by Gayla Twist
“What the hell is he doing?” I said under my breath. Kevin had never even liked me, let alone loved me. And there weren’t even any flattering photos of me; most of them seemed to have captured my image by accident, like I just happened to be in the background when Kevin took a snap of my cousin and her friends.
“Why would he do this?” I was baffled. I’d thought that maybe he might have started drinking again, but the photo thing was just plain weird.
I peeked in the window again, to see if there were any other clues to my uncle’s bizarre behavior. Every spare surface in the living room was filled with books. Text books, if I had to make a guess, going by their size. I slunk toward the back of the house and peeped into the kitchen. It was neat and tidy, a few pans drying on a rack, completely missing the pile of unwashed dishes that I’d been expecting.
Regretting my whim to check in on my relative, I headed back toward the front yard. It was time to get to the castle. I still had some breathing-room before sunrise, but there was no reason to cut it close. I was so preoccupied wondering about the contents of Uncle Kevin’s living room that I was caught completely off-guard when a figure stepped out of a small side door to the garage.
“Oh! Haley! It’s you.” Kevin dropped the trashcan he was hauling and it tipped to one side, spilling its contents.
“Uh, hi Uncle Kevin,” I said, involuntarily taking a step backward before I remembered that I was a vampire; I didn’t need to be afraid of him anymore.
“Where have you been?” he demanded. “I was worried.” Then he broke into a smile. “You look fantastic.
I did not look fantastic. In fact, I looked the furthest thing from fantastic. But he’d said it in a very genuine way that didn’t hint at purvey. I just nodded and said, “Thank you. You’re looking good, too.”
He wasn’t looking good. Not really. He had a beard that was so long that it brushed the center of his chest. It could have easily housed a family of field mice. But he was taking out the garbage, so that had to be a good thing. And a quick scan of the spilled trash didn’t reveal any liquor bottles, so that was also encouraging.
“Don’t worry about the garbage,” he said, noticing the direction of my gaze. “I’ll get that cleaned up in no time.”
“So, how have you been?” I asked, not quite sure what to make of the whole situation. “What have you been up to?”
“Studying,” he said with a firm nod of his head. “Lots of studying.”
“That’s good,” I said, trying to keep my voice pleasant and non-judgmental. “What was it you were studying again? Engineering?”
“Mechanical engineering,” he corrected me. “Don’t you remember? You’re the one that encouraged me.” And then, almost like an afterthought, he muttered, “The only one.”
“That’s great,” I said. “So you’re spending a lot of time studying?” I asked, thinking about the weed covered front yard.
“Almost all my time,” he told me. “Studying. And keeping the house clean.” He was looking at me so eagerly that his eyes appeared a little crazed. “I remember that’s what you told me. You said I should study, so I could get my degree. And that you liked a clean house.”
I felt my stomach drop. Kevin was one of the first mortals that I’d tried to control with my influence. And I’d thought it had worked well. But apparently it’d worked a little too well. I’d wanted him to start behaving like a decent human being, and maybe make a little something out of his life. I hadn’t intended to transform him into some kind of school-crazed neat freak.
“Kevin,” I said, catching his eye with a steady gaze. “I’m very glad you’ve been studying so hard, and taking good care of the house. But I think you might have gone a little over the top. You need more to your life. You need to groom and take care of your yard. You need to have friends, be social. Spend time with family.” A new thought occurred to me. “’How’s Ashley? How’s your daughter?”
“I don’t know,” he said, frowning.
“You don’t know?” That surprised me. Kevin had been pretty awful to me when I was a mortal, but I always knew that he loved his kid.
“You said I should stop hanging out with people who were bad for me, so…” He let his words drift away. And then, much to my horror, tears started filling his eyes.
“What?” I asked. “What is it?”
Kevin shook his head, trying to blink the tears away. “I’ve tried so hard. I’ve tried to do what you told me. And now you’re saying I’ve been doing it wrong.”
Oh, God. By trying to make my uncle’s life a little better – and my own life, admittedly – I’d completely messed up his brain. This was not good. I had to fix this.
“Kevin,” I said, really focusing on him. “Are you enjoying your classes?”
He nodded. “Mostly. I’d like to maybe not take so many at the same time.”
“You can take as many or as few as you like,” I told him. “Don’t you want to see your daughter?”
More tears sprang to his eyes. “I really do,” he sobbed. “I miss her so much.”
“Then see her,” I said, hesitantly extending a hand to rub his back. “She’s your child. You love her. You deserve to spend time with her.”
“But she’s bad for me,” he insisted, sniffing loudly.”
“She’s only bad for you if you let her be,” I assured him. “Just don’t let her manipulate you. Just remember that she’s the kid and you’re the parent. Just remember that you shouldn’t have to buy her love.” My cousin had a delightful way of sucking up to her father whenever she wanted some cash.
“Okay, okay,” Kevin said, fluttering his eyes as if he was doing his best to absorb the information. “I would like to see her.”
It was getting late; I could feel the sun threatening to rise. I had to get going. There was no point in me roasting just for Uncle Kevin. He’d been such a jerk to me when I was alive that I really shouldn’t have cared about him at all. But he was my mom’s half-brother and he took me in when no one else would, so I figured I owed him something.
“Just try to live a good life and be happy,” I instructed him. “And take down those photos of me. That’s just plain creepy.”
“Really?” This surprised Kevin. “I thought you…” He changed his mind about whatever he was going to say and finished up with, “Do you want to come in for a minute?”
The offer made my stomach growl. I had been living on wild game and Kevin looked so deliciously mortal. “No, I really have to go,” I forced myself to say. I couldn’t spend the night in Kevin’s house; that would have been very unhealthy for Kevin. And I was really cutting things down to the wire, as far as getting somewhere safe to spend the night. Fortunately, the castle was close, as the vampire flies.
“It was good seeing you,” I said, even though I could feel myself practically starting to drool. “Take care.” I mentally willed him to close the door, barring me from entry, even though I could feel that his I was welcome inside.
Kevin just stood there, apparently unable to move of his own accord.
“You can go back in the house now,” I told him, rather desperately wanting him to put some solid wood and locks between us.
“Will I ever see you again?” He looked at me so longingly that I really did feel bad.
“No.” I decided telling the truth was best. “You probably won’t. But my mom will know how I’m doing, so you can always check with her.”
“Oh.” This seemed to cheer him up quite a bit. “I’ll do that.”
“Only not too often,” I hastily added. I knew Mom wouldn’t appreciate her half-brother calling her up three times a day. “Maybe only check in with her once a month.” His face looked so mournful that I added, “Okay, maybe twice.”
“I’ll do that,” he said again, although he kept staring, like he was expecting something else to happen.
“You need to close the door now,” I told him. My stomach really was starting to growl.
“Goodbye, Haley,�
�� Uncle Kevin said, rather wistfully. “I will never forget you.”
“Goodbye, Kevin,” I said in reply, desperately wanting him to shut the damn door.
He glanced at the spilled garbage, but I cut him off with a quick, “I’ll get that. Just go inside!”
Without another word, he closed the door.
“Thank God,” I mumbled to myself, bending to right the can.
Something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. A flitting movement that was barely discernable. I had been so focused on trying to reset Kevin, plus trying not to suck all the blood out of his body, that I’d forgotten I was a wanted woman with numerous members of the undead hunting for me.
“Great,” I groused under my breath while looking down at the garbage.
Half a second later and two vampires appeared; one stepped out from around the corner of the house, blocking the way to the street, and the other dropped out of the sky, blocking the way to the backyard.
“Hi Haley,” the first guy said, all casual, like we were old friends.
“It’s time to see the doctor,” his buddy told me, smiling like an idiot.
I grabbed an empty mayonnaise jar out of the trash and whipped at the first guy’s head. It shattered in his face. Then I swung around to chuck the whole can of garbage toward his accomplice. But I wasn’t fast enough; he came up behind me, throwing a net over my head and then wrapping his arms around me. I instantly knew the net was made out of silver from the way it seared my skin. The tarp protected most of my body, but my face felt like it was on fire.
The first guy came at me, not overly thrilled at having to pick glass out of his cheek. But the second vampire was holding me so tightly that I was able to push off the ground, kicking the first guy in the face and knocking his buddy flat on his back, with me landing on top.
I was able to break free of his hold, and sprang to my feet, whipping off the silver net. But I wasn’t fast enough; both vampires were up and coming at me just as quickly.
“You bitch,” the first one snarled, even as the wounds on his face from the glass jar were healing. “If you weren’t worth so much money alive, I’d stake you right here.”
This really threw me. “So, what did you expect me to do? Just go along quietly and let your boss turn me into a lab rat? It’s called self-defense. If you weren’t trying to grab me, then I wouldn’t have had to fight back.”
I’m not sure the two of them were expecting me to question their logic. It slowed them down for a second, but then they were closing in, obviously doers, rather than thinkers. The side door to the garage had popped open during our struggle and I noticed through the small gap that Uncle Kevin was standing on the other side. Crap! I was going to be dragged down by these two bozos and get my uncle killed in the process.
My lips were just forming the word, “No!” when the door swung open wide. Uncle Kevin lunged out, stabbing my second assailant through the heart with the broken handle of a rake. The vampire shrieked, clawing at the wood, even as his skin started to shrivel like paper burning in a fire.
The other vampire grabbed me, using me as a human shield because Kevin was still clutching the second half of the rake handle. “Don’t even think…” the vampire began, but Kevin did this odd little hopping move and managed to stab the jerk on the top of his head. It wasn’t a deathblow, but it must have hurt like hell because the guy let out a howl, releasing me so that he could press both hands to his skull.
“Haley, duck!” Kevin commanded. I dropped to the ground and a moment later the second vampire was shriveling down to nothing but a bit of bone and ash.
I couldn’t believe it; I could wrap my head around what my uncle had just done. “You…” I stammered. “They…”
“Haley, if you’re not coming inside, then you’d better get going,” Kevin said, sounding remarkably calm for someone who had just staked two vampires. “The sun’s about to rise.”
“But…” I continued to be at a loss for words while staring at what looked like two piles of rags, charred wood and ashes.
“Go,” Kevin told me. He stooped to start putting the spilled garbage back in the can. “I’ll just finish taking out the trash.”
“Kevin, I’m not sure you understand,” I said, finally finding my voice. “This could be bad for you. I mean, like, really bad.” If any member of the undead discovered that Kevin was responsible for staking two vampires, his life was pretty much over.
“Don’t worry about me.” He shook his head. “I’ll do a real good job cleaning up. And besides,” he said, flashing me a crooked grin and a wink, “I know better than to invite strangers into my home after sundown.”
“Thank you, Uncle Kevin,” I told him before launching into the air.
Chapter 22
Haley
I was such an idiot for stopping to see my uncle, I thought as I raced across the town, approaching the large patch of woods that bordered the Vanderlind Castle. The sun was about to rise and I was going to fry because I’d been a stupid idiot. I didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed about the fact that I was dressed in a hospital gown, a blanket and a tarp. It wasn’t like Dorian was going to be at the castle anyway, but I wasn’t sure I was going to make the best impression on his family. If I even got the chance to make an ass of myself in front of the Vanderlinds; my skin was starting to feel uncomfortably warm. I knew in another minute it would start to sizzle, then burn. The sun was too close to rising.
“There she is!” I heard a voice behind me shout. Glancing over my shoulder I saw four vampires rising out of the woods, one was pointing in my direction.
“It’s too late now,” another voice shouted. “The sun will roast us all.”
I was already flying as fast as I could, but I did my best to increase my speed, desperate to reach the castle.
“We’re out of time,” one of the voices behind me cried. “We’ve got to go back or we’ll all fry.”
“If she gets in the castle, then that’s the end of it; we’re done.”
I felt my skin starting to bubble and blister as the sun inched higher in the sky. Pulling the tarp over my head, I wanted to scream with pain. I had to go faster, but my body was shutting down. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that one of the vampires pursuing me was lagging behind, but the others were getting closer.
I wasn’t going to make it. I was either going to be burnt to a crisp by the sun, or I was going to become a lab rat, eventually being dissected by some sociopathic physician.
I tried to focus on the castle, Dorian’s family home. I so desperately wanted to see him again, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. He would probably never even find out what had happened to me.
Even as the skin began to peel away from my face as I peeked out from under the tarp, I decided that I would either get to the castle, or die trying. Another glance over my shoulder let me know that I probably wasn’t going to be given a choice; two of the men were only about ten feet away from me and closing in fast. My whole body was convulsing with pain and I was losing altitude. It was over. “Goodbye, Dorian,” I whispered. “I love you.”
A second later and I was jerked out of the sky. But the attack came from over my right shoulder; it wasn’t even one of the men who had been chasing me. This new vampire was covered with protective clothing from head to toe. Every inch of his body was shielded from the sun with thick leather, except for his face, which was hidden behind a full welder’s mask.
I released a shriek and tried to fight off this new assailant, but he had me locked in an iron grip. Forcing my head down to his chest, he did his best to wrap me in his full length leather trench coat as he raced us toward the castle. I was weak, but still I fought him, until I heard a muffled voice say, “Haley, stop! It’s me.”
Dorian! I was in my maker’s arms and he was racing us toward the castle. I was flying blind. But I knew the other vampires were only a few yards behind us. So instead of struggling against my hero in leather, I did everything within my powe
r to fly with him.
We had to be at the castle soon. I desperately wanted to look, but couldn’t face the pain of daylight. Dorian dropped down in the sky and then jerked me forward a little. There was a loud bang and then my maker set me down.
“It’s okay,” Dorian said, removing the leather jacket from my head and then yanking off his welder’s mask. “You’re safe now; we’re inside.”
I looked around, feeling relieved, but also embarrassed. My guess was that we were in some type of attic at the top of the castle. The house giant, dressed in deep purple velvet coat, was standing by a closed door. Dorian was staring at me, his expression inscrutable.
“Thank you for rescuing me,” I said, feeling awkward and insecure. I knew I looked like hell; I was in a hospital gown and half my face had burned off.
“You’re welcome.” He gave a small nod. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
There was the sound of horrible screaming from the other side of the door. It was my pursuers. They didn’t have time to get back to whatever protection they had set up. They were roasting in the sun.
“Should I open the door, Mr. Wanderlind?” the giant asked.
Dorian looked grave. “They deserved what they’re getting.”
But I couldn’t stand the sound of their torture. Their pain was obviously unbearable. “Oh, Dorian, please,” I said, suddenly feeling an overwhelming compassion for the men who would have sold me to the highest bidder. “We can’t let them burn out there. We have to let them in.”
Dorian frowned for just a moment before saying, “Fine. But only to please you.” Turning quickly to the giant, he said, “Let them in, Viggo. But be ready, in case they try anything.” Then he grabbed me with one hand, and with the other he swooped his leather jacket over our heads.
I felt the burning of the sun after Viggo pulled back the bolts and flung open the door. I was mostly shielded, but it still hurt like hell. I didn’t look as the giant yanked the men inside, even while they were still shrieking and wailing. Dorian lowered his coat after the door was slammed shut again. Three creatures barely recognizable as humans were writhing on the floor. Their hair was burnt off, and so was most of their skin. Black, charred flashes of bone were sticking out of them in places. It was horrifying.