“My psychological position. If you’re right.” Holly said.
“Yes. And I think we should get it deciphered as quickly as possible. Since it appeared in an automatic drawing made by your hand, this spread is all about you. It probably won’t help us much, but just in case, we need to understand it immediately. Will you let me do that?”
Holly nodded. “Of course.”
He said, “Good girl. May I use your computer?”
“Sure.”
Avery said, “Your expert won’t need to see the actual drawing?”
“I’ll get her a copy, but to get things moving I’ll just indicate the placement of the cards for now. That’s most important.” Stryker said. “Are you okay, Holly? It’s not every day you connect with a dead person.” His voice was filled with genuine concern and Holly watched as he exchanged a quick look with Avery.
“I’m fine.” She narrowed her eyes and added, “Don’t you two start ganging up on me.”
Avery’s look of mock innocence made Holly laugh. Stryker treated her to a relieved smile when he heard her laugh.
He said, “I think we should examine the second drawing more closely as well. We may have missed something important.”
Avery nodded to the papers before him and said, “It’s underneath that one.”
He pushed the top page aside and scanned the drawing of Lydia and her car at the foot of a cliff. Holly and Avery had pulled their chairs closer to him to view the previous drawing so all they had to do was lean in to get a good look at the second.
Holly gasped. “I didn’t notice that before.”
“What?” Avery demanded.
She pointed to the drawing. Amongst the trees, at the top of the cliff, there stood a shadowy figure.
“Doesn’t that look like it could be a man?” Holly said.
Stryker nodded. “It does to me, but you know your style better than I do. Would you ever draw a man in this manner?”
“Sure. In fact I have, many times in gesture drawings. You know, the kind you do in like three minutes? You don’t take a lot of time to add detail,”
Avery leaned closer and looked at the figure.
“Does he look familiar in any way?” asked Holly.
Avery shook her head. “Not detailed enough.”
“Just because he’s standing at the top of the cliff doesn’t mean he’s the murderer. This drawing doesn’t show us the cause of the crash. It could be the figure of one of the rescue crew’s men or the person who discovers the crash.” Holly suggested.
“You’re right. There’s no way to tell without further information.”
Avery asked, “How is Lydia taking the restrictions you’ve placed on her?”
“She’s fine, enjoying the chauffer service. Her daughter, Candace, is less impressed with the situation.”
Holly sighed. “We could have told you that.” She pointed at Avery then at herself and back again nodding. “We’ve both been teenage girls at one point in our lives. We know how she feels.”
Avery laughed. “She’s right, Count Chocula. We could be of use to you when dealing with your people living amongst us.”
Stryker said, “Could be. I’ll think about bringing us all together someday soon, but we’d have to do it in complete secrecy. The people I’ve settled in this area don’t communicate with each other. It’s safer that way. I’m their connection. I’m the only one who knows each one. If our enemies knew of a large gathering between vampires and friendly humans, it would provide them with an irresistible opportunity to wipe us out. A chance, I’d wager, they couldn’t pass up.”
Holly shook her head, “We don’t have to do it en mass. Smaller meetings could be arranged and be safer as well.”
“I’ll think about it. I’m not sure we’ll have the time—” His cell phone interrupted him and he frowned down at the call display. “I have to take this. Please excuse me,” he said as he turned away.
Avery and Holly moved closer to each other and spoke in hushed tones.
Avery said, “Stephen is planning to take time away from his practice to learn more about Stryker’s people…I guess they’re your people in a way now too.”
“Yeah, I guess so. I don’t know what to feel anymore. You know what my life’s been like. Could my father have known this about me? What about Alison and Matthew? Have they known? Is that why I’m the ‘special’ daughter of Alan Seaton?”
Avery said, “You’d be the special daughter of anyone, Holly. But I know what you’re getting at. You’re going to have to talk to your family.”
“Yes, I know,” Holly said with a frown. “I’m not looking forward to it and I’d kind of like to know as much as possible beforehand so I’m not blindsided by my father’s response.”
“When do you expect the next Seaton visitation?” Avery asked with a smile.
“I can always gage it by how many prepared meals I’ve got left, but lately I’ve been eating with you guys so much I’ve lost track.” She looked at the calendar hanging on the kitchen fridge. “I don’t expect either Matthew or Alison to arrive for a visit for another couple of weeks or so I guess.”
“I can’t wait to see Alison’s response to Stryker. Don’t even bother to pretend the two of you didn’t sleep together last night. I’m not a vampire and even I could smell it in the air…but not in a gross way. Sleeping had very little to do with it. I’m thrilled for you,” she scoffed gently and said with certainty, “There’s no way he’s going to let you keep him secreted from your family.”
Before Holly could form a reply, Stryker hung up his cell phone and frowned down at it for a moment. His silence alarmed them. They waited for him to speak. When he raised his head his expression was grave.
“Lydia hasn’t heard from Candice since last night and the car is missing.”
Holly was struck silent. Avery was not. Her voice held urgency when she questioned Stryker.
“Lydia’s car is missing?”
Stryker nodded.
“Candice doesn’t have a car?”
He shook his head. “No, Lydia thinks she’s too young, but she’s let Candice use her car in the past.”
“Was Candice told why you insisted that the car stay in the garage?”
“I left that to Lydia. It seems she chose not to tell her daughter. She trusted Candice not to break the rules.”
Avery’s voice was sharp. “Damn it. Are vampire children more obedient than human children? Candice is a teenager. She’s biologically compelled to take the car out without permission! Has Lydia called the police?”
“I’ve taken care of it. My people are on it, searching everywhere. Holly, I’d like to give them your drawing as a frame of reference.” He put up his hand and said, “I’m not saying that Candice is at the foot of a cliff somewhere. I just think we have to rule it out. We could all be worrying for nothing.”
Holly said, “Let’s hope Candice is nursing a life-altering hangover right now. Wow, I never thought I’d say something like that before.”
“Yeah, but better that than the starring role in your drawing,” Avery said, tapping a finger on the offending sketch.
Stryker said, “Does anything in the drawing look familiar to either of you? You know the area better than I do.”
Holly said, “That’s one of the first things I thought of when I looked at it. Muskoka has so many rocks and cliffs, I’m not sure I can tell one from another. How about you, Avery?”
Avery looked at her friend and scoffed. “Are you kidding? I’m lucky I can find my way home from Huntsville. Holly, you know I’m hopeless at this kind of thing. You could draw my grandmother’s house and I wouldn’t recognize it.” She looked at Stryker and shrugged. “My talents lie elsewhere. You can’t have everything.”
Grabbing both sketches, Stryker moved to the door. “I’ve got to get both of these scanned and sent to my people.” He stepped close to Holly and used a gentle hand to press her against him. The simplest of touches aroused them both and Holly t
hrilled at the phenomenon. He took her lips with exacting precision. She responded to him, and when he pulled away, she looked up at him with surrender. The feeling was entirely mutual.
Stryker said, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He stepped away and met Avery’s stare. She smiled at him widely and he sent it right back at her.
He said, “When there is more information, I’ll let you know.” His eyes encompassed both women for a second then he was gone.
Chapter 23
“How are the kids?” Holly asked. When she thought of danger, the kids were the first thing on her mind.
“They’re fine. I still haven’t caught a really good glimpse of the men Stryker has watching over them, but somehow I can feel them there. You know?”
“I know exactly what you mean. I don’t see them clearly either, but I catch the odd blur in my peripheral vision when I look at Jessica, Aaron or Connor,” Holly said.
“I suppose that’s part of your superior vision. You can see what many of us cannot.”
She frowned, shaking her head. “I’m not sure about that. Why is it coming now after years of lying dormant? What have I done differently?”
Avery offered her explanation tentatively. “You’re aware that you’re more than human. You’re supposed to have enhanced senses. Maybe you’ve always had it, but a part of you rejected it. The mind is incredibly powerful.”
Holly nodded equally hesitant. “I guess that’s possible.”
“So how was last night?” Avery asked finally, rubbing her hands together comically.
“It defies description.”
Avery wrinkled her nose. “Damn it, sometimes I hate it that I’m the word person and you’re the picture person.” Holly could see an idea light on Avery’s face as she said, “You could draw it for me.”
“Yeah, now ladies and gentlemen, I’ll try my hand at pornographic art.” She jabbed her friend with a well place elbow. “And let me assure you, it was art.”
Avery sighed and said, “It was just a thought.” Looking intently at Holly, exhausting all means of distraction and unable to avoid the subject any longer, she said, “What’s your spidey sense telling you about Candace?”
Holly shook her head in defeat. “I’m worried. I think Candace is dead.”
Flatly, Avery said, “I do too. Poor Lydia, like any mother, she wanted her daughter to have a normal life, not one filled with bloodstalkers and the like. I suppose she decided not to tell Candace about your warning in hopes of shielding her from a danger that cannot be easy for a teenager to cope with. I can understand that. Many parents would do the same thing, I guess.”
“But not you.” It was a simple statement of fact. “You’d want Jessica to know the truth.”
“Or at least enough of the truth not to disobey my wishes,” Avery said. “When in doubt, go with the truth…works every time.”
Holly nodded in agreement. “Poor Lydia, she made a mistake. No mother should have to deal with something like this.” She heard the sound of a car driving up her laneway and sent Avery a surprised glance. She got up to look outside.
Avery gave her a puzzled glance then heard the noise too.
Over her shoulder, Holly said, “You called it, Avery. I guess I was due a familial visit after all. That’s Alison’s Lexus.”
* * * *
Astride his stallion Dakota, and looking down at the crushed car at the foot of the cliff, Stryker thought. ‘Poor Lydia.’ Candace was dead. The scene was hauntingly similar to Holly’s drawing. All they’d achieved by warning Lydia was to change victims. No doubt Lydia would rather it were her behind the wheel and not Candace. A mother would gladly die for her child.
Gingerly, he searched the ground for telltale signs of the figure Holly had drawn. He found nothing tangible, but he could smell it—the malice, the blood lust. The figure in the drawing had been the killer and the killer was indeed a bloodstalker.
Even from the top of the cliff, Stryker could hear what the men investigating the scene were saying. Lydia hadn’t been informed yet. He knew what he had to do. She deserved to hear it from him.
Stryker mounted the stallion. As always, Dakota was aware of the impulses of his rider and he took off through the woods towards Lydia’s house. Supernaturally fast, Dakota stopped in front of Lydia’s house within minutes. Stryker dismounted and thanked the horse for loaning him his speed.
He knocked once and entered. One look at his face and Lydia collapsed in his arms. Words weren’t necessary. Surrounded by her new Muskoka friends and neighbors, Lydia continued to sob in Stryker’s arms. He hadn’t said a word but she knew her daughter was dead. In time, more people would make their way to Lydia’s door. The death of a child was a tragedy felt by all.
Stryker held Lydia until she slumped against him, exhausted. Finally he picked her up and carried her to her bedroom.
He stroked her head and said, softly, “Sleep, my friend. You will need your strength. You are not alone. We look after our own.”
He discreetly questioned each person present. Lydia’s car had been checked by the local garage and they’d pronounced it sound. Candace was a competent driver and wasn’t known to drink alcohol or do drugs. He would of course have to investigate further just as a formality, but he knew in his heart this was the work of a bloodstalker, not some horrible yet random twist of fate. Candace Baldwin did not die an accidental death.
Interesting, he mused, their enemies were working from arm’s length more often in the contemporary world. In the past, they’d preferred to see the light die in their victim’s eyes as they slipped away. A bloodstalker usually preferred to dip his hands in the blood he’d spilled. This remote kill must have been singularly unsatisfying to the hunter. It was indeed, a new world they’d ventured in to.
Somehow, like Irene, Lydia’s vampire bloodline had been exposed to their human enemies. Stryker had to find out how and plug the leak. Permanently. There was no way to tell how much the bloodstalker knew of their overall plan, but one thing was certain, the murders would not stop until he’d located the bloodstalker and excised him. The hunter had their scent and would not be satisfied with isolated kills here and there. Stryker had smelled it in the air as he’d stood on the cliff overlooking the site of Candace’s death. This was the work of a relentless killer whose sworn purpose was to wipe out Stryker’s kind and the carnage had just begun. They were all in danger.
There were those more suspicious vampires who would conclude that Stryker had made a mistake telling Holly, Avery and Stephen about their intentions, but Stryker knew they weren’t the source of the leak. He didn’t have the slightest doubt about Holly and her friends. His heart knew they were incapable of such betrayal. Besides, Irene O’Neill had been killed by a bloodstalker long before they were aware vampires lived among them. No, if anything, he’d put Holly and her friends in the line of fire by confiding in them. By virtue of the fact that they knew about his mission and were willing to help, they’d inherited very dangerous enemies.
Against his natural instincts, he considered pulling his people out and starting somewhere else. If they left, there was a chance that Avery’s family would be safe. As his bloodmate, Holly had entwined her fate with his intimately. She could not run away any more than he could. They’d bonded. They would be together or die. Her friends were not so intimately linked with him. He had to consider retreat for everyone else’s safety. He knew Lydia would probably choose to leave her new home in Muskoka. Candace’s memory could prove too hard to bear. But before setting out on this mission, he’d selected only the most committed settlers and Lydia had been one of them. Perhaps she would dig in and fight, defying those who would destroy her kind and had executed her daughter. Stryker hoped so.
* * * *
It hadn’t rained much, so the earth around Holly’s house was hard packed. This visit Alison had dressed for the terrain. She still wore heels, but instead of stilettos, she walked in chunky espadrilles that tied around her delicate
ankles. Her sundress matched the pattern on her shoes. Avery had always found that fascinating. She’d often asked Holly how Alison always managed to coordinate her entire wardrobe. Typically, Holly had no answer for her friend. While Holly had never worn socks with sandals, she had worn white after Labor Day once or twice. Alison had pronounced her hopeless.
Holly and Avery heard the doorbell ring.
In a loud whisper, Avery said, “She uses the doorbell? She’s your sister.”
Holly said quietly, “And I can’t just call out and tell her to enter. She waits for me to answer the door. I’m not sure what she thinks she’d find if she walked in on me. I gave up sacrificing virgins long ago.”
“Good thing too, seeing as how they’re so hard to come by these days,” Avery called out as Holly reached the front door.
Alison’s bright smile was the first thing to greet Holly. She looked fresh and confident even after her long drive.
“Hi, sis,” she said, “I hope you don’t mind the intrusion.”
“Of course not, you’re always welcome. Come on in.” She moved aside and Alison walked inside.
In many Canadian homes, it was considered polite to shed one’s shoes upon entering the house, but given the intricacies of Alison’s footwear, Holly didn’t expect her to do so.
“Just go right in. Avery’s here.”
Alison’s smile widened but lost a little of its sincerity. Avery and Alison had never been comfortable around each other no matter how hard they’d tried. For some reason Alison felt shy in Avery’s presence and it didn’t matter what she did, Avery couldn’t make her feel at ease completely.
“Hi, Avery. It’s very nice to see you.” Alison flushed and stuck out her hand.
Avery grasped it firmly and shook. “You look lovely, Alison. It’s good to see you.”
She ran a hand down her flat abdomen and smiled shyly. “Thank you. I always seem to get it wrong when I come up here, but I figured a sun dress was a safe bet.”
Avery said, “I’ve never seen you look anything but well put together.”
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