"Oh, crap! Mariah! I was supposed to drive her home last night!"
His headache flared up again with a thump. She's probably furious with me.
Thomas hauled himself out of the couch and plodded to the kitchen. He had to call Mariah right then. Better now than a scene at school tomorrow.
As he reached for the phone, it rang, startling him. Maybe Mariah was calling already. Time to face the music. He swallowed hard as he picked up the receiver.
"Hi Thomas, it's Renna. How are ya?"
"Um...” He was relieved that it wasn't Mariah ready with a tongue-lashing, but he wasn't ready to deal with the supernatural again.
"Feeling weird?” Warrenna continued. “Confused? Wondering how or why you did some strange things yesterday?"
His eyes widened. “Wow, have you been watching me or something?"
"Er, uh..."
Hey, for once I caught her off-guard.
"It's hard to explain,” Warrenna said, “but we saw something that might account for what you went through. Remember the lady with the orange glasses? That's my Aunt Tammy. She wants to see you as soon as possible, but we need to stay here. Could you come to Maldecido this afternoon?"
"I suppose. What does she think is wrong?"
"She's not sure, but we know it's something, uh, unnatural."
Thomas took a deep breath. Then he remembered the sermon Derek O'Neal had given that morning. “Tell you what. I'll go up there if you answer my questions about you and your family."
"Sure. Hold on."
Thomas heard some muffled voices, and then Warrenna came back on. “My mother says I can't go into too much detail over the phone."
"Uh-huh.” Thomas chewed on his cheek. He supposed he could just drive there and ask his questions when he arrived. But could he really trust them?
Well, they haven't asked me for anything until now. And if they wanted to kidnap me, they certainly could've done it when I was alone in Tebon Canyon.
He decided to at least play along until he knew what they found in his sample. But he made a mental note to refuse any refreshments they might offer him.
"How about this,” he said. “I'll just drive up, and you answer my questions when I get there. Okay?"
"That'll be fine. Do you know where the Foothills Mall is?"
"Yeah, it's got a couple of athletic-shoe stores."
"Okay, good.” He heard Warrenna whispering to someone, then she said, “You're gonna go to the parking lot in front of Sears. A gray car with a round yellow sticker on the back bumper will be parked there. You're gonna ask the woman in the driver's seat if she knows how to get to Albert's Spear Shop. She'll say ‘Buy a ticket to Berlin.’ Got that?"
Thomas scribbled the words onto a Post-it. “Yeah. But why the song and dance?"
"Let's just say that not everybody is happy with what we do."
"I see."
She chuckled. “I doubt it. But maybe you will after you get here. Can you leave soon?"
"Yeah, I'm out the door now. Be up there in about an hour."
"Okay. Drive safe."
Thomas hung up, then stared at the phone as if it were a geometry test. There was still Mariah. He dialed quickly, unsure of what he was going to say, other than that he was a jerk, and he was sorry.
After five rings, an answering machine picked up. Thomas sighed in relief. It was only a temporary reprieve, but at least he wouldn't have to answer any questions just then.
He apologized for being an inconsiderate jerk, then said he would be home in the evening if she wanted to talk. Then he jumped into the Beatermobile and turned the ignition.
As he pumped the gas pedal, he thought about what he was about to do—leave town by himself to hang out with some vampires. I feel like I should leave a note or something. He laughed. Dear Mom and Dad: I went to Maldecido to find out what unnatural thing is happening to me. Please call the National Guard if I'm not back by dinner.
But it was far too late to explain everything to his parents. They would never believe him anyway.
No, this was his decision. Which means I get all the credit if this turns out to be the best choice I've ever made.
And all the blame if things go wrong.
Chapter 13
Thomas carefully weaved the Beatermobile amongst the tractor-trailers as he drove north on Interstate 19. The outside temperature climbed as the mountains shrunk away to the horizon, and pale-green prongs of saguaro cacti began to appear along the road.
The familiar drive passed quickly as he tried to think of the properly worded questions for Warrenna. So, are you guys a drug cult? felt a little too confrontational.
He turned off the freeway and onto the wide, hectic streets of Maldecido. The traffic flowed much faster than on Bascomville's sleepy roads, but Thomas knew his route and stuck to the lanes he needed.
The Foothills Mall parking lot was busy with scurrying Sunday-afternoon shoppers, and Thomas needed a couple of passes to find the gray car with the yellow bumper sticker.
A woman sat in the driver's seat. Her blond hair was flat and stringy, and large plastic sunglasses rested on her creased, leathery face.
He tapped on the window, and the woman rolled it down an inch. “Do you know where Albert's Spear Shop is?” Thomas asked. “Er, how to get there?"
"Yeah, buy a ticket to Berlin. Get in."
Thomas opened the passenger door and was hit with the aroma of deep-fried cigarettes. The car's vinyl upholstery was cracked and the dashboard carried a thick layer of desert dust and ash.
"So you're Thomas. Name's Terri Jenkins. Here's my mark."
She rolled up her right sleeve, exposing a tattoo on her tanned arm. The design, about the size of a drink coaster, consisted of a black hourglass in a red circle, the inverse of the markings found on a black widow spider.
"That's, uh, kind of creepy,” Thomas said.
"Jesus, nobody's told you about the black glass?” Terri shook her head. “It's the mark of Zera. It means I'm friendly to the Orphans."
Thomas remembered the sketches in Warrenna's living room: hourglasses and flames. He didn't understand what “Orphans” meant, but he didn't want to seem stupid.
"So,” he said, “you're not, ya know, one of them?"
She laughed and started the car. “Honey, with a tan like this? I don't think so. I'm a norm. I just help ‘em out when they need stuff done in the daytime. I'd do anything for the Orphans. I'd-a been fanger-food for sure if it weren't for Alex and Rick.” She smiled at him. “That's Alexandria and Richard, in case you don't know. Fine folks."
Terri backed the car out of the parking space and drove out of the lot, then turned onto a street heading north, toward some jagged brown mountains.
"I hear you've got some questions, and Alex told me I could tell you anything you wanted to know.” She checked the rearview mirror. “We got some time, so fire away."
"Okay.” It was easy to come up with his first question: “Why do you call them Orphans?"
"That's what they call themselves.” Terri rolled her window down a crack and lit a cigarette. “It's like their parents are the vampires who wanted ‘em to feed on us humans, sleep in coffins, live forever, all that stuff. But the Orphans rejected that life. In some cases, they've even killed the vamps that made ‘em."
"So they kill vampires?"
She tapped her cigarette against the edge of the window. “Yeah, Alex and Rick hunted down the fangers that made ‘em in the hopes that killing the originals would undo the curse. Like in the movies.” She shrugged her shoulders. “No dice, though. Once you've got the curse, you've got the curse. So now they hunt down any fanger, find the poor saps the vamps have infected, and let those saps know that they can fight the curse through Zera. See, there's this window. Ten days between getting infected and going full-vamp. If the Orphans find somebody in that window, then that person can fight the curse with their help."
That sounded noble enough to Thomas. “Okay, but how do they fight it? And
who is this Zera you keep mentioning?"
Terri gasped, and the car swerved onto the shoulder. She laughed as she steered back on to the road. “So I get to be the one to tell the kid about Zera."
She turned onto a smaller residential road. The mountains slowly filled the horizon as they drew closer. Thomas figured there couldn't be much city remaining this far north.
"Okay kid, here's the deal. The Orphans ain't exactly human, and they ain't exactly vampires either. They've found a way to stay in-between. And that way begins and ends with Zera. She's a goddess. One that nobody's worshipped for a really long time. And there's this ritual that they do called the cleansing."
"Wait.” Thomas's jaw hung agape. “A goddess?"
"That's the best way to describe her. She's not your fire-and-brimstone, chuck-lightning-bolts-from-the-clouds sorta deal. From what I hear, she's a little more subtle. Seems she's only available for conversation if you're infected."
They reached a dirt road that traveled around the base of what Thomas now recognized as Mount Maldecido, the tallest peak of the Santa Lupita Range. The mountain's face was sheer and black, as though the many forest fires that charred the summit had somehow burned the cliffs beneath it.
"So,” Thomas said, forcing his lips to make the words, “the Orphans worship this goddess."
Terri nodded, downshifting as the small car bounced along the rough road. “Alex's father discovered Zera in some books a while back. If the Orphans follow the cleansing ritual, they go into this trance. Zera then speaks to them and burns some of the curse out of their blood for a while. The cleansing's supposed to be really painful. Like their blood gets lit on fire. But that controls their craving for human blood. Makes them more resistant to sunlight. Basically makes them less of a vampire. It's only temporary, so they have to do the ritual pretty regular."
Thomas couldn't believe this lady was talking so casually about a god. Well, if they're really vampires, and I might be an angel, why shouldn't there be this Zera?
Then he remembered the vision at practice, the one of Warrenna in flames that gave him the bruise on his jaw. It had to be the cleansing. But why did I see it?
The car jerked to a stop. Thomas couldn't see any structures around, just miles of mesquite and saguaro. For a panicked second, he wondered if he was in the wrong car.
"Uh, why are we stopped?"
Terri's eyes were locked on the rearview mirror. “A blue car with a gray hood was tailing us through the city, but I think I lost him."
"Oh.” Thomas was only partially relieved. At least it gave him the opportunity to ask another of his questions. “Who'd be following us?"
Terri took another drag off her cigarette. “Lots of folks don't like what the Orphans do. Vampires, obviously, and their lackeys. Other demon-servants that want to get in good with the fangers. Then you've got your misguided hero-type hunters with a grudge against anything not one-hundred-percent human. And, for obvious reasons, we want to avoid any police sniffing around. They wouldn't be as understanding of the Orphans’ curse as you've been.” She grinned at him and hit the gas.
They continued in silence as Thomas struggled to absorb the facts Terri had relayed. It seemed to him that the Orphans had a tough time. They hunted vampires without any help from the norms they were protecting, all while undergoing a painful purification just to stay somewhat human. And they had to keep it all a secret, because who would believe that Orphans were good vampires?
He snorted. Well, who other than me would believe?
A question came to mind. “Warrenna told me she was born a vampire. Is that common?"
"Hell, no. Vampires can't bear children like humans. But Zera intervened. She commanded that Alex and Rick have a child, and did something godlike to allow Renna to happen."
Tears crept into Thomas's eyes, and the familiar tightness in his throat returned. He tried to stay focused. “But why? Why give someone the curse from birth?"
Terri shrugged her shoulders and turned off the dirt road onto a residential street. They headed toward a large iron gate that blocked the way. She brought the car to a stop beside a guard-booth and turned to her passenger.
"Word is Alex and Rick refused at first. But then they figured there must be a good reason Zera wanted them to do this, even if they couldn't see it just then. Some of the Orphans think it was so Renna could meet you.” She winked at him.
Thomas rolled his eyes, but part of him really liked the idea that he and Warrenna had been predestined to meet.
Terri turned to a squawk box in front of the guard booth. “Hiya, Luis. Is that you on day watch again?"
"Yeah,” a tired voice came from the speaker. “Somebody's got to do it. Who's that you got with you?"
Thomas leaned forward to see a small security camera hanging from the ceiling of the booth. “This here's Tommy,” Terri said. “The one we heard so much about."
"Ah!” Luis said. “Bíenvenídos, Tómas! We are happy to have you. Terri, I'll give him a norm-tag for now."
A metal shelf slowly extended from underneath the window, and Terri lifted a laminated slip of paper from it. “Hello, my name is THOMAS” was written on the nametag, as though he were attending a convention. The word NORM appeared in big red letters beneath his name.
"Zera is the way,” Luis said, and the gate rolled to the side.
Terri put the car in gear. “We should put a question mark after the norm,” she said with a grin.
Thomas stuck the tag to his shirt pocket and looked out the window. The modest houses passing by looked like everyday suburban homes. They could have been from his neighborhood, except for one important difference. All the windows were bricked up.
"What is this?” he asked. “A planned community for vampires?"
"Sort of. We call it the Orphanage. All these houses are owned by Orphans, or by friendly norms. It's a safe place where we have meetings, bring the newly Orphaned, stuff like that. All thanks to Rick and Alex. Without the two of them, many Orphans wouldn't have a place to live or a job. Hell, they'd be vampires, running around killing people."
"Orphans have jobs?"
Terri gave him another quizzical look. “Well, yeah. How do you think they pay for things?"
Thomas shook his head. Hunting vampires, dealing with the curse, and holding down a job? Orphans have busy lives.
"Anyway, we're here."
Terri brought the car to a stop in a cul-de-sac filled with parked vehicles ranging in style and cost. Thomas saw everything from old pickups with faded paint jobs to brand-new SUVs with leather interiors and chrome hubcaps.
"Doesn't this seem weird to you?” Thomas said. “A bunch of vampires out here in the Arizona desert? Can you think of a sunnier place in the world?"
Terri smiled again and extinguished her cigarette in the ashtray. “Well, kid, where's the last place you'd look for a vampire?"
Antarctica. But she has a point.
He followed Terri up a sidewalk to the largest house in the cul-de-sac. Every section of the residence had at least two stories, even the three-car garage. Gray columns supported what amounted to an extended eave, as though someone built a gazebo roof over the front yard and connected the covering to the main building. The lack of windows reminded Thomas of a large power station, or a hardened military compound.
Terri noticed her companion's nervous glances and patted Thomas on the back. “Relax, kid. You're in the safest place in the world right now. And from what I've heard, you might be a major player in the future of everyone in there. Rick and Alex will make damn certain nothing happens to you, and I have a feeling Renna will too."
Terri gave the door a couple of solid knocks. It opened quickly, and there stood Richard. He wore his customary blank expression, but Thomas could see dark patches of skin beneath his eyes.
Richard gave them a split-second smile. “Ah, Thomas. Thank you for coming. Terri, we are in your debt as always."
She waved her hand. “Ah, it ain't nothin'. I gave Tommy he
re the scoop on the Orphans, so he's a little freaked out, but he's a good kid. Be nice to him.” She smacked her forehead and added, “And, oh, I'm gonna go tell Luis to watch out for a blue sedan with a gray hood."
Richard frowned. “Was someone following you?"
"I think so. I lost him back in the city, though. Didn't see him once I reached the mountains."
She turned to Thomas. “I'll be back in a little while to give you a ride back to your car.” Then she leaned in close and whispered, “You'll get used to the vampire thing. Inside, they're just people like us. Well, like me, anyway."
She smiled and turned away, and Richard beckoned Thomas to come inside.
Thomas followed the vampire down a dim, cool hallway. The conditions reminded him of Warrenna's house in Bascomville, and Thomas guessed that being cursed affected the body. The Orphans probably wanted every place they went to feel like a Transylvanian castle.
They passed a set of partially open double-doors, and a bright line of light caught Thomas's attention. A quick glance revealed a bed and an IV stand. “Excuse me sir,” he said. “What's in there?"
Richard stopped and squinted. “Ah. That's where we are keeping our injured compatriot. Something tortured her, and we're trying to keep her from losing her humanity. It's like her assailant wanted her to turn."
He looked Thomas in the eye. “You can go in there if you want. She can't hurt you."
Thomas couldn't tell why, but he was curious what an Orphan struggling to stay human looked like. “Okay, I think I will."
The walls of the room stretched around him in an enormous square, and once again, Thomas found himself surrounded by representations of hourglasses and flame. The mark of Zera was repeated over and over again in oil paintings, charcoal sketches, ink drawings, even in fired-bronze sculptures.
The only furniture consisted of the bed, in the exact center of the room, the accompanying IV stand, and a small folding chair. Thomas approached the bed as quietly as he could, but his sneakers made hard sounds on the dark tile floor.
On first glance, Thomas suspected the body on the bed to be a corpse. The woman's ashen skin was pulled tight around her high-boned cheeks, her thick lips were chapped, and a long white scar ran from her left eyebrow up into her short curly hair. But her narrow torso did eventually rise and fall. She was still alive, if barely.
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