Page 67 of The Vampire's Lament
“Yeah.” I stuck my tongue out to show them off.
“No. I taste in a snake way.”
I slid my tongue back. “Thought so.”
Raking her hands through her hair, she said, “At least we’re not talking about the darkness outside this room.”
Only, her mentioning it allowed it to creep back in.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“What next?” she said, getting to her feet.
“I’m not sure.” Honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to talk. But what else was there to do? Sleep? Pfft. That wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. Ponder the details? There’d be plenty of time for that.
I got to my feet, stretching my arms above my head. “Is there a TV in this room?”
She bared her pearly whites at me. “Watch this.”
With three claps, a TV rose out of the floor at the foot of Silvanus’s bed.
“Ta dah!”
I clapped my hands together. “What a sight for sore eyes.”
All that time spent in this room and there was TV after all? Yeah, I loved reading the copious supply of books, but sometimes I needed a fix of screen time.
We climbed onto the bed, adjusting the plush pillows behind us.
The bed smelled of the king.
Yummy…
“What shall we watch?” she asked.
I had no idea where Medusa pulled the remote control from. She pointed it at the screen, bringing up a menu of various channels and streaming apps.
“Something funny,” I said.
She picked a sitcom calledA Werewolf Walked Into A Bar…, now on its sixth season and still a riot.
“One of my faves,” I declared.
Pearl hated it. She thought it was unfunny and the main character a bore. But she still used to sit and watch it with me, never complaining too much. Sisterly loyalty in action, man.
And I’d seen her hide a chuckle several times.
You were such a secret fan,I thought out to her.
Sadness pinched me, but I booted it away. Grief took so much, leaving so much damage in its wake. It wouldn’t steal my love of this show or the happy memories I’d gained devouring episodes with my hate-watching twin.
“This is the best episode,” Medusa said.
She pushed play on the one where Karl, the main character, keeps trying to propose to his girlfriend, failing each time with one slapstick nightmare after another.
Should we be doing this within the wounded vampire palace?
Fuck it. Laughter was real medicine with real power to elevate your soul above the bullshit, even for a little while.
