A Touch of Dead: Dracula Night 介紹

“Some night,” he whispered,

“there’s going to be nothing else but you and me.”

- Eric Northman in Dracula Night

(內文更新)


Dracula nIght, 時間點是發生在Southern Vampire Mysteries系列小說的Dead to the World (4) 以及Dead as a Doornail (5) 之間. Many Bloody Returns是有關於吸血鬼與生日的作品集.



Sookie正要準備出門上班, 收到許多帳單, Bills, bills, bills, 以及一張看起來很貴, 很時髦的邀請函. 她慎重地打開.

ERIC NORTHMAN
AND THE STAFF OF FANGTASIA
REQUEST THE HONOR OF YOUR PRESENCE
AT FANGTASIA'S ANNUAL PARTY
TO CELEBRATE THE BIRTHDAY OF
THE LORD OF DARKNESS
PRINCE DRACULA
ON FEBEURARY 8, 10:00 P.M.
MUSIC PROVIDED BY THE DUKE OF DEATH
DRESS FORMAL RSVP

那是來自Fangtasia的生日派對邀請函. 喔, 不, 不是Eric Northman本人, 是Dracula的生日. Eric每年一到了2月8日, 就會在Fangtasia酒吧開派對慶祝Dracula的生日, 而且是很有Fangtasia格調的那種盛大派對. 每位吸血鬼都會前來歡慶Dracula的生日, 其中有些吸血鬼暗自希望或許有一天Dracula閣下會親臨派對現場.

Eric非常緊張, 興奮地宛若趴在糖果店櫥窗前的小孩, 希望"Lord of Darkness"會因此現身. 就像是萬聖節的時候, Linus van Pelt等待Great Pumpkin一樣的心情.


雖然很不可能, 但Eric還是滿懷希望, Dracula今年會現身Fangtasia的派對. Pam透露他甚至收買了相關人士, 所以機率很大.

Sookie準備了Rose Pink的禮服與銀色的高跟鞋獨自出席, Pam稱讚她的服裝會讓Eric非常愉悅. 考量到Sookie與Eric的History (經歷dead to the world的纏綿), 加上Bill變成ex了....Sookie雖說不在乎Eric的看法, 其實她心裡很介意.

Eric 穿著訂製的燕尾服, 格外耀眼. 他以優雅的舞姿向Sookie打招呼, 令她差點忘了呼吸 (能讓心跳暫時停止也算是一種絕技)

I had to gape. He looked positively edible. Eric is very tall, very broad, very blond, and tonight he was dressed in a tuxedo that had not come off any rack. This tux had been made for Eric, and he looked as good as any James Bond in it. Black cloth without a speck of lint, a snowy white shirt, and a hand-tied bow at his throat, with his beautiful hair rippling down his back.

“James Blond,” I muttered. Eric’s eyes were blazing with excitement. Without a word, he dipped me as though we were dancing and planted a hell of a kiss on me: lips, tongue, the entire osculant assemblage. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. When I was quivering, he assisted me to rise. His brilliant smile revealed glistening fangs. Eric had enjoyed himself.

“Hello to you, too,” I said tartly, once I was sure I was breathing again.

“My delicious friend,” Eric said, and bowed.

既然對吸血鬼來說是這麼重要的派對, 當然受邀的人類就不多了. Colonel Flood 與 Calvin Norris 也在賓客名單中, 他們不算是人類. (不知道的人請看Dead to the Worse World), 一個是werewolf族群首領, 一個是werepanther老大.

另外有些Sookie沒見過的吸血鬼, 也許是路過Louisiana來湊熱鬧的. Sookie的ex Bill也出席了, 兩人沒有交流.

Pam表示Dracula的地位崇高到, 沒有任何吸血鬼可以公然對抗制裁他, 萬一現身絕對棘手.

午夜時分, 每個人都屏息期待Dracula的降臨 ( 如果他們還需要呼吸的話...), 但他沒有出現.....Fangtasia新來的bartender吸血鬼Milos突然表明身分說自己就是Vlad Tepes aka Dracula. Eric恭敬地單膝下跪致敬. What?

Vlad拒絕引用Royalty (Eric特別準備的, 傳說中Dracula很愛喝的血飲料, 混了貴族人類的真血, 昂貴稀有), 要求Eric款待住一年, 還要每天提供一名人類女性讓他"飲用", 就從Sookie開始!

跪著的Eric感到恐懼, What would Charlie Brown have done if the Great Pumpkin wanted to eat the little read -haired girl?

Pam悄悄遞給Sookie一個東西. "You're the human." Colonel Flood與Calvin Norris意圖挺身而出, Sookie暗示他們退下, there was a plan.

Sookie很恭敬地問Vlad如何從Targoviste的墳墓爬出來? Vlad表示這是祕密. Sookie隨即以木棍刺殺了Vlad! Eric接著用力將木棍深深刺入Vlad的胸膛, 解決了驚恐的Vlad!

Fangtasia的bartender一遇上Sookie就得死的傳統仍然延續! 在一屋子失望的吸血鬼中, 身為少數的人類, Sookie竟然殺了Vlad, 處境似乎不妙?

Sookie試圖解釋 "He wasn't Dracula", 但憤怒的吸血鬼們聽不進去. Pam表示那的確不是Dracula, 而且吸血鬼不能殺Dracula, 但人類不在此限! Eric大聲宣佈, "Milos was not the real Dracula.I would have staked him myself if I had had my wits about me."

究竟Sookie是如何知道Milos不是Dracula呢? Pam回答, 因為Dracula的墳墓是在Snagov, 不是Tagoviste!

He smiled with a great show of fang, making his point quite nicely. “What happens in Shreveport, stays in Shreveport.”

平息眾人的憤怒與疑問後, Eric要求在場所有的人保密, 包括人類在內. Colonel與Calvin都說沒問題.

I was watching Eric, his golden hair falling forward as he looked down at the rapidly disintegrating remains of the self-styled Prince of Darkness. The thousand years of his life sat on him heavily, and for a second I saw every one of them. Then, by degrees, his face lightened, and when he looked up at me, it was the expectancy of a child on Christmas Eve. " Maybe next year," he said.

看來Dracula Night果然充滿了奇異的氛圍, 彷彿是一千零一夜中的謎~

但, Dracula是不到1000年的吸血鬼, Eric地位不是比他更崇高嗎? CH老大? 應該是Dracula要向Eric下跪才對.

最精彩的是這段....Eric與Sookie的慢舞和一句話, 讓Sookie緊張到微微顫抖.

Eric claimed me for a slow dance, and though he was clearly distracted by thoughts of what the night might hold — Dracula-wise — he made my toenails quiver.

“Some night,” he whispered, “there’s going to be nothing else but you and me.”

When the song was over, I had to go back to the table and have a long, cold drink. Lots of ice.

如果這樣的Eric算是沒有恢復記憶的狀態, 那我真的很懷疑, CH要如何寫下去? 難怪CH沒有辦法在Dead as doornail收錄這段, 這電流太強啦~

Quotes from Charlaine Harris' Dracula Night
SOURCE Quotes