Fallen Angels

by Judith Post

  "Presents."

  "Who for?"

  "Who needs some?"

  He took her to a department store on the edge of the shopping area. There were barrels for Toys for Tots. By the time they left, the barrels were full.

  On the drive back to the apartment, Voronika flipped the radio to Christmas music and sang along to as many tunes as she knew. When she tried for a high note and Enoch winced, she said, "I don't have a great voice, but I like to sing."

  He pulled into his parking space and smiled at her. "When you're happy, I'm happy. Sing all you want." And she did. She hummed along to old-fashioned carols as they put up the Christmas tree. She hummed as they baked pecan pies. She was singing the chorus of Silent Night when Danny knocked on their door.

  Danny stopped and looked around when he entered the apartment. "It looks nice. When did you decorate?"

  Enoch nodded his head toward Voronika. "When she started reading magazines and looking through catalogues."

  "That's why I'm here," Danny said. "The holidays. Everything's finally done. All of our cases are closed. I want to invite you two to my family's Christmas dinner. It's time to celebrate a little."

  Voronika stopped what she was doing and stared. "You're inviting a vampire to meet your family?"

  "Not just any vampire. You. Maggie's already invited Jason."

  "Why?" She looked stunned, as if she couldn't fathom mortals who wanted to spend time with vamps.

  "We figured you guys haven't had a real Christmas for …” He hesitated and shrugged. “A long time.”

  She gave a quick shake of her head. “It's too soon. I wouldn't feel right."

  Enoch could tell that she was touched, that the invitation caught her off guard, but pleased her. "We're ready for a quiet holiday this year.”

  “Whatever suits you," Danny said, "but you’re invited.”

  When he left, Voronika was more subdued. “We could invite Bart and Claudia here,” Voronika said. “Jason will be with Maggie and Danny.”

  But Bart turned them down. "If my troops work, I work, and this isn't the time to let down our guard."

  So Enoch and Voronika celebrated the day by themselves. They spent the afternoon cooking—a ham with cranberry glaze, sweet potato casserole, and green bean casserole—not gourmet, but traditional. After the meal, they wandered to the bedroom and spent a long time making love. And later in the evening, they opened their presents. Voronika fingered the white gold necklace with a ruby pendant that Enoch gave her. “It looks old."

  "It is. It used to belong to Lucretia Borgia." He pressed a tiny, hidden facet and the lid popped open. "It's rumored that she hid her poisons in here and spilled them into a wine glass when she wanted to get rid of an enemy."

  "Is there any poison that kills vampires?"

  "None that I know of, but if you find one, you have a place to keep it."

  She gently closed the pendant. "It’s perfect.”

  “It suits you.”

  "Because Lucretia and I have a lot in common?"

  "Lucretia had a rough start in life. Her entire family was ruthless, but when she married her third husband, he changed her. She was known for her kindness and piety."

  "Now you're pushing it."

  He grinned. "I know."

  They were sipping an aged red wine when Enoch’s cell phone rang. It was Maggie's number. Probably calling to wish them happy holidays, but when he flipped the phone open, all he could make out was sobbing and hysteria. He braced himself. “Maggie, calm down. I can’t help you if I can’t understand you.”

  There was a deep intake of breath, then a torrent of words. “A bunch of vampires attacked us on our way home. Jason’s dead.” Her voice caught and broke. Finally, she said, “They drove a stake through his forehead.”

  “How many of them?”

  “A pack. Too many. The leader wore a black leather coat."

  Vlad. He'd decided to take action himself.

  Maggie's voice rose. “Jason’s dust. Our friend. Gone. He took Claudia. The others took Danny.” Her voice rose and threatened to crack.

  “Where are you?”

  “They left me. I’m in my car on a country road.” She gave quick directions.

  “I’ll send someone. I’ll call Bart. Someone will be there for you soon.”

  “Danny?”

  “He’s bait. They won’t hurt him. I’ll get him back.”

  “And Claudia? Will they hurt her?”

  Enoch hesitated. “I don’t know. They probably didn't expect her to be there, but even Vlad knows better than to kill her before he leaves town.”

  “Save them,” Maggie said.

  “I’ll try,” Enoch promised. When he hung up, he mentally called for Bart. Within seconds, his old friend was on the balcony. When he told him what happened, Bart’s face turned chalk-white. “I’ll kill him.”

  “Let me. Caleb can’t hurt me, but I need your help. I need to find them. Can you get me to them?”

  “Me and every vampire in town.” Bart gave a curt nod and was gone.

  Enoch turned to Voronika. “When I leave, lock the metal grids and don’t let anyone in. Vlad doesn’t know I had them installed. He can't use a familiar to get inside. You'll be safe.”

  She nodded. “Save them.”

  “I’m trying.” He slid into his coat and left. The grid rolled down behind him.

  By the time Enoch made it to his car in the parking lot, one of Bart’s soldiers landed next to him. Enoch was relieved when he recognized Horace. He was one of Bart's first recruits, seasoned and deadly.

  Horace got straight to the point. “One of our lookouts saw them come into town. I can fly you to where your friend’s being held. I can even help you kill his captors. Vlad’s not with them. Bart's waiting for us there.” He flew a little above the car and led Enoch to an empty warehouse on the northeast side of town. “Bart and I will go in first. If we do it right, all you’ll have to do is give your friend a ride home.”

  “If that doesn’t work, get out of there," Enoch said. "I’ll use the Light.”

  “Give us a sign before you let loose. We’ll disappear.” Horace went to a side door. Bart gave a quick nod, and they kicked it open. Five minutes later, when Enoch walked into the warehouse, Bart and Horace stood in the center of the room and mounds of dust littered the floor.

  Danny hurried to him, and Enoch sagged with relief. He took a deep breath to steady himself. “Thank God you’re safe.”

  “Claudia’s all right too.”

  “Were they all right to her? They roughed her up the last time.”

  Danny shook his head. “They just grabbed us, brought us here, and tied us to support beams. Then they waited.”

  “For what?”

  “It looked like they were waiting for a signal.”

  That made sense. Vlad had probably told them to guard Danny until Enoch brought Voronika and made a trade. His expression went grim. “I have to go."

  "Let me come too. Let me help you.”

  “Sorry, friend, but you’d only get in the way.”

  “They can’t get her, can they?” Danny asked. “Your place is a fortress now, right? No human or vampire can get in.”

  Enoch’s voice sounded like gravel. “That wasn't the plan. Vlad wanted a trade. I'm taking you to my place to stay with Voronika, so you'll both be safe. Then I'm going to find him."

  "Maggie?"

  Bart and Claudia came up behind them. "Is with friends. We're on our way there. Horace too. We'll bring her with us and join you there."

  Bart was true to his word. Enoch heard them land on the balcony a moment after he unlocked his apartment door.

  "Voronika?" The grid was still down, but she didn't come to open it. She was probably asleep. They'd had a big day. He had to punch in the security code to roll it out of the way. When he and Danny stepped into the foyer, Maggie flew into Danny's arms.

  The apartment was freezing. Had Voronika turned off the heat? Bart, Claudia, and Horac
e called from outside, "May we come in?"

  "Sure." But then Enoch stopped, confused. How had Maggie gotten inside the apartment? He took two more steps and could see past his entryway. The balcony doors were pushed off their track and the metal grid was ripped from its support beam.

  Bart stared at the twisted, heavy steel. "An old vampire could do this, but he'd need an invitation."

  "If he had an invitation," Claudia said, "he wouldn't have to force his way in."

  Enoch ran from room to room, stopping at Voronika's bedroom. “Maybe she's hiding. Maybe she's too afraid to come out." The bedroom door had been crashed open, its center reduced to wooden splinters. "She must have tried to barricade herself in here."

  Bart nodded at the lamp knocked off the nightstand. A bed post was broken. The canopy sagged onto the mattress. The heavy draperies were torn from their frame and ripped by sharp nails. "There must have been one hell of a struggle."

  Enoch knelt and picked Voronika's ruby pendant off the floor. Its clasp was broken. He looked under the bed, inside closets. "Maybe she's hurt, unconscious."

  Bart grabbed his arm. "We're wasting time. He took her. We need to find her."

  "She can't be gone." Enoch's voice was husky. "She has to be here somewhere."

  "She's not."

  Enoch hurried to the kitchen bar. "Maybe she left a note, a clue. Vlad couldn't get in without an invitation."

  "She didn't have time." Bart looked at the metal grid, ripped from its support beam like a child's toy. "You're strong enough to do that. So am I, but a vamp didn't do this, and you know it. He'd still need an invitation."

  "No, he made me a promise."

  "And he kept it. No vamp took Voronika."

  Enoch squared his shoulders, his expression hard. “You shouldn’t come with me this time.”

  "You can't fight them both."

  “Don’t be a part of this. Stay away.”

  “I can help you."

  “Voronika made me promise that if I couldn’t save her, I’d destroy her and Vlad. I can’t use the Light if you’re there.”

  Bart hesitated, then nodded. “Claudia feels the same way. I understand. Good luck, angel.”

  Enoch stalked from the apartment and sniffed the air. He could smell Vlad—the stench of other peoples’ blood. He'd tried before, but with no luck. Vlad stayed out of town. Now, he was close. Where Vlad was, Caleb would follow. He hurried to his car and started tracking them. He drove to a small motel that had gone out of business on the east side of town. When he smashed into the room that reeked the strongest, Vlad looked up in surprise.

  “Where’s Voronika?” Enoch held up a hand, aimed straight at Vlad’s forehead.

  Vlad’s eyes flickered with panic. He looked for an escape route.

  “No back door,” Enoch said. “You’re cornered.”

  Then Vlad gave a slow smile. “You’re good. I have to give you that, but you won’t see your friends alive unless we make a trade—Voronika for Danny.”

  “And Caleb won't see you alive unless I get Voronika.”

  Vlad looked around the cramped space. “Would I still be here, waiting to meet you, if I had her?”

  “Caleb and I had an agreement. I warned him that if you took one of my friends, I’d come after you. You grabbed Danny and Claudia. So he took Voronika. I get her back, or you’re dust.”

  "Caleb's here? In Three Rivers?" Vlad pushed himself off the bed.

  The door swung open and Caleb entered the room. He dragged Voronika in behind him. "You don't look surprised to see me, old friend."

  "We had a truce. You broke it.”

  “Not technically. No one's been bitten. Vlad still doesn’t have your girlfriend. I do. I can’t let you hurt him.” Caleb spoke slowly and calmly, the way Enoch did when he was trying to soothe mortals. “When I heard that Vlad took Danny, I knew you’d go after him.”

  “So you broke into my apartment to use Voronika as a trade.”

  “Only for your own good,” Caleb said. “Vlad made her. If you destroy him, you destroy her.”

  “Do it!” Voronika hissed. “Kill us both!”

  “I want Vlad. You want her. Let’s trade. We’ll all be happy.”

  Vlad smirked and started to go to Caleb, but Enoch grabbed him from behind and wrapped an arm around his neck. “Not yet.”

  Vlad struggled, but was no match for Enoch’s strength.

  Caleb’s eyes narrowed as he studied his friend. “It seems we have a standoff.”

  “You didn’t keep your end of our deal.”

  “I did keep my promise, though. I just didn’t mention that I might become involved."

  "A technicality. You know how I feel about those."

  "It’s an awful choice, isn’t it? If you set him free, she gets to live. If not, we each lose someone we love.”

  Enoch looked at Voronika. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  “You promised.”

  “But this is different. You won’t leave with Vlad. You’ll leave with me.”

  “Kill him,” she said.

  Caleb smiled. “Emotions are running high. Let’s trade. You give me Vlad, I’ll give you Voronika. We’ll go our separate ways. And I’ll make sure that Vlad never darkens her door again.”

  “Never?” But even as he asked the question, Enoch realized Caleb's answer didn't matter. Vlad would do whatever he wanted, and Caleb wouldn't stop him.

  “I’ll even go first.” Caleb released Voronika and nudged her away from him.

  She hesitated, refusing to go. "Kill him," she repeated. "Save the next innocent mortals."

  Caleb gave her a none too gentle push and she stumbled past Enoch, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. Her posture was stiff, angry. "I can see that my opinion means little to you. You just want me, like every other man I've known."

  A knot clenched in Enoch's stomach. He didn't want to lose her, but it was her choice, her life. "If I destroy him, you die too. It's your call."

  There was no hesitation. "Kill him."

  Enoch took a quick breath. He had to do it now, before he had time to think. With one fast motion, he snapped Vlad’s neck. Vlad’s eyes went wide in surprise. He reached toward Caleb, then started to fall forward. Before his body could hit the floor, it became a trail of dust.

  Caleb stared in disbelief. “What did you do?”

  Enoch barely heard him. Pain clenched his chest. He turned to Voronika to watch her die. Her and every other vampire that were progenies of Vlad. They'd turn to ash the world over—Voronika, Claudia…how many more? But Voronika was still there. Light glowed just beneath her skin, pulsed from her heart to the extremities of her body, spreading from her chest to her shoulders, then to her elbows and to the tips of her fingers, rising like a flush up her neck to suffuse her face.

  She held out her hands and watched. She stared at herself in surprise. "I feel as if darkness is washing out of me. Like all things Vlad are gone."

  A low snarl escaped Caleb's lips. He lunged toward her. "How?" he cried. "Why are you still here and Vlad's gone?"

  Enoch stepped between them to hold Caleb off.

  "How did you do it?" Caleb growled. "You and your damned Light. What did you do?"

  Enoch wasn't sure. He shook his head in surprise.

  Caleb’s blue eyes burned with fury. “Give her to me! Why should she get to live when Vlad's gone?”

  Enoch pushed him backward, pinned him against the wall. "Leave her alone."

  "You killed Vlad!"

  "You broke your truce. How far do you think you can push me?"

  "This was never about you!" Caleb's body tensed to fight back.

  "No, this was all about Vlad." Enoch gave him another jolt backward to knock some sense into him and raised his own voice. Anger and frustration spewed out. "I looked the other way for centuries! One thing after another as a favor to you. He thumbed his nose at me this time. What choice did I have? If I didn't destroy him, I'd be a fool."

  "A fool! And what do you t
hink I look like? Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you ever think about my life, my hierarchy?"

  Enoch stared. "What are you talking about?"

  "You don't have a clue what a mess you've made. But do me a favor this time. Don't jump to my aid. Don't fight any of my battles. You've already helped me enough."

  "Don't blame this on me. We'd have been alright if you hadn't cheated. You always do. I won’t give you that advantage any more.”

  "Really? What are you going to do about it?" Caleb’s fingers knotted into fists.

  Enoch didn't back down. “Let’s get this over with.” He motioned for Voronika to leave. “Tell Bart and the others that they might be on their own for a while. Caleb and I are going to be busy.”

  But his friend didn't move. He clamped and unclamped his hands, then took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. "Bart won't be able to handle what comes next. I don't have time to deal with you."

  Was that an empty threat? It didn't sound like it. "What comes next?" Enoch asked.

  “Why? Are you offering to watch my back?"

  "Do you need that?" Caleb was an enemy—known. If something out there worried him, Enoch didn't want to face it.

  Caleb frowned, studying him. "I need to do this my way. You’re not the wimp you used to be. I think I like the new Enoch better.”

  “Odd, I respect you less.”

  "But you'd help me?"

  "If it's in my best interest."

  Caleb looked surprised. “You see? A good sign. You’re growing up, growing stronger. You’re starting to question things, to have more gray areas in your life.” He looked at Voronika, healthy and vibrant. “If you can do that, can I?”

  Enoch shrugged, clearly mystified.

  “She’s one of my creations, but she looks golden, radiant." Then realization struck. His expression showed it. "You're letting her feed off you, aren't you? It was your Light pulsing through her veins."

  And then Enoch understood. That's why she survived. His Light saved her.

  Caleb shook his head. “Another first. There’s hope for us yet, my brother. Rules aren’t commandments any more. You’re looking at the whole picture. Someday, we might even lay our differences aside.”