by KD Rouse
Tales of the Executioners:
LISIANTHA:
Home for Christmas
A short story
By Joleene Naylor
https://www.joleenenaylor.com
[email protected]
Copyright 2016 by Joleene Naylor
Cover art courtesy of Canstockphoto, Konstanttin, and Prometeus
Cover by Joleene Naylor
Ramblings from the Darkness at https://www.joleenenaylor.com
You never know what you’ll find in the shadows…..
Tales of the Executioners:
Aine
Ark
Verchiel
Beldren
Byrn
Bren
Lisiantha
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Other books by Joleene Naylor:
Amaranthine:
0: Brothers of Darkness
1: Shades of Gray
2: Legacy of Ghosts
3: Ties of Blood
4: Ashes of Deceit
5: Heart of the Raven
6: Children of Shadows
7. Clash of Legends
8. Masque of the Vampire
9: Goddess of Night
Also:
Vampire Morsels Collection: 17 Short Stories
101 Tips for Traveling with a Vampire by Joleene Naylor
Heart of the Raven Mini Prologue Collection
Tales from the Island: Six Short Stories
Thirteen Guests: A Masque of the Vampire companion
Road to Darkness: A short story companion to Brothers of Darkness
COMING SOON:
Tales of the Executioners
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Thanks to Chris Harris, Christine Connolly, and Bonnie Mutchler for their ninja-like proofreading skills.
* * * * * * * * * *
What is an Executioner ?
The Executioners are the vampire’s equivalent of special police. They go on “assignments” that The Guild (the vampire government) sends them on, and they don’t have a reputation for being very nice. It’s a reputation that is often well deserved.
For more on Executioners and the universe they live in, check out the Amaranthine series by Joleene Naylor.
* * * * * * * * * *
This is the seventh in a collection of short stories, Tales of the Executioners. Each story is about a different Executioner from the Amaranthine universe.
Lisiantha replaces Griselda as an Executioner during Heart of the Raven (Book 5). This story takes place in the early to mid-80s.
This story may contain violence, strong language, sexual content or other disturbing scenes and is not intended for a young audience.
* * * * * * * * * *
Lisiantha parked the car in the driveway and gave a heavy sigh. Surrounded by fields and a group of trees, the house had scarcely changed in fifty years. An old Victorian farm house with a handful of odd additions, painted white – always painted white – as if a splash of color might give them away.
The last time she’d seen it, it had been summer, but now the snow kissed roof spoke of winter, and the curl of smoke from the chimney said a fire burned inside. It would be Christmas soon, and she wondered if they’d updated their decorations, or if it was still the same handful of glass bobbles and dried oranges?
“This is it?”
She looked to where Ichirou sat in the passenger seat, his brow puckered. Twenty-one when Lisiantha had turned him, he looked even younger and was usually taken for a teenager. It didn’t help that his youthful haircut framed a frequently petulant face. Not a lover, as her fledgling, Ichirou was more like her son.
She stopped from patting his shoulder. “I warned you, it wasn’t much.”
“Well you weren’t kidding. Tell me again why we have to stay here?”
She tightened her hold on the steering wheel. “Because we don’t have anywhere else to go. Trek and Cash kept the den, and I don’t have a lot of my own money. It’s this or a goddamn abandoned building. I’d have thought you’d had enough of those on the way here.”
He frowned at the memory of sleeping in the dark, dirty places. “If we can’t buy a new den, why don’t we take the old one? We could kill Trek.”
She stopped from roaring her outrage. Trek wasn’t hers to defend anymore; not her mate or her master. He’d made that much clear to her, and when she’d tried to pretend she didn’t understand, he’d made it clear again. He was done with her, and with Ichirou. The “boy” wasn’t of his choosing anyway, and having a fledgling around would only complicate his new relationship. It was as if their coven didn’t matter now that he’d found someone new.
And did you do any different when you found him?
She dismissed the thought and climbed out into the snow. Ichirou followed, grumbling under his breath as he tugged his luggage out of the backseat.
The front door banged open, and Lisiantha looked to see Mére hurrying towards her wearing an airy housedress and no shoes.
“Lisy!” she cried as she crushed her in a hug. “I’m so glad you made it!”
Mére stepped back. Her dark hair, peppered with gray, escaped an artful bun, and her blue eyes twinkled. “It’s been so long.” She turned to Ichirou and took him in. “This must be your fledgling.”
“Yes, this is Ichirou. Ichirou, this is my master, Mére.”
Mére cocked her head to one side and smiled. “That makes me a bit like your grandmother, doesn’t it?” She laughed. “Come in. Come in. Everyone’s excited to see you.”
Lisiantha’s body stiffened. A face flashed in her memory: chestnut hair and midnight blue eyes. “Everyone?”
“Everyone that’s here right now. Never mind. Just come along.” She took one of Ichirou’s suitcases and steered him to the porch, chatting about his age, his hobbies – the usual polite get-to-know-you ritual.
Lisiantha hesitated as they disappeared through the door. Ichirou’s attitude was an echo of her own doubts. “You can’t go home again,” was a wise saying, or at least it felt wise, and she wondered why she was going against it. She’d told the truth; they had very little money. But they had enough that they could have rented a motel room for a month and stolen money from victims, like many vampires did. They could have survived. Except… except that when Trek had dragged his new acquisition in front of her, and told her she’d been replaced, the only thing she wanted to do was run back here and bury her misery in Mére’s embrace.
Like a mother.
And why not? As her master, Mére had made her a vampire and essentially become her new mother; a mother who’d given her an immortal life.
Lisiantha pushed away the thoughts. There was no point in standing outside all night, they’d only come get her. With a last mini-pep talk, she steeled herself and headed for the house.
Inside, the entryway was decorated with heavy pine garlands and glittering bows. A definite upgrade. But, the smell of orange and cinnamon that floated from the kitchen was familiar, the same Christmas ritual they’d done when she still lived there.
A small group was gathered in the dining room, though Lisiantha noticed several of the coven were missing. Before she could comment, Maegan threw her arms around her. Lisiantha dropped the suitcases to return the embrace. A moment passed, then Maegan stepped back and Lisiantha’s breath caught. She had the same chestnut hair and midnight eyes as her brother, even the same crooked smile.
“It’s been so long! Why didn’t you write?”
“Um…You know how it is. I meant to, and then…” Except she hadn’t meant to, and they both knew it.
Lisiantha nodded, and noticed that her fledgling was already gone. She slipped past her welcome committee, exchanging a handful of polite greetings. Upstairs, she paused in the hallway to calm her nerves. All the activity and chatter of a big coven was something she’d been glad to escape from.
So why am I back?
The door to her room was open, and she pushed inside. A closet, two dressers, a bookcase, a fluffy loveseat, and a desk were just like she remembered. Even an abandoned jewelry box was still in its place.
Ichirou was bent to the task of stuffing his clothes in one of the dressers. “Hey, where’s the bed? Don’t tell me you slept on the loveseat?”
She opened the closet to find a pair of old dresses left, no doubt they were the ones no one else wanted to take. “They’re traditionalists. They don’t sleep in beds. They sleep in boxes in the cellar.”
“Oh, boy.” Ichirou shoved the drawer closed. “Tell me again why I’m not on my own?”
Because if you were I’d have no one. Only she couldn’t say that. “You’ve only been immortal for ten years. You still owe me a blood debt.”
“Yeah, well, a year in this place ought to be worth ten more, so I’ll have it paid off pretty fast.” His suitcase empty, he flopped on the loveseat. “Granny introduced me to everyone, but there’s no way I’m going to remember their names.”
Lisiantha jarred at the casual disrespect. “Her name is Mére.”
“She said I could call her that.” He shrugged and pulled out a Walkman. “It was kind of her idea. She seems weirdly excited about it.”
“She always wished she’d had children before she was turned. I suppose I’m as close as she ever got.”
“No offense, but she looks like she was getting a bit too old for it, anyway.”
Lisiantha glared, then relented. “You’re right. Honestly, I think she was barren, though I’d never tell her, and don’t you say anything.”
Ichirou rolled his eyes. “I’m not a complete jerk. Thanks, though.” He clicked the play button, and Lisiantha could hear the soft sound of music that leaked from his headphones. She returned his eye roll, then turned back to her task.
Kids.
She’d just finished the last suitcase when a knock sounded on the doorframe. She stiffened, but it was only Maegan who peeked in.
“All settled?”
“As settled as I’m going to be.”
Maegan stepped inside and toyed with the jewelry box for a moment before she spoke. “I really did miss you. We all did.” Subtle accusations flashed in her eyes. “Was it worth it?”
Lisiantha recoiled at the hostility, and Maegan relented. “I’m sorry. You – you hurt a lot of people when you left.”
“I know. I didn’t mean to. I – I just…” thought I was in love, thought I was destined for something more glamorous than nowhere Iowa. But she couldn’t say those things, so instead she said, “I’m surprised Drake gave me permission to return.”
Maegan froze, the beads of a costume necklace still slipping through her fingers. “Drake’s dead.”
Lisiantha choked. “What? When? How?”
Maegan abandoned the jewelry. “It’s been five years? No, six. A pack of rogues came through and left a pair of child vampires behind. We told Drake not to take them in, but he did. Even you know that’s illegal. When the Executioners came, hunting the rogues, they found the kids. We told them where they came from, that we hadn’t made them, but the Executioners didn’t listen. They killed the kids, killed Drake as punishment, then headed off.”
As Maegan talked, Lisiantha’s legs weakened, and she gripped the nearest piece of furniture. “Drake,” she whispered. The coven master, he was the one who’d turned Josh, among others. Strong, commanding, and grim, but always fair. He had come to represent a father to her. How could he be… “But who’s running the coven now?”
“Mére didn’t tell you?” Maegan asked. “The new coven master is Josh.”
Ichirou popped up from his place on the loveseat. “Who’s Josh?”
Maegan cleared her throat. “I’ll let your master explain that.” She moved for the door, then paused. “If she didn’t tell you that, I’ll bet she didn’t tell you about everything that’s going on.”
Alarms sounded in Lisiantha’s head. “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. Anyway, I really am glad you’re back. Especially now.”
Before Lisiantha could press further, her friend was gone and she was left with Ichirou’s inquisitive stare.
“Josh is the coven master,” she said finally. “And Maegan’s brother. You’d do best to just stay away from him.”
“Right. Thanks for all the information.” Ichirou rolled his eyes and went back to his music.
**
Lisiantha woke the next evening in a musty box. She pressed her palm against the lid, as if she could force her anxiety into the wood. Outside, she could hear the others waking, and it was only when she heard Ichirou’s voice that guilt spurred her to rise. She couldn’t abandon her fledgling to what were basically strangers to him.
Once up, she made her way to her room and changed her pajamas for her clothes. Mére and Ichirou waited for her in the entryway, and together they headed outside. Stars spread like diamonds against a dark sky. In the distance lay the pond, the tiny boat house like a gingerbread shed, and the deck and railing like a toothpick structure in a Christmas diorama.
Ichirou trudged behind the woman, his hands in his pockets. “We’re walking all the way to town? Or are we just feeding off the neighbors?”
“Oh, no!” Mére stopped to grab his arm and impart her urgency. “We never drink from the humans here. Ever.”
The mental struggle showed on Ichirou’s face. “Then what…”
“Animals,” Lisiantha said softly.
“Oh God, you’re joking!”
Mére laughed. “No, but don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”
Ichirou shot Lisiantha a pleading look. “I hope not.”
Though Maegan’s words echoed in Lisiantha’s mind, she didn’t want to discuss it with Ichirou there. Yes, he was her fledgling, but did he need to know everything right now?
No, he doesn’t.
Despite Ichirou’s protests, they fed without incident. When they got back to the house, he split off and made a beeline for “my room – or I guess our room, since we don’t even get our own.”
Mére laid a comforting hand on Lisiantha’s arm. “He’ll get used to things eventually.”
“That or he’ll leave.” She sighed and followed her master into the kitchen. Maegan and Trinity stood by the sink, an unfinished conversation in the air between them.
Trinity nodded a greeting then looked away quickly. Maegan did better, with a “Hello,” before her eyes found Mére. “We were just going to feed.” She tugged Trinity towards the door, but paused at the threshold to throw back, “See you later, Lisy,” before they headed outside.
“Okay, that was weird.” Lisiantha took a seat at the table and propped her chin in her palm.
Mére refilled the pan on the stove and dropped new cinnamon sticks in it. “What’s weird is you. I know you said that Trek left, but…” She glanced back over her shoulder. “You haven’t really told me what happened.”
Lisiantha scoffed. “What happened? He found a new model. She’s younger, more powerful, prettier-”
“Oh, she’s not prettier.” Mére wiped her hands on a towel and took the chair opposite of her. “You’re beautiful, and you know it.”
“Tell that to Trek.” She sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”
When she fell silent, Mére moved the conversation on, “So what are you planning to do now? Of course, you can stay here as long as you want, but I know you never liked it very much. You’re like Ichirou, only not as sulky. You want freedom, adventu
re, excitement.”
“And look where that got me. I admit, I don’t know about hiding out here, again, but…” Lisiantha looked to the tabletop, as if her future was scrawled in the woodgrain. “I’ve actually thought about moving to the Citadel. Maybe applying to be a guard.”
“That’s not too far from here. What? An hour? Two hours?”
“Something like that. I guess they have openings for lower ranked guards all the time.”
“Probably. I’ve heard that it’s…that it’s a hard job. Malick…”
She trailed off, but Lisiantha knew the rest. Malick was the head of The Guild, and of the Executioners, and everyone knew that he, and those under him, were bloodthirsty enforcers whose first answer to crime was to kill the perpetrator – sometimes without a trial. Just like Drake.
“I know. But as a lower rank I wouldn’t be under Malick. I mean, I would, but there’d be so many officers between us that I’d never see him. I know it’s not as exciting as traveling the world, or even joining the greater guards and working with the Executioners, but lesser guards are just as important, and so many vampires come through there that it’s never the same twice, so there’s a lot of variety.”
Mére smiled. “It’s something to consider.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it. I just don’t know about Ichirou.”
“Ichirou is welcome to stay here, I’m sure. Or you could release him and let him go his own way.”
“He’s only been a fledgling for ten years, and most of the vampires he knew were tied up with Trek. I hate to think of him out there, alone, you know?”
“I know. It hurts to think of our children suffering.” She caught Lisiantha’s hand and squeezed it.
“I’m not suffering. I…yes. It hurt. Mostly, I guess it hurt my pride. To be honest, whatever Trek and I had…it’s run its course. I suppose I should be grateful. We had fifty years. Some people don’t even have that much.”
The back door banged open and a pair of vampires trooped in, shedding snowy boots and laughing. When they saw the women at the table, they stopped awkwardly. Eyes dropped, excuses were muttered, and they hurried away deeper into the house.
