by Colleen Tews
“Who do you have in mind?” Please don’t say who I think you’re going to say.
“Brutus and his Maartens are best equipped to handle Lucian on the spot.”
Shit! That was precisely who I didn’t want at my house. I tried not to grind my teeth. Instead I smiled and said as graciously as possible, “Thank you. You are too good for me.”
“Don’t worry about it, beautiful. I’ll take care of you.” He gave me a quick peck on the lips. Without a shirt, without shoes, and with great earnest he rushed out through the snow to his car.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to stop him dead, literarily dead in his tracks. That meant I would have to kill him and he wasn’t the one I wanted dead. Were Brutus ordered to post here then that put him within arms length. Unfortunately, Lucian would be blamed. Deep down I honestly didn't want to endanger him any further.
I picked up the clothes off the floor. As I stood I noticed the basement door. "Fuck me sideways with a ten-foot pole." I locked the basement door. It took precedence, above all else, when it came to precautionary measures. If Brutus found my small arsenal I was finished.
Raphe rushed back inside, phone pressed to his ear. He listened with keen intent to the other. He muttered quick almost inaudible agreements and disagreements; with a frustrated exhalation he closed the phone. “We’ve got an emergency down at the university. We’ve got to get down there. Now.”
At the same time I heard Lucian in my head. “Meet me atop of the student center. Now.”
Chapter 31
I sat in the picnic area atop the student center with its rusted metal tables. Snow fell from a cloudy sky. A thin, white blanket covered the courtyard. Icy winds blew back my hair. I blinked past the cold burn. I pulled my brown suede trench coat closer to my neck. The puffy white and brown fox fur tickled my bare skin. Ohio could be down right miserable in December. Thankfully the heat from the burning library kept us all warm.
Chaos marched through the snow-covered campus. A crowd of vampires converged around Primus Grump. They pled for guidance. The mass confusion turned fast into mass hysteria. Smoke filled the air and choked some of the young vampires that forgot they didn’t need to breathe. The orange and red flames licked the night sky as it ate away at the university’s library. The tall, pale building lost itself brick by brick to the fire. A large hunk fell from the top right corner. It smashed onto the cement walkway next to the decorative three-tiered fountain. Those lucky enough to escape the crash ran screaming, except one, Raphe. He jumped in the nick-of-time and landed in the empty fountain.
The crowds in the courtyard scattered as more chunks fell and shattered into smaller pieces. The rubble rolled around them. Burnt pages from various books flew out shattered windows and mixed with the growing snowstorm. Shrieks came from within the Hub as students ran out to see the destruction.
I returned my attention to the Primus. From where he sat the red, brick student center wrapped behind Grump. He lit a cigarette and settled down on a picnic bench. Even from a profiled angle there was emptiness to his gaze. He ignored the ramblings of vampires old enough to know how to deal with an attack on their sanctuary.
Meisha shook his shoulder. Dark wisps of hair had fallen from her tight bun. Her pentacle necklace glistened in the firelight against her black button down blouse. Her pure cotton full-length red and black peasant skirt completed the ensemble as it flapped against her legs and tips of her black pointed ankle boots.
He looked up at her for a brief second, then looked back at the fire. By concentrating really, really hard I filtered out the sounds of the fire and listened in on their conversation. “What, Meisha?”
“What is going on?” There was a small twinge of fear underlined her usual professional tone.
“The library is on fire.” He took another drag off his cigarette.
“Yes, I see that, but what the hell is actually going on? Was this an accident or are we under attack?” She folded her arms.
He shrugged and shook his head. “The library’s on fire.”
He finally noticed her dissatisfaction with that answer. He squared his jaw and put out his cigarette on the picnic table. “You should call 911 and get the fire department over here, if they aren’t on their way already. Once it is out then we’ll figure out if it was arson or that shitty boiler. Round everybody up, figure out a cover story and get those people,” pointing to the students, “to safety.”
With that Meisha unfolded her arms. She turned back toward the crowd and pulled her cell phone from her skirt pocket while she barked orders at everyone to clear out.
“Oh and Meisha,”
She whirled back around and covered the receiver. “Yes.”
“Elder meeting, five o’clock, at the church.”
“St. Paul’s?”
“Yeah."
"Do you want the Commissioners there?"
"No need to freak everybody out any more than they already are. And thank Father Khel for letting us use it on such short notice.”
“You’re not going to ask him first?”
“Nah, it’ll be good. He’ll understand and if not, oh well. This place isn’t safe now.”
“Alright, but if he gets pissed you’re dealing with the good Father this time not me. He about bit my head off just for being pagan last time we spoke and I really don’t want to hurt a priest, especially when we need to use his place.”
Grump laughed as he stood and headed toward the parking lot. Before he reached the protective canopy provided by the second floor of the student center he stopped and examined the courtyard. His people rounded up humans and, I assumed, told them unsubstantiated claims about the boiler. They reinforced their claim anyway they could, straightforward or by influencing their minds. Still Grump looked worried about something else entirely. He looked up which was something most forgot to do. I hoped I moved fast enough before he saw me.
Sirens echoed far off in the distance and closed in fast. I pulled a metal chair from a rusted picnic set to the edge of the balcony. Then propped my feet on the ledge and enjoyed the show.
My cell phone went off. The unexpected vibration shocked my hypersensitive system and caused my feet to fly over my head as I fell backward. My head bounced on the ground. Stars shot across my field of vision. “Shit.” I coughed out. “And the stupidhead award goes to…”
“Are you talking to yourself again Veronica?”
A smile crossed my face out of sheer embarrassment. “You’ll have to forgive me Lucian. When you’ve been doing it as long as I have it becomes a force of habit.” I rolled onto my stomach. I twisted my head to see him, which caused the shooting stars to soar back. I rubbed the back of my head. “Can I get a hand getting up please?”
“Are you sure you even want my help any more?” He said as he walked over to help me up. His paten leather shoe made a small audible shuffle against the concrete floor. He was dressed in a black and red pin stripped suit. From the waist up he was a perfect V-shaped. He had on a matching vest over a white button shirt. He decided not to bother with a tie and instead choose to wear a gold and hematite oval stud. A black trench coat hung from his shoulders. His thick, light golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. Seeing his bare skin made my eyes travel up next to his chiseled jaw, full lips surrounded by high cheekbones, and finally to his beautiful hazel eyes. For all the death and destruction this man did those eyes were the only part that remained pure. There was wisdom behind those eyes. Until tonight they held a touch of whimsy that I would have done anything to protect. Now I saw a barrier between us. I regretted all the things I said.
“Well, aren’t you looking all fancy? New suit. Candlelight.” I nodded back to the library. “If you were trying to romance me this is a bit of an overkill. Or did you decide to take your frustration out on the literary world as well.” I held my hand up as he extended his black gloved hand down.
“Contrary to what you might believe you didn’t enter my thoughts once when I pla
nned this event. I wanted to make a grand, public spectacle proving to these people they aren’t safe in their homes, in their sanctuary, or anywhere else. I wanted to let them know I can get at them anywhere at any time. As for the suit, I have a meeting in Cleveland. The Cabal Ministry is getting together to see what they can make of us.” Lucian raised me to my feet. He forced me to brush against him.
“Then why did you send me in to spy on them? You obviously didn’t need me if you could orchestrate this. Why bother?”
“I explained this before. I wanted an insider to let me know what they were planning and that has paid off immensely. My contacts in California are still trying to find out who this H. Heidelberg is. It’s only a matter of time before that matter is taken care of. But more importantly, I truly wanted you to get your chance to get even. I still do.”
I stared at him unsure what to say. As if on queue my cell phone vibrated again. I dug my phone out of my coat pocket. The caller identification screen revealed Sasha’s number. “Hey Sasha. What can I do for you?”
“Hi. Is Lucian with you? He isn’t answering his phone. I tried to call him three times and nothing.” Her perky voice was loud enough that Lucian must have heard her through the phone.
He shook his head and mouthed, “I’m not here.”
“Yes, Sasha he’s right here.” It pleased me to throw a monkey wrench at him for once, if not literarily.
“Go figure he’d be with you when he doesn’t answer. Can I talk with him?”
“Absolutely.” I held the phone out to him. “Here you go Lucian. It’s Sasha. Say hi to the nice lady.”
I thrust the phone to his ear. “Hello Sasha. I thought I told you not to call Veronica’s cell unless there was an emergency. So what pray tell is the emergency?” I snickered as I walked back over to the edge of the balcony.
Most of the people had cleared the courtyard. The vampires that straggled behind told the fireman something went down with the boiler. The cover-up continued; another lie, another mystery for some conspiracy theorist to unravel. The world moved on none the wiser.
I spotted Raphe. He was with a big strapping fireman coercing him into believing the false story any way he could. Each vampire had his or her own gifts after all.
“Veronica.”
“Hmm?”
“The Cabal in Cleveland fell. We won.”
I spun around to see his face. “You’re shittin’ me. They did it! How?”
“As of four thirty-five a.m. the city of Cleveland is ours and with minimal casualties on our side. I had planned on stopping by their council meeting to offer them a way to surrender, but it seems I won’t have to. Sasha received word from our informant that they were planning to attack. Instead of waiting for me she ambushed the Cabal’s defensive line. Her tactics led the troop into a battle that lasted a mere ten minutes before their Primus caved.” The corner of his cheek curled up.
“Congratulations. Sasha already planning a celebration party?” I folded my arms across my chest. I was thrilled for him but I sensed that though he should be just as excited as I was inside there was something that nagged at him.
“More than likely.” He smiled, but the brilliance of that smile did not meet his eyes.
“But?”
“But that isn’t what concerns me. The Kent area is now the last Cabal Ministry city in Ohio.”
“Ah, I see.” I dropped my arms to my side in chagrin.
He came to me. “I don’t think you do. I can be man enough to admit that seeing you with Raphe tonight may have had something to do with causing me to react...poorly. You were right about why I kept the diary. I won’t apologize for my actions, but I will accept them for what they are. I’m leaving this solely on you now. You are more than capable, as you proved tonight, at keeping him under control. You’re intelligent enough to know how deep is too deep.” He shook his head then stared out into the distance. The winter wind caught small wisps of his hair and blew them loose. I assumed this was what the devil looked like if he were concerned with anyone but himself.
“Since you know all of this then all you need to do, Lucian, is trust me. I will win this for you.”
Lucian closed the gap between us faster than I could blink. He took me by the waist, lifted me up, and set me on the ledge. His lips brushed against mine. “I trust you Veronica. To be honest, even with tonight's success, win or lose I'm happiest when I'm with you.”
He kissed me once, twice, three times, each longer and more sensuous than the one before. His touch filled me with warmth from head to toe. His hands slid inside my coat. He explored me the way my eyes explored him moments ago. The burning building behind us seemed cooler by comparison to the two of us on this balcony yards away.
I grabbed a hold of his trench coat and pulled him closer to me. I wished there wasn’t all this cloth between us. I wished we could slink away where no one would ever find us. However, there were a ton of clothes to take off, and there was no such place just for us. I breathed him in as I pulled back. “Lucian I,”
“I have to go.” All of his muscles were taut as he withdrew. Only his eyes held a sense of longing. It pleased me to see the whimsy again and filled with the love for me.
“I know you do. We both do.”
“You need to go help save the day. Earn their trust Veronica. Show them you’re trying to help save them.”
I chortled. “Great minds think alike. I’m to going to have to find some way to twist this fire to my advantage. Not exactly sure how well it will work out though.”
“You’ll figure it out. In fact, you’re more clever than I originally gave you credit.”
“Are you admitting I was right about your history with Khel?” I stroked his face, took in his scent.
He removed my hand from his face and held it to his chest. “We worked together during the Papal Inquisition as members of the Dominican Order. That was when Khel tutored me.”
“You were a priest?”
“In training. Then one thing led to another and I walked away from it all.” The image of Lucian training to become a priest was so contradictory to what I knew of him. It was almost laughable.
"Did you know he was the one I've been after? I got hold of a disc proving he put Brutus up to it."
"I did not know that." He stepped back to leave, but stopped short. “Why did you stay? You could have easily thought he and I were in on it together?”
“That never crossed my mind, at least consciously. Hindsight being what it is, that’s probably why I got pissed at you earlier.” I closed my eyes and allowed those thoughts to simmer. “No matter what I said after, you know, when you caught me with him, you aren’t Khel. You have so much in you that you’re scared to let out. I don’t know why. At the same time I’ve never felt safer than with you beside me. I feel like it’s okay to be me. I see that you feel that way to about me. Hell, everyone who’s seen us together can see it. I guess what I’m trying to say is I stayed because,” I sighed and our gazes locked. “Because I love you.”
His eyes softened as he took me in his arms. “And I you.” He kissed me again. This kiss shamed every kiss before it. For the first time in years I felt like I had a soul, something inside me breathed in life once again. I felt alive. I felt loved.
He eased back to lock eyes with me. The fire blazed back against those beautiful greens and grays. He brushed a hair back from my face. "What did I do right to deserve you?"
His hand clenched the hair on the back of my head. His eyes widened. He winced. Then he let go. He backed away so quickly I teetered on the balcony edge. Lucian snapped open his shirt and he clutched his chest.
I jumped down and ran to him. "What's wrong?"
"This can-" His sentenced was cut short by an agonizing scream. A small white glow came from his chest. His feet gave way. I lowered him to the floor. The glow brightened. I buried my face into his hair. The light's brilliance was too much. Tears streamed down my face, partially from the light, mainly from fright.
"Veron-"
"I'm here." I cupped his face.
"Find me."
The light burst from his body. A luminescent orb floated ten feet above us before it dissipated. Lucian turned gray. He shifted into an intangible shadow before he vanished completely.
Chapter 32
The library fire was snuffed out. Though the burnt wood smell hadn't gone away. The sky was light gray in the east. Almost three inches of snow coated the rooftop, the university, and me. I sat, slumped where Lucian disappeared.
He was gone. I understood that. Strangest part was I hadn't cried. I couldn't wrap my brain around what exactly happened enough to feel anything. Everything was numb. This would have made more sense had he turned to ash like the pages that mingled with the winter blanket. Was he dead or alive? There was no certainty.
I ran a hand through my hair and shook the snow out. The clumps and flakes dimpled the untouched snow. I flopped back and stared at the sky. The clouds were off-white. It was only a matter of minutes before the sun broke through.
I slapped my hands over my face. Not that that helped in the slightest. He asked me to find him. There were no clues and no one to help. His last wish was for me to find him. "Fuck-fuckity-fuck-fuck. Fuck!"
First things first. I pulled out my cell phone and called the last number that came in.
"What?" Sasha said. She sounded cranky.
There was no easy way to put it. I was void of sugarcoating. "Lucian's gone. I don't know if he is dead or what, but a light burst out of him, then he vanished."
"You are so not funny."
"You're in command. I'll be in touch if I find out anything on my end."
"Sweetie, don't scare me like this. Whatever lame joke you and Lucian are playing is not worth me killing you over."
"This isn't a joke. Make him proud." I hung up.
Screw her if she didn't believe me. I needed to go home and rest. There was nothing to do until the sun went down anyway.
