from before, “the Khan's daughter”, as James had said, staring back at me. When she grew up, she was going to be a real looker. For now, though, she was cute as a button with silky black hair and inquisitive green eyes.
“Ah! What an honor!” James said, turning around to face the girl. He stood up and bade me do the same. “I would like to introduce her highness, Gansetseg.”
The girl inclined her head to James, and then said to me, “So you are the one the Wanderer calls ‘Dr. Death’?”
“It’s more of a nickname than anything else. My name's Bill.”
“Bill...” she said, as if tasting the word in her mouth. “A simple but strong name, although perhaps Dr. Death is a more fitting title for one such as you.”
“You speak really good English,” I pointed out.
“Thank you. My father, though having no love of the Western world himself, has insisted that my education be thorough.”
“A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” I said glibly, noticing out of the corner of my eye the slight eye-roll James made. Oh crap, I was doing it again. Best to wrap this up quickly before any further stupidity escaped my lips. “Well, it was very nice to meet you, Gan.”
“Gan?” she asked, a confused look on her face. “I do not understand. Is this meant as some sort of insult?” Uh oh.
“No!” I quickly answered. “It's just a nickname. I mean, where I come from we usually shorten each other's names to something simple. It's a compliment...a form of friendship,” I sputtered, hoping that I hadn't just dug my own grave with my stupid mouth.
She thought about this for a moment, and then gave what appeared to be a genuine smile. “A curious custom. We would never do that here. But yes, I think I like it. It is nice to meet you, too,” she finished with another smile, and then walked back towards her father.
“Cute kid,” I remarked to James.
“Yes, well that kid is three-hundred years old. You're lucky. That could have gone badly. Gansetseg is known to be temperamental . Instead, though, I think you actually made an impression upon her.”
“Three-hundred years?” I gasped, spewing some blood wine. “Has she always looked...”
“Yes,” James answered evenly. “That's the way it works with Vampires. You had asked before if vampires can have children. The answer is both yes and no. Despite his immortality, the Khan has always kept his mortal family close. Gansetseg is actually something like his great-great-granddaughter. She was a favorite of his. When she was bitten by a poisonous snake shortly after her twelfth birthday, the Khan couldn't bear to see her die. Her turned her, and then adopted her. She's been with him ever since.”
“And she'll look like that forever?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes. She is an ancient and wise woman in the body of a child.”
“Whoa,” I said.
“Yes, whoa is a particularly apt answer for that.”
* * *
We finished the feast. There were a lot of happy, content, and partially drunk vampires seated in the dining hall. A few more glasses of the blood, and I was going to start putting my arms around random vamps, doing the whole “I love you, man!” thing. I reflected back and realized that this had wound up becoming one hell of a fine day. Who'da thought it? A few days ago, I was feeling at my lowest. Now today, I was the honored guest of a living piece of history...oh, and did I mention the boatloads of sex I had earlier? Because if I didn't, I'd be happy to go into detail. Yeah, it was a pretty damn good day.
Which, of course, meant that it was time for the shit to hit the fan. Such is my life. Whenever the good times last too long, I know it's time to put on my raincoat and head into the storm cellar because some nastiness is no doubt coming my way.
Thus, as we sat around mellowing out, the Khan clapped his hands. Servants appeared from the
“Ah! What an honor!” James said, turning around to face the girl. He stood up and bade me do the same. “I would like to introduce her highness, Gansetseg.”
The girl inclined her head to James, and then said to me, “So you are the one the Wanderer calls ‘Dr. Death’?”
“It’s more of a nickname than anything else. My name's Bill.”
“Bill...” she said, as if tasting the word in her mouth. “A simple but strong name, although perhaps Dr. Death is a more fitting title for one such as you.”
“You speak really good English,” I pointed out.
“Thank you. My father, though having no love of the Western world himself, has insisted that my education be thorough.”
“A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” I said glibly, noticing out of the corner of my eye the slight eye-roll James made. Oh crap, I was doing it again. Best to wrap this up quickly before any further stupidity escaped my lips. “Well, it was very nice to meet you, Gan.”
“Gan?” she asked, a confused look on her face. “I do not understand. Is this meant as some sort of insult?” Uh oh.
“No!” I quickly answered. “It's just a nickname. I mean, where I come from we usually shorten each other's names to something simple. It's a compliment...a form of friendship,” I sputtered, hoping that I hadn't just dug my own grave with my stupid mouth.
She thought about this for a moment, and then gave what appeared to be a genuine smile. “A curious custom. We would never do that here. But yes, I think I like it. It is nice to meet you, too,” she finished with another smile, and then walked back towards her father.
“Cute kid,” I remarked to James.
“Yes, well that kid is three-hundred years old. You're lucky. That could have gone badly. Gansetseg is known to be temperamental . Instead, though, I think you actually made an impression upon her.”
“Three-hundred years?” I gasped, spewing some blood wine. “Has she always looked...”
“Yes,” James answered evenly. “That's the way it works with Vampires. You had asked before if vampires can have children. The answer is both yes and no. Despite his immortality, the Khan has always kept his mortal family close. Gansetseg is actually something like his great-great-granddaughter. She was a favorite of his. When she was bitten by a poisonous snake shortly after her twelfth birthday, the Khan couldn't bear to see her die. Her turned her, and then adopted her. She's been with him ever since.”
“And she'll look like that forever?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes. She is an ancient and wise woman in the body of a child.”
“Whoa,” I said.
“Yes, whoa is a particularly apt answer for that.”
* * *
We finished the feast. There were a lot of happy, content, and partially drunk vampires seated in the dining hall. A few more glasses of the blood, and I was going to start putting my arms around random vamps, doing the whole “I love you, man!” thing. I reflected back and realized that this had wound up becoming one hell of a fine day. Who'da thought it? A few days ago, I was feeling at my lowest. Now today, I was the honored guest of a living piece of history...oh, and did I mention the boatloads of sex I had earlier? Because if I didn't, I'd be happy to go into detail. Yeah, it was a pretty damn good day.
Which, of course, meant that it was time for the shit to hit the fan. Such is my life. Whenever the good times last too long, I know it's time to put on my raincoat and head into the storm cellar because some nastiness is no doubt coming my way.
Thus, as we sat around mellowing out, the Khan clapped his hands. Servants appeared from the
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