She pulled me by the hand and I made a grimace of disgust to hear the new sounds that emerged. I assumed that they came from rodents and other crawly things—all relatives of Tyler Cassidy.
Delilah turned on the flashlight—finally! The beam of light illuminated the passageway for quite a distance. There was a crude stairway leading to a tunnel with a high ceiling. The place was bigger than I had imagined at first—and twice as scary.
I always thought that Dracula’s castle in Coppola’s film was the greatest vampire’s lair that I had ever seen...the darkest, you know? Even the bar in From Dusk Till Dawn was nothing compared to this! My hysterical mind kept flashing a list of horror movies that I knew it was an attempt to distract me. (By the way, I always did lists about everything with regard to movies when I feel nervous: stars with the same surname, stars with the same name, similar theme films, films that used the same scenario, etc... This time it was monsters!)
Friday the 13th, Jeepers Creepers, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Dance of the Vampires, The Grudge, The Night of the Living Dead, Thirty Days of Night, The Hills Have Eyes, Jennifer’s Body...
Hmmm... The Dance of the Vampires was not exactly a horror movie. Perhaps I should start over again, this time in chronological order...Nosferatu, Frankenstein, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Exorcist, The Shining... Well, The Island of Doctor Moreau is a science fiction movie, I guess, but it have a lot of monsters! I suppose that I’ll begin again.
Only one thing could stop the mental checklist that I was elaborating in droves - a furry little thing that decided to walk on top of my shoe. I almost cried. I didn’t because I was afraid that the “creature” was the baby of another worse, bigger creature... so “the mother” could decide to come in order to defend her offspring. Who knows? One fat, huge female rat!
Argh!
We were walking slowly, careful not to slip on the slippery floor covered with old, uneven paving stones.
Finally, we reached a wider area covered by a vaulted ceiling. There were arches arranged in a symmetrical pattern, converging from different directions. I suspected that this gallery centralized a maze of corridors.
Where are the coffins?
Delilah pointed the beam of the flashlight to the dark path, directing it to her right side.
I went that way one day and I ended up near the hospital. I suspect that this tunnel network crosses the entire town. It’s how they get around without being seen and no need to control their speed.”
Super! An exclusive freeway for vampires. If so... were we going to be run over by creatures of darkness any time? I let out a giggle and Delilah scowled at me.
Before either of us made any comment, a different noise attracted our attention. Delilah directed the beam of light toward the tunnels again and I thought I noticed a movement from one of them.
“It’s not Stephen,” she said.
“How do you know?”
“Because I can feel him. My stomach constricts and then come the bubbles. Don’t ask me to explain now.”
Mmmm... “Okay! Let’s get out of here,” I whispered, putting my hand on her shoulder. Delilah didn’t argue, she was quivering.
We hurried back—running, stumbling, until we were safe inside the McPherson House. I realized I was holding my breath when Delilah closed the mechanism of the false wall, leaving the dark tunnels behind. Then I exhaled all the air from my lungs like a deflating ball.
We both rested our backs against the false wall for a while. I was still catching my breath when she turned to me and whispered, “We need to go.”
I nodded, feeling chills running up and down my spine. That false wall cannot stop a powerful creature like the somber people. Vampires, according to Delilah.
We made our way back to her room in silence. Thank God, we didn’t encounter anyone along the way. I wasn’t able to maintain a normal conversation now. The questions were popping into my mind, but I couldn’t organize them in order of priority.
I slammed the door behind me, harder than I intended. Delilah scowled at me and I automatically apologized.
“Why did Keyra allow you to bring a coffin here? After all, if they really are vampires as you say, you’re exposing them that way.
“It wasn’t my intention, believe me.” She grimaced. “At the time I hadn’t thought about the consequences. I just wanted to please Stephen, but on second thought... Well, now I know why Mrs. McPherson chuckled when she saw the coffin. She said something like ‘humans are so funny.’”
“Oh! See! They can’t be vampires because if they were, she’d have been furious with you.”
Delilah pursed her lips.
“You can call them anything you want because you don’t like the vampire’s name, but they won’t disappear or cease to be what they are. And you know what? ‘Somber’ is a horrible name too! Vampire is more fashionable.”
I rolled my eyes. How ridiculous is this? We’re arguing about monsters’ names!
“How could she be worried because of a coffin?” Delilah finally decided to answer my question. The other residents would never believe my theories. And, deep down, they know that humans ignore or pretend to ignore everything that provokes their fear.
Like me, when all the clues were piling up right in front of my nose—each fact, each piece of evidence, I spitefully reject them.
“So, vampires don’t care if they walk among us. I even think they have fun with our reactions.”
“By chance, Delilah, do you know who the yellow mantles are?”
Her eyes widened. “Where have you heard about them?” She definitely wanted to know.
I still didn’t trust her enough to tell her about the codex. Moreover, Mr. Cahill Senior recommended that I keep its contents safe from the “gossip” around.
“I think I read it somewhere.”
“Where?” For her seemed impossible that the name could appear anywhere. Shaking her head, she commented, “I told you. For me, Hadrian’s Wall is the fortified town of them—my vampires or your somber. Well, I believe that vampires do not live apart from our world like films and books tell us. I’ve closely watched them at the university, in McPherson House, on the street. It’s obvious to me that some humans are aware of their existence and even take advantage of it. I also think there’s a pact of coexistence...with rules that must be followed so that the world as we know it remains calm. “I think the yellow mantles are the ‘other side of the equation’ from Hadrian’s Wall. They are humans responsible for regulating the vampires’ actions with regard to humans and humans’ acts with regard to vampires...if you know what I mean. If a human being violates the rules, it’s up to the mantles to clean up the dirt. After all, if vampires take on the task to punish humans, perhaps they be tempted to drink the blood of the violators or whatever.”
“What do you mean by ‘cleaning up the dirt’?”
She imitated the gesture of someone’s throat being cut.
“I still think they aren’t vampires. They can’t be. They have a history that’s too precise—the script’s too perfect.
“Don’t you notice how Adrian Cahill, the founder, looks identical to the now firstborn of the family?”
Hmmm... it seems Delilah also thinks the script is too perfect.
“Yes, but Adrian has a father and mother...”
Vampires have no father or mother. Do they?
“So what? Don’t you know their age, nor how they are...”
No, I don’t know…
“Senior could well be a mummy—a giant mummified bat wrapped in disgusting strips...
“Ugh! Stop it! Charity told me that he’s old and sick, and that he never appears in public, but he was a brilliant doctor.”
“Oh, yeah, like Charity Cahill is a reliable source of information, right?” Delilah said sarcastically.
“Adrian’s mother died of a blood disorder...Died!” I emphasized the word. “So she cannot be a vampire. In fact, none of them can...because they get old, they die, and they don
’t kill for blood.”
“Who said that vampires can’t die? And who says they don’t drink blood? And have you seen the face of Adrian Senior to know whether or not he’s getting older?”
The answer to all three questions is “No,” “I’m not sure,” and “I haven’t seen him.”
“In case you haven’t noticed...I’ll show you. If my idea of a vampire is really flawed because they supposedly get older, then your idea of a dark god or somber is also flawed for the same reason.”
She looked at me triumphantly.
Damn!
Delilah was right. I couldn’t argue. Their own codex told about blood and more blood. I had to recognize the facts as they presented themselves. Dr. Hannibal Lecter said it well, “Each thing in its simplicity. Clarice could not see—what she needed to find the location of the killer was right before her eyes.
I also was not seeing...because I didn’t want to see.
“Well, whatever they are, and I’m ready to admit that they are something non-human, we cannot tell anyone, otherwise, we’ll be exposing them.”
Delilah nodded in agreement.
With my thinking cleared by the logic of the most famous psychopath from the movies, I continued. “If I understood everything you told me and from situations that I’ve observed myself, this is the principal rule: Do not expose them. That’s Stephen’s biggest worry. I just don’t understand how they hide the secret. Apparently they have no ‘expiration date’ so people should note that they don’t get older over the years. The aging factor is something too important to be ignored.”
“It’s so easy to deceive humans,” she argued. “In fact, I believe that the town is used for that too—to camouflage the vampires. It’s their own town. Here, they can get it. If they lived in the outside world, they’d have to move constantly. But here, they can travel and then return as if nothing had happened. Most students here more or less go away they have their diploma in hand. They’re not here long enough to monitor the “no-aging” of vampires. Don’t you realize that the human residents wear strange bracelets?”
Oops! Her comment meant one thing: the bracelets weren’t the same type as her father wore; otherwise, Delilah would have mentioned this. I thought about asking to see it, but I feared it would arouse her curiosity. I didn’t want to provide any more information and ultimately ignite a fire where there were already many sparks.
“The bracelet,” she continued, “means that they were started in this knowledge. Yeah, they’re the guys that serve the vampires. They know what they are and take care of the town. In return, these humans enjoy their protection. I discovered that before anyone can move to Hadrian’s Wall to permanently reside, they must request authorization from the town council. Why is that? The excuse is usually that the townspeople want only good people as their fellow citizens."
“And that farce of a museum! Oh, don’t misunderstand me. It’s a wonderful museum, but... In general, people are satisfied with the saga of the Cahill family and the details of how the town was built, but I do not buy any of it.”
“And what makes you so sure that things are not as they seem?” I asked.
“I can’t explain it. The facts are there, documented and proven, including photos, but I feel that behind the curtain it’s hiding something fantastic. For me, the history of Cahill is another... What is displayed in the museum is just a clever strategy to appease the humans’ curiosity. But it doesn’t satisfy all humans, like us and Joe Verano.”
Distracted, I leaned on the windowsill, gazing out at the pansies. I realized hers were more lush than mine—another problem to be solved, but at another time. Now, the matter was more serious. First I had to recognize that I was dealing with people outside the norm. Once the penny dropped, the time would come when I’d have to decide whether I will get involved with one of them, in particular.
Dating an immortal...he’ll see me getting older and then he’ll trade me in for a younger girl. Big problem. In fact, nothing favored our relationship—from the social class difference to the difference in species. Adrian’s immortality explained the strange maturity that I saw in his eyes, despite the young façade...My God!
“You know what?” Delilah said abruptly, not realizing my inner turmoil. I don’t care what they would or wouldn’t be. The only thing I want is to be with Stephen. I’m in love. Game over.”
We stared at each other for a long time. It was enough for her...but, was it enough for me?
“I just don’t know what else to do to make sure the relationship with Stephen deepens or happens at all,” she complained, setting her hands in her lap.
I crossed my arms, recalling Adrian’s words during our first kiss. Then it occurred to me what I should say. “I’ll tell you what to do. First, you should be yourself. Have your own interests and cultivate them.” She looked at me very surprised, but I ignored it. “The more fuss you make about Stephen’s lifestyle, the more he chases you away. He needs you to be discreet. So prove to him that you can be mature and reliable.”
“I don’t understand. How?” she asked, confused and offended at same time.
I turned to look at the hidden door.
“Have you ever thought about what if someone discovers your secret room? The next day, everyone will be talking about it, about you. If they think you’re crazy and inevitably they will, you will have exposed Stephen! Maybe he’d have to disappear because of it.”
“No!”
“We must get rid of that mural,” I said as I squeezed myself through the narrow space to enter the small room again.
I started pulling the rolls of the mural off the wall and throwing them on the floor, all the while think, ‘Would be better to use a shredder or make a good fire? No, a fire will invite attention.’
Delilah stood in the doorway, stunned, her mouth open, but not saying a word.
“If you don’t mind that Stephen is what he is,” I said, destroying the photo of Asia Chadwick, “then you don’t need all this proof.”
“I just wanted to understand...” she argued.
“You need to understand what he’s ready to tell you...when he tells you! We can investigate his life, but without leaving tracks around, right?”
She nodded, while reluctantly helping me pull the photos from the mural.
“This room would be much more useful as your future studio.”
“Do you think this will be enough?” she said, pointing to the papers at her feet.
“No,” I said, looking for a wastebasket to put it in. “We have to get rid of your coffin too. Furthermore, I doubt that Stephen sleeps in something like that. I told you, I don’t think they’re vampires. The biggest proof is that they walk around in broad daylight.”
She blushed and confessed in an impulse, “He laughed his head off when he saw the coffin for the first time. He said I had a tremendously bad taste and I thought that would please him,” she said with a sorrowful voice.
“That’s the problem! You don’t have to please him. He must like you for who you are. Otherwise, you’ll be projecting a false image about yourself.” I bent down and started to pick up the papers from the floor to throw them in the wastebasket. “A relationship that begins like that never works. Not that I’ve had enough experience to validate this hypothesis, but that’s a strong personal conviction. You need to go back to being yourself, Delilah. Go back to wearing the clothes you like and do something that you like to do. Then if it doesn’t work between you and Stephen it won’t be because you don’t please him.”
“Do you think so?” She persisted.
“Get real, Delilah! If he’s a different creature, as we both believe he is, that in itself is a big hindrance. We must face the fact that our ‘worlds’ are against us. I also like Adrian. That is...” Finally, I confessed it. “But I know that there will never be anything between us.”
She put her hand on my shoulder. “Moreover, Asia Chadwick is in the game,” Delilah said solemnly, intending to comfort me.
I could have gone all day without hearing that remark. “Yeah, yeah,” I agreed vaguely. “But the best way I found to prove to him that I’m reliable is not to go around asking or talking about his family. Get it? You’re acting like that will scare Stephen away.
After we finished cleaning everything, we went looking for a paper shredder.
“I’ll help you, Delilah,” I said. “I’ll let Stephen believe that you’re still my nanny. Make your reports to him, as you always do, but take the time to show him how much you’ve changed.”
“Okay!” She gave a little cry of joy. “Thank you.”
“Oh, there’s one more condition. In addition to acting discreetly and resume behaving like a normal girl, you’ll have to resume your friendship with Abby —like it was before I arrived. She’s hurt. It’s not fair to her. She thinks she’s been cast aside no more no less.
Delilah was thoughtful for a few seconds.
“You’re a great girl, you know that? I’m really sorry to have misjudged you.”
Pre-judged. Melissa mentally corrected her.
On impulse, she suggested: “Tonight will be a great opportunity for you and Abby to become friends. Come to BP with us!”
By then, the wastebasket was already full of shredded paper. I stood up, considering my good deed for the day.
“Okay, I’ll go!” Before opening the door to leave, I said, “Uh, if you see Stephen around there, tell him I have a list of drawing materials I need to buy. If I can’t get everything on the Internet, I might be forced to take a little trip...let me see...maybe to South Portland.” I gave her a perverse grin. “How about it?”
Her eyes widened, excited.
“Okay, let’s do better!” I said. “I’ll leave my list with you. You can tell him that you’re helping me to find everything I need.”
Delilah looked at me hopefully.
25
SOMBER PEOPLE
Blood Pressure Bar. The BP as the girls called the place. It would be a strange name in any other part of the planet, but in Hadrian’s Wall it seemed more than appropriate.
Hadrian's Wall Page 47