Invierea

by Bruce T. Jones

  “If I allow you to live free, I have to know beyond all doubt, I can trust you.”

  “Tomorrow, we will go to your home and look for any signs that there might be more rogues.”

  Gabrielle affirmed with a silent nod.

  “Then you will go to New York with me, to find Sabine and Angelique. If you help me do all I ask, and you can convince me you can exist without killing, we will discuss finding a mutual place where you can go free.”

  She nodded again.

  “And one final point, the most important,” I continued. “Choosing to take you along as a companion, not an adversary, I need you to understand, my attraction to you is apparently instinctive to our race, some kind of genetic attraction. I can sense your passion and desires and apparently you can sense mine. But regardless of my subconscious feelings, I am very much in love with Samantha. There will never be anything between the two of us.”

  Once again, she nodded.

  “We have shared our blood, and forged a bond that will only be severed by death. I will care for and protect you from this day forward, but you must respect my relationship with Samantha. Is that clear?”

  Her serene expression convinced me Gabrielle was no longer a threat. As I stretched her frail body out on the couch, a sense of shame cornered my inner bastard, regretting the pain I had inflicted. Tenderly, I placed her head on a pillow and headed for the kitchen. I hit the speed dial on my phone.

  “Chuck, stop by in the morning. I made a fucking mess of the place.” I was glad he had not answered. I honestly did not feel like a long explanation at the moment. Opening the fridge, I looked at my juice boxes. Normally, this close to sunrise, I would have a cocktail, but Gabrielle’s blood proved to be a most nourishing experience.

  “Drink this. Your strength will return,” I suggested as I handed Gabrielle a box of A positive. It was quite fascinating, to witness the consumption of the life-giving blood, then like a plant parched from lack of water, her skin instantaneously began to turn from a grotesque shade of gray, back to the appealing, cottony, hues of white. Closing her eyes as she drank, that look of complete satisfaction swooned over her as the rich blood revitalized her veins.

  The next several nights we canvassed South Beach and Miami for any clues or suspicions of any remaining vampires, but came up empty. Over those nights, Gabrielle shared her story; scraping for life in France as an indigent teenager, her hopes for a fresh start in New Orleans only to become a prisoner, then to watch, as one by one her friends were murdered while waiting for her turn to die. All of this shit, over two hundred years’ worth, only to spend her freedom looking over her shoulder, waiting for the inevitable. Waiting for me.

  Gabrielle was inquisitive of my life, both current circumstances and my former career. I found myself uncharacteristically open to her questioning. No doubt, being two of the same outcast creatures made the confessional much easier. I admired her beauty and grace, while fitting of her age, she maintained an almost girlish innocence, that was refreshing in so many ways. I found it peculiar, that another love could blossom in a heart, which for so many years remained barren.

  Unlike Samantha, the freight train collision which dismantled my entire life, this one was of a singular simplistic affection, akin to a paternalistic relationship. Oddly, with Gabrielle being over two hundred years my senior, it was she who looked to me for guidance.

  She knew so little of the modern world history, or physics, such as how planes fly. Her excitement was uncontainable over the flight to New York. Once there, she wanted to experience movies, Broadway, museums and even a ball game. It was in Gabrielle’s exhilaration I found what should have been an obvious revelation. Being a vampire did not make me evil, nor did it her. The evil, which had been my life, was the misguided sense of duty. Duty to a career whose purpose was cloaked in dishonesty—the true adversary. Studying every aspect of this beautiful creature, I could not fathom the damnation of her soul. And I came to realize, if I truly believed Gabrielle could be turned away from Monique’s homicidal lunacy and find salvation, then perhaps my future as well was not carved in stone.

  Tomorrow night, I would be reunited with Sam. My unintended feelings for Gabrielle were playing into an internal debate over Sam’s future. Even with my newfound revelations of good versus evil, there was absolutely no way I could ever take Sam’s mortal life and deliver her into this world of unending darkness.

  My homecoming; how it had been transformed from my expectations a mere six days ago. Armed with my newfound ally, my eagerness to resume the hunt was rekindled. Greater now, my desire to find Angelique, to have her explain our forever-intertwined fates. She had known something. But how? No longer did I feel compelled to destroy her or Sabine. With Monique dead, Angelique was perhaps the only person alive who could give a first hand account of my family history. A past which had shadowed my life, lurking behind, quietly protecting, and now reclaiming the son I was destined to be.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THURSDAY EVENING ARRIVED with renewed vigor. Gabrielle’s giddiness overflowed into a contagion of youthful bliss that encompassed me. A simple mundane task, such as flying, exuded childlike excitement. Robbed of her youth, hell, two hundred years of life, her biggest hurdle to overcome would not be killing humans for food, but merely maintaining a low enough profile to remain off the radar.

  I watched curiously as she downed a pint, wondering if she would be able to control her lust for blood. Questions, she had a million, about Sam and my perspective on mixed relationships. She appeared to understand my commitment for Sam to remain mortal. Confessing her desire to find a relationship Gabrielle conceded there was no hurry. “After all,” she began, “I have already waited quite a few years, what’s a few more?”

  On the outside, I was quite pleased with her progress. But I knew, down deep, fear continued to weigh on her. The very same fear I possessed. I had new concerns as well. Phillip was going to freak when he discovered I was bringing a Convent vampire back with me. Up until this point, any acknowledgement could only be verified through betraying my circumstances. With Gabrielle, he would have a sacrificial lamb, absolute proof a race of vampires existed, and that the Vatican had orchestrated a cover up of monstrous proportions. The story would be a blockbuster, perhaps the greatest of his career.

  Imagine the fervor created over vampires … and the prospect of cheap immortality for all. I would have to forcefully pop his Clark Kent bubble by reminding him that he was an accessory to violating multiple international laws in obtaining a Convent vampire, and murder. But I knew Phillip. He would still try to sell me a story, one with well spun details, and expertly crafted alibis to alleviate any admission of guilt or wrongdoing. This would eventually allow him to parade Gabrielle before the unsuspecting world and solidify his place in history, not to mention, line his coffer’s with unimaginable wealth.

  Phillip was eagerly waiting our arrival at the hangar. I had phoned ahead and prepared him for the event. To try to conceal the nature of our new guest would undermine our friendship, and destroy the trust which it was built upon. Phillip’s eyes seized upon Gabrielle, a reaction I was all too familiar with and fully expected from Captain Horndog. “You must be Gabrielle.” His eyes absorbed her delicate features, head to toe, in an embarrassing display of gawking. “Will you please excuse us, just for just a minute?” Phillip found my elbow and tugged me off to the side. Once we were a safe distance from the group he began to rave, “Damn, Brian, you said she was hot, but I think you understated the facts, my friend.”

  “I never said she was hot.”

  “Okay, so you said good-looking, but shit, that is scorch’n hot over there,” he exclaimed as he thumbed in her direction.

  “First, Phillip, let me remind you, you are engaged. Secondly, she is a vampire. I see the look in your eyes, and I have seen it before. But I have to warn you, I will slam fuck you up if you try anything with her. She is strictly off limits, forbidden. You understand?”

  “Easy, Br
o,” he said smoothly. “I love Dee. I would not screw that up. But geez, you can not honestly tell me you would not be doin’ the bone dance with her if the opportunity arrived.”

  “I did have the opportunity, Phillip, and no, I did not. Their beauty is deceiving, entrancing, and at times, overwhelming. And, do not forget, deadly.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Phillip quipped. He chuckled as he obviously pondered the thoughts about to roll off his lips.

  “So, do you mind if I tag along to your place? I cannot wait to hear how you are going to explain your new houseguest to Sam. I don’t know what’ll be more entertaining. You, desperately searching for the right thing to say, or her reaction.”

  I knew he was right about the looming confrontation. For two days I had contemplated breeching the subject with Sam. Had Gabrielle been just plain ol’ butt-ugly, the introduction soon to occur would be a breeze. But she was drop-dead smoking hot. After losing her husband to a much younger, attractive woman, I was sure Sam would be hypersensitive to our new guest. Especially when I informed her Gabrielle would be staying in the downstairs apartment.

  “Yes, I will let you keep Gabrielle company while I find a way to tap dance around that one.”

  “That is what bros are for,” Phillip chimed gleefully. He took my arm and led me back to Gabrielle. “All right, let’s go,” he announced. “It’s getting early and some of us have to be in our caskets soon.” Phillip smiled at his misguided humor as he led the way.

  As we headed to the limo, Gabrielle took a hold of my arm and pulled herself near enough to whisper in my ear. “Just good looking?” she asked with a smirk.

  It was four in the morning and I had hoped, maybe even prayed, for Sam to be asleep, to postpone the inevitable showdown. But Sam must have been listening for the elevator; she enthusiastically flung herself into my arms, leaping from the floor and wrapping her legs around my waist, planting a big wet kiss on my lips.

  Phillip cleared his throat, eager for the showdown to begin. “Where’s mine?”

  Sam peeked over my shoulder as Phillip approached, Gabrielle by his side. “Phillip!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here, at this hour?” She slid back to the floor and immediately cast a suspicious gaze on Gabrielle.

  “Let’s go in,” I suggested.

  I closed the door softly as Sam, Phillip and Gabrielle entered in order. The time to cut the chase was here. “Sam, this is Gabrielle. You two have already met. She is here to help me find Angelique and Sabine and will be staying in the guest apartment beneath us for a while.”

  Sam thoroughly inspected Gabrielle. Had we not had the encounter in New Orleans, and if Gabrielle had ranked somewhere below a seven, I was sure things might have gone better.

  “Wonderful,” she quipped as her expression foretold of an imminent private conversation. “Phillip, would you show her the apartment? I need just a moment with Brian.”

  Gabrielle followed Phillip to the spiral stairway. Once they disappeared from sight, Sam took me by the hand and led me into the bedroom and closed the door.

  “Is this why you were in Miami so long?”

  The tone of Sam’s voice was foreign to me. Obviously subduing what might have otherwise come out as a scream, I began to gauge the depth of her ire. Aunt Rena would surely be amused at my predicament.

  “Yes.” My reply was uncharacteristically timid. “After I disposed of Celine, I found Gabrielle. She was willing to help me search for and clean up the clan Celine had begun creating.”

  “And how did you persuade a vampire, who was hell-bent on killing us, to suddenly switch allegiances?”

  “It is a little complicated. Can we discuss it after she is settled in and Phillip is gone?”

  “Did you sleep with her?” Sam’s tone was sharp and resentful.

  “No!” Don’t lie, no more half-truths, I reminded myself. “Well, kind of, but not sexually. I had to keep an eye on her, to make sure I could trust her before bringing her back here to New York,” I was on the ropes and knew the knock-out punch was looming. “She slept in the closet with me.”

  “Trust her?” Sam squawked. “Damn it, Nick, she is one of them! Did you forget she would have killed me in New Orleans had you not intervened?”

  “No, I don’t believe she would have. From everything I have learned about her, I believe Celine was the problem. Apparently, Gabrielle has not bitten a living human in the two hundred years since she has been a vampire.”

  “Learned? From who? Gabrielle? What would you expect her to say? You were there to impale her. She would have told you she was a Girl Scout in France before she was kidnapped by the evil Celine,” Sam spoke in condescending tones, not entirely sensitive to the ears of our guest below.

  “How on earth did you find out about the Girl Scout thing?”

  “Don’t you try to make light of this, Nick,” Sam snapped.

  “I am sorry honey!” Unsuccessfully, I tried to give Sam a hug.

  “No, no. Don’t you dare patronize me with that honey crap, Nick. And don’t you think you can do that vampire mind thing on me either!” She paused to reload her ammunition.

  I gave her my best dopey, I am so sorry expression.

  “You know, I thought I was an important piece of your life. I thought you might consider calling me to discuss this, before bringing a stray person, a vampire into our home.” Sam slowed her pace, attempting to regain composure.

  “I am truly sorry, Sam. Believe me, I have spent many hours deliberating how to tell you. I knew if I told you about it while I was in Miami you would have been just as bad, if not worse than you are right now. If you knew I was sharing a closet with her … but I swear nothing happened or will ever happen between Gabrielle and myself.”

  “Ever is a long time.” Sam’s tone changed from offensive to sullen. “The two of you might have forever. I don’t.”

  “Sam.” Raising her hand to my lips, I kissed it, “What is really going on?”

  “Well, you probably have not noticed, but she is quite beautiful.”

  “And?” I prodded.

  “Well, thirty years from now, she is still going to be beautiful, and so will you. And I am going to look like a two-legged Shar-Pei grandmother. A hundred years from now, I will be dead and buried, and the two of you will still be goddamn beautiful.”

  “Okay, so this is more about she is a vampire, I am a vampire, and you are not?”

  It was Sam’s turn to avoid eye contact, but my hands gently guided her face back to me.

  “Samantha, if I was not a vampire, one lifetime is all we would have. No matter how much we would want to cheat that, in no way does it justify bringing this curse down on you.” I watched as her eyes begin to glisten with emotion. “I love you now, and I will love you when you are old, wrinkled, and gray. It was not your beauty that attracted me, true your legs might have played a part, but it was your spirit that knocked me off my feet. And I have envisioned the day, when your time comes, I will take that journey with you. This world will have no meaning for me without you in it.”

  Sam sniffled, “And you don’t think when I am old and gray that you won’t find her beauty irresistible?”

  “I am going to confess something, Sam. I hope you can understand it better than I do. Gabrielle and I are the same creatures. We may be all there is of our kind remaining. The feelings I hold for her are instinctive. It is like the love you have for Dee. We are one in the same family, rooted through a common curse we both would give the world to be free of. And even though she is hundreds of years older than me, I love Gabrielle like a daughter.”

  Sam looked confused. I could not blame her. “But you killed the others? Where was all of this one family love for them?”

  “Before I became one, vengeance spurred me to kill. Afterwards, in Miami, I took Celine’s life more in self-defense. But Gabrielle … after nearly killing her, I literally held her life in my hands, the decision for her to live or die was mine alone to grant. But for her to live, she needed b
lood. My blood. And as my blood coursed through her veins, we became one family. For her to die now; a part of me would perish as well.”

  Sam was speechless as she absorbed my confession. I took her hands and pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her. She offered no resistance, but did not partake in returning the affection. Telling her I loved Gabrielle was possibly a strategic mistake, but I wanted to be honest with her. She had to know regardless of the consequences.

  “I swear to God, Nick, if you are lying to me, I’ll put a stake right through her heart.”

  “Everything all right in there?” Phillip called out. “I know it’s been almost a whole week, but I hope you two aren’t busy getting busy just yet.”

  Sam pulled away and smiled. “Just so you know, I had plans for you tonight, but I guess it will have to wait for now. Just so you know …” Sam slowly unbuttoned her shirt, revealing a black lace brassiere.

  I looked down. Black pumps. A devilish smile crossed my face. My girl knew how to take care of business. Profiled and exploited, I was such a pushover.

  “And the panties? I guess you will have to wait till I find myself in the mood again to find out about them.” Taking my hand she led me to the door. “Let’s not be rude. Time to go meet your immortally good-looking little vampire daughter.” With her swagger back in gear, Sam sighed, opened the door and led the way.

  I lagged behind, enjoying the view. Yes, it was good to be back home.

  “Is everything all right?” Phillip and Gabrielle were parked on the couch making small talk.

  Sam smiled at Phillip. “Never been better.” There was a hitch to her tone, indicating a remnant of disapproval.

  Perhaps Gabrielle’s position on the couch, seated dangerously close to Phillip was the issue. It might have been Gabrielle’s slender long legs, exquisitely displayed by her über short skirt, which Sam’s eyes now trolled up and down.