House of Darkness

by K. R. Alexander

  Could I stake a guy who left me so conflicted?

  It would be for the best.

  I took a drink and a deep breath and plunged into the living room. The TV was indeed on. Wade had his arms crossed, glaring from Dad’s chair. The other two sat on the couch, focused on the TV, in charge of the remote. Adam was upright and fully dressed.

  I’d thought they’d be watching … I don’t know. College football? Crime shows? Reality drama? They were watching the day’s late-night repeats of cooking competitions on Food Network. And I mean watching like their lives depended on it.

  No one even mentioned my being away for so long, much less questioned me.

  Ready for a fight, I instead found myself even more irritated. How do you like that? What’s the point of hiring on three guys to help if they sit downstairs watching TV while you’re ambushed and molested in your own home? It was like coming home to find the guard dog chewing a bone while the getaway car peeled out.

  The idiots, I should just go on my own. Drive back right now, see what that guy wanted, confirm it was true about the young vampires, then … what? Come back home and get some sleep? What was I supposed to do about them on my own?

  Gideon elbowed Adam and they moved over to make room for me.

  “Feel better?” Wade asked with a faint smile.

  “Not really.” I stopped by the TV to scowl at them. “Thanks for caring. I’m going back to the house. If anyone wants to come with me, think of it as part of your trial.”

  Finally, everyone looked at me.

  “You’re what?” Wade said.

  “Knew I shouldn’t have changed back,” Adam said.

  “Why?” Gideon asked. “They’ll be expecting more trouble now. Better to lull them into a false sense of security, take on a couple other houses, then pow! Pounce when their noses are down and smash them out.” Slamming his left fist into his right palm. I’d just been noticing over the wings he was left-handed. I think Adam was also.

  “Yeah, I’m not going back to battle the house. I’m going to … talk, I guess. I just saw one of them and he said some vampire there wants to speak to us.”

  “In a scry?” Wade asked.

  “Saw a vampire?” Adam asked.

  “What happened to your glasses?” Gideon asked.

  “No, yes, contacts. There was one upstairs just now with a message for us. Then he jumped out the window and took off.”

  Everyone sat up straight. Gideon sprang to his feet.

  “They followed us here?” Wade had gone pale.

  “Where is it?” Gideon demanded.

  “Was it a vampire or that damned fox?” Adam asked.

  “Fox…?” I frowned at him.

  “Yeah,” Gideon said. “Adam sniffed out what’s what with the little maggot.”

  Adam was nodding, eyes gleaming, ready for another chance at the hunt. “It’s no total fox,” he told me. “And it’s sure as shooting not a ghost. It’s a fox shifter. Don’t know why he’s playing us like a fiddle but next time I pick up his trail I’ll turn his hide inside out.”

  “You’re really meaning to go back there tonight?” Wade asked.

  “If there’s a vampire here, we should find it,” Gideon said. “Maybe I should change?”

  “Ripley?” It seemed Wade had noticed the open-mouthed blank that had seized my face. Even if he couldn’t hear the buzzing that had seized my ears. He stood up, concerned.

  Yet I hardly saw or heard any of them.

  “What is it?” Gideon snapped. “Is it their tricks? A vampire? Getting in your head?”

  “No,” I finally managed, hand clenching the mostly full can, crushing in. “No, it’s not a vampire. It’s a damned, damned, damned fox.” Voice getting louder as I spoke, as the anger bubbled up in a fresh rush of heat through my blood, flush to my face, tightness in my muscles ready to punch someone by hand or magic. “Are you rested enough to blow up more heads?”

  Wade, taken aback by my savage tone, shrugged.

  Good enough.

  “If anyone wants to come, I’m going back.” I stormed from the room.

  25

  Adam chewed Black Jack gum in the back seat behind my head, talking about backgammon. Gideon leaned into the back of Wade’s seat, talking at me about how more stakes were in Adam’s bike and they’d grab them while we kept the vampires distracted. Wade, possibly because of the werewolf breathing down his neck, possibly because of our destination, had reverted to tense and nervous, fingers twisting together, asking if I thought this was a good idea, and what, exactly, had the fox dude said?

  They were all doing this at the same time, mind. I felt like I was on a tennis court playing doubles when all three other players decided to hit the ball at me.

  Next time, everyone would take separate vehicles.

  Wade had offered to drive me, but the other two had decided that was an open invitation. The Corvette, of course, was a two-seater. I’d said I could drive us, still assuming that at least Gideon would take his motorcycle. That’s what I got for assuming in this mess.

  “Sometimes a fellow gets it into his thinking it’s a game of chance,” Adam was saying. “That’s only a bit of it. All about strategy, just like chess.”

  “If there’s just one on the porch waiting maybe the mage can blow his head off and we’ll be done with him,” Gideon said at the same time.

  Along with Wade. “I’m sure you’re good at what you’re doing, Ripley. But we’re all tired. It’s almost two in the morning. It really might be best to wait.”

  Why had I done this? Not allowed them into my car, or sex with the creepiest stranger I’d ever met, or come dashing out here because of a cryptic message. Why was I doing this at all? I’d just felt like … I had to. I had never, in the past ten days, not once, considered not doing this. I had to get help, had to run the ad, had to fight back against hidden monsters in Midway City. I had to because no one else was doing anything. Because the only two people who’d tried hadn’t lived to tell about it. Because I owed it to them to fight, even if I felt nothing for the town itself. Beginning to despise the place, actually.

  It was only a ten-minute drive but felt like one of the longest of my life.

  Halfway, it dawned on me that the “conversation” had died. All was quiet. The headlights followed a corridor of horse fence on the right and cornfield on the left. The distant odor of polecat in the night cut through the licorice smell.

  “So,” Wade said, “where are you from?”

  I glanced at him in the passenger seat.

  Wade’s smile was lopsided. “Is this the fourth date?”

  Such a pretty boy. I felt the twitch of an impulse to reach out and ruffle his hair. He was the good guy here. Neutral good alignment, I’d say. Specialty class Invoker? Did he know lightning bolt also?

  I smiled. As if real life magic is anything like tabletop gaming. They had me carried away. In more ways than one? I really had liked Wade on the speed date, seeming years ago. If I was meant to be with someone here, surely it was him. No more flights of insanity. Just … yeah. I wasn’t totally sold on Wade, though he seemed to be sold on me. Obviously, though, I could do a lot worse.

  “Nowhere,” I told him. “My parents chased troubled spirits and vampire infestations. We moved around like a military family. Spent a lot of time in the East, though.”

  “How long have you lived in Midday City?”

  “Three days. I was in Atlanta, like you.”

  “Care to come back? How about dinner tomorrow night? You can check out my place.”

  “Do you always invite women to live with you on fourth dates?”

  “Only the ones I’m sure about. So … only you.” Grinning at me.

  “We’ll bring the supper,” Gideon said from behind Wade’s head.

  “Filet mignon,” Adam said.

  “You have competition,” I told Wade.

  He gave a light laugh. “You have better judgement than that.”

  I snorted. “
What is your basis for a statement like that?”

  “I’m a good judge of character.”

  Whoa, buddy. You sure about that?

  “So where are you from?” I asked as I turned into the dark drive by the red mailbox. “Cincinnati?”

  “Blue Ash, yeah. I was born here. I grew up in Blue Ash, but a lot of family in the Atlanta area.”

  I would have asked what had brought him back, what sort of work had he been doing, or was he in school? But I stopped the car beside Adam’s motorcycle and looked ahead to the house in the headlight’s glare, not feeling like conversation anymore.

  The house was unchanged. Dark, still, holding its breath. When I shut off the engine the silence was intense. I killed the lights also, sure our host wouldn’t approve. I’d let the cats out of the laundry room and grabbed a couple extra flashlights from there on our way out.

  I passed one to Wade. No sooner were we outside than he jumped, straining to see into the weeds where something had moved by the barn. Gideon said it was only a cat and they turned to get the stakes from Marybeth. The stakes were gone. Everything else untouched.

  “Are you sure you had more in that one?” I asked, glancing around at the saddlebags.

  “Positive,” Adam growled. “Gonna cloud up and rain all over those maggots. Shouldn’t have left in the first place. We’ll have given them ideas that they’re running the place, able to scare us off like we’re yellow as an egg with two yolks.”

  “Uh…?” I said. “I don’t know what would have been so smart about sticking around. We weren’t getting anywhere.”

  “It ain’t about smart.”

  “Obviously,” Wade mumbled.

  “It’s about showing those blood-suckers who’s in charge around here. They’re breaking the truce. Even a fellow who was behind the door the day the brains were passed out knows that.”

  “Where are we supposed to meet this … person who wants to see us?” Wade asked.

  “We’ll cut stakes from the trees,” Gideon said. “Can’t go in there with nothing.”

  “No one’s going in there,” I said. “They have to know we’re here, right? So…” I looked around at Wade by the car. “I figure this guy’ll just come out, right? If he can’t be bothered to talk to us outside, why should we be bothered to go looking for him?”

  “Right.” Wade gave a hard nod, obviously relieved. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

  Adam snorted. “You’re giving the blood bank a heap of credit. They’re sharp as mashed potatoes. If something makes sense, figure they’ll do the opposite.”

  “You’re talking about the loopy old ones,” I said. “Who knows what they might do. But I saw someone in there who wasn’t old. And this fox guy sure made it sound like there’s at least one who’s lucid here. Even if there’s only one young vampire that’s cause for concern. And nothing to discount when it comes to being leery of—”

  “Like that one, maybe?” Wade’s voice rose octaves higher than usual.

  I spun around.

  On the porch facing us, directly in front of the open door, stood a man in black, simply watching in the dark.

  26

  “You distract him,” Adam whispered. “We’ll sharpen a stick.”

  I rolled my eyes, looked around at him, and … realized he was serious. “Just stay back.” I walked to the gravel path, flashlight aimed down.

  Wade moved from the side of the Volvo to join me.

  “Are you Fulco?” I asked.

  With the light low, not going for the eyes unless I had to, I couldn’t see more than an inky form, the shape of the figure, turn of his head, but only a hint of detail. He had hair. He stood very upright and tall. Was this a vampire? Mom and Dad had talked about dangers of a young one. Not as if vampires were their specialty. Vampire-hunters focused on big cities, where their targets usually dwelt, and fostered a whole other set of skills.

  He didn’t answer me. Only when I’d stopped ten feet away on the path, facing him at the top of the few steps, did he speak. “I have a proposition for you.” Sounded normal enough, very soft-spoken, especially given the distance between us.

  “Good for you,” I said. “If you want to negotiate, I’ll first explain the ground rules. When I ask a question, you answer. Choosing to ignore my question is exactly the sort of passive aggressive crap I don’t take from someone I already have no reason to trust. You want a normal discussion, want something from us? Fine. Go ahead and explain yourself. That’s why we’re here. But first answer the damn question.”

  “You have an eccentric ego for a pretender. Is that what helps you succeed in the ruse?” He crossed his arms. “I am Ramian Fulco. You may call me Fulco.”

  Wade glanced at me.

  “What sort of name is that?” I asked.

  “It is mine.”

  “I’m Ripley and this is Wade. Are you a vampire? Did it just happen? You seem so…” Vague hand gesture to take in the dark form. “Fresh.”

  “You are named after a spectacle of oddities and you cast stones at the names of others?” Voice still pianissimo, but I could tell it wasn’t Southern. He sounded like a westerner. A transplant vampire in Midway City? Did they make a new one and ship him in?

  “It’s actually a family name,” I snapped. “Not that anyone gives a shit. You’re avoiding my question again.”

  “What difference does it make who I am?” Annoyed but just as quiet. “I am representing this house. I am Fulco. That is all you need to know.”

  “Fine. Pleasantries out of the way. What do you want?”

  As I spoke, a lithe shadow with a bushy tail slipped along the porch. Supple as an eel and nearly as silent, it jogged across old boards, leapt at Fulco’s side, and climbed up his back without anymore effort than walking horizontally.

  Fulco didn’t seem to notice, already answering. “Your shameful intrusion upon this house—”

  The two werewolves, however, did notice.

  “—demonstrates exactly the lack of common sense—”

  As the fox came to rest across Fulco’s shoulders, mouth open to leer at me, Gideon and Adam ran forward from behind me.

  “—and moral compass which we are seeking.”

  “No!” Wade and I both spun to catch them. “Just hold your horses. Let’s see what they want.”

  I grabbed Gideon’s arm, inadvertently shone the light in Adam’s face, blinding him and driving him back a step, and Wade also moved between them and the steps, glancing nervously from werewolves to vampire and fox.

  “If you help us, we will help you. It is that simple,” Fulco was not to be interrupted. I almost missed this announcement as I grabbed at arms and waved lights.

  I turned back to him, breath quicker, to see the fox was also panting in the hot night and presumably after having covered several miles in a short time. I was certain that wasn’t the only reason it looked like he was grinning.

  I longed to blast the light into his pointy little face.

  “What is it you can do for us?” I asked Fulco, trying to pretend there’d been no disturbance.

  “It is the question on the lips of all modern society, is it not?” His tone was scathing. “You are pretending to be a banisher of evil spirits, cleanser of homes, freer of ghosts, whichever term you prefer. It even seems possible you might succeed in faking your way through the whole endeavor. You did, after all, get out of here alive. Even if only because I chose to cut you loose.”

  All three of my companions looked at me. I focused straight ahead, now trying not to meet the black eyes in the dark. He could see mine a whole lot better than I could see his.

  “You have no idea what you are doing,” Fulco continued. “You need my expertise. You need the guiding hand which you lost less than two weeks ago, before you chose to seek mentors in the fine art of ‘house cleaning.’ The moment you decided you had to understand the trade was also the moment it became too late. You will die without my help. So will the volunteer labor you invited to join your
efforts like sacrificial lambs. A warm body in front of your own counts for a good deal in a cold nest. At least you knew that much.”

  Wade couldn’t stand it anymore and cut in. “Ripley knows all about this work. Her whole family did it.”

  “Her parents did it,” Fulco said coolly. “If your mother was a lawyer, should you be allowed to pass the bar exam simply because you show up? If your father was a chef, should you open a restaurant? The only clue she has to what she is about is half-remembered conversations and casual observation. She is even less on par with a professional level at this work than you are a professional mechanic. A passing comprehension, basic concepts. She doesn’t even know what’s out there. Why do you think she wanted someone to help who had experience?”

  They looked at me, at Fulco, at me again.

  “Is that true?” Adam twisted his head sideways. “We were figuring you had a way with the nasty sort of spirits. Putting our lives in your hands.”

  I looked straight ahead, roughly at Fulco’s knees. “I told you I didn’t have a plan. I do know something about my parents’ work. I grew up with it. I just…”

  “Never done this before?” Wade asked. “Ever?”

  I didn’t answer, then, as they all looked at me, all five, I shook my head slightly.

  “Inconvenient, is it not?” Fulco asked. “Yet you are in luck. We have the solution. He stands here before you.” Inclining his head. “I know the troubled places of Midway City. The dark corners and terrifying underbelly that Mr. and Mrs. Ahearne had yet to touch. Allow me to be the fourth to answer your ad. Oh, yes, I have experience. I even speak their language. And I am willing to help you, to make this town safe for mundanes once again, to avenge your parents, Miss Ahearne, working together. Without me, you will fail just as you did tonight. Only, tomorrow night you might pay a much higher price.”

  My heart was hammering, palms damp and breaths painful. Struggling not to meet his eyes even though it seemed to make no difference.

  It was Wade who said, “So what is it you want in return?”