I hadn’t noticed but as I looked around, it was certainly true.
“Why is this so?” I asked.
“I have stayed here before, more than once. This is why I know a little about it.” Getagin said. “The places being avoided are considered dangerous, and so distance is kept. It’s vampires of course…and perhaps other things too, but those are places where vampires roost.”
“You aren’t leaving me with vampires are you?”
“No, you are going to live in one of these other places here.”
I looked again at the huge square which now seemed much smaller.
“Here is where I’m going to live…so close to…?”
“This used to be a place to be avoided, this section of town, overrun with thieves and murderers…cutthroats. For many, many years, attempts to route the criminals failed and was costly in money and in lives. The local authorities finally approached some of the vampires in the region for advice. These vampires suggested that some of them would come here to the square to stay. This wasn’t to take up permanent quarters but rather to be a place for them to stay when they were in town…on business. They wanted to be left alone but this was also a way for vampires to be seen in a good light, and to help with the surrounding areas falling to the criminal element. This came to pass, a couple of centuries ago but these three areas are to be left alone, and as you can see; no criminal element.
You will be safe here Veria. You and Mia both carry don Lucido’s mark. It will be respected. Don Lucido is well regarded here by vampire and locals as well. It was he who came here to establish the square. You will also be held in high regard. You are not a prisoner here. You can leave when you want but maybe you should get your feet under you first, and learn how to walk again. You will be watched over, but you will probably not be aware of it. Let’s go inside and see what is waiting.”
My eyes took a while to adjust from the brightness outside to the deep shadows within. But we were in a small room and standing before a crude counter, where a woman was addressing Getagin.
“So this is the nubile I was told would be taking up residence. You know we have standards here. This is a tight community and if one person doesn’t fit in, that can lead to chaos for the lot of us. And she’s a young mother as well. We don’t allow children here or young mothers.”
This was rudely said, in my mind, and I fought to keep my tongue. Getagin kept his silence too, and perhaps to fill the silence, the woman, who spoke through a curtain of hair, parted in the center and falling to the shoulders, but blocking eye contact, added more.
“I have heard of a young, brazen harlot who walks every night, naked on the deck of a ship consisting only of men and pays for her passage from her knees. If this be you, young missy, perhaps we can work out your rent in much the same way.”
“I felt the anger in me rising and in spite of Mia’s presence I exploded. “Why, you loose-tongued witch, how dare you imply such an arrangement. I will not stay with refuse such as….” And then I noticed she was laughing and that Getagin was as well, and I was in fact, being teased. I started to laugh too, but somewhat uncomfortably.
“Veria,” Getagin said between bouts of laughter, “this is Pennock.”
I turned to regard her again and was shocked as she turned toward me. When she had been speaking with Getagin I had seen only her profile, but as I now was engaging her fully and I was surprised to find that one half of her face was made up as a woman, and the other half was presented, quite believably as a man’s. I’m sure my face registered my surprise which made both of them laugh hilariously once again.
Pennock offered a hand which I took. “My child, we shall have to work on making your face harder to read, but welcome to the square. This is Mia?
Mia shyly hid behind me, quite unnerved by Pennock’s mystifying appearance.
Conversation continued between Getagin and Pennock, with me barely being included. We left the room and were brought to a door that was in the same area as the room we had just left. There was no crossing the square to another area. The room presented to me was three times the size of the room we’d had on the ship. It was all one room but it was ours. I was so looking forward to making it our home. For all of their conversation, once we were shown the room, Pennock did not remain long. After a promise to check in on me later, Pennock left, leaving Getagin, Mia and me to stand in the room which seemed cavernous, especially compared to cages where I had been kept. Of course just about anything would.
“Please Getagin, don’t say you are leaving. Starting out a new life is frightening. Can’t you stay even for a few days?”
“I wish I could, but it is time for me to leave and for you to carry on with your own journey. I do not know if our paths will cross again, but I say here and now that I would like it if they did. Treasure your life, every heartbeat, and hold the hearts of those you love firmly in your hands and press them to your chest. You cannot keep the hearts you hold or even your own heartbeat, so enjoy them as you have them and treasure their sound and how they feel. The memories of them will steel you against the cold and dark, and cause a tear or a smile which lets you know you have been touched.”
All too soon, Getagin left. Oh, we had conversation and much of it was quite tender as friends. Mia kept crawling into his lap as we were seated on the floor. I know she understood that this was his leave-taking. He tried to comfort me and reassure me that there was money enough to be wise in my movements, but not to be frozen towards building a new life. My rent was paid for a half year but if I wanted to leave even within the week, I should do so without worry for that prepaid expense. There were hugs and tears and well-wishes but in the end, Mia and I watched Getagin grow small in the street as he moved away, until he became one of so many others shuffling through the city.
30
Now it was time to begin this new life that everyone but me seemed so excited about. Often, in my confinement with the river people, I dreamt about a life I could live free from being tied or jailed and I had tasted this for a while after Hessa left us. Now, before me, a new life awaited construction. I wanted it to be a life of friends and closeness. I longed for these things very much.
A while after Getagin’s leaving, Pennock came to my door.
“I know you doesn’t have much since you has just arrived, but I have been retained to get you settled. You’ve got next to nothing I sees, which will make my job easier.” His eyebrow was raised on one side of his face, the man-side. The other side was simply regarding me. Mia hid behind me, fearfully shy over Pennock’s unusual appearance. I found his face amusing, though I too, kept my distance. I sensed wisdom and power in Pennock. It felt as though he could be a powerful friend or a terrible enemy. I has brought you some blankets for comfort. They aren’t new, missy. They’ve gots holes and tears and are frayed here and there. A little likes you and I. Wouldn’t you say?”
The woman side of his face batted eyelashes at that remark and smiled while the other half smirked.
“I will send my woman over tomorrow morning, and she can take you down below where we keep the extras and the no-longer-used and maybe you can find some things to help with your comforts. These are not free, but they are usable. We’ll need compensation after all, and in that regard, it is better that I send her, other than have you deal with me. I’d take advantage of your situation.” Pennock laughed and then blew his nose. “Still my help has been purchased by none other than Don Lucido Del Rio and he has been kind to me, so I supposed I’ll have to be nice to you. Anyway, take these blankets and things for the night, bought and paid for. If you are going out, keep near this building and don’t wander far into the district. Certainly when the shadows is growing long, come into your home and remain there for the night. You’ll get used to things here and it won’t seem so dark. But lest you make the mistakes of a foreigner, unused to local customs, I suppose it falls upon me to keeps you safe. So, go out, take in the sights, the air, let your little girl play, but when the people begi
n to leave the square, come inside. Tomorrow my woman can go over that stuff, just to be safe. I’ll bees in the room you came to when you arrived, if you need anything.
We did go out, right away, even though there were several hours of daylight left. Somehow, the feeling that we would soon be confined to quarters, made me feel like dancing and running around with Mia, to celebrate our present freedom. The flat surface of the square was mostly tiled and bricked. It was surprisingly level. There were few bumps, rises or dips as the square stretched out. Mia loved it and went from section to section, admiring the colors and designs. I kept a watchful eye on our location in the square, the length of the shadows and the crowds shopping the tables and stands. When it became obvious that shoppers and the sellers were leaving at an increasing rate, I told Mia that we must go inside. She protested so I brought her inside, kicking and screaming. I had many broken and used candles from Pennock to keep light in my darkening home. We didn’t have much else, but I believed my situation would change in the morning with the help of Pennock’s woman. I had a certain curiosity regarding what kind of woman would be the mate of the rather peculiar and frightening Pennock, and went to sleep to my imaginings.
In the morning, after the sun was up, there came a knock upon our door. I was glad for it. Mia was hungry and we had no food. She was also bored, having no toys to entertain her. When I opened the door, Pennock stood before me.
“Pennock, I am glad to see you. Please, come in to our humble home.”
“I am not Pennock, my dear. I am Penna, his other half.”
Now that I looked in wonderment toward my guest, I could see that the side of his face that I had first mistook as a woman, was now more animated and engaging and the part that I had talked to only yesterday was more reserved if not asleep. That side had an eye closed and the mouth sagged.
“You are….” I began, in hope of understanding.
“I am Penna. I’m pleased to meet you, but please, do come along. It is the best time to make a visit down below. I’m sorry, but we shan’t eat until we return here. But I have sent out for some fruits and goods from a bakery. You shall have a nice breakfast when we return.”
We went with her immediately, and at the end of the hall, we came to a door. Penna brandished a key, used it and swung the door inward. I had visions immediately of standing at the top of the stairs in the building where Lucido had come from below.
“Do…do we need to be quiet?”
“No, in fact, a little noise shows where we are. Being quiet might be mistaken for being secretive and sneaky. Making a bit of noise will let them know we are down there and the nature of our business.” Penna took a flame from me and began descending the stairs. “Follow me.”
Mia, who already was shy around Pennock/Penna, now reached up to be held and when I picked her up, she clung to me, not only with her arms but with her legs wrapped around me as well. This didn’t help my own misgivings. I could not shake the feel or the vision of the dark staircase from which Don Lucido Del Rio had emerged not so long ago.
Dust and old spider webs seemed everywhere and when we reached the bottom, Penna relit my candle which had unnervingly puffed out with my last step. There was a hallway where we stood, that corresponded with our hall, one floor up. Rooms that were dark and foreboding, opened from there. I didn’t feel manipulated but certainly I found myself launched headlong into a frightening situation where minutes before I had been safe and calm. Dawn might well be underway above ground but it was fully dark here and had been for ages.
“These first few rooms on either side are fine to wander through. If you see anything you want then set it out here in the hallway. If it’s too big let me know and I’ll help, or if it’s beyond us, I can make arrangements. Much of this is just junk or ancient, but one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Stick to the first three rooms on your left or right. You’ll be okay that far. I’m going to walk further down and look but I believe this is the bulk of it. I’ll be near… just wanted to give you some time alone to look at things.”
Before I could say anything, Penna moved along the hall which I did not like.
“Please don’t leave me alone.” I said. “I’m frightened down here.”
“Well, you should be, if you’ve got any sense about you. But anyone who can take walks, naked at night, on a ship full of hard men can certainly navigate these rooms. Besides, are you not the Lady of Darkness?”
Penna’s comments were far from reassuring and made me quite cross. I was about to walk out and climb back up the stairs and leave this odd world that don Lucido had arranged for me, but the thought came to me that perhaps Penna’s taunting was less cruel than I had thought. Anyone hidden in the blackness would have heard her description of me. Perhaps she was stating my exploits for a reason. Perhaps she was telling those she seemed to think were around, who I was.
“Yes.” I answered. “I am.”
I felt, for reasons I was not sure, suddenly stronger after saying that. I began to look around unhurried and caring less about anything other than Mia and what treasures for a more comfortable life I might find. This was not exactly easy with Mia clinging to me. After a while, I heard Penna talking. I answered back, but after I did, I knew that she was either talking to herself or to others I could not see.
“Well, you heard for yourself.” Penna said. “She’s the Lady of Darkness. You’ve seen the mark. What more can be said? I don’t recall a need for advanced notice. She bears the mark of Lucido Del Rio. She can be here just like any of your marks.”
Sometimes I thought I could hear someone speaking besides Penna, but I was not ever certain. I tried my best to pay attention to the task at hand and though I was scared and irritated, I would not allow those feelings to bully me into rushing my search or fleeing the area. Eventually my unsearched regions were dwindling and Mia was letting me know she was hungry and wanted to leave. I called Penna over and showed her my haul.
After surveying my choices, Penna said, “Go ahead and return to your room. Your breakfast waits. I will total these up and have them delivered sometime this morning. Up the stairs with you!”
It didn’t get past me that Penna was trying to hasten us up the stairs. This had little to do with a breakfast waiting and more to do with managing traffic where we currently were. The way Penna held her body, even what little I could see of it in the candle light, gave me a tense feeling and that was fine with me. I didn’t want to dally. Without another word, Mia and I went up the stairs and continued to our room, safely in the daylight. We ate a delicious breakfast and then went out. The crowd and the tables, sellers and buyers were stationed where they had been the day before, as we arrived. I found a certain reassurance with this. It was routine and in my hide-and-seek life, routine was rare and welcomed, but not easy to trust. I wish, I wish, I wish that I hadn’t trusted it this time.
31
Michael had pulled Cinnamon into a dream. This was a first for her, and Michael thought of his own beginnings with sleep realities. He had started to catch the doctor up with Veria’s past as they sat looking out the window with Cinnamon’s sleeping body in the bed just behind them. They had now brought her to her very own house, sitting in chairs outside, a campfire burning in front of them. He watched as Cinnamon discovered their location. Cinnamon didn’t leave the chair but she examined everything around her.
“Wow, I…. Is this real?”
“It is and it isn’t.”
“This is like when don Lucido brought you back in a dream, to the house where you first met him. Charlotte was still a prisoner downstairs. “
“Yes, Cinnamon, it is quite like that.”
“But, why have you brought me here?”
“Because it is familiar and you consider it safe. I’m leading you in increments, first a few feet from your bed and now to something else you know well. These places are shocking enough to your sense of reality. Can you imagine if we were sitting like this, somewhere away from what you know, someplace
entirely unfamiliar?”
Cinnamon stood up. “Can I go inside and look around?”
“Sure but let me finish what I am presently telling you. It is why we are here after all.”
Cinnamon sat back down and peered back with a raised eyebrow. “Michael, where are all these vampires now? Veria? Don Lucido, Beatrice?”
Michael only stared into the fire and resumed his tale.
“In the darkness of the tent Veria had built for us, she stopped her tale. I wanted to reach for her but knew I should not. I could see her silhouette. The contrast outlining Veria’s form was sharp, though I could not see her facial expressions. Occasionally what small light there was would show the diamond of a teardrop as it rolled along her face. It was quiet. Not even the tent made noise. No breeze blew upon it. As I noticed this, I wanted to penetrate this silence and say something to comfort her, but again I knew I should not. I would not move a muscle, but I stared at her form as the tent made a slightly lighter backdrop. Then I caught my breath. Her form was changing into something feline. She was a tigress and her head shifted and cocked as she turned toward me. Two cat eyes unnervingly glowed in the dark and regarded me. It did not feel friendly. She got up and stalked the expanse of the tent, sitting as a cat might, looking out the window...if there had been a window. Veria was turned away from me, gazing out as if the tent were not there. I maintained my silence for reasons of equal parts: respectfully allowing her time to tell me what she wanted to on her own terms, and, fear that if I reached out, I might only find the tiger. Somewhere in that blackness, Veria continued.
I grew to love Athens very much, but living at the square, no matter how safety was served up, didn’t feel safe enough, and it wasn’t a place for children. I think everyone knew this going in. It put purpose to my walks with Mia during daylight hours. Mia loved this, of course, and though I was happy that she made acquaintances with other children, they were never friends because she saw them rarely more than once. Few lived nearby. It was true, what Pennock said, that I would come to know how to be safe, both around the square and locales in the city that weren’t dangerous to visit. Though the sum of money left for me wasn’t meager, I made purchases as if it were, because for once I owed no money and in fact, had a small amount in reserve. I had to be careful, for I was a woman, alone in a man’s world, and that made me stand out unless I navigated those realms carefully. Pennock understood this, or at least Penna did, and so helped me where he could by accompanying me or saying he was my husband. He understood my desire to find another place to live without taking offense.
The Blood In Between (The Safe Haven Trilogy Book 3) Page 17