Before . . . ?
“Very good thing I didn’t have my keys,” I said weakly.
“Yes.”
I get home, slide the key in, boom. Oh, boy.
“She’s really out to kill me.” My voice sounded faint. I started breathing again.
“That has been established.”
Easy for him to say. I stood in my living room, staring at my trapped door.
“What else do you know?” Sebastian said from the kitchen.
I turned to the kitchen doorway. “What?”
“What else did Kent tell you about us,” he repeated.
I followed him into the kitchen to get away from the trapped door. Gypsy followed, her bell tinkling, meowing happily. “Not a whole lot,” I said. “Eating. He showed me how . . . how to get blood. Nothing else, really. Why?”
“These windows seem fine.” He stood up to face me. His eyes were flat and bright; about to tell me something important. I braced myself.
“Kent did not tell you everything there is to know about vampires.”
My brace almost worked – I sort of expected that. I still wilted.
“Like being able to hear Gypsy in the basement,” I guessed out loud. “I should have been able to hear her, too, shouldn’t I?”
Sebastian’s eyes flashed something I hadn’t seen in them before – approval?
“As you get older, you will eventually be able to, yes.” He left the kitchen and kept going with his inspection in the living room. I followed. All the junk lying around on the floor was still where I’d left it. I stared at it, glad at least those two hadn’t taken or broken anything so far – glad the door trick hadn’t worked.
“So what else should I know about us?” I asked Sebastian.
He was feeling around the windows in the living room now. I hoped he didn’t find anything else meant to end me.
“A great deal.”
He seemed more intent on examining the house than talking to me. I pouted at his back.
“Like what?” I asked.
“More than I could explain in an hour or two.”
That much? I wilted some more.
“Can you at least give it a try?” I asked.
Sebastian shrugged and stood up from the window. “If you like.”
I followed him down the hall and into my studio. “I climbed in that window last night,” I told him as he headed for it. “I doubt it’s rigged.”
“So do I,” he agreed, and checked it anyway. I winced.
“So that stuff about us? Like what?” I asked, hoping for a distraction.
Sebastian left my studio and headed for Kent’s. I trailed him. Stepping into Kent’s studio made me flinch. His guitars, his piano, his amps and mics . . . knowing he wouldn’t ever use them again.
“There are things every vampire has an innate ability to do, once it develops,” Sebastian started, poking around the window. “Each of your senses will gradually grow sharper. Broken limbs or injuries can be ignored, if you have the will. Your strength and speed will eventually go far beyond human limits.”
He examined some of Kent’s equipment, then left the room. I trailed him, digesting information. That must be how he’d lost his hearing last night. He could just hear so much better than me that thunder could deafen him. Ouch.
“And this stuff just happens – like puberty?”
Sebastian paused, considering. “It is more like an infant learning to walk or talk,” he said, “but yes.”
I made a face at the infant reference, but he had my interest. Vampires did have nifty see-in-the-dark powers.
“There are also things a vampire can inherit from their parent,” Sebastian went on. “Abilities not every vampire will have, even things not every vampire will have heard of. Learning to use those unique abilities is more like puberty.”
“Such as?” I asked with a sinking feeling. The way he talked about parents and what vampires would and wouldn’t have heard of made it sound like there were a lot of them out there.
“I can only tell you what I have heard of or encountered myself. There are likely to be more. It may even be possible you can do something I have not yet seen.”
“Duly noted,” I muttered.
Sebastian headed for the basement door. I took a quick look around the upstairs to make sure nothing was out of place. It all seemed fine. Sebastian stood waiting for me on the basement stairs. I shrugged and followed him down.
“I myself can command mortals to do as I say,” he said. “I have encountered vampires who could disappear at will, others who could fly. One I knew could manipulate shadows as he pleased, and still another who had not seen it first hand claimed he had heard of one who could change into a bat.”
I laughed. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at me, and I bit it back. The bat thing sounded crazy to me, but how was I supposed to know?
He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Which room is yours?” He held a hand out to the two doors on either side of the hall. I pointed and he went in.
“Is that kind of thing . . . pretty common?” I asked.
“Which?” he asked from my room. I leaned in the doorway and watched him poke around.
“Any of them.”
He shrugged, kneeling to peer under the bed. “Most vampires have one or two tricks they have inherited from their parent. I would not say any of them is common or uncommon.”
Inherited from their parent. I wondered what kinds of things Kent could do. What I could do.
I shook my head. “Weird.”
“Is it?”
I looked away. “It is to me.”
He continued checking my room.
Change into a bat? Manipulate shadows? None of this had come up before Kent turned me. I doubted it would have made me decide differently, but still, it would have been nice to know – “hey, by the way, we can do some creepy stuff, wanna see?”
I sighed.
Sebastian finished with my room and moved on to Kent’s. It didn’t take him long to clear that room, too.
“If there is anything you would like to take with you, I suggest you get it now,” he said, stepping out into the hallway. “The house does not appear to have been tampered with aside from the front door, but I would not advise returning until we have stopped this.”
“Yeah,” I said, and wandered into my room. I wouldn’t mind having some of my own clothes. Maybe a sketch pad. My cat. I grabbed a travel bag and started filling it up. Sebastian stood at attention, waiting patiently.
“Hey, about that door – ?” I said, hoisting the bag over my shoulder. “Can you fix that?”
“If you like.”
I nodded. “I don’t like the idea of having my door rigged to do anything it’s not supposed to do.” I grabbed my set of keys and my half-dead cell phone from the dresser top. “Especially blow up. Besides, I do want to come home through the front door eventually.”
“As you like,” he said, and led the way back up the stairs.
VECTOR
The trip-wire in the key hole was a relatively crude setup. It took only a short time to dismantle. A small amount of C4 made up the explosive, just enough to seriously injure one vampire at close range. Sebastian removed the entire bomb and trigger carefully, showing Ian how it had been put together and how to take it apart. He did not know why or when he had decided to take her on as a student. He knew she noticed things that many would miss. He felt she was bright. Perhaps he needed no other reason. After all, with Kent gone she needed a mentor, and Sebastian had not had a student in centuries. If nothing else, teaching her would provide him a distraction.
She paid close attention to his lesson on explosives, probably glad to have something to focus on besides her own survival. He did not tell her how much force the bomb had, that it was likely intended to incapacitate her only long enough for the woman to finish her off. She did not need to hear such things.
He took the explosive back to the Vector with them and tucked it away safely behind th
e seats. Perhaps he would keep it, in case it came in handy, perhaps not. He could always acquire more should he have need.
“So now what?” Ian asked when they got in the car, holding her shivering cat a little too tightly.
Sebastian started the Vector and pulled away from the curb, enjoying the way it responded to his commands. Definitely worth the high cost he’d paid. He had, at first, debated with himself over simply stealing it. In the end, he believed its makers had earned their pay. He waited until they had gone a good distance from the house to answer Ian – enough to ensure that no one had followed them.
“She waited for you last night, but not tonight,” he said. “My guess is that they did not expect you to find help, and are planning a way around that help now that they know you have it. I would also guess that because I had never seen either one before last night, they do not have pertinent information about me – where I live, what car I drive. You should be well hidden with me.” He paused, thinking over how he would have done this if it were his mission.
Remove Kent and his young child. Kent is dispatched and the child is proving difficult. She has found an unexpected ally.
Were it him, he would remove that ally.
The only reason Sebastian would not have removed someone who had made himself an obstacle was if he knew he could not. But in order for these women to know that, they must have some knowledge of who he was – more than simply the chance meeting last night.
“I believe they may know me,” he said aloud.
“Know you?” Ian asked.
“Perhaps I should say, I believe they know of me. They have not tried to remove me in order to reach you. I believe that may be because they know they cannot.”
Ian made no reply to that. Her face spilled emotions like an over-full bucket: disbelief, fear. He sighed internally and said nothing more. Perhaps this was simply something else Ian did not need to hear.
She cleared her throat into the silence. He acknowledged her with a short look. “So what are our options?” she asked.
“We might lay a trap, ambush them as they tried to ambush you. Or I can use what knowledge I do have of them to attempt to track them. I prefer that, but if it becomes necessary, a trap will do.”
Ian shuddered, radiating revulsion.
“If this bothers you Ian, tell me.”
She shivered again, and looked out the window, petting her cat absently. It bothered her. But Sebastian knew that fear for one’s life and a need for revenge could be powerful silencers.
“Regardless of our choice,” he went on, “we will need to wait a few days so it seems we are in hiding. This will give us time to plan, and to track, as well as make them less suspicious of a trap.”
Ian pulled a little closer around her cat.
Sebastian sighed out loud. “Is something on your mind, Ian?”
“A lot of things,” she murmured into her cat’s fur.
That was only natural. Her youth meant that her emotions still clung to the surface, intense and harder to control.
“Such as?” he prompted.
“Well, the obvious,” she said, not looking up at him. “Of course.”
“Of course.”
She missed Kent.
“And . . . I’m trying to decide how comfortable I am with your help.”
“Ah.”
Sebastian let her think on that herself. Only she could decide in the end. He could certainly persuade her of her right to revenge, of the need to stop these women before greater harm was done. He had convinced many others.
But I am trying to leave that behind. Perhaps I will return to it, but I must leave it behind to make that decision.
He turned onto the highway that would take them back to his home, and she sighed. It was a loaded sigh that meant she had more to say.
“Why won’t you help Josephine?” she murmured.
Ah. That. Something else he had expected to hear more about.
“Why do you wish me to help her so very much?” he asked.
Ian gave an exaggerated shrug. “She just seemed so unhappy. All she wanted was to be included. I don’t know what that would hurt.”
“I am not interested in being responsible for more people. One is more than enough, and with you I have two.”
“I don’t think she wants you to be responsible for her, I think she just wants you to look into her friend that’s missing. She thinks it might have some connection to Kent.”
“It may.”
A frustrated burst of air escaped her lips. “Then why won’t you talk to her? This could be important.”
“If I need any information from her, I will contact her.”
“Why are you so hung up on avoiding her?”
The answer came instantly to mind. Even thinking of Josephine brought up an uncomfortable feeling he couldn’t quite identify, a fluttering in his stomach that couldn’t be good. He had trusted his instincts all his life, and had lived this long because of them. He did not, however, feel inclined to say anything to Ian. She would not understand how much he had relied on intuitions and gut feelings. Because this one felt different from the others presaged danger no less.
“I do not like dealing with people who fear me,” he evaded. Not a lie, but not the real answer.
“Does she have any reason not to be afraid of you?” Ian countered.
She had a point. He had spent centuries building a reputation for himself based on fear. Josephine would have every reason to fear him. It did not change the fact that something about her made him uncomfortable.
“That does not mean I wish to work with her,” he said. “I am looking into this matter. That is enough.”
“Maybe if you gave her a reason not to be afraid, she wouldn’t be. Ever think of that?” Ian’s voice sounded weary, as well as a little angry.
“Yes.” He had thought of attempting to ease Josephine’s discomfort around him and dismissed it. Not only was such effort a waste of time, it would not help the nameless suspicion he held of her.
Ian made a small noise. “Then why don’t you? What harm is it gonna do?”
He sighed. If she refused to drop this, it would do more harm not to include Josephine.
Then again, perhaps it would be best to interact with Josephine more. Identify this unusual feeling and why she caused it in him. An odd anticipation came with that decision – almost a desire to see her again. It must be what needed to be done.
“If it means that much to you, Ian, I will include Josephine.”
She stared at him as if she had not understood, then shut her mouth. “Well, it does. Thank you.”
He kept his amusement at that to himself. He nodded once and exited the highway. “I assume that since she gave you her number, you can reach her to let her know I have agreed to help.”
Ian’s face hardened. “You listened in.”
“Of course.” Almost daring her to get angry.
It frustrated her, but she did not take the bait. She sighed and threw her hands up. “Yeah, I’ll call her.”
“Good.”
Very good.
She turned her attention to the scenery outside the window.
“Is that all you had on your mind, Ian?” It didn’t sound like it to him.
“Yeah, pretty much,” she said dully.
He let the matter go. If she wanted to talk, she would open her mouth. He pulled the car into the garage and parked.
IAN
So now I knew how to take apart small bombs. Sebastian had been quite thorough, repeating everything, telling me all the variations on that kind of bomb, until I felt like I could take apart any explosive device.
How useful is that going to be in my future?
The answer bothered me – maybe very useful.
Holding tight to Gypsy, I got out of the car and trailed Sebastian to the elevator. I felt sick. Imagining a sword going through me was nothing to picturing a bomb going off in my face. And such a little bit of plastic – I’d bet on it taki
ng out half my house. Could I survive something like that?
Another unanswerable question. I doubted it, but then, if the explosion didn’t work, she’d been right there to finish the job. Probably why she’d been prowling around outside in the first place.
Ugh.
“What did I do to them?” I asked out loud.
Sebastian didn’t even turn to face me. “Nothing,” he said as he hit the call button. “My guess is that Kent offended or wronged one or the other before he made you, and having gotten their revenge on him, they are taking their anger out on you.”
“So basically, there is no reason why.”
“I am certain they would not see it that way.”
“Yeah, well, they’ve obviously got some issues,” I muttered.
“Yes.” He turned his key in the lock, and the elevator hummed to life.
“I’ll call Josephine when we get upstairs,” I said. I wanted at least the illusion of being able to speak privately to her. Sebastian glanced in my direction and away. His way of acknowledging me.
I wrinkled my nose. “What are you thinking about? Are you sorry you agreed to help Josephine?”
His eyebrows flicked up for a second. “No. I’m not.”
That was a relief. Something about the way his eyes shone when he said he’d help had me on guard. It was a look I hadn’t seen in his eyes yet – I couldn’t puzzle out what it meant. It almost looked . . . interested. In a spooky, hungry sort of way.
“Then what are you thinking about?” I asked.
“Catching murderers.”
Not an answer conducive to conversation. I focused on petting Gypsy. She clung to my shirt like she thought I might take her to the top floor and drop her off the building. I didn’t want to think about murderers anymore. Not tonight, anyhow. Breaking into my own house, taking apart a bomb meant for me . . . I’d had enough for one night. I planned on doing a little sketching and turning in once I talked to Josephine.
I got off the elevator ahead of Sebastian, sliding my cell out of my pocket. He hung his coat up and disappeared down the hallway. Gypsy immediately started sniffing and headed off to check the place out, tail stiff in the air. I smiled to myself, then dialed Josephine. I almost thought it would go to voicemail, but then she picked up.
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