by Colleen Tews
My knees sank into the street. I cried out as I wrestled against the current. The lower half of my body felt cocooned in a hot gooey gel. I grasped at the melting snow outside the wall. The force of the blood fought against gravity and sliced open my arms. Unable to maintain any viable means of escape bloody tears burned down my face and mingled with droplets of blood that reached the top of the spout and showered down upon me. Still I sank deeper.
My arms twisted above me as my shoulders and head were consumed into nothingness. The twist caused my wrists to intertwine and I got stuck on the hole's mouth. I hung over a bottomless pit of darkness. I felt the little pitter-patter of blood raining on my fingers.
“Somebody help me! Please!” I shouted to no one in particular.
A malicious laughter echoed around me. It caressed my skin, sent shivers down my spine, and struck an animalistic cord in my heart that reminded me of what true terror felt like. I had no idea how close the person was and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“Hello?” I whispered a pathetic plea to the darkness. There was no response. I hung my head.
Then the laughter returned, louder and more haunting than before. Hairs on the back of my neck rose. A callous wind blew. I swung like a pendulum. The coarse concrete scraped my wrists.
I tried not to cry out but failed. A stabbing pain shot through my undead heart. I flipped my head up as an ear-shattering scream tore out from me. Whoever was laughing was a sadistic asshole because my pain, my fear, only made him or her laugh harder.
“Stop. Stop it!”
“Or you’ll do what?”
I knew this voice. I was shocked to discover the person responsible for this charade. “Caelyn?”
“Maybe.” Lucian’s unmistakable voice answered.
My confusion overshadowed my fear. That confusion jumped into overdrive as I saw Thais skip out from the darkness. Her pale perfection was like a glowing beacon in the dark. Even her dress was the purest shade of white. With her hair the color of the sun she looked like a ghost.
“What the-”
“Hell?” The vision warped and Thais transformed into a small boy about the age of eight. He had short brown hair, brown eyes and chubby cheeks. He wore a red and blue thick stripped short sleeve shirt, blue jeans and scuffed brown tennis shoes.
“Who are you?”
“I am here for you.” His voice was pleasant. He smiled sweet as an angel but a shadow crept across his face. For an instant I saw an older man’s face with red glowing eyes and sharp, cruel fangs that rivaled any modern day vampire.
“Really? Color me skeptical."
“Yes. We all are here to get you on the right path. To enlighten you.” His youthful face hardened into a look no one that age had enough experience to muster.
A woman screamed below me. A man cried out in pain. Followed by another person’s shouts, then another and another. Below me hundreds of scared people reached up to me, wailing. With all of them yelling at the same time there was no way to know who screamed what.
I wiggled and kicked in hopes of freeing myself. The ones on top banged on my feet with dirty, beaten hands. Clear tears ran from empty eye sockets. They cut clean lines through the dirt on their faces. Their clothes were dinghy, ragged, and were either too big or too small.
A man grabbed my foot. My hands slipped a millimeter. The small boy laughed. My head jerked up from the man at my leg. It was his voice I heard earlier. “You’re doing this! Why?”
He kept laughing at me as others took hold of my feet and worked their way up. I wanted to help them, but I wouldn’t be of much use to them if I got hurt in the process or hurt them by accident because they were overzealous. The little boy was my only hope. “Either tell me why the fuck you are doing this or let me go.”
I slipped another notch. With brittle fingers that had almost no feeling left I clung to the street. “Tell me damn it!”
In a blink of an eye the boy hovered in the air face to face with me. My eyes locked in his hypnotic gaze. The people at my feet froze, but did not let go. Through the echoed moan that bounced back at us from cries long cried he whispered to me. “Here shortly you will need to make a vital decision. Do not hesitate. Destiny is fickle. Even as you mock it, the future will devour you unless you listen. You will kill them all.”
My grip slipped. The transition from one world to the other was completed. The poor pleading souls released me from their bond. I hurtled down into the void.
Chapter 39
I startled awake draped over the edge of the bed with an odd feeling of loneliness. I rolled over to Albert’s empty side of the bed. “Albert!” I flung the sheets off and swung my feet onto the floor. “Albert!”
In my pajamas I ran out of the room screaming his name. I rushed to the bathroom. He wasn’t in there either. I ran downstairs, taking the steps two at a time. “Albert! Where are you?”
Relief washed over me when I saw him at the dinning room table sipping a cup of tea. Billie and Lester were with him laughing up a storm.
“Why didn’t you answer me? Couldn’t you hear me calling for you?” I sounded like a mother badgering her child. I slammed a hand on the table next to him.
“I’m enjoying a nice cup of earl grey with our company. It was the least I could do since they will be leaving our humble abode this evening.” He winked as he took a sip.
Billie was dressed for a fight. She wore tattered jeans, a black t-shirt with another metal band’s logo, and a short black leather biker jacket. The outfit hardened her brown eyes and petite features. Her hair was high on the back of her head in a tight ponytail. Lester must have rummaged through her closet because he was dressed to match.
Billie nodded her head with excitement. “Oh yeah, there’s a war meeting at the Caravellies in about an hour. That’s where Brutus is now. We’re supposed to ride with you over there.”
“Why wasn’t I woken up when you guys got the news?”
“We were told to let you rest. When Raphe called he said you had a pretty rough night."
"That's one way to put it." Suddenly embarrassed to be seen in red flannel pajamas. “Okay. Give me a minute to get dressed. Then we can head out. Albert can you come upstairs with me, please?”
He frowned a little and gestured toward his cup of tea. “You can bring it with you.” I said. That cheered him up. He picked up the hot cup and followed me up to the bedroom.
Once behind a closed door I folded my arms and continued my parental pestering. “Why didn’t you wake me up when you got up?”
His eyes widen and he chuckled. “I didn’t leave the room until I knew Brutus was gone. Which was rather hard to do because I had to go to the bathroom. I was sure you would wake up soon. And after you put Brutus in his place there was no way Billie or Lester would have done anything to me. Except maybe ask me to be their breakfast.”
“Did they?”
“Lester did, but then Billie punched him in the gut for being rude. She said the person to ask that question was you since I belonged to you. So he went out, fed, and came back.” He spoke like it was all no big deal. It was just another day living in an awkward paradise.
I could not believe I slept through so many things. If I made it through this I would invest in an alarm clock. “Did she go too?”
“No, she’s hoping to grab a bite, possible pun intended, before the attack.” He set his cup of tea on the green table and sat on the cot. “Were you able to get a hold of Sasha?”
“No." I opened the walk-in-closet. This was my last chance to get at Brutus and Khel. With that in mind I pulled out a wraparound black skirt that reached mid-thigh and allowed me easy access to the gun in my garter belt, a thick black shirt with a low-neck line, and long sleeves to hide two silver knives and black heels that I could kick off if I needed to fight. I preferred being barefoot.
Albert watched me as I assembled the hiding places for all my weapons. “Are you going to the big fight?”
“Of course not. I don’t expec
t to be asked either.” I fluttered my fingers by my face and attempted a southern accent. “Raphe wouldn’t let little ol’ me to be put in ‘arms way.” I laughed at my own joke. Albert smiled and shook his head at me. In my normal voice, “But with the city distracted I’m going to try to take care of Father Khel.”
“Won’t he be at the fight?” He took another casual sip.
“I'm counting on it. Did you get everything I asked for?”
“Yes. The canisters are in the trunk. I also took the liberty of putting more weapons in there, too.”
“How thoughtful."
“You're welcome."
“I’ll be back later tonight. Be prepared to leave in case this all goes horribly wrong.”
He set his cup down. "What's your plan?"
I put my hands on my hips. "Follow the advice of a wise man. Hit him where it hurts."
“Be careful.” He stood and opened his arms.
“I will.” I hugged him in close. "If I don't make it back don't run or they'll think you were in on it. I know it'll be hard, but play the dumb ghoul. I kept you in the dark. Tell them you came with the house."
He chuckled in my ear. “Veronica, it was an honor to help you. I am glad that fate brought you into my life.” He pulled back. His eyes filled with unshed tears. “In the short amount of time we spent together you have shown great courage, compassion, and gave me a rather unique view of the world. You’ve lived up to all my expectations of you. Caelyn's bolstering didn't serve your justice. I’m not sure how happy he would be of you taking revenge on a priest.” We both broke into an awkward laugh. “But the way you’ve carried yourself through it all would make him as proud of you as I am. Good luck tonight and happy hunting.”
“Thank you, Albert. That means a lot to me. A lot more than I thought it would.” I kissed his cheek. “Take care.” I squeezed his shoulders.
I made certain to grab my cell phone, trench coat, and a small pocketknife for good measure. One could never have too many weapons. I was off to a war meeting.
Chapter 40
Vampires from every House in the area were at the Caravelli Compound preparing for battle. By every House I meant even the Gancheru came out of hiding. There were at least twenty of them. They must have surfaced because of Capron’s defection. It was time they showed unity among the Houses. They slinked around the compound, hiding their hideous faces and deformities. The fowl stench of rotten garbage water clung to them and anything they touched. Most everyone else I had seen at one point or another. With so many vampires, even in a house as big as this one, it was hard to move.
The city leaders congregated in the living room. All eyes were focused on them as they discussed the plan of attack. I waved my arm above my head. Eventually Raphe spotted me in the sea of vampires and waved me through.
I said, “Excuse me,” too many times to count as I waded into the living room. That didn't work. I gave up on the niceties and shoved my way to the front of the room. Since they wouldn’t let me be polite I wouldn’t waste the effort.
As I reached the central group Grump recapped the plan. He sat in one of the plush beige recliners dressed in blue jeans and a faded, red flannel surrounded by Father Khel, Brutus, Meisha, and Raphe. “Thanks to the Caravelli's, uhm, business ties we acquired the warehouse's floor plans. Khel, you're going to stay in the back of the warehouse, protected by the Gancheru, and counteract Lucian’s shadow manipulations.”
Khel nodded his head, adorned with a black fedora, in agreement. The brim of the hat hid his haunting beady eyes and made his crooked hawk nose more predominant. Overall, it went well with his usual attire.
Grump moved on to the next step of the plan. “Meisha, you and members of your House are going to be out of the mix up in the loft. That way you have free reign to do whatever it is you guys do. Just be careful, friendly fire is rarely ever really friendly.”
“Would I ever let anyone accidentally shoot any of you guys with a fireball?” Meisha asked with a look of awed innocence that was riddled with sarcasm. She readjusted her floor length, dark tie-dyed skirt that her black blouse was tucked into tonight. Her brown hair was in a French braid.
One of Raphe’s eyebrows crooked high. “Yes. Yes, you would.” He laughed. His long black hair shook and shimmered free in the light. The buckles on his short, black leather jacket clanked as he got up from a wooden chair and came over to me. A black t-shirt was tucked into dark blue jeans. He wrapped one arm around my back and kissed my cheek. “Hey beautiful.”
“Hey yourself.” I leaned into his half-hug, placing my hand on his chest and my other arm around him.
“How are you holding up?” His lips brushed my ear.
“I’m good. So tonight’s the night?”
“Yup. After tonight no more Lucian."
Grump continued down the rundown of how the battle would hopefully play out. Maartens would go in hot and heavy, guns blazing. The Gancheru, not protecting Khel, would join them as a second wave attack. Their strength was in their vast numbers. While Raphe and Grump attempted to corner that little Chinese bitch, as Grump called Sasha. “I think we should pile everyone into the least amount of vehicles as we can. The fewer vehicles we have the better our chances are of showing up without being noticed. We all know what we are doing now?”
Stupid me, so eager to at least appear helpful, I raised my hand. “What are Bunny and I suppose to do?”
Meisha crossed her legs and folded her arms. “Bunny will be in the back of the warehouse bringing ammo to the Maartens if they need it. You could help her.”
“Sure, whatever you need. I’m here to help.”
Raphe faked a cough and pretended to clear his throat. “Actually, you won’t be.” He tugged the back of my coat and practically pulled me back through the crowd of vampires. He escorted me into the kitchen; which was void of anyone.
“Now why is that I won’t be at the warehouse?” I said, hands on my hips. This was going just as I imagined.
Raphe stood in the middle of the kitchen with his back to me. His leather jacket had a broken heart with white wings that spread across his shoulders on it. That picture stared at me like a gloomy foreshadow of events to come. He gave off waves of nervous energy. His hands clenched into shaking fists. “I can’t lose you.”
I moved up alongside Raphe. I barely touched his back when he spun around and took me in his arms. As he clung to my waist I hugged around his neck. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Little by little he slid his hands across my sides until he reached my arms. Raphe guided my arms down. He held my hands between us. His strong yet tender hands massaged the back of my hands as he stared at them attentively. “I haven’t cared for anyone as strongly as I care about you. If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know what I would do.”
Raphe’s pale crystal blue eyes that I longed to look into as we made love, connected with mine. “I love you.”
I shut my eyes and hid my guilt. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He promised me this wouldn’t happen. I guessed that made us both liars.
I eased my hands from his and grabbed a hold of the counter behind me. The silence between us was deafening. So much so I spoke without knowing what to say, but because I knew something needed said. “Raphe, I-”
“Veronica, you-”
We let out a short nervous chuckle. I waved him on to continue.
He closed in the space between us and placed his hands on either side of my face. “I remember what I promised that first night we were together. I’ve broken that promise. But I can’t help the way I feel.” Raphe placed his hands on my hips. “You don’t have to say anything. I know you’ve been through a lot lately, especially with Lucian. I am going to make sure he can’t ever hurt you again. I don’t care about the house burning down. I have more of those. And as much as I care about Stacey, she'll live. The thought of Lucian taking you away or hurting you.” He shrugged not knowing how to wrap up his thoughts into words. "It's too much."
&
nbsp; I let go of the stable comfort of the counter, took hold of his jacket, pulled him to me, and kissed him. I allowed my lips to express what words could not. With our arms locked around the other in a passionate embrace I explored his mouth as fervently as I had the very first time we kissed. I surrendered into the softness of his full lips, the sweet taste of his tongue, and let his intoxicating essence moisten places low in my body. In time -I’m not sure how much as I became lost in our own little world- we became two separate people again and rested against each other, timidly holding on to what time we had left together.
Father Khel entered the room. “Pardon my intrusion, but we need to get going. Time is not on our side tonight.”
Raphe dropped his head to my shoulder. Khel had taken off his hat and held it in both hands in front of him. Since the hat was off what he had hidden under his fedora caught my attention. Tiny cuts and scrapes ran the length of his forehead. Some of the cuts appeared to be rather deep. What confounded me the most was why was he hiding the lacerations instead of healing them. “What happened to you?”
He traced his long bony fingers along his forehead. His thin mouth quirked into what I believed was a smile full of gallant pride. “I have had a vision from God.”
“Are you sure it was a vision from God? Why would He cut your forehead in order to get a message across? Last I checked not too many people got hurt by listening to God."
“He is sending me on a perilous path. Before I can take the first step in my journey, He had to test my resolve. God rested a thorny crown upon my brow while I witnessed a small portion of His plan for me. The pain was immense, but I passed.” Khel replaced the hat upon his head. “Now I am one step closer to fulfilling God’s plan.”
“Do you have visions from God often?” I attempted to keep my cynicism light. I had visions and not a single one gave me any reason to think God gave them to me. Nor would I thank God for the horrific images of the future I had bestowed upon me. He or She had nothing to do with the way my brain operated. Heck, neither did I half the time.