My Familiar Stranger

by Victoria Danann

  On returning to her apartment, Elora downloaded eleven books by Valerie de Stygian and started to read.

  Three days later she was packed and ready to go. She said goodbye to Blackie who whined because he sensed she was leaving.

  ***

  CHAPTER 12

  BLACK SWAN FIELD TRAINING MANUAL Chapter 12,#13

  Once infected by the virus, vampire cease to live as humans. They retain neither conscience nor memory of their lives before onset. So, in that sense, they might be accurately regarded as “undead”. In the Dark Ages vampire were considered evil, but, in more enlightened times, we recognize that they are inherently no better or worse than the mosquito that is mindlessly driven by its nature to drink blood or die. The philosophical or theological nature of the question of evil is not relevant to our purpose which is complete extermination.

  Elora wheeled her rolling suitcase down the hallway toward the elevator. Her body was vibrating with a hum of exhilaration at the prospect of seeing something of the world outside Jefferson Unit. And Baka alone was responsible for the junket. Owing a vampire a debt of gratitude had to be one of Fate’s more comical twists.

  For the first time since arriving this world she crossed the front door threshold of Jefferson Unit. It was a beautiful moonlit night.

  Two servicemen in camouflage uniforms stood next to open air Jeeps at the end of the sidewalk. They lifted luggage into the rear compartments while Storm gestured for Elora to climb onto the back seat. He swung in beside her while Ram and Kay hopped the other Jeep. She hadn’t asked how they were traveling. Until now it had seemed like the least important aspect of the experience.

  The ride to the base airstrip took less than five minutes. They pulled up next to a sleek, white, unmarked Learjet, lit by spotlights, and stopped next to the stairs. She arched a brow at Storm. “Private plane?”

  He put his finger to his lips in a gesture of silence, then leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Ask me on board.”

  The breath on her ear gave her an involuntary little shiver. She nodded an okay.

  At the top of the steps stood an exotic looking woman with black hair, black eyes, skin the color of creamed coffee and rosy cheeks, an unusual, but effective combination. Her grooming was as impeccable as a doll in a toy store window. Perfect nails. Lined lips. Helmet hair.

  She regarded Elora as coolly as she gushed flirtatious warmth toward the men. Naturally, they were oblivious to the double standard of behavior.

  “Good evening. I’m Minerva. I’ll be your attendant for this flight.”

  Elora gave her a look that said, "Are we going to have a problem?" Minerva responded with a grin that was both insincere and far too artificially white.

  The interior of the jet was lavish and comfortable with cushy bench seating in the forward area and ottomans on tracks. In the rear were four, large arm chairs that could swivel and lock down in any direction or recline for sleeping. Between each was a hide-a-table that could be lowered and used for cards or as a desk with monitor, satellite feed for TV or movies, and laptop friendly connectors.

  Elora took a seat on one of the bench units and strapped herself in. Ram sat down beside her while Storm sat across on the other side. Kay headed straight for the rear, plopped in one of the arm chairs, reclined, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.

  While Minerva secured the door, Elora asked Storm, “So, what’s up with the V.I.P. treatment?”

  “The Order owns six of these. We share this one with other installations in North America, but they’re shuffled as needed.”

  “And you’re not worried about the carbon footprint?”

  “What’s a carbon footprint?”

  “It’s the ecological cost of the amount of fossil fuel being burned.”

  He shook his head. “We’ve been on nuclear for a long time.”

  That explains the clean air. “Okay. So how long is the flight? And where are we landing?”

  “Bucharest. About eight and a half hours from now. We’ll have some dinner and sleep through the trip. When you wake up, we’ll be in Romania.”

  Ram pulled his monitor out of stow position, fiddled with the angle, and began reviewing choices from the video library. Elora had no doubt he would find something suited for ill bred thirteen-year-olds.

  After hearing Minerva recite the list of available food, Elora leaned over and whispered into Ram’s hair that she would like for him to ask for an extra corned beef sandwich on rye with Dijon mustard and a Diet Coke with lime. She explained that she wouldn’t care for Minerva to know which food and drink was hers. Ram laughed out loud, then placed a double order just as she had requested. Storm asked for cauliflower lasagna. Kay got a Jack Daniels.

  When Elora looked at Kay questioningly, Storm said, “He doesn’t like to fly.”

  Ram pulled his monitor out of stow position, fiddled with the angle, and began reviewing choices from the video library. Elora had no doubt he would find something suited for ill bred thirteen-year-olds.

  When the food was served, Elora took one of the sandwiches, moved to the rear, and sat down in the armchair facing Kay. He glanced up from his whiskey with a quizzical look.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey?” he replied with eyebrows raised. “To what do I owe this honor.”

  “The honor of my company? Sarcasm, Kay?” She removed a toothpick from one of the sandwich halves. “Seems you and I don’t often have a chance to chat. I know a lot about Storm and Ram, their families, their interests, but not so much about you. So I thought I’d ask about the lucky girl and see if I could maybe finagle an invitation to the wedding. Since I plan to be a free woman soon.”

  “I think we can afford another plate.” He drawled as he gave her that easy-going, Texas gent smile.

  Elora suspected that Kay deliberately went through life moving slow and easy so as not to intimidate others, which could easily happen. If the mass of his immense, muscular body was paired with a threatening countenance, there could be cause for alarm. The fact that he was a berserker meant that his calm, logical self cohabitates in a body with a beastly side suppressed, but living just under the surface.

  “You’d like her,” he went on. “Everyone does.” He sniffed, looked out the window at the black abyss of the Atlantic Ocean at night, chuckled to himself, then turning back to Elora added, ”But, I guess if they didn’t like her they wouldn’t tell me.”

  Elora laughed. “No. Probably not. So, how did you meet? What does she do? More importantly, does she know what you do?”

  Normally Kay would never be accused of being verbose, but it seemed his fiancé was his favorite subject and Elora had just pushed the talk button. He said they were childhood sweethearts, she’s an event promoter, and she thinks he works for the government in some secretive capacity, but that she doesn’t know he’s an investigator of paranormal phenomena specializing in vampire slaying. He said she loves disco music and disco dancing.

  Elora tried to picture Kay disco dancing and admitted that she was having trouble with the image.

  “I might surprise you then. I’m actually fair to middlin' at it. At least enough to keep my Trina happy.”

  When she ran out of questions to ask about the wedding and the bride-to-be, she asked about his family. He talked about his three sisters and how they had been named after the Norns, about life in South Texas, and how he would never want to settle someplace cold.

  Last, she asked what he knew about the journey.

  Apparently a whister would be waiting at the airport in Bucharest to take them directly to Baka’s prison. Sixty years ago The Order had purchased a 13th century castle ruin on a cliff side gorge that forms the Wallachia Transylvania border. It was restored for use as an Order installation and as a maximum security prison for Baka. They frequently improve fortification through advancing technologies so that it is a perpetually state-of-the-art facility; impenetrable from without and inescapable from within.

  “Do you know why he want
s to talk to me?” she asked.

  Kay shook his head. “Want my best guess?”

  “Sure.”

  “He saw you and was gripped by the bewitchment thing you’ve got going on.”

  She looked confused.

  “You know. That thing.” He looked pointedly toward Storm and Ram, one at a time, before bringing his attention back to Elora.

  On realizing what he meant, her face pinked with a full on blush that was clearly amusing to Kay.

  There was no point in responding so she stood, opened an overhead compartment to get a pillow and blanket, as she had seen Minerva do for Storm, then found a length of bench seat that would accommodate her for the night and tried to get comfortable. After everyone had finished eating, the lights were dimmed. She was thinking that she was sure she wouldn’t sleep. The next thing she knew lights were coming on and Minerva was offering coffee, fresh fruit, bagels, and muffins.

  She sat up feeling groggy and wishing she had put her toothbrush in the backpack she’d brought on board. She made her way to the aft lavatory and used her finger to rub cold water over her teeth. Not perfect. But better than dragon breath. She straightened her clothes, pulled her hair up in a ponytail, looked in the mirror, and assured herself she was ready for the next big adventure.

  It was light when they arrived Bucharest. As light as it was going to be. The day was overcast, rainy, with poor visibility and conditions that would keep the whister grounded for the day.

  After some discussion by phone, Storm informed the group that they would travel by train to Brasov and by car from there. A van had been hired to take them to the train station.

  It was colder than Elora expected so she took the opportunity, as the van was being loaded, to pull a couple of extra layers from her suitcase along with a toothbrush and toothpaste. As they drove through the streets of Bucharest Elora took everything in through a filter of raindrops on the window. The old part of the city was interesting for its antiquity, but portentous at the same time.

  They had first class seats on the train which meant a private compartment with upholstered bench seats and armrests that could be raised flush with the seat back or lowered, but the train was overdue for interior renovation. The faded blue fabric had definitely seen better days as had the linoleum flooring.

  Elora sat next to a window with Ram directly across. Kay sat beside her with the interior door on his right and Storm in front of him. She thought she probably appeared as inquisitive as a child, looking out the window as if she had never travelled before. Truthfully, she hadn’t travelled much. The cost of security for the extended family was too high a price for a modern monarchy.

  The trip through the Danube Valley was breathtaking. The weather was warm enough in the lowland that greens had not yet given way to Fall color. The mist and light fog made the landscape all the more haunting.

  Ram was staring at her. She raked her gaze over his sprawled figure. As usual, he was taking up way more than his allotted space. He was slouched down in the seat, knees slightly bent, legs stretched out in front of him, feet in her space, head resting on the back of his bench seat. The posture made it impossible not to notice that Ram was remarkably well endowed. As a result of the education she received reading the vampire Baka’s series of romances, she had learned that, in some circles, he would be called a “lefty”.

  Looking at his feet taking up part of her space she noticed for the first time that they might be big for the rest of him. Then she remembered what Kay had said that first night at dinner. Pointy ears. Big feet.

  His eyelids were half closed and he was wearing an odd little, self-satisfied smile like he had a secret. A slight movement drew her eye away from his face to his hand near the end of the armrest next to the window. There was, apparently, a hole in the upholstery the size of his middle finger. That finger was disappearing into the hole and reappearing in a rhythm that she imagined would match the in and out pace of leisurely love making.

  At this point enough time had been spent in Ram’s company to take some of the mortification out of such inferences. She knew that a big outer reaction would give him a perverse victory. So matching the exact same cadence, she allowed her right hand to begin moving across her lap, her first two fingers mimicking the motion of scissors cutting. Eyes gleaming, head thrown back and stomach muscles rippling, Ram laughed silently, thoroughly enjoying their exchange of theater.

  Watching that enjoyment she couldn’t help but appreciate his ever-present, infectious lust for making each moment a good time. She found herself smiling no matter how much she may have wanted to posture indignation.

  At the same time, Ram was thinking his mate was a lady in every sense of the word. She could demand respect with grace and a joke. What more could an elf want?

  It was early afternoon when they arrived Brasov. Two small cars with drivers were waiting. Storm steered Elora to the first and asked if she would mind taking the back seat. Even her legs were too long and she had to angle her body sideways to fit. Ram rode in the back seat of the other car. She didn’t know how Kay was able to cram his towering figure into the compact space.

  Storm asked the driver to find a place for lunch before they left town. He drove straight to the café at the Hotel Bella Muzica and indicated he and the other driver would remain with the cars close by.

  In response to Storm’s inquiry about something quick, the waiter brought four bowls of beef stew in tomato sauce with cabbage, mushrooms, and other less easily identifiable vegetables. She could tell Kay wanted more, but Storm rushed them away saying, “For one thing, I don’t want to be out on these cursed mountain roads after dark and, for another thing, they’re expecting us for dinner.”

  So he bought bottles of water, two loaves of bread, and supremely portable chocolate candy for dessert. While those negotiations were taking place, Elora found her way to the toilet for a potty stop and a long awaited brushing of the teeth. She wasn’t looking forward to getting back into that tiny car, but wasn’t going to complain about it either. At least not out loud.

  The ride from Brasov to Proenia was close to four hours because of necessarily slow speeds on uneven, winding roads. Seems Storm was right.

  The views gradually changed from the lush, verdant fields of the Danube Valley to primeval forests to the stark, highland landscape of the Transylvanian Alps. When they were within a few hundred feet of their destination, a heavy fog descended to obscure the view of the mountain peak. Intellectually Elora knew it to be a natural phenomenon, a simple function of weather. But emotionally the eerie mist elicited feelings of foreboding.

  It was close to dark when they drove through the gates of the ancient, white stoned, castle fortress. Both light and the warmth were quickly failing.

  They pulled into the courtyard and parked close to the front entrance marked by massive wood doors. Elora thought she couldn’t wait to be out of the car until she stepped out into the chill of the night. Teeth chattering, her eyes were drawn to the tower keep which rose from the rear of the building. There was a soft, yellow light coming from a rectangular window near the top and she saw a shadow move across it. She wondered if it was the vampire hard at work conceiving the next best-selling vampire romance.

  A handsome couple who appeared to be in their mid fifties came out to greet them. Both spoke English with a French accent. They welcomed Elora saying they were very pleased to have her as their guest. In French she replied that the pleasure was hers and that she was never so happy to be free of an automobile. They said the occasion would be celebrated with a special dinner prepared in her honor.

  The four travelers were shown to their rooms, located together in one wing of the second story. The rooms had been modernized to a point with careful attention paid to retaining the medieval character of the building. One had an en suite bath which the knights of B Team gallantly, and unanimously, offered to Elora.

  As Ram stepped into the room designated as his for the night, Kay followed and closed the door
behind him.

  “Don’t think I don’t see what’s going on, Rammel.” Ram looked past Kay to the closed door and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not choosing sides - because I love you both like the brothers I never had - but Stormy’s gonna have other chances to find love. Am I right in understanding that you get just the one? That is, if you’ve recognized her as your mate and you’re sure she’s the one.”

  Ram blinked at Kay, surprised partly by the subject matter and partly by the fact that Kay wasn’t known for volunteering unsolicited opinions, or for interfering in other people’s business, or for stringing together so many words at a time.

  Ram nodded, curious to see where this was going.

  “And just how does that work, her being human and all?”

  “Bugger if I know.”

  “But it has happened before?”

  “Aye. But ‘tis rare.”

  “Well, that aside. You don’t have a fighting chance.” Kay leaned his back against the door and crossed his arms over his abs. He knew he had Ram’s attention because of the frown on his face.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “Do you want to hear me out or not?”

  “Go on.”

  “First, there’s a matter I’m afraid you’re not factoring in. She thinks she owes Storm her life. And she should think that because…well, she does. If it had been up to you and me, she’d probably be dead.”

  Ram winced as he confronted that fact for the umpteenth time. It was even harder to hear out loud. Ram’s shoulders slumped and he sunk down on the bed looking dejected. “Aye. ‘Tis true.”

  “Did you see the record of her hearing?”

  “Aye.”

  “Then you know she has an over-developed sense of honor. For a woman. Women are usually all about practicality - which is probably why the species has survived, but Elora’s different. This isn’t going to be about who’s cutest. And, I’m not saying I would know, by the way, so don’t ask. If she thinks she owes it to Storm to be with him, she may feel like there’s no other choice.”