by Eden (lit)
Catrina doubled over with her forehead nearly touching the closet floor while she cried.
“God, I don’t know what to do. I feel like things are so messed up. I’m not sure of where I’m going with my own life and now I feel I owe it to Father Marion to help. But I don’t know how. He has to be so torn up inside over all this. Am I doing the right thing? Am I doing all I can? Give me a sign,” she prayed. “Please. I know I don’t do a lot of things right, but I don’t want to make things worse for him.”
Only a moment later she felt a hand on her shoulder and fell against the priest as she cried.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t want to break down in front of you, but I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for what’s happened to you. I’m sorry for dumping my problems on you on top of everything else you’re having to deal with. It’s not right. All of this is not right and I’m so sorry.”
“Shh,” he soothed. “None of this is your fault. And you haven’t been dumping your problems on me. It’s called friendship. You came to me to confide, and I’m honored to be trusted.”
“But I’ve imposed,” she said. “No one talks to their priest the way I talk to you. I’m blasphemous.”
“No you’re not,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t you think holy men need friends?” He pulled back, forcing her to look at him, to see his fangs and the way his blue eyes glowed in the semi darkness of the room as he said, “And I’m not your priest anymore.”
“Of course you are,” she said, trying to pull herself together. “You’re perfect for me. No one else would tolerate my confessions.”
Jacob laughed as he rose to his feet, careful to keep his long blue robe closed.
“Wait,” she said. “Why aren’t you in the shower?”
“Because I heard you crying,” he answered.
“Jacob, you didn’t have to--”
“And all the hot water was gone.”
She laughed and he told her, “You might as well smile.”
“I know, there’s no point in frowning,” she agreed.
“Not only that, but it cuts my bottom lip when I frown. Did you realize that? Bloody fangs.”
Catrina was surprised. That was as close as Jacob had ever come to using foul language, but it was funny as hell to see the face he was making.
“I’m going to bed,” she announced, shaking her head at the face he was still making while he tried to frown without cutting his bottom lip.
“Are you sure you won’t be needing a sleeping pill this time?” he asked.
“I’m sure,” she said. “I haven’t really rested in days. If I can ever shut off my mind my body won’t stand a chance.”
She picked back up her teddy bear and crawled into bed while Father Marion closed her door and went back to the shower. The bathroom adjoined her bedroom, so she could see his feet underneath the door. Even though he was a vampire now, she felt safer having him in the house. The sound of a shower running had always been relaxing to her and she watched his shadow move back and forth, waiting. She knew that once he turned on the shower she would be able to sleep. But she didn’t even last that long.
* * * *
For the next few minutes, Catrina slept harder than she probably ever had. She rolled to her back in no time and Jacob laughed when he turned on the shower, because he could hear her snoring through the door. He was certain that he would still be able to hear her down the hall. Lucky for him sleeping at night was not a necessity anymore.
She was sleeping so hard that she didn’t notice when the rain came down harder again. She didn’t notice the flash of lightning outside her window or the loud clap of thunder that shook the whole apartment. But just as there was a momentary calm in the storm, something scratched at her window. And she heard that.
Catrina stretched and looked up at the ceiling. Maybe it was just her imagination. The next thing she knew someone was howling in pain outside and she knew that wasn’t imagination. Before she reached the window she knew who was outside.
“Viktor,” she called as she snatched open the curtains and opened the widow. “Come in,” she added, remembering that he couldn’t until he was invited.
He was floating in mid air and did a sort of ninja-like rolling dive through her open window.
“Are you trying to kill me?” he sputtered.
Viktor lay on the floor spread eagled as if relieved to be inside at last.
“What do you mean am I trying to kill you?”
“There are more damned holy objects protecting this house than a church! You think coming to your bedroom window was my first choice?”
“Probably.”
“Well, it wasn’t. I was going to be nice and ring the doorbell.”
“How sweet of you,” she teased.
“You don’t have a doorbell,” he drawled. “But you’ve got the biggest silver chain on that lift that I’ve ever seen.”
She walked over and closed the window before any more rain could get inside. She also closed the curtains to spare Viktor from having to look at the crosses.
“It isn’t that I’m not glad to see you,” she confessed. “But I’m exhausted. What brings you here tonight?”
“You didn’t come,” he said sadly. “I thought for sure that after last night …” His words trailed off. “But you didn’t even call.”
“I’m sorry. A lot has happened today, Viktor.”
It was about that time that he noticed the sound of the shower running. He sat up quickly, getting to his feet so fast that it was frighteningly not human. He took a deep breath and instinctively so did she.
“Oh, no,” Catrina said. She knew he’d caught the scent of Father Marion’s body wash.
“That is not the way a woman smells,” he pointed out needlessly.
“Viktor wait.”
“You’ve got another man here,” he said incredulously.
Chapter Ten
“Viktor, please,” she said. Catrina took him by the arm and tried to pull him away from the bathroom door. But her efforts to hold back a vampire were futile. “Jacob, get dressed!” she yelled.
Her words flew all over Viktor. She saw a vein begin to pulse in his temple and heard him grinding his teeth. He flung the door open with Catrina still clinging to his arm. She was relieved to see that Jacob had had time to put on his robe, having not wanted to embarrass him. But Viktor was so far from relief he could have exploded.
What he saw was a man who was old enough to look distinguished and still young enough to be competition. He was also vaguely familiar.
“It’s not what you think, he’s my priest,” Catrina said.
“Oh, that’s a new one on me,” Viktor retorted. “Tell me, darling did I scare you last night?”
“N-no,” she stammered. “Why?”
“Because you spend one night with me and the next I find you sleeping with a teddy bear and a priest!”
“I’m not sleeping with the priest!” she yelled.
“What’s going on?” Jacob asked, running a hand through his wet hair.
It was then that Viktor recognized him.
“Father Marion,” Viktor said harshly.
“Van Helsing,” Jacob said with a curt nod.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. He’s your priest? Do you know who he is?” Viktor asked.
“Well, yes but--”
“He’s the boogeyman of vampire kind. And he’s the jackass who gave me this scar,” he said, snatching his shirt open to reveal the cross-shaped burn on his hip. Even under the circumstances, Catrina felt herself blush at the sight of his bare chest. Would she ever be able to resist his body now that she had indulged herself? Wait a minute. She didn’t want to resist Viktor.
“That was a long time ago,” Jacob answered. “I just wanted to see if a Van Helsing would burn like any other vampire.”
“Oh, you’ve got some nerve,” Viktor growled. “First you burn me in my sleep, then you try to move in on my woman, and now you insult me.”
&n
bsp; “Your woman?” Catrina asked at the same time Jacob said, “Oh, please.”
He pushed past both of them and into Catrina’s bedroom. They watched as he walked over to her dresser. He pulled down the sleeve over his hand as he picked up the cross necklace and tossed it at Viktor’s feet.
“If you want revenge, then take it. And shut up.”
Viktor looked down at the necklace and it started to glow. At first, Catrina was afraid he’d pick it up anyway. But then he said, “It wouldn’t be fair.” He gestured toward his own small scar and said, “Yours would be bigger than mine.”
Catrina fought the urge to laugh and she could see the corners of Jacob’s mouth beginning to turn up as well.
“Then we’ll get a smaller cross,” he suggested.
Viktor looked down at the necklace one more time before pulling down his sleeve and picking it up. He walked over to Jacob and put it behind him on the dresser.
“That won’t be necessary,” Viktor said. Then he started to get the full picture and realized what Father Marion had just suggested. “You’re a vampire,” he whispered.
“And you’re not scarred,” Catrina said.
“What?” Jacob asked, deliberately ignoring Viktor and focusing on her instead.
“You’re not scarred,” she repeated. Catrina walked over to the priest and reached up to touch the exposed portion of his chest. “Earlier today, I watched a cross burn you, right here.”
He seemed to just notice the same thing and looked down to rub the skin himself as if he didn’t trust her observation.
“How is that possible, Jacob?”
“I have no idea,” he answered breathlessly.
“How did you become a vampire?” Viktor asked. “You should damn well know that.”
* * * *
An hour later they were all sitting around the kitchen table when Father Marion finally finished explaining things to Viktor. To her surprise, the master of the city seemed to take great interest in the story. He also didn’t seem to be angry any more at finding the priest in her apartment.
“That’s because I found out he’s a real priest,” his words floated through her mind.
She gave him a scolding look and put up stronger mental shields.
Viktor leaned back in his seat as he said, “I can sympathize. To a certain extent I’ve been where you are. I know what it’s like to become the thing you hunt. The difference is I chose to accept what I am.”
“What choice have I got?” Jacob said. “This is who I am.”
“What do you want from me?” Viktor asked, sensing that the priest wanted to say more than he had.
“I know who taught you,” he answered. “I know whose blood flows in your veins. I want you to show me what you know. I will use this curse for good, but I need you to show me how.”
Viktor considered his words for a moment before answering, “Not everyone is capable of learning what I have to teach.”
“Then teach me what you can,” Jacob insisted.
“That’s very noble of you,” Viktor commented. “But I would expect nothing less. I just want to know one thing. Why did you burn me with the cross?”
Jacob laughed. “Because those who were trained with me, we all grew up hearing about the Van Helsing brothers. You were supposed to be so great. I figured if you were really all they said that you wouldn’t burn, even if you were a vampire.”
“So, it really was just an experiment?”
“Yes.”
“If it makes you feel any better, he experiments with his own body the same way,” Catrina interjected. “He could have burned himself earlier tonight and did burn himself this afternoon.”
“It’s nice to know you care,” Jacob teased.
Viktor rose from the table and walked over to prop against the sink. He was dressed in black and his shirt still hung open from before. The buttons were scattered all over the floor of Catrina’s bedroom.
“I wasn’t entirely honest about why I came by tonight,” he said. The priest went to rise from the table, but Viktor put out a hand to stop him. “This concerns you too, if you are going to be partners,” he said.
He turned toward Catrina then and his smile made her heart flutter.
“I have missed you,” he said. “But I came by tonight because someone else was killed today.”
“Today?” she asked. “You mean during daylight hours?”
“I believe it was during the early morning, but why?”
She looked over at the priest and shrugged. “We killed a lot of vampires tonight in the alley behind the cathedral. I just wanted to be sure which dead vampires we were discussing.”
“Oh,” Viktor said as if that cleared things up. “The vamp who was killed this morning normally stays at The Palace with me. But last night he stayed out too late and took rest at one of the shelters downtown. He was found at dusk with his head cut off, his heart removed, and claw marks all over his body.”
Catrina gasped when he mentioned the claw marks.
“That doesn’t mean it was a werewolf,” Jacob said. When Viktor gave him a questioning look he explained, “She does confess to me.”
“Thanks for the confidentiality,” she drawled.
Jacob shrugged. “He said this concerned me. I was merely offering my opinion.”
“It does concern you,” Viktor said. He began to pace as he told them, “I’d like for you both to help me. If this is not the work of a werewolf and I mean if I’d like to know who’s responsible. While Catrina and I move forward with our plan …” He paused and turned toward the priest. “Do you think you can look around the city without the necromancer finding you?”
“I’ve been managing all these years,” Jacob replied.
“I don’t mean to be rude, Father, but I do need a word alone with Viktor,” Catrina said softly.
“Not a problem,” the priest said, straightening his robe as he rose from the table. “And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Jacob?”
Once he had left the kitchen she turned to Viktor and said, “Let’s go to my room. There’s less holy objects for you to avoid.”
She took a deep breath as the vampire walked past her into the bedroom. His cologne must have been made from pheromone dust to have the effect it did. Her heart raced, her cheeks flushed and Catrina didn’t even try to hide it. She was tired of always fighting against what she felt for Viktor. He was sexy as hell and she’d wanted him too long to start pretending she didn’t, especially after last night.
“I saw Alexander again today,” she said, closing the door behind them.
“What do you mean you saw him again today? Don’t tell me he just--”
“Showed up on my doorstep again. Yes, he did.”
She told Viktor about the werewolf who had been waiting to attack her in the alley, and about the fight that ensued. She also told him that Alexander came to her rescue after the other werewolf had managed to knock her down.
“Alexander said he was on his way here to thank me again for the information I gave him.”
“The right place at the right time,” Viktor scoffed. “Then what happened?”
“Then we went out for coffee.”
“You what?”
She took a moment to appreciate the jealous look on his face before explaining how things had happened. She relayed the conversation almost word for word.
“I told him I was dating the master of the city,” she said.
“And?” Viktor prompted.
“And he laughed and said that we all make mistakes.” She laughed a little at the look he gave her again. “I’m sorry, Viktor, but it was funny. He just seems like such a nice guy.”
“Of course he does. He teaches theatre. Don’t you think he can act?”
Catrina shrugged as she walked over to the bed and sat down. She fluffed up the pillows and hugged the teddy bear against her chest.
“He said he didn’t see any reason why we can’t be friends,” she said softly.
<
br /> Viktor sat down beside her and the soft mattress sank under his weight, causing Catrina to scoot closer toward him.
“Well, that’s good isn’t it?” he said. “Technically you’ve been honest with him.” He knew how much Catrina hated to lie to people so Viktor hoped that small consolation would ease her conscience.
“Technically,” she agreed. Viktor leaned back against the pillows and Catrina snuggled up to his side. “Don’t worry, no attack of conscience will make me tell him everything,” she promised.
“So, what did make you tell him you were dating me?” he asked. “Because technically, we’re not dating. I mean, you didn’t have to word it that way. You could have told him we were sleeping together. After all, it’s the truth.”
“Because I didn’t want to sound like that kind of woman. Besides, he’d already picked up your scent.”
“When?”
She told him about the lock of hair that Alexander retrieved after the fight.
“What happened to the hair?” Viktor asked.
“He said I should do something with it, but it slipped my mind. I think he put it in his pocket. Why?”
“Damn it,” Viktor said. He sat back up and dislodged Catrina from her comfortable position.
“What? It’s just a piece of hair. I’ve got so much you can’t even tell it’s missing.”
“It’s not that,” he said, his tone softening. “Now he can track you anywhere in the city. He’s got your scent.”
“Oh,” she said. Just the thought of the handsome wolfman hunting her down did things to Catrina she hadn’t expected.
“You want him,” Viktor said incredulously, sensing her reaction.
“He’s an alpha werewolf and there’s a full moon in two days. Of course I want him,” she said, trying to make light of the issue.
“That could be it,” Viktor said thoughtfully. “Or you could just be attracted to him.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Alexander is very attractive and as you put it last night, I have been overdue. Maybe that’s all there is to it. But …”
“Go on,” he said softly.
“He couldn’t have been responsible for the killing earlier today, because that’s the time we were at the coffee shop.”