by S. L. Eaves
Abrams looks down, adjusts his tie.
I don’t try to hide my anger. “You asked for the vampire you wanted. What you got was the vampire you needed. And everything that comes with that. This isn’t on me, Abrams. You make sure your whole department knows what I did and why I did it. Otherwise, you leave a target on my back and things will get ugly. Real ugly.”
I go for the door. I can sense it is night out. Even if I couldn’t, Abrams would have wanted to do this debriefing nonsense after hours.
Abrams stands and holds out a hand as a way of apology. “You’re right, okay. This job, it gets in my head sometimes. Everyone here is so concerned about covering their own ass, it gets hard to distinguish between right and wrong. I’ll clear your name. You have my word.”
He sits back down and stares absently at the stack of papers. My anger subsides, replaced by pity. Deep down I know he’s one of the good guys. And I don’t have a clue what he’s up against in this organization. Before the door closes between us, I stick my head in one last time.
“And Abrams, get some sleep already. You look how I feel. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Big-picture-wise, you did good.”
Chapter 31
I’m standing on the sidewalk looking up at Vega’s house in San Francisco. The window has been repaired. I haven’t been in contact with anyone since the compound, but I had a feeling this was where’d I’d find them. It looks like I’m right, at least about Vega. I sense movements through the tinted glass and Vega’s SUV is parked on the street a few houses down. It might be Rex’s or Malik’s, I don’t actually know, but it means at least one of them is in there.
The frigid air cuts to the bone on this cold winter night. If I had breath you’d be able to see a cloud in front of my face. The sky is clear and bright. I leer up at the full moon.
My backpack begins to feel heavy on my shoulders, the physical embodiment of the decision I’m attempting to make. I compromise, opting to go buy a pack of smokes and, if I regret walking away, I’ll come back after. I start down the block and Rex appears in the road before me.
“Not even a ‘Hello’?” he asks. He tries to look angry, but I can tell he’s happy to see me.
“Timing wasn’t right,” I smile as he pulls me in for a hug.
“You waiting to make a dramatic entrance?” he jokes, releasing his embrace, hands still on my shoulders as if afraid to let go completely.
“The opposite, really; I was feeling a bit melodramatic standing out front like I was waiting for a grand reception.”
“Uh-huh. You could just knock.”
“Who’s with you?”
“Everyone’s in there. We’re debating moving overseas. I hear there’s this massive state-of-the art mansion in England just going to waste,” he smiles.
“Oh my God, Jiro. I totally forgot about Jiro.” I picture him wheeling around the mansion like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.
“Who? Oh, the hacker? Xan’s been keeping him in the loop, no worries.”
“Good… How is Xan doing?”
“He took Marcus’s betrayal hard. Poor guy was totally clueless. Like losing a father and then finding out he was working against you for years…it’s pretty messed up.”
“And Dade?”
“You can just ask them yourself, you know. Come back with me.” He begins walking towards the house, gesturing for me to follow. When he sees I’m not going to he stops and tries for a different approach.
“You know I haven’t had a chance to properly thank you for what you did back at the compound.”
“You have Quinn to thank for that one.”
“Oh yeah? In your vision, were you in the room getting shot up?”
I wasn’t. In my vision Rex died trying to save Vega, and I was nowhere to be found.
“You weren’t, were you? You held her off. Delayed her long enough for Quinn to show up and blow her head off.”
His eyes glisten in the moonlight, daring me to deny it. “Don’t think I know another version of that story.”
“How about the information on that computer? Anything on there?”
Rex laughs. “The computer parts you gave Quinn were basically fragments of a hard drive. I don’t know what that computer ever did to you…”
“Shit. Sorry.”
“But the flash drive is a gold mine,” Rex grins.
“Oh yeah? Way to bury the lead.”
“You asking for me or for your human allies?” His expression stiffens.
“I’ve hung up my agent badge, permanently.”
“That so?”
I nod.
“Well then, you should know Xan has your hacker buddy—Jiro, is it?—combing through the data; he thinks there’s a formula in there.”
“That’s fantastic.” I lower my bag and remove a handful of flash drives from the pocket. “Here’s the rest of the data I was able to recover from Trion. No clue if there’s anything useful on them. As you know, I didn’t have much time. The DIA doesn’t have copies. I left the humans with next to nothing.”
Rex holds the flash drives and tries again. “Why don’t you bring these to Xan yourself?”
“They don’t trust me. And they shouldn’t. I’m toxic. Everyone I get close to gets killed. Or their world implodes under their feet.”
“If that were true, I wouldn’t be standing here. We like trouble, Lori, our kind lives for it. We’ve all done some really messed up things. We accept you: flaws, scars, all of it.”
I nod. I know he’s right and part of me wants to rejoin them. To go back to England to rebuild the clan and move forward together.
He continues, “Question is, will you accept us?”
I walk up to Rex and take his head in my hands.
“I do. And I love you all. But I don’t like who I am when I’m around you, or them, rather; vampires as a whole. And I don’t like what I see.” I feel tears build up in the corner of my eyes. “For years, my world has been full of violence and destruction. There has to be more to this existence than just survival. But I won’t find it with them. I want a life outside of this.”
“I get it, I do. Sounds like you’ve got some soul searching to do.” He forces a disappointed smile.
“No matter how long you have traveled in the wrong direction, you can always turn around.”
I lean into Rex and kiss him goodbye. Long and hard so he knows I mean it. This time he doesn’t protest as I start down the street. I feel his eyes burning into my back and it takes all my strength not to turn and run into his comforting arms.
Epilogue
Excerpt from Book 3: Prey till the End
The door to my apartment beeps as the lock slides back and permits me to enter. I slip off my heels and rub my feet. I’m switching to boots tomorrow. The dim glow of recessed lighting illuminates the hallway as I cross the living room and trigger the motion sensors. But I don’t want them on. I want to watch the sunrise unobstructed by their glare.
“Lights off.”
The voice activation system responds to my command and the room goes dark once more. I’m not adverse to the traditional method of flicking a switch; I just don’t know where it is. Everything in the apartment is controlled by motion and speech.
Possibly the best part of not having a reflection is the ability to stare out across the city without having to look myself in the eyes.
The entire exterior facing wall of the apartment consists of floor-to-ceiling windows. A bold choice given my affliction, but worth it for the impressive skyline view. I have measures in place to keep the sunlight out, amongst other things. The windows have UV coating, which offers some protection from indirect sunlight. Once the sun is fully above the horizon, blackout screens will lower and I won’t see the city again until sunset.
Watching the city begin to stir just before sunrise has become my favorite ritual. I cherish those precious few minutes before the curtains drop. Tonight, I’m home early though and I’ve got a good hour or so to wait.
And, apparently,
someone to wait with.
“Hello, Vega.”
There is a moment of silence. I wait it out patiently, my gaze not wavering from the window.
“Hello, Lori,” the familiar voice surrenders to the uncomfortable silence. “Your security system is impressive. I thought I managed to slip in undetected.”
I turn from the window and lock eyes with the figure sitting in my living room, hands clasped in his lap, his posture relaxed as if he were watching the evening news.
“You did. When I installed this security system I thought to myself, ‘If anyone can get past it, it will be a Pureblood.’ Not that you needed to. You could’ve called.”
“Didn’t have your number. Had to do some digging to find this address.”
“Yes, I imagine you would have.” I cross to the screen suspended on my foyer wall and reactivate the lights. I pull up the security settings while I’m there. The system is showing no indication of an intruder. Not a single alert on my phone went off. I sensed his presence when I walked in, but it’s alarming to me that he managed to walk in through the front door. A vampire doesn’t need an invitation when the inhabitant isn’t human. That’s half the reason why I installed the damn thing. Half.
I pause noticing the timestamp. The system is on a loop, repeating the last three hours as if they never happened. Vega has hacked my system.
“Nice place you have here.”
“Thanks.” I move to the kitchen. It’s an open floor plan and the kitchen is sparsely appointed, really more of a wet bar that serves as a divider between the living room and an office space I’ve carved out at the far end.
“Get you a drink?” I ask, busying myself looking for clean glasses.
“No. Thank you. I will make this a short visit. I don’t like to intrude.”
“All evidence to the contrary.”
I see the faint outline of a smirk under the dim lighting.
“I need your help, Lori. Something has happened and it could be very bad for our kind.”
Shaking my head, I pour some blood into a brandy glass. I really need to do the dishes. I sip it slowly, pretentiously, just to annoy him. It’s gratifying and somewhat flattering, having him come to me for help for a change. I allow myself to savior the moment before turning him down.
“You know I’m out, Vega. I’m not fighting anymore. Not for vampires. Not for humans. Not for years now.”
Vega stands up. “I don’t know how I feel about this new you. It’s nice not having you show up battered and bloody at my doorstep and not having to constantly repair my windows, but it’s also rather…dull.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“Problem is, things are starting to look as if they may get a lot more interesting, and not in a good way. I could use your brand of entertainment. It’s preferable to theirs.”
Theirs? No, I won’t be drawn in.
“Glad you find entertainment in my torment.”
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
Vega approaches. I start to object, but he simply raises his hand and slips me a card.
“You change your mind, call that number.”
He moves towards the door before turning around. “Have you found what you’re looking for?”
I haven’t had a vision in years. Not a real one, nothing more than a glimpse here or there. And the nightmares have all but stopped. Now all I see when I close my eyes is comforting darkness. No bloodshed, no violence, no Catch reminding me what he died for. I want to believe he’s at rest. I need to believe he’s found peace, so I too can be at peace.
“Yeah, Vega, I think I have.”
He nods. “Good. You may want to beef up your security system. With what’s coming – no one is safe. Doesn’t matter how untouchable you think you are.”
“It’s an illusion, I know.”
He raises an arm, gesturing at nothing in particular. “This isn’t you, Lori. You can live the life you’ve always wanted, you can hide behind those fake contacts and the bronzer, you can tell yourself you’re content, happy even. But at the end of the day the sun will rise and you won’t be able to hide who you are.”
Holding up the card, “Always a pleasure, Vega.”
He opens the door and I can’t help myself.
“Hey Vega?”
“Yes?” He glances over his shoulder.
“Give my regards to Rex.”
He smiles, “Happily, but I’m sure he’d prefer you to deliver that message in person.”
About the Author
S. L. Eaves is a Philadelphia area native who received undergraduate degrees in film and writing from University of Pittsburgh. She returned to Philadelphia to earn her MBA in marketing from Drexel University while freelancing as a writer and brand consultant. She penned the first two books of The Endangered Series for Zharmae Publishing and went on to complete the series independently after the publishing house closed. Presently, she works in marketing and escapes into the world of fiction every chance she gets. Visit her world at www.writewithfire.com.