Under a Blood Moon

by Zoë Fox

  Alex sullenly knocked on the door. Behind her, Jamie stood with his thumbs stuck in his belt loops.

  “You really can leave now,” Alex said as they waited

  “No, I can’t.”

  “It was worth a try,” she mumbled to herself.

  “Alexa, I believe you are aware that you do not have to knock,” Lucas said as he opened the door. Immediately, his eyes took in the posture and uniform of the man beside her. “What has happened? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. This is my Uncle Jamie. Uncle Jamie, this is Lucas.” She gestured as she introduced the two men.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr.…” Lucas paused, allowing her Uncle to offer his last name.

  “Leisey,” he said gruffly, squeezing Lucas’ hand as he shook it. He was concentrating on looking as intimidating as possible.

  “Yes, well, please do come in.” Lucas moved back to allow them to enter his home. “You may take a seat, if you like.”

  “What is with this guy?” Uncle Jamie whispered to Alex. “He always this polite?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “And what’s up with his clothes?”

  Lucas had dressed that day in black slacks and a white button up dress shirt, over which he wore a black and gray vest. After having looked so disheveled the night before, he had overcompensated.

  “He’s old fashioned.”

  “I’ll say. You sure he’s straight?” Jamie Leisey was of the opinion that men wore jeans when not at work or church and ate large quantities of red meat whenever they could.

  Alex rolled her eyes. “You’re so narrow minded.”

  Lucas, who had taken a seat on the leather couch, smiled at her as they sat down. The glint in his eye said he’d overheard the whole conversation and found it amusing.

  “I’m sorry,” Alex mouthed the words so that her Uncle wouldn’t see.

  He waved off her apology.

  “Now, judging from the look on your face, Mr. Leisey, I believe there is something you would like to speak to me about,” Lucas said once they were all seated.

  “Earlier today my niece received a package in the mail that was pretty disturbed to say the least.”

  Lucas gave Alex a quizzical look.

  “Someone thought it was funny to send her a dead kitten that’s head had been cut off and a threatening letter. With everything that’s been going on around her recently, you can understand my concern,” Jamie leaned back in his chair.

  “Yes, of course. May I ask what the letter said?”

  “Something about women being more beautiful when silent,” he said. “And how the mutilated cat was a preview of what they were going to do to her.”

  Before her Uncle had started talking, she had begun to think as loudly as she possibly could, in hopes that Lucas would pick up on it accidently.

  “Roderick, I think. But don’t say anything.” The words slammed into Lucas’ brain with a force that caused him to raise his hand to his temple. Since the night her brother had laid the spirit to rest, she had been getting increasingly better at getting his attention through unspoken messages. Although he knew practice had something to do with it, Lucas believed that the psychic connection with Toad had played a part. Despite this, he’d still been unable to send a message in a similar fashion that she herself could hear.

  “Are you okay?” She asked as he pressed the side of his head.

  “Yes, of course. Just a bit of a headache. I believe it’s brought about by loud noises,” he glanced over at her pointedly, trying to convey that she need not yell inside her own head any more in order to get his attention.

  “Huh? There’s nothing loud in here.” Jamie looked back and forth between the two of them. There was something suspicious about the way they were looking at each other. Had he been alone so long now that he was seeing questionable motives in the gooey eyes couples made at each other?

  “From earlier. I was playing music too loudly,” he offered in explanation.

  Alex suppressed a laugh. She’d tried to show him how to work the radio, but he had insisted that all the songs on the stations she’d tried out for him sounded like pure noise. After an hour, she’d given up on trying to please his musical taste and decided she would buy him some classical CDs when she got a chance.

  “Anyway,” Jamie said. “I don’t want my niece ending up on the news like those women we’ve found, so I don’t want her walking over here at night by herself. I tried telling her she needed to stay at home, but she’s hard headed. She doesn’t listen.”

  “I told you, I’m not letting some kitten-hating freak dictate my life.” She glared at her Uncle.

  “And you shouldn’t,” Lucas said, taking her hand in his quietly. “Acts of violence like this are usually done with the sole purpose of taking control. To allow your life to change drastically would give the individual exactly what they wanted.”

  “Thank you,” she stared at her Uncle as she said this.

  “Look, what I care about is her safety, so if you want her to keep working for you or whatever it is that you two are really doing, you’re going to have to drive over to her place and pick her up.” Jamie leaned forward. “Understand?”

  “I do not possess a car, Mr. Leisey, however, I will happily walk over to her home and escort her back here.” Lucas stroked the skin on the top of Alex’s hand as he spoke. He himself was unaware of the gesture, but it drew Jamie’s attention for a moment.

  “You don’t own a car?” He asked.

  “No, I do not.”

  “Why not?”

  “I do not know how to drive one, therefore purchasing one has made little sense to me.”

  Jamie glanced over at Alex, his expression seemed to ask ‘Is this guy serious?’

  She nodded.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but who the hell doesn’t know how to drive at your age?”

  “Quite a lot of people actually.” The laughing glint had returned to Lucas’ eyes. What he neglected to add to that sentence was that most individuals his age had long since finished the complicated process of decomposition.

  Jamie continued to give Lucas a funny look, but dropped the subject. “You will also walk her back home at night, right?”

  “Of course. It would be illogical to do one and not the other.”

  They sat in silence for a moment. As much as Alex loved her Uncle and knew that he only wanted to look after her, she wished he’d leave.

  “Look, I don’t know what’s really going on between you two—” Jamie started.

  “I told you already. We’re dating.” She rolled her eyes at her Uncle.

  “To be honest, I don’t think it’s right. You seem like a nice guy, a little different, but nice. Still, she’s too young for you.”

  “I believe that numerical age is an inappropriate judge of a person’s mental and emotional capabilities,” Lucas forced himself to smile as he said this. He could tell that Alex cared for the man, but he was beginning to wear his patience thin.

  “Yeah, she’s mature in some ways, but she ought to be making out with some punk who’s worried about getting his first job, not some—I’m sorry, I don’t know what it is that you do…”

  “I’m a social historian and a college professor.” He added the last part, remembering the story Alex had given her mother.

  Alex covered her face with her spare hand. She could feel the blood rising in her cheeks. She wished the sofa would open up and swallow her whole.

  “My point is, if she wants to date, she’s better off with someone who's taking history with her, not someone who is teaching it.”

  “My apologies, but I am of the opinion that few of the boys in her class could keep up with her mind. Who she desires to be with, whether it is myself or another individual, should be between Alex and her mother.” Lucas squeezed her hand in reassurance.

  One of Jamie’s thick eyebrows shot up in reaction to the last statement. Alex wondered if it was going to try to craw
l to the back of his skull, like a furry caterpillar run amuck.

  “And, again, no offense, but Alex’s mom can’t keep her mind off her own love life long enough to consider what kind of example she’s setting.” Jamie stood up, getting ready to leave. “I can’t stop you from seeing my niece, but I can tell you this, buddy, if you hurt her in any way, I will make your life a living hell. Now it was nice meeting you. Don’t bother standing,” he said Lucas started to get up. “I can see myself out.”

  “My uncle,” Alex said after the sound of the door slamming shut echoed through the house, “lacks tact. Maybe I should have warned you about that.”

  “Although I disagree with him,” Lucas turned so he could better face her, “he is speaking solely out of concern for you.”

  She sighed. “I know. And I love him. He’s great, but he worries too much. Sometimes I wonder if that’s why all his hair ran away.”

  Lucas smiled, but it lasted only a moment. “Now what is this about you receiving a mutilated animal?”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  “So, basically it was the grossest present I’ve ever had the misfortune to receive,” Alex said in summation after she had finished describing the events of the evening.

  “I will commit that to memory so I do not make such a mistake come your birthday.” Lucas stroked her hand as they talked. She was trying to appear as if the whole ordeal hadn’t bothered her, but he could tell differently. He was doing everything he could to be comforting without appearing overly so.

  “The worst part was that Toad was there. He tried to keep me from answering the door, but I didn’t listen.”

  “That sounds like you.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. She needed normalcy more than anything else at the moment. “And then, after I opened it, he just sat on the floor with his eyes covered saying ‘poor kitty’. He knew what was coming. Sometimes I wonder if that talent of his is more a curse than a gift.”

  Lucas sighed. “The greatest gifts are always part curse. If it isn’t a burden, at least to some degree, then it would be too easy to misuse.”

  She nodded. “I can see that, I guess. I just wish he didn’t have to be there. I want to protect him, but I can’t.” She pulled her knees up to her chest. “It makes me feel helpless, which, if you haven’t already guessed, is something I hate.”

  “You are far from helpless, Alexa.” His fingers stopped over the thumping pulse nestled between the small bones of her wrist. It reminded him of a bird trying to break free from a cage.

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t feel that way today,” she admitted. “Especially when I was throwing my guts up. You don’t think the whole thing will traumatize Toad, do you?”

  He shook his head. “Your brother is strong and he knew it was coming, even if he couldn’t properly express it.”

  “Thanks. I needed to hear that. The last thing I want is to think something from my life screwed him up in some way.”

  He stared off in the distance for a moment, thinking. “You believe Roderick sent you the animal, do you not?”

  “Yeah, I do. He threatened me that night we got in our big fight and the letter referenced what the sender wanted to do to me. I don’t know anyone else who dislikes me that much.”

  “Your uncle is under the impression that whoever sent you the package is also guilty of the recent string of murders,” he ran his hand through his loose hair. “You agree, do you not?’

  She nodded. “It doesn’t make sense any other way. The head was removed and the letter said it was a preview of things to come. I don’t know of a lot of people running around decapitating people to get their kicks.”

  Lucas sighed. “I agree. It seems that I might have been wrong about Roderick.” The idea that the danger she now faced was, in some way, his fault was almost more than he could bear.

  “Don’t beat yourself up about it,” she punched his shoulder playfully. “For all we know, he might have been a nut job when you turned him.”

  “Agreed. All people have the ability to kill. Perhaps time served only to strengthen that part of him. Still, I can’t help but feel that I have somehow put you in danger.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll find it in my heart to forgive you.” She smiled at him. The playful banter between the two of them was beginning to relax her. She could feel some of the tension creeping out through her toes.

  “I appreciate that.” He returned her grin.

  “I didn’t tell my uncle that I suspected Roderick. I figured, if they tried to stop him, someone could get hurt.”

  “True. This is more a matter for The Council to handle. I will write them a letter later this evening.”

  She studied his face for a moment. “How is a letter going to help me?”

  “If Roderick is indeed attacking women in such a garish and public manner, they will send someone to handle the matter.”

  “You make it sound like it’s as simple as disciplining some kid who pulled a girl’s hair in class.”

  He pulled his hand back without thinking. “The rules that govern you and the ones that govern me are different, Alex. You understand that.”

  “I do, but you don’t have to be so blasé about it. People are dying.”

  He sighed again. “People are always dying. This is part of the human condition.”

  “True. But you don’t have to be so removed from it.” She sat up straighter as she spoke.

  “But I am removed from it. I am worried for you, but other than that, this doesn’t concern me.”

  “You could stop it, you know. You’ve got the power to do so, but you won’t use it.” She was confused. What sense did it make to have abilities that others would never even conceive of if you weren’t going to use them? She’d seen the speed he could move with, if he so chose, and she gathered his strength was also supernatural.

  “I won’t allow anything to happen to you,” he reassured.

  “I’m not worried about me. I keep my eyes open at all times. I’m aware of my surroundings. If somebody tried to attack me, they’d be in for a surprise. I’m worried about those women out there who don’t think about these things.”

  “They are not my concern.”

  He could be so frustrating sometimes. “You know, your little circle of experiences isn’t the only thing that affects you.”

  “I apologize, but I am unaware as to what point you are trying to make?”

  “Everything that is going on is now connected to me. You’re connected to me; therefore, you’re connected to all of it. You can’t just pick and choose which parts of it touch you.”

  He remained silent for a moment. “What would you have me do, Alexa? I can’t very well let all of human suffering get to me. I would become overwhelmed with the very magnitude of it all.”

  She leaned toward him. “And I get that. Nobody can shoulder all of that. It’s too much for one person, immortal or not. But you can’t just stand around in the mess and hope you won’t get your pants dirty. It doesn’t work like that.”

  “Then what would you have me do?”

  “Just promise me that, if you saw him in action, you would stop him. You wouldn’t let him hurt someone else, would you?”

  Her wording was not lost on him. She didn’t ask if he would protect her. Her concern was for others. She took care of herself effortlessly, her left over concern spreading out to those around her without thought. “Of course.”

  “Good. Well, that’s something.” She squeezed his hand affectionately.

  “And I would kill him if he so much as placed a hand on you,” he said, the determination in his voice like a hard stone. The edges were sharp from emotion.

  There was something at the corner of his eyes that made her not doubt the intensity of his statement. If Roderick touched her, he would be signing his own death warrant.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  The sound of the front door opening pulled Lucas’ attention from the document he had been reading. He glance
d over at Alex, his entire body now alert. Sitting crossed legged on the floor, she remained completely absorbed in the book she held. The night before, after they had discussed the horrible package she had received, they had made their way to the study. While working on typing up some of his notes, she’d made a comment about not wanting to be a gloried secretary for the rest of her life.

  At first, he’d been shocked that she felt her assistance was so trivial, but, after considering the thought for a moment, he realized that he was most likely underutilizing her more intellectual talents. With training, he was fairly certain she would be more than capable of aiding in the gathering of information. True, she would have to learn to place her own opinions in a far corner of her mind, so that they would not color her observations in any noticeable way. But hadn’t he, too, had to learn that skill?

  In order to prepare her for more mentally taxing endeavors, he’d pulled several books of theory off the shelves and asked that she begin to make her through them. She’d barely said a word since. Every now and then she stopped reading to jot a few notes on the pad of paper that sat beside her.

  He placed his own reading material on his desk and concentrated on the sound of footsteps in the hallway. The rhythm and strength of the shoes hitting the wood let him know that it was Roderick. Before he appeared in the doorway, Lucas used his unnatural speed to position himself between Alex and where the other vampire would soon be standing.

  Alex, who had been involved in her reading, hadn’t noticed the sound of the door opening. She looked up at Luas, confusion naked on her face.

  “Ah, Lucas, my friend, aren’t we passed the pleasantries of standing to greet each other,” Roderick said as he entered the room, his usual smirk in place.

  Lucas could feel every muscle in his body vibrating with the need to lash out. Not usually a violent man, he found it difficult to look at Roderick without punishing him for the atrocity Alex had suffered the day before.

  “What do you want?” He asked through teeth firmly clamped together.

  The tone of his voice shocked Alex. His words had come out in a threatening growl.