Life After Humanity

by Gillian St. Kevern

  “Vampire,” said one of the guards with a nod. He spoke into the radio he carried. “Roger, this is Bill. On the roof. No immediate danger. The perp has left—”

  “Heard you coming,” Nate said. “You got here just in time. Thanks.”

  The other guard motioned the two of them toward the stairs. “You’d better report to Denise.”

  As they made their way down the stairs, Aki frowned. “That man—that was tall, dark, and deadly, right? The one you totally embarrassed yourself over?”

  Nate winced. He did not want to be reminded of his first encounter with Hunter. “Yeah. That’s Hunter. Who, as you so rightly pointed out, is a bad idea in every respect.”

  “You didn’t tell me he was hot!”

  Nate rolled his eyes. “Actually, I did. Repeatedly.”

  “But clearly not in any meaningful way. I was entirely unprepared for—” Aki came to a halt so sudden that the security guard nearly crashed into him. “For that—greatness!” He shook his head. “No, your vampire obsession totally makes sense now, except for one thing—how on earth can you prefer Ben to that vision?”

  “You’re crushing on the guy at the park, remember?” Nate took in Aki’s flushed face with concern. “Remember? The chiseled god?”

  “Him?” Aki waved a hand dismissively. “He likes dogs.”

  Nate hesitated and then gave Aki a nudge toward the employee quarters. “Go, have a cold shower or something to clear your head and join us, okay? I’ll let Denise know what happened.”

  Denise was not impressed. “You’re sure it was Mr. Hunter?”

  “Absolutely. I mean, even if I forgot a face, you don’t forget a presence like that.” Especially when he tried to kill you. Nate ran a hand through his hair. “What do we do?”

  “That’s a very good question.” Denise frowned. “You say he didn’t harm either of you. What was his purpose in coming to the club?”

  Nate swallowed. “I’m—not sure. At the time, I didn’t really think about it. I was more focused on, well—him.” Something warned him that sharing the news that Hunter was looking for Ben was not a good idea.

  “Perhaps he thought you might oblige him at another house party.” Denise crossed her arms. “I hope I don’t need to tell you I strongly disapprove of any such arrangement.”

  “Totally,” Nate said, nodding hastily. “The last thing I want to do is entertain vampires.”

  “I’ll see that the rooftop is better illuminated and make sure that our security team looks into extending the protective wards to cover the roof as well as the club,” Denise decided. “And I’ll also issue an internal memo, reminding everyone that Century has a strict no vampire policy.”

  “Are you going to inform Department Seven?” Nate bit his lip.

  Denise considered him for a long moment. “I don’t believe so. There’s little they can do about this incident. Unless you don’t consider my precautions adequate?”

  “No! You’re doing everything possible,” Nate said. “Cannot be happier. Absolutely.”

  Denise didn’t look convinced, but as she crossed her arms, there was a knock at the door. “Come in, Bill,” she said without taking her eyes off Nate.

  Bill looked as disconcerted to be greeted by name as Nate had been earlier. “We’ve just finished patrolling around the club. No sign of the vampire.” He hesitated. “Or of Mr. Fujino.”

  Aki. Nate’s chest tightened painfully. “He’s gone?”

  “Ducked out soon after you went to report. The doorman didn’t think to stop him.”

  Nate grabbed his phone, dialing Aki’s number.

  “Did the vampire speak to Aki directly?”

  Nate shook his head. “I don’t think so. In fact, I know he didn’t. He only spoke to me.” Aki’s voicemail message started to play. Nate ended the call. “He’s not answering.”

  “Akihiro is a New Camden native. He knows what measures to take for his own safety, and how to protect himself. He has a level of self-protection that others could learn from.” Denise gave Nate a meaningful look. “I’m sure that the only thing on his mind was skipping out on a tedious meeting.”

  Nate shook his head. “He’s gone after Hunter. I know he has.”

  Chapter Nine

  “IF ANYTHING HAPPENS to Aki—I’ll never forgive myself.” Nate sounded like misery personified. He sat on the sofa of his apartment, the dog lying mournfully against his leg. “It was my idea to go up onto the roof to talk, me that Hunter came to see…”

  The dog whined softly. Nate dropped his hand to his ears but, after the initial first pat, forgot what he was doing. The dog didn’t complain. Its worried eyes gazed up at Nate, every bit as unhappy as he was.

  Ben rubbed the back of his neck. He felt helpless in the face of such anxiety. “Hunter won’t hurt him. Not badly, anyway. It’s against ARX policy.”

  “But ARX denies any involvement. According to them, Hunter’s taken leave for the rest of the week.” Nate’s shoulders hunched miserably. “I made Denise call and check. They couldn’t tell us anything—they suggested that maybe I had my vampires mixed up.” He sounded outraged.

  Ben caught his breath. “You didn’t tell them why Hunter visited the club?”

  Nate shook his head. “I didn’t say anything about you to them—or to Denise.” His eyes rested on Ben worriedly. “She knows about you. Hell, she saw you at Century the night of the werewolf. It’s not going to take her long to put two and two together and realize that Hunter might be looking for you. And if she doesn’t, Department Seven definitely will.”

  “Don’t panic. Let’s think about this calmly.” Ben took the space on the other side of Nate from the dog. He reached for his hand. “Denise was reluctant to call Department Seven in because she doesn’t want the club getting bad publicity, and there’s no evidence that Aki is with Hunter.”

  “I know he is!” Nate raised his head to Ben immediately. Beside him, the dog gave a low growl. “You didn’t see him on the stairs! There’s no way I should have left him alone—”

  “You can’t help that now.” Ben placed his hand on Nate’s shoulder. “I agree with you. I think that Aki definitely went after Hunter. But it’s equally possible that he lost him and will make his way home when he gives up.”

  “Then why doesn’t he answer his phone?” Nate looked at his smartphone lying on the coffee table.

  “He’s probably intent on whatever he’s doing.” Ben let his hand rest on Nate’s arm a moment longer. “And then there’s Aki’s…” He hesitated. He hadn’t realized how strong Aki’s abilities were until he was able to see Ben at Century despite the class six restriction placed on him.

  “Foresight?” Nate said miserably. “He puts too much weight on that. It makes him reckless.”

  “All this speculation is only upsetting you. Try to remain optimistic.” He walked into Nate and Aki’s kitchen, scanning the shelves for anything that looked like it might be helpful. What did you give people for emergencies? Godfrey made tea—but surely extra caffeine was the last thing Nate needed right now.

  “I don’t know how you can be so calm.” Nate frowned, stroking the dog’s side. “You more than anyone know what Hunter is like.”

  “Right.” Ben hoped he sounded reassuringly confident and not as if he was dismissing Nate’s concerns. “And I know that Hunter follows Saltaire’s rules about not harming innocent bystanders. If he has Aki, he won’t harm him.” He spotted a packet of herbal tea on the shelf and took it down. He turned the kettle on.

  “That would be more convincing if I didn’t know that Hunter has a track record of breaking the rules where you are concerned.”

  Ben stuck his head out of the kitchen. “What do you mean?”

  Nate winced. The dog gazed up at him with concern. “Did I ever tell you what happened between me and Hunter, after you dumped me, and Saltaire dragged you home?”

  Ben shook his head. “I know Saltaire ordered Hunter to deal with you.”

  “Implicat
ion: kill me. Or at least scrub my mind of any knowledge of you and your family.” Nate placed his hand on the dog’s head. “What he actually did was to compel me to stay inside Century unless someone I knew was with me. In other words, preserving my life—and my memories.”

  Ben frowned. “Surely that proves my point. Hunter won’t harm Aki—”

  Nate shook his head. “He didn’t do it out of a fondness for me or any sense of regard for humans. He did it solely because I was important to you.” He raised his head. “You see? When you’re involved, Hunter’s an unknown. We don’t know what he will or won’t do.”

  Ben stared back at him. He couldn’t argue with Nate’s conclusions, even though he badly wanted to. Hunter’s not—it’s not like that!

  Nate’s phone buzzed.

  The dog yelped as Nate lunged forward to grab it, unceremoniously dumping the dog on the floor.

  “A message? Is it from Aki?” Ben hurried forward.

  Having great time. Don’t rescue me. I’ve got this totally under control.

  Nate typed furiously in response. “He can’t mean that.”

  Ben crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall. He wasn’t as familiar with Aki as Nate was, but he knew Hunter—and Hunter’s effect on people. He wasn’t convinced that Aki hadn’t intended his message exactly as he’d sent it. “You did say that he seemed…attracted to Hunter.”

  The dog made a piteous sound in the back of his throat. Absently, Ben crouched to pet it.

  “Yeah, but when I fell for you, Aki was vehemently against anything to do with vampires. I can’t believe he’d just change his mind—” The phone beeped again.

  Seriously, if you rescue me now I will never forgive you.

  “Damnit, Aki! Just tell me where you are!”

  Ben glanced out the window. “It’s almost dawn. Hunter will be retiring—and he’ll have made arrangements for Aki’s safety during the day. We should head to bed.”

  Nate’s head jerked up from the phone. “What—and just leave him there?”

  The dog barked.

  “No. While Hunter sleeps, we will continue to investigate. But you’ve been working all night. You’re going to crash soon. And you can’t help Aki if you’re out cold.”

  Nate stood reluctantly. “It feels wrong, but I know you’re right—and Aki doesn’t seem like he’s in any pain.” He hesitated. “Stay with me? I’m too wired to get to sleep on my own.”

  “Of course.” Ben followed Nate into his room.

  Every time he visited, it seemed that Nate had added another plant to the collection already filling the window sill. He sat on the bed as Nate discarded his T-shirt and climbed into bed.

  “I really appreciate you coming by,” Nate said, reaching for the light. “Sorry your date night didn’t end how you wanted it to.”

  Ben shook his head, even though Nate couldn’t see him in the dark. “Don’t give it a second thought. Aki comes before date nights.”

  “Even so. It means a lot, having you here for this.” Nate found his hand in the dark and held it.

  Ben stretched out, trying to move as little as possible. If it had occurred to Nate that Aki wouldn’t have been taken if not for Ben’s presence in his life, he hadn’t given any sign of it. Instead, he shifted restlessly, the bed shaking as he moved, until at last his breathing evened out and he fell still.

  Nate… Ben felt something catch at the base of his throat. He swallowed it with difficulty. His rolled onto his side. He could make out Nate’s outline in the dark. We will find Aki. I promise you— I won’t leave your side until we do.

  There was a click behind him. Very carefully, Ben raised his head.

  The dog nosed the door open. With a glance at Ben, he slipped through the door, dragging with him a bright orange T-shirt that could only belong to Aki. Ben fell asleep to the sound of him making a nest out of it at the base of the bed.

  “NO, YOU CAN’T come and look for Aki with us. You have stay here and guard the apartment.” Nate carefully squeezed himself out the door of the apartment, slamming it shut before the dog could escape. “Good dog.” He locked the door.

  On the other side of it, the dog barked loudly.

  There is no way that the other tenants aren’t going to notice. Ben looked down the hallway, but there was no sign of any of the apartment building’s other occupants. So far, Ben was pretty sure that none of them knew of his and Nate’s relationship, but he was not looking forward to when they figured it out. The dog is going to look like special treatment for sure. “You haven’t had the chance to search for the owner at all, have you?”

  Nate looked at him oddly, hitting the button to call the elevator. “With everything else that’s going on?”

  “That’s what I thought.” Ben stepped into the elevator, still frowning. Is it bad that Aki is gone, and I’m worrying about something so trivial? Or is that what Wellbeloved would describe as a defense of the brain? After all, if anything happens to Aki, I’m partially responsible…

  “Where are we going?” Nate asked as the doors closed.

  “I thought we’d take the direct approach. Signal a taxi and tell them to head to twenty-one Rueful Crescent.”

  “Hunter’s house?” Nate stared at him.

  “I did say the direct approach.”

  “Yeah, but just showing up on his doorstep… I thought we’d be a little more subtle than that.”

  “Hunter doesn’t know that I can go out in daylight,” Ben told Nate. “Last time he saw me, I was still a vampire.”

  “So, he won’t be expecting us to show up until evening?” Nate mulled that over as he waved a taxi down. He held the door open for Ben. “What about Godfrey?”

  “Godfrey already knows.”

  “What?”

  Ben motioned to the driver, waiting patiently for instructions.

  “Oh right.” Nate gave the address.

  Ben pressed a finger to his lips and frowned. With any luck, Nate would assume that Ben was being extra paranoid about being overheard—and not worried about revealing that the taxi driver couldn’t see him. Why am I so determined to keep this from Nate? It hadn’t been a conscious decision, just a shying away from it that had turned into a concentrated effort. It’s not as if Nate would be repulsed by me or angry—just worried. Ben cast a look at the deep frown that furrowed Nate’s expression. For a moment, he looked more like his grim brother than himself. He would worry about me—and I don’t want to add to everything else that he’s got to deal with right now. Aki being missing was bad news enough.

  The taxi pulled up in front of a Victorian townhouse in the hills overlooking the city. As Nate paid the taxi fare, Ben cast a critical eye over the house. From the outside, it was as immaculately maintained as ever. When he reached out his hand to the gate, he felt a faint humming in the air, traces of protective runes. Godfrey, the housekeeper, had clearly been working hard restoring the mansion’s wards, but he still had a long way to go.

  I’d forgotten that the townhouse’s security was breached. Ben frowned up at the house. Was Hunter still using it? With their location exposed to every vampire in the city, they’d want to find a new base… For the first time, Ben felt misgivings.

  “Second thoughts?” Nate stood behind Ben, looking up at the house.

  Ben shook his head. “It’s strange to see the place in daylight. Let’s go inside.”

  The gate opened at his touch, indicating that either Godfrey had rebuilt on what remained of the previous wards or had made a deliberate allowance for Ben.

  Ben rang the bell, watching Nate sniff the lavender growing in terracotta pots on the steps. He heard a step inside the house, and then the door was pulled back.

  “Ben! This is a delightful surprise.” Godfrey stood on the doorstep, looking as correct as he always did. He wore an apron over his suit, and brightly colored rubber gloves. The smell of ammonia hung around him. Clearly they’d interrupted cleaning. “And Nathan, too! You really are spoiling me.”

&
nbsp; Nate shook hands awkwardly. “You can call me Nate.”

  “Can we come in?” Ben stepped into the hall. Underlying the strong smell of floor wax was a deeper, earthier smell. Ben swallowed, instantly taken back to the many long nights he’d spent in the house. The feeling was so strong that he felt with his tongue for the edges of his fangs and was surprised not to find them.

  Nate stood so close to him that his shoulder bumped Ben. “I hope we’re not interrupting.”

  “Not at all,” Godfrey lifted a mop out of the way, motioning them down the hall. “I have been looking forward to your visit.”

  Ben and Nate exchanged a glance. “You knew we were coming?” Ben asked, at the same time that Nate said, “Do you know where Aki is?”

  Godfrey looked up. His tawny eyes, as sharp and alert as a bird, alighted on them curiously. “We seem to be talking at cross-purposes. I imagined you’d want to use the library. I have been putting aside books I thought would be of interest to the pair of you as I find them.”

  Ben felt Nate shift restlessly behind him. “That’s very kind of you,” he said quickly.

  “Go ahead into the library. I’ll join you in a moment.”

  “But—”

  “You haven’t seen the library yet, have you Nate?” Ben took him by the hand. “It’s very impressive.” He pulled Nate down the hall after him.

  The library had been one of Ben’s favorite rooms in the entire house. He opened the door, taking a moment to savor its peculiar smell of books and herbs.

  “Why didn’t we just ask him about Aki?” Nate shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked into the room. “We don’t have time to read!”

  “Nothing is going to happen until after sunset,” Ben reminded him. “And you’ve had a message from Aki this morning, haven’t you?”

  “He updated his Tumblr,” Nate said reluctantly. He looked around, seemingly taking in the library for the first time. “Wow. I’ve never seen so many books outside an actual library.”