by Jen Pretty
When I walked through the door, Vlad sat in his chair. He looked at me with sadness and handed me an envelope.
Inside was a credit card – I already had two – and a letter. I sat down in the chair in front of the desk and read it. His penmanship was glorious.
Dear Lark,
I apologize for leaving without saying goodbye. Please know, I would not have chosen to leave this way, if there was a choice. I intend to end my brother's reign of terror and cannot do that from behind my desk. I have stood by long enough and now must act.
Please, I beg of you, stay in the city and aid Vlad. There is much turmoil and this business with my brother should not take up so much of your time. I will gather other members of my family and hunt him down.
I hope to return to you soon.
My love, always,
Vincent.
He was going to chase his fallen brother around the globe. I sat back in my chair. It was exactly what Frankie did with his father. Because, you know, that worked out so well for him.
Frankie appeared in the office, speak of the devil.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Do you just pop in when I think about you?”
“Were you thinking about me?” he replied with a sly smile.
I shook my head. “Vernon blew up my studio, killed Randy and now Vincent has gone after him,” I replied, numb to the information. I looked up when Frankie didn’t respond.
He looked a bit better already. It couldn’t have been an hour since I left him, asleep in his bed. He should still be resting.
“Your lion was licking my face. It was gross,” he said to my unspoken concern.
I turned back to Vlad. “I’m not going to let him go off by himself. That’s ridiculous.”
“Men in love often do foolish things,” Vlad said in his Russian accent.
“I do need your help in this city, Lark. If you must go, take your parka. It is winter in Russia.”
I smiled at the crazy old vampire.
“Great, I love snow.”
The End
MOURNING LARK
Goddess Durga -Book 3
Jen Pretty
In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong.
—Charles DickEns,
great expectations
CHAPTER ONE
The streets were dull and tired. The moon glowed between the black clouds that had been threatening rain all night.
“Can we go home now? We have been out here all night,” Drew complained. He was lagging. Durga kept pushing at me mentally, but I knew it wasn’t to look for rogue vampires in this city. She had a different target in mind — one who had been suspiciously absent for too long.
“Fine, let’s head back to the van,” I said, scanning the dark streets one last time.
Singh swung around and marched down the street. He had been dragging his feet too. Interesting that he found energy when we turned for home. His desires rarely went past sleeping and eating now that the city was quiet.
After I killed Frankie's father and Vincent disappeared, our hands had been full with hunting vampires. Vincent spent centuries keeping order in the city, and when he left, there was a big influx of vampires who thought they could get away with whatever they wanted.
They quickly learned Vlad was just as tough if not tougher and Durga took no prisoners. Literally.
We hadn’t found a single rogue or fallen vampire in weeks.
Halfway back to the van, the clouds let go of the heavy rain they had been holding. Singh and Drew jogged the rest of the way, but I kept the same pace. The rain cooled my face, hanging off my eyelashes for a moment before dripping to run down my cheeks. It trickled through the seams of my jacket until my shirt clung to my shoulders beneath it.
The van pulled up beside me, and I slid the door open. Singh had shifted into a lion and draped his furry butt across the back seat. I slammed the door shut again and went around to the passenger side, sliding in with a squeak as my wet leather pants squished across the vinyl seat.
“You know it’s been quiet...” Drew said. He had brought up the topic four times this week already.
“I already told you, not yet.”
“I’m just saying. We don’t need to stay here now. Other teams can handle…”
“Just drive the car,” I interrupted. When someone leaves you in the dust with zero contact, it’s was weird to go chasing after them.
Back at the mansion, Drew went to the entertainment room where voices were cheering at some sports game on the TV. Singh sauntered up the stairs still in lion form.
“Don’t you dare lie in my bed all wet,” I called to him. He twitched his tail and turned towards my room. I made a mental note to find clean sheets before I went to bed.
I turned down the hall towards the office. I knocked, I still expected to hear Vincent's voice. Vlad’s gentler and more Russian accented, “Come in,” wasn’t as startling as the first few times I’d heard it through the solid wood door, but it still wasn’t right.
“Hey, Vlad, any news?” I asked, sitting down in the chair in front of what used to be Vincent’s desk. Vlad had left the decor the same in the room. It was like we were both just holding still until Vincent came back. The same books on the bookshelves and the same uncomfortable tiny couches lined the walls. When I looked at them, it brought back memories that I didn’t know how to handle.
“No, but as I keep telling you, don’t worry about it. Vampires often go off the radar for a few months and pop back up just as quick. It's like time flies by suddenly, and we don’t notice.”
I heard this already. It didn’t make it easier. I needed to hear from Vincent. As soon as I found out he left, I wanted to chase him down, but then vampires crawled all over the city, and I couldn’t go. Now Durga was napping most of the time and only coming out to push at my mind. It was like she was saving up her energy for something.
Probably something I would hate.
“Your warlock was hanging around looking for you,” Vlad said with a smile.
Great.
“Did he say what he wanted?” I asked, picking non-existent lint off my pants.
“Nope, he popped in and asked where you were.”
“Ok, I’ll see you later.”
Vlad winked at me. I shook my head. Although it was morning, I wasn’t tired, so I headed for the front door of the mansion. As I entered the foyer, the door swung open, and a smiling Trevor bounced in.
“Hey, Lark,” he said. His cheeks had colour to them, and he didn’t need to wear baggy clothes to cover his skeletal frame anymore. He was thin, but gaining lean muscle from yoga and the kickboxing the hunters were teaching him.
“Hey, how was school?” I asked
“Pretty good, you leaving?” he hooked his thumb over his shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m just going out for a bit, I’ll be back later for our movie,” I replied. We had started a ritual movie time in the middle of the day since I didn’t need to sleep all day anymore.
“Ok, see you later!” Trevor said as he skipped off.
I walked out the door and went down to the garage to find my SUV.
I pulled into the dusty parking lot in front of The Crossroads bar, where all the witches and warlocks of Frankie’s coven hung out, and turned off the SUV, stepping out into the cool morning air. It was an unseasonably cold winter. Nothing like up north, but cool enough that I welcomed the sun that peeked over the horizon bringing a tiny ray of warmth.
I pushed the door open to a full house of witches and warlocks. Every magical head turned to look at me, and the busy room dropped to silence.
Several of the coven members scurried out the back door. A group of witches near me leaned away like I had the plague.
Frankie had visited me at the mansion a couple of times in the last few months, but I hadn’t been to their bar. I only now realized that was weird and maybe there was a reaso
n for it.
“Lark,” Frankie said.
He waved me into his office. I walked past all the worried faces and into his office, closing the door behind me. Photos still covered the walls, but the pictures with Frankie’s father were absent, replaced with newer photos. Frankie pulled me into a hug and held me for a moment, but I pushed him back.
“They are afraid of me?” I asked. “Why are they afraid of me, Frankie?”
He sighed, like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. “Because you turned into Durga and killed Bennet, Lark. They are all worried that Durga will think they are evil and kill them.”
I laughed, but there was no humour in it. “But you aren’t afraid that Durga will kill you?”
“No. I think she knows who I am by now,” he said with a cocky smile.
“Well, can’t you explain it to them?” It was bad enough a few of the vampires in the mansion still avoided me if all the witches and warlocks were afraid of me too?
“I’ve tried Lark.” he sighed again and threw his hands in the air. A helpless gesture. “I think they need more time. Why don’t we go out somewhere?”
“I don’t feel like going out anywhere,” I said, turning to leave.
“Please, Lark? This is a temporary problem. Don’t run away from me.”
“I’m not running away. I’m just tired suddenly.”
Frankie grabbed my hand as I went to turn away and pulled me back to his arms.
“I miss you, Lark. I never see you anymore,” he complained, brushing the hair back from my face.
His hair was shaggy, and his beard had a few days growth on it making him look more rugged than usual. His tall frame dwarfed me. He made me feel sheltered from the storm when I was in his arms. It was nice and sweet. It made me forget Vincent for a few minutes.
His eyes locked on mine and I realized I had wandered into thoughts of Vincent while Frankie held me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He kissed my forehead and then let me go, returning to his desk. He always had work to do.
“Yeah, I have a lot of work to do now that my coven is smaller. I have no one who can do the books,” he replied to my unspoken thought without looking up.
I was making it worse. Keeping my thoughts under control was impossible. “I’m gonna go,” I tried to turn again, but he popped up in front of me.
“Wait, I’m sorry, Lark. I’m just stressed out. It's not your fault. I’ll stop reading your mind, ok?”
I snorted a laugh.
“OK,” Frankie laughed too. “I’ll stop taking what you think so personally.”
Doing something fun with Frankie might help me forget my problems, but I was just in a weird mood, and it wouldn’t be good for either of us.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, OK?”
He bit his lip and nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lark.” He leaned in and kissed my lips softly making my heart flutter and do foolish things. His hand came around my back, sliding up my spine and the sweet kiss turned into more. Time stood still, and I got completely lost in the moment. When we both came up for air, I laughed. That was one thing Frankie and I were always on the same page about. He hugged me and then I walked back out through the now empty bar and into the morning light.
The drive back to the house was lonely. I was tired of feeling so alone.
Back at the mansion, I struggled to remember feeling lonely while pinned under a 400lb lion and wedged between two laughing hyenas. Ok, the hyenas were Trevor and Drew. They had chosen a comedy for movie time, and it was hilarious. Even my crappy mood couldn’t stop every bubble of laughter that lurched out of me. When it was over, the three of us worked together to roll Singh off, and we went to the kitchen to grab lunch.
“That was a good movie. We could watch the sequel tomorrow,” Trevor said.
“Great idea,” Drew agreed.
They both looked at me for confirmation, but I was considering something else.
“I think it's time to go, actually.”
“Go where?” Trevor asked at the same time as Drew said “About time.”
“I’m going to go find Vincent,” I replied as I stood up and returned my dishes and then went to tell Vlad.
Driving away from the mansion was a little strange. Like a ship set adrift, I somehow knew I wouldn’t be back for a while. Durga stirred inside me as if she had read my thought and agreed. When I blinked, her smiling image flashed on the backs of my eyelids. At least she was happy. This new feeling worried me but compelled me forward faster than the legal limit.
“We have plenty of time, Lark,” Drew said, gripping the door handle with white knuckles.
“That doesn’t mean I need to drive like a grandma.” I took the next turn slower, Drew still braced himself.
“No, but you don’t have to drive like we are in a road race, either,” he replied.
The speed limit was only a suggestion, and I wasn’t going that fast.
I was only bringing Drew and, of course, Singh. The three of us had become inseparable in the last few months. Cedric had taken over some duties at the house to help Vlad, so we barely saw him anymore.
Drew gasped as I went through a yellow light. It wasn't like he would even die if we crashed. The thought reminded me of Randy’s death in the yoga studio explosion. There was maybe a chance Drew would die if I crashed.
I slowed down to the limit, just in case.
“Lark, are we almost there? I’m cramped back here,” Singh said. The SUV had plenty of leg room, but Singh spent as much time as possible as a lion these days, so he always felt cramped as a human.
“We’ll be there soon. You can stay human a bit longer, you lazy house cat,” I said. He growled lowly but stopped complaining. A lion in my back seat would most definitely cause an accident on the highway.
I was as eager to get there as Singh was, though for different reasons. Vaughn, Vincent's twin brother, hadn’t seen Vincent, but he had heard reports of their fallen brother Vernon being in the city, so I had hope that Vincent was there too—hunting his brother.
We pulled into the long-term parking lot and walked through the busy airport.
“Gate 7,” Drew whispered pointing to the big sign. Vincent’s Jet was in Russia, so we were taking a commercial flight. Which meant, checked luggage and customs, but we were flying first class with a suite, thanks to Vincent’s little black credit card, so at least we would have privacy and Singh could be his annoying cat self for the twelve-hour flight.
A woman with huge hair and a grumpy face checked our luggage, and we made our way slowly through customs. Finally, we boarded the large plane. I still wasn’t over my fear of small aircraft, so the jumbo jet was perfect. An attractive woman in uncomfortable shoes led us to a small room. It wasn’t much bigger than the bathroom in my old apartment, but the door locked. Singh sighed as he shifted into a lion. Drew wrestled two of the seats down into an awkward cat bed and Singh was snoring in seconds.
“You want to play cards?” Drew asked.
“Sure,”
He pulled a deck out of his carry-on and shuffled them before dealing.
“Go fish,” he said.
I laughed and checked my cards. We played for a while to the soundtrack of Singh snoring. When the buckle seat belts light came on, we paused our game and buckled up for take-off. Singh was still spread eagle across two seats, but I figured he was pretty indestructible and if we hit a bump and he fell off the seat, it would be hilarious. I held my phone at the ready to take a video. It would win the Internet.
CHAPTER TWO
Halfway through our flight, there was a knock at the cabin door. Singh shifted and sat up in his seat.
I unlocked the door and accepted the three trays of food the stewardess handed me. She also brought a bottle of wine which I tucked under my arm. I sat back down in my seat and unscrewed the cap of the wine bottle. Drew held out a glass, but I drank from the bottle.
“Oh, shit,” Drew muttered.
&nb
sp; “What?” Singh asked.
Drew pointed at me, but Singh just looked confused.
“I forgot you haven’t been around Lark when she drinks. How did you miss the last time?” Drew asked.
“He was sleeping in my bed,” I supplied helpfully.
“What happens when she drinks?” Singh asked.
“She gets weird and does dumb shit.”
“Hey,” I said, but he wasn’t wrong. I figured if I had six more hours to kill playing cards with Drew while I listened to Singh snore, it was a good time to make it more interesting. Plus, I already felt calmer about seeing Vincent again.
Singh smiled. “This could be fun, then.”
“Definitely more fun than staring at your lion bits while you snore away on that seat,” I said, taking another swig of my cheap wine.
“No one said you had to look,” Singh said indignantly.
I laughed and shuffled the cards.
“At least eat something,” Drew said.
I took a bite of the sandwich before wrapping it back up and taking another long drink of the wine. Half the bottle was gone already. I chuckled to myself. Yeah, go fish would get interesting.
I dealt the cards, one of them fell on the floor, and another landed on the half of Singh’s sandwich still sitting on his tray.
“What are we playing?” Singh asked.
“Go fish!” I replied, picking up my cards and organizing them into suits. Another guzzle at the bottle of wine and Drew swiped it out of my hands. He chugged a bunch. Thief.
By the second hand, I was lying on the floor tossing my cards up in the air one at a time. They fluttered gracefully to the floor around me or landed on my face, poking me in the eye. The odds were even.
When one stabbed me in the nose, and both my eyes were watering from falling card damage, I dropped my heavy arms down beside me and stared at the plane's ceiling through my watery eyes.