Vampire 01 - Daughter of Darkness

someone bought it, and it’s no longer an orphanage.”
    “Then why the sign?”
    “I don’t know. Whoever bought it might think that’s cool. I mean, look at it. The gardener must be legally blind.”
    There were no signs of life around the house, no cars, no one outside.
    “I feel this is it, Buddy.”
    “So, I guess we’ll go in to see what’s what,” he said.
    “No.”
    “No?”
    “I don’t want you going in with me. Wait in the car.”
    “Are you sure? I mean…”
    “I’m sure,” I said.
    I couldn’t tell him why, exactly, but the feeling I had had back at the motel was much stronger here, and those famous instincts Ava often accused me of not having were alive and behaving like sirens and alarms.
    “Well, I don’t think I should let you go…”
    “Please, Buddy. I agreed to let you come along with me this far. Please.”
    “Okay, if that’s the way you want it.”
    “I do,” I said. “If I need you, I promise I’ll come out to get you.”
    He nodded.
    “Lock the doors,” I said when I opened mine and stepped out.
    I heard the click and looked back at him. He was sitting forward, his face caught in the dim glow of the slowly brightening half-moon. His face looked made of wax and in danger of melting away completely.
    I walked up the gravel drive to the front steps. Just as I reached the top, the door opened, and Mrs. Fennel stepped out of the shadows and into the dimly lit front doorway. I gasped and drew back. She smiled.
    “We expected you sooner,” she said.
    Ava came up to stand a foot or so behind her.
    I took another step back, glanced at the car, and considered running back to it.
    “There’s no need for you to run away, Lorelei. No one is going to hurt you,” Mrs. Fennel said softly.
    “Even though you’ve done a lot that could hurt us,” Ava added.
    “Now, stop,” Mrs. Fennel said. “You know what your father told you.”
    Ava smirked. “We won’t hurt you, but that doesn’t mean we’ll leave him alone,” she said, nodding toward the rental car.
    “There’s no need to threaten her,” Mrs. Fennel said. “I know my girl. Come on in, Lorelei. You want to know so much, and you’ve come so far.”
    She stepped back. Ava disappeared inside. I looked back toward Buddy. He had never seen Mrs. Fennel, so he wouldn’t know that they had beaten us here. I hoped he hadn’t seen Ava standing next to her. I was afraid for him, but what drew me back up those stairs was my own need to know about myself as much as anything else. Mrs. Fennel kept her smile.
    When I reached the doorway, I heard the sound of women laughing.
    “Those are just other daughters and sisters,” Mrs. Fennel said. “They all know you’re coming. Everyone’s waiting for you.”
    She put her arm around my shoulders and closed the door behind me.
    “You know, this is a wonderful second chance for you, Lorelei. I can tell you, few of us would have enjoyed such an opportunity. Your father really loves you.”
    The house was old, but nothing looked worn or as untidy as the grounds did. There was no dust, no cobwebs. Everything looked as it might have looked the day the house was built and furnished. The floors glittered like immaculate hospital floors, and the wood of the walls and ceilings looked polished. I followed her through the short entryway and hallway and then heard the sound of babies crying.
    “Feeding time,” she said. “Don’t look so surprised. This really is an orphanage of sorts,” she added. “Come. Look.”
    We stopped at a doorway on the left. Inside was a nursery with ten infants in bassinets. Two women wearing nurses’ uniforms were tending to them.
    “Go on, look at them, Lorelei. Each one is perfect and will be quite beautiful.”
    The nurses turned and smiled at me.
    The one on the left reached into a bassinet and took out an infant who wasn’t crying. She looked asleep. The nurse held her so I could see her face. She did look perfect.
    “Wouldn’t you love to have a daughter like that?” Mrs. Fennel asked.
    I didn’t answer.
    The laughter in the other room grew louder.
    “Oh, come on,” Mrs. Fennel said. “They’re so anxious to see you.”
    I followed her across the hallway and into a large living room. Five young women sat on settees. I didn’t recognize them from the pictures I had seen in Daddy’s closet, but when the fifth turned to me, I gasped.
    It was Brianna.
    “Hi, Lorelei. You have grown beautifully. She’s perfect, isn’t she, Mrs.