by Peter Dawes
He laughed. “I believe you already made the decision to run and were merely looking for somebody to grant you some validation.” A small smile tugged at his lips. “Do the two of you intend to ride off into the sunset, then?”
“Battle our way into the dawn seems to be more like it.” I perked an eyebrow at him. “I asked her to marry me.”
“Now that makes this dreadfully serious, then.” Robin issued a far more exaggerated sigh, reaching into his suit jacket as though fishing for something. I watched as he pulled out what looked like a bank envelope grasping onto it with both hands for a moment before extending it outward to me. I stared at him, attempting to discern what he was doing and he nudged the envelope forward again in response. “Please take it, Peter.”
Reaching for it in a tentative fashion, I accepted it and opened the flap merely to peek into it. The reason for the amount of weight the offering boasted became apparent as I found myself starting at an indiscriminate amount of money. Shutting it, I held it back out to him. “I cannot take this, brother,” I said.
“Yes, you can, and you will. If you believe your path lies elsewhere, then who am I to question it?” Robin came to a stand, ignoring the outstretched envelope in favor of adjusting his waistcoat. “Consider it my wedding gift, in lieu of the fact that I doubt I will make the ceremony.”
“You would be invited,” I said, rising to my feet as well and tucking the money away.
My brother descended the short staircase and turned to regard me. His grin had turned solemn in the interim. “That would be a disservice to the bride,” he said. “She deserves to be seen in the light.”
“Yes, I suppose you are right.” We lingered in this position for a short time, us examining each other, suddenly aware we had reached that moment when fate would drive our paths divergent. Something about the thought made me melancholy. I spoke before I could stop myself. “Come with us,” I said.
Robin furrowed his brow. “What do you mean, Peter?”
Walking over to the railing, I settled a hand atop it. “I have no notion of where we might be headed, but you would be welcome with us. It might be better than being alone.”
We held a steady gaze for several beats until Robin glanced away. When he looked back, he bore a warm, albeit strained, smile. “I am never alone for long. I know you feel the need to be generous to me, but I doubt you want a vampire in your company after what you just went through. These years are not going to be easy for you to mend from.” He drew a deep breath in and exhaled it slowly. “I would like to travel a little more. Perhaps head back to Romania if there are miscreants afoot and help Emil and Nicolae with their coven.”
As apt as he seemed to leave it there, he hesitated and added, “If you ever need me, for whatever reason, go to them. They will know how to find me.”
“Very well, brother,” I said. Robin turned to leave, but I dashed down the stairs, touching his shoulder to stop him and throwing my arms around him the moment he pivoted to face me. His hands settled on my back, tentatively at first and firmer afterward. I grinned. “Until next we see each other.”
He chuckled softly. “Until then, be well.” Pulling away from me, he lifted a hand, patting my face once before making his departure. This time, I allowed him to wander off, watching him the entire time as his figure faded into the horizon. My hand lifted once during the duration, patting the envelope in my jacket as I considered what needed to be done now.
Return to Monica, I said to myself, and convince her that this was the correct course of action.
“Fates be with me,” I murmured as I started a brisk walk back to the hotel. Cutting across a few streets, I paid no mind to the sparse amount of traffic and entered the building without missing a step. As the elevator lifted me up to the floor where our room laid, I composed myself. Fritz rose to his feet when I emerged but I simply nodded to him, not saying anything further before heading down the corridor.
All the while, I rehearsed an argument in my head, attempting to make it sound as compelling as I felt. I encapsulated all the reasons why we should throw caution to the wind, opening the door to our room and shutting it behind me while readying myself to deliver it. As I turned, however, I saw Monica standing by the bathroom, clothed in her new outfit with her old gloves and the scarf I had recovered from the final set of ruins tied around her neck. Folding her hands in front of her, she tilted her chin up and nodded. “So, I was thinking while you were out,” she said. “And I’ve made a decision.”
I furrowed my brow and lingered in place. “What decision is this?” I asked.
“That we’re leaving. Right now. My father can go screw himself, because I’m sick and tired of lectures on duty and responsibility. I just want you, damn it, not to be jerked around on a leash.”
A fond smile traced across my lips. “I was hoping that you would agree.”
“Is that what you were going to say, too?”
Laughing, I decided against a verbal answer. Walking to her, I lifted her into my arms and kissed her with unbridled enthusiasm, my heart suddenly lighter than it had been all evening. She returned the embrace, her arms looping around my neck and legs wrapping around my waist until I gently lowered her down. I bent to touch noses with her. “We have a benefactor,” I said. “My brother. I shall explain later, but at least we have some means now. I have one suggestion. When we get the bloody hell out of here, I believe we should head immediately for the train station.”
“This I need to hear.” She placed one last peck on my lips before taking a few steps backward and cracking her knuckles. “Alright, I think I remember where the train station is in Rome.”
“Then I shall allow you to lead the way.” Walking over to where I had left my sword, I strapped it to my side and put on my long, black coat. It bore the dirt and slashes from my previous battle, as well as sizeable amount of dried blood, I figured, but somehow slipping it on bore a level of comfort to it. Nodding at her, I walked ahead to the door and placed a hand on the knob. “Tell me when,” I said.
“Shut Chuckles up and I’ll do the rest,” she said, and with that I saw her nod in my periphery.
I nodded back and swiftly opened the door. Fritz shot to a stand, but I anticipated this and extended my hand out. Using a telekinetic grip, I secured his throat tightly, careful not to break any bones while Monica emerged from the room behind me. I felt the undercurrent of a spell channeling from behind me, seeing Fritz’s wide-eyed alarm and hearing the beginning of a telepathic message.
‘The seer is…’ It started, but he winced as though something sharp had penetrated his mind designed to shut him up. I advanced forward, keeping the lock secured while pressing the down arrow to the elevator. Monica came up behind me and snapped her fingers, the action causing the sorcerer to slump back into his chair, rendered unconscious. I stole a glance at Monica and she smirked.
“He’ll regret that in the morning,” she whispered, winking conspiratorially.
I responded with a smile of my own and dashed into the elevator with her the moment the doors parted. We did not linger long enough to see if anyone had emerged. I had no doubt, as we descended, that we would have a host of personnel from the Order after us shortly, but as far as I saw it, freedom lay within our grasp and remained ours to claim. Feeling her hand sink into mine, I looked down at her and wove my fingers together with hers.
“Run with me,” I said.
“Always with you,” she responded, giving my hand a squeeze just as the elevator stopped.
No sooner had the doors parted than we took off together, her sprinting faster to keep up with my longer stride and me laughing as though infected with a spirit of whimsy. Dashing through the streets of Rome together, we headed where Monica led and crossed paths with a taxi a half mile away from the hotel. It seemed the farther into Rome we got, the more our exodus had been blessed by a higher power, until we boarded a train bound for Naples. Monica and I settled into our seats, each of us breathing a sigh of relief as we p
ulled out of the station.
“I swear,” she said, rifling through the money Robin had given us. “This is almost enough to start a new life somewhere.”
“At least enough for us to arrive there,” I offered. She nestled close, resting in the crook of my arm while I gathered her against me. “Is this another one of our trends?”
“Us on the run from something? At least we won’t have to worry about getting bored.” Securing the envelope shut again, she slipped it back in my pocket and rested a hand on my chest. I began playing idly with the blonde streak in her hair. “We’ll have breakfast in Naples,” she said. “Then, we’ll find the most remote, hidden spot on the map and force them to search the globe to find us.”
I chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Is this where we assume secret identities?”
“We already have them. You can be a doctor and I’ll do something else. Maybe a nurse or a teacher or something.”
“You would do better as a teacher. I believe you might get vexed with patients.”
“I’ll take that under advisement, Dr. Dawes,” she said, a playful intonation to her words. I glanced out at the windows as we sped away from the city and felt her gaze doing the same thing. “A doctor and a teacher. In some tiny village somewhere, living the rest of our lives in peace and quiet.”
“That sounds like a brilliant plan to me,” I said as I shut my eyes and simply relished the moment.
Monica kissed my chest and relaxed against me, spurring me to reach for her hand and mingle our fingers together once more. The gentle motion of the train began to lull me off to sleep, but for the first time in five years, I truly knew what peace felt like. I had no mistress to serve; no mission to fulfill. The stern eye of the cosmos had averted its gaze for now, and I was Peter Dawes again, nothing more than a man with the woman he loved dearly. Yes, I knew there would always be darkness, lying in somewhere in wait to remind me of what I had once been.
In that moment, however, I could only see a brilliant future and savored what I beheld.
I had no way of knowing just how myopic that vision might have been.
Special Thanks
Flynn’s List for
Supremely Sanguine Sorts
“Favored Prey”
Brandee Crisp
Tracy Wickman
Find Crimson Melodies Online
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Twitter: @CrimsonMelodies
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Meet the Author
Website: VampireFlynn.com
Twitter: @PeterDawes
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