by Drew Hayes
Before I could properly wonder what “the obvious” was, Deborah had pulled out her silver knife. Carefully, she carved a slice across the back of her left arm, crimson blood oozing out slowly across the dark canvas of her skin. “Nope, that still hurts like hell. I didn’t think it would be that easy, but I still had to check. We might still get answers from your blood, though; in the hands of our experts, I’m sure there’s plenty more to be unlocked. Don’t be surprised if we come calling for more, down the line.”
“So long as I have time to regenerate it, I don’t mind.”
Deborah shifted the SUV back into drive and took us out of the parking lot; true to her word, she was dropping me off at Charlotte Manor, as promised. We arrived to find most of my friends out on the porch, watching for my arrival. I could see that Krystal hadn’t even bothered to shower, despite the weeks of wilderness that still clung to her skin. We made eye contact through the windshield, and I noticed her hand never strayed too far from her gun.
“You’re right about them,” Deborah told me. “They are indeed lunatics. But they’re loyal lunatics. They love one another, and they love you. I’ve seen many, many clans in my time, and you can’t imagine how rare it is for ones like this to come along, units founded on trust and support rather than fear and control. I’m glad I didn’t have to disband it.”
“Thank you for that, by the way. Not sure I ever properly expressed my gratitude in the chaos of that fight.”
“No thanks needed, and I mean that. I didn’t do anything. You, your clan, you all passed on your own merit.” Deborah reached over and popped my door open. “Time to go back where you belong, and I’ll do the same. Tell the others I’ll send for my van and things; I think tonight is best left to you and yours. It’s been an interesting six weeks, Fred. Thanks for keeping me entertained.”
I took the hint and slid out of the SUV, shutting the door behind me. Deborah didn’t say any goodbyes. She just waved to everyone, then pulled out of the parking lot and headed back down the road. Her departure was as sudden as her arrival, and while I wasn’t quite sad to see her go, it did feel a tad strange. I didn’t linger on the sentiment for long, though. I had a whole clan waiting to hear the news of where we stood, and a fiancée I was eager to spend more time with.
And then, once the celebrations waned, I was going to have to bring Arch and Krystal up to speed on our new situation. Somehow, I didn’t think they’d take the Blood Council being in on my secret nearly as well as I had.
8.
“Of course she knows. As soon as she stabbed you with a silver blade, I took it as a given that she would piece the truth together. I told the others to expect as much during our ride home.”
In retrospect, it really was my own fault for expecting Arch to be surprised. The man was an experienced, intelligent agent who’d had a perfect view of everything that happened from the sidelines. He was relatively calm about the development, which made an interesting counter to Krystal as she paced up and down Charlotte’s dining room. As it turned out, we were having this meeting first, and celebrating after. Work before play was the agent mindset at every turn, and it was one I generally agreed with, although a night off after what we’d been through might have been enjoyable.
“At least the Prudence is the one who found out. She’ll be smart about the pitch, probably even stick to her word. Arch and I will lay some groundwork, too, just in case they try to come at us sideways. We’ll loop Gideon and Richard into the discussion to put some weight on it. Your secret might be out, but they aren’t going to come steal you away in the middle of the night. Not unless they want to see why Hellebore made a point of holding me back during that fight.”
Krystal didn’t miss a step as she ranted, her gait graceful and precise as she stalked up and down the wooden floor. Finally, I rose from my chair and met her just before she was about to turn once more. It was a collision that turned into an embrace as we wrapped our arms around one another.
“I’ll be okay. Deborah could have taken me tonight if she’d wanted to go that route, but it would cause them far too much trouble in the long run. As long as I stay cooperative, they have no need to push things. They get a subject to study; I get to keep living my life. That’s more or less the arrangement. And it works for all the parties involved.”
“For now. Until they can’t replicate your condition, and it becomes a matter of having the silver-immune vampire under their thumb, a tool to deploy whenever the need arises.” She pressed her head against my chest, clutching me tighter. “I won’t let them have you, Freddy. I’ll keep you safe. Burying both my parents was enough. I’m not putting my husband in the ground, too.”
“No, you aren’t. But first, you need to actually get married, so you should probably focus on that.” Arch rose from the table, pack of cigarettes already in hand. “I’ll handle the Blood Council. The upside to being old is that I’ve got a lot of people who owe me favors. We’ll get things hammered out and make sure Fred has ample protection. You two have enough on your plate.”
He didn’t even say goodbye before he left the room, heading off to the smoking lounge Charlotte had built within her walls especially for Arch’s habit. As he left, I heard a gentle sigh from Krystal. “Much as that man hates to show it, he’s kind of a softy, especially when love is involved.”
Part of me wanted to ask if we were talking about the same person, but it would have been rude after Arch had offered to personally handle the negotiations for my safety. Instead, I decided to try to probe for more information by picking at the obvious oddity in her statement.
“Why is he a softy for love?”
“History. Or practice, maybe. It’s not my place to tell you Arch’s story, so you can either trust me, or ask him.”
“I think I’ll just trust you.”
Shifting our embrace, her face found mine, and we kissed once more. Perhaps it seems excessive, but after a six-week absence, an abundance of affection was certainly well-deserved. When we finally parted, my worries about Deborah and the Blood Council felt miles further off than they had an hour ago. “You know, Arch does have a point. Now that you’re home and that business with your old engagement is done, we should probably start planning the wedding.”
Krystal pulled back from me, an expression of incredulity on her face. “Start? Freddy, we are way past starting to plan for a wedding. I’ve already got a few venues in mind, some vendors on my short-list, and a big chunk of the decorations picked out.”
The look of surprise on my face gave me away before a word could pass my lips, earning me a knowing glare from Krystal. “Oh, what? Just because I shoot bad guys and kick a lot of ass I can’t be excited about my wedding?”
“Less that, more the fact that you aren’t generally what I would consider to be a ‘planner.’”
“I think you might be surprised to see how I function when on the job, but from a personal-life standpoint, I can see where you’re coming from. Besides, this is important to me, so I want it to be special. And I am very thankful that I’m marrying the kind of man who I know will be supportive and helpful with the process.” Krystal’s stare had softened as the mischievous smile I’d fallen so helplessly in love with curved across her face. “That’s a not-so-subtle hint that you’ll be pitching in on all of this, too. Later, I mean. Tonight, we’ve earned a break and a little revelry with our friends. Tomorrow, we’ll start on the wedding plans.”
We kissed again, shorter this time, and it was my turn to smile when we parted. “That sounds lovely. And of course I’ll be there every step of the way. I love you, and I can scarcely wait to declare that in front of our friends and family.”
“See, people keep thinking you get yourself needlessly into danger, but that answer right there proves how good your survival instincts are,” Krystal pointed out. “I’m holding you to that, so be sure you block some time out of that busy schedule of yours. I’ll try to keep our trips limited, but we’ll have to plan on at least two runs to Boar
back—one to scout and one for the event, and that assumes that everything goes perfectly.”
“We should plan for some redundan—I’m sorry, Boarback? As in, that town we visited in Texas a few years ago?”
“Uh, yeah. Freddy, I’m an agent. Most of the people I know are parahumans, and getting that many of them together in one place is much safer if we do it in a town where they don’t have to hide. Then, when you consider dietary and environmental requirements for the various types of parahumans, and the fact that you’ll need a very specialized set of vendors . . . let’s just say that Boarback is one of three open settlements, and it’s a place where I’ve got connections and history. Of course that’s where we’re getting married, unless you’ve got a solid reason why we shouldn’t.”
Her points made sense, and while I did love our town, the idea of gathering a whole crowd of parahumans in it made me skittish. Boarback was probably a better choice, for the mundane civilians of Winslow as much as the parahumans who would be attending. “The location is a logical choice, so I see your point there, but exactly how many people do we plan on attending?”
“Well, weddings are big, social spectacles, and are generally viewed as important communal gatherings. In the parahuman culture, not inviting someone you know to that sort of event can be seen as disrespectful, especially for an authority figure like me. So that means that, between my coworkers, friends, frenemies, probably like three actual enemies . . . let’s just say we’ll be looking at the larger venues Boarback has to offer.”
I shook my head, even as I had to fight back the urge to chuckle at myself for expecting anything different. “This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”
“Obviously not. When is anything ever easy for us? We’ll just have to make sure we get a marriage that’s worth all the trouble.”
“Of all the many, many things I live in constant fear of, that concern has never once entered my mind.” My response drew a rare blush from Krystal, and I savored the spectacle like catching sight of an eclipse.
The sound of yelling broke our spell as happy cheers spilled from the parlor where the others were no doubt toasting to victory, not yet aware of the new potential dangers we faced. Together, Krystal and I walked hand-in-hand out of the dining room to join our friends. There was still so much to do, on so many fronts, but moments like these were what made the effort worthwhile.
If I had learned nothing else from Deborah, she had taught me the importance of enjoying my life as it was while I could. Time was the one enemy none of us could defeat, and sooner or later, it would march on. I had to hang on to these moments, experience them fully, because one day, they would be nothing more than memories.
And if that was the case, then I might as well make them good ones.
About the Author
Drew Hayes is an aspiring author from Texas who has written several books and found the gumption to publish a few (so far). He graduated from Texas Tech with a B.A. in English, because evidently he’s not familiar with what the term “employable” means. Drew has been called one of the most profound, prolific, and talented authors of his generation, but a table full of drunks will say almost anything when offered a round of free shots. Drew feels kind of like a D-bag writing about himself in the third person like this. He does appreciate that you’re still reading, though.
Drew would like to sit down and have a beer with you. Or a cocktail. He’s not here to judge your preferences. Drew is terrible at being serious, and has no real idea what a snippet biography is meant to convey anyway. Drew thinks you are awesome just the way you are. That part, he meant. Drew is off to go high-five random people, because who doesn’t love a good high-five? No one, that’s who.
www.drewhayesnovels.com