The Veiled Monarch

by Shae Bryant

  Brutus nudged at my hand gently, "You're sad."

  "No. I'm not sad. I'm worried. Catherine got hurt. Someone is here who can hurt the rest of us." I answered him.

  "Will she be OK?" Brutus whined, sitting himself down on the seat.

  "We are going to Vince's to find out."

  He licked his paw, "I won't let anyone hurt you or Catherine. She can stay with us. I'll keep her safe."

  I smiled at my Doberman, giving him a scratch behind the ears. "I'm sure she'll appreciate the thought. Listen, might not like dogs. So, try to not jump on anyone."

  "Hrmph. Who doesn't like dogs?" Brutus snorted.

  "Cat people."

  "Alright. I'll behave." He seemed to be slightly offended at me for asking him that. He did like to jump on people when he greeted them.

  I parked in Vince's driveway and let Brutus out of the car. Leo's cat Janet was busy prowling around the front yard. I groaned when Brutus saw her. He crouched down to the ground and started to growl. Janet responded by arching her back and hissing at him.

  "No don't!" I grabbed Brutus' collar, "That's Janet! She's Leo's cat. Not now, you guys. Please."

  Brutus grumbled, "She's a cat."

  "Yes, she's a cat. I need you both to behave. Please. Everyone inside is worried about someone right now. Call a truce for just a bit?"

  Janet sat on the front stoop, blocking our way in. "You're letting a dog in my house? Hrmph."

  "He is my dog." She was going to be mad at me for ages over this.

  Janet meowed, padding away from us. "I'm very unhappy about this, but I owe you a favor."

  While I was busy trying to keep the dog and cat separated, the door flew open. A sleepy looking Leo smiled at me. "You're here too. No one is going to tell me what ha...hey! You brought your dog!"

  Leo interrupted himself once a happy dog wagged his tail and barked for attention. Leo threw his arms in the air and bent down to pet Brutus. It seems my dog had made at least one friend.

  "Hrmph." Janet threw her tail in the air, "Leo is my person. Don't forget that."

  "Raina is my person. I'm being friendly. Ohh yes. Right there on the ear. That's gooood..." Brutus leaned in to Leo's ear scratch.

  "Leo, Brutus. Brutus, Leo." I chuckled, "Is your Dad here?"

  Leo nodded, "Yep. So are a bunch of other people. Mind telling me what's going on?"

  I was about to give him some lame excuse, but Janet sat near us, staring into the yard. "There's a man watching us."

  "What?" I jerked my head towards her.

  "I asked what's going on?" Leo repeated himself.

  "No. Janet. She..." I was interrupted by Brutus backing away from Leo and growling towards the yard. "Go inside Leo. Grab Janet."

  I grabbed Brutus by the collar, urging him to come inside with me. For all I knew, it could have been someone with a huge crush on Vince Moretti. But I wasn't taking any chances.

  Safe inside, I told Leo to make sure everything was locked. I left him with Brutus and Janet, warning both of the animals to behave. The loud voices down the hall made it very easy for me to find out where Catherine was.

  A puff of air blew past me when I walked towards the room. A blur of black clothes rustled in front of my eyes. Before I could say a word, the wind had been knocked out of me. My body bounced forward and a horrible throb started between my shoulder blades. I was now three inches off the floor and being held against the wall. When Vince realized what he had done, the fight drained from him.

  "Raina!" He was horrified, "I am terribly sorry! Oh, my God! Let me help you."

  I sucked in a deep breath, smacking his hand away from me. "What in the hell is wrong with you!?"

  "I am so sorry. I..." Vince was interrupted by the deep, threatening growl of Brutus. He was crouched near the ground, warning Vince to leave me alone. "A dog?"

  "Brutus." I coughed, "Calm down. It was an accident. Vince is just kind of stupid."

  "Oh. He is your dog." Vince turned to Brutus, "I am so sorry. And I am not stupid!"

  "Vince. Put me down so he'll stop." I was still hanging against the wall.

  Vince let me down and Brutus padded over to check on me. He sniffed,"I don't like that guy."

  I petted him on the ears and grinned, "Well, I do. Tough luck."

  "Raina. I am sorry again. I'm very on edge right now." Vince offered his hand to help me up.

  "So I heard. Is she OK?" I pointed towards the room where Anika was sitting with someone. I only assumed the covered person on the bed was Catherine.

  He nodded, "We got to her in time. She will be fine."

  That was a huge relief. "Thank God. Of all people for him to go after... Catherine."

  Anika leaned against the door with a smile, "She is awake if you'd like to come in."

  "As long as Vince doesn't slam me into a wall again." I rolled my shoulder with a wince. That was going to leave a bruise for sure.

  Now that Catherine was awake, I pulled out my phone to text Isaac. I hated to give him this news over a text, but I really didn't feel like phone calls right now. As I thought, the moment he received the messages, he demanded Vince's address. I shouldn't have, but I gave it to him. He would have found it anyway.

  The room was dark. Catherine lay down in the bed with her eyes opened. She was very tired, but no worse for wear other than that. Faulkner didn't want to kill her. He wanted to send a message through her. But, why?

  "Hey." I smiled at her, "How are you?"

  "Light headed." Catherine sighed.

  "You lost a lot of blood. I'll get you some juice." Anika patted her arm, trying her best to play Nurse.

  Catherine struggled to sit up, "I don't understand. What did I do to make him come after me again?"

  Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing. Vince leaned towards Catherine, "What do you mean 'again'?"

  "I mean I've seen that guy before." She groaned, "Years ago."

  "You didn't think to tell me!" Vince yelled.

  "I'm sorry! I thought it was best not to!"

  Vince pursed his lips in exasperation, "This information would have been very helpful a few hours ago. Had I known, I would have never sent you home!"

  The nerve of this guy. I shook my head. "Does she know about you and Faulkner?"

  "I...no." Vince straightened himself up, "She doesn't."

  "I think you both have some explaining to do." I was a little more on Catherine's side than Vince's, but I didn't want to see him angry in his own home.

  I knew of Vince's past with Theodric Faulkner. Most of the older Vampires knew him in some capacity. Many of them were even friends with him before he abruptly turned on the Non Humans and began to work with the Iron Oath. Vince was different. They were close. According to him, they were like brothers.

  Then, everything changed over the course of a year. Faulkner started working alongside the Iron Oath and wrecking the lives of every Non Human. When Vince tried to reason with him, he was met with the ultimate betrayal. Vince's Human wife and adopted son were killed by Faulkner while Vince was forced to helplessly watch. Since then, Vince made a promise that one day he would get his revenge and turn Faulkner to ash.

  That day almost came during Vince's stay in the Arizona Territory. But, Vampires weren't exactly as amiable as they are now. They were selfish, controlling and sometimes murderers. The century long absence of the Iron Oath had caused them to lose sight of what was important, thinking they could control the world if given a chance. All of that changed in the early twentieth century. Whatever happened in Arizona would remain a mystery to most of us. All we know is that Vince did not kill Theodric Faulkner. Nor did anyone else.

  During the next century, the Iron Oath came back with a vengeance. There was a constant struggle against them and the Non Humans. Especially when the regulations and laws began to pass. I heard rumors of struggles between Vince Moretti and the Iron Oath. Sometimes a passing rumor of a confrontation between him and Faulkner. I'm sure there was a grain of truth in
it, but after listening to Vince talk, it was clear he hadn't seen Faulkner since he left the Arizona Territory.

  Catherine's run in with Faulkner was similar to what many other Humans report. He gives them a warning and might follow up with a message. Most Humans are too afraid to do anything else but listen to him when they're given one of his warnings. As an eighteen-year old, fresh out of High School, Catherine was terrified of Faulkner.

  He warned her to keep her out of the investigation. The murder of her friend would likely forever remain unsolved. What Faulkner wanted was to keep Catherine from exposing the suspected Vampire as an innocent woman. She had done something to wrong the Iron Oath and that was how they were getting rid of her.

  Catherine lamented not having the confidence to do something about it back then. This time, she felt as if Faulkner forced her hand. She was in the middle of this mess now. There was no turning back. Despite our protests, Catherine insisted she would help us track him down and keep others safe.

  All of that would begin with the help of Louis Yang and some members at The Veiled Monarch's security firm. They already had a plan in place to try to track Faulkner in South Florida. The rest of us? Stay alert. Stay together. Stay alive.

  Morning was coming soon. I took the offer to stay in an extra room at Vince's house. I wanted to stay near Catherine and keep an eye on her. Plus, I was far too tired to drive back home from Miami Beach. Fortunately, Vince had spared no expense in his guest rooms. I snuggled into a pillow top mattress underneath a downy comforter and fell right to sleep.

  While I slept, Chloe came to see Leo. She insisted she was leaving for Georgia on her own. If the Police could not find her Mother, then she would. Word was starting to spread across the Non Human communities and it seemed like Chloe didn't get the memo yet.

  "You can't leave for Atlanta by yourself!" Leo protested.

  "Then come with me!" Chloe slung a backpack over her shoulder, preparing to leave for Georgia straight from Vince's house.

  "Chloe. This is dangerous. I know you want to find your Mom, I do too. We can't leave."

  Chloe turned around and glared at him, "Why?"

  "Because Vince told me not to leave. If he said that, then he has a good reason. He's not an ass hold over protective parent. He's worried about something. So I'm staying here." Leo tried to tug on Chloe's hand and pull her towards the living room.

  "Leo is right." Vince paused at the top of the staircase, watching both of them.

  "Were you listening to us!?" Leo craned his neck, shouting up towards Vince.

  He shrugged his shoulders, "You're both shouting. I can't help it. Do remember who you live with, Leo."

  Chloe rolled her eyes, "God. You're worse than my Dad, Vince."

  "Which reminds me. Your Father is almost here."

  "I really wish you'd invest in earplugs or something, Vince." Leo groaned.

  "Earplugs don't work. Your room is soundproof for that reason. If you want to argue or..." Vince made a waving motion with his hand, "Do anything else, do it there."

  Leo buried his face in his hands, "Oh Vince! Come on!"

  "Both of you are so weird." Chloe stood in the center of the hall, staring at Leo and his Dad in disbelief.

  Vince heard the motorcycle pull up in the driveway before Chloe or Leo noticed. He moved past the two of them, opening the front door for Brian. "Brian Neason?"

  "Yeah." Brian took Vince's offered hand, "Good to meet you. Thanks for calling me. Hey Leo."

  Leo jerked his head towards Brian in greeting, "Hey."

  "Dad!" Chloe ran to him, "Did you hear something? Is that why you're here?"

  "No. Sorry. Nothing yet."

  She slumped against a pillar, "Let's go look then! Come on. We can go to Atlanta with Isaac. We can find her!"

  "Chloe..." Brian cautioned her.

  "Vince could help!"

  Vince raised his eyebrows, "I can?"

  "Yes." She grabbed Vince's wrist, trying to tug him towards the door. "You can use your ears or eyes. Maybe you can see something that someone else missed!"

  Both Vince and Brian exchanged a look between them. They were both Dads and both understood the pain that each other was feeling. Brian wanted so desperately to help Chloe and Vince would have in a heartbeat. Except for the fact that Faulkner was now prowling South Florida. There was no way they could look for Erin right now.

  "Thanks for letting me tell her." Brian gave Vince a weak smile.

  "What's going on?" Chloe looked between the two of them.

  He sighed, "Chloe, there are some things happening right now. It's why you need to stay put. You can't go anywhere alone. We are going to look for your Mom. Just...not now."

  "Dad!" Chloe protested, "We have to look!"

  "I know!" He sighed, "Let's...go home, so we can talk about this!"

  Vince stepped forward, "I have a private room you can borrow if you'd like."

  Brian looked grateful, "Good. Thanks, Vince."

  After Brian and Chloe walked away, Vince leaned towards Leo, "Don't press her for information."

  "She's kind of my girlfriend, Vince. If she's worried or upset, I want to know why." Leo huffed.

  "You can't help her with this." He said.

  Leo obviously disapproved of Vince's statements, "I can at least give her a shoulder to cry on!"

  "You can do that without knowing." Vince started to walk away, giving Leo a stern look that said that was the end of the discussion.

  Louis walked down the stairs, holding some printouts towards Vince, "Hey Vince? I think I finally got something. I..." He looked at Leo, "Oh. Hello Leo."

  "No. Don't mind me!" Leo threw his arms in the air, "I just live here. That's all. I'm going to go now and let you guys have a secret Vampire meeting while I'm in my SOUND PROOF ROOM!"

  Leo stomped up the stairs, making a show of slamming his door.

  "The older he gets, the more I wonder if I should just buy him his own house." Vince rubbed his temples, annoyed with Leo's antics.

  Louis laughed, "Let him go. I remember before I was turned, I had two daughters about his age. They acted that way. So did their kids and their kids."

  "How many Great-Grandchildren do you have now?"

  "I don't know." Louis shrugged, "It's difficult for some of them to explain the whole 'your Great-Grandfather is a Vampire' thing." He held out the papers to Vince, "As I said, I think I found something."

  Vince looked at the papers, scanning the purchase receipts from an area of Miami, "Hmm. All from a Marcus Farrier."

  "You know who that is, then." Louis said.

  "Of course I do. Faulkner has used that alias for centuries. It's a good thing he's a creature of habit. Let's keep this up. Perhaps we'll be able to track him before he tracks any of us." Vince handed the paper back to Louis.

  "I hope so."

  I went home that evening, allowing Vince and his community to take care of things on their end. Louis, Anika and Vince gathered at The Veiled Monarch's offices, preparing to discuss their next step. As usual, the Vampires would come up with their own plans. The rest of us would find out later. Sometimes, we worked together. Sometimes, we decided our ideas were better. Eventually, we all ended up in the same place anyway.

  In a case like this, it was best for everyone to stick with the same plan. Isaac, Kevin and Ronan agreed to allow Vince to discuss things with his community first. After all, they had the most experience with Faulkner. Most of them wanted to see him ashed more than even we did.

  Right in the middle of the discussion, they all three stopped when they heard a crash outside. It sounded like a desk being thrown against a wall and splitting into a hundred pieces. Vince threw the door open first, looking right at the man he hadn't seen in over a century.

  Faulkner stood in the rubble of a desk, holding Sophie in front of him. Everyone else in the office was frozen in place, too afraid to attack him or too shocked to move. Sophie arched her back away from him, trying to avoid the stake that was threate
ning to tear through her back.

  "Leave her alone!" Vince yelled at Faulkner.

  He smirked, "Oh good. You are in. Your Secretary said that you weren't and I didn't believe her. Hello Vincenzo. It's been awhile."

  "I'm sorry Vince..." Sophie gulped.

  "Get your hands off of her, Faulkner!" Vince ordered him.

  Faulkner grinned from ear to ear, "Very well."

  Sophie's whole body went rigid. The point of a wooden stake broke through her chest and her eyes opened wide. One final rasp seized in her throat. Then, her body disintegrated into ash.

  "Sophie! No!" Anika reached her arms towards the pillar of ash that fell to the floor.

  Faulkner dropped the stake on the ground, tilting his head towards Vince. He sneered at him. Taunting him. Sophie was never going to live, regardless of what Vince, Anika or Louis did.

  "You have been such a thorn in my side, Vincenzo. If only you listened to reason so long ago."

  "Get. Out." Vince seethed.

  There would be a time and a place to end Faulkner. Now was neither. He was here in South Florida, and he was making his presence known in a big way. Vince knew he'd see him again. And again. And again. Until Faulkner accomplished whatever he came for.

  "You..." Faulkner turned his gaze towards Louis. "That's a naughty thing you are doing. Trying to track me down."

  Louis and Faulkner both disappeared in a flash of movement. They reappeared by the broken desk where Faulkner held Louis over the sharp pieces of wood. He choked when Faulkner pressed on the back of his head, thrusting a shard of wood through his neck.

  "Louis!" Anika screamed.

  "I'm fine..." He gurgled.

  "ENOUGH!"

  Vince rushed towards Faulkner, grabbing him by the neck. Both of them went tumbling onto the floor. Their clothing blurred across the tile. Every few moments, Faulkner and Vince would appear while they grappled. Then, it would return to the lightning fast movements of the two Vampires. Vince held him down on the tile, pinning his shoulders to the floor. Faulkner let out a loud cackle.

  He lay there on the tile, holding his hands out in mock surrender. "I'm not fighting you, Vincenzo. Not this time. Kill me if you want, but you know you can't. Not yet. We'll talk later, old friend."