As they locked gazes, she was reminded of how the director had tried to win a staring contest with her, too. This time her competition was a bit more fierce. She pressed into his intent look with emotions running wild inside of her. She found herself pulled into her own thoughts, overwhelmed and surrounded by greenery. There was a flickering in the distance that caught her attention. As she ran toward it, she realized it was a series of images playing on a screen. These images were the most recent events of her life. They were all running backward, being rewound in slow motion. As each image faded into its predecessor, it was washed from her memory.
She heard Michael mumbling but it was too distant to make out what he was saying. It didn’t matter, as she watched her memories pass before her she felt an odd sensation of warmth and happiness. In fact, she couldn’t possibly be any happier in her life than she was in that instant. Then, suddenly, like the flash of a camera, a stark white light ripped through the sky and her memories flooded back instantly. She threw her hands over her eyes, but a moment too late to avoid being blinded; she was snapped back to the garage where the massive door was grinding shut. For the second time that night, Dori’s eyes were slow to adjust.
The overhead light, again triggered by the garage door, hurt her eyes after sitting in the dark for so long.
“What are y’all doing sitting on the floor?”
“Addison!” Michael and Dori exclaimed at the same time, although their voices carried different emotions.
“I’m so glad you’re here!” Dori, relieved to finally see her friend, crossed the floor a little faster than the average human would have. Addison didn’t seem to notice. She had her friend wrapped in a hug almost as tightly as Michael had hugged her.
“Why didn’t you guys go inside? It’s much nicer than sitting out in the cold garage?”
“It’s locked. I couldn’t find the key.”
“Didn’t you look in the glove box? Well I guess not or else I’d have found you in the house.” Dori looked down and blushed. She had never thought to search the car for a key. Looking back toward Michael, Dori found him leaning against the far wall, the scowl on his face again. Dori wondered if he was upset because it took Addison so long to get here.
As they entered the house, Dori realized that it wasn’t meant to be lived in; this was a model house in the development. Systematically, Addison went to all the windows and pulled the beige drapes tightly shut. There were plastic runners on the taupe carpet, protecting against the heaviest foot traffic. The furniture was brand-new, tags still on it. The smell of fresh paint was heavy in the air and there were little placards everywhere, denoting who installed the floor, the appliances, the décor.
The two women crossed the living room and entered the spacious kitchen. Michael kept his distance by leaning against the threshold separating the two rooms. A display bearing ‘Hadad Builders’ pamphlets stared at them from across the room. The decorating style was modern with clean lines. It was very masculine in design, but very vanilla in taste. She was uncomfortable with the lifelessness surrounding her.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?”
“If only you hadn’t cornered him right before the show. Apparently there were security cameras. You were out of the frame, but you could be heard. The police know you threatened him. Whoever killed him smashed the camera right after the phone rang. The police think it’s a pretty open and shut case.”
“I can’t go back.” Dori’s voice was choked as the weight of her situation was confirmed.
“Well, no one is going back this week at least. Right now, it’s an active crime scene. The board of directors has cancelled all rehearsals and performances at least through the end of the week.”
“What am I going to do?”
“You mean we, right, Michael? I don’t know yet, but Daddy knows everything. I asked him to help us figure it out. He says you can stay here for a while. I think you will find it quite comfortable.” Michael was still standing silently in the threshold, although Addison stood and was heading toward the door.
“You’re leaving?”
“I have to. Detective Marco told me that they’d be watching. I don’t want to lead them to you.”
“But how will we know what’s going on?”
“You guys stay put and I’ll call you on this phone with any info you need.” Addison handed her a cell phone. Reading the look on her friend’s face, Addison added, “Daddy gave it to me. It’s one of the prepaid kinds. The police can’t trace it. Dori, don’t look like that. This will all work out. Trust me.”
Those two words, meant to comfort her, did exactly the opposite. How could a vulnerable human help her? Addison hugged her quickly and squeezed past Michael, patting his shoulder as she left.
They stood in the kitchen in silence for a while. The entire evening, early morning now, seemed surreal. Michael finally made the first move, crossing the enormous room in a blur and taking her hands in his. He pulled her into an embrace almost as tightly as before.
“Dori, we need to leave.”
“I can’t leave her, Michael, not after everything she’s doing for us.”
“Dorianna, we don’t know what is going on out there. We don’t have to be part of this anymore. We can stroll out of here and disappear forever, find someplace nicer.”
“I can’t leave her.”
“Preziosa, we can only be sure of our own actions. What if she leads the police, or the monks, or Percy right here to us?”
“She wouldn’t -”
“She might not realize she’s doing it. I can’t take a chance with you, you are too important to me. I can’t lose you.” Her head was spinning. The tornado was back, but this time she was being pulled into his glistening eyes. She was so sick of being tossed around like a feather in the wind. She dug in her heals with all of her strength and let loose a growl.
“No!” The spinning stopped and she was in the kitchen again. “I don’t want to leave and that’s final!”
Michael stood there, his eyes so wide she could see white around the iris, mouth agape.
“Listen, I know you are looking out for my best interests but if you look at me with your beautiful eyes, I will just turn to mush and give in like always. You know I can’t resist you when you look at me like that.” He closed his mouth but continued to stare as she walked around him to explore the second floor.
* * *
After a night of fitful sleep, she awoke to find Michael in the attached sitting room watching the television on mute. His hair was disheveled and his beard had started to show. His eyes were still wild. She stood behind him, rubbing his shoulders, not surprised by the knots she found there. His shoulders rose then fell and he sighed and reached for her hands.
“Preziosa, I’m worried about you. It’s in my nature to protect you.” She slid around the chair and onto his lap, snuggling her head into the space where his neck met his body. She could feel the hum of his voice on her cheek as he spoke. “You are truly noble, such a beautiful soul, to want to stay and help your friend, but would you understand me if I said that I would simply cease to be if anything happened to you? This goes way beyond immortality. You are the force that animates my soul. Without you, I would be a husk blown through time with no meaning.” He wrapped his arms around her in a gentle embrace. It seemed as if he was trying to convince her of the depth of his emotion. They sat there for quite some time, enjoying the completeness of their love.
“Michael, you know I adore you, but I have to do what is right. If I leave, then I am turning my back on who I truly am. You might have me physically, but I wouldn’t be the same woman.” She was staring into his eyes now, trying to woo him with her gaze like he had done to her so many times in the past. He closed his eyes slowly and took a deep breath before he exhaled loudly. It was as if the weight of the world hung on that sigh. She thought she heard him whisper as he exhaled.
“You asked for it.”
She paused for a moment and then stood up, wishing she
had a change of clothes. She was frustrated that she couldn’t go out and get more; she couldn’t risk being seen. The mood that had ensnared her yesterday was quickly setting in again; only today, she felt like a caged animal. What exactly was she supposed to do all day when she couldn’t venture out or even open the curtains for that matter?
She moved to the chaise in the living room and wrapped herself in an ivory throw. It seemed as if she was going to have a marathon television day. She quickly turned to a sappy movie channel, avoiding the daily news. She didn’t want to see her face staring back at her as the local newscasters shared her wanted status with the greater Richmond area.
* * *
The days blurred together in a collage of cream, taupe and beige. The house was a vacuum, having first sucked all the color from the rooms, and now pulling at the edge of her sanity. Not feeding was not helping the situation. The ticking clock calculated the seconds of her imprisonment. The monotony was infuriating and she just wanted to escape. Addison had called a few times that first day, but the calls had slowed until now the phone sat silently on the shiny kitchen countertop.
Michael sat motionlessly in front of the muted local news. He seemed to take the quiet time as an opportunity to reflect on something deeply. She surmised he was thinking of another way to convince her to leave. Every day that passed was a day closer to when the church’s overseas guests would arrive. Perhaps, to him, it seemed like time was counting down toward some terrible ending.
Several more uneventful days passed in this beige and taupe world, and Dori began feeling claustrophobic. Her most pressing urge had nothing to do with her emotions, however. She was thirsty. It had been days since she had fed, and the burning in her veins was nearly crippling. The food Addison had delivered lay unopened in the garbage. She couldn’t leave to hunt and she was too anxious to sit still so she found herself pacing.
She wandered the floor plan of the house so many times that she lost count. If she kept up this way, she would wear a track through the plastic carpet runner and through the rug beneath as well. With every step, she could feel the muscles in the back of her neck tightening. Frustration was growing and her need to escape nearly choked her.
She couldn’t take any more. She had to get out. She had to feel the damp air on her skin, taste the night sky instead of paint fumes and dust motes. She needed to hunt. She turned and headed toward Michael. When she entered the sitting room, she saw him facing away from her, looking toward the window.
“I can’t take this one minute more; I have to get out of here!” She didn’t realize how close to hysteria her voice was.
“Hold on a minute.” Michael put the cell phone down and covered it with his hand. “One second, Dori.” He didn’t wait for her response before he turned back and resumed his conversation in a hushed whisper. She recoiled from what was clearly him brushing her off. Who was he talking to? What were they talking about? Why didn’t he want her to hear? What was going on?
Before her mind finished its list of questions, he had turned toward her and pocketed the tiny phone. He had his signature smile on his face, waiting for her eyes to catch his again. As their gaze met, his intense stare filled the room. It was hard to think about anything but Michael’s green eyes. She started to get dizzy.
“What is it you were saying, Preziosa?” It took her a minute to shake the fog out of her brain and remember what she wanted to tell him
“I have to get out of here. I can’t take another minute in these sterile rooms. Let’s go hunting.”
He paused a moment before answering while his eyebrows pulled together in the scowl she was seeing more and more of lately. “I’m not certain that now is the best time -”
“I can’t stand it anymore. If you won’t go with me then I will go alone, but tonight I am going to feel life pulsing in me again.” Dori squared her shoulders and clenched her teeth in defiance. She stood there, trying to read his emotions, deciding whether she would be dining alone tonight.
“It’s far too dangerous for you to go by yourself. If we go much longer without feeding, we will be too weak to survive the battle that’s coming. We’ll have to stay hidden as much as we can. I think if we stay to the south, we should be okay.” They moved in unison, rushing down the stairs and launching themselves into the night. She shook off an eerie sense of déjà vu as they darted toward the cover of trees behind the sprawling development.
Together, they wove through hedgerows and small clusters of trees until they were surrounded more by woods than houses. She released his hand and took off at top speed with her arms open wide. After being caged, she felt as if she could fly away on her new found freedom. She felt a rush as she pushed herself to her limits. She flexed her mental muscle by lifting tree branches and scrub brush out of her path as she shot through the forest. The rush was heady and intoxicating. She wondered how long she would have to go to shake off the last of the trapped feeling.
Slowly, her adrenaline dissipated and her senses returned to normal. The cool breeze that caressed her face as she ran pushed away the clinging heat that stifled her in the house. The sounds of wildlife cut through the wind at her ears indicating her next meal. Her mouth watered as she targeted the largest animal around her and without hesitation, she attacked.
She would have preferred to hunt slowly, stalking from afar, just so her prey would experience the same adrenaline spike. The anticipation for her was as delicious as the victory, but tonight she showed no restraint. Tonight she had become a primordial hunter, listening only to her most savage instincts. She showed none of the polish of her human façade, tonight she was nameless, faceless; she was a vampire.
She jumped from one kill to the next, starved from days without feeding. She was on a rampage built from hunger and frustration. The bloodlust faded as she glutted herself in the night and she slowly returned to a passive state as her thirst was sated.
She began working her way back toward where she came and realized that she had no idea where Michael was. She stumbled across her own scent and began to trace it back to where they entered the woods. Surely her path would cross his and she could follow it to him. It took longer than she expected - she had run further than she thought. Eventually, she found his path and followed it westward.
She heard his breathing before she saw him, but as she approached from behind she realized he was not alone. She peered over his shoulder at three sets of eyes glowing in the night. They were similar to the eyes that had plagued her on opening night in the theater. She concluded that Percy’s underlings had found them despite their attempts at stealth.
She was fresh from the hunt and full of the power the fresh blood brought. She flexed her muscles and they rippled under her skin. She fanned her anger glowing brightly inside and the tree branches above their enemies shuddered with her effort.
“No, Dori.” His voice was no more than a whisper. They stood there, outnumbered, staring at the evil in the night. The sky was mostly clear and as the sparse clouds shifted, moonlight trickled through the canopy of trees. The three vampires standing before them were bathed in the blanching light of the moon and she could tell they weren’t as haggard as last time she had seen them. They were more than skin stretched across skeletons. They were filled out and boasting a healthy glow. She cringed at the thought of what had nourished them.
One was standing a pace in front of the other two, demonstrating who led this little branch of Percy’s coven. She watched as his hands twitched and balled into fists, noticing that hers were doing the same. It took a great effort on her part not to lunge at him. She couldn’t stand this silence any longer and wasn’t sure why they were standing there so quietly in the first place.
“What do you want?” she growled.
“I would like nothing more than to kill you slowly, just to watch you die. Fortunately for you, my master told us to bring you back alive.” Dori flinched from the malice in his words. “That however doesn’t prevent me from tasting your blood.” His laugh
ter hissed through the night.
“You. Will. Never. Touch. Her.” Michael’s words came out separately, each its own statement forced through clenched teeth. He was the one trying to contain his anger now. The battle for restraint was evident in the way the tendons in his neck tensed as he spoke. She placed a hand on his lower back, trying to quell the storm brewing.
“Easy, Brother, we mean you no harm. Tonight we offer a message. There is a way to save her from her fate.”
“Michael, what are they talking about?” Dori turned her question to him now. He spoke as if she weren’t there.
“Tell your master that he will never lay another finger on her unless he wants to die.”
“Confidence has been the downfall of many. The debt must be paid, though there are many forms of remittance.”
“You can tell your master to go to Hell.”
The leader clicked his tongue while he shook his head.
“That is a fate to which we are all destined. Empty threats.” A low growl built in Michael’s chest. She could feel it through the hand that still pressed against his lower back.
“Trinian, my patience is short. You have delivered your message, why don’t you slither off like the reptile you are?”
“Our duty to Percival is fulfilled, but there is no reason not to stay and partake in the...scenery.” The leader, Trinian winked at Dori as he said the last word. “Don’t you agree Myles, Rowland?” He glanced over his shoulders as he conferred with his brethren.
“It is time for you to leave.” Dori had never before heard fury like this from Michael. The anger materialized like an electric shock and she snapped her throbbing hand back. His muscles tensed as he prepared to pounce on Trinian and his followers. She wound her arms around his torso, not quite sure why she wanted to prevent him from causing them bodily harm. His muscles tensed like a coiled snake about to strike. She dug her heels in and leaned away from him with all of her strength, nearly falling down when his cell phone rang and broke his concentration.
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