Surprisingly doctor Blanc makes house calls, and at seven PM on the button our doorbell rings out. Gideon's head snaps up as I make my way over to the door, not really knowing what to expect.
I hope we can trust this guy.
When I open the door I am faced with one of the most handsome older vampires I have ever seen. With rich brown hair that's got wisps of grey and a tiny amount of chin stubble, he stands at least a head taller than either of us. Doctor Blanc has an easy roguish smile, as if he's hinting at some inside joke that he's unwilling to share. If I had to guess, I would say the man was turned in his late forties, but he clearly kept himself in pique physical condition in his human life.
An interesting vampire fact: We maintain the body type we had in our human lives when we are reborn as vampires. We do not magically become more beautiful or have our scars and imperfections healed into some flawless immortalized being. If you were a chubby guy with thinning hair, you will forever been frozen that way on the day of your resurrection. That's why Pembroke branded me the night she turned me, so that I would forever be marked a Dark Angel.
"Good evening." Doctor Blanc says in a lulling French accent.
"Doctor Blanc?" I ask (just in case).
"Oui." He answers flashing a mouthful of gleaming teeth.
"Wont you please come inside?" Inviting him in is crucial.
He nods appreciatively and steps over the threshold with a grin and takes in the room before offering Gideon a hand to shake.
"You must be Christian's runaways." He says.
"Gideon." Gideon offers, his eyes wide in fascination. "Excuse my rudeness, but are you a vampire too?"
"I am." The doctor answers with a chuckle. "Christian and I have been good friends since he changed me."
"I see." I tell him while gesturing to offer him a seat in the living room.
"How long will the two of you be in town for?" Doctor Blanc gets right to the point.
"A week, tops." I answer plainly. "We are off to Vienna next."
"To see the queen?" He asks raising one brow in surprise.
"What queen?" Gideon asks, totally lost.
"Despite what humans might think," Blanc replies taking a seat on one of the couches, "we are not total savages, like many societies, we have a monarchy."
"With a court and jesters and couturiers?" Gideon is obviously fascinated with this revelation.
"No jesters." I respond quickly.
"Well, an argument could be made for some." Blanc says with another chortle. "But yes, very similar to traditional monarchies, our queen holds court and has numerous couturiers."
"I thought they were her harem?" I shoot back, this time getting a wicked snicker out of Blanc.
"I suppose one could look at them that way, but it isn't for me to judge." He replies dismissively.
How very European of him.
"Wait, wait, wait! So you guys are telling me that in addition to the vampire assassins working for the American government, there's also a queen who rules over all of you?" Gideon looks to be beside himself with curiosity now.
"Not many of our kind know about the Dark Angels, so I would be careful who you mention that around." Doctor Blanc says in a measured tone and looking to me for support. "But yes, our queen rules our kind and those who would go against her laws are subject to her justice."
"What's her name? Is there a king too? How does she keep tabs on all of you? Does she have a palace?" Gideon's questions are rapid-fire.
Blanc raises his hands in a mock surrender as his eyes flash between the two of us.
"You haven't told him much have you?" He says to me, then turns his attention back to Gideon. "Her name is Nefertiti, though I believe these days she is going by Constance, and no, there is no king."
"There are several who would want to be king, but Constance has a problem with...commitment." I answer satirically. "Which is why she keeps several hundred of our kind on hand to satisfy her whims and urges."
"Nefertiti like the Egyptian queen?" Gideon's eyes are so wide he almost looks like a cartoon.
"She always loved the jewelry and admiration they showered on her as a human." Doctor Blanc says. "Legend is she ruled Egypt alongside her husband Akhenaten where they ushered in a new religion worshipping the sun. When Akhenaten inexplicably grew sick, she became the first woman to rule in her husband's place, and enjoyed the unprecedented power given to her. She became obsessed with eternal youth, convinced that it would bring her the supremacy she needed to rule the old world and all its kingdoms. Then, as mysteriously as she rose to power, she disappeared."
"Of course, we know she didn't disappear, Nefertiti most likely met her maker and was turned." I explain. "And because she couldn't worship the sun god who she had made such a big stink about in her previous life, she sought power elsewhere."
"So vampires have been around since BC?!" Gideon's jaw is slack and his eyes are alight with wonder at this.
"As long as humans have walked this earth, so too, have we." Doctor Blanc confirms with a smile.
"So, how did Nefertiti or Constance become queen?" Gideon continues with his questioning.
"She married the king." Blanc says simply, as if this was implied.
"But you said she wasn't married." Gideon reminds him.
"She was married." I answer this time. "But her husband, the vampire king, died suddenly about fifty years into their marriage."
"Did she do it?" Gideon asks leaning in.
"The rumor is that a Dark Angel did it, but no body knows for sure." I say with a shrug.
"But according to Charlie's records, the Dark Angel program has only been around since nineteen forty-seven, how could one of you have done that so long ago?"
"Who is this Charlie?" Blanc asks looking amused.
"My step-dad and the reason we're on the run. I killed him." Gideon answers quietly.
"Dude!" I scold from my seat near the fireplace. "You're going to have to rein in that murder shit if you want to keep us out of trouble. Seriously, you're just making my job more difficult."
"I assure you, I am to be trusted." Doctor Blanc says as he hands me the cloth sack that's been slung over his shoulder since he came to the door.
It contains a least a week's worth of blood. Thank Jebus because I was getting thirsty and I don't think I should be snacking on Gideon.
"No offense Doctor Blanc," I tell him with a smirk. "but we don't know who we can trust, and anyone in Christian's circle is going to be questioned."
"That's fine." Doctor Blanc wears a placid smile on his face at this. "We have been here long enough, this is an opportunity for us to move on."
"We?" I ask, my eyes narrowing slightly.
"Myself, my daughter, and her child." He supplies evenly. "We move on every ten years or so, help Christian set up a safe house, and I practice medicine while Elodie will have a, how you say? A daycare for little ones with Sophie. Though Sophie will be quite disappointed that Christian is not here."
"Oh?" I ask, the hair son the back of my neck standing up.
"Yes, Sophie always asks about her father."
Author's Note
I'm curious, were you surprised?
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