Valley of the Shadow

by Elizabeth Hunter

  “Dad!” Jake sat up and pointed. “Look at all the dogs!”

  “I see them.” Baojia muttered something under his breath.

  Sarah sat up and looked around. “What’s that smell?”

  “Cows,” Carwyn said. “Do you like hamburger?”

  “Oh.” Sarah’s eyes went wide. “Are these hamburger cows?”

  Some of the adults laughed, but Jake looked at his sister disdainfully. “All cows are hamburger cows.”

  “No, they’re not!” Sarah looked indignant. “Henrietta is a milk cow.”

  “An excellent point, Miss Sarah. We have milk cows here as well,” Carwyn said. “I’m not sure if any of them are named Henrietta.”

  Beatrice recognized the name of a familiar children’s storybook cow and hoped that Sarah’s bovine love wouldn’t be too sorely tested by spending a year on a working cattle ranch.

  Carina pointed. “Mom! Mom, they have little goats. Look!”

  “I see that.”

  Sadia said nothing. She was wide-eyed and silent as she took everything in.

  As they entered the ranch yard, Beatrice scented the aroma of meat cooking on a grill. They passed the last set of corrals and rode the horses between the houses and toward the long red barn behind the bunkhouses.

  Friendly hands waved from the porch, human and vampire intermingling. In Gus and Isabel’s valley refuge, there were no secrets and all the humans were accustomed to the immortals. For the most part, those who occupied the ranch were family of one sort or another. The few others were trusted friends and employees.

  Beatrice rode up to the barn and dismounted, tying her horse’s reins to a long hitching post before she turned and held her hands up to Giovanni. He handed their daughter down, and Beatrice wrapped Sadia’s arms around her neck.

  “How is my princesa?” Beatrice asked. “Cómo estás? Estás cansada?”

  Sadia spoke enough Spanish to shake her head. No, she wasn’t sleepy, though her eyes said otherwise. Beatrice pulled her wrap close around Sadia and pressed her cheek to hers. “Are you cold?”

  She nodded.

  “Let’s go wait by the fire, okay?” Beatrice looked around for Dema, but she was helping Natalie and Baojia with their two kids. Giovanni dismounted and passed the reins to one of Gus’s ranch hands before he took Beatrice’s hand and walked back toward the fire.

  At the back of the yard was Gustavo and Isabel’s large ranch house with all the main rooms of the compound, the dining hall, library, and large living rooms. Jutting off the side was a simple chapel with a cross rising from the top. Fronting the house was a deep porch that provided shade and rain protection year-round.

  Bordering the open yard on the far side of the house were various outbuildings. Bunkhouses, storage rooms, and offices ran down one side. Mudrooms, bathrooms, and a large ranch kitchen bordered the other. The two branches of the house reached out to the yard and the narrow valley, as if embracing it.

  Beatrice saw smoke rising around the compound from various wood-burning stoves inside the dwellings, and the large bonfire in the middle of the yard was surrounded by chairs and log benches where all the guests and their hosts were beginning to gather.

  They sat, and a tray of steaming mugs came around. Tea for the adults and cocoa for the children. The air was cold enough that their breath steamed in the night, though Beatrice knew it would be dramatically warmer for the humans during the day.

  Isabel, Carwyn’s daughter and owner of the ranch, stood up once everyone had gathered around. “Welcome to all our guests. We’re so glad you were able to make it to the valley for Christmas this year. Though we don’t have snow, we do have lots of Christmas trees!” She smiled and a few people laughed. “I hope the children are excited about decorating them.”

  Carina was nearly bouncing in her seat. “I like decorating trees.”

  “Excellent.”

  In short order, everyone was sorted into rooms and cabins. Beatrice and Giovanni’s cabin was up in the foothills above the valley, miles from the main ranch, so until Natalie and Baojia needed it, their whole party would remain in the valley, occupying rooms in the guest wing of the house and the many small, wood-shingled cabins scattered around the ranch. All were fitted with locks and shutters so they were vampire-safe, and they were within walking distance of the ranch house and kitchen.

  Giovanni put his arm around Beatrice and kissed the top of Sadia’s head. “This is going to be the strangest summer camp ever.”

  Brigid Connor, fire vampire, security specialist for Patrick Murphy of Dublin and wife of Carwyn ap Bryn nearly ran into her bedroom at the ranch and locked the door behind her, leaning against it and heaving a long sigh of relief.

  Carwyn looked up from the book he was reading on the bed. “Done socializing, are we?”

  “Jaysus, there’s so many people here.” Brigid shook her head. She walked to the bed and crawled across it so her husband could pet her. “I’m sure every last one of them is a fecking delight on their own, but the lot of them all at once…”

  “More than a bit overwhelming.” Carwyn ran his fingers through Brigid’s pixie-cut hair. “Even for me. And I like people.”

  “I like people,” Brigid protested. “In small groups. Even in medium groups. But that was a herd, my fine man.”

  Carwyn smiled and scooped her up and into his arms, depositing Brigid on his lap so he could snuggle her properly. She’d been on the continent, seeing to a few things for Murphy before she caught a boat to join him in Cochamó for the Christmas holiday, so he was making up for lost time.

  He caught her mouth in a kiss. Then another one. Soon enough, he was stealthily inching his hand up her shirt.

  “You know,” she murmured against his lips. “I can take everything off if that’s what you’re aiming for.”

  “But it’s so much more fun when I feel like we’re sneaking around.”

  Brigid smiled and tilted her head to the side to allow Carwyn to nibble her neck. He was a man who thrived on affection, so separations were never ideal. The side benefit was feeling adored when they were reunited.

  “You know,” Brigid said as the nibbles turned to long, laving kisses, “I was down there, looking at all those couples with young children and thinking—”

  Carwyn’s head popped up. “What? You were thinking of what?” His eyes were wide, and he looked slightly terrified.

  Brigid began to laugh. “Calm down, Father. I was just thinking that I was relieved we hadn’t adopted any little ones of our own. They’re nice to visit, but feck, they’re so much work.”

  “Oh, thank the Lord.” Carwyn leaned his forehead against her shoulder. “You gave me a fright.”

  “I was half-afraid you were going to be enthusiastic about the idea.” Brigid shifted her legs so she could straddle his lap.

  Carwyn took her mouth again. “I just have”—kisses on her mouth and across her cheek—“so many children”—his hands inching up her sides, teasing her skin with delicious, tingling amnis—“already.”

  Brigid sank into his kiss and rested her arms on his massive shoulders. When she was in a teasing mood, she called him carnín. Her little mountain. It was a ridiculous nickname, so of course her husband loved it.

  “Never fear,” Brigid said. “I don’t want any babies, thank you very much.” She rocked her hips into Carwyn’s, enjoying the rise of the other mountain in the room. “I am not in favor of sharing you any more than I already do.”

  “I’m yours.” He flipped her over and settled between her legs. “Completely. Snap your fingers and I’m there, darling girl.”

  She began unbuttoning his pants. “Snap my fingers?”

  He reached down and slid a hand down the back of her pants. “Unless you’d rather do something else with them.”

  Brigid grinned and reached into his pants. “I think I have a few ideas.”

  Carwyn groaned and pressed his face into her neck. “Please.” His fangs slid along the side of her throat, and his
tongue flicked against her pulse. “Please demonstrate.”

  “If you insist.”

  Chapter Five

  “Know what I’m really pissed about?” Natalie was sitting on the edge of the river, watching as the four California kids splashed on the edges.

  Dema was holding Sadia’s hand while she waded, and Natalie was keeping a close eye on Sarah, who wasn’t allowed go past the big rocks.

  Jake and Carina were both excellent swimmers and the water wasn’t moving fast, so Natalie and Dez were sitting in the sun, enjoying the afternoon warmth.

  Dez said, “The obvious answer would be that you’re pissed about getting breast cancer, so I know it’s not that.”

  Natalie put a hand on her startlingly pale white legs. “Cellulite for eternity. I know it’s superficial, but I’m going to have bumpy thighs and stretch marks for possibly hundreds of years.”

  Dez started to laugh.

  “I mean,” Natalie continued, “I thought I had more time. I was going to lose ten pounds or so. Trim up. Definitely get better arms, you know?”

  “I remember your talking about Michelle arms.”

  “Yes! Right? But nope. No time. I’m stuck for all eternity with preschool-mom bod.”

  “What did you think you were going to do about the cellulite?” Dez stretched her own legs out. “I mean, everyone has some. Beatrice probably does, and she changed ten years ago.”

  “I don’t know.” Natalie started to laugh. “Isn’t there laser surgery or something? Celebrity vampires probably don’t have cellulite.”

  Dez dropped her voice. “Are there celebrity vampires? Is that a thing?”

  “I don’t think so, but the point remains. There is probably some medical way of getting rid of all these bumps, but I’m never going to find it because I have breast cancer.” She shook her head. “Fucking breast cancer.”

  “It really bites.”

  They repeated the common refrain together. “And not in a sexy vampire way.”

  “Exactly,” Natalie said. “Not at all in a sexy vampire way.” A wave of exhaustion started to creep up on her. “Dez, can you watch mine?”

  “No problem.” Dez reached over and tilted Natalie’s hat over her eyes. “Lie down and nap if you want to. I’ll throw a towel over you if you start to burn.”

  “Thanks.” The grass on the riverbank was soft and long, mingling with sand and small pebbles. They’d been at the ranch for three days, and every afternoon they’d spent with the kids outside. Natalie was determined to soak up as much sun as she could. Christmas was four days away, which meant she had less than a week left of being human.

  She still hadn’t wrapped her mind around it. She wasn’t excited. She wasn’t dreading it. It was as if an appointment she’d made years before was finally rolling around. Or company showing up unexpectedly. It wasn’t bad, but you’d forgotten to make a big enough dinner and all the nice dishes were dirty.

  There were so many things she’d been meaning to do, and she hadn’t because… she was busy!

  She’d been busy teaching Jake how to ride a bike and making sure Sarah ate green things.

  She’d been balancing work and the kids’ school stuff.

  She’d been trying to figure out if Jake having a dog was feasible or would cause a whole new set of problems.

  She’d been trying to find gymnastics lessons for Sarah that didn’t involve driving sixty miles both ways.

  And she’d been trying to remember to kiss her husband more often because she’d realized a couple of months before that she’d gone three days without kissing Baojia, and that was simply unacceptable when you were married to a man that hot.

  Nothing in her life was simple. Every problem solved seemed to create two new issues, and now…

  And now.

  Her life had boiled down to the barest essentials.

  There was no school. No work. No plans.

  There were only the people she loved who had come around her, and the precious hours of human life slipping away. If being sick weren’t forcing her to sleep every day, she’d skip sleep altogether. Another hour gone. Another minute ticked by.

  Her eyes were closed, and the sun warmed her cheeks. She could feel Dez playing with her hair, braiding the ends, spreading the warm red across the grass.

  Natalie’s eyes fluttered open. “How long?”

  Dez looked at her watch. “Maybe twenty minutes?”

  Twenty minutes of sunlight gone.

  “What do you want to do?” Dez asked. “We’re deciding cellulite is sexy and desirable, so let’s focus on what you want to do before… you know.”

  “Before Lucien drains my blood and makes me drink his and I turn into a ferocious creature of the night?”

  Dez patted her head. “It’s so cute how you think you’re going to be ferocious.”

  “I am going to be ferocious.” Natalie snapped her teeth. “For real, I’ll be totally ferocious. A complete badass.”

  “Right.” Dez muttered, “At least we won’t have to worry about you running into traffic anymore.”

  “I only did that because Councilman Vargas was dodging the question! He’s the one who crossed the street. I just followed him.”

  “Into traffic, Natalie!”

  She shrugged. “No one hit me. I knew what I was doing. And if that damn cameraman hadn’t been there for channel 2o, none of you would have even known it happened.”

  “But he was, and we did.”

  She wouldn’t be able to work like she had before. You couldn’t be an investigative reporter for a major newspaper if you couldn’t go anywhere during the day.

  “What do I want to do?” She had to distract herself. “Other than lose that ten pounds?”

  “I mean…” Dez got out her phone. “I can try to find some Wi-Fi and look online to see what part of your body you can cut off if you want to streamline, but yeah, I’m thinking other than weight loss. One, it’s super not important, and your ass is already enviable. Also, probably not feasible in a week. What important things do you want to do before you turn into a vampire?”

  Natalie sat up. “Like… a bucket list?”

  “Kinda. You’re not dying. That’s the point. But your human body is kinda dying? So yeah. Kind of a Nat-being-human bucket list.”

  Natalie watched the kids playing in the river. “Spend time in the sun with the kids as much as possible.”

  “Done. Good one.” Dez got out the small notebook she always kept in her purse. “Okay, what else?”

  “Are you writing this down?”

  “Yes.” She scribbled something and held it out so Natalie could see. On the paper, she’d written: Nat’s Super-Awesome and Amazing Bucket O’ Blood List.

  Natalie laughed. “I like the little vampire flourish there.”

  Dez waved her hand. “Come on. What else, future badass?”

  “Uh…” She took a deep breath. “What can vampires not do?”

  “Sun is the obvious one.”

  “Oh!” Natalie’s eyes lit up. “I want a tattoo!”

  “Oh, good one.” Dez wrote it down. “Plus if you get it now, it’ll never fade or anything, right?”

  “I’ll have to check on that, but probably not.”

  “What else?”

  “Mmmm. Kind of goes with playing outside, but get as tan as possible without turning into a lobster.”

  Dez nodded as she wrote. “Always a fine, fine line with our pale Irish skin, but we’ll do our best.”

  “Do you really think weight lifting to get Michelle arms is out of the question?”

  “How important are biceps to you really?”

  “Good point.” Natalie narrowed her eyes. “What won’t I be able to— Oooh! I need to get drunk.”

  Dez winced. “Are you sure?”

  “Load up on aspirin and don’t talk to me about sulfites, you ninny. We’re getting smashed. At least one night.”

  “All right.” Dez groaned a little writing that one down. “What
else?”

  “Rock climbing!”

  “You do realize you’re going to turn into an earth vampire, right?”

  “Exactly. Once I’m a vampire, there won’t be any challenge in rock climbing. I want to try it when I can still get an adrenaline rush.”

  “Okay, fair enough.” Dez wrote it down.

  “Watch the sunrise every morning.”

  “Definitely. And the sunset.”

  Natalie smiled. “I do that already. That’s when Baojia wakes up.”

  “Aww.” Dez put her pencil down. “You’ll never have to say goodbye, Nat. Have you thought about that? You’ll never have to say goodbye.”

  “Nope.” Natalie felt her heart swell. “That’s the best part.”

  “More.” Dez picked up her pen again.

  “Waterskiing?”

  “We can try.”

  “Kayaking?”

  “Definitely. I saw some kayaks in the barn.”

  “Scuba diving?”

  Dez pursed her lips. “But wouldn’t diving actually be better after you turn, because then you don’t have to wear any of that awful gear ’cause you won’t need to breathe?”

  “Good point. Leave scuba diving off.”

  “Okay, what else?”

  “Lots and lots of food!”

  Dez glanced over her shoulder. “With these hosts, I don’t see that being a problem.”

  “Oh.” Natalie clapped her hands. “I know what I want. Like, really want. Thanksgiving dinner.”

  Dez frowned. “But we just had Thanksgiving.”

  “And I was grumpy and feeling nauseous and overworked,” Natalie said. “This time, I’m going to know it’s my last one as a human. I’ll be able to stuff myself with pie. Be able to eat a bunch of turkey and fall asleep on the couch.”

  “I get you.” Dez started writing. “We may be limited on food, but I’ll talk to Isabel. I’m sure we can figure out something.” She flipped the list over and showed Natalie. “Okay, this is your bucket list?”