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k_a_webbSponsored by Elizabeth Barrette (LJ user ysabetwordsmith)
Alice looked at Cate, thinking about the possibilities that knowing the bookstore owner brought. Part of her wanted to go straight back to the house to talk to Issac but Alice knew that she needed to stay with Nick. Even though he seemed calm, she knew that once people started arriving for the talk, he’d probably fall apart. Sighing, she glanced at some of the books as she walked past them, trying not to feel annoyed at him for needing her so much. That need was the whole reason he’d turned her and sometimes she wished that he never had, although it meant she’d be dead instead.
To take her mind off the past she asked, “How often is the bookstore open late?”
“At the moment I can’t afford to keep it open much past 6pm, because I’ve never had a vampire in the store before.” Cate shrugged. “If I had more vampires and donors coming in then I’d be able to keep the store open all night.”
Nodding, Alice wished she’d thought to pick up a notebook. “I’ll have to talk to Issac, but I think we might be able to work together to keep Echoes open.” She ran a hand through her hair. “If you don’t mind working with vampires.”
“I don’t mind at all, Alice. Do you really think I would have asked one of you to give a history talk here if I minded working with vampire?”
“Would you lose any custom because of us?” Alice asked, ignoring Cate’s question because she didn’t know how to answer it.
“Maybe a little, but I think you’d bring in more than I’d lose so it’s worth the gamble.” Alice opened her mouth to disagree but Cate cut her off. “I’ve had a flyer in the window for the last three weeks to tell people that I have a vampire coming in tonight to give a history talk. If people were going to stop coming here because of vampires visiting the store then they would have done it by now.”
“As long as you’re sure, Cate.” Alice looked around the store. “You’ve put a lot of work into this place and I would hate to see it come to nothing because of us.”
“You’re people too, Alice. Maybe some humans can’t see beyond the fangs, the need to drink blood, and the vampires who aren’t exactly what you could call nice, but that’s not all of us.”
“It’s just… hard.”
Nodding, Cate put her hand out and squeezed Alice’s arm. “I understand. The relationship between vampires and humans will get better with time.”
“Only if we manage to completely stop the auctions,” Nick said. “While the auctions are still happening all the work we do is pretty useless, because it’s the auctions that give us a bad name.”
“It’s not just the auctions, Nick,” Alice replied quietly, “but I agree that’s a huge part of the problem. I don’t know if there’s anything we can do about the vampires who see humans as a food source and nothing more.”
“I’ve heard that you’re trying to help an addict,” Cate said, looking between Alice and Nick.
“Yeah, Caleb. It’s a very slow process, and I’m really not sure if we’re actually getting anywhere, but he’s not going to give up so neither are we.”
“At least you’re doing something. There are so many addicts out there and no one else is doing anything to help them.”
Alice sighed. “If we could do more then we would but the addicts have to want to help themselves. Forcing the help on them will do more harm than good.”
“It’s the same with any addict, Alice. You’re there and people know what you’re doing, so hopefully more addicts who want help will come to you.”
“That’s what I’ve been hoping for, but so far no other addict has walked into the house.”
“You need to give it time.”
“Unfortunately, time is one things that most of the addicts really don’t have and there are more being created with every passing day.” Alice shook her head. “I don’t even think that the end of the auctions will stop some vampires from creating addicts. They just don’t care enough about humans.”
“We are making things better, Alice,” Nick said, drawing her attention to him. “As Cate said it will just take time. Because the auctions have existed for so long it’s going to be hard work to convince vampires that our way is better.”
Alice looked at Cate. “Is our way better?”
“It’s safer, but I don’t know if I agree with the way you get people to become donors.”
Alice glanced at Nick, who just smiled. “Maybe we could have thought of something else,” he said, “but at the time it seemed like helping humans with money problems was the best way we could convince them to join as donors. It still does, at least until the time comes that vampires aren’t seen automatically as evil and people become donors for the sake of being a donor.”
“Does the donor house really help with that?” Cate asked, glancing at the door.
“In some ways it really does. The humans who have entered the donor house have seen a different side to us and they seem to see us as people. Outside the house we’re still having trouble convincing the human race that we’re more than just predators.”
“Are you really more than predators?” a male voice asked from behind them, causing both Nick and Alice to turn.
“This is my younger brother, Sam,” Cate said. “Sam, this is Nick and Alice, the vampires I was telling you about.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to answer the question?”
Alice looked at Nick at the same time he looked at her. She shrugged before turning back to Sam, knowing that Nick would understand the gesture. That understanding was something she was grateful for and really was one of the good things that had come out of Nick changing her.
Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.