I took several steadying breaths. “Laurna,” I repeated at her.
“Mace, is that you?” she sounded worried but not at all scared. If she was with a Vampire and he’d just bitten her, she would be scared, right?
“Tell me your okay,” I begged still gulping air.
“Yeah,” she said.
I sobbed with relief. “I had a nightmare. A Vamp had you. It was awful. I thought I’d lost you,” I stammered. All my life I’d known that she was weaker than me, smaller than me, more vulnerable, but I’d never really understood what that meant until tonight.
I heard her stifle a giggle. “Oh honey, I’m fine.” Softer I heard, “Stop it. I’m talking to Mace.”
“Who are you with?” I asked. She had said she was going home, hadn’t she?
“Ashley, you remember Ashley, don’t you?” she asked.
No I didn’t, but I wasn’t going to admit that. I tended to forget Laurna’s friends about ten minutes after I met them. I was not a people person. “You’re okay then.” I asked rather than answer her question.
“I’m fine. Listen Mace it’s no wonder you’re having nightmares after what you went through today. For a bit, I thought you were a goner. Don’t sweat it. If I had your day, not only would I be having nightmares but I doubt very much I could sleep at all,” she sounded concerned. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
I nodded at the phone then remembered she couldn’t hear my head rattle. “Yeah, night Laurna. Don’t worry about me.” I was sorry I had interrupted her time with her friend.
“You sure,” her tone said she was having fun, but she’d ditch this Ashley girl if I needed her to.
The thought made me feel better, but I didn’t want to ruin her fun. “Yes. I’m okay. Have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I hung up so she couldn’t argue with me. She needed to have some fun. One of us did.
I fell back asleep, but it was a fitful sleep. I dreamt of Vampires luring their victims into a false sense of security. Sweet lies and smiling faces as they bent over the unaware to take their blood from their bodies. So much worse were the ones willingly submitting, wanting to be bitten, believing that the Vampires cared for them. And the bodies of these fools being left where they had fallen… some were thrown carelessly into nearby refuse bins. People were not trash!
I dreamt of Shifters, myths called them werewolves. They were men and women who could change their shape becoming an animal, most often a preditor. They could also take an intermediary form the man-wolf thing from the movies, and though they wore the shape of man most of the time they were truly animals. I dreamt of them changing shape to tear through a small city in South America. The air was hot enough to make my lungs feel scorched. Children cowering in basements while their parents died screaming above, trying to protect them. One beast tormented an old woman. He would leap in, scratch her just enough to draw blood, and leap back again. Each time he allowed her to think she might actually be able to hurt it with the big kitchen knife she held in her grasp. I could hear the wet sound her body made when it finally fell to the ground. A young Ao in the village was dragged from the small church. The clergy tried their damndest to protect him, but in the end, they fell just as the others had. The half men half animals held him and forced him to watch as the other inhabitants of the village whimpered and died. He wept, too young to do anything else. Just before dawn, one of the beasts drew a claw along his small throat. They all loped away laughing. It was horrible.
I dreamt of Dream-walkers standing over their victims while they slept sneaking into their homes to feed on their fears. One girl dreamt of snakes slithering and nipping as she tried helplessly to dodge them. A man stood on a rooftop looking down over the city shaking in fear, falling almost weightlessly from the great height the air leaving his lungs, snuffing him like a candle long before the hard impact of the cold cement below.
I dreamt of so much more. I woke in a cold sweat, weeping. Deanna sat next to my bed. She held out a glass. “Drink,” she ordered. I did as I was told. To shaken to do anything else. It burned going down. I coughed. She smiled. “The first night I thought I was going mad.”
“The Ao,” I whispered. She nodded her head understanding.
The sympathy on her face was terrible. “Not all of us get it; it’s rare, rarer for an AoLi. When I heard you whimpering in your sleep, I knew you’d gotten the power of precog. I have it. Iris had it as well, but we dream it too late to do anything about it. It’s a very useful power. Once you know where the monsters are, it’s easier to find them, but it takes some getting used to.” She paused as if caught in some internal struggle then so very softly she said, “I want you to see something else.” She touched my forehead, and I felt like I’d been mule kicked. My head hit the headboard hard. I lost consciousness again.
This dream was different. It had a less substantial quality to it. I saw my mother. She was so beautiful. She was sitting in a hospital bed. She wore one of those little hospital gowns. In her arms, she held a tiny bundle. “Promise me Caden. Promise you won’t let them take our baby,” she sounded desperate. Her blue eyes looked panicked. She was scared on what should have been a pleasant occasion.
My father looked down at her love shining through his eyes in a way I could not remember ever seeing. “Never my love. Macyn is ours. I will give her to no one.” A pounding sound shook the room. My mother cringed away from the sound. The little bundle in her arms began to wail. My father opened the door and stepped through it. He radiated menace. A small round-faced priest stood before him. I had to say the little guy had fortitude. I would have made some excuse and backed the hell out if my father had turned that look on me.
He bowed slightly. He didn’t look scared, he looked smug. “Greetings AoD. Congratulations on the birth of the new Ao. I have come to take her to her new home.” He smiled benevolently. The smile didn’t reach his eyes.
My father nodded one sharp shake of the head. “The AoLi and I have decided to keep our child.” He stated firmly. His mouth set in a grim line. I knew that look. That was the same look I got every time I’d asked for a puppy. The pudgy priest wasn’t going to be getting his way. I never did and I was a lot cuter.
The fat man blinked in disbelief. He looked up at my father in shock. “It is…” he started hesitantly then picked up steam. “With all due respect AoD, it is not done. The child goes to the church. The council will not allow this.” He narrowed his eyes at my father as if that look could hurt him. The council was the governing force of our kind. To deny them was often tantamount to a death sentence.
My father shrugged like he didn’t care what the council had to say. Of course, he’d never been much for worrying about the council maybe this was why. “No.” He turned to re-enter the room.
The priest hissed. “You know the consequence AoD. You and the AoLi will be cast away; you will be cursed by the Ao council. They will send an enforcer for you and take the child from you.” The man’s beady little eyes had grown darker with his threat.
This time my father smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. “I have served as the council’s enforcer for three centuries.” His smile grew even more menacing if that was possible, “And that was before I had my AoLi. I think they understand just what will happen if they are foolish enough to send someone against us. He opened the door, entered the room again, and slammed it in the priest’s face.
The dream darkened. I had seen this before. I didn’t want to see it again. My father tore through the house carrying me in his arms. “Iris, Iris! God damn it! Where are you?” He slid in the hallway. “No,” he whispered, sensing something I did not. “Iris,” the word was torn from his throat like something living. My mother lay on the floor in the bedroom. Blood had soaked into the carpet all around her. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused. He backed out of the room quickly, carrying me to the garage. He hit the overhead lights. “Stay here, Macyn!” He demanded. I didn’t want to. Mommy was hurt, and I was scared, but I was too small to reach the doorkn
ob.
For the first time, I saw what had happened after he left me. He raced back into the bedroom. His knees made squishy sounds as he knelt in the puddle of blood. “Iris.” He shook her limp form. “Iris, you must heal yourself. Iris now,” he yelled. He had never yelled at my mother. “Iris please,” he begged burying his face in her hair. “I can’t,” he sobbed brokenly. “I can’t do it. Please baby, heal yourself.” It was too late. He held her in his arms weeping openly. It felt like a knife in my chest. Finally, he whispered to her, “I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I was so arrogant. I thought... I will make it up to you Iris. I will find a way.” His eyes closed. “How am I supposed to keep this up without you?” He lay on the floor with her in his arms until the sun rose. I never knew. I knew he had hated himself since her death, but I never knew why. He blamed himself. He thought it was his fault.
“Daddy,” I cried as I woke. Deanna’s eyes were filled with tears. “Why? Why would you show me that,” I hissed. I was back to hating her. I had almost liked her for a little bit.
She closed her eyes. A movement so much like the one my father had made when he wept that I had to blink to shake off the ghosts. “He has been offered a chance to see her. There are a few Ao who are strong enough to contact the departed.” Her face was bitter now. “But he will not take it; he thinks you need him here, so he has refused. Talk to him Macyn,” she growled. “If you cannot convince him he may never be the same again and Iris.” Her eyes filled again. “Sweet Iris, I would give my soul to take her place,” she whispered. Her face was no longer perfect but red and blotchy. “Talk to him. You are the only one who can convince him.” I wanted to ask why she would trade places with my mother. I wanted to ask how she knew all this. I wanted to scream at her for telling me, but mostly I wanted to erase that horrible shadow that had been growing across my father’s eyes for the last seventeen years.
“What does he have to do?” I asked, my voice was shaky. I didn’t want him to go, but I didn’t want him to suffer anymore.
She smiled like the sun coming out after the rain. “The Shifters in Peru… he has to take out the entire pack of them.”
“Has the council gone insane?” I asked. I had seen what those monsters could do, and that pack was something like twenty strong. “He doesn’t even have an AoLi. It would be suicide.” I was starting to get really pissed with this whole damn system. What the hell? Spend your whole life defending the innocent. Get no reward, no beni’s, and by the way, if you don’t do just as we say, we’ll hunt you down and kill you! Yeah, fuck a whole lotta that.
“I volunteered to go with him.” Her voice was solemn, but I could hear the fear in her voice. She volunteered to go with him. Why would she do that?
“Are you insane?” Yes, I know it was rhetorical but I felt it bore saying anyway. Maybe I was the one who was insane.
She smiled and it was a smile that answered the question. Yeah, she was just a little crazed. “Since the first time I saw Caden standing in the courtyard with Iris in his arms, yes.” She looked at her lap. Her hands folded neatly lying in her lap. “Iris was my sister. Not by blood,” she waved one of those manicured things at me, “but by all that counts. She cared for me. She held me when I was afraid. As children, we were raised very strictly. I was…” tears slid down her face, falling onto those perfectly manicured hands. “I was always so naughty. I would mix ants into the nuns’ sugar bowls, muddy up the hallways. I was so wild and never thought about the consequences. Iris always took the blame; she would bear the beatings meant for me. Sometimes she would have bruises on top of bruises, but she never complained. She never asked anything in return, but when I saw her with your father, I would not give her my blessing. I was so jealous. I didn’t want to lose her, and I am ashamed to admit, he was so handsome I wanted him for myself.” She buried her face in her hands. Her voice was muffled but I understood. “Her whole life I failed her. In death I will do better by her. I will make it up to her.” Wow, I knew she had a crush on Dad, but this was, wow, just too much. Her face was all blotchy now. The sun shone through the window behind her, and I could see how frizzy her hair had become during the night. She looked like a train wreck, and I liked her better for it even if she was crazy.
I took one of her lovely manicured but very wet hands. “I’ll talk to him.” What else could I do? I would have done it anyway. I couldn’t leave those people in Peru to suffer like that and I wasn’t strong enough to help them yet, maybe someday but not yet.
She thanked me and left which was good because I really felt the need for a shower. Nightmares are conductive to sweat; sweat makes you smell bad. I was sticky and smelled, well, not as bad as I expected, but hell it was time for a shower anyway.
I turned the water up to steam broil and stepped in. I am never pink after a shower. I am bright red. I like it hot. I stood under the flow of water and let it wash away the residue of last night’s dreams. Would I dream like that every night? God I hoped not. I soaped, lathered, rinsed, and repeated all in a daze, trying to assimilate all that I had learned. I realized one thing. I knew very little about myself. I knew lots about Shadow-born.
Vampires can make you do things you don’t really want to.
Shifters can tear you into little bite-sized pieces but usually only got really frisky during a full moon.
Dream-walkers can cause your heart to give out using your own fear and those were just the Shadow-born that walked among us every day.
There were others.
Every culture has stories about monsters. Pretty much all myths have some basis in fact. The Mexican chupicabra. The Russian Baba Yaga. The Japanese Oni. We all have something that makes us afraid of the dark.
There’s a thought that’ll keep you up at night, locked in a room brightly lit with ultraviolet lights. Yeah, ultraviolet lights hurt most Shadow-born. Thank God Ao heal to quickly to get skin cancer. I needed to buy stock in a u.v. light making company. Now that the world knew Vamps existed, I was betting sales went up. Ohhh, I wish I could buy stock in holy water, too. Silversmiths definitely. Every Shadow-born I had ever seen or even read about could be harmed by silver, in varying degrees. I got out of the shower, dried off, brushed my hair, teeth, and began to feel a bit more human.
I wandered down stairs. Father Mike was cooking. I planned to grab something and go hunt down my dad, but Father Mike had other plans. He forced me to sit down and eat an entire meal. He gave me eggs benedict and hash browns. Then when I’d polished those off, he gave me a stack of waffles. He said something, about needing to eat regularly or I’d get sick. I didn’t care. Everything smelled so good. I had seconds, and then thought thirds might be a good idea. Man I was hungry. Father Mike seemed to understand and filled my plate back up. Okay eating regularly is one thing, eating like three defensive linemen was another. After drinking three eight-ounce glasses of orange juice, I decided it was time to go find Dad.
Father Mike didn’t want to let me leave, but I finally convinced him I’d be back. He chuckled like an indulgent parent and let me leave while he cleaned up the dishes.
I found my dad in the gym. He was going full tilt on the elliptical. “Hey Dad,” I greeted him.
He looked up and gave me his half smile. “Hey AoD,” he said with that proud glint in his eyes. I went to the window and took a seat in the windowsill. Standing was still a little too much work. I felt worn out and all I’d done so far was eat like a machine and wander down the hall. I liked this room. I spent a lot of time in here. It was painted light blue. The floor was covered with wrestling mats to keep us from sliding when we practiced. When I was little, I would lie on that soft carpet and watch my dad workout. It always smelled like my dad.
“So…” I drew out the word. “When are you leaving for Peru?” I started to kick my feet. A sure sign I was nervous. He would know it too.
He stopped dead. Which is damn difficult when you are on an elliptical. I was impressed with his leg strength. God knows I couldn’t have done it. “Who sa
id I was going to Peru,” he growled, looking toward the doorway like Deanna was gonna pop out and yell surprise. She was probably hiding somewhere else in the house right about now.
I shrugged, which seemed to be a lot of work too. “I did.” I didn’t want to argue with him, but I would if I had to. This was important.
He stepped off the machine and toweled off. His hair was still wet, but his chest was dry when he stepped aggressively in my direction. “Why would you say that?” That move toward me aggressively thing stopped scaring me when I was thirteen, and I realized he’d never actually lay a hand on me. He loved me and he was like three times my size.
I shrugged again. “Cause you are.” I was being flippant. I knew that, but it wasn’t often I told my father what to do. He started to shake his head no. His hair was whipping around him. I interrupted him before he could say anything else. “Dad, I saw those people. You can’t just leave them like that.” I let all the pain I’d seen last night reflect through my eyes.
“Damn it,” he growled. “I can’t leave you right now. You’ve just gone through the ritual. You…”
I held up my hand in a stopping motion and interrupted again. I was getting good at that. “Which means for the first time in my life, I can take care of myself and I think you should go. Save those people, save yourself. For once in my life, think of yourself.” Then I pulled out the big guns. “Think of Mom,” I whispered softly. His head fell. I knew I’d won. Of course, I’d cheated, but I won.
He nodded. Then a huge smile broke out over his face. A smile I hadn’t seen since I was very little. “You’re everything we both ever hoped for.” I felt like crying. He scooped me into his arms and held me tightly. God the man was good at crushing a person. “I’ll go pack.” He put me down and started to leave.
On his way out the door he said, “Stay away from Tameron, until I get back. He is going to be your greatest obstacle.” You don’t know the half of it, I thought. Just thinking his name made me think of all that soft black hair sliding along his shoulders.
Into Death's Arms Page 7