“She has her own shop—boutique, I mean.” Thomas blurted out before Kate could stop him.
“Well what a coincidence, I’m in the industry also. As a matter of fact I’m introducing a new line this evening. Would you both like to come and view it? Or have you made all of your purchases already?”
“No—no she hasn’t.”
“Thomas—can you be quiet for just one minute.” Kate said as her senses screamed out a warning.
“Look, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot.” Lilith continued, “Jazelle has just informed me that my table’s ready and I would love for you both to join me. We can talk fashion…” she said to Kate, “…while Thomas here eats.”
Kate was visibly irritated by Lilith’s use of Thomas’ name and the familiarity it implied. The woman is way too pushy,Kate thought. She’s up to something—but what? “That’s so nice of you but we really should be going. Thank you for the offer though.” Kate said as she pulled Thomas out the door.
“Wait—please.” Lilith pleaded as she followed the couple outside. Her original plan wasn’t working quite as easily as she thought it would. Time to change course, she thought. “To be honest with you…” she said as she rushed after the young couple, “… I have an ulterior motive for wanting to talk to you. You see—I’m just starting out in the business and, like I’ve already said, I’m introducing my line this evening. I guess I’ve got the pre-show jitters and I can use all the support I can get. My husband, Lou, is financing the whole show so it has to be a success. You’d really be helping me out if I could guarantee that a few more seats will be taken at the show. So—what do you say—can we talk?”
“Husband—you’re married?” Kate asked.
“Yes—yes, of course. My partner is the brains behind the show; I’m the talent and my husband well—he has the money. I’m afraid he had to be—convinced—to back my little project as fashion’s not really his thing. That’s why it’s so important that we succeed with this show. I’ve only got one chance to prove myself—to my husband as well as the fashion industry. If no-one shows up for our exhibit why— I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Oh they’ll show up.” Kate said, “It’s fashion week. Pretty much any designer can at least get people to look at their stuff.”
“Well, I hope that’s true. Listen, if you won’t have lunch with me could you at least come and take a quick peek at the merchandise? It really would mean so much to me.” Lilith asked as she forced a single tear to flow down her cheek for effect.
Thomas was having trouble focusing on anything other than the tall blond. “Why sure we can. We don’t—ouch!” Thomas yelped as Kate gave his arm a tight pinch. Kate’s green eyes bore into Thomas’ as she tried to mentally convey the message to him that there was something off about this Lilith person.
“I really don’t think we can spare the time to view your line today Ms.—Lilith, is it? We’re on a rather tight schedule ourselves and we need to be somewhere like ten minutes ago.”
Finally Kate’s edginess got through to Thomas and he realized that something out of the ordinary was happening here. “Oh—right—I nearly forgot. Look, Lilith, it’s been great talking to you and we wish you a lot’a luck with your line but Kate’s right—we gotta go.”
Thomas grabbed Kate by the hand just as Lilith raised hers to motion to someone standing on the other side of the street. Before the young couple could take a step a man, dressed in vintage clothing, appeared on the sidewalk behind them. A foul odor wafted after the strange figure and Thomas actually had to lift his arm to cover his nose so he could take a breath. “My god—what’s that smell?”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. I smell nothing out of the ordinary but—it is New York after all. What does it smell like?” Lilith asked, an evil sneer across her face.
“Like—death and brimstone—those are the only words to describe it.” Thomas replied.
“Hmm, how very interesting—do you smell anything, Robert?” Lilith directed her question to the figure now standing directly behind Kate. Tall and silent, Robert stared at Lilith for a split second before his hand shot forward to grab Kate around the neck, the sharp claw of his index finger nearly puncturing the vein at the base of her throat.
“Kate!” Thomas shouted as he lunged for her but Lilith stepped in front of him blocking his path.
“Oh—where are my manners. Let me introduce to you my partner—Robert Stephenson. He’s a very unique sort of individual but—you already know that, don’t you? Oh and that smell—it’s his—just a little trace of home that travels with him and his brothers wherever they go. Can you guess where he comes from—no? Well here’s a little hint—it gets devilishly hot down there most days. Ah, the light comes on.” Lilith smirked when she saw the look of surprise and shock on Thomas’ face. “Now—Thomas, my dear—let’s talk.”Lilith said as she slowly removed her glasses staring at the man before her with red eyes.
“What the hell?”
“Yes—Hell indeed—and I repeat a little trace of home. Anyway—as I’m sure you’ve realized by now we are not your typical New Yorkers although some may argue that point. Now Thomas, I have a question for you and I’d advise you to answer quickly and honestly if you don’t want any harm to come to your lovely lady. Robert here is something of an expert in death and dying and, if he doesn’t get the response we’re both hoping for she’ll be dead before you can scream for help.
Kate struggled to break free of Robert’s hold but, even with her vampire strength, this man was too strong for her. What is he? she wondered for she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was not human. Thomas glared the man holding Kate, his anger rising—at himself—and at their precarious situation. He’d let his guard down and now they were both in danger. If he survived the day—Julian was going to kill him!
“Alright bitch, have it your way. What the hell do you want from us?”
“What I want is for both of you to take a little walk with my friend and I somewhere far from this maddening crowd so we can have a private discussion about something that I need. Can you do that for me, handsome…” Lilith said as she stroked Thomas’ cheek with her manicured nail, “…hmmm?”
“Get your hands off him, you bit…ahh!” but Kate’s words were choked into silence.
“Ah, she’s jealous—can’t say that I blame her. Well, what’s it going to be hon—shall we take a walk over to the alley there or not?”
“Yeah—what choice do we have?”
“Actually—none,” Lilith said as she replaced her sunglasses, leading the way towards the alley. Thomas watched for a moment as Robert stroked the side of Kate’s throat, his sharp claw just breaking the skin above the pulsating artery. Blood formed a small ball of red before slowly trickling down her pale white skin and across the top of her dress. Kate’s eyes were a mixture of fear and hatred as they locked onto Thomas’. Robert’s yellow eyes followed Kate’s. He could sense the couple’s anger and frustration. He smiled at Thomas exposing long sharp teeth, enjoying the fear that replaced the anger on the young man’s face when Thomas realized what they were actually dealing with.
“Move human.” Robert ordered. With one last desperate look at Kate, Thomas turned and followed Lilith into the alley. The small group moved forward inching their way past blue BFI dumpsters overflowing with mounds of garbage. At the end of the alleyway Lilith waited, her voluptuous body propped against the rusty stairs of an old fire escape, the heel of her stiletto shoe hooked into the last rung. When they were closer to her, Robert reached forward and gave Thomas a hard shove.
Thomas pitched forward falling to the ground. He landed on his hands and knees tearing the leg of his new suit. “Now look what your lapdog’s done.” Thomas taunted as he tilted his head upwards to glare at Lilith. “Do you know how long it took Kate to find me this nice suit not that he…”Thomas said nodding back at
Robert, “…would know anything about what’s fashionable considering the way he’s dressed.”
Robert, hand still grasping Kate’s neck tightly, yanked her forward as he lunged at Thomas.
“No Robert!” Lilith said as she unhooked her heel and moved towards Thomas. She circled his kneeling form, tracing her fingernail across his broad shoulders as she moved around him. “I’d be very careful, lover. Robert’s specialty is mutilating women. You don’t want to give him a reason to hurt your precious Kate—not that he needs one. Why I’m not even sure I could control him when his—urges—get the best of him.”
“Alright, alright…” Thomas agreed, fear for Kate bringing him to his senses. “Tell me what you want? Is this about Dragone?”
“Dragone? Well, yes, I guess this is about him—in a way. You see I was promised one of his creations to add to my entourage. Dragone’s work on this particular being was exceptional and I was so looking forward to meeting him. But unfortunately that never happened and this creature was set free. As a result I’ve had to spend a great deal of time and energy trying to retrieve what is rightfully mine. And now I’m tired of waiting. That’s where you two come in.” Lilith said sweetly.
“What does any of this have to do with us?”Thomas asked. “I’m sure you have all the help you need with your retrieval project. Why do you need Kate and me?”
“That’s a very good question, lover.” Lilith purred. Turning her red eyes on Kate she said, “He’s not as dumb as he looks.” Lilith just laughed as Kate’s eyes blazed with hatred while she struggled to break free of Robert’s iron grip.
“Anyway—where were we—ah, yes…”Lilith said as she turned her attention once more to Thomas. “…why do I need you? I need bait—a reason to make my prize want to return to me.”
“And what if we don’t want to be your bait? What if Kate and I turn tail and run first chance we…ahh!”
Lilith’s eyes blazed liquid fire as anger consumed her. With one quick lunge she grabbed Thomas by the tie. Wrapping the material around her fist she jerked Thomas’ body off of the ground as if he weighed nothing at all. She pulled the gasping, choking figure close to her face as she spat out the words, “What is it about you humans that makes you think you can challenge me—and believe that you might actually win. I can choke the life right out of you in a matter of seconds…” she said as she tugged harder on the tie as Thomas struggled to breath, “…and not think twice about it.” Kate screamed in terror as Thomas’ face began to turn blue from lack of oxygen.
“But you won’t do that, will you Lilith?” A look of surprise flashed across Lilith’s face as a voice behind her reached her ears. “Demon—put him down!” the voice ordered as Thomas slowly began to lose consciousness. “Lilith—I will not repeat myself again. Put him down—it’s not his time and you’ve already gone way over your quota in souls this week alone. The Master of the Light, the one true Lord, is—not—happy.” Samael stressed his words as he stepped into Lilith’s line of sight.
Lilith turned her hate filled gaze upon the angel, his dark suit and black wings standing out in the bright sunlight. It’s a good thing they were in a long, deserted alley or the citizens of New York would’ve had the shock of their lives. Retaining her hold on the now unconscious Thomas she said, “This is one of the souls my lord covets. I only need one prisoner to convince the vampire priest to come to me. She…” Lilith said indicating Kate, “…will suffice. This one I can send directly to Lu.”
“That may be true but your Lu…”Samael’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he called the Lord of Darkness by Lilith’s pet name. “…has not had enough time to corrupt this one’s soul completely. Have you learned nothing from your past mistakes, woman? You know, I should let you continue—kill this innocent just like you murdered the good detective. If Thomas dies now, he goes to the Light and you’ll lose yet another soul for your master. So, by all means, finish what you’ve started. Watching you try to explain yourself to my brother Lucifer, yet again, would be highly entertaining.”
The truth of Samael’s words caused Lilith to pause. She hated to admit that the angel was right especially since she still hadn’t come up with a plausible explanation for the cop’s early demise. “Damn you, Samael!” she shouted as she tossed Thomas onto the ground where he landed with a thud. “Here…” she said as she gave his limp body a good hard kick, “…is your precious human.”
“Thank you, my dear—and you’re welcome.” Samael said as he knelt on the ground to check on the injured man. “He’s alive—barely—which is lucky for you.”
“Please—Kate pleaded in a voice filled with tears, “…let me go to him.” But Robert just tightened his iron grasp as she struggled to free herself.
“Human—he will survive,” was all Samael said to Kate as he rose to face Lilith.
“You’re a real kill joy, Samael. You can’t even let a girl have a little fun.”
“There are rules to be followed, Lilith. I don’t know how many times you need to be told.”
“Hmmph—we’ll see about that. Robert—pick up the boy and return to the station. Let Roman know we have our bait.” Lilith ordered.
Releasing his hold on her, Robert shoved Kate hard sending her sprawling to the ground. Thomas started to moan as he slowly regained consciousness. Kate inched her way towards him but Robert scooped up the semi-conscious man before she could reach him. With a burst of speed, his decrepit figure disappeared from the alleyway, Kate’s scream of, “Thomas!” ringing in his ears.
Lilith grabbed Kate by the arm and lifted her roughly off of the ground. “Don’t worry, my dear, you’ll be joining him soon enough. Now—start walking.”
Kate, green eyes blazing with hatred, jerked her arm from Lilith’s grasp and started walking back down the alley with Lilith close on her heels.
“Oh, Sammy…” Lilith said sweetly as she looked over her shoulder at the angel, “…would you be a dear and let Lu know the trap is set? If all’s gone well back in Red Rock and Roman’s delivered his message to the priest, our guest should be arriving very soon now. We’ll be at the station. He knows the place if he cares to get in on the fun—and you—or anyone else, for that matter, can do nothing to stop us from achieving our goal.” she said with a laugh as she grabbed Kate by the arm once again and both figures disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
Chapter 19
It was dusk when Eva and Shaniqua turned into the gravel driveway that led to the cabin—and Rick. It was their first stop since arriving back in Red Rock and Eva had butterflies in her stomach at the thought of seeing him again—or maybe it was the fact that she was about to introduce her closest friend to a vampire? Whatever the reason she found herself rushing to get out of the car, walking quickly down the sidewalk towards the tiny house. She stopped once when she realized Shaniqua wasn’t behind her. Turning, she smiled to herself when she saw the look of astonishment on her friend’s face as Shaniqua took in the breathtaking view.
“This was your mother’s place? Oh Eva, it’s beautiful—so different from anything back home. It’s peaceful and serene and they actually have grass here. I can see why you love it—well that–and the more obvious reason.” Shaniqua said with a grin. “You sure your friend won’t be a little put out—what with you bringing a stranger to his place without the slightest warning? Maybe we should’ve waited ‘til you reached him by phone and warned him about me.”
“It’s not like I didn’t try, Shani. You’re my witness. I called—several times. It’s dusk so he should definitely be up by now but I couldn’t reach him or anyone else.” she said, the concern apparent in her voice. “As for bringing you with me—I’m sure he won’t have a problem with that—especially when he’s heard our story and knows that you’re only here to help. Come on, let’s check out the cabin. If he’s not there then we go straight to the Inn and find out just where the hell everyone is.�
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She practically ran down the cement sidewalk, leaping up the steps of the back porch to pound on the door of the cabin. When she received no response, she knocked louder, “Rick—are you in there? It’s me, Eva. Rick! Come on—answer the door,” she thought as she kept on pounding. Finally Shaniqua grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop.
“Eva—stop. He’s not in there.”
“Maybe he is—and he’s hurt.” Eva said, unable to dispel the feeling rising within her that something was terribly wrong and Rick was in trouble. “Rick!” she shouted one last time before running from window to window, peering inside the cabin but she saw nothing—and no-one. She ran to the paddock behind the house but Midnight, too, was nowhere to be found. “Shit,” she muttered under her breath.
“What?” Shaniqua asked coming up behind Eva.
“His horse—it’s gone, too. That horse never leaves the area unless Rick is on him and that can mean only one thing—something’s happened and Rick’s out hunting—or worse— fighting.”Panic filled her as she ran back to the cabin. She stood in the middle of the yard and, eyes closed, concentrated on her surroundings.
Shaniqua, breathing heavily as she tried to keep up with the erratic behavior of her friend, came to stand behind Evangeline. “Can you pick up anything—or sense it— or whatever it is your kind does under these circumstances?”
“Shh!” ordered Eva. Then inhaling deeply, she replied, “They were here again—the werewolves—and something else. Shaniqua—at least one of those things we tangled with at the cemetery was here as well.”
“And you know this how?”
“I can smell it. I’ll never forget that foul stench as long as I live.”
“But how did it beat us here? You were doing at least eighty miles an hour the whole way here.”
“They’re superhuman, Shani—not of this world. Who knows what they’re capable of? We need to find Roy. We have to get to the Inn. Come on!”
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