by Lelana Croft
He sighed. “It’s complicated, but I’ll give you the short version. Sebastian was born twenty years before me. When Sebastian was eighteen, he was turned into a vampire by Canon Roche, who’s pretty high up in the vampire world. Sebastian was the kind of guy who seemed to find trouble, no matter what he did. Even if he tried to do something right, he always wound up being on the wrong side of the law,” Miles explained.
Boy, did I understand that. I could write that book.
“Anyway, my father confronted Canon and got into a fight. Canon then turned my father, who in turn killed his own wife, Sebastian’s mother, by draining her of her blood. Sebastian never forgave our father for that.”
“I can’t even imagine,” I replied.
Miles squirmed a bit as he was telling his story. It was obviously uncomfortable for him, but I was glad he was sharing it with me.
“My father went into hiding for a year after that, then reappeared out of nowhere with my mother. Apparently, they’d met and she was the only one who could help keep his need under control. She knew what to do and it worked…for a while. One night, he became enraged and raped my mother brutally. He was about to try to drain her but she was always prepared, in case he went off the deep end. The night I was conceived, she drove a stake through his heart.”
Miles went over to one of the wooden stools and sat down, folding his arms over his chest as he stared at the floor, trying to hide the tears welling up in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Miles. I didn’t know. How horrible that must have been.”
“Well, I wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m an anomaly at best. Faeries and vampires aren’t supposed to be able to produce offspring,” he said.
I knew all too well about the strange makings that mixed breeding can bring. I just had to look in the mirror to see that.
“Sebastian took on Canon’s last name and moved in with him and his lair. Of course, now both of his parents were gone, taken by the horror of being a vampire.”
The pain that this family had gone through would make anyone question what is right or wrong. I was actually surprised he'd shared all of it with me. There was only one question I had left.
“What about your mother? Is she still…”
Miles stood up and his expression changed. I could tell he was done talking about this and now, he was beginning to get irritated. Perhaps I’d pushed too far. I didn’t want that and needed him to give me access to his databases, so I could learn more about Marilyn.
“You know, never mind. That’s none of my business. I’m sorry. I do have a favor to ask, though,” I said.
He took a deep breath and shook off the conversation. Looking up at me, he smiled softly.
“Oh? So first, you think I’m some kind of whore dog, then you get me to tell you my family secrets and now, you want a favor?”
Yeah, I was probably pushing it, but I needed his help.
“Yeah?” I said, with the sweetest voice and puppy dog eyes I could muster. Which was hard for me because I wasn’t the begging type.
“I was wondering if I might have access to your databases. Ya know? For…erm…research?”
I saw one corner of his mouth hold back the smile that was trying to force its way to his face.
“Hmm…. I’m not sure. What will you do for me in return?” he said smugly as he crossed the room back toward me.
I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath, blowing it out with a huff to make it obvious.
“What do you want?” I asked reluctantly.
“I’ll let you come after hours, as long as you let me bring dinner. There is a great little mom and pop Chinese place that makes the best garlic chicken.”
Crap. Why does every interaction seem more and more like a date? I just needed to get into that database.
“Okay. How about tomorrow evening? I really don’t want to sit on this much longer,” I said.
“Sure, but why the rush?”
I didn’t really want to say anything about Marilyn Hastings, but I wasn’t sure how I couldn’t because he was going to want to know what I needed to research before letting me use his computers.
“Marilyn Hastings,” I said.
“What about her?”
“I need to find out more about her past. Like…from years and years ago. Where she was born…or more importantly, when she was born.”
There was a long pause before he said anything.
“Why are you taking such an interest into someone’s past? I mean, that’s kind of stalker behavior, don’tcha think?”
“It would be, if she was still alive. But she passed away and I was curious,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t want to know why I was so curious. “She didn’t seem to have any relatives and I wanted to see if there was an heir that no one knew about.”
“Wait, Marilyn’s dead?” He seemed genuinely taken aback. “How?”
“Not sure. There was a…situation,” I replied, hoping he wouldn’t ask too many more questions. No such luck.
“Scarlett, what situation? It’s important,” he insisted.
Now, I was the one uncomfortable. I tried to avoid looking squirmy, but I didn’t know how I was going to get around telling him what had happened.
“She was brought into the morgue the other night, and Hobbs told me to wait and do her makeup the next morning. But when I came in, she had been replaced by…well…a mummy. At least, I think it was a mummy. See, that’s part of the problem. I’m not entirely sure it isn’t Marilyn. Hobbs and the Sheriff seem to think that this is some kids pulling a prank. That they are digging up mummified bodies and replacing recent dead ones with them. I am beginning to think it isn't that at all.”
Miles tugged at his lip and rubbed his chin. I waited to see how he was going to respond.
“So, you think that maybe the mummy is Marilyn? What makes you think that?”
I really didn’t want to tell him about the memory walking.
“It’s just a hunch, really. I can’t really get fingerprint information because the Sheriff doesn’t think it’s her. So, my only other option really is to do deep research into who she was. I went to the library and asked around, but not too many people seem to know a lot about her, where she came from, etc.”
“She was quite private, I know that much. She didn’t flash money, but everyone knew her money supported half the projects in town. I'm sorry to hear she passed away, but now I’m curious myself,” he said, catching his breath for a dramatic pause before continuing, “Did you say she was still at the morgue?”
I nodded. “Yes, along with several other mummies.”
“There are others?”
“Yes, and there is the recent death of a young girl that you might be able to help us with. She’s been drained of all her blood, but we can't figure out how. There are no bite marks anywhere.”
He put one hand in his pocket and ran his fingers through his hair with the other as his face contorted with all the new information going through his mind.
“Would you be opposed to cutting our date here short and showing me the young girl?” he asked.
“This isn’t a date, remember?” I expressed.
He nodded and smiled, “Of course, it isn’t.”
Rolling my eyes and shaking my head, I began to leave the cellar.
“Let’s go.”
We made our way outside and I noticed just how many people had started to arrive. Apparently, this wine festival was a big thing here. I wasn’t much for crowds, so I was happy to get back to town. I did make a mental note of the types of people that were there already. Most of them were good-looking men and women, and looked like they had money. This would be a good place for single girls to mingle. I wanted to remind Patty and Katie to check it out, if they hadn’t already.
I reached for the door handle of the car and Miles rushed up to stop me.
“Allow me…”
I smiled and let him open my door. Okay, so the guy wants to be a gentleman. Who am I to stop him?
When I was a child, I daydreamed about lightening bugs being actual little fairies. We used to catch them and put them into jars until it was time for bed, then let them fly free so they wouldn’t die. It was those simple things that made me long for my mother. Even though I could see her in my dreams, I really wanted her to guide me some days. Maybe she was and I just didn’t know it.
Chapter 18
So many questions dotted my mind. If Miles didn’t drink blood, then why did he have fangs? Or was that part of his father that he wished he hadn’t inherited? I wondered if he and Sebastian had ever been real brothers. If there had ever been a time when they were nice to each other, or even liked each other. Was Miles a constant reminder to Sebastian of all the bad in his life? Did he even care?
I was pulled out of my daydream by Miles pulling the car into the empty parking lot of the morgue.
Making our way inside, I pulled the young girl out of the cooler and watched Miles as he looked her over. At first, it didn’t look like he was doing anything. His eyes scanned over the girl’s face and over the sheet that covered her body. I saw his eye stop at her right hand.
“There. Right under the tattoo. The tattoo was used to cover the needle mark.”
“How can you tell? You didn’t even pull the sheet down.”
“I can see through the sheet. Through the skin too, if I want. It’s kinda like an x-ray machine or an MRI,” he replied.
I studied his expression as he looked at me and immediately became uncomfortable. Instinctively, I crossed my arms over my chest as if I was naked. But if he really could see through everything, trying to hide myself wasn’t going to matter.
“Relax. I don’t use it to see women under their clothes. I’m not a creep.”
I half smiled at him as he turned his attention back to the young girl which helped to ease my tension.
He lifted the sheet and pulled out the tattooed arm, turning it upwards.
“If you look closely, the needle mark is a little larger than what they use to ink with. It’s actually a brilliant way to hide it. Whoever did this knew what they're doing, and has been doing it for quite some time.”
“Do you think Sebastian has anything to do with this?” I asked boldly.
Miles took in a breath and shrugged. I sensed he felt like Sebastian was involved, but because he didn’t know for sure, he didn’t want to point fingers just yet.
“So, where’s Marilyn?” he asked, looking around the room.
We pushed the young girl back into the cooler and went into the walk-in cooler where the mummies were kept.
“I must warn you, there are quite a few in here,” I said before opening the cooler door.
He nodded his head and we went inside.
“Wow, you weren’t kidding. Are all of these mummies?”
“Most of them. There are a few that are unknowns and Hobbs keeps them for a few months, just to make sure no one comes to claim them. If no one shows up, they get cremated and put into an unmarked grave at the edge of the city graveyard.”
“That’s horrible. Why would no one come to claim their loved one?” Miles asked.
“Well, maybe there isn’t anyone. Maybe the person was homeless and no one knew who they were. Maybe it was the last in a line of kids and there are no relatives. There's lots of reasons,” I explained.
I could see Miles frown and wondered if he thought about dying alone. It wasn’t a pretty thought, but one that many people had to deal with.
“Here she is,” I said, hoping to get his mind off his own death. Then again, I wondered if he'd inherited immortality like most vampires? I decided not to ask him right now.
Miles scanned over the body and gasped. I didn’t even have to remove the plastic or tape.
“What?”
“It’s her. It’s Marilyn. I can tell, but she’s…old. Like, really old. Several hundred years in fact. You were right. This is her.”
“Are you sure? I mean, your vision can tell you that?” I asked.
“Yes, but don’t tell anyone. What I don’t understand is how. How is she this old?”
“That’s why I need your help. I figured if I can access your database and search through a bunch of the historical archives and newspapers, I might be able to find out more history about her. Then, maybe that will tell us how she managed to live as long as she did,” I replied.
“Yeah, and maybe also give us a clue as to how she died. I mean, if she figured out a way to live for a few hundred years and look like she's only forty-five, she knew something the average person doesn’t. I want to know what that is,” he said.
I nodded. It would be invaluable if someone came up with a way to not get sick and keep disease at bay, and be able to live more than two-hundred years. But something told me, it wasn’t going to be that simple. Something like this never was.
“Can I ask you something kinda personal?” I asked. I really wanted to know more about his vampire traits, if he'd tell me.
“I tell you what. I’ll share something you ask, if you’ll do the same. Deal?”
I pondered the deal. I wasn’t sure I wanted to share all my secrets. Maybe I could stretch them out a little. Either way, here we go again with swapping secrets.
I gave him the side eye. “Okay, deal. So, if you don’t drink blood, why do you have fangs?”
His soft chuckle echoed in the hallway as we closed the walk-in cooler door behind us.
“I inherited some of the physical characteristics. So, like most vampires, if I get excited or angry, they’ll appear if I don’t make a conscious effort to keep them in. Other times, I can make them come out just to scare the crap out of people who don’t know me. Like if some asshole is harassing a young girl and I know the asshole is bad news, I might pretend to be a blood-sucker, just to get rid of him and leave her alone. I get lots of thank yous doing that,” he grinned and waggled his eyebrows.
I laughed and soft punched him in the arm, which he promptly grabbed and pretended to be wounded.
“Okay, that answers your question. Now, what are you going to share with me?”
He leaned against the wall and folded his arms, his smile showing his perfect whites. Damn, he was just too sexy for his own good and being hero-like sure made it harder for me to resist him. I had to look away to collect my thoughts, which currently kept going into the gutter.
I needed to share something that he kind of already knew.
“My blood kills vampires,” I said, matter-of-factly.
“I already knew that. What I don’t know is how?”
“I’m half angel. Half human. Angel blood is deadly to vampires. But because I’m half human, it takes a little more time to work its way into a dark being before they realize they are getting ready to die a horrible death.”
He looked to be in deep thought, then in his best Transylvania accent said, “So, I guess that means I shouldn’t drink your blood?”
“What, doesn’t my pulsing artery just push all your buttons?” I jested as I tilted my head sideways, opening my neck toward him.
With lightning speed, his arm was wrapped around my waist as he pulled me in and nuzzled the area of my neck I'd so freely offered him. I let out a gasp as it startled me.
“Oh, but it does. Just not in a vampire way,” he whispered with a hot breath over my neck.
Lord, help me.
I pushed him back. My body was on fire and part of me wanted to give in to both of our desires. But that would totally mess up everything. I needed to stay focused.
“I’m…sorry. I shouldn’t tease like that. I don’t want to mislead you or lead you on. I'm really not in a position to be in any kind of relationship right now. You seem like a super nice guy, but…” He put a finger over my lips, softl
y pressing me to stop.
“I get it, Scarlett. I promise, I’ll behave. Or at least, I’ll try. I just don’t know what it is about you. Something about you is pulling at me…like a rope that’s wound around my entire body. I’m drawn to you. I knew I wanted to be around you from the moment you ran into me the other day,” he said as he backed away, giving me breathing space.
I took advantage of that and inhaled deeply, the scent of formaldehyde reminding me that we were in a morgue. Shaking that off, I smiled and moved toward the door. I needed to get out of there and get some air.
We made our way outside as the sun began to set. I leaned against his car and he leaned next to me.
“So, do you think any of this has to do with Sebastian? I mean, he’s the main vamp in these parts, correct?” I asked.
Miles nodded. “I suspect he is, but how, I’m not so sure. I haven’t been able to get into the complex for many years now.”
“The complex?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s where he and his followers stay most of the time. It’s an old castle out of town, surrounded by a hundred acres of woods. It's pretty hard to find unless you’re a vampire. And you have to be invited on top of that. There is a spell of some kind around the entire property that won’t let me cross. I’ve been trying to find a way in for ages, but have yet to figure out what is blocking me,” he explained.
“That’s bizarre. I mean, I’ve heard of vampires not being able to cross thresholds without being invited, but never a vampire being able to keep out another vampire,” I said, as I wondered again about how Sebastian had been able to get into my house.
“Well, I’m not a typical vampire, remember? But I know for a fact, that other vamps that haven't been invited can’t get past it either, with the exception of an Original. Originals have the power to override just about everything.”
“So, is that why you couldn’t come into my house as well? I mean, if you aren’t full vampire, how come you couldn’t cross my threshold?” I asked.
“Because you didn’t invite me. And because I was being polite. I don’t enter unless invited, regardless of if I can or not.”