“Thirteen! Fourteen!”
I still fear I might shout out the location of the amulet the next time Blackwater asks, so I keep desperately chanting my refrain in my head: What amulet? What amulet? I focus on this litany until these are the only words I can remember. The lashes keep raining down.
“Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty! Where is the amulet?”
I hang limply from the chains like a rag doll now and whisper, “What amulet?
So Blackwater continues. “Twenty-one! Twenty-two!”
The pain is so great my mind can scarcely understand it all. The electric impulses ripping through my body to my brain are coming so fast my brain can’t decipher one lash from the next.
“Twenty-seven! Twenty-eight!”
I let my sixth sense float away from my body so I can bear the pain. I feel the filthy, cloying mass that is Blackwater’s soul, and I instinctively draw away from him. I expand my sense in front of myself. I feel for the small animals behind the walls and down the tunnels. They are starving, but their souls are still bright and good. I am so weak.
“Twenty-nine! Thirty!. Where is the amulet?”
I hear the question as if coming from a dream. I feel my physical self barely breathe out, “What amulet?”
I realize that my body hangs limp in the chains, struggling for breath under the wrath of the whip, but my real self seems to be the part that is exploring for light, searching for strength. I wrap myself around the soul of a rat and hold tight, seeking comfort and fortitude in its light.
Then I sense a much greater source of light above.
“Thirty-four! Thirty-five!”
I expand through the dirt, past the surface of the ground. I feel so thin now. My soul is weakening due to the failing body that it’s still attached to. I’m ravenous for that light. I can’t reach it; it is so high up in the sky. So I call to it. I beckon it with my soul.
“Fifty! Fifty-one!”
With a tiny part of my mind I realize Blackwater hasn’t asked me about the amulet for a while. I feel a small amount of light from the source in the sky reach down and meld with my own. I pull a little bit of that light down into my light. I feel myself burning brighter as it strengthens me. I don’t hear Blackwater counting anymore. He must be done.
I am loath to turn off my sixth sense because I know the pain will be immense. But I know I must. It can’t be good for my soul to be so separate from my body when I’m in such danger of dying. I pull myself into my core and feel myself snap back into my body.
My senses come alive, and I’m suddenly aware of my body. I gasp and throw my head back to scream, but before the sound is even out of my mouth, my brain is so overwhelmed by the pain that darkness takes me immediately.
Chapter 61
An Errant Wolf
Jack Tanner: June 3, 2022, Red Ages
After a full night of searching the river with Ernesto, he waits in the car as I knock on Maud’s door with a heavy heart in the early morning light. Maud answers in a green and blue paisley dress and her mussed blue hair.
Maud looks surprised to see me and says, “Hello, Jack! What are you doing here?” Then she put her hand to her mouth, and I can see her face filling with a profound grief and horror. The only other time I knocked on her door was when I told her that her husband had died in the line of duty.
Quickly I say, “No, Maud. We don’t know that yet.”
Maud steels herself and says, “What do you know, Jack?”
“Blue was taken by Tobias Blackwater. He’s the perpetrator in the crime we’re investigating. He portaled her away, but we don’t know to where. This happened yesterday morning. We’ve searched all day and night and will continue to search until we find her.”
Maud takes a moment to digest this, her skin pale with shock. Then, apparently remembering her manners, she says, “Would you like to come in?”
“I don’t have time. I just wanted to ask if she told you anything about the case.”
Maud steps back a little, and I see her hand is shaking as she holds the door. She says, “No. Blue is always silent about her work. She only told me she had a case where terrible things were done to a young boy.”
I nod. Maud knows the bare minimum, which only tells me that Blue was conscientious about following the rules of a case. I would expect nothing less from Blue.
Maud looks up at me and says, “How can I help?”
I think about it for a moment and then say, “Varg was with her, but Blackwater only took Blue; he didn’t take Varg. Varg stayed with Gambino for only a few minutes, and then he took off. I believe he must be hunting for Blue. And I don’t know for sure, but Varg may have some special powers of his own. I’m not sure it was an accident that he just happened upon her in the alley the other day. If I am right about his special powers, he may have been looking specifically for her.”
Maud looks at me with intelligent eyes. “And if he found her the first time, he might find her again?”
“Yes. I can’t chase after him myself, but I think it would be worthwhile if someone did.”
Maud nods. “I’ll find him. You concentrate on bringing Blue back. But let me have your number and I’ll give you mine.”
Maud runs into the house, and when she returns she hands me a slip of paper with her number on it. I hand her my card, then turn quickly to leave. As I do, I hear Maud whisper from over my shoulder, “You had better find her, Jack Tanner!”
Chapter 62
Running in Circles
Jack Tanner: June 3, 2022, Red Ages
Ernesto and I pull up to the library parking lot and get out to meet with Gambino and Xavier.
I look to Gambino and ask, “Did you find
anything?”
Gambino’s face is drawn, and he looks unusually pale. “No, damn it! We found nothing but some properties out of state. I still have a guy sifting through the files for any signs of other local property.“
I walk over to a tree next to the parking lot and pound my fist on it. The tree shakes root to leaf, and thousands of blossom petals float lazily down to the ground. I pound my fist some more. Then I straighten and take a couple of calming, deep breaths. I don’t really need to breathe, being a Vampire, but it does help relax the body. When I turn around I see Xavier and Gambino staring at me with looks of concern and grief on their faces.
I flash my eyes at both of them in anger. “Don’t grieve her yet!”
Gambino realizes that he had been doing just that, and an abashed look comes over his face.
“Gambino, I know you want to be on the ground with us searching, but that’s not the best place for you. We are far better suited for finding a scent trail than you are. But while we’re busy here, we need a real detective going over Blackwater’s files, searching for any clues.”
Gambino says, “I know. We have half the force looking out for Tobias Blackwater by car. If we find him, we find her. There are enough men on the ground.”
I watch as Gambino turns toward his car. He obviously did not sleep last night and he is tired and worn.
I turn and address Xavier. “We’re going to search the city, house to house. But we are not entering, so I don’t need your help right now. What I do need is for you to go into the office and keep it running while Ernesto and I are out here. We can’t leave it unattended for days on end. You should call Mike and ask for some assistance with the Dark Vampire cases. He will send someone out to take over for Ernesto while we are engaged here. Also, check on Rubalia to make sure she got the assistance she needs to do her research. Keep her working any aspect of this case that you can think of. She is an invaluable asset.”
Xavier looks disappointed that he can’t come with us but also proud that I’m asking him to step in like that. He nods and says, “I’ve brought a cooler of blood. I’ll move it to your trunk.”
“Thank you.”
I pull out my city map and place it on the hood. I draw a three mile radius around Phantom Island. I show Ernesto and Xavier.
“We’ll start here. You take the east side, Ernesto, and I’ll take the west side. Now, we’re going to hit every structure in this area. Circle around each building looking for Blue’s or Blackwater’s scent. Listen for either of their voices. Go block by block. We will start on the south end and work our way north. When we are done, we will go to the Cock and Bull Tap and start over there. But first we need to replenish ourselves.”
Xavier takes his cue and pulls the cooler out of his car. I pop my trunk and he places it inside. I pull out four bags each for Ernesto and I. We drink it quickly as Xavier pulls out of the lot.
Chapter 63
Using the Light
Bluebell Kildare: June 3, 2022, Red Ages
I feel myself drifting awake, but the pain is so great, I will myself back into oblivion. I can’t face it. I drift in and out with the pain both rousing me and making me unconscious as I become aware of it. One time I think I feel something gnawing on my foot. I feebly try to kick at it. I drift away again. Again I feel pain in my foot. I kick again.
A sharp pain in my foot finally drags me to a consciousness I am loath to enter. I flare out my other sense at it. There are three small souls gnawing at my feet. I push against their souls, beating them with my light, driving them back. I drift back into dark again, but this time it’s a real sleep, not unconsciousness. They do not return.
I wake dripping in icy water again. I stand weakly in my chains with my head bent, my legs hardly able to hold my weight.
Blackwater says, “Bluebell. I wish I had more time to spend with you, but I’m afraid you have to leave me today.”
I lift my wobbly head to look at him, curious, but not hopeful. No, I know better than that.
“I brought a present for you.” Blackwater mocks as he pulls a gun from behind his back. “Look, your gun! How kind of you to give it to me yesterday!”
Then he snaps the whip with his right hand. His tone changes and becomes sharp and angry. “Today is going to be your last day, Bluebell. But since I’m generous, you have a choice of deaths. You can tell me where the amulet is and die by your own gun. Think how poetic that would be—a familiar friend ending your torment. Or you can die by the whip.”
I can sense anger from him, but also fear and panic. I can’t sense any delight from him at all this time.
I ask with a trembling voice, “What has changed?” I can’t quite make the sounds come out of my throat the way I want. I am just too weak, I think, from fever and loss of blood.
Blackwater says defensively, “What do you mean?”
I whisper, “On the outside. Suddenly you are hurried and desperate. You’re on the run. What has changed?” I breathe heavily after saying that much. My knees falter and I start to slip, but I steady myself.
Blackwater says, “I have people to answer to Bluebell. You have made things very difficult for me. Your lover and your dago partner have also made things difficult. I’ll have to change things today, and that, my dear, means that we will be ending our little affair first. Either I will have the amulet and you will die relatively pain-free, or I enjoy one last therapeutic session with you and then you die. Either way, you are not waking to the next sunrise.”
I nod and answer, “I’ll not seek to hurry my own death. You’ll have to use the whip.”
I can feel Blackwater’s fury at this. He wants control, but every maneuver he makes to gain what he seeks glances off me. He clearly can’t comprehend why I would seek a death of lingering pain over one of speed. It appears he thought there was no chance I would deny him.
Blackwater says, “Be that as it may, I will lie the gun by the wall.” He sets it down about eight feet in front of me. “If you call on me to stop, as long as you tell me where the amulet is, I’ll switch weapons at any point.”
I say politely and softly, “Thank you, but you needn’t have bothered.” I muse at how I had answered him with no more emotion than if he had offered me a cup of tea. I must already be disengaging from this life.
Blackwater says, “I’m curious Bluebell. What drives your choices?”
I whisper slowly, “I walk the path of light. I will not divert. You walk the path of darkness, so you will not understand. You want to control the Vampires by their mark of Lilith?” I pause and take several breaths, then continue on. “But you’ve already been marked by Lilith for some time now, Blackwater. I see the stinking, oily black muck on your soul. How much more does she own you, who earned her mark so willingly by your own deeds, than the Daylight Vampires who had her mark foisted upon them? Their mark is external, but your mark comes from the very center of your soul.”
I pause again as my breath comes in short pants. “It might be true that I will die by your hands today, Blackwater, but if it is true, then it is also true that today you will be reaffirming your spot with Lilith in the Plane of Fire.”
I see something deep flash in Blackwater’s eyes, and I feel uneasiness from him, then some doubt, and then I feel denial rise up in him. As I expected, he is too mad, too corrupt to see the truth or change his course.
Blackwater walks behind me. I feel the first lash cutting across my raw, exposed muscle and slicing through me. It registers as a new streak of pain racing across my back and into my brain, screaming louder than the rest of the signals of pain, but not alone. It is a chorus of pain. There has been no end to pain for so long now.
I don’t wait this time. I push my other self out of my body. I know my soul is connected too thinly to my body because I move out of it too easily. I expand outward, desperately looking for strength. I reach up to the light, sending tendrils of my soul’s light up toward the sky. I narrow my light so my reach can go further and further. The thin stream of light pours up to the sky and beyond. I feel that tiny, thin thread of light passing the moon and the stars and going upward toward the glow until they join as though meeting in a welcome embrace. Energy shoots back down the thread and starts filling my soul back up. My soul begins to glow brighter. What was once a thin veil of light becomes a great glare.
I look back over the room, and I can see myself separated from my body except for a thin strand of light that connects my body to my soul. My soul, my real self, seems to be floating in the corner of the room as I watch Blackwater. I can feel his fear and anger as he drives the lash into me again and again. I can see the blood coming off my back, splattering Blackwater’s arms and body.
I turn toward the light in the space beyond the sky again, and I think about Maud and how much I will miss her crazy hair and her crazy stories. I think about Alexis and how kind she’s been to me. I think about Jack, who is so hard on himself. I regret losing the promise of what had been evolving between us, a promise like a brilliant green shoot popping out of brown earth in the spring.
As the light from the place beyond the sky continues to fill me, my light grows brighter and brighter until I can hardly even see the room anymore. I feel so filled with energy and light. I think of all the people I am protecting. I think of the countless babies and children who will go on living a relatively safe life because I am dying. I think of the mothers and the fathers who will continue being mothers and fathers. I think of all the Vampires who are without blame and how their torment will not grow worse here on Earth because of me. I accept my losses and I willingly trade them for these gifts.
Chapter 64
Crypt
Jack Tanner: June 3, 2022, Red Ages
After searching most of the three mile radius around Phantom Island, we have moved slightly south of the Cock and Bull Tap. Large silver clouds reflect hidden sunrays, and I can smell a storm gathering in the air. The sun is setting to my left. Red streaks the sky as the final rays of light dip behind the house-lined street. The houses are sparser here with multi-acre lots dotted with obscure structures. There are plenty of barns, sheds, chicken coops—a lot of places to hide a small woman. Animals are harder to deceive than humans are, which makes navigating the country setting in stealth more challenging.
A call
comes in while I’m in the middle of scenting the perimeter of a large, old farm house about twenty blocks away from the Cock and Bull. My phone is on vibrate, but still the hound dog sitting on the porch hears it, then catches my scent. He starts barking and howling as he bounds for me.
I run a few blocks away as I press the phone to my ear.
“Jack,” Maud says, “we spotted Varg heading north on Swain Road! He was at the corner of Swain and Gilson. We lost him when he crossed some properties, and it’s getting dark now. I’m sorry we didn’t find him earlier.”
“You did great, Maud. I’m headed that way. I’ll see if I can catch up with him.”
I start to head further west, then north, running between old homes and over large yards with my sword softly bouncing across my back. I jump over a stone wall and keep going.
After a minute my phone rings again, and I click it on while I run.
Gambino’s voice holds a hint of reserved hope. “We found some old files in Blackwater’s family archive. The family owns several plots at the Red Wood Cemetery. Of course half the town owns plots at that cemetery. But it was close to where Jason was found, so it might be worth checking out.
“Thanks,” I say, not wanting to think of Blue and burial plots at the same time. “Text me the numbers of the plots.”
Gambino says, “I’m already on my way, so I’ll just point them out for you.”
Just then, Rubalia chimes me. I pop open the cover to open the line.
“Jack!” she says excitedly. “I called the local cemeteries and found that he owns a few plots at Red Wood. A large, gray mausoleum sits on one of those plots.”
My heart lifts a little at this news. Surely it can’t be coincidence that they both called me at the same time about the same thing.
“Call Ernesto and have him meet me there.” I flip the ring closed and take off running at great speed toward the cemetery.
The Light Who Shines Page 37