He intended to lead malicious interest in his movements away from the upcoming elder meeting, which he would be attending remotely over a highly sophisticated encrypted system. He had arranged for the top elders to convene at the penthouse suite of an exclusive hotel under the name of a rock star notorious for his wild parties, but who was actually the chief trainer of Soldiers. He himself would be in Eden, drawing the wolves. He bared his teeth for a moment, revealing the slightly prominent canines. He would enjoy a tussle with the Seekers.
Chapter Five – A Meeting
Even before she knew she was a vampire, Rosalie had always felt a bit out-of-sync with the world around her. It may have been possible to lead a “normal” life, but she had a persistent sense of waiting. There was something coming, but she had no idea what it could be.
She had a feeling she was about to find out. And she always trusted her feelings.
As they drew abreast of Justin’s house, she slowed down a little. She looked up at him inquiringly. “This is you,” she said unnecessarily.
Justin smiled, reaching out a hand to take her arm. She didn’t try to evade his grasp, but a look of wariness came into her eyes. “Come meet my family,” he said, guiding her up the driveway.
Rosalie spared a glance at her own house, which sat unconcernedly at the end of the street in the chill late afternoon. She shrugged and allowed Justin to lead her up to his front door. She was almost 100% sure he was just like her. That he was a vampire.
It was an anonymous house, blending in with the other houses along the street. Not surprising, since the previous owners, Mr. and Mrs. Connely, who had moved out some time ago to live in the city after their children had all moved out, had been long-time residents. Rosalie had never been inside it; there was no reason to, since the Connelys did not have children her own age. But she could imagine the layout would not be so different from her own house, and she wasn’t disappointed.
What she didn’t expect was to see her mother chatting comfortably with Justin’s father on the couch, a plate of cookies on the low coffee table.
Both adults looked up as the door opened, and a momentary surprise flitted through Moira’s face. It wasn’t like Rosalie to go neighboring, but perhaps this was a special case, as indeed it turned out to be.
“I was right, Dad,” Justin said abruptly, giving Moira a nod and a smile, but his eyes on his father. The polite smile that was on the older man’s face slipped and a more genuine one shone through. He was as tall as Justin, and he had the same dark hair and eyes, but fleshier. He had a chiseled face that showed some care about the eyes but was otherwise smooth. He was clean shaven, and Rosalie suddenly wondered if all male vampires had little body hair. She wondered if Justin…at the image she conjured up in her mind, she blushed.
“Well, Morningside isn’t a typical name,” Mr. Brannigan said in a deep baritone that went well with his face. “But it’s better to make sure.” He glanced down at the cookies and gave a laugh. “I hope you didn’t actually bake that, Moira.”
Moira shook her head, laughing with him, but throwing Rosalie a puzzled glance. Rosalie cut her eyes in Justin’s direction, and shrugged. “He knew me. I don’t know how.”
“I could sense you,” he said. “When you passed by yesterday, my Spidey sense went all a-tingling.”
This was said in a flippant voice, but Rosalie sensed he was serious. And didn’t she sense something as well? But she felt no such awareness towards Mr. Brannigan, which made her wonder if she only sensed certain members of her kind.
Mr. Brannigan seemed to be in silent colloquy with his son, and a slight frown marred his smooth forehead. Moira broke in abruptly.
“Well, Rosalie said something last night as well, so I guess you two are on the same wavelength. It’s not unheard of,” she directed this at Rosalie. Moira then turned t the newcomers. “So why did you folks turn up here? No trouble, I hope?” she asked with some concern.
“Some,” Mr. Brannigan admitted, “but it’s better if we talk about it when everyone is here. When will Mr. Morningside be home?”
“He’s usually in by 5. Why don’t you folks come over and have dinner with us? I’m sure you’re still in shambles from the move,” Moira said doubtfully, seeing no evidence of chaos. Mr. Brannigan gave a toothy smile, showing some of his considerable canines.
“We travel light,” he explained. “But your hospitality will be much appreciated. My other son Brandon will be home around that time as well, so, say 6:30?”
Moira agreed, and she and Rosalie were politely escorted to the door.
Justin, who opened the door for them, suddenly bent his head forward and murmured in Rosalie’s ear. Her eyes widened and gave him a startled look. Moira noticed her start but said nothing until they had reached their own front door.
“What did he say to you?” she asked. Rosalie had gained back some of her equilibrium, and shrugged.
“Just ‘see you later’. I was just surprised when he leaned in, you know I don’t like people in my personal space,” Rosalie explained. Her mother looked unconvinced, but let it go, to Rosalie’s relief.
She didn’t want to tell her mom what he actually said, because it would have led to questions she didn’t want to answer. He had described exactly what she had been doing.
He had said, “Don’t fight it.”
Chapter Six – Things Get Complicated
Rosalie had to admit it was a pleasant change to have someone aside from her parents at table that ate exactly what she did. She felt less freakish and alone.
But having Justin just a hand’s span away did make her feel awkward and nervous, so she didn’t do justice to her steak as she normally would have. It also added to her irritation that he seemed completely at ease, and even eschewed fork and knife to tear into the meat with his teeth.
“Excellent meat, Mrs. M,” he said appreciatively. Moira twinkled at him.
“I have a great relationship with several butchers. I have to spread my weekly purchases around or they might wonder why I need so much meat,” she explained.
“So, Ned,” Frank said, his fork in his hand. “What’s all this about some trouble you had?”
“Hunters,” Edward Brannigan said laconically. Both Moira and Rosalie stared at him.
“How’d they nose you out?” Frank asked, then continued without waiting for an answer, “Brannigan isn’t your real name.”
Ned nodded. “Our real name is Foster,” he revealed, then didn’t seem to feel the need to say anything more. Moira and Frank exchanged a glance, which Rosalie didn’t understand. Moira stretched out a hand to Ned. Justin and his brother Brandon merely continued eating.
“I’m so sorry about Helen,” she said softly, to which Ned acknowledged with a brief nod.
“Thanks, but it was a long time ago. But it does have some bearing on why we’re here today,” he said, wiping his bloody fingers on a table napkin.
“What does?” Rosalie finally asked, feeling she was the only one in the room who had no idea what was going on.
“Helen Foster was killed by a hunter about 12 years ago,” Moira explained to Rosalie.
“That’s what they said,” Ned said, placing his napkin on the table. “I knew it wasn’t a vampire hunter. Besides, no vampire hunter could have brought down Helen, she was too canny for that.”
Frank and Moira looked perplexed. His quiet tone carried conviction.
“Helen was killed by something else, and the hunter merely found her after the fact,” Ned said calmly.
Rosalie had immediately picked up on a strange word. “Something?” she asked sharply. “You mean…not human?”
“Oh, they’re human. They’re just not ordinary humans,” Justin interpolated drily. He met Rosalie’s eyes with an inscrutable expression for a moment, before dropping them back to his now empty plate. A silence reigned for a moment over the group.
Rosalie frowned. Not ordinary humans? That sounded bad. Very bad.
Moira finally sa
id with an effort. “You’re talking about the Seekers. That’s ridiculous!”
Ned gave her an ironical glance. “You people have been living in the suburbs for far too long,” he drawled. Brandon, who up to that moment had not contributed anything outside initial greetings, spoke up in a quiet voice, addressing Moira and Frank.
“It’s true.”
“The elders have tried to keep it under wraps because they were working on reaching a compromise with the Seekers, but they have been undermining the coven for decades,” Ned said.
“The Seekers are part of the coven,” Moira insisted. Frank looked worried but not surprised.
“Not all of them and not for the last 10 years,” Ned countered. “The elders have finally realized that no compromise was possible with the Seekers when they killed Helen. They have reactivated the Soldiers.”
“Who are the Seekers? And the Soldiers?” Rosalie broke in as Frank and Moira again looked at each other with dismay. “What’s going on?”
Frank sighed.
It was time for more explanations.
Chapter Seven – Seekers and Soldiers
They had moved back to the living room after Moira had cleared the plates. Rosalie sat across from him in an armchair, while the Brannigan/Foster men disposed themselves around the room. Justin propped his shoulder against the wall on her right, and she was consciously aware of his close scrutiny. “I told you that we were hunters, but not everyone hunted. Women and children generally stayed at camp to keep guard while the men were out. They would be on their own for days at a stretch, so they learned to defend themselves against man or beast.”
“The women were not as strong as the men, but they were faster. Most of us had very keen senses, but some had also developed a kind of third eye. They could see things that were far away so they were able to tell the men where the best hunting would be, and could avoid trouble before it got to where they were.”
“As time went on, these talents became more honed in certain people, and it wasn’t confined to the women. Aside from a third eye, they also developed a kind of mental communication, among other things. As generations passed, the Seekers, as they came to be known handed down these special abilities to their children, who were trained to develop these traits to protect the others. From this group the Soldiers were also developed.”
“The Soldiers were not Hunters or Seekers. They had some of the mental abilities, but it was less pronounced, so they were trained to hone their physical prowess. They stayed at camp as a defensive force, and it was a mix of both men and women, and some exceptional children.”
“At a certain point, the town people became larger in number and would often chance on the hunters’ camps. Some meant no harm, but others wanted to kill us. The rumors about vampirism had already begun to gain steam, and these invaders were the beginnings of what we now call vampire hunters. They weren’t very effective, as you can imagine, but some would be unlucky enough to track down the women and had to be killed. This fueled the fire about vampires even more.”
“But sometimes, the hunters would come across a child or take a camp site unawares, and some of us were killed. This went on for some time, and finally, the Seekers had had enough. They used their abilities to direct Soldiers to make preemptive strikes, killing off the hunting parties under cover of darkness when they were most vulnerable.”
“So they thought vampires only attacked at night because sunlight was deadly to them,” Rosalie said, and Moira nodded.
“Yes, that’s when most of the myths surrounding vampires were created. People around campfires would scare each other with stories, and it just—grew.”
“Garlic,” Justin nodded wisely.
“Stake through the heart,” Rosalie said, and the sudden silence caused her to look around. “What? What did I say?”
“Helen Foster was found with a stake through the heart,” Frank said in a wooden voice.
Rosalie’s eyes flew to Ned’s face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ned said. “It wasn’t what killed her. “
“My mom blew the top off a Seeker conspiracy to blow up the elders during the convention twelve years ago. That’s what killed her,” Justin said bitterly.
“How did she know?” Moira asked in a small voice, her hands tightly clasped in her lap as if she already knew the answer.
“Know?” Ned said, and the bitterness in his voice made it raspy. “She was part of it! She was executed as a traitor.”
Chapter Eight – Conspiracies and Betrayal
This time the silence was heavy with shock and disbelief. That there were power-hungry Seekers who wanted world domination was a concept that one could believe in the abstract. But to visualize a fully-integrated woman who was both a wife and a mother coolly planning out the murder of 50 or more of her own kind and any bystander who happened to be in the area was a whole different kettle of fish.
Justin was cynically nodding his head, and Rosalie felt a twinge of understanding for his attitude. He was three or four years old at the time, and to judge by the bitterness in Ned Foster’s voice, the years between then and now had not been a joyful time for the growing boy. “Oh, yes, dear old mother was a Seeker bent on world domination. Just peachy.”
Moira asked in a troubled voice, “Why did she betray them?”
Ned shrugged. “She never said. She just left a note for when I got home and took off. She told me what she had done, to warn the elders, get out with the boys before it was too late and that she was sorry.”
The three sentences were stated matter-of-factly. There was not an inkling of the shock, disbelief, despair and finally anger that Ned felt that fateful afternoon twelve years ago. Justin and 7-year-old Brandon had been left with a neighbor, something Helen had never done before, and convinced him more than anything that the situation was serious indeed. He told the elders, stashed his boys in a safe house and went to look for his renegade wife.
It was two weeks later that Helen’s naked body was discovered by a self-described vampire hunter in the woods many miles away. There was a stake driven through her heart, the police explained, but certain aspects of her wounds raised questions in their mind. It had taken several days before the police could identify the body, but the physical description fit the missing persons report for Helen, and Ned was invited to make an identification of the body.
He came down to the morgue and did so. Upon questioning, the medical examiner said the wooden stake through the heart was not the cause of death, but a cerebral hemorrhage. There was no apparent external or internal head trauma, so it was concluded that it was due to natural causes.
Ned nodded, but he knew better. His kind didn’t die of a naturally-occurring cerebral hemorrhage. But what was a cerebral hemorrhage, really? It was extreme pressure to the brain. There were ways to make this happen without leaving a trace. Some Seekers could do this, he knew, and they had a very good reason to strike Helen down.
What seemed more important was that the vampire hunter, who claimed he was just defending himself when he drove the stake through her chest, had actually done so while Helen was lying dead in the woods. The would-be hero, protesting that of course she had already been dead, she was the un-dead, a vampire for Pete’s sake, had been charged with desecration of a corpse.
Ned had requested to speak to the man, who still vigorously protested that she had been about to bite him. After a few home truths were brought to him, the man quieted down, looking afraid and a little ashamed before the husband of his supposed kill.
“I know you didn’t kill her,” Ned had said mildly. “She was already dead when you found her. What I want to know is, why did you strip her naked and what made you think she was a vampire?”
The man had blustered some more before finally admitting that he didn’t know why he was so convinced she was a vampire.
“I just got this idea that she was. There it was, all growned up, which scared me plenty, believe you me,
” the man had said with obvious sincerity. “That’s why I drove a stake through her heart. All the time I was whittling the end of that branch I kept an eye on her, in case she suddenly stood up or something. But I didn’t mess with her clothes,” he had insisted, and Ned had been inclined to believe him. The man’s fingerprints had been on the stake but nothing else, supporting his claim that he was scared to go near her, even apparently dead.
Ned had taken his findings to the elders, and they had been made to see that the rogue Seekers had gone active again, and had killed one of their own.
“It took me almost a year to convince them that we needed to track down the rest of the Seekers, and to hunt them down. There were no Soldiers by that time, so we had to recruit and train new ones.”
Rosalie asked curiously, “How did you know which Seekers had gone rogue?”
“Helen left me a list,” Ned answered briefly. “Two of them were elders, which made it a delicate operation. But of course,” he added drily, “they already knew the game was up, and did a quick fade.”
“So why are you here and using an alias?” Moira asked.
“As you can imagine,” Justin chimed in still in a light tone, “we’re not the Seekers’ favorite people. My dad has been their most determined hunter, you see. They’ve been trying to neutralize us by forcing us to keep on the move, and one of their favorite strategies is to sic the vampire hunters on us. I’ve had 5 different last names in different ‘burbs in the last three years.”
“Must wreak havoc with your GPA,” Rosalie murmured, and seemed as surprised at her parents at her attempt at a joke. Rosalie was not the joking type. Justin grinned appreciatively.
“Oh, I’ve given up on public education a long time ago,” he quipped. “I’m getting my learning elsewhere.”
“So you’re hiding out?” Moira tried again.
“Not exactly,” Ned hesitated, looking first at Moira, then Frank. “Maybe we should discuss this in private. “ He nodded at Justin, who pushed up from his leaning posture against the wall.
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