by Jet Lupin
“What do you want to know?” Shige folded his hands on the table.
“Where are you from?” Jerome was starting them off nice and easy.
“Japan, of course. A small town outside Gujo in Gifu prefecture.”
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-nine this month. That’s why we’re taking this trip.”
“Parents? Siblings?”
Shige’s smile frayed at the edges. “Is this an interview for your blog? Or an interrogation?”
Drinks arrived, providing a much needed reprieve from the tension mounting around the table. Phil had tried to prepare Shige for this, but Jerome was relentless.
Jerome sipped at his beer. “Not at all. Phil’s leaving the country with you, and his mother and I are concerned. As the only family he’s got out here, I need to know more than just your name.” In any other circumstance, Phil would have appreciated his friend’s devotion. However, it was making things difficult and uncomfortable. They’d prepared for this. Shige could handle it. But Phil didn’t blame him for not wanting to deal with it.
“So,” Jerome said again. “Your family?”
“Parents are dead. And I’ve got a younger sister and an older brother back home.” Who were also dead.
Shige had been a vampire for around four hundred years. He’d stopped keeping track. He also wasn’t sure when his birthday was. What sense did it make to keep track of it when you didn’t age? He recalled it was in the fall. When they were coming up with this cover story, they thought to hit multiple bases with the reason behind the trip. Visiting family to celebrate his birthday was perfect. It elicited sympathy, empathy. Jerome wouldn’t dig too deeply into it, not wanting to seem insensitive.
“I’m sorry about your folks.” Jerome’s tone lightened in genuine contrition. “It must be lonely not having any family close by.”
“Good friends make it easier. You’ve met Abby. And now I’ve got Phil.” Shige scooped up Phil’s hand from the table and passed his thumb over the knuckles.
That show of affection earned him some points with Jerome. Phil appreciated it too. Things like that let him know their connection wasn’t severed, just damaged. He was certain that was more for him than Jerome.
Jerome’s questioning continued another five minutes before he was satisfied. He was being a good friend, looking out for Phil when he had no one else to, but all it did was stress Phil out. Phil had to take this trip with or without Jerome’s approval. He was glad when the night came to a natural end.
As they waited for their respective rides outside the bar, Jerome took Phil aside. “You had better call me. Every day.”
Phil chuckled. “There’s a seventeen-hour time difference.”
That gave Jerome pause. “You’d better text me then. No less than twice a day. And I’ve got your mom’s number, so if I don’t hear from you, I’ll call her. You know how she gets.”
“Yes, auntie.” That was exactly what Jerome was acting like, an old aunt who was worrying beyond her bounds. “I might not get to every day, but I’ll try it as much as I can.”
“You damn right you will. Now give your auntie a hug.”
Jerome dragged Alex to their car when it arrived. Jerome was going to be more than a call away for a whole month. And those points Jerome had brought up. Phil wasn’t happy about any of it. But no matter his misgivings, this was something he had to do.
Shige came and stood beside him, close but not touching. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Phil remembered the last time he’d made such a promise. It hadn’t worked out, though, Phil admitted he had a personal hand in contributing to that failure.
He sighed, trying to shake off the coming onslaught of bad feelings. “You coming by tonight?”
“I have things I need to wrap up before our flight.”
Phil had hoped for a distraction tonight. He would have to go without.
“How is your…condition today?” He always asked when he saw Phil, no matter what, even if he’d asked the previous day. It was a bit much, but Phil could think of a few people who wouldn’t have asked, even if they knew about it. Shige’s concern had him smiling to himself.
“It was acting up in the restaurant, but it cleared up before we ran into Soldana.”
“And how is it now?”
“OK, but I can’t say it’ll stay that way for long.”
Shige clammed up, doing what he did whenever Phil told him about it. There wasn’t much either of them could do. But he listened and didn’t complain or immediately try to fix it. He rubbed Phil’s arms, briefly drawing him in.
“I’ll take you home.”
Shige walked him right to his door. He kissed him as he always did these days—too long to be strangers, but not warm enough for lovers. What the hell were they?
Shige stood there. He was so quiet, looking at Phil with those eyes, so dark and deep. He was shorter than Phil, but what he lacked in stature he made up for in presence. Phil always felt small beside him, vulnerable. He wanted Shige to come in, to take him in his arms, but he continued to stand there. Phil wished he would say what he wanted. Phil had already offered once. Should he ask again just to be shut down?
“I’ll text you before I retire for the day.” Shige shut down any thoughts of reprising his offer with those few words. Phil just nodded before he went inside, closing the door behind him.
Hugo barely lifted his head when Phil came in. “You lazy thing.” What if he’d been a burglar? Phil changed his schedule to the day shift, preferring to be indoors most evening when he now knew creatures roamed the streets. He spent every afternoon with Hugo going to the dog park, which was closer to the new apartment, or jogging. They were both in the best shape of their lives, but Hugo was more listless than ever before. He probably missed Miss Juliet.
Leaving Hugo behind was the worst part of this whole ordeal. He was the one constant in Phil’s day. How could Phil sleep without him? Captain Tate would keep Hugo so busy he wouldn’t even notice Phil was gone. Phil would think of him enough for the both of them.
He coaxed Hugo into the bedroom, and together, they curled up on the bed and slept.
SHIGE
Had Phil asked him again, standing at his door, so near, so warm, Shige would have caved. Many days he pined for Phil from his own cold bed, but he hadn’t earned back his place at Phil’s side.
They’d talked long about what happened with Pampa, the ways Shige had failed him, and even so he couldn’t understand why Phil continued to give him the time of day. Especially now when he was at his lowest.
Pampa kidnapped and abused him to strike out at Shige. Shige hadn’t landed the blows himself, but he might as well have. His mishandling of so many things had brought them there. He had to make up for it. Pampa had paid for his sins. Now Shige had to make sure nothing like that ever happened again.
There was a meeting place for nonhumans not far from where Soldana approached Phil. If his hunch was right, she would be there or close to it.
The Winchester was a dive with enough shadowy corners for unseemly things to hide. Shifters, vampires, unknowing humans, and others mingled. He braved the smoke choked air and found Soldana bellied up to the counter, a glass of gold tequila dangling from her fingers. She swirled the liquid around a massive hunk of ice. She didn’t look up or otherwise acknowledge him.
Recognition flitted across the bartender’s face before he shuffled down the bar away from them. He wasn’t a vampire, but had the sense to know Shige’s presence here meant something was going down and he wanted no part of it.
Shige claimed the stool next to her. She slid him his own glass of tequila. The ice had already started to melt.
“I was afraid you weren’t coming.”
“You know how to contact me. Involving him was—”
“I didn’t do this for you.” She laughed. “Your position has made you pompous. I only wanted to warn him about you. But I knew you’d show up.”
“He k
nows what I am.” This was off to a rough start.
“But does he know who you are? Your history? How many have died because of you?”
What was she asking?
Did Phil know that Shige was a killer? He’d seen Shige soaked in blood, knew the lethality of his best and brightest. Phil knew. And he also knew that Shige would kill for him.
But did she mean how many had died just for knowing him? “It’s not your place to tell such things,” he said through clenched teeth. It wasn’t any of her business.
“Not my place?” She wheeled on him, her eyes dark and hostile. “You do not get to dictate my place. I serve you by choice. Or did you forget? I have more claim on the Americas than you or anyone else in power.”
“You waived your right to make threats when you abdicated.” Shige would have gladly given her this land back if she wanted it. Making idle threats was not the way to do it. “If you want to take over that much, we can go through the proper channels. We can make war.” He leaned over until their arms touched, his voice low, but firm. “Stay away from him. He has nothing to do with this. Come near him again, and land rights will be the least of your concerns.”
She smirked, her nose in her glass. “You think you can take me? I’m impressed. But I didn’t lure you out to tease you. I have a question for you.”
Her questions were tiresome. Shige had said what he came to. He was ready to get home and crawl into his empty bed. Leaving her here, wanting, was exactly what she deserved.
But he couldn’t help himself. “What is it?”
“Phil… What are your intentions with him? Is he a bit of fun? A hobby? If so, I suggest you find another. I suggest knitting.”
Even if this wasn’t his land and she a willing subordinate, his affairs weren’t any of her business.
“Why are you so concerned about him?” Had she taken an interest? Would it be like Pampa? Already, Shige was working on a plan to get Phil out of her reach. She was a loner, so he might be able to handle her on his own.
“He’s my grandson.”
As far as jokes went, this one fell flat. “That’s not possible.” Shige had met Soldana long before even Phil’s actual grandparents had been possibilities in their parents’ minds. They had both been vampires then, and Soldana was already very old. Vampires couldn’t procreate in the traditional sense, though not for lack of trying.
“If I said the appropriate amount of ‘greats’ we would be here for hours. He’s of my blood.”
“How do you know?” There wasn’t even a vague resemblance between the two of them. Soldana was small and fine boned. Phil was the tallest man Shige had ever been with. They both had green in their eyes, Soldana far more than Phil, but that wasn’t enough to be called a family trait. There was so much mixing in Phil’s background, his eyes could have come from anywhere.
Soldana rested a hand on her collarbone, her fingers traced an object that had once rested there. “That’s my stone he wears. I cut that piece from its mother that I found in a cavern back on my island. When I changed, I left it behind for my children. Its shape’s worn down, and the cord has been changed a hundred times, but it’s mine.
“How can you be so sure? America is a blended country like no other. That stone might be yours,” though Shige had his doubts, “but that doesn’t mean he is. It could have passed through a thousand hands since your children had it.”
Soldana pulled a fifty dollar bill from her cleavage and lured the bartender back to their end of the counter. He refilled her glass, and she sampled it, putting off an answer.
“You don’t have any children, do you? Not your Abby or Hans. I mean before you turned. I was taken from my children when they were very young. My maker tried to make me, but I couldn’t leave them. The world was smaller then. I was always able to come back to them. They were never aware of me, but I watched them grow, start families of their own.”
“Watched them die?”
She swallowed hard. Her gaze fixed on the counter top. “Yes.”
He understood her need for such sentimentality, but he didn’t approve of it. It could only bring suffering.
“When they left for the new world, I went with them. I watched them. I couldn’t interfere, but I watched. When the stone was lost, I brought it back. If it was sold, I got it back and personally found another who would value it. It’s never belonged to someone not of my line for more than a year. So I know.”
“Why do all this?” It was a lot of work for no pay off. They would never know what she’d done, how much work she put in to keep it in the family.
“If we’re allowed to go where they do when we die, I would want to know them. My maker made me do terrible things. I needed to do something to offset all the wrong I’ve done so I can be fit to be with them.”
“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a romantic.”
“Nor I you.” She grinned at him, her fangs, like daggers, peeking from behind her lower lip. “Tell me, why are you taking him out of the country in the first place? A romantic getaway?”
She wouldn’t get any answers from him. If she didn’t know about Phil’s gifts, she didn’t need to, and it certainly wasn’t his place to tell her. Soldana had struck him as the rational sort prior to this, but there was no telling what how she’d handle knowing Phil was in distress. That he heard voices—thoughts—without trying, that they sometimes kept him from sleeping, from working. No, Shige couldn’t tell her that. He would worry enough for the both of them.
Soldana sighed at his prolonged silence. “I know you’re possessive when it comes to Phil, but I should hope it’s nothing more than that. I can’t stop either of you from going on this trip, but know that if he comes to harm while you’re away, I will take more than your land.”
Whether or not it was true, Soldana believed they shared this connection. There wasn’t enough evidence to support her claim, but alienating her right now with accusations was unwise. An ally was an ally. Another person to help keep Phil safe and Shige in power was welcome. As long as she was sane. Mostly.
“All I can give is my word. As long as he stays with me, he’ll be safe.”
Soldana set her glass down and beckoned him closer. She brushed his hair away from his ear, a surprisingly tender gesture considering how their conversation had been until now. “Then it’s your word,” she whispered. “He gets hurt, and you get hurt.”
Shige left there, more annoyed than he’d entered, but determined. He wasn’t going to fuck this up, and not because of Soldana’s threats or his own pride. He swore he’d never let Phil come to harm, again and he would follow through for all their sakes. And to that end, he wouldn’t tell Phil about Soldana’s claims until he had proof. No sense in upsetting him without reason.
Chapter 2
PHIL
Phil stared up at the house from the safety of his car, dread engulfing him like a dense fog. He’d been sitting out here for five minutes, dragging his feet with last minute checks. He had everything he needed. Time to go in.
He’d only been here once and spent most of that time unconscious. For two weeks, he’d drifted in and out of consciousness as he recovered. He had no memory of suffering, no negative associations with this place, but there was something off about it.
Hugo didn’t share his concerns. He happily sniffed the ground, taking in his surroundings. It was more familiar to Hugo than Phil at this point.
Phil missed Midoriyama, its personality, its indoor pool. This place had none of its charm. It looked like the houses Phil passed to get here, all built from the same template, painted in the same colors, meant to blend in. It didn’t suit Shige or the other residents at all.
He tightened his hold on the leash. The closest house was a vague shape on the horizon, but distance meant nothing when it came to determined quadrupeds. Phil crept across the lawn, dragging his luggage while keeping Hugo in check. Hugo tugged harder the closer they got to the door.
“Hang on, hang on.” Phil had hoped for more time
together. Hugo had other plans.
He rang the bell to no answer. So he tried again and again. On the fourth or fifth ring, Hugo’s ears perked up. He tugged Phil off the stoop towards the side of the house. Phil left his bag and followed.
A puppy whipped around the corner of the house and charged them, a leash trailing behind it. Tate came running after it, shouting unintelligible commands that went ignored. The puppy stopped in front of Hugo, its fluffy tail waving in excitement. It yipped and jumped at him. Poor Hugo didn’t know what to make of it.
Tate grabbed the leash and walked the puppy back, giving Hugo some breathing room. “Sorry. We’re still working on her manners. This is Pippa.” The puppy yipped at her name, jumping at Tate’s legs.
The bipeds exchanged quick pleasantries, but Phil knew who Tate was really here to see.
He knelt in front of Hugo, scratching his thick neck. “Hey there, big boy. Been a while.” Hugo covered his face in sloppy kisses. Pippa took her chance to inspect Hugo while Tate had him distracted.
Tate spared Phil a glance, his electric blue eyes glaring and disconcerting. There was no reason to hide now that their inhuman secret was out. “I can take him off your hands, get him settled, if you want. Door’s open.”
Hugo sniffed at Phil’s fingers one last time before he turned back to Pippa and Tate. Phil was dismissed.
Phil’s dislike of the house didn’t improve once he got inside. The house felt as if no one lived here. The furnishings looked brand new months later, like a showroom or a model home.
“Hello?”
No one answered. They agreed to meet at 7:30, giving Shige enough time to wake fully. It was 6:45. Vampires weren’t controlled by the path of the sun. Like humans, they got fatigued, they could stay up past their bedtimes, and they could get up early. They avoided sunlight, but functioning during the day wasn’t a problem. Being nocturnal was as much a habit as a necessity.
He wandered through the house, passing through empty room after empty room. He found the kitchen as he expected, sterile and unused. Those who ate food got their meals catered back at Midoriyama. That still seemed to be true. That didn’t stop them from filling the room with top of the line appliances. A brushed nickel refrigerator, and an electric stove with two ovens made Phil green with envy. They even had the stand mixer he’d pined after for years. He didn’t cook much, but kept telling himself that he would cook more if he had equipment like this. He could afford it now that he wasn’t paying rent, but he’d had more important things on his mind.