He focused on the vibration, and it grew a little stronger now that he noticed it.
“They’re everywhere,” said Violet softly. “They aren’t awake, and I don’t know why they wouldn’t be at this time of day, and I can’t count how many there are in town.”
“They’ve been freshly turned,” said Samuel. “They can’t wake up yet.”
“Oh, dear God,” said Violet. “Samuel, we’re going to have an infestation of brand new, blood-crazed vampires very soon.”
Samuel opened his eyes and met hers, now wide and more than a little frightened. It pained him to see that. Truthfully, the prospect of God knew how many young vampires set him on edge, as well. He uttered a very ungentlemanly-like oath.
“Well, fuck.”
Chapter Four
The sun was peeking over the thinning night sky by the time they returned to their hotel. Violet and Samuel were both exhausted and frustrated. Despite the constant twang that reminded them that vampires were in the vicinity, neither of them could find their nest, nor could they track down an actual vampire to stake. Even if they had located a nest, there was a real possibility that there would be too many people about to safely execute them. Once again, Violet was stymied as to what they should do about the infestation.
Was Mr. Gregoire the one that had turned so many people and hidden them away? Violet bought a local paper before they returned to The Guild, but all she could find was information about the upcoming hot air balloon festival.
Their walk past the reception desk to the stairs did not go unnoticed. “Mr. Seecombe!” the clerk said. He sounded unnaturally chipper for someone who had to have been awake all night. He held up an envelope. “This is for you.”
Samuel accepted it with a gloved hand and slipped it into his coat. “Thank you.”
There were shadows under his eyes, and Violet knew there had to be matching ones under hers, too. She wanted desperately to sink into a warm bath and then sleep the day away, but she knew whatever missive was in that envelope would halt those plans.
A tiny sigh escaped her. A long soak in the tub would have to wait until she returned to New York, anyway. She was supposed to be working.
Samuel waited until they were locked in their room before opening the envelope. Violet read the letter over his shoulder, unsurprised to see that it was from Frederick Tremblay.
Mr. and Mrs. Seecombe,
I looked out for the two of you tonight and couldn’t find you before I took a quick airship ride to St. Catherines to investigate a lead there. Found a lead and took care of it. Niagara Falls still has lots. We need more help. I took the liberty of sending a cable to New York.
I request the pleasure of your company at The Guild’s tavern for luncheon today at noon. I hope that isn’t too early.
F.T.
“Well, there goes our sleep,” Samuel said, but he didn’t sound terribly perturbed by the afternoon meeting. Neither was Violet. It had to be done. As did sending a cable to New York, which made her feel like an idiot. She should have taken care of that.
She sat down on the bed and massaged her temples. It wasn’t just the vampire presence that was causing a headache this time. “Some lieutenant I am,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“What Tremblay just did,” she said. “We need more help here. I’m not sure how many people New York can spare, but even two or three more Searchers would be a massive help right now.”
Samuel’s tone was surprisingly gentle. “Violet, we’ve been here just over a day. Neither of us have had this kind of experience or trouble before.”
“It’s not just that, although I appreciate the boost of confidence. I really am a poor lieutenant. I’m better in the field.” Speaking of the field, she looked down at her dress. Its hem was stained with vampire ash. “I don’t suppose the hotel has a laundry service.”
“Would they know how to remove rotted vampire stains?”
“Doubtful. Soap and water will have to do.” She stood up, even though she wanted nothing more than to lie back and sleep. Her temples still faintly ached, as did her arm from where the vampire tried to rip it from her shoulder. “I need some sleep before we meet with Tremblay, and I have to clean this dress as much as I can. I didn’t bring enough clothing with me to let it go until I get back to New York.” She tried to reach for her skirt’s fastenings at her back and winced in pain. Her injured arm wasn’t cooperating. “I’ll also need some help getting undressed.”
Samuel had the grace to blush at the prospect.
“I’ll heal fast enough, but that vampire really hurt my arm. I can’t lift it.”
“No,” he said quickly. “I don’t mind.”
“The pins in my hair, too.” Her scalp ached. Not for the first time, she wished it was socially acceptable to cut her hair short. It would be so much more practical.
He started with the pins, gently plucking each one from her hair and lining them up on top of the chest of drawers. When her thick mass of silver hair finally fell free, she let out a little sigh of relief.
As if he could read her mind, he massaged his fingers against her scalp. Had she the ability, she would have purred. “Thank you,” she said.
“Do you need help brushing it out?”
She didn’t know which surprised her more: the offer, or the unexpected husky note in his voice. A shiver went down her spine, one she hoped he hadn’t noticed in case she was off about his voice. Maybe he was just tired. God knew she was.
“Please.” She surprised herself when she heard the breathy quality that leached into her voice. Oops.
He picked up her brush and gave her hair a few long strokes. When he stepped away, she reached for the buttons on her blouse, knowing she wouldn’t be able to ease it off her shoulders without help. Not wanting to make this situation any more awkward than it needed to be, she made short work of the buttons and noticed that Samuel averted his gaze when he slid the garment off her shoulders. He unbuttoned her skirt and she stepped out of it, trying not sigh again at the stains the vampire’s ash left at the hem. They never fully came out, soap or no.
“I’m going to need some help with my nightdress,” she said. Samuel, bless him, looked around their shared room, anywhere but at her. “I’d do the same for you,” she said. “Help you get undressed for bed.”
“I have no doubt that you would.”
“You aren’t used to working with women.”
“No, although it doesn’t bother me.”
She rotated her shoulder again. At least nothing was broken, although it was going to be sore for quite some time. “Would it be easier I turned down the light?” she asked. She moved to the oil lamp and turned down the flame before he could answer.
“It’s not a problem.” He still kept his eyes averted as she shed her corset and stockings as quickly as she could.
Samuel moved through the near-darkness, her nightdress in hand. It took some maneuvering to get her injured arm through its long sleeves, made more difficult by his looking away. For God’s sake. Field injuries happened. Just because he wasn’t used to working with women didn’t mean he couldn’t get past this hang-up.
“Sam,” she said, “You’re making this difficult.”
“I’m not trying to.”
“I know, but you are. Just … just look at my face if it’ll help you. You’re acting like you’ve never seen someone in the altogether before.”
That remark drew something that sounded like a muffled laugh from him, and Violet supposed that was the closest thing she was going to get that resembled amusement from him.
“Not quite in this situation,” he finally said. His eyes fixed on hers, and even in the darkness Violet could see the intensity reflected there.
All right, she knew he would have noticed that shiver coming from her. Well, there wasn’t any point in being embarrassed about that.
Her nightdress over her head, she finally sat down on the edge of the bed, ready for a few hours’ worth of s
leep. “If it makes you feel better, I can help you undress,” she said.
He turned away from her, and Violet averted her eyes. “I can manage on my own, but thank you for the offer.” There was a rustle of fabric as he started shucking his clothes. Violet let her mind wander—what did he look like? Where had he been scarred by vampires?
“Another time, maybe?” She didn’t bother to try hiding the teasing note in her voice. Why not?
The rustling paused for a few seconds, and he didn’t reply for a long minute. Violet thought she might have angered or offended him, and she held her breath, waiting.
His voice was calm, neutral, when he did. “Maybe.”
****
It was only slightly less tortuous helping Violet get dressed than it was helping her get ready for bed.
Damn it, Samuel was not good at this.
Her being a good Searcher wasn’t the issue; his completely inappropriate attraction to her was. She was a lovely woman, and intelligent, and she even managed to have a sense of humor about this whole strange situation. She was so unlike what he was used to back home, and it wasn’t just working with her.
He’d turned away from her as soon as he could before she had a chance to notice just how helping her affected him. Once away from her gaze, tried to will his erection away before he joined her in bed. Nothing he thought about had worked; all he could think about was Violet’s shining hair and smooth skin the dim light of the oil lamp revealed.
He’d gone to bed stiff and uncomfortable, and hadn’t slept well.
Violet, of course, was wide awake and ready to see Tremblay when they woke up later that morning. She pronounced her arm and shoulder as feeling much better and only needed a little help getting dressed, asking Samuel to help her with her blouse and putting a couple of pins in her hair.
Tremblay was waiting when they made their way to the hotel’s restaurant, standing when he saw Violet approach. Samuel pulled out her chair for her, and all three of them sat down.
Tremblay’s expression was grim. “How did last night go?” he asked.
Violet kept her voice low. “We found one in a haunted house attraction. He was pretending to hold séances and enthralling the people who sat in. We’re still unsure if the men running the house knew he was a vampire or not, but we’re thinking that they didn’t know.” She told Tremblay about the brothers, and their story about the strange owner of the house.
“How was your hunting last night?” Samuel asked Tremblay.
“Two staked,” Tremblay said. “More to go. I’ve wired for help from Toronto and Montreal, but no one can spare anyone else right now.”
“I’m sure New York will be able to send someone,” Violet said. “At least I hope so.”
“We’re all short on hunters,” Tremblay said. Frustration tinged his voice. “I think we should return to that haunted house today and see if we can’t find more vampires there.” Disapproval tugged the corners of his mouth downward. “Why didn’t you stay and investigate further last night?”
“There were too many people,” Samuel said. “It simply wasn’t possible, and those brothers watching the house wouldn’t have let us poke around. Miss Singer injured her arm, as well.”
Concern flashed across Tremblay’s face. “What happened?”
Violet half-shrugged with her good shoulder. “It wasn’t that bad. The vampire we staked managed to get a good grip on me, is all. I’m already on the mend. But going back to Samuel’s point, it wasn’t practical or safe to do so, and if there’s a nest of the size we’re all sensing, it wouldn’t have been a fair fight anyway.”
Tremblay looked somewhat mollified at this statement. “Of course.”
“It makes more sense to look while they’re sleeping,” Violet said. “Fred, maybe you’ve had better luck than I have. Have you noticed any more missing persons reports? There don’t seem to be an unusual number in Niagara Falls, but all the papers keep printing is fluff about the weather and that hot air balloon show.”
“The Toronto branch sent a cable last night,” he said. “They’ve been monitoring missing persons reports, and there’s been a spike in recent months across southern Ontario and the northern states. The only thing these people have in common is that they were reasonably young and traveling alone at night, and never made it to their destinations.”
Violet and Samuel nodded. Vampires preferred to turn younger adults rather than children or older people. It was part of their modus operandi; it was easier to prey on unsuspecting and weaker beings when one was young and beautiful.
“And none of the local law enforcement have noticed patterns?” Samuel asked.
Tremblay shook his head. “Not to our knowledge. It isn’t terribly difficult to not be found if you know how to cover your tracks, and it isn’t uncommon for someone to vanish when they’re traveling alone, especially in rural areas at night.” He leaned back in his seat and regarded Samuel coolly. “They don’t warn you not to wander around in the middle of the night back in jolly old England?”
“Of course we do,” Samuel said, ignoring the slight. “England doesn’t have nearly as much backcountry as you do here.”
“Point taken.”
Violet’s eyes darted between the two of them, irritation across her face at the exchange. Truthfully, Samuel didn’t know why he and Tremblay interacted with such a thin veneer of civility between them, either.
You do, and the reason is sitting next to you. And he doesn’t want you on his territory, either.
Samuel couldn’t figure that one out. Frederick Tremblay didn’t seem to have a problem with Violet working on this case. He was the one who had asked for New York’s help, after all.
Perhaps he was imagining issues where there were none, or that he’d created himself. He didn’t have any claim on Violet.
Damn it, I am not good at this.
They finished their meal in silence and walked out of the hotel to the cold, snowy streets. The sun made it almost tolerable, but Samuel still kept his gloved hands in his pockets.
The haunted house was closed up for the day, its signs taken down. It looked like an ordinary, albeit dilapidated, old house, and when Tremblay knocked on the door, no one answered. He waited a few moments and tried again.
“Maybe there’s a door around the back?” he said. “I don’t know about you two, but…” He tapped his temple. Samuel and Violet nodded. It was faint but constant. There was a vampire nest nearby, if not in the house itself.
Footprints already marred the snow around the house, alleviating worries of leaving tracks. Still, they were careful to look around the street, now fairly quiet this time of day, and quickly slipped around the porch without anyone questioning them.
Another door led into the house, and on the far side of the house, a pair of black-painted cellar doors beckoned, more footprints leading to it. “I feel like this might be too simple,” Violet said. A heavy padlock was looped around the doors’ handles.
Samuel removed a lock-picking kit from his pocket, to Violet’s and Tremblay’s obvious approval. He made quick work of the lock and quickly popped it off, leaving it in the snow. He lifted one of the doors and peered in the darkened cellar.
The smell of something rotting had all three of them gasping for the cold air. Violet reached for an embroidered handkerchief and held it over her mouth.
“Oh, my God,” said Tremblay. “What the bloody hell were they eating?”
He and Samuel swung open the doors to let the sunlight in, then descended the short, rickety staircase to the cellar, Violet trailing behind. Already they could smell something rotten starting to cook, and the body sprawled haphazardly across the dirt floor, its skin already blackening in the sunlight, confirmed what they already knew.
Samuel cursed himself for not bringing a lantern or even a flameless candle, but it wasn’t as though three people could carry lanterns in the middle of the afternoon, on the street, without being noticed. It was already risky walking into the cellar an
d leaving the doors wide open for anyone to see. They would have to work quickly.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he counted eleven vampires in the cellar. They split up in the small space, breathing shallowly, as they staked each of the sleeping vampires. The source of the foul stench was, unfortunately, found in Samuel’s section of the cellar, in the form of what he thought might be dead raccoons. The animals had been ripped apart, undoubtedly in the red haze of bloodlust common to new vampires. Pain squeezed Samuel’s heart, briefly. The poor beasts didn’t deserve to die like that, no one did.
Including people, if that’s what they were doing. And Samuel had his concerns about that. Why weren’t there more missing people here, if a new vampire army was being assembled?
And new vampires they were; all of them took longer to disintegrate and their bodies were more resistant to stakes than the older ones they were used to dealing with. That only added to the odor permeating through the cellar. Samuel thought he might actually be sick. It was so much like stabbing a real, sleeping person when they’d been turned so recently.
It was harder to remember that they were monsters.
Violet was the first to head back to the stairs. “How is everyone’s head doing?” she asked. “My headache’s starting to ease a little.”
“Mine, too,” said Tremblay. He sounded unwell. Samuel couldn’t blame him.
“As is mine.” That didn’t mean their trip to Niagara Falls was complete. If they couldn’t sense the vampire who turned the ones littering the dirt floor, that could mean he or she was still out there. Vampires wouldn’t leave a nest of fledglings on their own. It took time for them to learn to control their bloodlust, how to be a proper vampire.
Well, at least those who wanted to learn how to be a proper vampire. Samuel had dealt with plenty who couldn’t have the decency to slink around the shadows.
The Falls (The Searchers Book 3) Page 5
