“Can I come in?” she said. I opened the door fully and motioned for her to come inside. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Fine, why do you ask?” I said. Holly gave me a look that said she knew I was lying.
“You know,” she began, “when you are in a bad state your maker feels it too. Your blood is one and you are connected. My brother seems to have disappeared. Are things ok between you?” She liked to cut to the chase I’ll give her that.
“We had a fight,” I admitted. “I’m not sure I want this life and if someone else is going to try to kill me I think I’d prefer to die by my own hand.”
“Someone wants to kill you? Angus made it clear that you were to be left alone,” she said.
“Your other brother James is not too fond of me, and that monster yesterday seemed to want me dead too.” I left out the attack by James. I heard the words coming out of my mouth and realized I sounded like I was whining.
“I’m sorry Holly,” I said. “But it’s how I feel. I need to ask you something. If I were to stop feeding how long would it take before it would kill me.”
Her mouth dropped open in horror at the suggestion. “Look, I know you’re going through some changes right now. The transition is never an easy one at the best of times, but you’ve been brought over under difficult circumstances.
You’ve been asked to do things in a short period of time that most of us have taken decades or centuries to do.”
She paused, “and you don’t have the support of all of us, I know that, and for that I am sorry. But you must not end your life. You must be mentally strong for the sake of us all; even the ones who curse you now will need and revere you if you have patience. You’ll see.”
Through the haze of my sadness her words fell on me, but I didn’t want to hear them. “How long though?” I pressed her.
“At the young age you are now you could last without blood a week, maybe two.” She looked at the floor trying not to tear up. “You have to understand though, that it would kill Gavin. It would tear him apart.”
“That’s crazy, he doesn’t even know me.”
“He’s your maker. The loss of the blood bond would render him almost helpless. It is a thousand times worse than the worst depression you could ever know. And besides, he knows you better than you think he does.”
“What are you talking about? What do you mean by that because there seems to be something going on here that nobody is telling me.”
Holly sat there for a long time in a silent debate with her conscience. “I’m going to tell you some things. Gavin was going to tell you everything when the time was right, but I’m going to go against his plans and tell you now seeing as how you are not thinking clearly at the moment.” I had a feeling I should sit. I took the empty spot on the bed next to her.
“One night, about five years ago, Gavin was out roaming through the woods at night like he always does when he’s at war with himself. A lot of us who are residing at the sanctuary don’t come out during the day; we keep a low profile because we’ve been declared legally dead and being recognized, of course, would create problems. Gavin never wanted to be vampire and if it weren’t for his accident he never would have had this life. He hardly spoke for the first few years, grieving for what might have been.”
“One night he went into the woods to keep himself away from the humans while he awaited his death when he came across a young girl who was lost. He caught her scent because she had been out walking and was bleeding from a severe injury to her leg. She was distressed and disoriented. He hadn’t fed in a long time and she would have been an easy kill.”
As she was telling the story I vaguely remembered my mother mentioning to a psychiatrist that I had left the house during the middle of the night and become lost. They found me the next day asleep in the woods. I had no memory of it at all for some reason but it was around the time I had begun to hear voices and so it was all blamed on the illness.
“It was me wasn’t it?” I said.
“Yes,” she smiled warmly. “You were helpless on the ground with your leg bleeding. He could have killed you but he said you looked into his eyes and you weren’t afraid of him. You reached for his hand and held it. It was the first real human contact he had since his transformation that didn’t end in violence.”
“He closed up your wound and it was the first time he tasted blood without killing. Before that he couldn’t restrain himself and killed every time he fed. Over the years he killed a great many. He lay with you all night and protected you from the animals who were circling around. They had smelled the blood too.”
“In the morning you were found safe and sound by your parents who carried you out and took you away. You were gone for about two weeks and in that time he...suffered.”
“He wanted to see you again so badly. When you returned he spent every night under your bedroom window keeping watch over you. He just wanted to be close to you, to protect you.”
“Sometimes in the summer you would sit on your back steps at night and look up at the stars. He would always try to get a glimpse of you on those nights and when he did it made him so happy. He begged Angus to turn you but of course he was refused because of who you are.”
“You mean my heritage don’t you?” I asked.
“Yes, as crazy as that must sound to you. You have to realize that for a lot of us the expulsion is not just a chapter in history, we were there and we know it from memory.”
“Anyway,” she continued, “he knew you were suffering greatly from what you thought was an illness. Over time he figured out it wasn’t an illness at all and begged again to have you turned for your own sake. Finally when the situation with Samuel came to the point that it has Angus agreed. Gavin convinced him we could use you.”
“I see,” I said. I sat there quietly not knowing what to say.
“He loves you so much. Your death would kill him. What can I say to make you understand? What can I do to get you to change your mind?”
“Take me to meet with the others,” I said. “I want to meet with the vampires outside of Soldiers Cove and tell them about Samuel and see if they can help us.”
“That would have serious consequences Rachel. This is considered clan...”
“Clan business? I’ve already heard that. I want to do it anyway. Honestly Holly, with everything I’ve seen and felt I don’t think just the small number of us here can defeat Samuel on our own. I have a feeling he is coming with an army. We’ll be outnumbered.”
“An army? Are you sure?”
“I’ve seen them, Samuel has control of them. They were burrowing into the ground just on a wave of his hand.”
Holly’s skin paled as she ran her small and slender hands through her hair in distress. “Alright, I know somebody we can talk to. We’ll have to slip out and go to St.Peters and both of us will be in for a world of hurt if we’re caught. You’re not supposed to leave without Gavin.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. But I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important.”
“Alright,” she sighed, “I’ll take you to meet with the contact for the St.Peters clan but I can’t promise anything.”
“I just want to know that we tried,” I said. I dressed quickly and we crept out of the sanctuary as quietly as we could. We held onto our vials and closed our eyes. Upon opening them again we were in the clearing.
“We’ll have to go get my Dad’s car,” she said. I felt like a teenager sneaking out of the house, but for the first time in a while I also felt some hope. Someone was at least willing to entertain the idea of working with the other vampires.
We walked to the old farmhouse and got into the car which was sitting at the end of the driveway. Holly produced a key from her pocket and turned the engine over.
St.Peters, a small but busy place, is about a fifteen minute drive from Soldiers Cove. It’s a hub of activity considering that the grocery store, banks, restaurants and schools serve most of the tiny outside communities l
ike Soldiers Cove.
St.Peters was also, according to Gavin, a good place to feed due to the amount of tourists in the summertime. There were museums, a couple of small hotels and of course the canal which was a big tourist draw.
The main street of the town, with its pretty little lamp posts and neatly lined stores, takes about a minute to drive through from one end to the other. On the edge of the village just before the town ended was a large, beautiful brick house. The owner of this house was a man who had at one time also owned most of this little place. A smart and savvy business man named Malcolm MacIver. I laughed to myself as we pulled up the long driveway. Somehow I wasn’t surprised to be here.
Malcolm was an ‘old man’ now, although he never seemed to age. People always remarked how good he looked, similar to Gavin’s parents. Now that I think about it there are quite a few people I’ve known over the years that don’t seem to age. Little did I know that all of the little communities around me were chalk full of vampires.
“We’re here,” Holly said. We made our way up the stone steps to the decorative glass door. It must have been about two o’clock in the morning but our knock was answered right away. Malcolm was up and showed no signs of having been sleeping.
“Holly!” he exclaimed, “nice to see you.” He hugged her warmly. “Are you finally coming out of the sanctuary to be among the living?” he asked her.
“Not quite yet,” she said, “I have a few loose ends to tie up and then we are taking over our old farmhouse in Soldiers Cove again.”
“That’s wonderful,” he said motioning for us to come in. He led us downstairs to a rec room complete with a pool table and mini bar. I had heard he was well off but his house was semi modest. The rec room looked like it didn’t really live up to its full potential.
“Will you have more children?” he asked.
“Oh yes, I hope to have at least five more this time,” she smiled.
“What’s the grand total now?”
“Sixty one,” she said. Did she say sixty one? Could I have heard that right? This young woman who physically looked no more than eighteen or nineteen years old had sixty one children?
“How nice,” he said. “You still have a ways to go before you catch up with us though. Our grand total now is eighty eight.” My head was about to explode. I knew he had six because I had gone to school with some of them, but eighty eight? That didn’t even seem possible.
“I’m getting ready to go to sanctuary in a couple of months,” he said lowering his head. “It’s that time again. I plan to be back out just as soon as I can though.”
“You’re not going to travel this time?”
“No, I really have no place left to see,” he said, “like the song says, ‘I’ve been everywhere’”. The two of them were so engrossed in getting reacquainted I had managed to blend into the furniture. “How rude of me,” he said looking in my direction. “You’re Claude Landry’s daughter aren’t you?” he asked.
“I am,” I smiled.
“Yes I remember you. I believe you went to school with some of my kids.”
“That’s right.”
“And so you’re one of us now,” he said referring to my new vampire status.
“Yes just recently,” I said trying to sound as casual as possible about something that had been the most profound thing I had ever experienced. If Malcolm had any misgivings about a French Acadian being made vampire he didn’t show it.
“I can tell you’re new by your eyes. You still have the ring on the outside.” He was telling me this from across the room. The glasses he wore were obviously just for show.
“Now,” he said in a more businesslike manner toward Holly, “I suspect this is not just a social call, lovely as it is to see you again dear. What is going on?”
“Malcolm we may have a big problem on our hands.” Holly was matching his tone. “Samuel is on his way back to the island, and we have reason to believe he is creating an army of revenants.” Holly paused and let the words hang in the air for a few moments as Malcolm went deep into thought.
“That is quite serious.” His casual expression turned somber. “What leads you to believe this?”
Holly went on to explain about my gifts, the dreams I’d been having and the string of murders in the northeastern United States. All the while he listened intently nodding in agreement.
“I’ve heard about those murders,” he said, “now that you mention it revenants make perfect sense.”
“Is there anything you can do to help?” I asked clumsily.
“You are new.” He chuckled. “Although I can see why you’d ask. Even though Samuel is Angus’ brother he is going to possibly bring this hell down on the whole island. Things need to be made clan business to protect ourselves from discovery but if Samuel sets those things loose on the island not only will lots of people die but we all risk being discovered too.”
“All we ask,” Holly said, “Is that you bring it to your council and then contact me directly with whatever they decide. And of course discretion is of the utmost importance. Angus doesn’t know we’re here.”
Malcolm raised his eyebrows in question. “He doesn’t?”
“No, and Rachel here of course has people already looking for an excuse to execute her.”
Malcolm let a deep sigh escape from his lips. “Of course she does, although I’ve never understood why bygones can’t just be bygones.” He looked directly at me, “You’ll discover that vampires can hold a grudge better than anyone you’ve ever known.”
“You’re telling me,” I said.
“I’ll call an emergency meeting for tomorrow night,” he said, “but I can’t make any promises.”
“That’s all we ask,” Holly said standing up. I followed her lead. Malcolm showed us to the door and once again she gave him a hug. “Good luck with your period of sanctuary.”
“Thank you dear,” he said in a grandfatherly way. Then he turned his attention back toward me. “Nice to see you new girl. Best of luck to you and your clan.”
“Thank you,” I said. He gave us a wink and with that we were back in the car and on our way home.
As the car wound its way through the narrow twisting roads between St.Peters and Soldiers Cove I could tell Holly was in no mood for talking. She had just broken one of the cardinal rules by going outside her clan to ask for help. No matter how dire the situation was or how much she cared about her brother I could tell she was bothered.
The only time I had seen her eyes light up on our little misadventure was when she talked about her children. “So sixty one children huh? That’s a lot of kids,” I said breaking the uncomfortable silence.
She smiled again when thinking about them, “Well, it is and it’s not. When you’re as old as I am it’s really not that many.” The silence permeated the car again as I was busy wondering how old that was. As if to read my mind she said, “Go ahead, I know you’re dying to ask.” So I did.
“And how old are you exactly?” it always felt wrong to ask a woman her age. That was one of those ‘none of your business’ questions my mother had groomed me not to ask.
“Let’s see, I was made Vampire in 1612 so I’m going to be four hundred and one come May sixteenth.” That would be one cake I’d like to see.
“Wow, I guess when you put it that way sixty one kids is not a lot. Are they all vampires?”
“Goodness no,” she said laughing a little, “only twelve had the temperament and made the decision to do that.”
“What about the rest? I mean how do you explain the fact that you never get any older or die?”
“You don’t,” she said. “You only get about thirty to forty years with them. With as young as I look that’s about as much as I can pull off. Then their Dad and I have to fake a human death, once we know they are going to be alright on their own.” I thought I could hear a hint of tears in her voice.
“But I keep track of them,” she said trying to sound cheerful, “each and every one. I have
fifty four boys and seven girls. Can you believe only seven girls? I hope I have a few more this time. I love to buy little pink dresses and braid their hair. Having children is the most rewarding thing you can do with your life. Even though you have to watch them be born, live...and die.”
“That sounds awful,” I said racking my brain for something uplifting or comforting to say.
“It is, but sometimes you get the opportunity to say goodbye. Not often but it happens. Last year we went to our son’s bedside in California. He lived a good life but was in his eighties and dying. He couldn’t speak anymore, he’d had a stroke. We said we were his niece and nephew. We sat with him until he died.” Holly wiped a tear, “he was a good kid.”
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to upset you.” I wanted to crawl under a rock now. I had just wanted to converse, not make her grieve all over again for a lost child.
“That’s just the way it is Rachel,” she said reaching over to pat my hand. “It’s the natural order of things. I made my decision and I knew that would be one of the consequences. My mother has seen a lot of her children die too but we have each other.”
I couldn’t resist asking the next logical question. “How many brothers and sisters do you have anyway?”
I was thankful that induced a small laugh, “in total Mom and Dad have had ninety nine. Do you want to have children Rachel?”
“I always thought I did, but if I have to outlive them, I don’t know. That changes things.”
“I suppose it does,” she agreed. “No matter how many you have or how long they live it’s never easy to lose even one. It’s a decision you’ll have to make in the coming years.”
“I don’t know, if some of the people around here have their way I won’t last long past this whole thing with Samuel.”
“That will change,” she said suddenly sounding like a kindly old grandmother. It seemed strange coming from the mouth of an eighteen year old.
“I hope you’re right.”
Chapter Sixteen
The Vampires of Soldiers Cove Page 9
