Tail of the Devil (8 page)

The waitress laughed. “Kid, you ain’t from around here are ya. ‘Frog sticks’ are French fries.”

“Then why didn’t you just say French fries?”

“Cause that’s the way it is at Pinky’s.”

She walked away, filled a glass with ice and coke and set it down next to Mathias’ elbow. He took the glass and took a long drink. It had been a long day- too long almost. Not long after, the waitress set his food and front of him. He was so hungry that he choked on his sandwich trying to eat too fast. After embarrassing himself and holding his own arm in the air, he got the choking stopped. He finished his sandwich and fries.

The waitress noticed and came over. “You want pie?”

“No thanks, I’m good.” Mathias wiped his mouth with his napkin.

The waitress reached into the pocket of her uniform, gave him the bill, and went to wait on other customers.

Mathias looked down, eleven dollars and seventy cents. He was going to need to find a cheaper way to eat. He took his bill to the register.

“You ain’t gonna leave a tip?” The waitress asked as she got to the register.

“I need change first,” Mathias said.

She rang him up and handed him his change. He gave her two dollars and left the diner. He had no idea where to go. He wandered around, and finally settled himself in the alley behind the diner. He curled up with some old newspapers from the trash and used his backpack as a pillow.

He thought about his parents. He knew that they never expected Annette to act like she did, but it was still hard to think that his folks had wanted him to make something of himself, and here he was, living on the streets. But he was alive, and that was the important part.

* * * * *

The next morning, he dusted as much grime as he could from his pants and left the alley. A few blocks west, he found a small market with a display of fruit out front. He watched one of the employees talk to an old woman. She was small with gray hair that was cropped close to her head. The employee was an old Italian man who looked like he wanted to strangle the old woman.

“I told you last week Mary, we don’t do credit. And we sure don’t do credit on oranges.”

The old woman looked like she was about to cry. “But George, I’ve know you for forty years.”

George looked like he wanted to slap himself in the face. “Yeah, and last time we gave you credit, you didn’t pay then, so no more Mary.”

The old woman hit George with her purse.

Mathias snatched an apple from one of the displays and ran off. It was the first time he’d stolen anything. It felt exhilarating. His heart beat fast and he felt like he could do anything. He sat down on a bus stop bench and ate his apple. After he was finished, he got up and began to walk. He knew he needed to find something better than an alley to sleep in if he could find it. Soon, he learned to watch where he walked, because of the broken sidewalks and after falling several times.

“Hey, kid,” she said.

Mathias looked around. Finally, he spotted a black girl wearing a shiny silver jacket, a pink sequined tube top, a black leather mini-skirt, fishnet stockings, and the highest heeled boots that Mathias had ever seen.

“Get over here.” She motioned for him with her hands.

Mathias straightened the strap on his backpack and wandered over. She seemed sort of normal.

“Whatch you doin’, boy? You wanna get yo’self mugged?”

Mathias looked at her and raised his left eyebrow. “I’m just walking.”
What did she care anyway?

She shook her head. “Boy, ‘less you stay wit me, you ain’t gonna survive da week.” She took Mathias by the arm. “Don’t you know you in hell, boy?”

She’s crazy. Completely fucking crazy.

“Hell, since I got here yesterday, I seriously doubt if I’d know where I was,” Mathias said with a smirk.

“Fuck boy, you crazy.” She sighed heavily. She took him by the arm and led him into the apartment building behind her. “You jus’ gonna haveta stay with Lucretia.” She shook herself. “Dequan jus’ gonna hafta deal.”

“Who’s Lucretia?” Mathias asked. This girl was the weirdest girl he’d ever met. But, at least she was being nice.

“Jesus Christ. Boy, you dumb. I’m Lucretia. You jus’ stay here til my shift be over. Then you and I’s gonna have us a long talk.”

“I’m Mathias.”

She nodded and then walked back out of the building.

The least she could have done was showed him something to do. But, he didn’t know where else to go, so he sat down on the steps and waited.

* * * * *

After a while, Lucretia came back. She stepped into the dim hallway, carefully avoiding the broken tiles as if not to mess up her shoes. “Come on, kid. Let’s get home. It’s so hot, my titties are so wet they’s makin’ noise when I walk!”

Mathias laughed. He followed her back out into the street. The sun was shining, and Mathias followed her and noticed her walk. She seemed proud and walked in what he would describe as a
don’t-fuck-with-me
sort of walk.

She stopped at a rundown hotel. It was the type that at night had the neon
Jesus Saves
sign above the door.

“Cree, what the hell you bring home now?” A man standing on the stoop asked. He was tall, with a bald head and broad shoulders. His white wife beater shirt was sweat stained which made an odd and ugly contrast next to his dark skin. While his clothing was dirty and gross, he wore several gold chains around his neck that glinted in the sunlight.

“Dequan, this here’s Mathias. He gonna stay wif me for a while.”

The man looked Mathias up and down. “Mebbe’ in a few years he can work.”

Lucretia narrowed her eyes at him. “You listen to me Dequan Gregory; this here is a good kid. I ain’t gonna allow you to do him like dat.”

Dequan raised his lips in a snarl. “Girl, I ain’t in no mood today to deal with your bullshit. Fine, kid stays, but you goin’ to pay for him. He ain’t no concern of mine.”

Lucretia grabbed Mathias by the arm and led him into the hotel. The green paint was chipped from the walls exposing the old plaster underneath. The registration desk was a box with cast iron bars over the openings.

“Hey Carl!” Lucretia tapped her fingernails on the counter.

“Hold your horses, you mangy mutt.”

There was an old and decrepit white man behind the desk. Tufts of white hair stood up from his head from where he’d been sleeping. Carl grabbed a key from the hook behind the desk and passed it through the slot underneath the counter top.

“Dequan pay me up til next month?” Lucretia asked.

Carl looked at some papers on the counter. “Yep, you ain’t due til the fifteenth.”

Lucretia nodded. “Good. Oh, by the way. This here Mathias, he gonna be stayin wif me.”

Carl looked at Mathias. “Where he gonna go when you got guests?”

Lucretia sighed. “Didn’t think bout that. Shit.”

Carl shook his head. “Eh, don’t worry. Kid can come down here and watch TV in the office with me.”

“Damn Carl, what would I do without you?”

“Prolly drop dead.”

Lucretia laughed and led Mathias over to the elevator.

The ride was slow, but Mathias wasn’t going to complain. This place had air conditioning.

Lucretia got off on the sixth floor. She shook her head. “Boy, you gotta stop bein’ a
scaredy cat. People ‘round here can smell it, and if you ain’t tough like me, they’ll eat you alive.”

She unlocked a door and Mathias followed her into the room. The room was plastered in the same yucky green that was downstairs. The plaster wasn’t as chipped up here in the room. Lucretia had tried to make it look homey with posters on the walls and some multicolored fake flowers on the bedside table. The table was made of some sort of black plastic. The bedspread was old and looked like undulating ocean waves. It was probably the ugliest room Mathias had ever seen. It smelled musty.

“Nice digs, ain’t they? I try to keep it like this so’s I can kill the bugs when I see ‘em.”

“Bugs?” Mathias asked.

“The biggest motherfuckin’ cockaroaches you ever seen. I found a platform shoe kills ‘em best.” She laughed manically.

“Uh...o.k.” He didn’t like the idea of bugs, but bugs were better than sleeping outside.

She laughed again. “Boy, you kill me.” She picked up a shoe with a tall heel and a really thick sole. “See this here’s a platform shoe. You whack the damn thing with this and his guts go flyin’”

“You’re really weird, you know that?”

She smiled. “That’s why we gets along. You weird too.”

* * * * *

That night, Lucretia pulled Mathias into bed with her.

“Do you think this is o.k.?” Mathias asked.

She swatted him across the head with a pillow. “We’s sharin a bed, doofus. Not screwin. Sides, you too young fo me anyway.”

Mathias hunkered down under the covers and relaxed. Soon he was fast asleep.

* * * * *

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Mathias opened his eyes. “What are you doing?”

Lucretia was down on the floor, looking sweaty.

“I gotta exercise. Gotta keep my body nice cause I get more work thatta way.”

Mathias nodded and went into the bathroom taking his backpack with him. After he had showered and dressed, he came out and Lucretia was sitting on the bed watching TV.

“Good, you done. I been thinking bout things. You better jus stay here while I work. If ya get bored, go see Carl, but don’t go outside witout me. You ain’t streetwise enough yet and las thing I wanna see is you get yoself killed over some stupid bullshit.”

Mathias nodded.

Lucretia pointed to a small refrigerator butted up against the wall. “Food in there. Take what ya want. I gotta get to work.”

Mathias watched her leave the room. She locked the door behind her. Somehow, he felt protected. Why she cared, he didn’t know, but she did, and it felt nice.

Chapter Four

Tepes knew that he had really managed to botch things up. Mathias had always been willful, and this incarnation was no different. The boy needed to feel secure, Vlad knew that, but it was so difficult. But then, he could only imagine what Mathias had been like as a child originally. Something told Vlad that he should count himself lucky indeed.

More than anything else, he needed to offer some sort of peace offering to Mathias. And hopefully, he could figure out one that would keep Mathias with them all.

Vlad left his rooms and wandered through the maze of hallways into the highest and darkest section of the castle. There was very little light there. That was how Nosferatu liked it.

* * * * *

Mathias woke to voices. He could hear the other students at the school through the walls now and then. He would hear them moving around between classes. He didn’t really wish to join them, he had nothing in common with them, but it did get boring.

He knew now just how far he could push Tepes. And instead of a little bit of yelling, he’d really seen what the legendary vampire was capable of. He tried to stop shaking, but it was hard. Soon though, he heard some students in the hallway, leaning against the other side of the wall that butted up against his bed.

“You don’t want to go upstairs do you?” Mathias heard a nasty voice say.

“No, “a shaky voice said. Whoever it was sounded scared as hell.

“Upstairs is where Nosferatu lives,” the nasty voice said. There was kind of an attitude to it. This guy was a total dick.

The nasty voice was starting to sound familiar. Like one of those two kids who’d given him a hard time his first day.

“I don’t want to see Nosferatu,” the shaky one replied.

“You know the story of Nosferatu don’t you?” the nasty voice asked.

“No.”

“He’s a freak, an abomination. True, he’s our queen’s son, but he was made before any humans were even here. Our queen had relations with a bat.”

Do I even want to know why the Queen of the vampires did that? Uh, yuck.

“Is that even possible?” the shaky voice asked.

“If it wasn’t he wouldn’t exist, now would he?”

“But how?”

“According to my father, when the Queen first began to walk the earth, she was the only one of her kind that had made the trip. God himself had planned to send a pair of them, but that idea was changed by an uproar in Heaven caused by Adam.

“So Lilith had been sent down alone. With none of her kind around, she spent much of her time shape-shifted in the form of a bat. When God had sent Adam to earth, instead of his chosen one, Lilith chose to steer clear of Adam and his petty politics. She left the area to find her own way about the world. But God had made an error, and had sent Adam to earth as a human rather than as a vampire. After Adam got himself kicked out of the Garden of Eden with Eve, he began populating the earth, and as a result, creating his own army to fight the “demon” Lilith.

“Hunted and fearful, Lilith kept to bat form. It was during this time that she recognized the soul of one of her soul mates residing in a fruit bat. She mated with him and left. Several months later, she bore a son. And that was the beginning of Nosferatu,” the nasty voice said.

Then, Mathias heard a thud and a yelp.
Jesus Christ, doesn’t anyone watch for crap like this here?

“So, lesser, Nosferatu isn’t like the rest of us. He’s insane. Who wouldn’t be with a story like that?”

“I don’t know,” the shaky voice said.

“Well, you do what I say, and you’ll never have to find out. You cross me again, and I’ll make sure you get a personal invitation.”

Then, Mathias heard footsteps walking away from his wall. “What a fucking asshole.” He had to admit though that it was interesting to hear all that crap about the Queen. It was good to know what type of people he was dealing with. It wasn’t like he knew who all of his enemies were yet.

He lay down on his bed, arms crossed behind his head. Part of him wished he could help the kid he’d heard, but he had his own problems and no answers for them.

* * * * *

Vlad paused in the hallway near Nosferatu’s rooms. He found it amusing that the kids at the school used Nosferatu as a scary story to spook each other, but the fact remained that Nosferatu was an odd creature and it was this oddness that made him valuable. The kids really knew nothing. Nossy, as Vlad preferred to call him, was a bit self-conscious of his bat-like features. So rather than bringing attention to himself, he chose to stay to the shadows.

Some of Nosferatu’s actions could be blamed on his irritation at the common mistake the human race made by believing that Count Dracula and he were the same person, but things were much more complicated than that.

Before Mathias had been killed, over three centuries ago, Nossy had been close to him. Vlad knew that if anyone had a chance at reaching the boy, Nossy would.

Vlad strode through the darkness until he found the door that always seemed cold to the touch. On it, he knocked once.

* * * * *

Vlad heard various bumps and noises coming from inside the chamber. And finally, Nosferatu, muttering to himself, answered the door.

“Vlad, why do you always have to come see me when I’m in the middle of something?” he asked, his wings were quivering. Probably, in frustration.

Vlad shook his head. “Don’t be so pedantic. I need your help.” He carefully stepped his way into the room and plopped himself down on a worn sofa. Nossy’s chambers were probably the messiest rooms in the entire castle. Not only was it cluttered, but it was all covered in a layer of dust.

Nosferatu closed the door and stood with his arms crossed. His wings were still quivering.

Vlad knew something was bothering his old friend, but what, he could not tell. The old bat didn’t seem just frustrated at him. Maybe Lilith was giving him problems again.

“All right, you need my help...what did you do this time?” Nossy asked.

Vlad scratched his head. “Well, I know that you know I’ve found him.”

Nossy nodded. “Yes, so you’ve told me. Go on.”

“I had an argument of sorts with the boy... and I am ashamed to say, lost my temper.” He rubbed his hands over his face.

“Umm...” Nossy motioned for him to continue with a claw.

Vlad could tell he was getting on his friend’s last nerve. He better be out with it before he ended up sitting here for hours while Nossy rambled for hours about whatever it was that had him in a state. “Nossy, I scared the child...he won’t even come near the door.” He sighed and sunk down into the sofa.

Nossy rolled his eyes and chittered at Vlad. “Tsk, tsk. Vlad, I would have thought you better than that. So, how does this concern me?”

“You...you were the only one who could reach him before.”

“Ah, yes. Here we go all over again. Why is it always, ’Nossy, help me.’ or ‘Nossy can you...’ Why is it never, ‘Hey Nossy, let’s go flying.” Nossy flapped his wings and smacked them against his back.

Vlad took a deep breath. “Nosferatu, you know damn well I ask you to do things with me. It is you who always says that you are too busy.”

Nosferatu chittered in a way that could be considered a laugh. “Yes... I know. But I have to blame it on someone, don’t I?”

Vlad laughed. “Yes, Nossy. You do. So, will you help?”

“Maybe,” he said, already moving through the door and down the hall.

Vlad couldn’t help it, he loved the old bat. Without Nosferatu, he’d be a very bored vampire.

* * * * *

Mathias sat on the bed, holding his legs to his chest. “Damnit.” He punched the pillow beside him. He’d done the unthinkable, the one thing you don’t do on the street- he’d shown his fear.

He’d already taken a shower, took one when he first ran into his bedroom. He had to get the piss off and he couldn’t risk dirtying anything that wasn’t his. Tepes had made his point. He was weak. And, not only weak, but a worthless piece of shit.

There was so much he could have done. He didn’t get up off his ass to try to save that kid in the hall, he’d pissed himself, and now he was sitting there, feeling sorry for himself. The shower might have gotten rid of the smell, but it had done nothing to get rid of his embarrassment. If he’d been on the street and done this shit, he’d be dead. Maybe he wasn’t as tough as he thought he was.

He didn’t let himself cry. Crying would do nothing for him except make him feel worse. He’d already wet himself, he didn’t need to add being a complete wimp to the mix.

Soon, he heard voices coming from the other room. He took a deep breath. At least he knew Tepes wouldn’t kill him. If he’d wanted to kill him, he’d have already done it. Doing it now made no sense. The only plausible explanation Mathias could come up with was that now that Tepes knew what scared him, he’d use it to his advantage. And he would also probably use that knowledge to make Mathias do things he didn’t want to do.

A knock sounded on the door. Mathias stayed on his bed.

“Hello,” said a tenor voice from the other side of the door.

Mathias didn’t recognize it. Vlad’s voice was deeper than that. “Who is it?”

The person on the other side of the door cleared his throat. “You would call me... a friend of the family.”

“Yeah, friend... right,” Mathias muttered. He stretched his wings and let them fall back down. Then, he got up off the bed and crept over to the door. He didn’t feel safe. He stood pressed against the wall next to the door. “That still doesn’t tell me who you are.”

“I have been called many things, but the most common has been Nosferatu,” the voice said.

Nosferatu, huh. Guess I’ll find out if he’s so scary after all.
He stepped away from the wall, took a deep breath, and then opened the door. Standing in front of him was a tall thin creature thing with an almost bald head, skin the color of newspaper, pointed ears, and long, sharp front teeth. “What do you want?”

Nosferatu scratched at his head with his claws and straightened his black velvet jacket. “To talk.”

All right, talk was safe
. “Okay.” He said aloud and stepped back from the door, allowing Nosferatu to enter his room. He didn’t bother to try to do anything for the creature and slumped down on the floor with his back against the wall. At least with his back against the wall, no one could sneak up on him from behind.

Mathias watched Nosferatu close the door, walk across the room, and sit down in a chair opposite of him. After a moment, the bald creature stared at Mathias and seemed to be sizing him up.

Mathias hated being this scared, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He pressed his back further into the wall. His wings were starting to hurt from being crammed against the wall.

Nosferatu’s eyes flashed red for a moment, and then turned back to black.

“You know, for the most part, Vlad’s bark is worse than his bite,” he said.

Mathias stopped pressing himself into the wall, let his wings relax and leaned forward. He stared into the vampire’s eyes. “And what the fuck do you know about it?” He had to try to look strong.

Nosferatu took a deep breath and scratched his arm with one of his wings. “Well, if I don’t know Vlad by now, I’ve got problems. Last time I counted, I’d known him for... well over... let’s put it this way, my mother is so old, even her genes are out of style.”

Mathias couldn’t help himself. He laughed. Nosferatu was probably the weirdest man he’d ever met. His looks, the way he did things, it was so over the top.