The sun is bright in my eyes and I squint, wishing I'd brought my sunglasses. I glance at my watch: 2:38. Though I probably should start rounding her up and get going, I don't want to. There are only so many moments left like this where I can enjoy a moment with my niece. Whatever happens from here on out, Amelia is only going to be this age once.
When it's over, it's gone for good, and that realization makes me sad.
Graeme reaches the end of his milkshake with a loud sucking sound and casts his eyes down. "Look, I know I don't say it enough, but I want to say thanks."
"For what?"
He leans back against the table, propping himself on his elbows. "For saving our lives. And for this." He gestures with his drink to indicate everything. "We needed this."
"Don't mention it."
Graeme sobers a bit and pokes at the lid with his straw. "Why do you think they came after us last night?"
Do I tell him? That they were trying to get at me in order to upset the balance of vampires in the world? Or do I shrug and say I don't know, leaving them out of the bigger picture? I see Graeme's furrowed brow and I can sense his unease just under the surface. He's worried about Amelia's safety; he wants to keep her safe. For him, not knowing anything right now is worse.
"They're after me," I state.
"Because you're…whatever you are?"
I know he is angry about my family's lot in life. It killed his wife Meghan, it's going to kill me, and it is eventually going to kill his daughter. I wonder if he truly regrets marrying into this mess. He was outside of it, lived his life in ignorant bliss of the things that go bump in the night. Now he's entrenched in it because his daughter is the last heir to a horrible legacy.
Maybe I could give him a bit of hope, even though it feels like a lie because it feels like a lie to myself. However, I think having your house burned to the ground warrants a breath of hope.
"Yeah. But I'm trying to stop them. Stop them from ever getting to Amelia."
He narrows his eyes in confusion. "As in…?" He glances back at Amelia, as if seeing her with fresh eyes. He takes a hand and rubs his stubbly chin, then he takes a shuddering breath. "Whatever it takes to get Amelia out of this," he whispers. His voice is raw. "Whatever it takes, please do it. I don't want her to end up like…"
…like Meghan.
Like me.
"I will," I promise. I don't want to fill him in on any more. I glance back at my watch. It's 2:46. We really should get going.
Graeme sits up. "Amelia!"
Amelia stops and looks back at us with a giant pout. She stomps her foot, but eventually, her father wins out and he scoops her up. I deposit our trash in the bins outside, and follow him to our dual cars.
"We'll follow you," Graeme tells me, bending down to pick up the cat carrier with Purl in it.
I slip into my car and check my phone to see if there's been anything, particularly from Jude. Nothing.
Frustrated, I toss the phone into the passenger seat and reverse out of the parking lot, pausing just long enough for Graeme to fall in behind me. Then we hit I-35 to head over to Westlake Hills.
27
Jude
I’ll be the first to admit that one of the worst parts about being a vampire is wearing a trench coat, gloves, pants, and sunglasses in the heat of May in Austin. But if I have any hope of going outside, I need to wear all four so I don’t burn to a crisp. Even still, I have to shield my face from the sun.
The look on Edie’s face when she sees me outside Carl’s place is totally worth it though. She gets out of her car with a stunned expression and closes the door with her hip.
"What the shit?"
Oh yeah. Totally worth it.
"What are you doing here, Jude?" she says in exasperation. An SUV pulls up behind her car and parks. Graeme, I’m guessing. Her eyes go to my lips and then back to my face and her cheeks blush red.
“Carl invited me here,” I say. I can’t hide my grin though, and I can see that it riles her up even more. God, she’s cute when she’s flustered. “I’m following through on my promise to you.” I lean into her. “Or do you not remember that part?”
She looks like she’s about to say something, but Graeme gets out, shutting her up. “We’ll talk about this later,” she hisses.
I can tell that she wants to say more, but Graeme comes up to us with Amelia holding his hand. He's also carrying Purl in her carrier. The cat hisses angrily as she comes towards me.
Graeme, meanwhile, doesn't pick up on her attitude, nor on the fact that I am completely covered up in clothing. He’s either dense or doesn’t want to believe what I am. Amelia knows though, and she’s looking up at me with a mischievous grin.
"Jude, is it?" Graeme says. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"I'm here to help," I reply.
Graeme nods. "Thanks for your help last night."
"Don't mention it."
"Edie!"
Edie is swept up in Carl's arms, and she cries out in pain. It takes every bit of my self-control not to punch Carl.
Carl realizes what he's doing a bit too late. "Oh shit, sorry, Edie!" He lets go and holds her at arm's length.
She clamps a hand to her side to add some pressure to the wound. I know that some of it has reopened, since I can smell her blood much stronger in the air.
"I'm going to be okay,” she says through shallow breaths. “Just, don't hug me that tightly."
"You're going to have to warn Mom about that," Carl says. Then it seems like Carl sees me for the first time here. "Hey! Wasn’t expecting you until nightfall."
I shake my head slightly, hoping that Carl understands not to rat me out as a vampire in front of Graeme. Thankfully, Graeme's already walking up the steps with Amelia.
"I am so grateful you guys can take us in," he says to Carl.
"Mom's excited to see you guys. Ma, they’re here!" Carl yells into the house, bounding past Jude into the foyer.
We follow him in, and a petite woman in a flowy skirt comes out of a room. She’s wiping her hands on her hips. Her gaze falls on Carl first, then Edie, and then Graeme and Amelia. She beams at them and reaches out for a hug.
“Graeme! Amelia! I haven’t seen you two in…” She looks stricken. And apparently hasn’t seen them since the other Harker’s funeral. She hugs them tighter.
She sees me and stops cold. "Oh," she says, surprised. Her cheeks color as she looks to Edie for explanation. "What’s a vampire doing here?"
I can almost hear the air being sucked out of Edie and Carl’s lungs.
“A vam…” Graeme whips his head around to me, his expression hard, like I have betrayed him. Anger blossoms on his face like storm clouds rolling on a mountain top.
“Vamper,” Amelia corrects incorrectly.
Intensity rolls off the man in waves and he glares at me. "I thought you were weird. Different. So you're one of them."
His tone is not kind. I can't blame him. After all, with his limited exposure to vampires, all he knows about them is that they killed his wife.
Without taking his eyes off me, he asks angrily, "Edie, why the hell did you bring a bloodsucking demon around my daughter?"
The mischievous expression on Amelia's face disappears and her eyes go wide. "Daddy—"
"Graeme—" Edie starts.
"I saved Edie’s life last night," I remind him calmly. I know why he’s angry and I don’t hold it against him. Likewise, he shouldn’t hold what I am against me. I do it enough as is. "I've been working with her to try and figure out how to stop her sickness from spreading, and to keep your daughter safe. So you either have to get over it or stay away from me."
Graeme sways and staggers backward, grabs Amelia's hand, and glares at Edie.
"I need…to get away…" he growls at her. “Sorry, we’re not safe here. And neither are you, Edie.”
He pushes past her out the front door, taking his daughter with him. The cat carrier is on the ground and Purl howls unhappily.
; Edie looks stricken as she watches her brother-in-law leave.
"Graeme!" she shouts, jogging after him.
I have a split second to decide whether to follow in daylight or not.
I go outside, because anywhere Edie goes, I’ll follow.
The sunlight is blinding and the heat is suffocating. Though I want to stay in the relative safety of the porch’s shadow, I don’t know how this is going to escalate. Graeme is pretty pissed. I stay a few feet behind Edie while she runs after her brother-in-law, who is moving surprisingly fast for a human.
He’s already strapping Amelia into the car, who’s wailing that she doesn’t want to go.
“Don’t be stupid, Graeme!” Edie yells him.
“Stupid?” he fumes. He points at me. “Stupid is bringing one of those things around. One of the things that…that killed…” I can see the tears forming. “How could you? How could you do something like that to us?"
"I saved her life," I tell Graeme again. “I’m not going to hurt any of you.”
Graeme snarls and slams Amelia’s door and pushes past Edie, his body jerking like the amount of anger in his body is keeping him from walking properly. "Yeah, and I'm sure he's a ‘great guy’ too, but I'm not going to risk Amelia's life to be nice." He gets into the driver’s seat.
"Graeme,” Edie pleads, “please stay. I…I can't protect you if you go somewhere else."
"And I'm sure you consider burning our house down as keeping us safe," he spits at her.
Edie blinks, shaken, holding her eyes wide open so the tears won’t fall.
I try putting a hand on her shoulder, but she shrinks away from my touch.
"That's not fair," she says to Graeme, her voice trembling. “Don’t do that to me.”
Graeme looks forward in his car, like he wants to say something more, but he slams the door shut and starts the engine. The Kia actually squeals as he drives off. Amelia watches through the window, her tear-stained face sniffling until the car turns the corner out of eyesight.
It’s only now that Edie allows herself to cry. She bows her head like she’s trying to hold it in, but tears fall unbidden from her eyes.
“Edie,” I start. “I’m sorry…”
She turns to me, her hazel eyes huge and glassy. In that moment, she looks so vulnerable and hurt, I reach out to comfort her in any way. She crumples forward and falls in my arms.
“S-scar…” she whimpers, before her eyes close and her entire body goes into convulsions. Her entire left arm spasms with it, yet the rest of her seizes with the attack.
“Edie!” I yell, holding her head up. “Edie!”
To my horror, strangled noises come from Edie’s throat, sounding like a dying animal. She’s not responding, and the shaking seems to be getting worse.
I feel the rays of sunlight hit my face, searing the skin. Something comes over me, and even though I burn myself more, I heft her in my arms, carrying her back towards the house. I don’t feel anything except the burning need to keep her safe.
Was it the stress of Graeme’s departure? Would she have had an attack without it? I don’t have any answers, only more questions made worse by the fact that I have no fucking clue how to help her.
“Help me!” I roar, barging into Carl’s house. The door bangs against the wall, cracking the drywall. “It’s Edie!”
28
Edie
I'm in a world completely by myself and there's nothing anyone can do to help.
"Edie! Edie, wake up!"
Moment after agonizing moment passes and my senses gradually come back to me while the pain lessens in my arm. I blink furiously, unnoticed tears streaming down my face. I must have been crying out on the lawn, but now there's a cold, hard surface against my back. A face swims above mine, disembodied and concerned all at the same time.
"Jude?" The light hits my eyes and I squint. "Ugh."
“Edie!” He presses his lips against my forehead. He’s cupping my face, holding me to him in a desperate embrace. “You…” He pulls back sharply, inspecting me. “You’re okay.”
Red, angry blisters are scattered across his forehead. From…the sun? “Stupid idiot,” I say.
"What happened?"
I let out a breath. "It's nothing."
Jude's lips press together in a thin line. "Dammit, Edie…" he says, stroking my cheek.
I close my eyes, relishing the touch. “I’m sorry.”
I take stock of where I am. I'm in Aunt Tessa's kitchen on top of the island. Copper pots and spoons dangle above my head, and everything around me is scattered. I must have been picked up from the front and brought here. I groan and settle back on the cold marble counter, place both hands over my eyes, and inhale a shuddering breath.
"Edie, are you all right?"
Aunt Tessa’s face comes into view. She's pallid, with sweat on her forehead. She places a cold compress on my forehead. I hate being babied, but it feels so good.
"Yeah," I croak. "That's from my…illness."
The ministrations on my head stop. "This is from your scar?" she asks.
"Yeah. Happens every so often." I open my eyes and offer her a weak smile. "I'll be fine for a while."
Three attacks in four days. They're getting more frequent.
"You should have told me," Aunt Tessa says. "I could have helped."
"Hey, Edie." Carl leans over me so I can see him.
I smile weakly up at him. "Well, this is fucking embarrassing."
"You just…dropped out there."
"I didn't pee myself, did I?" It was meant to be a joke, but I can tell that he's not up for my sense of humor.
"Jude caught you before you completely passed out," he explains. "Brought you inside and everything. Broke Mom's cookie jar when he put you on here."
"I can get another," Aunt Tessa chimes in. "I'm glad you're okay."
Okay for now, I suppose. I don't contradict her though. I can tell that everyone is worried. From the way Aunt Tessa is taking care of me, to Carl’s expression, to Jude’s protective closeness, I’m being fretted over.
"A cigarette," I say. "I need a cigarette."
"Probably not the brightest of ideas at the moment," another voice says.
I push myself up again. Zhi is standing in the kitchen with a heavily hooded Maria standing next to him. They both look like they’re ready to hunt. I can tell that Zhi follows a lot of the same hunting conventions I do. Nothing too fancy, an old pair of pants and a shirt.
Maria is dressed in a leather catsuit and a cloak. In the daylight, Maria looks even more beautiful than last night. She cuts an imposing figure in the house. She’s so tall.
"The door was left open," Zhi explains with a grin.
“Nearly off its hinges, actually,” Maria adds. She gives Jude a sly smile, which makes me jealous despite the fact that I feel like shit. “It’s like Bitey over here got anxious and broke the door.”
Aunt Tessa groans. "And apparently my charms aren’t working either." She strides out of the kitchen, her anger apparent.
Zhi shrugs.
“Where’s nǎinai?” I ask Zhi, using the nickname Zhi used for his grandmother last night.
“Sitting this one out,” Zhi says. “Something big is about to happen. Some stuff has happened since last night."
"Too much," Carl says.
"Too much?" Zhi echoes.
I bring myself to a full sitting position, Carl helping me to avoid the pots and pans above me.
"Yeah," I reply. “Long story.”
“Well, I have a long story too,” Zhi says. “But the short of it is, the Progenitor has made an appearance. He's in Dallas."
29
Edie
"I thought you said that the Progenitor is a master at hiding," I say suspiciously. “Why the fuck has he suddenly made an appearance?”
It's entirely too coincidental that he pops up the day after I meet Zhi and I’m attacked by vampires. I'm no fool.
"You’re so suspicious, Harker," Maria chide
s.
"A shit ton of bad stuff happened last night," I say thinly. "Consider me on edge."
"What happened after you left?" Zhi asks.
"Why does it matter?" I shake off the remains of my seizure and slide off the edge of the island. I land on my feet and sway a bit, but at least I feel more human now.
"Because it might explain why the Progenitor has made an appearance."
At my skeptical expression, Zhi takes out a tablet, thumbs it to the gallery and shows me a screenshot. In it is the same elderly man that I saw on the screens in their bunker last night. I've been to Dallas a few times, so I recognize the Uptown area behind him. The photo is dark, with a glistening limo behind him and bodyguards surrounding him. Even if he's not the Progenitor, the old man is someone important.
Carl leans in for a better look. "He's at the Ritz Carlton?"
Seriously, he's staying at one of the most expensive hotels in the city? "Talk about stereotypical," I mutter. "This was last night?"
"My contacts in Dallas say that he showed up around 3am," Zhi says, putting the tablet away. "They don't know how long he'll be there, but we can be sure that he'll at least be there until nightfall. If we leave now, we can catch him before the sun sets."
I thrust my thumb towards the vampires in the room. "Sunlight doesn't keep vampires underground. You should know that by now."
Maria clucks her tongue at Jude. “You caught some sun, potro. The Progenitor wouldn't be that stupid. He'd avoid the sun at all costs."
“I had an accident outside,” Jude grumbles.
The older the vampire, the quicker they burn, like dry twigs versus wet leaves. Someone that's been a vampire for ten years can handle sun for much longer than a thousand year old vampire before they died. If the Progenitor is millions of years old, he may spontaneously combust if even one photon of light hits him.
It also says something about Jude’s age that he’s blistered. He’s not ancient, which is reassuring. For some reason, having feelings for a vampire that is younger than the United States feels immensely better. His blisters are healing before my very eyes, which is an indicator of his supernatural healing abilities.
Legends of the Damned: A Collection of Edgy Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 37