by Colleen Tews
I wouldn't let her die in my arms. It wasn't like when I fed off the frat boy. She was a Lakshman ghoul, she needed that House's blood to heal. The vitality that fueled Raphe’s and apparently her illusions was what kept her going. One misstep or another squeeze and she were a goner. We vamps manipulated and slaughtered each other all night long, but for me ghouls were off limits. Even if that ghoul was a selfish twat like Stacey.
Remembering every health class and stupid hospital television show, I figured out how to stop the bleeding. I ripped frozen moss off the brick and pressed it against her neck. Next I tore the sleeve off her coat. The jerk ripped a scream from Stacey. Wrapping the coat scrap like a scarf I secured a makeshift bandage.
That icy burn started again. I punched the bridge. Again sudden pain overshadowed the foggy haze brought on by my sucking chest wound and hunger. I punched the wall again. Once I had a clearer head I lifted her up. Time we made a beeline for Raphe's house. I ignored every groan, every moan, and every whimper, from her and me. When it was too much I stopped, extracted a splinter, and kept on trucking.
By the time we reached Raphe's place there were two vehicles in the driveway. The lights in the second floor bedrooms were the only ones on. I hid behind the hedge that ran the length of Raphe's drive. I hesitated, paralyzed.
She twitched. She was a tiny, withered, prune of a woman. The red in her hair was gone. Her lips were chapped. She felt very brittle. There wasn't time to wait. All right Veronica. Time to run like you've never ran before. One. Two. Three. Run. Run. Run!
I darted between the cars. Her foot bumped a hood. The alarm sounded. I dashed across the damp sidewalk and up the porch; laid her down and retraced my steps. I leapt through the hedge into a baseball slide and froze. If my heart could beat it would be pounding.
A brunette with a bob-cut dressed in a black robe came to the door. She shrieked, then called for their master.
"Get back." Raphe shoved the woman out of the way. He knelt beside his dying ghoul, cradled her head in his hands. "Stacey? Stacey, wake up darlin'."
She woke. "Raphe?"
"Hey there, that's my girl. You're gonna be all right. I promise." He stroked her cheek. The other woman looked over the bandage.
"We need to get her inside like now." She said.
He nodded. Without breaking eye contact with Stacey he picked her up like she was the most delicate thing on the face of the planet. Then he carried her over the threshold.
I sighed. My forehead dropped to the snowy ground. The pain shot from the front to the back of my head down my spine to my toes. "Son of a bitch." I said through clenched teeth. No good deed went unpunished.
Chapter 27
"Oh dear God in Heaven. You look like you picked a fight with giant porcupine and lost." Albert said as he took my arm and led me from the garage into the kitchen.
"Don't worry, I showed it who was boss." I limped to the dining room. Never had I been so relieved to see a good solid chair. I plopped in the seat and unzipped the shredded winter coat. There was no saving it.
"Let me help you."
"That'd be nice."
He started taking off the ski mask. The splinters didn't budge. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow, not nice!" I pounded on the table.
"Sorry." He put his hands on his hips. “These twigs are stuck in the fabric and your hair."
"And my scalp. Yeah, I know."
"You're lucky you have a thick head."
"Ha ha, very funny."
"How do you propose we do this then?
There was only one way out. I squirmed. Gripped the table. Sat up straight and took a deep meditative breath. "Yank it."
"What?"
"You heard me. Quick before I lose my nerve."
In one fluid motion Albert yanked the mask off. I stomped my feet. Yelped. Cursed like a sailor. Then when that didn't help I jumped out of the seat and tried to dance away from the pain. He dashed around the corner.
Once I calmed down he poked his head out the kitchen. "Better?"
"Better." I sat back down. Most of the trees bark pieces were on the floor. Only a few of the smaller ones remained.
He sat down beside me. "Was it worth it?"
I pulled the disc out of my pocket and dropped it on the table. "Sure hope so." I slouched. "Can you get some blood from the cooler downstairs and then help me get the splinters, please?"
He patted my shoulder. "Absolutely." Then he went to the basement.
I passed out.
After I chugged down three blood bags and took a shower I felt less like death warmed over and more like myself. I still ached everywhere. On the upside, most of the wounds had healed. Some along the back of my neck were small bumps. They reminded me of mosquito bites. They itched a little, too.
I wiped the steam off the mirror. The gash across my chest was a pink scar. I traced my fingers across it and thanked my lucky stars he hadn't cut me deeper. It itched, but more from the phantom pain than like the bumps. After a good day's rest or two there wouldn't be anything left.
My brain wanted to shut down. I didn't want to think about how crazy the night went. I didn't want to think about how I could have killed Brutus. Or how close Stacey came to being another one of his victims. I needed sleep. Even that had to wait. I had a home movie to watch.
I draped a big comfy green robe around me, then tied my hair in a loose ponytail at the base of my neck. I squared my shoulders and went down to the living room.
Albert started it without me. He was curled on the couch with a blue and green plaid blanket. He stared at the television. Quick lines ran crossways over a stairwell as he fast-forwarded through the boring part. "You haven't missed much." He said without looking away.
I picked the case off the coffee table. It was labeled KSU Library and the date we arrived. I laid down beside him and used his lap as a pillow, then tucked the case under the couch.
"Any sign of Brutus?"
"No, but it's early." He pointed at the top right corner. It was time stamped.
Students came and went. We watched a couple make out. That broke up the monotony and made us laugh. There was nothing as hilarious as a speedy make-out session in fast-forward. Then around 10:30 p.m. Brutus and his gang showed up.
"Hit play." I sat up.
"He wants them split up. So that's what we'll do." Brutus sat on the step by the closest landing.
I recognized Clay, Lester and Billie. The others were random Maarten thugs, except for the one leaning against the wall. "That one killed Kaelanna."
Albert placed his hand on my back. "Are you sure you want to watch this? I can do it and tell you what happened."
"No. I need to see it for myself." I needed to know who 'he' was.
Billie sat behind Brutus. She rubbed his shoulders. "What does he want from these guys? I thought they were here to help."
"Not according to Vinny." He shut his eyes. Then dropped his head. "He said to meet him here, that he'd explain in more detail. You'd think with as powerful as he is he wouldn't be near as scared about Grump finding out. I hate this cloak 'n dagger shit."
"It's called discretion, my child." Father Khel walked up from behind them. Billie jumped up and bowed. Brutus' head popped up. "You'll learn to appreciate it more as you get older. For now I expect you to adhere to it."
I sat on the edge of the couch. "Father fucking-holier-than-thou Khel is the genius mastermind?" Albert moved closer to me. I couldn't believe my eyes. "Sure he was a holy roller that scared the crap out of me, but really?"
"Sorry, Khel." Brutus said. I was flabbergasted. He knew how to apologize and mean it.
"Simply keep your mouth shut. Figure it is always easier to be mindful of their actions. I'd hate it if someone were Silenced in other ways."
"Of course."
Khel waded through the vampires along the steps. He peered down the stairwell. Brutus started to talk. He hushed him with one touch of his long lanky finger to his thin lips. Satisfied that they were alone, he folded his hands tog
ether and said, "What I need is simple enough. Pick a fight. Kill if you must, but try avoiding doing so if you can."
"And why are we doin' this?” Brutus stood up. He made his way down the steps. Nowhere near as elegantly as Khel. “What did they do to piss you off?"
"They have something I need. They keep it well hidden and you will not be able to uncover it without weakening their core. All you need concern yourself with is the fight."
"I'm confused."
He flicked what I thought was a fuzz ball off Brutus' shoulder. "That doesn't surprise me." His shoulders heaved. "My child, simply prepare your little group with the battle with the assassins. When they least expect it I will get what I need. But beware of Thais. She is the nastiest one of that bunch."
They laughed.
"The little shit. I was more worried about the big lug." He scoffed in Father Khel's face.
"That 'little shit' was once the Primus of Columbus, a founding member of The Cabal Ministry, and one of the greatest prophets the Vadimas House has ever produced. Show some respect."
"Then why have us attack them at all? Why not a face-to-face?"
"Because they won't give her up without a fight. She's too...precious."
Albert squeezed my hand. "He said 'she'?"
I nodded.
"Yer doin' all this for a chick? Puttin' my Maartens on the line for some pussy? Glad to see ya takin' that vow seriously."
Without warning he slammed his forearm into Brutus' neck and slammed him against the wall faster than the camera filmed. "I take all my vows seriously, particularly the vows I made to God Almighty. There is more to this world than your sex and pointless wars. There are wheels in motion that will change everything." He applied more pressure and Brutus' eyes bulged. "I suggest you heed my warning when I tell you to keep your filth out of my business." He released Brutus. Adjusting his shirt Khel turned and walked back across the landing. He entwined his fingers and stood stiff.
Brutus massaged his throat. He waved aside Billie and two other Maartens who stood ready to help him. "Fine. Whatever you say. But what about compensation?"
He smirked. "Aside from a good fight."
"We're not all in this to punch in a few skulls."
Khel swiveled on his heel to face him. "How does twenty grand a head sound?"
"And?"
"And what?"
"Yer askin' us to risk our necks against a founding member of the Cabal and four assassins."
The smirk vanished. "I'll turn a blind eye to your illegal enterprises. While also keeping Raphe and Grump at bay." Khel offered his bony hand. "Do we have a deal?"
Brutus stared at the offering for a minute, then took it with enthusiasm. "Deal."
"Turn it off. I can't watch anymore." Albert reached for the remote. The last image I saw was Father Khel's face. He looked at the camera. It was impossible but I felt judged by those dead, sunken eyes. His smile was full of smug satisfaction. I was more than willing to rip it off his face and...A small electric pop later and the screen went black.
"Veronica?"
"Yeah?"
"This isn't your fault."
I blinked. Rubbed my hands along my thighs. "You're right. It's his, that self-righteous prick of a saint. You'd think a man of the cloth wouldn't believe the prophetic ramblings of a deranged thousand year old whack-a-doodle."
"You don't know if he was talking about you."
"Don't I? Really?" I got up and began pacing. "Let's do the math shall we? First, my father under Thais’ orders raped my mom. Nine months later I pop out. We ran for sixteen years across the continental U.S. with Caelyn. Only to have my fa-, no, that mentally deficient sperm donor kill her on my seventeenth birthday and kidnap me. I got turned, killed Thais. Think it’s over. She’s trapped in my newbie vamp body. Three years the cycle starts all over and the people I care about start getting killed, again. All because of some stupid prophecy that I still don’t know!" I flipped the coffee table over. It flew and with a loud crash of shattered glass and bent metal fell to pieces beside the piano. "Seems to me it all adds up." I shrugged.
"What can I do?" Albert stayed seated. He sat straight, but frigid. I thought he was scared to get near me. I wanted a hug. While simultaneously wished he kept his mouth shut and leave me alone. Not only for tonight, but forever. He was safer away. But when he looked at me without pity, when I saw ferocity in those soft, old eyes I knew he was here till the end. Whether that was his or mine didn't matter.
"Help me make those sons o' bitches pay."
Chapter 28
“Sasha stopped by while I was watching the evening news." Albert offered me my first cup of blood.
“What did she want?” I took a sip.
"It seems a pyromaniac had a field trip through Kent last night.”
“Was it one of us, or a human?”
“I believe Lucian has started his assault. He began killing random vampires and humans wherever he could find them to get the city’s attention and it worked. They were fighting all night.” Albert slouched his shoulders. "Did you inform him about what you discovered?"
"Not yet." I went over to the closet and found what I was going to wear out, possibly to battle. “Can you please get me the phone? I need to find out what exactly is going on.”
“Consider it done.” Albert left to fetch the cell phone.
I put on a pair of blue jeans, a red v-neck sweater, black socks, and black tennis shoes, then headed downstairs to the living room. On my way down I almost bowled into Albert as he came up the stairs with my cell phone.
“Thank you.” I took the phone from his hand and called Lucian. I got his voicemail. Shit. “Lucian, this is Veronica. I just woke up a minute or two ago. Give me a call when you get this, please.”
With the phone in my mouth I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and realized I forgot to stop in the bathroom on my way down to pickup a hair tie. I turned to head back upstairs. Albert was right behind me with a hair tie. It was like he read my mind. In my haste I almost ran him over again.
“Jesus, Albert!” The phone slipped from my mouth and crashed to the floor. I didn’t hear him come up behind me. We did an awkward dance around each other. I grabbed him by the shoulders. "Stop for one second."
“Sorry, I will make sure to make some noise next time.” He gave a thoughtful grin with a twinkle in his eyes. He didn’t realize how close he came to getting hit.
I snatched the hair tie from him. “Thank you." I huffed. "Again." I swept up my hair and stuck my tongue out at him.
I rescued the phone. Heaven forbid we stepped on it. The next person I had to call was Raphe. Since he was the Sheriff I doubted I'd reach him, but I tried.
“Hello!” Raphe shouted into the phone over loud background noises. Fire engines and police sirens wailed and people shouted.
“Raphe, it's Veronica. What the hell is going on? Where are you?”
Albert came up beside me, his brow furrowed. Not meaning to be rude I motioned for him to back away. I needed to hear Raphe. Something major was going on and he was in the thick of it.
“Veronica? Hold on I need to get somewhere a little quieter.”
Seconds passed and the background noise lessened. When Raphe came back to the phone he talked with a calmer, quieter tone. “Where are you?”
“Home. What’s going on? I heard the sirens when you first picked up. Is everyone okay?”
He puffed and laughed an insane little chuckle. “I’m fine. My house isn’t though.”
“What happened to your house?” Stress tightened its firm grip on my shoulders.
“Lucian. The bastard set my house on fire.”
“Holy crap, is everyone okay? Are you hurt?” No wonder I couldn’t reach Lucian. He was the busy pyromaniac.
“We all got out fine. Which is amazing considering what happened to Stacey.” There was a crack as his grip tightened on the phone.
"What happened to her? You all got out. It'll be okay."
Albert rolle
d his eyes. I playfully smacked his shoulder.
“No, it isn’t okay.” The floodgates opened. “That fucking Asian chick was skipping around my front yard as my house was burning to the ground like she was at an amusement park. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have a couple other places to live so I’m not too worried about the house. But Stacey, Lucian fed from her. He left her in his arms and drank her. She was nothing but a shriveled, old husk. Then he dropped her on my front porch."
"As a warning."
"I'm sure."
Raphe moved the phone from his ear. The sudden whoosh sound of wind moving across the receiver told me that much. I thought I heard Grump in the background. After another whoosh Raphe asked, “Are you safe at home?”
“Yeah, and I have Albert here with me, but I'd feel better if you checked it out. He's found me before.”
“Are you reading my mind?” Again his question ended with a maniacal cackle.
“No. I don’t have to. I just know you well enough to know that you shouldn’t be by yourself right now. Come to my house. We can figure this out together. We’ll get something to eat and you can get some rest before you make any kind of decision about Lucian. Okay?” I tried to be as soothing as possible without using vampire tricks. I doubted my powers worked over the phone.
“Where do you live?”
I gave him the address and directions from his place. We said our goodbyes and the phone went dead.
Now that my attention was off one of my boyfriends I turned it to my butler. Albert stood not five feet from me with his arms folded across his chest and head cocked. “What?”
“What part of ‘secret’ do you not understand?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked even though I knew what he meant. When dealing in covert-ops a spy should not ask the person they were working against to their hidden lair. It was like a black widow spider that asked a fly to come by her web while she pretended to be a fly herself and knew that the fly had buddies with stingers nearby. On one hand it was resourceful for a trap. On the other if it backfired it was still a trap only I was the one in trouble. “Never mind. Look it was either I don’t play up the caring girlfriend role and let his anger grow to the point where he does something stupid or I do something stupid that benefits every one involved.”
