Kiss of Death

by Rachel Caine

Chapter Four

 

  When Claire got home, the sun was slipping fast toward the horizon. It was too early for most vampires to be out--not that they burst into flames that easily; most of the older ones were sort of flame-retardant-but she kept a sharp lookout, anyway. Instead of going straight to the Glass House, she turned at the cross street and went a few more blocks. It was like d?j? vu because her parents' house looked almost exactly like the Glass House; a little less faded, maybe. The trim had been painted a nice dark green, and there were fewer bushes around the windows, different porch furniture, and a couple of wind chimes; Claire's mom loved wind chimes, especially the big, long ones that rang those deep bell sounds. As Claire climbed the steps to the porch, a gust blew by her, sounding the bells in a chorus. She glanced up at the sky and saw clouds scudding by fast. The weather was changing. Rain, maybe. It already felt cooler. She didn't knock, just used her key and went right in, dumping her backpack in the entry hall. "Hey, I'm home!" she yelled, and locked the door behind her. "Mom?"

  "Kitchen," came the faint yell back. Claire went down the hall--same as in the Glass House, but Mom had covered this version with photos, framed ones of their family. Claire winced at her junior high and high school photos; they were unspeakably geeky, but she couldn't convince Mom to take them down. Someday, you'll be glad I have them, Mom always said. Claire couldn't imagine that would ever be true. The living room was, again, disorientingly familiar; instead of the mismatched, comfortable furniture of the Glass House, the stuff from Claire's childhood occupied the same space, from the old sofa to her dad's favorite leather chair. The smells coming from the kitchen were familiar, too: Mom was making stuffed bell peppers. Claire fortified herself, because she couldn't stand stuffed bell peppers, but she almost always ate the filling out of them, just to be nice. "Why couldn't it be tacos?" She sighed, just to herself, and then pushed open the door to the kitchen. "Hi, Mom, I'm--" She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide, because Myrnin was sitting at her mother's kitchen table. Myrnin the vampire. Myrnin her boss. Crazy mad scientist Myrnin. He had a mug of something that had better not be blood in front of him, and he was almost dressed like a sane person--he had on frayed blue jeans, a blue silk shirt, and some kind of elaborate tapestry vest over it. He wore flip-flops for shoes, of course, because he seemed to really love those. His hair was long around his shoulders, black and glossy and full of waves, and his big, dark eyes followed Claire's mother as she busied herself at the stove. Mom was dressed the way Mom usually dressed, which was way more formal than people Claire's era would ever think was appropriate for lounging around the house. A nice pair of dress pants, a boring shirt, mid-heeled shoes. She was even wearing jewelry--bracelet and earrings, at least. "Good evening, Claire," Myrnin said, and transferred his attention over to her. "Your mother's been very kind to me while I waited for you to get home. " Mom turned, and there was a false brightness to her smile. Myrnin made her nervous, although Myrnin was obviously making a real effort to be normal. "Honey, how was school?" She kissed Claire on the cheek, and Claire tried not to squirm as her mom rubbed at the lipstick mark left on her skin. At least she didn't use spit. "School was great," Claire said, which completed the obligatory school conversation. She got a Coke from the fridge, popped the top, and settled in across the table from Myrnin, who calmly sipped from his coffee cup. "What are you doing here?"

  "Claire!" her mother said, sounding a little scandalized. "He's a guest!"

  "No, he's my boss, and bosses don't drop in on my parents without an invitation. What are you doing here?"

  "Dropping in on your parents without an invitation," Myrnin said. "I thought it would be good to get to know them better. I've been telling them how satisfied I am with the work you've been doing. Your research is some of the best I've ever seen. " He really was on his best behavior. That didn't even sound a little crazy; overdone, maybe, but not crazy. "I'm off today," Claire pointed out. Myrnin nodded and rested his chin on his hand. He had a nice smile, when he chose to use it, as he did now, mostly directed at Claire's mother, who brought over a coffeepot and refilled his cup. Oh, good. Not anything red being served, then. "Absolutely. I know you had a full class schedule today," he said. "This is a purely social call. I wanted to reassure your parents that all was going well for you. " He looked down into his coffee. "And that what happened before would never happen again. " What happened before was code for the bite marks on her neck. The wounds were healed, but there was a scar, and as she thought about it, her hand went up and covered the scar, on its own. She forced it back down. Her parents didn't have any idea that Myrnin was responsible for that; they'd been told that it had been some other random vamp, and that Myrnin had helped save her. It was partly true, anyway. Myrnin had helped save her. He'd just also been the one to bite her. Not that it had really been his fault. He'd been hurt, and desperate, and she'd just been there. At least he'd stopped himself in time. She certainly hadn't been able to stop him. "Thanks," she said. She couldn't really be mad at him, not for any of it. It would have been easier if she could have. "Are you staying for dinner?"

  "Me? Delicious as it smells, I fear I'm not one for bell peppers," he said, and stood up with one of those graceful moves vampires seemed so good at pulling off. They moved like humans, but better. "I'd better take my leave, Mrs. Danvers. Thank you so much for your hospitality, and the delicious coffee. Please tell your husband I thank him as well. "

  "That's it?" Claire asked, mystified. "You came to talk to my parents, and now you're leaving?"

  "Yes," he said, perfectly at ease, and perfectly weird. "And to drop this off for you, from Amelie. " He patted his vest pockets, and came up with a cream-colored envelope, which he handed over to her. It was heavy, expensive paper, and it was stamped on the back with the Founder's Seal. It was unopened. "I'll see you tomorrow, Claire. Don't forget the donuts. "

  "I won't," she said, all her attention on the envelope in her hands. Myrnin said something else to her mother, and then the kitchen door opened and closed, and he was gone. "He has such beautiful manners," her mother said, locking the back door. "I'm glad you work for someone so--civilized. " The scar on Claire's neck throbbed a little. She thought of all the times she'd seen Myrnin go off the rails--the times he'd curled up weeping in a corner; the times he'd threatened her; the times he'd raved like a lunatic for hours on end; the times he'd begged her to put him out of his misery. The time he'd actually given her samples of his own brain--in a Tupperware container. "Civilized," she repeated softly. "Yeah. He's great. " He was; that was the awful thing. He was great until he was horrible. Kind of like the world in general. Claire slit open the envelope with a kitchen knife, slipped out the heavy folded paper inside, and read the beautiful, looped handwriting--Amelie's, without a doubt. In accordance with recent requests, I hereby am providing you with passes to exit and return to Morganville. You must present these to the checkpoints at the edge of town. Please provide them to your party and give them the same instructions. There are no exceptions to this rule. Coordinate with Oliver to arrange your exit time. Claire's breath left her in a rush. Morley's passes! Perfect timing, too; she didn't know how much longer any of them could keep Morley and his people from losing patience, and coming to take it out in blood. They wanted out of Morganville. She could give it to them. She realized immediately, however, as she took the passes out of the envelope, that there weren't nearly enough. Morley's people would need about thirty passes in total. Instead, there were only four in the envelope. The names read Michael Glass, Eve Rosser, Shane Collins, and Claire Danvers. What the hell was going on? Claire pulled out her cell phone and hit SPEED DIAL. It rang, and rang, but there was no answer. She hung up and tried another number. "Oliver," said the voice on the other end. "Um, hi, it's Claire? Is--is Amelie there with you?"

  "No. "

  "Wait, wait, don't hang up! You're on the town council--I just got a letter that has some passes in it, but it's not enough for--"

  "We turned down
Morley's request for emigration out of Morganville," Oliver said. He had a low, even tone to his voice, but Claire felt herself go cold anyway. "He has a philosophy that is too dangerous to those of us who wish to remain . . . What's the phrase? Under the radar. "

  "But--we made a deal. Me, Shane, Eve, and Michael. We said we'd get them passes. "

  "I'm aware of your deal. What is your question?"

  "It's just--Morley said he'd kill us. If we didn't get the passes for him. We told you that. " Oliver was silent for a long second, then said, "What part of I'm aware did you not comprehend, Claire? You and your friends have passes out of Morganville. As it happens, Michael requested leave to travel to Dallas for his recording and concert session. We've decided to allow that, under the condition that all of you travel together. With escort. "

  "Escort?" Claire asked. "You mean, like police?" She was thinking of Sheriff Hannah Moses, who would be good company in addition to a bad-ass bodyguard; she'd liked Hannah from the moment she'd met her, and she thought Hannah liked her, too, as much as a tough ex- soldier could like a skinny, geeky girl half her age. "No," Oliver said, "I don't mean police. " And he hung up. Claire stared at the screen for a moment, then folded the phone closed and slipped it back in her pocket. She looked down at the passes, the envelope, the letter. Amelie had decided to really piss off Morley, but at least she'd also decided to get Claire and her friends out of town. With an escort. Somehow, Claire knew it wouldn't be as simple as just picking a responsible adult to go with them. "Go get your father," her mom said, and began setting dishes on the table. "He's upstairs on the computer. Tell him dinner's ready. " Claire gathered up everything and put it in her backpack before heading upstairs. Another wave of same-but-not-quite washed over her; her mother and father had reserved the same room for her here that she had over in the Glass House, though the two were nothing alike. Home--in name, anyway--had her frilly white bed and furniture, stuff she'd gotten when she was ten. Pink curtains. Her room at the Glass House was completely different--dark woods, dark fabrics. Adult. Dad's computer room would have been Shane's bedroom in the other house, which woke all kinds of thoughts and memories that really weren't appropriate right now and caused her face to heat up as she poked her head in the room and quickly said, "Dad, dinner's ready! Help me eat the stuffed bell peppers before I gag and die?" Her father looked up from the computer screen with a surprised, guilty jerk, and quickly shut down what he was doing. Claire blinked. Dad? Her dad was . . . normal. Boringly normal. Not an activist, not a freak, not somebody who had to hide what he was doing on the computer from his own daughter. "Tell me you weren't looking at porn," she said. "Claire!"

  "Well, sorry, but you did the guilty dance. Most people I know, that means porn. " Her dad pulled in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said, "I was playing a game. " That made her feel oh-so-much better. Until he said, "It's one of those online multiplayer games. "

  "Yeah? Which one? One of the fantasy ones?" He looked mortally embarrassed now. "Not--not really. "

  "Then what?" In answer, he brought up the screen. On it was a night scene, a castle, a graveyard--typical horror fare, at least if you were from the 1950s. A character appeared on the screen--pale, tall, dressed in a Dracula cape and tuxedo. With fangs. Her mouth dropped open, and she stared at her father, her normal, boring father. "You're playing a vampire game?"

  "It's called Castlemoor. I'm not just playing it. I get paid to be there, to watch what people are doing online. "

  "You--get paid--to play a vampire? By who?" Her father sat back in his chair, and he slowly shook his head. "That's my business, Claire. "

  "Is it Amelie? Oliver?"

  "Claire. " This time, his voice had the parental ring of authority. "Enough. It's a job, and I get paid well enough to do it. We both know it's the best thing I can find, with all my restrictions. The doctors don't want me exerting myself too much. " Her dad wasn't well, and hadn't been for a while now. He was frail, fragile, and she worried about him more and more. About her mother, too. Mom looked frayed around the edges, with a kind of suppressed panic in her eyes. "You'll be okay?" Claire said. Somehow she made it a question, although she didn't mean to. "Did they find anything else?"

  "No, honey, everything's fine. I just need time to get stronger. " He was lying to her, but she could tell that he didn't want her to pursue it. She wanted to; she wanted to yell and scream and demand to know what was going on. But instead, she swallowed and said, "Playing a vampire online. That's a pretty wild career move, Dad. "

  "Beats unemployment. So, stuffed bell peppers, huh? I know how much you love those. " Claire made a gagging sound. Her dad reached over and ruffled her dark hair. "Why don't you just tell her you don't like them?"

  "I did. I do. It's a mom thing. She just keeps telling me I used to like them. "

  "Yeah," he agreed. "That's a mom thing. "