The Last Keeper

by Michelle Birbeck

  “I was the same those first few years after I met my partner.” She gently patted my knee. “Still am.”

  “How is André?” I hadn’t seen her husband about.

  “He went to war.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  Where we could, we didn’t interfere with human affairs. We didn’t fight in their wars or work for their governments, or vote in their elections. The jobs we held were as far removed from having any influence as possible. We ran our own small businesses, as Laura did, or we worked in low-profile jobs. Our entire race was well off, though most were only wealthy enough to have a comfortable life.

  Our partners . . . some of them felt differently. “He went willingly, and he left with a promise to return,” she said, smiling sadly. “I’ll know if anything happens.”

  The connection wasn’t as strong for those who hadn’t matured, but they knew when they lost their partners, even if they were thousands of miles away. But unlike William and me, their connection wasn’t one that killed them when it was severed.

  “If there’s anything you need . . .”

  “I’ll ask.”

  That was the end of the subject. As good as Laura was to talk to, she was never one for saying too much about herself. She preferred to listen. It was something that had been passed down through the generations. They’d all been listeners on that side of the family.

  I pottered around the house with Laura for most of the afternoon and helped with dinner. It made me feel better. And it was the least I could do for turning up unannounced and expecting her to feed and water my horse.

  “You know you cannot tell anyone about my partner,” I reminded her when it came time for me to leave. “The only reason I’ve told you is because you’re family.”

  “I’d never tell anyone.” There was a promise in her voice and a smile on her face. “Will you be staying for breakfast in the morning?”

  “Not this time. I want to get back as soon as possible.”

  “Of course. I’ll make sure your horse is rested,” she said. “Good luck.”

  “Luck has little to do with it.”

  Despite the dark night, I took extra care not to be spotted as I raced from the house, sticking close to the plentiful shadows. I’d already estimated it would take me almost an hour to reach the place Laura had said I needed to be. There’d been a number of unexplained deaths in a nearby town, one that Laura frequented because of her future son-in-law’s family.

  The night was clear, the stars glittering brightly with only a sliver of a moon to outshine them. When I arrived, it was peaceful. No one wandered the streets, and every house was dark and quiet, bedded down for the night.

  Though no vampire stalked the moonless evening looking for their next meal, I knew they were here. Everything I saw and sensed pointed to an abandoned barn on the edge of the quiet town; its rickety boarding barely kept the vampires hidden. Not only did I smell the lingering scent of fresh blood in the air, but I heard them.

  I stopped.

  The wind was mild, winding its way through the trees, gently rustling the lush leaves. My breathing and heart sounded loud in the heavy darkness, making me strain to listen. All around me the night was alive with the distant sound of slumber and the closer whispers of vampires.

  There weren’t just the two vampires in the barn. It sounded as if there were at least half a dozen of them. Muffled voices filled the structure, all whispering quietly about plans and meals. Almost obscured in their midst were the quiet cries of two humans.

  So much for this not being complicated.

  “Would someone please check if she is here yet?” a hauntingly familiar female voice drawled. “This town has so little in the way of livestock.”

  There was a reason the vampire sounded so familiar. It belonged to the second most feared female vampire in the world, as well as the only female who held one of the Seats of Power.

  Elena.

  It was a trap.

  Even as I realised the whole situation was a setup, there was little I could do about it.

  I had no idea how long it would be before I was discovered, if I was spotted at all. If they wanted to lure me out, then it wouldn’t be the first time, and I knew what was coming next.

  If I didn’t show, they would find or make more vampires and use them to bring me out again. That would result in more human lives lost.

  Elena heaved a sigh; she was frustrated. “Who do I have to eat to get anything done around here?”

  The only female left in The Seats had to be fierce, but Elena took it to a whole new level. She looked like a Greek goddess: tall, stunning, with blond hair and dazzling blue eyes. Looks can be deceiving. Beautiful she may have been, but a goddess she wasn’t, unless her own opinion of herself counted. There wasn’t a depth that Elena wouldn’t sink to. If it fit her purpose, she would step on anyone to get where or what she wanted.

  I didn’t blame her for the hatred she felt towards the human race, or even the way she treated the vampires who broke their rules. Elena had been born into slavery, but not the kind where humans were bought and sold as servants. What the vampires in the barn were thinking of doing here had been done before. When Elena was born, it was into the arms of her dying mother. Dying because a vampire had latched onto her neck the second her baby had been delivered. The village, deep in the Russian mountains, had been taken over by vampires. How she had then become so twisted was a mystery.

  It had happened before The Seats had been formed and was one of the many reasons they’d been created.

  “I do believe she is here,” another familiar voice answered.

  Kiros. Elena’s mate.

  Well, that was the London Seat accounted for.

  London was the smallest of The Seats, with only the two of them. The others ranged from three to six in number.

  I decided a direct approach would be more entertaining. The rotting wood of the door did little to hide me. Not that I was trying.

  “Is it that time of the century again?” I drawled, standing in the disintegrated doorway. “I do hope you’ve been waiting.”

  “Azrael,” Elena greeted me. “What took you so long?”

  “Moving, you know how these things go.”

  “And where might you be living these days?”

  “Around the corner from Hell, where I’ve always lived.” I smiled.

  Anyone would think we were old friends if they looked at the two of us. She was the only one who ever kept calm when faced with me. Elena smiled, while everyone else in the barn glared daggers.

  A subtle shift in the air made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and told me Elena was trying to use her powers. Hers was fear. When she chose, she could make everyone around her feel as though they were living in their worst nightmares. It was immobilising—fortunately, her gifts had no effect on me.

  “Really, Ellie, do you never learn?” I asked, being purposefully condescending.

  “Elena.” She carefully pronounced each syllable. “My name is Elena.”

  “Oh, yes, so it is. Now, I have no business here, so what do you want?”

  “You . . . Dead,” Elena hissed, always the optimist.

  “Come now, Ellie. You know as well as I do that I cannot be killed. Why do you insist on wasting my time?” It was a good thing I was a practiced liar.

  Though technically, I was telling the truth. I couldn’t be killed, unless Ray was . . .

  “Yes, but your family can.” Kiros sneered, leaning forward slightly.

  “You’ve already killed almost all of my family. Or have you forgotten?” Goading the powers that be was such a wonderful pastime.

  “Yes, and I had so much fun doing so,” Elena told me, laughing as she did. “One day, Azrael. One day we will find your man, and we will take everything from you. Slowly.”

  “I’d tell you to hold your breath, but where is the fun in that?” As amusing as it was to torment them, I was rapidly becoming bored. “Would you get o
n with it?”

  “No point. We just hadn’t seen you in such a long time, and we thought you might need reminding that your time is limited,” she informed me. “You . . . and your brother.”

  “I should feel honoured,” I said, gesturing to the vampires around me. “All of this just for me? Next time try calling.”

  Reaching out for the minds around me, I planted a seed of doubt here and there—little changes that swept away their plans with a hand so gentle they thought it was their own. Little things that would stop them from following me.

  The influence we held over them was a beautifully complex thing. We could alter any thoughts in their minds, strengthen memories, prevent them from being remembered, as well as adding new ones.

  “Oh, not only for you, Azrael. All this was never just for you.” She chuckled, an irritating sound that made me want to cringe. “And you thought we wouldn’t be able to see the change in you.”

  The threat was clear in her words. Not for me. Not for William either.

  She knew.

  And I had to leave. Now.

  As I turned, Elena called out, “I never said we were done with you.”

  “You are done when I say you are, child.” Several shocked gasps filled the room. They didn’t know what to think of me. To see someone talk to their leaders as I had was unheard of. Even more so to see someone stand up to Elena.

  Fear flared through the room, forcing a shiver down my back. Several fearful noises were torn from unsuspecting throats as Elena’s power washed over me and into them.

  Leaving the vampires to deal with Elena, and whatever wrath she decided to wield in her anger, I walked away. Once the barn was safely behind me, I ran. I’d barely made it a hundred feet before the screams started. The humans were the first to die, their last breaths a weak whimper amidst the terrified cries of the vampires. They knew what was coming.

  That was both good and bad. Bad for them; their lives were over and there was nothing I could do to change that fact. Nevertheless, it was good for me. By the time they were finished, I’d be far enough away that they would never find me.

  I wasn’t going back to Laura’s after all. I couldn’t chance leading them back to Laura’s house, not without risking her life, and I wasn’t willing to do that.

  And William needed to move again.

  It had been in the forefront of Elena’s mind. They knew he’d found his partner. When she said his time was limited, she meant they were already working to find him. It had taken them ten years to find out, but now that they knew, all their resources would be geared towards finding him and killing his wife.

  It was an hour and a half run from Lyon to William’s home. He lived on the French-Swiss border on the outskirts of a small place called Ferney-Voltaire. He’d moved there only a few short years ago. It was a quiet little village that had never been troubled by vampires and was close enough to the mountains that he could disappear in a heartbeat.

  But by going straight to William’s house, I was putting him in more danger.

  I slowed down, coming to a stop. Backtrack and detour was in order. If I timed it right, I’d be on his doorstep at dawn with not a single vampire in sight. So long as I didn’t go anywhere near the barn, it would be safe. Time consuming, but safe.

  Easing to a stop almost fifty miles away from the village, I waited, listening. It sounded as if no one was following me, but sounds can be deceiving.

  After almost an hour in the same place, checking and double-checking everything, I decided it was safe to continue. Even then, I took a roundabout route to William’s house, doubling back on myself several times before reaching the border. On the off chance I’d missed something, or a vampire had recently moved to the picturesque village, I circled the surrounding area.

  When I was absolutely sure, beyond any doubt, that there were no vampires within a ten-mile radius of William’s home, only then did I go to his door.

  The sun was coming up over the horizon, and I could see myself living somewhere similar. A small town, peaceful and pretty. Quiet and undemanding. It was the sort of place where I’d be happy.

  I was undecided about being there for only a moment as I listened to the beating hearts within the house. William was sleeping, as were his sons and wife. Alison, William’s wife, was about five months along, and I could make out the fluttering heartbeat of their unborn child. After hearing that sound, I knew I was doing the right thing in warning them, and I hammered on the door.

  I almost laughed at William’s muttered cursing. Almost.

  I heard him drag on some pants and stomp down the stairs. “Coming. Coming,” he muttered, reaching the bottom of the stairs.

  There was more shuffling as he unlocked the door, lock after lock sliding back.

  “Yes?” He didn’t quite look awake as he pulled the door open. His eyes were half closed, unfocused, and I could tell what he meant about finding his first grey hair. He was older than I remembered him.

  When I attended his wedding, a decade before, he’d looked so handsome in his suit. His short dark hair had been brushed for the first time in what felt like decades, and he was smiling so brightly.

  “William.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Serenity?”

  “May I come in?”

  “Of course. Of course,” he muttered, now wide awake and worried.

  “I’d never have come but . . .”

  “Do you need anything? Are you hurt?”

  “I’m perfectly fine,” I told him. “It’s you who I’m fearful for.”

  “What happened?” He insisted on checking me over, just in case. “You ran here? I thought you were in London?”

  “I was. There was some trouble outside of Lyon. I ran from there.”

  “You went alone? How much trouble are we talking about?”

  I may have been quite older than him, but he had a tendency to act like my big brother on occasion.

  “Just a report of some minor troubles. Nothing I couldn’t handle on my own.”

  “You still should have come for me.” His tone was hard. “Our arrangement was null and void the second you met him.”

  “Maybe so, but that’s hardly the point.”

  “No, Serenity, that is exactly the point. What if something happened to you? What would happen if you had to crawl home, as you have done in the past, and led someone straight to your door? No. From now on, we do things together. No matter how mediocre it seems. You tell me.”

  “William, would you listen? The point is that it was a trap. One set a mere hour away from where you’re living.”

  “All the more reason for you to contact me.”

  “They know, William. They know about Alison.”

  The colour drained from William’s face, and he resorted to rubbing the stubble that had formed on his cheek overnight. His deep brown eyes were wide with worry, and a hint of fear.

  It was a day he’d known was coming, and one we both dreaded. With his third child on the way, it was an even darker day.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Ellie said our time was limited, and she mentioned you specifically, William. I’m sure of it. They know.” I laid my hand on his shoulder.

  “Elena was there?”

  “As were Kiros and half a dozen vampires. There’s something else,” I said, wincing as I spoke.

  “What?”

  “I was expected.”

  “Were they not just expecting one of us?”

  “No. They were waiting for me. They knew I’d come, and I’m certain they knew I’d come alone.”

  “Do they know about Ray?”

  “Yes. The moment I walked into their midst they saw the change in me.” I could’ve cried, looking at my last brother and knowing we were both in such mortal danger now.

  “Whatever happens, make sure they never find out who he is. They cannot know.” There was a desperate urgency in his voice as he spoke.

  “What do you know, William?”

 
“Just promise me. Promise me you will keep him safe,” he stressed, pacing the room. “You must keep him safe.”

  “William, what do you know?”

  “Only that my time is more limited than I’d like.” He slumped into an oversized, well-worn chair.

  “Please, won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

  “I won’t be moving again.”

  Not moving? The stress of everything must have been too much for him. “William, we need to figure out who betrayed us, and you need to move. It may have been fifteen hundred years ago, but whomever it was is still working with the vampires. They must be.”

  The first of the killings were so random, starting with my sister. Then we stopped reaching maturity, and we noticed a pattern. They weren’t random attacks. Only those with partners and children were being targeted and killed, leaving our families broken and scared.

  “We covered everything. Short of searching the minds of every one of us, there’s little we can do.” He sighed.

  “We may have to.”

  “We promised,” he growled.

  “I know.”

  Those of us who were there when my sister was killed had made a promise. Unless there was only one of us, we would not actively look into the minds of our family and friends to discover the truth about what had happened. Their reasoning was sound: it would make us no better than the vampires if we stooped to their level. But just because their reasoning was good, and I’d promised, didn’t mean I liked it.

  “Serenity, we promised. You cannot do that,” he told me again.

  We ended up glaring at each other for a moment. “You think I don’t know? Some of the very people we suspected have been living with me for centuries.”

  When I looked back, his stare had softened. “I know.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that you need to move, William. They were an hour away from your home. Had I not doubled back countless times, I’d have been here just after midnight.” I knelt in front of him, pleading with him. “As much as I must keep Ray safe, you must do the same for Alison.”

  “Not this time, Sere. I am tired of running from them. And besides, my time is more limited than you think,” he whispered, holding his head in his hands.