by Judith Post
“Vlad’s not here, and what Caleb likes or dislikes doesn’t interest me at the moment.”
Enoch raised his eyebrows. He'd never seen Bart this angry. Vlad was a fool for sending rogues after Claudia. “The vampires are dust, but this guy's still alive and kicking. You must have worked up an appetite.” Enoch tossed the man to him. “He’s yours."
"We can't drain mortals here."
"Even a familiar?"
Bart grinned. "Now that's another story. He chose vamps over mortals, and unfortunately for him, he chose the wrong side." He flew off, carrying the screaming man with him.
Enoch went back inside. He locked the patio doors and yanked the drapes shut. He turned to point a finger at Voronika. “From now on, you’re staying with me, all the time, twenty four hours a day.”
“The sun…”
“The Land Rover has tinted glass. You can make a nest in the back seat. I’m not letting you out of my sight.” He looked at the door hanging on its hinges. “Get ready. Danny will be here soon. You can come with me when I drive him home.”
"Excuse me?" Her tone was sharp.
He ran a hand impatiently through his hair. “Please."
She didn't budge.
"I'm not trying to give you orders. This scared me.”
She went to get her coat.
When they got downstairs, he used the main desk’s phone to call maintenance and tell them about his broken door. Then they waited for Danny to show up.
Danny looked from one of them to the other when Enoch took his place behind the wheel and Voronika scooted into the back seat. "Is there something going on that I don't know about?" When Enoch told him about the vampires using a human as a familiar, Danny gritted his teeth. “The bastards don’t miss a thing, do they?”
“This time they’ve pushed their luck.” Enoch sent a mental message to Bart. "Clear the downtown area. I'm hunting." Then he dropped Danny at Maggie’s house.
He and Voronika drove up and down city streets, looking for any unusual movement. When either of them spotted a vampire, Enoch slowed down, rolled down his window, and skewered it with Light. He killed more than a dozen before morning traffic picked up and he headed toward home.
"Feel better?" Voronika asked.
"A little." It was a silly revenge. More would come to take their place, but maybe he'd bought them some extra time. "Vlad will have to send for re-enforcements. By then, hopefully Danny and I will catch the clown killer and I can stay with you."
"I could have handled the two tonight, you know."
"Did you see them?"
"No."
“They were big and old and ugly."
"You haven't seen me when I change."
He shook his head. "Claudia's older than you are, and she had trouble with the three that attacked her. These vamps were older still. Vlad must have converted them when he was still new."
She thought about that. "There aren't many vampires who are older than Vlad. I'm surprised Bart can handle him."
"Caleb bit them close to the same time. He needed a babysitter for his favorite, and Bart's a trained soldier. If he and Vlad actually fought, I don't know who'd win, but neither does Vlad."
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"Not if you're with me. We'll work together. When I go on watch, you'll come with me. Bring a book or something to keep yourself busy. The day gets long and boring.”
“What do you do?” she asked.
“I concentrate. I don’t want a distraction to cost Jenny her life.”
She leaned over and touched his cheek. “You’re a good man.”
“And you’re a good woman. I don’t want to lose you.”
She sent him a long glance. He tried to read her expression, but couldn't. When he pulled into his parking space at the complex, he said, “We’ll make a quick pit stop. Grab whatever you need before the sun comes up. I want you in the Land Rover behind tinted glass by then.”
The door was already fixed when they reached the apartment, one of the joys of vast wealth. Enoch wasn't obsessed with money like Caleb, but he wasn't about to deny its perks. They grabbed muffins and soup and a bottle of wine before hurrying back to the Land Rover.
To Enoch’s surprise, keeping watch over Jenny with Voronika beside him was an intimate pleasure. They shared muffins together and talked for hours. She stayed awake as long as she could, but after their lunch of soup and wine, her eyelids were getting heavy. Enoch patted the nest he’d made for her on the back seat. “Get some sleep.”
“Sorry,” she said, curling into the ball of blankets.
“I like listening to you breathe.”
“I don't need to. I'm undead.”
"Then I'll listen to you slumber."
She laughed. "You're awfully easy to please."
But that wasn't true. For all of the things Enoch appreciated on this Earth, there were almost as many that annoyed him. He watched snow flakes swirl from a leaden sky. He watched customers come and go. Voronika didn't stretch and sit up until Jenny’s husband came for her and Enoch started the Land Rover to drive home.
On the way, Voronika said, “It would be nice to have this over, to catch this guy and know all the women are safe.”
“The visions were close together,” Enoch told her. “He won’t wait long.”
“When the killer does come, how will you handle it? Should I wait in the car until you're done?”
He didn't like that idea. She'd be too vulnerable. “Simple. You’ll come into the shop with me. We’ll work together.”
"During the day?"
That stopped him. He was so used to gray skies, he'd stopped worrying about the sun. Voronika was safe behind the car's heavily tinted glass, even on a bright day. But outside? She'd burn. "If it's sunny out, I'll drive the Land Rover right up to the front door. There's an awning, so you can dart inside."
“Good. I can help.” She stared out the window as they passed a Mexican bakery, a newly remodeled Mexican restaurant, and a stained glass shop. She turned in her seat to see one of the designs in its window.
"Do you like stained glass?"
"I love it."
He made a mental note to buy some for her. When they crossed the river and turned onto Main Street, the Lincoln Tower and Summit City Bank loomed above the city's skyline. She said, “I think we should go hunting again after supper.”
“No one will be out. We surprised them last night. Tonight, they’ll have some place to hide.”
She made a face. “Ugly things crawl under rocks. They should stay there, but they don't. When they feel safe enough to come out, we'll be ready."
He couldn't help it. He smiled. He liked the word we.
Chapter 59
When Jenny Yost turned the sign in her shop from Closed to Open, she looked out the big, picture windows on either side of the door. The displays weren't going to pull in any customers this morning. Sleet bounced off the sidewalk. Snow plows went up and down Wells Street, followed by sand and salt trucks. Who'd brave this weather to buy a bouquet? But by lunchtime, the ice and snow had melted, and traffic trundled past her windows.
More people than usual came and went. Christmas was only a week away. People were getting ready, and the foul temperatures weren't going to deter them. Jenny sold and wrapped small Christmas trees decorated with flowers and ribbons. Some were decked with fancy little balls and baby’s breath. She bundled poinsettias into plastic wrap and taped ribbons on them. The afternoon went quickly, and Jenny enjoyed watching different types of people parade in and out of her shop.
There was a rush of customers at three thirty when factories spewed first trick workers out their doors. It didn’t slow until four fifteen. When things got quiet, Jenny saw one of her regular customers—Joshua—pull into the small lot behind her shop. He went to the side door, as usual, but Enoch had urged her to lock that entrance. He'd even convinced her to move a set of heavy shelves in front of it to block it completely. "I can't see it very well from where I'm
parked. You'd be safer if everyone had to use the front door."
Joshua stopped to read the sign, PLEASE GO TO THE FRONT, but he tried the door anyway. If the shelves hadn't been in the way, Jenny would have opened it for him, but when it didn’t budge, he walked to the main entrance. "What happened?" he asked. "Why only one door?"
Enoch had given her a convenient lie. "A guy walked out the side door with one of my most expensive wreathes when I was busy at the cash register with another customer."
He shook his head in disbelief. "Can you believe that? Stealing at this time of year? You'd think he'd be ashamed."
Jenny smiled at him. The first time Joshua came to the shop, he'd made her nervous. His head was clean shaven with symbols tattooed across the back of his skull, and he sported a blond goatee. He wore camouflage pants and a well-used army jacket. But the more he came and chatted, the more she liked him. His wife was dying, and he bought her a bouquet of flowers every week. That touched Jenny.
She was arranging daisies and chrysanthemums for him when Enoch walked through the front door with a slim, silver-haired woman. Joshua turned to look at them and his sea-blue eyes—almost the same shade as the woman's—narrowed. He was so distracted that he dropped his change when Jenny put it in his hand, then he snapped up his cellophane bundle of flowers and left.
When the door swung shut behind him, Enoch said, “He recognized us.”
“Maybe. Or maybe he’s just not friendly. Is he a regular?” The silver-haired woman looked at Jenny.
She was stunningly beautiful with perfect skin, shining hair, and gorgeous features. Jenny looked from her to Enoch, both of them more attractive than anyone deserved to be. “He’s been buying flowers once a week for the last few months. It’s sad, really. His wife was at Parkview, but the doctor let her go home to die. She has a visiting nurse who comes once a day to check on her.”
“Cancer?” Enoch asked. The idea seemed to intrigue him more than sadden him.
That made Jenny wonder. “It's a quick kind. It’s spreading all through her. She tried chemo when they found the first spot, and they thought they got it all. She was okay for a while, but then it came back.”
“She can’t be that old,” Enoch said. “Her husband looked like he was only in his late thirties.”
“That’s the sad part. But Joshua's devoted to her. So is her family. Her mom and sisters help take care of her while he’s at work.”
“Any kids?” the woman asked, joining the conversation at last.
When Jenny gave her a blank look, she smiled. "I'm Voronika. I'm with him."
Jenny gave a quick nod. “They tried but couldn’t have any. I consider that a blessing, since the kids would lose their mom so soon, but I don’t know how Joshua feels about it.”
Voronika looked at the flowers in the glass case—lush roses, orchids, and exotic birds of paradise. “He bought her daisies and chrysanthemums.”
“He says daisies are her favorites, that they suit her.”
“How’s he handling watching her die?” Enoch asked.
“He’s struggling, but who wouldn’t?”
Voronika sighed. “It’s so sad. She loves him. He’s devoted to her, and she’s dying.”
Enoch's expression looked troubled. “Have you thought that maybe this devoted husband is the clown killer?”
Jenny shook her head. “He wouldn't do that when he knows how horrible it is to lose someone you love.”
Enoch counted off arguments on his fingers. “There’s tons of anger festering inside him; his wife lost her hair with chemo, so he shaves his victims; his wife isn’t going to live, so they shouldn’t either.”
“That would make him a monster.” Jenny couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe the man who came here week after week to buy daisies for his dying wife could be that heartless.
“I could be wrong, but a lot of things fit.” When Jenny still didn't look convinced, Enoch said, "Just be careful around him, will you? Never turn your back on him."
"And if you're wrong?" Jenny asked.
"Be on guard with every man who comes into this shop. But when I see Camo Guy again, I’m going to be right outside the building in case you need me.”
Jenny's expression told him that she thought it would be a waste of time.
"He's the right height and build," Enoch argued, trying to make her more cautious. "And I could swear he recognized Voronika and me."
Jenny had noticed the man's strong reaction when he saw them, but surely they were used to that. They came across as two beautiful people, well dressed and well heeled. If your wife was dying and your bills were mounting, maybe that would irritate you for a moment.
Jenny's husband walked through the door and stopped abruptly when he saw who was there. "Is there a problem?"
"Nothing serious," she hurried to say. "A man came in that made Enoch suspicious, is all."
Christian didn't look satisfied.
"He's a regular customer," she said.
Enoch put a hand under Voronika's elbow. "Since you're here, we'll leave you to help Jenny close shop." He gave Jenny a sharp look. "We'll be here again tomorrow. Take care."
Jenny knew he wasn't happy with her. She tried to convince herself that he was the expert, after all. She needed to listen to him. But she just couldn't take his worries seriously. His theories sounded more like some strange, concocted plot in a murder mystery. No husband, mourning his wife's struggle to live, would go on a killing spree.
Chapter 60
The next day, Joshua didn’t come to Jenny’s shop, and Enoch and Voronika spent a long, quiet day watching people come and go until Jenny’s husband came for her. Voronika stretched and yawned when Enoch pulled away from the curb. “I’m going straight to bed when we get home.”
Enoch smiled. She’d called his apartment home. “Want to stop to get something to eat?”
She blinked. “Like at a restaurant?”
“You have your contacts in. You shouldn’t scare anyone too much.”
She liked the idea, he could tell, so they stopped at the Gas House and had a leisurely meal. Voronika ordered nachos because she’d never had them.
“This is wonderful,” she said when the waitress came to take her empty plate. “Food tastes better when you don’t cook it, doesn’t it?”
He motioned to the room full of diners. “A lot of people think so. I wouldn’t like it every night, but it’s nice for a change of pace. It makes supper special.”
“And there are so many kinds of food.” She nodded. “And our apartment’s right across the street from here. We could do this every once in a while.”
“Maybe once a week.”
“That often?”
“Some people eat out every night.”
She nodded and yawned. “The wine and food have made me tired. This was nice.”
“Let’s get you home and into bed.”
She wagged a finger at him. “For sleep.”
“For sleep,” he agreed.
They got in the Land Rover and crossed Lafayette into their apartment’s parking lot. Enoch was circling to find a place to park when something heavy landed on the vehicle’s roof. His nerves tensed. Three more thuds followed the first. Fists broke out the side windows of the car and long fingers, ending in sharp talons, gripped their frames.
"You're not invited in!" Voronika yelled.
A vampire jumped to the pavement and looked through the front window at them. "Then maybe you should come out." He scraped a long talon along the Land Rover's hood, cutting a deep groove in the metal. One of his friends went to a second car in the lot and pounded its hood. The metal crumpled into a V-shape.
“No! You'll ruin everything!” Voronika was out the door to fight them before Enoch could stop her.
Damn it! They were just cars. They could be replaced. And when would she learn? He was protecting her, not the other way around. She’d killed one of them when a group of older vampires swooped down to grab her. Enoch opened his door
and rushed to defend her.
"Get out of here!" she cried. He turned to her, distracted, and a huge rogue dipped to slash sharp talons across his jugular. Voronika gasped and stared in surprise.
“I’m immortal, damn it! These idiots can't hurt me.” Enoch raised a hand, aimed, and zapped three of her attackers in their heads. The last one, an exceptionally ugly, large vampire, used Voronika to shield himself. No problem. One against one was fair odds, and Voronika finished with him quickly. Dust fell like ashes, and Enoch focused his attention on the three, younger vampires still gripping his Land Rover. “Your turn,” he told them.
They turned to leave, but Voronika blocked their way. Enoch aimed to zap them when a blur of movement caught his eye. He turned and saw Vlad speeding in toward Voronika. A trick. While he fought the new recruits, Vlad would grab his prey.
"No!" No one was taking Voronika. Enoch aimed…and then hesitated. Kill him! his mind screamed. But his heart constricted with confusion. He shot a blast of Light in front of Vlad, a warning. Leave, Enoch warned. Vlad swerved and dove again. Aim for the head, Enoch thought, but at the last minute, he turned his hand slightly, and a hole burned through Vlad's left palm. Grabbing it, Vlad screamed in pain. Just go! Enoch told him. The wound would never heal. Vampires had no defense against Light. The young vampires saw their chance and sped away. Vlad grabbed the slowest one and held him as a shield. He took one long look at Voronika.
“Are you sleeping with him?” he hissed.
“Lots more than that.” She rubbed her hands provocatively over her body. “And he’s better than you ever were.”
“You’re mine!” Vlad rushed her, but stopped when another blast of Light hit the vamp in front of him. The rogue started to crumble. He whirled on Enoch. “Damn it! I’m sick of you always interfering.”
“Then stay away from me. And stay away from Voronika!” Enoch raised his arm. A moment passed before he shot again, only seconds, but Vlad zipped to the side, barely escaping.
“You’re going to be sorry!” he yelled at both of them. “You’re going to pay!”
