by Unknown
Following the short ceremony led by Pastor Greene, people paid their respects and left flowers below my mother’s new resting place in the wall. I left her wildflowers I’d found in a field behind the hotel—similar to the ones Nicholas had planted in her field. A token for him and me, something he would have brought, remembering she loved flowers so much if Alora hadn’t snatched away his life.
The group reconvened at the home of Elizabeth Stanton’s only a few miles away from the cemetery. She’d been Mom’s best friend since childhood. We took Grandma in our car with us.
“You doing okay, Luke?” Dad asked as he parked.
“Yeah,” he said, but I opened up my boundary a tiny bit to find his queasy tummy matched his green complexion.
“I have a few Tums in my purse,” Grandma said, and Luke took them appreciatively.
The small, brick house reeked of Swedish meatballs and cheese fondue, two apparent favorite foods of my mother. The talk turned to nostalgic times, a conversation I couldn’t really contribute to, so Grandma led me to a quiet place off the back patio.
“Where’s that handsome beau of yours?” she finally asked, then felt guilt after my own feelings smashed over me and tears came from nowhere. “I’m sorry, dear.”
“It’s complicated, Grandma. I can’t talk about it.”
“Okay.” She smiled and pushed peace my way, which I accepted. My heart rate slowly subsided.
I sat there, basking in the warmth she’d encased around us, trying hard to think of something other than Mom and Nicholas. All the questions about being a Seer and the real purpose of our gift ping-ponged around in my head instead. How could I ask her without revealing too much?
“Is there a way to help people remember the past with our gift?”
At my words Grandma’s bubble burst, as if I’d intruded on something dark and painful in her life. She vanished on me again, hiding her feelings. “Not that I know of.”
“Oh.” I waited, unsure what to say. I had nothing cordial to offer to ease things for her.
“It’s fine.” She tapped my knee. “We all have our secret heartbreaks, right?”
“Yes.” I faked a smile. Mine had Nicholas written all over it, and Grandma’s had someone else she loved who couldn’t be brought back as well.
She tilted her head and pulled herself together. “I came to L.A. because of my sister. We’d both lost our husbands and her mind had began to rapidly deteriorate. I didn’t need care of a rest home, but Rose needed me, so we came together from South Dakota so she could go to this renowned mind clinic.
“They did what they could, but only after I’d worked with her did she ever show improvement. It never lasted long. I lost her this past summer.”
“Oh, Grandma,” I reached over and hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”
“She’s no longer suffering, so it’s a good thing. I did what I could.” She sighed as a tear glittered in her eye. “Did you already know about your mother?”
The details crowded my head in a fitful storm, every feeling visible for her to see. My strength crumbled, unable to hold the burden any longer. How would I tell her without freaking her out?
“You knew she had passed before they’d found her in the field, didn’t you?” She placed her soft, withered hand on my arm. “You can trust me.”
I gulped, unsure where to start. “Have you ever felt bloodlust before, Grandma?”
She grimaced and squeezed my arm slightly. “Hmmm…unfortunately, yes I have.”
“Who feels those feelings?”
Darkness clouded her features as her eyes pierced through me. “There’s only one unearthly monster that is capable of having those hideous feelings.”
I took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “When Mom disappeared, I saw one of them. I saw what he did to her. I felt everything she felt. That’s how I knew she’d ….”
Grandma choked back her tears and pounded her fist into the arm of the chair. “I told her never to go out after dark. That they were out there. That they were attracted to us, like a moth to a flame. But she’d already made up her mind we were here to stop them. That we could use our gift to seek them out and somehow destroy them.”
The revelation startled me. How could Mom have possibly come to that conclusion?
I took another deep breath. “Did someone tell her that?”
Grandma wrinkled up her nose for a second, then shook her head. “Only after her gift presented itself in her early twenties did she finally get to see the creatures I’d warned her about. Then her obsession started and she went on a quest to figure out what they were and where they came from.”
I already knew. They came from Cain after the serpent made a deal for immortality. What I couldn’t get over was how Mom’s Seer desires kicked in so naturally right after her empathy powers presented itself. Why didn’t that happen to me? Was it because I was so young? Was it because for the most part vampires scared the crap out of me? Maybe the friendship between Nicholas and Mom wasn’t an accident after all, like when I’d walked into the fortune tellers shop. Was Nicholas sent somehow to be her protector first?
“There, now,” Grandma said, putting her arm over my shoulder, easing my confusion. “Today is a day we remember the goodness of your mother. And one day, we’ll see her again. Death is not the end.”
I studied Grandma’s eyes to make sure someone wasn’t messing with her mind, remembering something similar Scarlett had just said. She blinked back, her face shrouded in kindness. I scanned the shrubberies and trees just to be sure. Was she here, feeding my Grandma this baloney?
“You can’t be serious. This isn’t fair. My mother was murdered by a vampire because of our empathy. And now somehow this gift that attracts them has been passed onto me. This isn’t a gift; it’s a curse. It’s why she died. Don’t you think if we’d been given this ‘vampire attracter,’ we’d be given the tools to defend ourselves? It’s insanity. It’s not okay she died because she lingered too long outside at night. I need her. I’ve needed her every day of my life after he took her from me! And I witnessed it. It’s horrible and cruel!”
The blame came spilling out of my aching heart in a messy heap. This vampire homicidal Seer cycle had been going on generation after generation and it had to stop. To only be warned not to go outside wasn’t enough. Someone should have trained Mom in how to defend herself.
“Did Great-Grandma have this gift? What about her mother? And her mother? Why hasn’t anyone taught anyone anything and just left me floundering? Shouldn’t someone have told me to stay inside?” My chest heaved in controlled anger as I stopped myself just short of accusing her of Mom’s death.
Grandma grabbed my shoulders and forced me into a hug as I broke down.
“You’re right. It’s all my fault. I should have been more insistent, firmer. We London’s have this terrible streak of stubbornness. There’s a long line of early deaths of the women in our family. A sad but true fact.
“If I’d have known you had the gift so soon, I would have found you and taught you how to use it. Maybe you’re different. Maybe you’ve been given the tools to defend yourself.”
I cried softly on her shoulder.
“Tools? I don’t think so. By luck Nicholas came into my life and he kept them away from me. And now he is gone, and Mom is gone, and I don’t know what to do, let alone how to handle it. I don’t want this gift anymore! I’ve never wanted it. It’s cost me everything …”
“Dear, child.” Grandma patted my back. “You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. It’s okay. I’m here.”
I tried not to completely fall apart, keeping my shoulders stiff and holding most of my tears in. But Grandma had guessed right. The responsibility behind the prophecy haunted me any chance it got. I couldn’t just live my life in peace and ignore it. The vampires would always be there, hunting me. And even worse, if I had a daughter … “I’m just so tired.”
“I know. This is a very draining thing to deal with.”
> “Is there someone we can talk to about it? Anyone?
Grandma sighed. “Not that I know of, but it’s not difficult to avoid danger, Julia. They can’t get you when you’re safe inside. They only come out at night.”
Such a ridiculous and impossible way to avoid them. “Or if you invite them in,” I added.
“Now why would you ever want to invite one in?” She handed me a coy smile.
I smiled back, her kindness finally breaking in and comforting me. If only she knew about Phil—that there were actually good vampires in the world. “Well, that’s kind of impossible to avoid being out at night, don’t you think?”
Grandma shook her head. “I’ve done if for over fifty years. People just think I’m scared of the dark.”
Killing them all off seems easier.
She smiled mysteriously as if she’d read my mind just as Dad appeared on the porch, slightly worried.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “But Luke isn’t feeling well, so I’m going to run him to the hotel. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” I said, kind of wishing I could go, too. But the thought of Luke heaving and the small space we were staying in changed my mind.
“Oh, the poor boy,” Grandma said. “I hope he feels better soon. I’ll keep an eye on Julia.”
I smiled as the talisman warmed on my skin. If anything, she needed me to watch over her.
As the day continued, Grandma filled me in on the missing pieces of Mom’s life, stuff Dad never talked about. Mom and I were alike in so many ways, which thrilled and scared me at the same time. But the truth became evident. We were all basically the filet mignons amongst fast food hamburgers of society, tempting vamps much more than we should. So, the prophecy, highly flawed, didn’t make sense. Other than empathy, there was nothing else present to assist when slaying vampires. Mom had become a victim, like anyone, like all the Seers before her. Maybe the talisman was the key. Thank God I had it so I could at least be outdoors at night.
The sun moved closer to the horizon, Grandma grew nervous. Dad still hadn’t returned.
“I need to be getting home,” she finally said. “Could you call me a taxi?”
“What? No. We could drive you. Let me just text Dad to see where he is.”
After another thirty minutes, he finally returned—disheveled and smelling slightly of vomit. Luke must have lost his lunch multiple times and reeked up the joint. Something fun to look forward to.
As we drove, Grandma wrung her hands, her eyes glued to the sunset all the way to the Wilshire Rest Home. At the double doors, she hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear. “Get to your hotel quickly, you hear me? Don’t tempt the devil.”
“Yes,” I whispered, then watched her walk inside.
Dad and I drove in silence, both of us completely exhausted.
“Sorry,” he finally said.
I looked at him questioningly. “Dad, it’s okay. Really.”
“No. Somehow in the whole ordeal, I ended up hurting you kids.”
His words were mostly truth. There was something underlying, another reason he kept us away from L.A. but especially after the trauma of the day, I didn’t want to push things.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s in the past.”
He groaned, seemingly at the red light, but I knew it was at himself. “I really hate this town. So many people.”
So do I.
I bit my lip and leaned back in my seat. “Are we going home tomorrow?”
“The sooner the better,” he said with an exhale.
Good.
I didn’t want to ask about how Luke was doing, or what took Dad so long; I just hoped he’d be well enough to handle the drive home and not puke all over my car. At the hotel, I planned to bathe in anti-bacterial lotion to prevent catching whatever he had. My bout with the flu a few months ago was bad enough, thank you.
Once we pulled up to the hotel, Dad growled something under his breath as he slowed down and wove around clusters of excited girls in cheer uniforms. Due to a cheer competition, parking had become sparse.
“Here,” he said, motioning to the curb. “Jump out and I’ll go park the car.”
“No,” I said, noting a wave of bloodlust bouncing on the fringe of my detection zone, almost in tandem with the setting sun. My heart practically catapulted itself from my chest in fear. I couldn’t let him walk outside unprotected, just in case. “Let’s use valet.”
“Oh, wait. I see one.”
Before I could insist further, he zipped around the corner and parked in a dimly lit section behind the building. My heart continued to flounder like a fish out of water. Something lurked in the shadows and I didn’t want to wait around to see who it could be.
“Come on, Dad,” I said, pulling him by the hand.
“It’s okay, Julia. You’re with me,” he said with a chivalrous tone in his voice.
I managed a smile, but still tried to coax him along faster toward safety. Once we approached the corner and the side door came into view, I felt confident we’d avoided disaster until the hair prickled on the back of my neck.
Chapter Eight
“Why, isn’t this a treat?”
The vampire’s voice, etched forever in my mind from my last visit, scratched its nails down my spine. I turned and cringed. Slide, the vamp with the orange mohawk, smiled back in recognition. “Daring to trespass into lands you know you’re not welcome.”
My legs scrambled to bolt for the door when Dad swiveled around and pushed me into the wall, shielding me with his body. His fear escalated as he fumbled in his pockets for something.
No! We need to run!
“Dad,” I whispered, tugging at his arm, my voice trembling as I watched Slide close the gap between us. Somewhere close by, more unseen lustful creatures lay waiting, excited at our predicament.
“I’ve got this, just close your eyes,” he said, still heavily pursuing the item in his pocket—his wallet maybe?
Was he kidding? My extremities shook under the increased supply of adrenaline, wanting to run—now. These creatures weren’t some gang members looking to rob us. They were vampires. Blood. Sucking. Vampires. I needed a weapon of some kind, maybe a pencil to stake it once and for all. Otherwise, Dad was going to follow in Mom’s footsteps, right here behind the Beverly Hills Hilton.
“No, Dad. They don’t want your wallet.”
“Julia, don’t argue with me.”
I kept trying to inch us toward the door, pulling his sleeve to get him to move. For some stupid reason, he wouldn’t budge. A cackle from above sent shivers up my legs.
“Please,” I begged.
Dad finally found what he wanted and whipped out something that looked like a pen. He pointed it at Slide.
“Armed with a pen? Is that your stake?” Slide laughed and pounded his fist on his chest. “Be still my beating heart. Oh wait. You do know it needs to contain wood to do any damage. Who would have thought the old man and this shifty little sidekick knew each other? Family perhaps? And no protectors around. Interesting.” He followed his statement by licking his teeth. “This is going to be fun.”
Wooden or not, I wanted to grab the thing and chuck it at his heart anyway, knowing my aim would be aided by the talisman and could give us a few seconds to escape. But when I lunged for the pen, Dad pressed a red button and twisted his wrist. Red light beamed out and crisscrossed over Slide’s chest in a big X. In awe, Slide stared down at his jacket as charred marks magically appeared behind the path of light. A huge chunk of leather fell onto the pavement at his feet.
Slide looked up, fury ripping through him. “Why you little—”
But Dad sliced the light across his throat and Slide’s head lopped off his body onto the pavement with a thud. Slide looked at us from the ground and then over at his smoldering body; smoke poured out from his neck like a chimney. “Oh, crap.” In unison his detached head and body burst into flames and turned to dust.
Dad continued to wave his magic w
and around, into the sky and over the parking lot, making large swooping motions as he backed us toward the door.
Another scream brought down a man’s body from the sky, which busted into a dust cloud upon contact with the asphalt before I could see if I recognized him—at least I thought it was a man. I gasped, but allowed Dad to kick open the door and lead me inside.
I clung to Dad’s arm in shock. We’d survived. My eyes zeroed in on the ashes on the other side of the glass doors. Dad’s focus lingered behind us, probably checking the lobby to see if anyone saw. Hyper girls’ voices paired with nervous excitement was all that milled about. Somehow no one witnessed the carnage that had just happened outside. Together in relief, we watched the wind scatter the ashes away, wiping clean the evidence. Perfect timing as another pack of girls walked up from the parking lot ready to enter the lobby.
“Are you okay?” Dad asked.
I stared up into his hardened face. He’d been so tough the entire confrontation, but now that it was over, sheer terror looked back at me. I nodded my head, absolutely speechless. He took my hand to lead me into a corner, far away from prying eyes. We stared at one another some more in silence, riddled with shock.
“How did you know?” we asked each other in unison.
Dad splayed his hand on his forehead. “You know? How long—?”
“How long have you known?”
“Pretty much since your mom disappeared.” His shoulders fell and he bowed his head. “And you?”
“Since this year.”
“Was it that boy? The one who’d disappeared from school? Phil?”
I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering, looking everywhere but at the lines pressed in his face. “Yes.”
“I knew it,” Dad said, then grabbed my shoulders and shook me. “Why didn’t you listen to me?”
I pulled away. “I did listen to you, but he hunted me down.” Do I tell him about the mountain lion? Do I tell him about Nicholas? Or Scarlett? Or the prediction?