Pretty When She Kills by Rhiannon Frater

porch surrounded by her mother’s lush landscaping. Her mother loved to putter around outside at all hours of the day. The house had survived the terrible wrath of Hurricane Katarina only because of the massive magical wards Rachon had placed on the property over the course of the previous century. The neighborhood had suffered massive losses though. She’d secretly funded the reconstruction of many of the homes through a dummy foundation. Sadly, there were still destroyed homes slowly rotting away on abandoned lots.
    The neighbors thought Rachon was an artist, living odd hours, struggling to make it big. She sometimes chatted with them, but not very often. They could sense there was something off about her, something not quite right. Rachon had vivid memories of the many times she had been hunted by her owner’s henchmen and by vampire hunters, therefore she tried to keep a low profile.
    “Mama, I’m going to check on the girl,” she said as she walked into the living room.
    Her mother leaned over the arm of her leather recliner, the only new piece of furniture in the house for the last twenty years. The older woman was very tiny, with a delicate face and slim frame. She had been a house slave before Rachon had rescued her. She had pale green eyes, light brown skin, and her white hair was twisted into a bun on top of her head. Rachon’s father had been black as night with maroon eyes just like his daughter. He had died before she had rescued her family and burned the plantation.
    “She’s such a quiet thing. I keep forgetting she is back there,” her mother admitted.
    Prosper grunted at something funny on the TV, not really paying attention to their chat.
    “I just want to make sure she’s okay.” Rachon pressed her hand against her mother’s cheek, feeling the soft warmth of her skin. Her mother had refused to become a vampire, but had agreed to take sips of Rachon’s blood to extend her life. Delia was very devout in her faith and afraid of losing her soul if she became a vampire. She prayed faithfully at church every day for her vampiric family. Rachon often wondered if God was listening.
    “Oh, that girl isn’t okay, but she’s quiet. So it’s all good.” Her mother snuggled her face into Rachon’s hand as she raised her own arthritic hand to touch her daughter’s fingers.
    “You tired yet?” Rachon asked, smiling as her mother kissed her palm.
    “No, no. Don’t need sleep yet. Besides, that wild party next door won’t let me sleep. But they did have some good crawfish earlier. Mmmm...” her mother grinned.
    Rachon lovingly kissed Delia’s cheek.
    “Rachon, let’s make Rhianna into a vampire,” Prosper said from the sofa, grinning.
    “Let’s not,” Rachon answered.
    “Always ruining my fun...”
    Delia laughed and playfully slapped his knee. “Always on the prowl for a pretty girl.”
    “I got a pretty girl right here,” Prosper answered, resting his big hand over hers.
    “Oh, you’re such a liar!
    Rachon left them to their TV watching and banter. She slipped down the hallway to the room in the back of the house. The walls of the hall were covered with framed charcoal sketches of the family throughout the years. The faces of her cousins, aunts, and uncles were carefully captured with the sure strokes of a charcoal pencil. Over a century and a half of the same faces caught in various eras were lovingly recreated by her mother’s hand. Digital photos were framed and carefully arranged in one area of the wall, but they weren’t as remarkable or touching as the sketches.
    Pushing the door open to the small bedroom, she peeked in at the young woman seated on the floor, her hands in her lap, staring at the TV.
    “How are we doing, Bianca?”
    As always, the pale vampire just stared at the screen blindly. She rarely showed an inclination to do anything other than to gaze into nothingness except for when Rachon opened a vein. Then she would mew like a baby and latch onto Rachon’s