“You won’t mind if I embarrass you, then?” Helen didn’t give me a chance to answer. “When Serenity was younger, she hated dancing, despite being a beautiful dancer. She was forced to attend one particular event and had to dance with this awful man. He was a fine dancer, but he was rather pungent.”
I groaned and hid my head in my hands as Helen continued her tale.
“To try to get out of dancing, she would pretend she was the worst dancer in the world, stepping on toes, missing steps. Well, when she accidentally stomped on the poor man’s foot, he howled in pain. It turned out she’d broken his toe.”
Ray and Liz burst into laughter.
“Thank you, Helen. Perhaps I should bring up some of your finer moments.”
“How about we change the subject before we have a war between the two of you?” Sam offered.
“Excellent plan,” Helen said.
“I agree. Would you mind if I asked how you met Ray’s father?”
“Not at all.” Liz smiled, a wistful look in her eye. “We were very young, not even as old as you two are now. I was playing the piano at an event hosted by my mother. Despite my reluctance, my parents insisted on introducing me to everyone there. When I saw Raymond, there was no going back. By the end of the next week, he had asked for my hand in marriage. We were married two weeks later. The time I had with him was short, just three years, but I will never forget him.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Not to worry, dear. I could never see myself with another man. He was—still is—the love of my life, and I’m grateful for my years with him. Even more so for the fact that I have Ray.” Her smile was a sad one.
“It was love at first sight, then?” I asked, trying to lighten the subject.
“That it was. A bit like the two of you.”
“Mother.” Ray shot a sheepish glance in my direction.
“Don’t be shy, Son. I only say what I see.”
“Well, as we’re on that subject, I suppose now is as good a time as any . . .” He turned towards me with a look of mischief on his face. “We have an announcement.”
“Ray, you don’t have to do this now,” I whispered. “If you need time to think about everything I told you, I understand. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Serenity,” he sighed, “my mind is made up. You are the only one who can change it.”
“Well, don’t keep us waiting,” Jayne cried, bouncing in her chair.
“Jayne,” Helen chastised.
“Serenity and I are dating. I asked her this afternoon.”
“I hope you asked permission,” Liz said, only half joking.
“He did,” Sam confirmed, earning a confused look from me. I hadn’t known that Ray had asked permission from anyone. “I know my sister and I aren’t Serenity’s parents, however, I’m positive they would approve.”
Suddenly, I was pulled into an embrace by Liz. The physical contact was strange, but nice. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you.” I awkwardly returned her hug.
As soon as she released me, I was gathered into another one by Helen and Sam.
“I suppose the ladies will be disappointed in a couple of weeks.”
“A couple of weeks?” Helen asked.
“Has Ray not mentioned he’s turning twenty-six in two weeks?” She was glaring at her son now.
“He mentioned his birthday was coming up, but not when it was.”
“You must all join us. It will be nice to see the looks on those pretentious children’s faces when they see what a beautiful woman my son has by his side.”
“Mother, they aren’t that bad.”
“None of them were ever good enough for you, my dear.” She turned towards me. “They were exceptionally cruel to him as a child because of his leg. As if it was his fault! Yet they insist on being invited to the celebrations.”
“I’m sure they’ll be green with envy when they see these two together,” Helen reassured her.
“How about I show you around the house? I don’t believe I’ve had the chance to do so yet.”
Ray gave me a thankful smile as I led Liz out. It was clear that talking about certain aspects of Ray’s childhood made him uncomfortable, and the least I could do was distract his mother for a while. It wasn’t a surprise that he’d had some trouble when he was younger. Children weren’t known for their subtlety, especially when it came to such an obvious injury.
Fortunately, my plan to give Liz a tour of the house worked wonders. She had a good eye for art and fell in love with some of the paintings that lined the walls. The large landscape at the head of the stairs caught her eye, and though I didn’t remember the artist, I told her the piece was almost a century old. Jayne decided to join us, and she took great delight in telling her some of the more acceptable stories behind some of the pieces of work.
“It’s the home of the fairies,” she said, pointing out the tiny figures hiding in the trees. “They come out at night and make sure the house is safe from monsters.”
Monsters being vampires. Fairies being the work that I did.
Jayne followed us around the house but ducked back into the kitchen when we came back into the study. She’d seen all the books before, and the ones that interested her most wouldn’t be on show for Liz.
“You have such a wonderful collection,” Liz said as I showed her around my study. “Have you read all of these?”
“Many times over in most cases. Books are one of my many passions.”
“I can see why Ray has fallen so quickly for you. I see it in the way you look at one another.” She trailed a hand across the spines of the old books. “You are just as I was with his father.”
“The joys of young love.”
“You do love him, then?” She paused by my desk.
“Oh yes. How could I not?” How, indeed.
By the time we returned to the sitting room, Sam was already bringing the car round. It was getting late, and it was time for Liz and Ray to head home.
“Will you join me for breakfast tomorrow, Ray?”
“I would love to. What time?”
“How does eight sound?”
“Perfect.”
“Sam will take you home.”
“There’s no need to go to all that trouble, Serenity. It’s not so far to walk,” Liz said with a wave of her hand.
“We insist. It’s getting late, and I’m sure Serenity would rather know you’re home safe,” Helen insisted.
She chuckled. “Well, now, we can hardly refuse if you insist, can we?”
Helen collected their coats, and though I was reluctant to see them go, I needed to talk to Helen before heading out for the evening.
“Thank you,” Ray whispered, startling me.
“Whatever for?”
“Saying you’ll be mine.”
I stared at him for a moment in utter shock. “You’re being ridiculous. I should be the one thanking you.”
“And yet, here I am, offering you my thanks, regardless.” He brought his hand up to cup my cheek.
“I’ll see you in the morning, if not before.”
He raised an eyebrow in question.
“Go, I’ll explain tomorrow.” I smiled.
Ray and Liz said their goodbyes and climbed into the car. Listening hard, I heard their hushed voices.
“She is a fine young woman, Son.”
“She’s one of a kind.” There was a smile in his voice as he spoke.
“You do plan on proposing?”
“In time, yes. I’d like to get to know her better first.”
“Tell me when you decide. I have something for you.”
I stopped listening then, but not before I heard the faint whisper of Ray’s voice. “Goodnight, Serenity.”
I turned back to the house with the biggest smile on my face. Helen and Jayne were waiting for me, smiling brightly, also, and eager for more news of my day.
“Time for bed, Jayne,” Helen told her, never looking a
way.
“Can I stay up a little longer?” she pleaded.
“She may as well. It’s not like she’ll sleep when she’s so excited.”
“One more hour,” Helen said, finally glancing at Jayne.
She raced off into the sitting room, picked her favourite chair and curled up, ready for what I was about to tell them. Jayne was eager, though there were some parts that she wouldn’t be able to understand. Like why I’d been so scared, or why I still was.
Jayne knew the stories of us, how in times gone by she would’ve become as I was, but she was too young to know the hardships we’d faced. Those stories were for when she was older, when she better understood what had happened, when she would want answers for why she wasn’t maturing, and why she never would.
“I already know it went well today, but I want to know what you thought,” Helen said as soon as I was seated. Helen and Jayne’s poses were mirrors of each other, a matching pair of impatience.
“I told him almost everything.” I smiled at the memory. “I told him of the others, my history, and even how old I am. He didn’t flinch when I told him just how closely our lives were linked. He actually said that it made sense!”
It struck me then, as I watched them leaning forward, that just because I’d been dreading the day this connection was made didn’t mean everyone else had. Helen knew what it was like. She’d also seen her parents together. Jayne had heard countless stories. They’d been waiting for me to find that missing part of my life.
“I like him,” Jayne spoke up.
“I do, too.”
“I think he’s nice, and cute,” she continued.
“He must be to put up with you, but I’m afraid he’s all mine, so you better keep your hands to yourself.”
“I will, Aunt Sere.” She stuck her tongue out.
“You really thought he would run?”
“I did. I was so scared that he would.” I sighed as I laid my head on the back of the chair. “But I have nothing to worry about. He knows the basics, though there will always be more to learn, and he took it in stride.”
“I always knew it would take someone very special to capture your heart, and I was right. After the way I saw him looking at you tonight, I have to admit he is something special indeed.”
“His mother said the same thing about me.”
After three thousand years on my own, I’d started to believe there simply wasn’t anyone out there for me. Helen had been right all along. I just hadn’t found anyone pig-headed enough to put up with me. Until now.
“Are you going out tonight?” Helen asked after Jayne was tucked into bed.
“Every night as long as we’re in the city. I can’t risk him being found, even by accident.”
“Be careful.”
Two full hours after Ray had left, I was heading out for the night, locking the door behind me. We kept a spare key hidden in the porch eaves, out of sight. Someone would have to be well over six feet tall to reach it without jumping. Even then, they would have to hop to get up there. Regardless, it was ideal for me. The last thing I needed to carry around in the middle of the night was a set of jingling keys.
Since meeting Ray, I’d taken the same route every evening—around his house and sweeping out and back in again before dawn. I planned on changing the route slightly on occasion, but the overall area would be the same. If we were still here during the winter, I would make the rounds twice. Once after dark and again before dawn.
The sooner I persuaded him to leave the city, the better.
As I walked back towards Ray’s house, with every intention of making a brief stop in his garden before heading home, something caught my eye. Or rather, two somethings.
Lurching through the dark streets, two over from Ray’s house, was a vampire. He’d just jumped from the window of one of the houses and had a corpse slung over his shoulder.
Upon closer inspection, it was a young woman; she appeared to be about eighteen, at the most. It should have been easy to carry on and ignore whatever was about to happen. I couldn’t stop vampires from feeding, no matter how hard I tried. I wasn’t meant to save everyone.
But I couldn’t let the vampire waltz off into the night with the poor girl. Not when I heard the faint fluttering of a beating heart in her belly. Chances were she didn’t even know she was expecting.
I couldn’t chance an altercation in the middle of the street, so I settled for following the vampire and waiting until he stopped to feed. There was an abandoned textile factory on the edge of the river. That was where he was most likely taking her.
Perfect.
Plenty of space and nothing but a few unlucky humans in the area—or a couple of vampires on the hunt.
I followed him straight into the derelict building. The quiet closed around me, and I hoped I could get this over with and be home before dawn.
The woman was blessedly out cold. The vampire must have clobbered her when he snatched her from her bed. If he did a good enough job, she’d be dead before she regained any level of consciousness.
I followed him up the rickety stairs, trying to avoid the creaking steps.
He kept on going until he reached the top floor. There was a light thump as he dropped the woman to the ground. That quickened my pace.
By the time I’d scaled the last flight, barely avoiding the gaping hole near the top, the vampire had already started feeding. It was too late to try to “persuade” him not to. I’d have to actually confront him.
The racket I made leaping over the last missing step did the job for me. As I landed, much louder than the vampire had, he spun around to face me, defending his dinner.
“You’re not one of us,” he hissed, prepared to fight for what he thought was his.
“No, I’m not, and I’ll not let you kill her,” I told him, advancing cautiously.
Just then, the woman let out a small moan, and for a moment I thought she was awake. Chancing a quick look in her direction, I saw she was still unconscious and the bite mark on her neck was already healing.
I didn’t see the vampire charge straight for me.
I caught the sound of his footsteps only a fraction of a second before his body slammed into mine, sending us flying towards the nearest window.
It had to be the one that had an intact sheet of glass.
Sailing through the air after being attacked by a vampire was nothing new for me. Neither was diving out of a window.
As I hit the ground, the glass sliced straight through my shirt and embedded into my skin. There was a resounding crack, as at least two of my ribs broke, and my head snapped back. The force of the fall was too much, and knocked me out cold.
When I came around, it felt as if only a few moments had passed, but no matter how long I was out, it was long enough. Long enough for the vampire to flee and for my wounds to heal around the glass in my back. Whoever the vampire was, seeing me must have confused him enough to make a run for it.
With the glass embedded where it was, I wouldn’t be able to get it out by myself. Helen would be upset I had put myself in this situation, but I wouldn’t allow the vampire to kill the woman.
Unless he already has.
The thought made me grimace.
Forcing one step in front of the other, I went back into the building. Each step hurt more than the last, but I had to check.
I was relieved to find the woman unconscious on the floor, the shallow bite mark already fully healed, her breathing slow and steady.
It took a great physical effort on my part to hoist the woman’s dead weight into my arms. I knew the address where I’d seen the vampire leaving. It would take me a while to get there. Being home before dawn had gone out of the window the same moment I had.
The trip to the woman’s house was a long and agonising one. The two distinct breaks in my ribs would take a while to heal, a day at least, and that was causing me some trouble. Scaling the wall to get the unconscious woman back in her bed was near impossible. Instead, I
had to pick the lock and sneak through her house, room by room until I found the one I was looking for. There was only a woman I thought to be her mother in the other bedroom. She was sound asleep, and I managed to get out without waking her. She wouldn’t know I’d been there, and her daughter would think she’d had a nightmare, a very vivid nightmare—if she remembered anything at all.
There were few people on the streets this early, and I managed to avoid the few I saw. When I reached my door, however, I realised I couldn’t unlock it. In the state I was in, I couldn’t reach the key hanging in the porch.
“Damn it.” I reached for the doorbell instead.
Waiting on the doorstep for someone to find me wasn’t an option. If I passed out—I was feeling distinctly light-headed—and I ended up at the hospital . . . that would be very bad.
“Coming,” Helen called when I rang the bell for a second time. “If that’s Ray, then he needs to learn to tell time.”
Her footsteps on the carpet were almost as loud as her grumbling.
“Serenity?” she asked as she opened the door. “Oh God! Sam!”
“I’m fine.”
“Like hell you are! What happened?” She helped me into the house. “Jayne, can you get the medical kit, please?”
“Vampire, window, ground,” I answered. “Honestly, I’m fine.”
“No, you are clearly not. You are white as a sheet, and I can feel the glass sticking out of your back.”
Seconds later, a very flustered, half dressed and half asleep Sam came charging down the stairs.
“Really, I walked back here. I’m fine,” I tried to tell them, but I was going nowhere on my own.
“From the way you’re standing, I’d guess at least one broken rib. So, no, you are not fine,” he said, carefully linking his arm around my waist.
“Two, actually. At least.” He accidentally moved a shard in my back, making me wince and hiss.
“Two. If we can’t fix them here then a trip to the hospital may be needed,” he said, sounding concerned.
“It’s only my ribs. No punctured lung and no internal bleeding. I just need someone to get this glass out.” I was deposited at the kitchen table, sitting the wrong way on one of the chairs.
The Last Keeper Page 7
