The Journal of Edwin Hale (Silver Thorn Book 1)

by Gene Baker

“No, there are some things you need to know about me.” Harley took one hand off the tabletop and opened her jewelry box. Inside was a rough cut green crystal and silver pendant. “It is called Moldavite and is said to have healing and other powers. My father gave me this on my fifth birthday because he said that it reminded him of my eyes. Whether or not he knew about my special abilities and how this stone would enhance them, we’ll never know.”

  Cody Taylor’s mind latched on to the words “special abilities” as his eyes locked onto the crystal that suddenly lit up. He barely managed to comprehend the rest of the story Harley was relating.

  “He and his parents were killed by a drunk driver when I was nine. He had gone to pick them up from the airport for the Christmas holidays. When I heard the news, I had a seizure and went into a coma and woke up a week later in the hospital. That is when I began to be able to see the auras of people, or what I call their ‘glow.’ As time went on, other things started happening. I seemed to know things that I shouldn’t have, like what the colors of the glow meant. To do things I normally would not be able to do. Mom took me all over the country to different doctors and they started me on all kinds of medications, every one of which made me deathly ill. When it was finally decided that we would just learn to live with it, I was actually able to control it. I can turn it on and off whenever I want.”

  “What does that have to do with what’s happening now?” Cody nervously stuttered.

  Harley continued as if she had not heard the boy’s question.

  “Things went along okay for a while. Then the kids at school found out that I was, quote-unquote, ‘special’ and my life became a living hell! It really got bad when I started, ‘developing.’ One boy, Tyler McWilliams, took more notice than others. He was older because he had been kept back a year. One day, he cornered me near the gym. He grabbed my breast with one hand and my crotch with the other. I kicked him in the balls and ran home. That night I dreamed that Tyler sleepwalked out to his daddy’s work shed, turned on the table saw, and cut his hands off. The next day, I heard that he had bled to death just like I dreamed. So, that is why I don’t go to school anymore.”

  Harley looks down to see the burning white light of pure love flow into her arm from where Cody’s hand had gently laid itself across hers. The high wall she had built between herself and the pain of the rest of the world fell away. Absolutely helpless in any way to stop what happened next, she raised her face, and pressed her lips to his.

  “Excuse me, Mister Taylor, but you need to go!” Nikki Baldwin’s voice sliced through the air and jolted the pair back to unromantic reality. “It’s late and I wouldn’t want you to get into any more trouble than you’re already in.”

  14

  July 17, 1954

  I met Mister Howard when he came by at 10 last night. We sat under the tree and talked. Merrilee had went back to New Orleans. After talking to him I have made a decision. If Merrilee cant help us then I am leaving and taking Penny with me no matter what.

  Merrilee stood on the catwalk and carefully watched the offloading of the truck in the warehouse below. The boxes of dirt from the Blue Light Cemetery, or “Howard’s Garden” as he referred to it, were carried away into a large vault. Without soil from the graves of those buried in unconsecrated ground, a vampire becomes a “Berserker”. Such an out-of-control murder machine would have to be destroyed. Cleansings by humans in the past had nearly wiped out Nocturnals, and an unfortunate incident by a Berserker could cause such a thing to happen again.

  Once the earth was safely stowed away, Dominic Chevrer would bring blood from his Suicide Club to strengthen it. A network of highly paid informants would find humans contemplating putting an end to their lives and bring them to Chevrer’s establishment. Once there, the victims would be guaranteed a swift and painless journey out of their misery. The two hundred year old Cajun would separate the blood into jars for distribution to other vampires and retain a small portion for Merrilee.

  As the last load left the dock, a mischievously grinning Dominic appeared next to his business partner.

  “What do you want?” she groused under her breath.

  “Just two things,” Chevrer said through his toothy grin. “Master Vrana’s ship has arrived in port . . . and this arrived for you from Doctor Grant.”

  Dominic passed an envelope under his nose before handing it to Merrilee who snatched it angrily from his fingers. With the deep, guttural roar she could wield like a weapon, she threw it at Chevrer.

  “You read it didn’t you? You prissy coonass!”

  Taking an insulted, effeminate stance, Chevrer put his hand, palm outward in the girl’s face.

  “Back off, sister! Unless you want me to put an ass whuppin’ on ya!”

  It was the sheer ridiculousness of Dominic’s response, more than the threat, that brought Merrilee back down. Being that he was over a century older than she, he could conceivably do her considerable harm if he wanted to.

  “You’ve delivered your messages, now go away!” she grumbled, turning away from the more senior blood drinker so he couldn’t see her half smile.

  Dominic turned and pranced away with an exaggerated swinging to his hips.

  “Fine! I’ll just go find my own fifteen-year-old boy to play kissy face with!”

  Dearest Merrilee,

  Let me first apologize for my behavior last night. A true gentleman would not have pushed his attentions on you like that! Howard is helping me with the spelling and grammar of this letter, but the words and feelings are all mine.

  I have thought about what you and I said, and I want you to know that the Porphyria does not matter to me. I read Howard’s medical books and I understand more about it. Even though I may not have a complete lifetime to be together with you, I LOVE YOU, Merrilee Victoria Anderson, and I will treasure any amount of time we can have together! Whatever you decide, my heart will always be yours.

  Another thing that I would ask of you is to consider what I told you about was going on with Penny and Father. I am very worried about her. I have even thought about stealing the money I know that Father keeps in his hiding place in the den. Penny and I could go far away and live pretty well on it for a while.

  Howard told me that your real parents passed away a long time ago, and that a man named Drahoslav Vrana is your adopted father. My mother is also from Prague. What I’m trying to say is that I would like to meet your father. I feel that it is disrespectful for me to load all this on your beautiful shoulders. As a gentleman, I would like to ask Mister Vrana’s permission to see you in a manner of courtship. I would also respectfully request that he grant me a hearing and to discuss my and Penny’s situation as well.

  I know this is a lot to throw at you, and I hope I don’t scare you away. Howard has made arrangements for me to have a haircut, proper suit, shoes and tie to wear in case my wishes are granted. You will not be embarrassed by me at all I assure you!

  I anxiously await your decision.

  All my love FOREVER,

  Edwin Andrew Hale

  P.S. Mister Howard said that you wouldn’t like roses, so I sent you gardenia flowers instead.

  “Dominic Chevrer, you son of a bitch! Where are my flowers?” Merrilee screamed so loudly that the workers below had to cover their ears. The only response was a childlike snickering only her own ears picked up from outside the building.

  Vampire Master Drahoslav Vrana passed his long fingers over the letter that Merrilee had brought to him. The paper was an expensive, fine blend of various fibers including linen and silk. This, and a touch of men’s cologne that was obviously meant to impress the young girl it was sent to. He glanced up at the recipient that was nervously awaiting a response from her father. He handed it back to her without a word and went to pour himself some of the warm blood Dominic had brought him. After what seemed to Merrilee like hours, Vrana turned to face her.

  “The Council and the Ancients had a long and interesting conversation on just this very subject,”
the Master said in a deep, monosyllabic voice.

  A dreadful chill pierced the young vampiress’s rapidly beating heart. Vrana was one of seven masters that made up the High Council. Only these beings had the ability to access the Ascended and commune with the first of their kind, Arzhas and Artaya. They were human twins, brother and sister, that were transformed over six thousand years prior to become the ancestors of all Nocturnals. As such, they held absolute power over their children.

  Drahoslav noticed the all-too-visible drop in his daughter’s demeanor, as if all hope of happiness had been drained from her. Merrilee was his favorite, and the girl’s sudden sadness hurt him to his core. He quickly smiled and took his voice up a pitch.

  “It is not all bad news that I have for you, my angel! Merely words of caution.”

  The Council and Ancients had dumped on Merrilee’s parade more than once and left Vrana to sugarcoat the harshness of their decisions.

  “What might those cautionary words be, Master?” she grumbled with a touch of anger.

  “Sometimes, humans can be lovers. As such, they fulfill a nagging leftover from our previous mortal existence. However, it very rarely works out well. Just ask Dominic about how such things led to his previous mistress getting staked!”

  “She was, from what I understand, careless and stupid! The human resented her for not turning him and betrayed her. I intend to let Edwin know just what the rules are and how things will go from the very beginning.”

  “Indeed! And if he finds that the reality of who you are conflicts with his own sensibilities, what then? What if he rejects you? Or if he does accept you, what if he has unrealistic notions about what it is like to be one of us and wants to be turned?”

  Merrilee angrily backhanded her own goblet of blood and it burst into thousands of tiny shards of crystal. A scarlet cloud hung for a moment in the air before splashing down on the table top. She turned to face away from Vrana and crossed her arms.

  “I will just deal with that when, and if, the time comes!”

  Drahoslav Vrana knew all too well the deep and shattering loneliness of the Nocturnal. Like Merrilee, anger, hate, and a burning need for revenge had brought him to be one with the dark. Returning home after the Battle of Bílé Hoře in November of 1620, he found that the victorious Catholic soldiers of the emperor had been there first. The horror of finding the dismembered bodies of his wife and daughter after they had been tortured and raped drove him over the edge of sanity. When he met Merrilee, who looked so much like his human daughter, he felt he had a chance at redemption. Vrana had also seen the change in Merrilee since she met Edwin Hale. She was smiling and almost giddy when she entered his presence. She had even cast protocol aside and hugged him in genuine gladness over his arrival. Vrana’s chest rose and fell as he sighed loudly and he spoke in his most fatherly-sounding voice.

  “I have not frequently told you what to do or how to conduct yourself outside the presence of others of our kind, and I will not start now. I will, therefore, meet this young man of such heartfelt expressions of love. I can better advise you on how to proceed afterwards.”

  15

  June 25, 1954

  I am meeting Merrilee and her father in the garden tonight. I am so nervous I feel like I could throw up my toenails. Mister Grant gave me a drink of whiskey and sugar with a little Paregoric in it when he brought me my suit. I hope it starts working soon. He also had me rinse my mouth with mint mouthwash so no one would know I drank alcohol.

  The narrow sliver of a moon amidst a brilliantly starlit sky provided just enough light to allow Edwin to clearly read the note in his hand. He felt as if he was sweating from every pore on his body, but not from the East Texas heat and humidity. Sitting on the garden bench, he heard the nervous tapping of his right foot on the pavers. Damn it, Eddie, get control of yourself! he silently excoriated. A movement out of the corner of his eye caused Hale to look up in time to see a black Buick limousine go silently down the dirt road that led to Howard’s house. It wouldn’t be long before his fate would be forever sealed in that warm and steamy night.

  The sound of heavy cloth in a steady wind announced the presence of his guests. A shadow behind the gazebo folded and a tall man with long black hair, steel-grey eyes, and a dark blue business suit appeared before him. As silent as a cat, Drahoslav Vrana took a few steps forward and was no more than an arm’s distance from Edwin. As the human boy stood, he lifted his right hand to the mysterious visitor and greeted him in Czech.

  “Je to čest se setkat.“

  Vrana smiled at Edwin and gently grasped the teenager’s hand. In heavily accented English he responded.

  “The honor is mine, young man, that you address me in my native language. Your mother taught you well. I am Drahoslav Vrana.”

  Trying desperately to ignore the hot hand that seemed hesitant to release his, Hale nodded.

  “And I am Edwin Hale, sir. Thank you so very much for agreeing to go so far out of your way to meet with me. Would you like to have a seat?”

  “No, thank you. I do not mean to be rude to such a gracious and respectful young man, but my time is limited.”

  Both of their smiles dropped and the tone became distinctively serious.

  “I understand, sir, so I will try to be brief.” When Vrana at last relinquished his grip, Edwin turned and picked up a book from the bench he had been sitting on. “My mother taught me to be both gracious and respectful to everyone. She also had me to believe that honesty is a virtue with little equal.”

  “I would concur with that where personal relationships are concerned. However, to save your life or the life of someone you care about, some measure of deceit may be necessary. As in, war for instance.”

  “You will find no argument from me on that account, sir. Educating Penny and I on the language and customs of Czechoslovakia was not all that Mother gave us. She also read to us from books about the ancient legends of Eastern Europe. After reading about Porphyria in Howard’s medical books, I thought how similar it was to the legend of the Upír. So that is when I started to put two and two together. I then thought about Merrilee’s strength, speed, aversion to roses, and that in the time I’ve known her, she hasn’t changed a bit. Those things are not consistent with her stated medical condition, and I am hoping that you are going to tell me it is all just a silly coincidence.”

  “What if it is not a coincidence?” Vrana asked with growing concern.

  “Considering my present circumstances and recent past events, to paraphrase Howard Grant, I believe I have more to fear from humans than from vampires.”

  “Brave, and smart! That still would not help you if Merrilee were such as you suspect and considered you a threat.” Vrana virtually growled out the words as his face became ashen. Edwin tried to take a step backwards but could not move his legs.

  “I don’t know about my being particularly smart, sir.” He barely managed to squeeze out enough breath to make the words. “You must be assured that I love Merrilee with all my heart and soul! I hope that she feels likewise, and that would account for any courage on my part. I would never do anything that would put Merrilee, or anyone in her family, in danger. It would be just the opposite. I would willingly give my life to all of Hell’s fury if it meant protecting ya’ll!”

  Vrana relaxed a bit when he suddenly found amusement in the boy’s noble speech. It was a mixture of ancient tradition amid sprinklings of modern Texan slang. He also found in himself a small modicum of pity for the boy. In this human child’s mind was an image of “Hell’s Fury” that had little to no basis in reality. The master vampire spoke in a quiet, almost conspiratorial way.

  “I believe you, Edwin Hale, and that is why I can therefore confirm your suspicions to be true.” Pausing a few seconds, Drahoslav waited to see what reaction this revelation brought from the fifteen-year-old. “Well?”

  Hale let go of the breath he had held since Merrilee’s “father” had started speaking. With a nervous, yet relieved smile, he ask
ed his question.

  “So, sir, can we discuss the matter of my courting Merrilee before we move on to other things?”

  If she could cry human tears, Merrilee would have been able to fill the ocean with them. She heard Drahoslav Vrana laugh like she had never heard before from such a somber being. As Vrana and Eddie finished their conversation, with the former saying, “Yes, Mister Hale, I think we have an agreement!” Merrilee strode quickly out from behind the garden wall to stand next to Edwin. She took both his hands in hers and began kissing each of his fingers. For the first time in just shy of a century, she was ecstatically happy. Vrana, desperately trying not to smile, spoke lowly as he admonished Merrilee.

  “Decorum, my angel! Let us have some measure of decorum!”

  Lying on the cooler north-facing roof above his home, Edwin stared into the endless starlit sky and listened in silence to the growling emanating from Merrilee. He had given her the book about Eastern European legends referenced in his conversation with Master Vrana. All of a sudden, the volume went flying into the air and was lost in the dark beyond Hale’s human vision.

  “Not going to be one of your favorite books I see!” he said.

  Merrilee turned her angry, scowling face away from her young admirer.

  “Do you really want to know what it is like to be a blood sucking fiend from Hell?”

  “No! I want to know what it is like being you!”

  “That is sweet of you to say, Eddie, but there is a lot about being what I am you will not find particularly endearing.”

  Edwin reached out to lay a comforting hand on Merrilee’s shoulder, but thought better of it and stopped.