Apparently someone in the house liked Mario Brothers.
Wide-eyed, she peered around the doorway into a den filled with deep couches, bookcases of DVDs and games, and two people staring at an enormous flat-screen television.
“You got it. You got it… Watch out, Ten—”
“Be quiet.”
“You’re coming up on a really sharp left—”
“Shut up, Benjamin.”
“Just…” The teenage boy leaned over a small Asian woman, who was staring at the screen with grim focus, gripping a white plastic wheel.
She batted his hand away when he approached. “I know how to do this. Go away.”
“Will you just let me help?”
“I am thousands of years older than you. I think I can figure it out, you brat.”
Natalie must have let out a squeak, because the boy turned.
“Oh, hey! You’re awake.” He tapped the small woman—vampire?—on the shoulder before he stood. “Tenzin, she’s awake.”
The vampire didn’t turn around. She was wearing what looked like pink driving gloves as she continued to stare at the game, leaning to the left as the wheels squealed on the surround sound.
“She’s been awake for half an hour, Ben. She took a shower with that shampoo that smells like figs, and I think she’s hungry. Damn it!”
The vampire threw the white wheel to the ground and grabbed a box from a stack next to the coffee table.
The boy paused on his way toward Natalie. “You kill another one?”
“Yes. And I was just about to beat Yoshi. I hate that stupid little dinosaur.”
Natalie said, “Everyone likes Yoshi.”
Ben grinned at her. “Tenzin’s not everyone. You must be Natalie.” He held out his hand, and Natalie shook it. “I’m Ben.”
“You’re human.”
“One hundred percent,” he said with a laugh. “Did you get enough sleep?”
“Uh huh. And she’s a…” Natalie nodded toward the small woman Ben had called Tenzin.
“Vampire. Immortal,” he said. “Video game addict. Pain-in-the-ass, also known as Tenzin.”
“You should talk,” the woman muttered, trying to extract the new wheel from the stubborn box. Finally, she held the box up. “Ben?”
The boy walked over. “Why don’t you just bite through the plastic?”
She bared her teeth and long, curving fangs gleamed in the low lights of the windowless room. “I got a piece of plastic stuck right here last time I did that. That stuff is horrible. Why do they put everything in it?”
“Oh my God,” Natalie swore under her breath. The vampire’s teeth were the most vicious thing she’d ever seen. Long and curving, they looked like white blades in the woman’s mouth.
Tenzin’s eyes flicked to her. “Baojia said you knew about our kind. Don’t pass out.”
“I’m not going to pass out.” Hopefully.
“Your heart rate says otherwise. Take a deep breath.”
Ben finished opening the new wheel with a pair of scissors, inserted another game controller, and handed it to Tenzin before he walked over to Natalie. “You’ll be fine. Why don’t we go get you some breakfast? Well, more like lunch right now.”
She took a deep breath and nodded, still eyeing Tenzin, who was completely ignoring her at that point and watching the game again. Ben ushered her toward a spacious living room with a slate fireplace and more mission-style furniture.
“She’s a little different, even for a vampire.”
“How is she awake? I thought they slept during the day.”
He shrugged. “The older they are, the less sleep they need. They just have to stay out of the sun. And others… Well, they’re kinda like us. Everyone’s got their quirks, you know?”
“Is she a water vampire?”
“Wind, actually.” He frowned and looked over his shoulder. “I hope she doesn’t mind me telling you that.”
“I don’t!” Tenzin’s voice was faint, coming all the way down the hall. “She’s hungry, Benjamin.”
He smiled over his shoulder, then nudged her toward another door. “Let’s get you fed, then.”
Ben led her through a dining room and into the kitchen she barely remembered from the night before. An older man was cooking behind a large, professional range and an elderly woman was sitting at a breakfast table, surrounded by a newspaper she appeared to be reading.
“Ah,” the man said. “Our guest is awake. What can I get you to drink, dear? Mineral water or juice? There’s still some coffee if you’d like some.”
“Coffee would be great, thanks.” Natalie followed Ben to the table and sat down across from the old woman, who had the most vivid green eyes she’d ever seen. “Hi.”
“Hello.” The woman smiled, her face crinkling as the morning sun shone on a cap of neatly cut silver hair. “You must be Beatrice’s friend, Natalie.”
“Beatrice?” She blinked. “Is this her house? No one told me. Wow.”
The woman nodded. “I’m her grandmother, Isadora. This is my husband, Caspar.”
“Hello.” The older gentleman smiled as he set down a cup of coffee and gave his wife a soft kiss on the cheek. “I understand you and Baojia have had a rather interesting few days.”
She sipped her black coffee. “You could say that.”