Chapter Text
Percy and I had existed nearly as long as history itself. We had walked down Roman roads and ridden horses through medieval countryside. We had caught the first steam trains and aeroplanes. Nothing lasted before the next thing replaced it, except us.
I didn’t know any other vampires. I must have been turned at some point, but I had no recollection before I woke up like this. It hadn’t been long, perhaps a century, before I turned Percy in my loneliness. Perhaps I had hoped for romance, but that had never turned out, we were the best of friends, despite many an argument.
“New York has changed since last time we were here.”
“Last time we were here it was still a colony of England.”
“Where did you want to go?”
“The library.”
New Yorkers hurried past us and rubbish blew by on the wind. Thousands of people filled up the streets, inching toward their destination. I was glad we didn’t feel the cold, because it was the dead of winter, and I hadn’t brought a coat. We had fed yesterday, but the smell of blood was still on the air. It was in every big city, it couldn’t be escaped. We’d learned to ignore it over years.
“Of course it’s the library. Is there any library you haven’t visited.”
“This one.”
Percy rolled his eyes.
“What do you want to do?”
“Go back into the forest. I like it better than the city.”
“We won’t be here for long.”
The library loomed before us. I could see every contour of the building in perfect relief, unlike a human. I didn’t know much about human vision, I had little memory of it, so I had to trust Percy on that.
We walked inside. People looked at us as we went, something about us drew their eye, but they never talked or remembered us.
I walked through, examining every wall. Percy did the same, but he jittered more than I did. He preferred running wild, having something to do. Building like this reminded me of how old I was, and of my beginnings. Perhaps the same happened to Percy.
Did he regret allowing me to turn him? It would have been easier for him to have lived a normal life.
I was about to ask him when the hallway opened onto a room full of desks. There were plenty of people around, but my eye caught on a girl. Her brown hair flowed down her shoulders, and she wore a heavy coat, even in the library. A shiver ran through me as I looked. I couldn’t be cold, I was a vampire, so it had to be something else.
I should have kept my distance. Percy and I had made a pact that we would kill anyone who got close to us, to keep us out of danger of being discovered. But I couldn’t. I was drawn to her. Even her blood smelled sweeter than any other, eclipsing the other scents in the room completely. A fang descended, biting into my lower lip. I forced it back, trying to clear my head.
“Are you alright?” Percy grabbed my shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah… fine.”
“If you’re fine, I’m a human.”
I rolled my eyes at him, but that didn’t bring me back completely. I had to talk to her.
I shook his hand off my shoulder and walked over to her. I didn’t know what to say, I hadn’t had a conversation with anyone but him in years.
“Hi, I was wondering if you knew the location of the books on architecture, I haven’t been to this library before.”
The girl looked up at me, and I saw her eyes. They seemed to change colour, from green to blue to brown. Something was up with this girl.
“Over there.” She pointed to a shelf. “Do you need any help finding anything, I’m studying architecture.”
I looked over at her work. It was good, a precise drawing of an apartment building. I examined the sheet and looked at the one which specified what she needed.”
“You’re just missing a pool. You could do an infinity pool on the roof.”
“It wouldn’t work with this air conditioning unit.”
I examined the plans again, creating an image in my mind. I grabbed a spare sheet of paper and sketched my new plan. She examined it closely.
“That’s incredible, how did you-?”
“I’ve studied architecture, and I’ve seen some innovative designs in my life.”
“What’s your favourite?”
“Partial to the Parthenon, but there’s plenty I like.”
“The Parthenon is great, ancient architecture that is still standing is amazing.”
“If only you could have seen it new.”
Luckily she didn’t really seem to notice that. I needed to be more careful.
“Are you here on holiday, or have you just never been to this library before?”
“I’m here on holiday. I haven’t been to New York for years. You think you could show me some of the new stuff?”
“Like new builds? When were you here last time?”
“A good long while ago. We can start with the Statue of Liberty.”
It was such a stupid thing to say, but I wanted to know how she would react. Something made me think it would be ok. I’d never been this sure of something so thoughtless.
“Uh… ok.”
She closed her books and put them in her backpack, swinging it onto her shoulder. Percy came over and Piper looked up at him suspiciously.
“Piper’s going to show me around the city. You can do whatever you want.”
“Take however long you want, I’m in no hurry. I’ll call you if I need you.”
Piper led me back out of the library and stopped on the steps.
“Welcome to modern New York.”