Protector

by Messenger, Tressa

  She walks into the living room where Alessandro is still standing by the door. “You might as well come in already. I have a feeling you’ll be here for a while.”

  Anna-Marie sits down on the couch and pours her first drink, which she tips back right away.

  “Darn it! It burns,” Anna-Marie says while fanning herself.

  Alessandro smiles and walks over to the couch and sits down beside her. Without looking at him she hands him his glass and pours them both a drink. He only stares down at the deliciously smooth vodka trying to figure out where to start. Anna-Marie doesn’t wait for him and tips her glass back again.

  “Darn it!” she yells again, this time she stomps her foot in unison. Alessandro smiles again and reaches over and grabs the bottle from her. He should be mad at her for being so reckless and even though she is mad at him, he still thinks she is so beautiful.

  “Here, let me hold on to this for a few minutes before you hurt yourself.”

  “That’s probably a good idea,” she says holding her throat. “Okay, Alessandro, you promised you would tell me everything once we were here so spill.”

  “I know. I’m just trying to figure out where to start.”

  He looks back down at his glass for what seems to be an eternity, trying to figure out where to begin. He has never had to tell anyone the truth before nor had he ever thought he would have to, so this is very difficult for him.

  “Screw it!” he says and tips his glass back as well.

  He turns to her and looks into her cat-like eyes with a very serious expression on his face. After a few seconds he takes a deep breath before he speaks. “Okay, but promise me that you will listen to every word I say and believe me, because everything I tell you is very important and very true. Also, I am putting complete and total trust in you by telling you what I’m about to tell you. You must understand, you cannot tell anyone. The safety of my family depends on it.”

  Anna-Marie swallows hard through the grit in her dry throat and nods her head in understanding, “I promise.”

  “Anna-Marie, what you saw tonight is my job.”

  Anna-Marie puts her hand to her mouth and whispers, “You kill people?”

  “No, not exactly. That man you saw tonight was not a man. He is a part of a race called the Rogue.”

  “I don’t understand, what do you mean race?”

  “I mean he wasn’t human. He was once, but not anymore.”

  He stops and waits for her to say something, but she doesn’t. She only stares at him as if she is waiting for the punch line, so he continues.

  “Anna-Marie, he was what is known today as a vampire; a Rogue vampire. We have been working for centuries to eliminate the filth, but there is always more being created.”

  She leans her head back and laughs hysterically. “Vampires? You’re kidding me right?” She stares at him waiting for more, but the look on his face says he is very serious.

  The smile fades from her face and she grabs the bottle from his hand and pours herself another drink. She doesn’t drink it so fast this time. Instead, she sips it slowly.

  “So you are like a vampire hunter?”

  “Well, kind of. I hunt Rogues and Mixed Breeds.”

  “Mixed Breeds?”

  “They are the offspring of a Rogue. I know this all sounds crazy to you, but it is the absolute truth.”

  “So vampires can have babies? They never say that in the stories.”

  “The stories are just that, stories. Some have gotten it right, but most are just exaggerations or fabrications. They can only reproduce with a human woman, which is why they are called Mixed Breeds. They are part human and part vampire.”

  “Seriously? There are women who are willing have sex with them?” Anna-Marie asks in disgust as she pictures the so-called Rogue in her mind. She’s known some sluts in her time, but even that seems unthinkable.

  “Well, not exactly. Rogues are very brutal creatures. More often than not, the woman doesn’t survive the rape. They can’t control their animal side and blood lust. But occasionally they do survive and come out of the ordeal with child. If they choose to keep the baby, the children always grow up to become confused outcasts. Obviously, the mother looks at them with disgust from her nightmarish attack, which I can’t imagine being a very good boost to the child’s self-esteem.”

  “That is so sad.”

  “No! Don’t feel sorry for them!” Alessandro says feeling anger rise inside of him. “Anna-Marie, we all make our own fate. People use their childhood all too often as an excuse for their behavior. It’s bullshit. They are soulless animals with evil running through their veins, just like the creature that sired them.”

  Anna-Marie stares at him in shock. He is really getting angry and it is scaring her.

  Alessandro takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.

  “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I have witnessed what these things can do my whole life. We really do want to help them. It isn’t their fault that they were created, that part is true. But they find it impossible to control the evil running through them. I have seen very few that were salvageable. Once they realize their power, they let the evil consume them.”

  “Power?”

  “Yes, power. Mixed Breeds inherit a few of their sires’ traits. They live about double the life span of a normal human and they have inhuman strength, which makes them think they are invincible. They also have the power of persuasion. Once they figure it out and learn to harness it, they can compel anyone they choose do anything they want them to do. The fact that they can go out during the day with all that evil and rage in them makes them a liability. They are children compared to the Rogue though.”

  Alessandro pauses to finish off the second dose of the warm liquid in his glass and pours them both another one.

  “Have you ever seen a Rogue before?” Anna-Marie asks. “Other than tonight, of course.”

  “Yes, many times and so have you.”

  “Excuse me? I think I’d know if I saw Dracula.”

  Alessandro looks her in the eyes and says very seriously, “Anna-Marie, you have. I promise. I was there, too.”

  Anna-Marie looks away and her heart stops in her chest. Flashes of deadly sharp yellow teeth and soulless eyes flash in her mind. She had almost completely forgotten those incidents in the past couple of weeks, thanks to Alessandro. They seem like another lifetime ago now, just another one of her nightmares.

  Anna-Marie looks up and sees Alessandro staring at her. He sees her whole body and face change as the memories sink in. It’s like a shot to his gut.

  “But-” Her throat is so dry she can’t continue and she feels sick to her stomach, “-they were just cannibals.”

  “I saw you in the cemetery that night and then again in the alley. I was there both times, but I assure you, both occasions were purely coincidences. Don’t you see? The only reason you are still alive is because I was there.”

  “I remember seeing someone else in the alley before I passed out. That was you?”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “I didn’t know where he, or I guess you, came from or went for that matter.” Anna-Marie continues to stare into his eyes. “I thought he killed you. When I woke up, I was still there, but both of you were gone. If they are as bad as you say, how are you still alive?”

  “I told you, it is my job.”

  “So you are capable of defending yourself against a vampire? I don’t understand. How can that be?”

  “Because-” Alessandro says, then pauses to take a deep breath before continuing to speak aloud his most guarded secret that he has protected his whole life, “-I am not entirely human either.”

  Anna-Marie jumps up like something bit her and backs away from him.

  “What the hell do you mean?” is all she manages to get out due to the convulsions radiating through her body.

  “I am part of a group called Protectors. My father is the leader of the Brotherhood in this country.”

  “I d
on’t understand.”

  “My father and the other Brotherhood are vampires, Anna-Marie.”

  Anna-Marie starts pacing now. Alessandro watches the distress in her every movement.

  “The members of the Brotherhood are different from the Rogue, I assure you. They are good and civilized. We work towards protecting humans against the Rogue and Mixed Breed.”

  Anna-Marie stops and stares at him, tears forming in her eyes.

  “What does that make you, Alessandro?”

  “The offspring of a Brotherhood have a choice to become a Protector or live an almost entirely normal life. Since my father was the leader, I felt it was my obligation to become a Protector. We train every day, beginning as a child, to develop the skills necessary for when we become adults so we can watch over society during the day while the real Protectors, the Brotherhood, sleep. We are not as strong as the Rogue, but with training the chances of us surviving are greater.”

  “So you’re like one of those Mixed Breed things?” Anna-Marie yells, as stress radiates out of every pore, “Do you drink blood too?”

  Alessandro jumps to his feet, which makes Anna-Marie flinch and she backs closer to the wall.

  His dark almond eyes turn even darker. “No! I am nothing like that filth. I grew up with as much of a normal life as I could. My mother was completely devoted to me and my father. She refused to become a vampire in order for me to grow up as normal as possible. We may have the same abilities, but never mistake us to be the same ever again.”

  After a few minutes of silence, Anna-Marie goes back to the couch and they both sit back down. She pours them both another drink.

  “So, both those nights you were working?” she asks more calmly.

  “No, the night time is for the Brotherhood, but sometimes I get restless and need to get out. I just happen to be there both times.”

  “So you saved me?”

  “Yes, I did. I told you that’s my job. The first time, in the cemetery, I was actually hoping for a fight, but then I saw you sleeping. I swear, I thought you were dead. But you whimpered, so I just stood there watching you sleep. You looked so beautiful and peaceful. I kept trying to figure out why the hell you were in a cemetery, sleeping beside a grave. But after the second time, I decided two times was enough, especially since I was seeing you all over the place. I followed you into a coffee shop one day and saw you looking up the animal attacks. Obviously, I knew they weren’t really animal attacks, but I had to protect my people. That’s my job after all.”

  He stops talking and stares at her.

  Anna-Marie looks away, remembering that night in the cemetery. She feels embarrassed now for doing something so seemingly reckless. Oh God, he saw me? He must think I’m completely insane.

  “You have to believe me when I say, yes, our whole meeting was planned, but now it has become so much more.”

  “Oh, my God, you were stalking me?”

  “No, I was still protecting you, but I was also looking after my family. You were looking into things that could have possibly exposed my people. I had to find out what you knew. Believe me, exposure would create a very bad situation.”

  “And Catherine?”

  It’s Alessandro’s turn to feel nauseous. He can’t even look at her, let alone answer her. His silence is proof enough for her to know it had all been a lie.

  She can’t focus on that right now. Her mind is in a total swirl.

  Alessandro finally looks at her and breaks the silence. “Of course, I get it now. Dylan,” Alessandro says, feeling sad. He knows things will never be the same between them ever again.

  “Oh, my God, Alessandro!” Anna-Marie stares back at Alessandro, her throat dry once again. “The animal attacks?”

  “Rogue.”

  “Dylan! A vampire murdered him?”

  “I’m sorry about what happened to Dylan. We weren’t in the area yet. We got word that the situation here was getting bad. That’s why we came back here.”

  Anna-Marie begins to cry deep, gut retching tears. She cries tears that have been building up for the past couple of months. The flood gate is open and there is no stopping it. Her pain for the past nine months consumes her in this one moment.

  Her sadness makes him feel nauseous again. He pulls her over to him and wraps his arms securely around her, letting her cry as he smoothes her hair. He remembers his mother doing this to him when he was young and until this day, there has never been anything more comforting to him. With the words of his mother, he whispers her soothing words to this wounded woman.

  “Shhh, mi amore, it’s okay. I’m here. I promise I am not going anywhere and I will never let anything happen to you. Everything is okay now. Shhh, my Bella.”

  He repeats those words to her that his mother used to say to him in her native language, until all her tears have ran their course and no more will come. Even then, he continues to hold her.

  He suddenly realizes that he really did mean all the words he told her. He will protect this wounded woman. She doesn’t deserve all that has happened to her.

  Eventually she falls asleep in his arms, so he carries her to her bed. Tonight he will watch her sleep once again in the safety of his care.

  Anna-Marie senses the sun coming up. The bright light of the morning sun is shining through the sheer curtain and plants warm kisses on her eye lids. She stretches her arms wide in the air and quickly throws her hands up to her head.

  “Ouch, dammit,” Anna-Marie says as she gently messages her throbbing temples.

  It’s not until she squints her eyes open into tiny slits that she feels the nausea thundering to the surface. She sits up straight in the bed despite her pounding head.

  “What am I doing in here?” she asks herself out loud, horrified to find herself in this bed, in this room. From the familiar signs of a hangover, she assumes she had a few drinks last night before stumbling in here to pass out.

  She hugs her knees and looks around the room, the same room she had shared with Dylan for many years. It seems like an eternity ago now. Everything is just as she left it all those months ago. She is overcome with emotions from the familiarity of her surroundings. She runs her hand over the fluffy white down comforter. Dylan used to say it reminded him of a fluffy cloud.

  Carefully she gets up and walks over to Dylan’s closet. She rests her hand on the door knob and takes a deep breath before slowly opening the door. This is the first time his closet door has been opened since the day of the funeral, when Anna-Marie’s mother searched out the perfect suit to bury him in. All at once the familiar musky scents slam into her nostrils making her feel dizzy, causing her to have to grab the door knob to steady herself. She smiles and closes her eyes and breathes him in. After a few minutes she closes the closet door and turns around. That is when she sees the letter on the pillow. She walks over to the bed and sits back down. She reaches over and picks it up with now trembling hands. She takes a deep breath before she opens the note and lets it out quickly once she reads the three simple words.

  “I’m sorry, Alessandro.”

  “Alessandro?” Alessandro whispers.

  Like a flash of lightening, the events from the night before surge through her already achy brain like an angry storm. She quickly drops the note and hugs her knees close to her chest. She can’t fathom what happened last night and she desperately wants to not believe it, but she knows she has to. Whether she likes it or not, Alessandro was telling the truth. It doesn’t mean she has to like it.

  “A vampire killed Dylan?” she whispers to herself. “There are really vampires? How can a person go on like normal knowing such creatures really do exist?”

  She lies back down and wraps the fluffy blanket close around her head. She is sad to have lost her new friend. He lied to her and deceived her about everything. She is aware that he had to for the sake of his people, but it won’t make her trust him again.

  She remains in bed for the rest of the weekend as she tries to absorb all that she was told. What
do you do with the knowledge that everything that you once knew was all a lie?

  12

  As usual, Anna-Marie goes about her days in a daze. Time seems to go by so quickly; days soon become weeks and weeks turn into a month. On Fridays she sits in her car in her normal spot at the cemetery scanning the grounds, not for monsters or mad men, but in search of Alessandro. At first it was so she could be sure to avoid him, even though she didn’t think he would come again since his cover was blown. But as the weeks went by, she found herself missing him and hoping to see him.

  Today is no different. She sits in her car for a few minutes before getting out. Her heart has been pounding out of her chest all day with anticipation. Disappointed to not see Alessandro, she gets out of her car and walks to Dylan’s grave. She stands in front of Dylan’s grave, but is unable to take her eyes off Catherine’s grave.

  Lately she has missed their weekly chats, talking to Alessandro was once the highlight of her week. Her brain keeps telling her she should still be mad at him for lying to her, but her heart won’t listen. As each day passes, it becomes more and more difficult to remember she should be angry.

  She remembers the first time she saw him here. He looked so serene and vulnerable in that moment, as was she. As time went by, she started to open up to him in a way that she hadn’t opened up to anyone in a long time. On the last night she saw him while at the club, he was so comfortable in that atmosphere. His beautiful almond eyes pierced through her soul every time she felt him staring at her. Then when they danced she could swear her soul leaped out of her body. It was a magical moment she has never felt before, not even with Dylan.