The Last Keeper

by Michelle Birbeck

  “Please, let me deal with this myself?” I wasn’t above begging her if I had to. It was better than pulling the age card.

  “If he hurts you . . . ” she warned, complete with wagging finger.

  “He won’t.”

  She was only trying to protect me, even though I didn’t need it. It was a habit of hers, as it was with Helen. It was their mothering instincts. Despite the fact I’d lived for much longer than either of them, there always came a time when they treated me as they had their own children. Once they hit that stage in their lives, it never ended.

  Fortunately, there were a few years left before Lizzy took up that role.

  Jayne and I were on better terms when I retreated from the kitchen. She wasn’t going to be happy for a while, but she’d get used to the idea.

  “Is it safe?” Ray asked, smiling a touch.

  “She’s upset, but she’ll come around.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. I recover quickly.”

  “Exceptionally so, save for that.” He touched the bite mark gently.

  “They’ll be gone by morning.”

  We spent the rest of our evening discussing the merits of him feeding only from me. It took some gentle persuasion on my part, but eventually he started to listen to reason. Ray admitted he thought I’d see him for what he was and wouldn’t want him anymore.

  Of all the things for him to think.

  “I wanted to ask you something,” I whispered.

  “You can ask me anything.”

  “How much do you remember of our last night together?” I needed to know.

  “It’s my fondest memory of us,” he said, matching my quiet tone. “I remember everything. The tiny noises that escaped you. How your body felt under mine. How you blushed when you got nervous. How it felt to hold you in my arms afterwards. What it was like waking up to you, feeling every inch of you against me.”

  And now for the question I really wanted to ask. “Do you still want me like that?”

  “More than ever, but not until you’re ready,” he vowed. “Things have changed since then, and I can’t begin to understand what things must be like for you now. I’ll always want you, in every way, but I’ll wait.”

  “What you are isn’t a factor. You are still you; I see that every day. I want you, Ray, all of you.”

  Neither of us hesitated once I’d finished speaking. He snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me closer as his lips descended. As we deepened the kiss, his hands left me for a moment and began undoing the buttons on my blouse.

  Everything was so similar to the first time we’d been together—a blur of passion and need. It wasn’t long before he gathered me in his arms and laid me out on the bed, naked in front of him. After he shed the rest of his clothes, I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was as beautiful as I’d remembered, and more. So many things were the same, yet so much had changed. The scars, which had once been so stark, were now little more than a silvery design on his pale skin. He moved easily now, not struggling in the slightest. He lay next to me, running his hands over my body.

  With each caress I let out a small moan. It had been far too long. The gentle feel of his fingers caressing my skin was so much better than I remembered. I struggled to open my eyes as he gently explored me, and found him watching me intently. His eyes were alive as they took me in, swimming as only a vampire’s could. As he entered me, I marvelled at how good he felt. How different the cool of his skin was, but how amazing it was to be with him like this again. When he began to move within me, with so much more power, my breathing quickened, and my eyelids fell shut again.

  I gripped his shoulders as his thrusts became harder, more urgent, feeling delight in the way his chest pressed against me, his arms holding me tight. I wrapped my legs around his hips, pulling him closer. I felt the familiar tingle of my approaching pleasure as he trailed kisses up my jaw, his breathing matching mine. Our cries mingled, growing louder as he thrust harder into me, nearing his own release. With a final push, my orgasm ripped through me, shattering the world around me and hurling me deep into a sensation I’d never hoped to feel again. Hearing my name fall from Ray’s lips in the most reverent of tones was enough to keep me smiling for weeks.

  “I missed you so much,” I whispered when we were both able to breathe.

  “You’ll never have to miss me again,” he promised.

  His voice was the last thing I heard before I drifted off to sleep in his arms.

  For a fraction of a second after I opened my eyes, I thought I was awake. But the room was too dark, and everything was wrong somehow, almost blurry but not quite.

  I felt my body moving, but had no control over it as I walked along horribly familiar stone tunnels. Devoid of light, lifeless, and eerily quiet.

  I was in one of the catacombs, though I couldn’t say for certain which city I was in. It felt as if I was in Europe. The earth beneath my feet was damp, and the catacombs elsewhere in the world rarely were.

  They’d been built when the first Seat was established. The rulers wanted somewhere safe to travel to when they needed it. Each one was well concealed, deep within the earth of various cities. I knew where each of them was; I’d been there when some of them were built.

  I couldn’t exactly place it, but it was one I’d been inside of. Possibly Russia, but London was more likely. Finland was the other possibility. There were some things I never forgot. Being frog marched into the catacombs to face The Seats was one of them.

  As with all of The Seats, they had a permanent base of operations. Though they moved as often as needed, they always returned to their home when they were finished.

  But this dream wasn’t the past; of that much I was certain.

  I heard the light, squelching footsteps of at least half a dozen vampires, but it was too dark to see to whom they belonged. Soon the stone walls opened into an underground chamber. The high ceiling was littered with skulls, casting long shadows that looked like demented pumpkins on Halloween. Each belonged to a vampire, someone who’d been on the wrong side of The Seats in such a way that their death was a warning to others. The fear I felt didn’t come from the skulls, nor did it come from the half dozen faces staring in my direction. My fear came from hearing a whimper on the other side of the room.

  I tried to call Lizzy’s name, but my voice wouldn’t work.

  What was she doing here?

  Frantically I glanced around, trying to get someone’s attention. Everything came into sharp focus as I saw who was standing next to me.

  Ray was by my side, a look of death etched into his features. Beyond him I could see Al and Leola, concern on his face and a sneer on hers.

  I couldn’t get their attention. My body wouldn’t move. I was helpless.

  It’s just a dream.

  Knowing it was a dream didn’t prevent me from lurching forward, trying to reach for Lizzy.

  There was a buzz of voices as I tried and tried again to understand what they were saying. They were so loud, yet I couldn’t make out a single word. The only noise I could identify was Lizzy crying in the corner, tears streaming down her cheeks. Fear shone on her face as I continued to fight. There was nothing binding me, but I couldn’t move.

  My eyes were on Lizzy as she and I struggled uselessly, her against her binds, me against the dream. Kiros appeared behind her and dragged her from the floor. The chains bit into her wrists. I cried out when he bared his fangs, tearing into her throat.

  As I was praying to wake up, I felt my own throat being sliced into. Lizzy’s pain mirrored my own.

  It felt so real. The slash of agony as the fangs pierced my skin. The deep, powerful pulls as whoever it was drank as fast as possible. It was painful, forceful.

  Somehow I knew whoever it was meant to kill me.

  I sat bolt upright in my bed, panting for breath, clutching my neck. Ray was frantically trying to get my attention, but all I heard were Lizzy’s screams of pain ringing in my ears, loud
and shrill.

  It was a moment more before I realised they weren’t in my head.

  It was Lizzy.

  I was at Lizzy’s door in seconds, clad only in my bathrobe. She was sitting up in her bed, tears streaming down her face, clutching her neck.

  The catacombs were a far cry from Lizzy’s teenage bedroom. It didn’t stop my heart from lurching into my throat at the sight of her.

  Without a second thought, I climbed onto her bed and took her into my arms.

  “Lizzy, it’s me. You’re okay.” My words were meant to comfort her . . . as well as myself.

  It was a long few minutes before her sobs subsided to quiet whimpers, and she was able to speak. I was aware of Ray talking quietly with Jayne. None of it mattered, only Lizzy.

  “It was a dream?” Her voice was so small as she looked up with wide, reddened eyes.

  “It was just a dream, sweetie. Do you want to tell me about it?” She shook a little with fear as she nodded. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded again, still rubbing her neck. “It felt so real,” she whispered, curling onto her side.

  I’d never seen her so distraught.

  “Serenity? I’m going to check around the house, just in case,” Ray offered.

  I was surprised when Lizzy flinched at the sound of his voice.

  “Thank you,” I told him.

  Lizzy didn’t relax again until Jayne climbed onto the bed with us after Ray had left. Helen joined us a few moments later, sitting gingerly on the edge of the mattress, her hand resting on Lizzy’s leg.

  “Lizzy?”

  “It never felt so real before,” she whimpered. “The floor, the chains, the teeth, all of it.”

  “Lizzy, sweetie, I need you to tell me everything you can. From the start.”

  “I don’t know how I got there, but I know it was one of the catacombs. I didn’t recognise any of the faces, but I knew what they were. I was so scared. They kept taunting me, telling me they were going to kill me.” She paused for a moment to take a breath, shuddering as she did. “Then Issac came in with Poppy. I think you were standing with Ray, and Al and Leola were next to you. I couldn’t see you, but when the arguing started, you came forward. One of them was called Elena, and she was going to kill you, but you stopped her.”

  “Lizzy, it’s all right,” I told her. “Go on.”

  “You told her if she wanted you dead, then you wanted Ray to do it.” That explained hear reaction to Ray’s voice. “When he bit you, I felt it. I screamed for him to stop, but he wouldn’t. He kept drinking until you collapsed. That’s when I woke up.”

  “I had the same dream.”

  I didn’t know what it meant, but I’d do anything to stop it from happening.

  No human had ever seen the inside of the catacombs and lived. Lizzy was calmer when Ray returned, nodding once to indicate everything was clear. For that I was grateful. Too many of Lizzy’s dreams had come true to disregard it. Too many of mine, as well, for that matter.

  But if The Seats wanted Lizzy . . . there was nothing I could do to stop them. They had the power to do anything.

  I needed more of us, more of my race. I couldn’t do this on my own.

  “You’re more worried than you let on,” Ray stated once we’d left Lizzy, Jayne, and Helen to get some more sleep, what little they’d be able to manage.

  “You can’t read my mind, Ray, you don’t know that I’m worried,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

  “I can’t read anyone’s mind, but that is hardly the point,” he answered, stopping me in my tracks.

  “You can’t read anyone’s mind?”

  “No, but don’t change the subject.”

  I sighed. I’d question him on his powers later.

  “Yes, I am worried. We could watch her for every second of every day, and all it would take is one mistake.”

  “We can help.”

  “No. The more people I have looking after her, the more mistakes are going to be made. I think between Martin, you, and me we’re covered.” I ran through possibilities of how to best protect her. “Martin will want to help, anyway. I doubt I could stop him. You, I trust implicitly.”

  “But not the others?”

  “It’s not that I don’t trust them . . .”

  “You just don’t trust them.”

  “I’m sorry. I really think having more vampires around at the moment would be counterproductive.”

  “In what way?”

  “Have you noticed how The Seats have been more strict of late?” The more I visited, the stricter they became. “All it would take is for someone to see one of you with Lizzy and get the wrong idea. One word and they’d come for her. Not even I can stop them.”

  “Poppy could help.”

  “Just because she has kept her mouth shut for the better part of half a century, doesn’t mean she’ll continue to do so,” I said without thinking.

  “True.”

  “Can we talk about something else?”

  “Anything you like.”

  It was the perfect opportunity to bring up his lack of mind reading skills. As young as he was, he should’ve mastered that skill decades ago. Apparently he never had, and neither had Issac. Poppy had given him a theory on why that was. As with all vampires, the more lives they took, the more powerful they were. It must affect their basic skill set, too.

  “You’re pretty tame as far as vampires go,” I teased.

  “Tame? I’ll show you tame.” I was flat on my back, Ray pinning me to the bed, fangs bared, by the time he finished the sentence. He knew I was stronger than him and could easily have stopped him, but I didn’t.

  “So all you do is drink blood?” I tilted my head back, exposing my neck. “So unbelievably tame.”

  “Don’t forget, Serenity, it is my choice not to kill,” he whispered, the tips of his fangs brushing against my throat. “I could, if I wanted to.”

  “No, you couldn’t,” I said, smiling. “You wouldn’t be who you are if you were capable of the kinds of monstrosities the rest of your race is.”

  “Do you always have to be right?”

  “Perks of living for three thousand years.”

  I surprised him with a kiss, pressing my lips against his, exploring his elongated fangs with the tip of my tongue. It startled him, causing him to pull away.

  “They don’t bother you?” he asked, confused.

  “Why would they?”

  “I thought they would.”

  “Ray, if I let you bite me with them, why would they bother me when I’m kissing you?” I pressed another kiss to his lips.

  “Have I told you that I love you today?”

  “I thought you loved me every day.” I was in a teasing mood.

  “I love you, Serenity Cardea, so very much.”

  “As you breathe, so will I,” I whispered. It was an amended version of the words I’d used when I first met him. “I’m working on the rest. So for now, I shall tell you I love you, too.”

  We were standing in the back garden, scanning the trees, when dawn arrived. Both of us were wary, and though we pretended we were admiring the nonexistent sunrise, we were watching for anything unusual.

  “How do you feel about helping me cook breakfast?” I asked, hearing the first movements in the house.

  He raised an eyebrow at my request. “You do remember my last attempt at cooking, don’t you?”

  “Hmm, that would be the exceptionally poor job you did with the mashed vegetables.”

  “Would you like me to poison everyone?”

  “All you have to do is keep me company.”

  “I may be able to manage that, though it’s technically not helping.”

  We were in the kitchen before anyone else. I began pulling the things I needed out of the cupboards. Cooking was something I hadn’t done a lot of in recent years. Ray perched on one of the chairs as I began making pancakes. The days when I made a full buffet breakfast were long gone. It wasn’t long before the smell was
wafting through the house and two high-pitched, excited squeals came from upstairs as both the girls realised what was happening.

  There was a look of confusion on Ray’s face as Jayne and Lizzy came racing in, only to stop dead in their tracks when they saw me. They were checking that I was indeed cooking. When they were satisfied, they flung their arms around me, each smiling. I could swear they were the same age, and not mother and daughter.

  For once it was clear I planned on joining them.

  It was a shame Helen was feeling tired and had opted to stay in bed. She would’ve loved to see me cooking again.

  During those unmentionable years without Ray, food hadn’t held the same appeal. It was fantastic to have that feeling of happiness again. The taste of fresh pancakes was something to be savoured.

  “This is a nice change,” Jayne commented.

  The way she shovelled in mouthful after mouthful made me think she hadn’t eaten in weeks.

  “It is, but in the future can we have some warning? Martin would love this,” Lizzy said.

  “So long as it’s only him I’m cooking for. I don’t wish to know how much the Cats eat.” With the amount of running they did, it was unlikely they’d have light diets.

  “Well, for them to enjoy breakfast, they would have to stay overnight, and only Martin will be doing that.”

  Both Jayne and I cried out at the same time, “Oh no! Not in my house!”

  “Not for that reason!” Lizzy defended herself as Jayne and I descended into fits of laughter at our matching comments.

  “I should hope not. Besides, Ray and I would be staying up all night if you have him over.” I looked to Ray for confirmation.

  “I could read his mind . . . stop him from doing anything inappropriate,” he bluffed.

  “Can we please not discuss this?” She sat in her chair, arms crossed, pouting.

  It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. “We have had the Birds and the Bees talk with her already, haven’t we?”

  “We did. She’s never had a boyfriend before, though. Maybe it needs reiterating. Do you think Martin has had the talk yet?” Jayne was intent on being as serious as possible, but there was humour in her eyes.