The Undead Heart

by Tate Jackson

  Richard’s hand flew to his chest. His jaw dropped when he felt the heartbeat there.

  “I don’t understand,” he said softly. Potter smiled. “I don’t know exactly what happened, either. However, if I had to venture a guess, I’d say Beck stuck you with her shiny, silver needle while you weren’t looking.” He looked over his shoulder at Beck. “How did that work anyway? You have to be alive to become a hunter.”

  “Well, his heart was beating at the time,” she blushed.. Potter crowed with laughter. “That’s black widow behavior! And you called me evil!”

  “You injected Potter’s blood into me?” Richard asked.

  She stepped further behind Potter. “Yes, but remember, you said if you could have turned me into a vampyre without killing me, you would have done it without asking me. I just figured, I didn’t have to ask you first, either.”

  “I’m not a vampyre anymore?” he asked, stunned. His emotions were in such a flux that she didn’t know what he was feeling.

  “Well, no, but you hated being a vampyre,” she said quickly.

  “I’m not a vampyre,” he said softly. Looking at Beck, he inquired, “You did this to me?”

  “I did it for you.”

  “Potter, move.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “Do you really believe that I would ever hurt her?”Potter hesitated a moment before stepping to the side. Richard swept her up and kissed her.

  “You’re not mad?” she asked.

  He smiled. “No, I’m not mad.” She could feel happiness radiating from him now.

  “We don’t know how well it worked yet,” she told him. “If I don’t have to drink blood anymore, then it worked perfectly.” She smiled. “Well, then let’s go see if you can eat.”

  He didn’t put her down until they reached the house.

  “What do you want to try eating?”

  “Leftover lasagna.”

  “Sorry bro, you got up way too late in the day for that,” Potter said. Richard glared at him.

  When they walked into the kitchen, Bev asked, “Is he going to be chewing up food again?”

  “Yes, but this time, he will be swallowing it,” Potter answered.

  Jenny balked. “Oh, come on! I’m not cleaning up all that blood!”

  “Don’t you notice anything missing, honey?” Potter asked. “What do you mean?” Jenny looked around the room at everyone. When her eyes met Richard’s, she froze. “I can’t smell you!”

  “I knew you’d get there,” Potter laughed, patting Jenny on the head. “Shut up!” Jenny said, slapping Potter’s hand away. “Hey, there’s no reason to be violent,” Potter stated, shaking the hand that Jenny had just broken.

  “How?” Jenny asked.

  Potter told her what Beck had done. “I can make your heart beat. You want to try becoming a hunter?” he alluded to Jenny, raising his eyebrows at her.

  “Uh, no thank you. I’m perfectly happy the way I am.”

  Beck knew that Jenny meant it. She was glad Jenny had made peace with herself.

  “Fine, be that way then. How about you?” Potter said, turning to Bev and wiggling his eyebrows at her. “You want to be a hunter?”

  There was a loud crack hen Jenny jabbed him in the ribs.

  “Oww! Stop it, woman!”

  “Sit down and behave then,” Jenny laughed, and then looked at Richard. “Are you okay with being a hunter?”

  “I’m thrilled about it.”

  Jenny got up and hugged him. “Then I’m happy for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, what do you want to try and eat?” Beck asked. “Bacon and eggs… if there’s any of those left,” he added, shooting another glaring look at Potter.

  Potter laughed. “There should be plenty.” When the food was ready, she sat a plate for Bev, Potter, Richard, and herself.

  “Go ahead, try it.”

  He took a fork full of eggs and put them in his mouth. When he swallowed, everyone but Bev instinctively scooted back from the table, but he didn’t vomit.

  “Well, it looks like you can eat,” she said.

  He was too busy shoveling food into his mouth to say anything. When he had cleared his plate, he snagged Potter’s. “Hey, damn it!” Potter snapped. “That’s mine!”

  “You’ve eaten enough.” Richard said, and finished eating Potter’s food. Beck handed Potter the rest of her lunch, and he ate it without setting the plate down. When Richard had cleaned off Potter’s plate, he looked at Bev’s.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Beck cautioned quietly, but he didn’t listen.

  When he reached for Bev’s bacon, she stabbed him hard enough with the fork to sink it down to the bone in a human arm.

  “Oww!” he screamed.

  Bev went right on eating like nothing had happened.

  “Yeah, she doesn’t share will with others,” Beck laughed.

  Richard grumbled, “I bet she doesn’t stab you.”

  Beck showed him four small scars on the back of her right hand.

  “Thanksgiving 1994. I tried to snag a piece of turkey off of her plate.”

  “Wow, you’re mean,” Potter said to Bev.

  Bev smiled. “She could have gotten her own turkey.”

  “Well that settles it. We will not be having any silver flatware in this house,” Richard said, giving Bev a baleful look.

  Bev stuck her tongue out at him and ate her last bite of bacon.

  “Now, let’s see what you can do,” Potter said to Richard.

  They followed Potter out into the front yard. “Let’s see you run.”

  Richard easily out ran Potter. His hearing was better. He was faster, stronger, and his vision was no longer affected by the sun.

  “Let’s see how you heal,” Potter said, reaching out and breaking Richard’s right arm.

  “Hey!” Beck said to Potter. “You only broke my finger.”

  “You broke Beck’s finger?” Richard asked. “She made me do it,” he tried to explain, but Richard broke his nose anyway. Richard’s arm was just fine.

  Beck frowned. “Stop hitting him.”

  “I’ll stop when he stops pissing me off.”

  “Then he’s never going to stop,” Potter grinned. Jenny went and retrieved the rest of the family for Richard to tell them the news.

  Heidi asked sadly, “So, you’re not one of us anymore?”

  “I will always be one of you. You’re my family. Nothing can change that,” he said, leaning over and kissed Heidi on the forehead. Gavin inquired, “How does it feel to be a hunter?”

  “I don’t really know yet. I’ve only been one for a couple of hours. I guess I would have to say I feel human again.”

  “That sucks,” Harley laughed. Charley questioned, “Could any of us become hunters?”

  “I don’t think you can. Your heart has to be beating for you to become a hunter,” Beck explained. “Why? Would you want to do it if you could?”

  “No, I like who I am now. I was just curious.”

  The rest of the family felt the same way. After a few more minutes of questions, they all seemed satisfied that Richard was happy, and went about their own business.

  “That went better than I thought it would,” Richard commented. Potter shook his head. “I doubt it will be that easy with the hunters.”

  “Why is that?” Beck asked.

  “Well, there hasn’t been a new hunter since we were created.”

  “Uh, hello!” Beck said, waving her hand in front of his face. “You created me yesterday, remember? Are they upset about that?”

  “No, but you’re not really a hunter.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, thoroughly annoyed. “Don’t get your panties in a wad, it’s just that you didn’t get all the hunter attributes. It’s different for Richard. He’s become a true hunter. I don’t know how they’re going to react, especially since this hunter was a vampyre first.” Beck asked Potter, “So, what are you
going to do?”

  “I’m going to tell them. Why don’t you two go out for a while?”

  “Why?” Richard asked. “I told you, I don’t know how they’re going to react. I would rather the two of you not be here when I tell them.”

  “Alright,” he grudgingly agreed and guided Beck towards the car. He stopped and turned back toward Potter. “How do you feel about me being a hunter?”

  “Doesn’t make a damn bit of difference to me. You’re my brother either way.”

  Richard nodded and opened the car door for Beck. They were halfway down the driveway when she heard Potter yell, “HUNTERS!”

  ***

  “I never thanked you,” Richard told Beck as they drove down the street. “I just knew how much you hated the blood thirst.”

  “I don’t mean that. I never thanked you for saving my car from the twins,” he smiled, “but not being a vampyre is good, too.”

  “You are way too attached to this car,” she said, shaking her head. He patted the dash. “She’s a really good car.”

  “Whatever. So, where are we going?”

  “I thought we could go find Leso since he missed the announcement.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “No, but I can find him.” They drove around for a while before he pulled into the parking lot of the River View hotel.

  Beck was surprised. “He’s staying in a hotel?” ‘

  “Did you expect him to stay in the woods for a week?”

  “No, I guess not.” She hadn’t really given much thought to where Leso had gone after they’d taken him away.

  The hotel room door opened before they got to it.

  “Hey Beck,” Leso said, stepping out of the room. He froze when he saw Richard.

  “What?” Richard said with a smirk.

  “What happened to you?”

  “Beck snuck up on me and turned me into a hunter.” Leso gasped. “A hunter? You?”

  “Yes, me.”

  “You did this?” Leso asked Beck. “I did.”

  Still amazed, Leso asked, “And it worked?”

  “Obviously,” Richard smiled. “Well, congratulations, I guess.”

  “Thanks.”

  “We got kicked out of the house while Potter tells the other hunters about Richard,” Beck said. “You wanna come hang out with us for a bit?”

  “Sure, I’ve been bored to death sitting here by myself,” he said, reaching back and closing the door behind him. “Why did you have to leave for Potter to tell the hunters about the new you?”

  Richard explained what Potter had told them.

  “Are you expecting a problem?”

  “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what to expect. I’m sure Potter will find a way to smooth things over.” He looked at Beck. “So, where do you want to go?”

  “How about the mall?”

  Leso rolled his eyes. “What is it with women and the mall?”

  “It has that new clothes smell,” she said, smiling. As they pulled onto the street, Leso asked, “How’s Bev? Is she mad at me?”

  “Not at all. I explained to her what happened, she understands.”

  “Beverly Stockdale is not the delicate little flower you believe her to be,” Richard said sourly.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “She’s mean, selfish, and violent.”

  “Excuse me,” Leso snapped.

  “They had a slight misunderstanding over some bacon,” Beck giggled.

  “A slight misunderstanding? She tried to nail my arm to the table with a fork!”

  “Huh?” Leso asked. Beck explained what had happened over lunch, and Leso laughed. “That’s my girl!”

  Richard scoffed, “You would take her side.”

  ***

  At the mall, they turned the head of every woman they past. She couldn’t blame the women, they were beautiful men. They exuded confidence and sexuality. Richard immediately made his way to the food court.

  “You just ate a couple of hours ago,” Beck teased. “I have a lot of time to make up for.”

  “Fine, I’m going to look around.”

  “Here,” Richard said, opening his wallet and handing her a debit card. “You didn’t bring your wallet with you.”

  “Where did you get your money, anyway?”

  “We listened to the things you said you missed in 1888 and invested in them. We did very well.”

  “How well?”

  “Well enough that each of us has more money than you and Bev combined.”

  “Great! What’s the pin number?”

  “71883, your birthday.” She kissed him. “You’ll find me when you’re done?”

  “Wherever you are,” he assured her.

  She shopped for a while before he found her in Victoria’s Secret.

  “See, I found you. Your scent is still the strongest thing I smell,” he whispered in her ear, flicking her earlobe with his tongue and sending shivers down her spine.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “I thought I’d buy a couple of nightgowns.”

  “Why?”

  “Umm… to sleep in.”

  “I like the skin you sleep in now,” he said, leering at her. Leso interrupted from across the store. “What is the point of this underwear? There’s no underwear to them, just strings.” She looked over and saw him examining a pair of thong panties.

  “They’re sexy.”

  “If you say so.” Leso frowned. “They leave absolutely nothing to the imagination.”

  She ended up not buying anything there, but Leso bought Bev a beautiful, white silk nightgown.

  “Would you give it to her for me, and tell her I’ll be home soon?”

  “Yeah, I can do that.”

  Richard asked, “Do you think it’s safe to go home yet?”

  “Are you actually worried about going home?” Leso inquired.

  “No. I only left because Potter asked me to. I don’t see what the big deal is. They don’t like vampyres, and now I’m not one. You would think that that would please them.”

  “True, but you know how the hunters are.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Beck asked.

  “They believe that they’re stronger and better than vampyres. It’s a point of pride for them,” Leso explained.

  “I don’t feel that way.”

  “You’ve been a hunter for one day, and you’re not truly a hunter. Richard is.”

  Sensing her mood, he added, “Don’t be irritated with me. I just mean that you didn’t receive all their gifts, though I’m sure you could probably beat most of them in a fight.”

  “Potter doesn’t think he’s stronger and better than the vampyres.”

  “No, Potter doesn’t think it, he knows it. And with the exception of Richard, he’s correct.”

  “That’s not nice. Potter loves all of you.”

  “I didn’t say he didn’t, and we all love him too. I wasn’t insulting him, I was praising him. Potter is our brother, and I could not be happier that he’s on our side. God knows I’d hate to have him as an enemy,” Leso continued. “All I meant was, I can see where they might have a problem with Richard becoming one of them.”

  She hadn’t known that what she’d done might cause discord between the hunters and Richard.

  Thinking of discord reminded her of something else. “Why do Jonathon and Gabryel want to stay after what happened?”

  “What happened?” Leso asked.

  Beck told him about the confrontation in the living room and what Richard had done.

  After she finished, Leso said, “I’ve never liked that uppity little snot, or his bitch of a wife.”

  Beck asked again, “So, why do they want to stay?”

  “Elderson’s clan killed the Barrett clan while Jonathon and Gabryel were away on holiday. Two of the clan were Jonathon and Gabryel’s sons. They know that they have no chance of defeating Elderson on their own. They’re not willing to give up their chanc
e for revenge just because we had a fight,” Richard explained.

  “I didn’t know that. That’s sad.” She couldn’t imagine what they had gone through. “You should try and make peace with them.”

  “I absolutely will not. I can sympathize with what happened to them, that’s why I allowed them to stay. What I will not do is allow him to stand in my wife’s house and talk to her like she is a piece of rubbish,” he said firmly. “And he’s a bit of a coward. Trust me, he would not have spoken that way to Potter had he not thought he had a room full of vampyres to back him up. If I hadn’t come in when I did, Potter would have killed him.”

  Beck shook her head. “Potter wouldn’t have done that.”

  “O’ ye of little faith,” Richard said. “If Jonathon had so much as twitched in your direction, his head would be lying on your living room floor right now.”

  “You don’t know the Potter we know,” Leso said. “When pushed too far, he is absolutely lethal. You’ve never seen him kill.”

  “He’s deadly,” Richard agreed. She just didn’t think of Potter as being dangerous.

  Leso got out of the car at the hotel. “Tell Bev that I love her, and that I’ll find some way to deal with this better next month.”

  Beck nodded. “Come home soon. I know she misses you.”

  “As soon as I can,” he said and walked away.

  “I feel sorry for them. They just found each other, and they have to be apart already.”

  Richard sighed. “I went through the same thing with you.”

  “It wasn’t the same thing, though. You weren’t uncontrollable like he was.”

  “He’ll be fine. It will pass.” She was glad she wouldn’t have to go through that anymore.

  ***

  When they pulled into the driveway, all of the hunters and vampyres were gathered in the front yard, including Jonathon and Gabryel. Richard stopped the car at the edge of the woods.

  “What’s going on?” she asked with fear, as Potter came jogging across the yard toward them.

  “I think we’re about to find out,” Richard replied, getting out of the car.

  Potter was waiting when she got out. She could feel anticipation, excitement, and fear drifting from across the yard. Bruce and Harley came to join the three of them.