Free Zamani by Angelic Rodgers

with someone overpowered her sense of duty to Liz. Maybe once
she’d dealt with it herself she could find some way to contact Liz and let her
know she was still here, just as Sasha.   She had too much to learn before she could hope to reveal herself,
though, and she needed to establish relationships now in order to get to that
point.  
    Lucy arranged for the
mentor, someone named Zofia, to come see Sasha early Sunday evening. She had
written the name down for Sasha to ensure she got that it was Zofia with a Z,
not Sofia. Apparently, incorrect spelling of her name was a sore spot.
    As the afternoon turned to
evening, Sasha fiddled with her new laptop setting up her new email and other
accounts under her new identity. The party had been a huge help in terms of
building her confidence, and it felt good--it was normal. She fought the
impulse to call Steph and try to convince her to come over. As tempting as that
was, she was ready and anxious to start training.
    She sensed her before Zofia
knocked. She felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck and on her arms stand
up, as if she was chilled.   She also
felt butterflies in her stomach as if something she’d anticipated for a long
time was finally happening. She moved toward the door and had her hand on it
just as Zofia knocked. Startled, she pulled the door open quickly. “Zofia?”
    The woman on her doorstep
smiled.   “Sasha! I’ve heard so much
about you.”   She stood perfectly
still, waiting for Sasha to welcome her.   Sasha stepped back, opening the door wide.   “Please, come in.   I’m excited about working with you.   I swear I knew you were here before you
knocked.”
    Zofia was tiny--smaller than
either Lucy or Sasha.   She was probably
only just five feet tall and looked like she weighed maybe 100 pounds.   Her hair was cut short, which added to
her youthfulness.   Sasha wondered
how this woman who looked like a tiny teenager would be able to help her.   As she shut the door, she heard Zofia
say softly, “I only look like a teenager.   I have more to teach you than you can imagine.”
    Sasha turned and stared at
Zofia silently, unsure if it was a lucky guess or if she’d actually read her
thoughts. They hadn’t even touched; she’d gotten used to the idea that her
touch allowed her to read thoughts of donors, but having her own thoughts read
made her a bit uncomfortable and she felt vulnerable.
    “Let’s sit.   I brought a bottle of wine to
share.   I know where the corkscrew
and glasses are.   This is an
especially good bottle of Cabernet.   I think you’ll like it.”   She
drifted out of the room and then back in, carrying two glasses and a
corkscrew.  
    Sasha reached for a
cigarette, but Zofia shook her head.   “That’s one of the first things you need to stop doing.”
    “It’s not like it’s going to
kill me.”   Sasha defiantly shook a
cigarette from the pack and brought it to her lips.   She reached for her lighter on the
coffee table only to watch it leap into Zofia’s hands.
    “Don’t be a child. Smoking
kills your ability to taste the wine. It dulls all of your senses. While you’re
learning, you need to be able to taste and smell.   I’ve never been able to talk Lucy into
quitting altogether.   You can have a
cigarette after you taste the wine, if you still want one, but not before.”
    Sasha wondered if all
vampires could use telekinesis.
    Zofia sat the two glasses on
the coffee table and poured for both of them.   The wine was dark, almost black and
opaque.   Sasha watched as Zofia
swirled it in her glass and she imitated her.   She’d always enjoyed wine, but she was
now mesmerized by Zofia’s movements and felt the desire to look like she knew
what she was doing.   As she sniffed
the wine, she realized that she’d never really smelled wine carefully.
    “Let me guess, this is your
first glass of wine since your awakening.   Glad it is a good one.   Imagine once you hone your sense of