Leonore was an Eresh vampire, and considered herself to be above most of the rest of the council despite her relative youth. At one hundred and twenty-six years, she was older only than her apprentice and the two Burilgi, who had fought in World War II before being attacked and turned by a Polish vampire. Leonore had been Abraham’s apprentice in the last few years of his life, and she had openly approved of his methods and philosophies. Abraham scared her – he scared everyone on the council – but Stephen knew that Abraham also excited her.
Two could understand that feeling, as horrible as it was to admit. When Abraham had touched her, that first night, she had felt a raw lust that was overwhelming, dwarfing even what she had felt for Theroen. When his teeth had actually pierced her neck, she had nearly blacked out both from pain and from the orgasm that had seemed to run, twisting and clenching, through her entire body. She could only imagine how exciting Abraham’s presence might be to a person who didn’t thoroughly and instinctively revile him.
Two was looking at Leonore now, trying to judge her expression. Was the vampire angry? That would indicate good things for Two. Before she had time to make a determination, however, the council had taken their seats and Malik had begun making his pronouncement.
“Is there anything else you wish to speak of before I deliver our verdict on this charge?” Malik asked her.
Two shook her head. “You know everything. If there’s anything else, I’ve forgotten it. It was … it was a chaotic few weeks.”
Malik nodded and then, to Two’s surprise, smiled.
“Two Ashley Majors, the council has voted, and we have found you not guilty. We believe that though you took the life of an elder vampire, and though you admit to doing so with full malicious intent, that you were acting to the benefit of vampires everywhere. Abraham’s destruction is believed by most to be a boon to the entire world, and we have no intention of destroying the person who did us this service. You may go from this place in peace.”
Two felt her legs go weak and, for a moment, feared she might collapse. She bit down on her tongue, nearly hard enough to draw blood, and drew in a great breath of air. Her entire body seemed to be unwinding, though she had not felt it tensing up. She hadn’t known her own fear until she had seen that smile. In that moment, she had not been able to tell if he was about to release her, or condemn her to death.
“Thank you,” she said finally. “I … I don’t … thank you.”
“Let her sit down,” Stephen said from somewhere to her left. “For Christ’s sake, are you people idiots? She’s going to pass out. Look at her.”
“I’m OK,” Two croaked, but even as she said it, she realized that it was a lie, and without embarrassment she sat down on the floor, put her head in her hands, and began to take deep breaths. After perhaps half a minute she felt better, and looked up at Malik.
“Can I be a vampire again? Is … is that OK?”
At this, Malik frowned. He looked frustrated and concerned but, to Two’s relief, not angry.
“We were … unable to come to a conclusion,” he said.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Stephen snarled.
“Stephen, please …” Naomi’s voice was sad, but Two heard in it both resignation and hope. “Just let him finish.”
Malik continued. “We do not feel that it is within the rights of the American council to grant your wish, Two. We cannot say that it is acceptable for a vampire, even one so esteemed as Naomi, to take you as a fledgling. It is a decision we do not feel equipped to make.”
Two felt the old, familiar touches of despair at the back of her mind. She tried to shake them off, and asked, “So … what now?”
“If you are sure that you truly wish to become a vampire again, then we recommend that you travel to Europe and petition the council there. They have more experience with interpreting our laws, and we feel confident that they will be able to come to a conclusion in this matter.”
It took Two a moment to process this. At last, she said, “You want me to go to Europe?”
Malik nodded. “London, specifically.”
“But … I’ve only ever been to one other state. I don’t know anything about London. How will I know where to go?”
“You will not be alone,” Naomi said, her voice gentle.
“Oh, for Jesus’s sake … I … this is …” Stephen seemed nearly apoplectic. He struggled to bring himself under control and finally succeeded, sighing.
“Fine,” he said. “Add me to the list of companions. I’m seeing this through, now, if for no other reason than to alert the European council that their American counterpart is made up of indecisive ninnies.”
“Your opinion has been duly noted, Stephen,” Malik said, his voice dry.
Two coughed out a small laugh and pulled herself to her feet, turning to face the council.
“I, uh … I know that some of you would rather I was dead. I can only apologize for breaking your laws and thank those of you who voted to let me live. I was only doing what I had to do. I’ll go now. I don’t want to bother anyone, anymore. I don’t want to cause trouble, or hurt anyone, or … or …” Two held her hands open in a gesture of apology. “I don’t have the words.”
Naomi stirred, seemed about to stand up, then said to Malik, “Can we adjourn this meeting, please? I’d like to take Two home now. I think she’s been through enough.”
Malik nodded. “This council meeting has come to a conclusion. Thank you all for attending on this most important night, and thank you, Two, for sharing your story with us. We have learned a great deal.”
The vampires stood and began to file out, murmuring among themselves. Two made her way over to Stephen, who favored her with a look that was both sympathetic and enraged at the same time. She nodded, gave him a wan smile, leaned against the wall. Eventually, all of the vampires had left except Stephen, Naomi, Jakob and Sasha.
“We both voted for you,” Jakob told her as they made their way toward the front of the building. “That is no small thing. Sasha in particular is not fond of humans.”
“She is not truly a human,” Sasha said. “She is, or was, Eresh-Chen. In either case, her actions against Abraham have more than proven her worth.”
“Thank you both,” Two said, the first words she had spoken since the council’s dismissal.
“What would you like to do now, Two?” Naomi asked. There was deep concern in her voice. Two looked up at the vampire girl and gave her a tired, sad smile.
“I want to go home,” she said. “To your home, I mean. I … want to lie down in bed, and think about Theroen, and probably cry for a while. I don’t want to do that here.”
Naomi seemed about to say something, stopped herself, and instead said only, “Yes, we’ll take you home.”
Two did not want to weep in front of the others, and so she settled for a kind of mute despair, walking with her companions to the waiting car in silence. She sat, leaning against the door with her eyes wide, and stared out at the city in which she had lived her entire life as it flashed by her. She wondered when, if ever, this quest would end.
Chapter 13
Last News
“Oh, don’t!” Sarah snarled beneath him. “Not yet. Fuck me!”
The need in her voice was bringing Rhes perilously close to disobeying her command, and he thrust hard against her, enveloped by liquid warmth, trying to hold on. She bit into the skin of his shoulder, and the pain of it helped bring him back from the edge.
Pleasant and quiet and composed most of the time, Sarah became someone else in bed. He didn’t mind; both women appealed to him. He loved the sweet, rational, erudite Sarah who liked to discuss Tolstoy and listen to National Public Radio. He also loved the writhing, sweating woman below him, her fingers hooked into his back, legs wrapped around him, growling profanity into his ear.
Rhes managed to last long enough to feel her arms tighten, to hear her gasp “come with me” into his ear. The shaky tone of her voice excited him, sent him over the e
dge. He strained against her, moaned into the pillow, bit lightly into the muscles between her neck and shoulder as his own orgasm ran its course.
When they were done, they rolled, still joined together, lying on their sides and kissing. Sarah ran her fingers along his chest, shifted her hips slightly, and laughed as Rhes gasped. She enjoyed him like this, he thought, in these last few moments of hypersensitivity, still half-erect and not yet wanting to leave that warmth and wet.
Sarah reached into the nightstand behind her, found a cloth, used it to keep things clean as she slid herself apart from Rhes. She nestled against him, her skin hot and slick, and gave a contented sigh. Rhes ran his fingers along the skin of her back, drifting toward sleep.
“Did you talk to Sid?” Sarah asked after a time.
“Yeah. He knew what it was about as soon as I asked for the meeting. Said he’d been waiting for me to come around. Actually, he was surprised you hadn’t made me do it sooner.”
Sarah laughed, and said, “Good. Things will be back to normal soon.”
“Yup.”
“Then we’ll get married.”
“Yup.”
“And adopt Molly.”
“Yup.” Rhes was falling asleep.
Sarah giggled. “Then we can make dozens of babies!”
“Dozens, huh?” Rhes mumbled.
“Dozens. Do you think we’ll hear about Two soon?”
At this, Rhes seemed to wake up a bit. “Not sure, baby. I suppose Jakob will contact us. Or maybe Two. Who knows? I’m half-convinced she’ll show up as a vampire and try to takes us with her. Make us one of them.”
“Would you go with her?”
“No way. Not a chance.”
“Why?”
Rhes contemplated this question, unsure how to put his feelings into words. Finally he said, “I think you know the path your life is supposed to take, once you find it. I’m not saying that Two’s on the wrong path. I think she’s probably doing what’s right for her.”
“But it’s not for you,” Sarah said.
“No. It’s not for me. I want to be here, with you and Molly … and our dozens of babies.”
“You’re not interested in living forever?”
Rhes propped himself up on one arm, smoothed a lock of hair away from Sarah’s forehead, and said, “How many vampires did Two meet that lived forever?”
“None,” Sarah conceded.
“How many does she know that spent their last days surrounded by people they loved, able to reflect on their lives, proud of who they were and what they’d accomplished?”
“None.”
“Yeah. I’m a simple person, hon. I want what my father has. What my grandfather had. A wife, a family, kids I can be proud of. It’s not like my grandfather wanted to go … no one does. But when he went, he knew exactly what he was leaving behind. That’s what I want. I have no interest in getting stabbed with a table leg, killed by my own father, burned alive, or decapitated.”
Sarah grinned, kissed his shoulder, wrapped his arm up in hers. “I love you, Rhes. Goodnight.”
“‘Night, baby. I love you, too.”
While he slept, Rhes dreamt of his family. He dreamt of the house they would have, the rooms they would gather in, the things they would do together. Inside that house, it was happy and warm. Outside, though, dark things fluttered just beyond the edge of the light.
* * *
Sarah answered the phone on the third ring, trying not to curse at the pain running through the toe that she had just stubbed on the edge of the couch. Instead, she gritted her teeth and, keeping most of the exasperation out of her voice, said, “Hello?”
“Sarah Thompson?”
“Sarah Taylor … but close enough.” Sarah smiled, tracing the pad of her thumb over the band that now encircled her left ring finger.
“Ah, Taylor, that’s right. This is Jakob.”
“I know. Your accent is pretty unique.”
“The country I was born in no longer exists. I hope you are well. We have made headway with your issues.”
“We’re fine here, thanks. What’s the news?”
“The Burilgi have agreed that the attack on you and your boyfriend was simply poor timing and are willing to let bygones be bygones. They are less than thrilled, of course, that I was forced to kill three of their number, but they understand that you were not at fault.”
“Well, that’s good. So we can go back to living our lives, now?”
“Yes, I believe you can. I will be removing my guards slowly over the next few days, but I don’t anticipate that you will be troubled any further.”
“Good. Thank you.”
“I am sorry that you had to become involved in this nonsense. I trust that you and Rhes will practice an appropriate level of discretion.”
“We won’t tell anyone that we were attacked by vampires, no. We’d just end up locked up in a psych ward somewhere, anyway.”
Jakob chuckled. “Good. Discretion is always wise. You may be contacted at some point in the future, but so long as you’ve told no one of this matter, you can expect any such contact to be friendly. I would imagine you will want to know, for example, of your friend Two’s activities.”
“Yes, very much so. Have you heard from her?”
“I have. I spoke with her last night, in fact.”
“How is she?”
Jakob paused, and then said, “Less happy than she would have liked, but things went well over all. She is still alive, at any rate.”
Sarah gave an incredulous laugh. “Well, that’s good.”
“Two has been fully exonerated and is preparing to go to Europe.”
“What for?”
“She is … not satisfied with her present life.”
Well, duh, Sarah thought. Out loud, she said, “Yes … we noticed.”
“She has petitioned to be allowed to join our ranks again.”
“No surprise there.”
“Unfortunately, the council is uncomfortable granting this request. It’s complicated. The European council is more equipped to make a decision.”
“Oh. Well … when will she know?”
Jakob sighed. “I am afraid I do not know. The European council meets infrequently, and I’m not entirely sure when the next meeting will be. It could be a year, perhaps more.”
“A year? Can she at least call us?”
“We’ve asked her not to. It’s … we don’t want to give the Burilgi any excuse to trouble you further.”
“Oh. Fantastic …” Sarah bit her lower lip. “Jakob, are we ever going to see Two again?”
“I’m afraid I have no idea. I apologize. Even if she is granted her wish, you may not want to see her. It is often difficult for humans to accept our kind.”
“She’s our friend. We’ll deal with it.”
“I am sure you would try your best. For the time being, all I can do is leave you in peace, and promise to be in touch when I know more.”
“I guess that’s all I can really ask for,” Sarah said. “Thank you for your help, Jakob. Rhes and I know we owe you our lives.”
Jakob laughed. “There is no debt. It was an honor to defend you and an enjoyable battle. I haven’t had the chance to fight to the death in some time.”
I’m never going to understand these people, Sarah thought. Blood and death and chopping each other up with machetes? I want this to be over.
And so she decided to end it. “OK, then. Is there anything else?”
“Nothing at all. Goodbye, Sarah. Give my regards to Rhes.”
“I will. Thanks again, and goodbye.”
Sarah hung up the phone and, after a moment of consideration, went to tell Rhes the news.
Chapter 14
Travel Plans
“Two? Two … we’re here.”
The car had stopped but Two, still staring out the window without really paying attention, hadn’t noticed. She felt Naomi’s gentle touch on her shoulder and stirred, nodding.
“OK
, Naomi. Thanks.”
“Are you all right?”
“She looks fantastic,” Stephen said, his voice laced with sarcasm. He opened the door and slid out of the car.
“I’m alive,” Two said. She knew it would be hard to tell from her tone if that was a positive or a negative, but wasn’t sure herself which was the case.
“Yes, you are,” Naomi said. She stepped from the cab, handed the driver a bill, and said, “Keep the change.”
“You sure?” the driver asked, surprised.
“Yes. Come on, Two.”
The driver made a low, impressed whistle and said, “Take your time, sweetheart. No rush.”
Two opened the door, got out of the car, and stood next to Naomi and Stephen. The car rolled away, reached the corner, and turned left, disappearing out of sight. Two could hear the thudding of electronic music coming from L’Obscurité across the street. The air was cold and damp and spoke of rain.
No one spoke as they waited for the elevator, or as they rode up to Naomi’s apartment. Finally, as the doors were sliding open, Two said, “It’s OK guys. I’m not made of glass.”
Naomi shrugged. “Everyone has moments in their life when they are fragile. It’s been a long night.”
They entered the apartment, and Two went first to the bathroom, a room that her companions had little use for. When she finished, she returned to the living room. Stephen was sitting on one couch, watching highlights from a football game. Naomi was sitting on the other, her head back, eyes closed. Two wandered into the kitchen, tossed a frozen dinner into the microwave, and turned it on. The machine hummed to life, and Two went to sit down.
Naomi opened her eyes and rolled her head to glance at Two, who had positioned herself at the opposite end of the couch, legs pulled up underneath her.
“Hungry?” she asked.
“Yeah. Did you … eat?”
“Stephen and I went out earlier, while you were showering.”
“Oh.”
“Two, do you want … is there anything you’d like to discuss?”
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