A Soul in Torment

by D. J Marteeny

  At the touch of her hand Rick stopped, leaving his back to her. With a sidelong glance he said, “Evangeline—right now I’m running out of time. But…” he continued as he lifted his head and looked at Roy, “…if it’s that important to you, come back tonight—at dusk—and I’ll tell you exactly what I am—and what it all means in the scheme of things. Now, if you’ll both excuse me—I really do have to go.” Rick gently removed her hand from his arm and walked to the bedroom door. “Goodnight—or morning in this case. Roy, sorry I couldn’t patrol tonight but I’ll make it up to you after I’ve talked to Eva—later.” And with that comment he entered the room, closing the door firmly behind him. She heard the soft click of the lock falling into place.

  “Come on, Evangeline, we’ll go back to the Inn. I’ll fill you in on Jaclyn and her legacy.” Roy said as he rose from the table.

  “But…”

  “Look— I know you have a million questions—about yourself, Rick—all of us. I can help you with most of them but the rest has to come from Ferrante himself. Trust me on this, Eva. Just give him some time and he’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

  “Everything I need to know—but will it be the truth?”

  “If Ferrante’s anything he’s honest so, yes, whatever he tells you will be the truth. Then, if all goes well, you two might actually be able to help each come to terms with what you are.”

  “Oh that statement does nothing to arouse my curiosity,” she exclaimed. “Come on Roy. Do I really have to wait until tonight—and what’s the big secret anyway? He’s not some supernatural serial killer is he? I’m not going to have to arrest him am I?”

  Roy couldn’t help but chuckle at her line of questioning. “Are you this tenacious when you question criminals? God help them if you are.” He stopped when he reached the kitchen. Turning to face her he said, “Please Eva, I know it’s a lot to take in but you have to at least try and be patient. Ferrante deserves that much. Trust me when I say you can’t even begin to imagine what he’s been through but the story needs to come from him—whatever he’s willing to tell you, that is. Just try to keep an open mind, Eva—about all of this…”Roy said as the sweeping gesture of his arm took in the entire room. “…and try to remember, no matter what secrets he chooses to reveal, he’s one of the good guys—and that wasn’t always easy for me to admit.” He held the screen door open for her to walk out onto the back porch.

  As she watched the sun rise from behind the mountain off in the distance it struck her how tired she really was. She’d slept badly the night before and something told her she wouldn’t get much sleep tonight—or this morning—either. But at this point she didn’t care. She needed to know the truth—about herself and about the man, whom she realized with a feeling of astonishment, was slowly weaving his way into her heart. How—and when—did that happen?

  Back at the Inn, Eva and Roy talked for another hour or so before she went to her room. There she sat upon the bed in her cozy suite, her mind trying to absorb all that Roy had told her about Jaclyn and the Loupe Garou, the hellhounds—and the history of the Wolf Mother. Her mind was spinning with the knowledge he’d imparted to her. She sat on the bed, her mother’s bed she’d been told, shaking her head back and forth. It can’t be true. It’s all just too—astounding, she told herself but she knew, deep inside, that everything Roy had said was the truth no matter how much she wished it wasn’t.

  I can’t think about it now. I’m so tired. I need to sleep. Maybe, after I’ve rested, I’ll be able to see things a little more clearly, if I can just fall asleep. Eva fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes, falling into a deep and dreamless sleep. She woke up hours later, having slept much longer than she’d planned. She jumped from the bed and headed for a good hot shower. She didn’t linger too long. She had things to do.

  Her stomach was in knots as she thought about what the night would bring. She was going directly back to the cabin. Rick’s handsome face sprung into her mind causing her stomach to lurch. She was fighting the attraction. I can’t give in to my feelings. I don’t know anything about him. Roy said he was one of the good guys but by whose standards? She laughed to herself. It was a sad, bitter laugh. She remembered what Roy had said, “Try to keep an open mind, Eva.” Who was she to judge—she wasn’t even human anymore. Well, not entirely, at least.

  She ran a comb through her long, thick hair not even bothering to dry it completely. Going quickly back into the bedroom she grabbed a pair of jeans and a navy pullover. As she reached for her shoes she stared doubtfully at the three inch heels on her designer boots. Tossing them aside she dug deep inside her luggage until she pulled out a pair of hiking boots. They were like new since she’d hardly ever worn them and, since something told her they might come in handy this trip, she’d packed them.

  As she sat on the bed to pull them on she suddenly realized what she was doing. I’m dressing for action tonight—preparing for the hunt. She realized it had been instinctual—that she was automatically going to help Roy and the pack hunt down the demon wolves that were terrorizing the countryside. He’d filled her in on how to kill them. He’d told her he’d see that she was equipped with silver bullets and a dagger or two as well. She knew her police experience would come in handy but would it be enough to keep her alive if and when she came face to face with the monsters they were hunting.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” she said aloud as she grabbed her jacket and phone and headed out the door and down the hallway. She really needed to call Shaniqua and see what she’d found out about the murders in the city. To tell you the truth, she was surprised she hadn’t heard from her friend by now. She must’ve gotten caught up in something important, she thought. Well, Shani would call when she was ready but right now Eva had her own agenda to follow as she hurried into the dining room.

  Roy was at his usual position behind the bar. He looked up when he heard her enter the room. “I thought I’d wait for you—see if you needed a lift before I go out to join the others.”

  “Are they out patrolling already?”

  “Yes, precisely at dusk every night. We don’t want those sons of bitches to get the jump on us. I haven’t been pulling my weight lately but it was important that I watch you—see how much you knew and, more importantly, how much more you needed to be told. Lisa…” he called out to someone in the kitchen.

  Lisa, the barmaid, stuck her head out through the open doorway, “Yeah Roy?”

  “…can you bring Evangeline something hot to eat? You are hungry, I assume?” he asked Eva.

  “I’m starving,” she said.

  “Good, staying well nourished and well rested is important if we’re to win this battle,” he explained as Lisa brought a steaming plate of bacon, eggs and toast, placing it on the bar before Evangeline. She dug in with gusto to rival any man’s much to Roy’s amusement. “I’m glad to see your appetite is a healthy one.”

  “I’ve never been what you’d call a picky eater.” Eva replied with a laugh and then her expression turned thoughtful.

  “Are you the pack leader, Roy, I mean now that Jaclyn’s gone? I know you said that a woman usually was but since Jaclyn…” She stopped short as she noticed him staring at her intently. “Wait a minute. You can’t possibly mean…” she stammered as he began to nod his head up and down. “…no—no, that’s crazy. I can’t—I don’t know how…”

  “You are Jaclyn’s daughter, Evangeline, her only living descendant. The leadership of the pack is continued on down the line when the alpha falls—at least in the Wolf Mother’s clan. I’m afraid you inherit the position whether you want it or not—you have no choice. As Jaclyn’s right hand, I took over temporarily but only until you arrived. Now, I relinquish my leadership. I am only here to help and serve you.”

  “But I have a life—and a job that I love. I can’t just drop everything and stay here to fight against somethi
ng I can’t even begin to understand. You have to be mistaken. I’m not a wolf—I’m a human being and what’s happening here has nothing to do with me.”

  “Doesn’t it?” he said fighting hard to control his anger and frustration. “You’ve already told me you’re experiencing physical changes and now you know why. We need you, Evangeline. We need our rightful leader. You also said someone was murdered in New York in the same way these monsters have killed in our area. Even if there wasn’t a connection before there will be soon enough. If these things aren’t stopped their evil will continue to spread until no-one, including everyone that you know and love, is safe. They have to be stopped, Eva—and we have to stop them.”

  “No…” Eva said shaking her head in denial, “…there has to be some mistake. It can’t fall on me. I can’t…”

  “Look, Evangeline…”Roy said as he clasped her hand in his, “…I know it’s a lot to take in and you haven’t had time to adjust to any of it but that’s what I’m here for. I’ll help you, the whole pack will, in any way we can. All you have to do is ask.”

  “But I’m not a wolf,” she whispered under her breath.

  “Not yet—but you’ve already begun the transformation. It started the second Jaclyn died. You know it’s true, Eva, the signs are unmistakable,” he said and she knew he spoke the truth. Taking a deep breath she asked the question she’d been dreading since last night,

  “When will the transformation, from human to animal, I mean, actually happen?”

  He looked at her with tenderness in his eyes. He knew it was a lot to take in, especially for someone like her—an outsider. He hadn’t agreed with Jaclyn when she’d let Evangeline’s father take her daughter away from the pack. If the girl had stayed—been raised by the pack—she would be aware of her heritage—and they wouldn’t be having this conversation today.

  But what’s done is done and they would make the best of it. So he tried to find the easiest way to explain what she was about to go through. “The first time for someone like you, and by that I mean someone raised outside of the pack, the transformation is usually triggered by some sort of trauma. I’ve seen it happen before—usually when the person, or someone they care about, is in danger. That’s when our survival instinct is triggered—and the animal inside takes over to protect what is theirs,” he explained. He looked into her eyes and saw the fear there even though she fought gallantly against it. “Don’t be frightened, Eva, accept and embrace it. For our kind it’s a perfectly natural thing. You’ll understand better after you’ve experienced it for the first time. That’s why it would be best if you stayed here—with the pack—at least until the transformation. We can help you through it. It’s what we do,” he said but he could see by her expression that she was fighting it—all of it.

  “I can’t talk about this now, Roy,” she said as she backed towards the exit. “I have to go. I have another difficult conversation ahead of me at the cabin. Hopefully it won’t be as shocking as everything else I’ve heard in the last few days.” she said as she turned and walked out the door.

  “Yeah, good luck with that.” Roy said under his breath.

  Chapter 15

  Evangeline’s car came to a stop at the end of the long gravel driveway. She sat there for a few minutes staring at the tiny cabin while she waited for the butterflies in her stomach to flutter away. Why am I so nervous—he’s just a man, for god’s sake—or is he? And she realized that that was what really had her so jittery. If she, Roy and most of the others at the meeting were werewolves then what was Rick Ferrante. He’d already admitted he wasn’t one of them so what did that leave?

  “Well, I’m certainly not going to find out by sitting out here,” she said aloud as she climbed out of the car. The moon, once again was shining brightly in the night sky illuminating the grounds immediately surrounding the cabin. As she approached the back porch a slight sound, no more than a rustle in the soft grass, caught her attention. Instinct alone caused her to withdraw the forty-five automatic as she fell down on one knee scanning the darkness for any sign of danger.

  Then her eyes noticed a slight movement as a shadowy figure stepped out from behind the cabin and moved slowly towards her. She knew who it was even before his voice, just a faint whisper, reached her ears.

  “You have nothing to fear from me, Evangeline. Please—put the gun away.” She could see his tall form clearly—his handsome face and those beautiful brown eyes staring at her intently. Once again he was dressed all in black to blend with the darkness. It was the perfect camouflage for what he had to do—hunt down and destroy the enemy.

  She released her hold on the trigger of the gun, slipping it neatly back into its holster as she rose to face him. His hair was windblown almost as if he’d been running through the night at a great speed. Had he been chasing one of those demon wolves? Did he catch it—was he hurt in any way? These were the thoughts running rampant through her mind as she watched him closely, her hand itching to smooth the tangled mass of hair away from his forehead so she could examine his face more closely. As a matter of fact her hand had risen slightly to do just that before she caught the movement and shoved her hand into the pocket of her jeans.

  “I was just coming to see you. And I wasn’t frightened—not of you,” she told him.

  “Good,” he replied as he turned and walked back towards the cabin. He moved quickly past her and when he reached the back door he noticed that she was still standing in the same spot. “Are you coming? I thought you wanted to talk?”

  “What—oh, yes,” she said as she followed him onto the porch. He held the door open for her as she entered the house. Walking through the kitchen, she headed for the living room and took a seat on the recliner in front of the wood burning stove.

  “Would you like something to drink—water, coffee—a glass of wine maybe?” Rick called from the kitchen.

  “A cup of coffee would be great.” She really preferred the wine but alcohol tended to make her sleepy and she had a feeling that she needed her wits about her for the conversation they were about to have.

  “Okay, give me a minute.

  “Take your time. I have all night,” she called back.

  “You might but I don’t,” he told her as he came into the room. She had to tilt her head back to see his face from where she was sitting. Was it her imagination or did he look worried and maybe just a little sad? Yes, there’s definitely a troubled look in those eyes of his, she thought, and it dawned on her that he really didn’t want to have this little talk with her. I wonder why. For heaven’s sake, he knows my secret so how bad could his be?

  He watched her intently for a few seconds until he heard the percolator begin to bubble. Returning to the kitchen he made her coffee. “How do you take your coffee, Eva?”

  “Just a little cream, thanks—unless you happen to have a shot of caramel flavoring lying around.”

  “Sorry,” he said with a slight smile as he entered the room with her coffee. She noticed he had a glass of red wine for himself. Geez, it must be bad if he needs alcohol to talk to me, she thought.

  After handing her the mug of steaming liquid, Rick walked over to the wood burner and stood with his back to her. Soon he was lost in his own thoughts nearly forgetting that Eva was in the room and waiting patiently for him to begin the conversation. Head bowed, he stared into the goblet of red liquid wondering how—and where—to start. How was he supposed to tell her about this thing that he’d become—and what would she think of him afterwards? Yes, her circumstances were similar to his. She was also a supernatural being, whether she wanted to believe it or not. But there was one important difference between them—she, at least, still had a human side.

  Turning his head slightly to the left, he could just make out the outline of her face, intense—beautiful, watching him closely—waiting for him to speak. “So—Eva—what exactly is it that you want to k
now?” he asked, thinking it might be easier if he just answered whatever questions she might have for him.

  “Well, I know you’re not a werewolf so—what are you and what’s your connection to my mother?”

  He listened to her soft voice, mulling the two questions over in his mind as he tried to decide how to answer them. He turned and walked to the other side of the room as if putting a safe distance between them would help the situation. The question concerning her mother was easy enough to answer but—how do you tell someone you’re a vampire? I guess I’ll make this quick and painless and just blurt it out. She’ll either run away and I won’t have to worry about it again or she’ll listen and believe the unbelievable. Well—here goes nothing, he thought as he heard himself say, “I’m a vampire, Eva—a creature of the night. I became this—thing—through no fault of my own and until I met your mother all I wanted to do was figure out a way to kill myself and end this nightmare forever.” He waited—tense—nervous—for her response. The silence was deafening.

  “Uh huh, yeah, right—come on, Ferrante, I thought we were going to be honest with each other tonight?” He stared at her for a long moment never saying a word.

  She’d heard what he’d said but, for some reason, her mind just couldn’t wrap itself around the image it had conjured up. A vampire—a monster—a soulless creature drinking the blood of the living to create more of its kind—it couldn’t be true. Why he’s not even—alive. No—no, not him. I must’ve heard him wrong. His voice was so low—so quiet— so… But even as she tried to convince herself she’d heard him incorrectly something deep inside of her told her it was true. A vampire—oh—my— god.

  What do I do now? What do I say—and who am I to talk anyway? How can I pass judgment on him when I’m a damned werewolf? So suck it up, Eva and give the man—vampire—oh, whatever— the chance to tell his story. If you run now you’ll never be able to look him in the eyes again. But—he can’t be one of the undead—can he?