He stopped, pulling her up short when he heard her comment. “Addie—we’re—I’m—not staying.”
“What—but—you have too. You…”
“Adrianna…” he said as he gently kissed her cheek, “…think about it. One of the reasons I’ve hesitated coming back here at all was because I’m supposed to be dead. How would we explain my sudden resurrection to the people in the community who aren’t aware of what’s really going on?”
“But…”
“No, honey—trust me, it’s better this way. Besides, Eva and I need some time alone—without someone or something trying to kill us. She has to go back to Red Rock. She’s the Wolf Mother and her pack needs her. And I need to be where she is. Can you understand that, Addie?”
“Yes—I do, Rick, really. It’s just—well, I’ve finally got you back and you’re going to leave again. I thought we’d have some time together.”
“We do, Addie. I’ll be here for a few days anyway. Eva wants to make sure her friend, Shaniqua, is all settled and I need to see if there’s anything I can do for Thomas. I have to say I’m surprised Michael didn’t do something to help him. It doesn’t make sense that the angel would let Thomas suffer when he almost gave his life to help me.”
“My thoughts exactly…” Julian said as he came up the steps behind them. Adrianna went to his side immediately but still kept a tight hold on Rick’s hand. “…but when I asked our angelic friend about it he just gave me some vague answer about some bigger plan in the whole scheme of things and how Thomas has a certain path to follow and if Michael interferes now it could have dire consequences .You know how he tends to talk in riddles sometimes.”
“That’s true but, if I’ve learned anything at all about the Avenger, it’s that he always has a plan—and he knows more than we do about the scheme of things. It sounds to me like he was trying to warn us, in his own way, that there’s more to come.” Rick said as he locked eyes with Julian who just nodded.
“Well, all I know is that we’re all together now and, since we don’t know how long that’s going to last, I say we go inside and enjoy each other’s company for a while. Besides…” Addie said as they went inside the house to find Eva waiting for them, “…Eva and I need to get to know each other a little better.”
“Looking forward to it,” Eva said as the three friends walked through the front door. Rick reached for her, wrapping his arm around her.
“Rick!” Kate came running into the room followed closely by Christoff and Sonya. Rick left Eva’s side long enough to take Kate in his arms.
“Kate—it’s so good to see you. I never really had a chance to thank you—all of you…” he said looking at Christoff, “…for what you did for me. There are no words to express how I feel.”
“No words needed, priest—you’re one of us now…”Christoff said.
“…and we take care of our own.” Sonya finished for him.
“Thank you—and Thomas?” Rick asked, looking down at Kate.
Her eyes began to tear up but she refused to let them fall. “He’s angry—bitter. We’ve arranged for a special suite for him at the hospital. It’s where I spend most of my time, these days. Will you come and talk to him, Rick? You always had such a way with words —maybe you can get through that wall he’s built up around him.”
“I’ll do what I can for him, Kate. You know that.”
“Thanks.” Kate said as she gave him another hug.
“Listen, why don’t you all go into the library?” Addie said, “And Rick—if you’ll wait there a minute, there’s someone Julian and I would like you to meet.”
Rick was confused by the look that passed between Adrianna and Julian as she quickly left the room and ran up the long staircase in the central foyer. But before he could ask what was going on he felt a tug at his waist. He looked down to see the precocious face of Mercy Lynn looking up at him.
“Are you going to marry my Auntie Eva?” she asked with a wide grin. Rick, caught off guard by the girl’s question, began to stutter but Shaniqua, thankfully, came to his rescue.
“Mercy child, that’s none of your business—apologize to Mister Rick.”
“It’s alright, Shaniqua.” Rick assured her. The vampire bent down and gazed into the small girl’s large brown eyes. How can I explain to someone so innocent that the rules of the normal world do not apply to a vampire and a werewolf, he thought to himself but he did his best. “Listen honey, I’m not sure what Eva and I will do but I promise you, when we make a decision, you’ll be the first to know.”
The young girl smiled up at him but turned suddenly when she heard the library door open.
“Ohh,” she whispered happily, staring straight ahead and Rick, with Eva right behind him, turned to see what had the child so excited. At first glance he saw nothing but Julian’s back, arm out-stretched as he held the door open for someone to enter. Then Rick saw Adrianna and his heart skipped a beat when he saw what she held tightly in her arms.
The tiny bundle, wrapped in a blue fleece blanket, squirmed and fussed and no-one had to tell to the vampire that he was looking at the child of his dearest friend and the husband she’d gone through hell and back with. Their eyes locked as Addie walked towards Rick. Her arms shook slightly as she lifted the restless infant, holding the baby out to him.
“Rick—Evangeline…”she said as Eva came up behind the vampire, “…there’s someone very special I’d like you to meet,” she told them as she placed the tiny infant into Rick’s waiting arms. “This—is our son…” she said as Julian came up alongside of her, wrapping his arm around her waist. “His name is Michael Richard Reynolds and he’s been waiting a very long time to meet you.”
Epilogue
The crowded sidewalks nearly obliterated the newsstand as throngs of people went about their daily business. Now and then someone stopped to grab a paper, dropping a few coins into the hands of the vendor as the headlines, in bold black print, captured their attention.
HEART ATTACK MURDERS SUDDENLY CEASE
NO SUSPECTS IN CUSTODY
The story went on to explain how the strange murders, so prevalent in the past few weeks, had just stopped. No-one could explain why but everyone was hopeful that things would now return to normal. City Hall was breathing a cautious sigh of relief and the Mayor’s office was able to reduce the number of press conferences to once a week.
“We’re still looking into a few leads…” explained Deputy Inspector John Wells in a scheduled conference early that morning, “…but it seems that those responsible may have moved on or met their own demise.” A middle aged woman raised her hand and asked the Inspector what information he could give the press on a number of dead bodies, naked and with no apparent injuries, found scattered throughout New York City and outlying areas. “We have no comment at this time.”
“What about the earthquake, Inspector? How’s the cleanup going at the Station?” one reporter called out.
“It’s my understanding that most of the damage to Grand Central Station was isolated to a small section of the sub-basement. The cleanup is still ongoing. You will have to contact the Department of Public Works for any further details. Listen guys, it was an earthquake—a freak occurrence. As you well know the effects of the quake were felt all the way into D.C. But we seem to have been at the epicenter. It’s nature at its worst. There’s nothing you can do to prevent it. We just thank God the loss of life was minimal. It could have been worse—much worse but it’s all over now.”
As the Inspector uttered those words the room began to tremble and a rumbling was heard off in the distance but it soon passed and there were no further incidents. “It’s just an aftershock.” After convincing the reporters that all was well, Inspector Wells called an end to the press conference. As he headed back to his office he told his assistant, “Make sure everything’s okay. We don’t want
any unexpected surprises. Shit, I wonder who pissed off the gods. It’s time they apologized so the powers that be lay—off—my—city!”
* * * * *
“Earthquake! Earthquake! What the hell do you know, you stupid shit? And it was much worse—for some of us.” Thomas Thibideaux shouted at the television screen as he sat alone in the lounge of Winwood Orthopedic Hospital. Most of the other residents had been asleep hours ago but Thomas didn’t sleep much these days.
His long auburn hair fell forward across his face as he hung his head in despair. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath as his hands grasped the cold steel of the wheelchair that had become a part of him in these last few days. Turning sharply to the right, he was about to guide the chair through the doorway when he noticed a tall, thin figure, shrouded in black, gliding inhumanly down the hallway.
There was something decidedly strange about the man’s appearance but Thomas was too busy dwelling on his own personal hell to really take notice.
“How are you today, my son?” The words were spoken in a thick Russian accent.
Thomas turned his head away from the intruder, casting his tear soaked eyes downward as he studied the green and black tiled floor. “Go away. The last thing I need right now is a priest.” Thomas spat out the words.
“I understand—you feel betrayed—forgotten…”
“Who the hell are you to presume that you know anything about me?” Thomas screamed at the man, his outburst interrupting the gossip session at the nurse’s station as an orderly craned his neck to see what was going on. “Get the fuck out of here before you call the night watch down on us both. Just go away and leave me alone.”
“As you wish—I will leave you—for now.” The strange man glided past Thomas, his cassock swishing across the floor, collecting dust as he retreated back down the hallway.
That’s when Thomas noticed it—an awful odor assailing his nostrils. “Ash—and brimstone,” he whispered, burying his nose in his sleeve. “No—it can’t be.” His eyes burned, his voice was shaky as the memories, terrible and horrifying, came flooding back. He jerked his head in the direction the man had just gone but there was no-one— nothing—only an empty hallway and silence.
“God will it never end?” Thomas whispered as he rushed across the hall to his waiting room, slamming the door shut behind him.
The End
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The Vampire’s Lady saga; The Wrath of the Avenger
Coming in 2014
A Soul in Torment Page 53
