a word.

Instantaneously, the walls seemed to dissipate. A thin layer of mist and steam suspended in all directions before coming back together in the silhouette of a girl.

“Celeste Hauntley, hey.” I said, trying not to show my surprise. As my best friend and ghost of the night, Celeste often tries to spook me ever since our little banter last Monday over whose kind was most hauntingly noble. In other words, who is the scarier one out of Vampires and Ghosts?

“Aw, another one bites the mist?” She was teasing, obviously.

I changed the subject to an interrogation, “Have you been eavesdropping again?”

Celeste was an ethereal soul. Her skin stopped its evanescent act and crystalized from its usual shifting silhouette of translucent vapor into her opalescent, glowing skin. Her hair, long and weightless, floated around her head in silver-white locks, curled at the bottom. Her eyes were big and expressive, glowing faintly pink or blue depending on the light. The white chiffon dress and lace gloves gave away the reason for intrusion into the castle. Nonetheless, she could almost sparkle.

Her expression dropped slowly into a melancholy one.

“Wait, you’re here because of the family reunion dinner,” I watched her face meticulously in case it gave away a clue, “aren’t you?” She can be one hard clam to pry. But I felt something was up.

“I was,” she said simply.

“You know that’s tomorrow?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Then why do you look so heartbroken?”

“It’s not my place to say, Eva…” she trailed off in her usual singsong voice, only this time it was a somber note to end with.

“Seriously, what’s going on today with everyone? First, Eryx is bent out of shape over something he won’t tell me. Now you, my best friend, are also not telling me something?”

She perked up at the mention of Eryx, and I thought I had it.

“A-ha! It has something to do with Eryx! Okay, what’s he done now?”

“Shh, Eva” Celeste whispered abruptly, holding a finger over her mouth.

“Huh, what? What’s wrong?”

“Be quiet…Eryx, well…I shouldn’t say…”

“No. Do say,” I was relentless, what happened?”

Suddenly she composed herself by taking a deep breath. That meant she was getting over it.

“No, no, tell me!” I whisper-shouted.

“I think I smell your mom’s Twilight Trifle, I’ll be right back!” And she floated down the hall. I always thought she was too fast for a ghost.

**

It was the next day. The sun had set, the moon was up, and Count Dracula’s sleek, black limo had just parked by our fountain up front. Its headlights were impenetrably strong, slicing the mist like fangs through silk. 

Out stepped the Count himself.

“B-brother,” stuttered Dad as he extended a welcome hand, “welcome back.” The Count was a tall, pale-skinned man with a shiny, collared cape and slick-back, ebony hair that was obviously over-gelled. He looked over-groomed entirely. But then he smiled, showing off his pearly whites and razor-sharp fangs. He went in for a hug, catching Dad off guard.

“Oh, I’ve missed you little brother!” Dracula’s thick, Transylvannian accent was still clear as ever. He hugged Dad so tight that I think some circulation was cut off. Of course Dad would never say. “M-me too…” Dad huffed the words as Dracula finally released him.

Standing side-by-side, the two looked unexpectedly identical, despite their polarly contradicting personalities. Sure, Count Dracula was known to be mysterious and dark, but when he was here, with his family, he reminded me of a Border Collie. Excitement aroused his face.

Mom nudged me by the shoulder and whispered, “Have you seen Eryx?”

I hadn’t even realized that he wasn’t around to meet uncle Dracula. “No, but I’ll go find him,” I responded before smiling and going back inside.

Before I walked completely through the doors, I spotted something next to the bushes. The tiny branches shuffled uncomfortably, and I leaned closer. Suddenly I realized there was someone hiding there, a guy with a beanie and shades. It was Rufus. I was so angry that he couldn’t help but show up to this important dinner, and not-so-discreetly hiding in a bush. He was probably wearing that beanie so his hair won’t set the entire place on fire. He knows that’s not a sight for television.

I ignored him. As much as I wanted to yell out his hiding place and ruin his chances when he promised us today would be family-only, I had someone else to look for.

Back inside, I searched for Eryx almost everywhere. The only place I hadn’t checked was his bedroom, which he usually deserts anyway, and why I kept it for last. As I entered the slightly smaller corridor joining a couple random storage closets and his room, I was stopped by Celeste.

“Okay,” I breathed, “I admit, you got me this time. Truce?”

She was quiet for a moment, then she spoke, “I wanted to tell you before but I wasn’t too sure if it was even possible..”

“Tell me…what?” I was confused and about to tell her that I need to find Eryx before dinner started, but she wouldn’t have it.

“Listen,” she placed her hands on my shoulders sympathetically, “...last weekend, Eryx, he went out to find his soccer ball in the lot…I saw him leave the castle..”

“Yeah I remember, but I told him the sun was about to come up so he should just forget about it. He told me he would.”

“Except, he didn’t.”

“Celeste, what are you talking about?”

“Eva, I watched the sun come up with Eryx right under it.”

“But that’s…”

“Impossible? I thought so too, and I went to tell you right away. I thought something bad might have happened to him. There was smoke and he was burning.”

“But the sun is meant to kill vampires,” I said in a somewhat terrified voice.

“I found you but he had already come inside, ball in hand, and looking absolutely fine.”

I put my hands on my hips and started to bite my nails nervously. What had happened to Eryx? How could he have made it out alive?

“Celeste,” I said, panicking, “how is Eryx alive?” She was at a loss for words.

That’s when a familiar voice came from behind me, low and somber.

“Because vampires don’t die under the sun.” It was Eryx. I whipped my head around and Celeste watched silently, a worried look on her fading face.

He was wearing a striped black and gray suit, rolled up white sleeves, and his favorite red and black, stripey tie. He had tied it wrong. I couldn’t help but notice.

He continued, a small tear leaving his eye, “It only turns you human.”

“Oh Eryx…” I finally blurted. We had started speaking in low voices, too afraid anyone would hear. I ran to him and gave him a big hug, and he started to cry, choking on his tears.

 He finally whispered, “Please…tell no one.”

I looked up slowly. Uncle Dracula was standing six feet away.