In the Shadow of Darkness

by Nicole Stiling

  Angeline pushed the door open slowly, cringing at every small creak. When the steps seemed to be coming in their direction, Angeline threw the door open and hoisted Megan over her shoulder. Megan grunted as her stomach hit Angeline’s shoulder unexpectedly. The next thing she knew, a hollow voice was calling out “hello” from the morgue behind them while she was flying through the parking lot at a breakneck pace.

  “Get in,” Angeline demanded, dropping Megan at the back seat door to the Civic.

  She didn’t really comprehend what had just happened and the world was still spinning slightly, so she dropped into the back seat. Angeline was next to her before she knew it.

  “You didn’t hear anything?” Megan asked, facing Angeline as she buckled her seat belt.

  “No. I was too engrossed in the scent left on him. It was exhilarating to smell that again, but not in a good way. I heard someone when whoever was up there was already on the move.”

  “Are you guys okay? We didn’t see anyone walk in, I swear!” Stacey said, turning around.

  “We’re fine, just drive.”

  Stacey pulled out onto the main road with her lights still off. Once they were a few hundred yards away from the coroner’s office, she flipped her headlights on.

  “My heart is still racing!” Kristen said, turned toward Megan and Angeline in the back seat. “What happened in there?”

  Megan sat quietly, still absorbing what had happened. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it all. Seeing Angeline next to her, looking the slightest bit insecure, broke her heart. Megan covered Angeline’s hand with her own, rubbing her thumb over the soft skin.

  Angeline squeezed Megan’s hand. “We got what we came for. We wanted to know if the murder of that man was committed by a living person or a vampire. It didn’t go the way I’d hoped.”

  “So, what does that mean?” Stacey asked.

  “That means that his death was definitely caused by another vampire. Which leads me to believe that whoever did it is either trying to set me up, scare me off, or threaten me in some way. I just don’t know the hows or the whys,” Angeline said, looking out her window.

  “Maybe it has nothing to do with you? Couldn’t it just be that some other vampire stumbled into Fog Hollow and that gas station guy was vulnerable?” Kristen asked.

  Angeline shook her head. Megan knew she’d already explained the unlikelihood of that scenario, so she probably didn’t want to do it again. Angeline seemed edgy, much different from her usual laid-back demeanor. It must be serious.

  “It’s nearly impossible,” Megan said.

  “Why?”

  Angeline sighed. “Honestly, it would be such a coincidence that I think I’d have a better chance of winning Powerball. There aren’t many vampires in the world. It’s nothing like you see on TV. And between the few of us that do exist, there’s a kind of code, you know, you don’t just go around killing people and drawing attention for no reason.”

  Kristen and Stacey exchanged a look. “How do you know that, though? If there aren’t very many of you, how do you know that everyone got the memo outlining how they’re supposed to behave?” Kristen asked.

  “Vampires aren’t born in a vacuum. We’re created. Made. For different reasons according to the people who make us. Some want to continue their lineage, some want a lifelong companion, some just want to see if they can do it. But everyone has a maker, and it’s that maker’s responsibility to instill all of the age-old bullshit into their progeny. If word got out, and it would, that a vampire was creating baby vamps all over the place, they’d be hunted down. If they decided to go rogue, then someone, somewhere, would find them, and destroy them. There’s no other way we could have existed for the last millennia if there were any indications that we were real. You know how people react to things they don’t understand. They fear it, and then they kill it.”

  Sympathy flooded through Megan once again as Angeline spoke. She couldn’t imagine living every day in such isolation. Even when Angeline was around people, she couldn’t be herself. Ever. Even around Megan. Her reaction to Angeline’s transformation had been normal, of course, prey reacting to a nearby predator, but that didn’t take away from the idea that Megan had highlighted Angeline’s differences, intentional or not.

  “Who knows you’re here? Besides us,” Stacey said, squinting at the darkened road.

  Angeline shrugged. “No one that I know of. I’ve been very careful covering my tracks, or so I thought. I never stay anywhere for more than ten years, usually much less. I leave nothing behind. I don’t use my real name, and I never had a Social Security number of my own. I pay for everything in cash. I don’t know how anyone would find me.”

  Megan bristled. “Angeline isn’t your real name?”

  “It is. I use a different last name. And sometimes I change up my first name too—Angela, Angie, Angelina, even Angel I think, once. But Angeline is my given name.”

  “You paid for your Mustang in cash?” Kristen asked.

  “I did.”

  “You make that much as a vet tech? Really?”

  Angeline smiled. “Of course not. I work there because I enjoy it. I’ve amassed a great deal of money over the years. I had a very lucrative partnership with an organized crime family in the eighties. They called me the Invisible Assassin.”

  “You killed people for the mob?” Stacey asked incredulously.

  Megan just stared at Angeline, mesmerized and intimidated by how much she didn’t know about her.

  “Not very often. I don’t like to kill anything. It was mostly to put the fear of God into them. That, I did. Turn here.”

  “Where are we going?” Megan asked.

  “My place. The police are watching your house, I’m sure,” Angeline said.

  The thought of being watched, of her normal life being turned upside down that way, was panic inducing.

  After a few more miles, Stacey pulled the Civic into a long driveway, so long that the house could barely be seen from the road. When it finally came into view, Megan marveled at the three-story log cabin. There were lanterns hanging from tall posts on either side of the front door, illuminating the walkway in warm light.

  “This is where you live?” Kristen asked, her tone mirroring Megan’s awe. It looked more like a resort getaway than a lived-in home.

  “Yes. Do you two want to come in?” Angeline asked Kristen and Stacey, opening her door.

  “Def—”

  “No, we have to get home,” Stacey interrupted, giving Kristen a look. “Meg, will you be able to get home okay?”

  Megan looked at Angeline. Angeline nodded. “I’ll take her home before dawn. Thank you both for your help tonight.”

  Angeline extended her hand, which Megan took. They could have taken her home, and it would just look like she’d been out with friends. But Angeline hadn’t asked if Megan wanted to do that. The assumption that she’d be staying while her friends left was clear. She looked back at Stacey and shrugged. Stacey smiled and shook her head, backing slowly out of the winding driveway. Megan followed closely behind Angeline, the woods surrounding them acting like walls to keep the rest of the world at bay. Megan couldn’t complain.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Averill Park, New York, 1953

  September had been cold. Probably the coldest September that Angeline could remember. She looked out onto the lake, the moon reflecting in its shimmer, and a shiver coursed through her. She grabbed a pair of socks from her dresser and pulled them up as high as they would go. They nearly touched her kneecaps.

  She climbed back into bed, pulling the covers up tightly. She nearly screamed as something icy cold touched her thigh.

  “What is that?” Angeline whispered loudly.

  Charlotte chuckled. “Sorry, my hands are freezing. I was trying to warm them up,” she said, sliding her hand between Angeline’s thighs.

  “You could warn a girl, you know,” Angeline said, sinking down to eye level with Charlotte. She kissed her gently on the
lips.

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Charlotte asked. Her voice was full and throaty, and Angeline felt the implications of that between her legs.

  Charlotte rolled over on top of her, her blond hair creating a curtain of privacy, where no one existed but the two of them. Angeline ran her hands up the length of Charlotte’s back, about ready to make quick work of the silk nightgown she was wearing. Charlotte kissed her, this time without pretense.

  “Knock, knock.” A sarcastic voice interrupted them. Kathryn stood in the doorway, watching them with her eyebrows raised.

  “Jesus, Kathryn!” Charlotte yelled, rolling off of Angeline and covering herself up to the neck. “I thought I locked that door!”

  “You did,” Kathryn acknowledged. “But sometimes I don’t know my own strength.” She shrugged.

  “What do you want?” Angeline asked, pushing the hair out of her eyes. She was in no mood for Kathryn’s passive-aggressive bullshit.

  “I was going to take the boat out for a bit. I’m bored.”

  “So? Go do it, then.”

  “I’m not going alone, Angeline. I wanted you to come too,” Kathryn said, folding her arms across her chest.

  “Kind of busy here,” Charlotte said, motioning to the bed. “I think we’re all set.”

  Kathryn glared at her. “I don’t remember asking you. I doubt the residents of this lovely town would take kindly to the two of you fucking in the middle of the lake.”

  “Okay,” Angeline said, getting out of bed. “Enough. Kathryn, let’s go in the other room for a minute.”

  “Seriously, Ang? Why do you always let her do this?” Charlotte said. She sounded petulant, but Angeline knew she was just frustrated. It wasn’t the first time Kathryn had barged in on their private time.

  “Exactly who do you—” Kathryn said, starting toward the bed where Charlotte was now sitting up.

  Angeline could see the twitch of Kathryn’s lips, which never meant anything good. “Stop.” Angeline put a hand on Kathryn’s chest, halting her mid-stride. “Let’s talk.”

  Charlotte rolled her eyes and grumbled something, falling back to her pillow with a huff. Angeline continued to usher Kathryn out of the room and closed the door behind her.

  “I’ve just about had it with her, Angeline. I mean it.” Kathryn’s eyes were enflamed.

  Angeline didn’t doubt her in the least, and Charlotte didn’t seem to have the sense to be afraid. “I know. Sit. Let’s have a cup of tea.” Angeline went to the cupboard and removed two small teacups. Kathryn clearly fumed but took a seat at the dining room table anyway.

  Things hadn’t been good between Charlotte and Kathryn since they’d left South Carolina one year earlier. Not that they’d ever been great, really, but at least tolerable. Once Angeline had realized that Charlotte wasn’t so bad, and she actually kind of liked her, Kathryn’s attitude toward her changed. New York, which was Charlotte’s home state, had seemed to grant her a fresh sense of confidence and poise that she hadn’t displayed down south. She no longer acquiesced to Kathryn’s every whim, and she had no problem putting her in her place. Angeline usually agreed with Charlotte, but there were times when even she cringed. It was as though Charlotte sometimes forgot that Kathryn was a centuries-old vampire with more power in her pinkie than Charlotte possessed in her whole body. Though that fearlessness was one of the reasons Angeline found herself so attracted to her, it was dangerous.

  It hadn’t taken long for the two of them to realize there was chemistry between them. Subtle glances, delicate touches, suggestive allusions. Charlotte finally told Angeline, when she could stand it no more and she had to do something about it. Angeline was adjusting the rabbit ears on the television when Charlotte came up behind her and knocked her to the ground. Angeline’s instinct kicked in at the assault, her fangs detracted, and she was ready for a fight. But a fight wasn’t what ensued with Charlotte straddling her, completely naked.

  While it certainly wasn’t accepted, two women together wasn’t completely unheard of, either. There were clandestine gatherings and events that Charlotte sought out, trying to find a sense of community. Charlotte told Angeline that she had known who she was for a long time, and the second she’d laid eyes on Angeline, she’d known that she had to have her. Charlotte was the closest thing to that kind of love Angeline had ever felt.

  Kathryn was fine with it, in the beginning. She’d make snide comments and make fun of them for being cutesy together, but she’d seen them as relatively harmless. She’d even told Angeline that it was the happiest she’d seen her in the last twenty-five years. And that it was a good look on her.

  As time went on, Angeline found herself despising Kathryn less and less, mostly because she had a buffer. Charlotte was there when Angeline was grieving or melancholy, and instead of telling her to get over it, Charlotte would ask her about her family, about her life, and let her relive those experiences without feeling guilty about it. She no longer needed anything from Kathryn, and the freedom was blissful. She began to appreciate her for who she was—a bitter, entitled, insecure little girl trapped in the body of someone who’d lived too many lives for their own good. She wasn’t without some merit. Kathryn took the bull by the horns and arranged everything for them—living quarters, income supply, vehicles, and whatever else they needed to blend in as ordinary citizens. Angeline knew that Kathryn had a soft spot for her, a love that was genuine, if often difficult. Even after their countless arguments and pointless fights, Kathryn always tried to make sure that Angeline wasn’t angry with her.

  “Why are you so on edge?” Angeline asked, taking a seat across from Kathryn.

  Kathryn fidgeted with her necklace. “I think we need to make a clean break, Angeline. You’ve had your fun; you’ve been able to branch out a little bit. She’s getting too headstrong for her own good. I don’t like it.”

  Angeline tensed. “What do you mean, ‘make a clean break’? In what way?”

  “We’ll just pack up and leave. You can write her a nice letter about how you enjoyed your time with her, but we had business to attend to in, I don’t know, Athens.” Kathryn shrugged like it was the most normal suggestion in the world.

  “I can’t do that. I don’t want to do that.” Angeline shook her head forcefully. She should have known that Kathryn would eventually try to take Charlotte away from her. If anything made her happy while simultaneously taking attention away from Kathryn, it eventually disappeared.

  “Why not?” Kathryn asked defiantly. She stared into Angeline’s eyes, taunting her. “I never said this was a permanent arrangement.”

  “Kathryn, she’s been with us for almost five years. You know how I feel about her. I will not just pack up and leave her behind.”

  “How do you feel about her, Angeline? Tell me.”

  “I love her.”

  Kathryn laughed. “You love her because she’s convenient. She knows what you are, she accepts it, and she’s attractive. Moderately attractive, anyway. Frankly, she’s a bit of a heel.”

  “Fuck you, Kathryn. You have no right to tell me how I feel, and your insults are a poor attempt to mask your own self-doubt. Or jealousy. Or whatever it is that you so poorly try to conceal. So again, fuck you.” Angeline could feel the anger threatening to expose itself through her gums, but she needed to keep it at bay. She wasn’t about to challenge Kathryn to any kind of physical duel, so it was better to just keep calm.

  Kathryn waved her hand condescendingly. “It’s adorable that you’re so willing to stand up for your lady love, but can we please be serious here for a minute? We haven’t gone to Texas yet. I hear their ribs are to die for. We could be ranchers or something. Although I’m not sure how much ranching one can do at night,” Kathryn said. She drummed her fingers on the table thoughtfully.

  Angeline opened her mouth and then clamped it shut. And then repeated the action. Was Kathryn toying with her on purpose, or was she actually being serious? “I’m not sure if I made myself clear enough. I. Will.
Not. Leave. Charlotte. So you can get that idea right out of your head, Kathryn. It’s not going to happen.”

  “Won’t it? You’re familiar with the Bible, of course. Job chapter one, verse twenty-one, to be exact. Except you can substitute my name for ‘The Lord’ since even I’m not that arrogant. But the meaning remains. Kathryn giveth and Kathryn taketh away. I’m giving you the opportunity for one final kiss-off. This chapter is ready to come to a close.” Kathryn smiled, the tips of her fangs showing.

  Angeline stood up so abruptly her chair skidded backward into the cabinet beneath the sink. “Maybe you’re right, Kathryn,” she said. Her body betrayed her and released her fangs. “Maybe this chapter is ready to be over. Maybe this was just Book One, the Kathryn Chronicles. And now, maybe it’s time for me to branch out without you. Write a whole new story that doesn’t even include you.”

  Kathryn was up in her face before Angeline could finish her sentence. Their faces were so close their fangs nearly touched. “You will never leave me, Angeline. That isn’t how this works. You think you have free will and are able to come and go as you please? You belong to me. I found you, I created you, and if the time comes for us to no longer be together, then I will dismiss you or I will kill you. Do not mistake my kindness for weakness. Just because I indulge you and allow you to live as you see fit doesn’t mean that I’m not your lord and master. Now go into that bedroom, tell that woman that it’s over, and I expect that she’ll be gone by morning. If not, I’ll make her gone.” Kathryn’s voice was low and guttural. Angeline knew that it was time to toe the line. She didn’t want to find out what would happen if she crossed it.

  She turned away. “Fine. You win, as usual. I’ll go talk to Charlotte. It’s not going to go well, so I need some space. Why don’t you go take that boat ride, and I’ll go tell her,” Angeline said, tears springing to her eyes.

  Kathryn’s demeanor relaxed immediately. She smoothed her hair down and cleared her throat. “It’s for the best, Angeline, really. I know you don’t see it right now, but you will. I don’t like to hurt you, you know that. But I’ve been around a lot longer than you.”