by Gayla Twist
“Maybe that’s when your fathered was turned,” Dimitri suggested.
“My father was not a vampire!” Haley shrieked. And then she was running for the door. The guards staggered a little from side to side, unsure if they should clear the way or keep her from leaving.
“Haley!” I shouted, leaping to my feet and chasing after her.
“I have to get to her,” she sobbed, trying to shove me away so she could get out of the room. “I have to save my mom.”
“You can’t help her right now,” I told her, getting a firm grip on her shoulders. “It’s still daylight.”
“But she’s my mom.” Haley pleaded, although she gave up on the shoving.
“We’ll save her,” I said, wrapping her tightly in my arms. “We’ll go get her. Just as soon as we can, we’ll go.” I shot a look over my shoulder at the other vampires in the room. “All of us.”
“But, there are more vampires,” Haley insisted. “They could…”
“It’s daytime, Haley,” I said in as soothing of a voice as I could muster. “She’s not in any danger right now. And like these gentlemen said, she’s of more use right now as bait. That should keep her safe, for the moment.”
James pulled himself to his feet. “You can be loyal to whoever you want, Kirk,” he told the man who seemed to be their acting leader. “But count me out.”
“James, you can’t mean that” his companion insisted.
Crossing the room in a flash, I got right in front of James. “You want out?” I asked. “Because you can be shown out, right now. In fact,” I said, snapping my fingers and causing the guards to come to attention, “I can arrange an immediate escort, you ingrate.”
“I don’t want out,” James quickly assured me. “It’s just…” He threw his hands in the air. “There’s a lot of heavy players willing to shell out a lot of cash for this girl.” He nodded toward Haley. “Even if we go with you, there’s enough money on the table that people would be willing to stake first and ask questions later.”
I smiled at him; it was probably the coldest smile that has ever crossed my face. “That’s why you’re going with us,” I explained. “You’ll be there to make it known that this whole thing about Haley having a vampire father is not based in fact; it’s simply a rumor run wild. And if the other bounty hunters choose not to believe you, then at least you’ll be there to act as a human shield.”
“You don’t have to threaten us,” James said, meeting my eye. “I’ve been thinking it over and Kirk is right; Haley deserves our loyalty. She had mercy on us. We would have fried out there if it wasn’t for her.” He shook his head. “But it’s not going to be easy.” He looked down at his melted body. “Especially with us in this condition.”
His sudden change of heart left me suspicious, but I wasn’t going to argue. “Drink up, then,” I told him and then expanded my conversation to include all of them. “The best way for you to heal is if you get plenty of nourishment. If you drink a goblet an hour, then by sunset you should be well enough to fly.”
All three men hastily moved over to partake of the carafe. I turned to the guards. “Make sure that they never go thirsty. And send at least a half dozen men to search the grounds. Apparently there’s another vampire out there. He’s either ashes or hiding in a light-proof tent. Either way, I’d like him brought here.”
It needed to vacate the room. I wanted to spend as little time with the bounty hunters as possible, for fear that I might lose my grip on my thinly veiled fury and stake them all where they stood. “Come on,” I said, taking Haley’s hand and leading her into the hall. “I’m sure you’d like to rest after your ordeal. But first, I want to speak with you about something important.”
She stopped short. “Don’t even say what I know you’re planning on saying.”
“What do you mean?” I raised both eyebrows, giving her my best innocent expression.
She pulled her hand out of mine, and fixed me with a steady glare with those wonderful hazel eyes. “I know you, Dorian. I know that any second now you’re going to suggest that this whole thing is too dangerous, and that I’m too tired, and that I should stay in the castle while you go and save my mom.” I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off with, “But I’m telling you right now, don’t even start with me. She’s my mom, and she’s not well, and I don’t know how she’s going to feel about a bunch of strangers — especially undead strangers — just showing up outside her window.” I made another attempt to speak, but she plowed right over me with, “And you should know by now that I’m not the kind of female who just sits at home, ringing her hands. So, no arguments out of you; I’m going.”
“I know you, too, Haley,” I told her, scarcely able to suppress the smirk that threatened to spread across my face. “And I knew that you’d want to be there to protect your mother. I was simply going to suggest that we stop by the armory before we rest.”
“But…” she stammered, caught off-guard enough to give me satisfaction. “Why didn’t you just say that?”
I linked her arm through mine as we continued heading down the hall. “I didn’t want to deny you the opportunity to get indignant.”
Chapter 24
Haley
The Vanderlind Castle’s armory was surprisingly well-equipped with weapons to fight vampires. There were not only stakes, but spiked clubs, silver nets, silver shackles, battering rams, large spouted cauldron thingies that looked like they were for pouring boiling oil on rampaging hordes, crossbows, arrows, and a lot more than someone with extreme OCD could organize in a day.
“Why would a family of vampires have an arsenal full of wood and silver?” I asked, idly, as we surveyed the room. “I mean, don’t the undead usually want to avoid those things?”
Dorian shrugged. “Mortals aren’t bulletproof, but that doesn’t keep them from amassing arsenals of guns.”
He had a good point.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked. “We’re not just going to run in there, crossbows blazing. Are we?” I wanted to save my mom — rather desperately, if I stopped long enough to let myself think about it — but I knew I needed to use my head, not just my emotions. An arrow to the chest could kill a mortal, less effectively than it would kill a vampire, but still… I didn’t want my mother in the line of fire. Or Dorian. Or me, for that matter.
I was terrified at the thought of anyone hurting my mom. But the thought of Dorian being staked literally made me sick to my stomach. I could have probably vomited, if that was something vampires did. I wasn’t used to loving people. I mean, I’d always loved my mom, even when she was at her craziest, but to have someone else in my life — someone like Dorian — was a completely new experience for me. And it was really kind of freaking me out. If I thought there was any possibility that I could leave him safely in the castle while I went by myself to save my mother, I would do it.
“Haley…? Haley, snap out of it.”
I blinked and then realized that I had been staring at the weapons in the armory for an extended period of time. “Did you just hear anything I said?” Dorian asked.
I shook my head.
“Haley,” he said, taking my hands and pulling me close to him. Looking deeply into my eyes with a look that was steady and unwavering, he added, “We’re going to save her. Your mother is going to be just fine.”
I wanted to burst into tears and say something stupid like, “But what about you? What if something happens to you?” But instead I just bit my lips, forcing them to stay together. I knew that if I brought it up, Dorian would act way too cavalier about his own safety and I didn’t think I was up to hearing him joke about it. I managed to squeak out the words, “I know,” before pulling away from him. “So how much of this junk are we taking with us?” I asked with a nod toward the weapons.
“Not much,” Dorian said, casually pushing a stake that had fallen off a shelf with the toe of his boot. “I just don’t want to walk into an ambush without at least a few weapons. They’re not going
to try to hurt you, of course, but now that we’re reunited, I would at least like a shot at spending eternity together.”
“You’re going to wear your leather. Right?” I asked, studiously examining a spiked, wooden club rather than looking at his face. “The stuff you were wearing out in front of the castle when you grabbed me at sunrise?”
“That was for sun protection, not stakes. It isn’t armor.”
“Yeah, but it would at least protect you a little,” I insisted. I mean, I’m sure it’s more difficult to ram a stake through cow hide than it is to ram it through a silk shirt. And it would protect you better from silver. That Taser thing they used on you probably wouldn’t be as effective.”
Dorian chewed on his lip, thinking it over. “You’re probably right. But not the long coat; that might interfere with fighting. Everything else will work, except for the welder’s mask, of course.” He looked me up and down. “We’ll get you suited as well.”
This was a surprise. “I thought you said they wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Just because no one will be coming after you with a stake doesn’t mean you can’t catch some silver shrapnel in the fighting.”
”Silver shrapnel?” I repeated. “You think they might do something like that? You think it’ll get that bad?” I was already nervous and worried about my mom; this piece of information made me feel a lot worse.
Dorian gave a heavy sigh. “At this point I’d say anything is possible. I think we need to prepare for the worst.”
My stomach convulsed in a giant lurch. “Great.”
“Here’s something I want you to practice with, just for a few minutes, to get the feel of it,” Dorian said, scanning one of the armory shelves. After a few moments of searching, he said, “Ah, here it is.” He pulled out a crossbow that was about the size of one of those cowboy pistols from the old west and handed it to me.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, surprised by its weight. The crossbow was made out of steel, but had decorative brass embellishments all over it showing men hunting what at first I took for large bats. “Are those vampires?” I asked, squinting at the metal work.
He nodded. “Mortals have been aware of vampires for a very long time. But in modern times, most people believe vampires to by myth. Back a couple of hundred years ago,” he said tapping at the metal work. “Mortals knew that vampires were real, even if they didn’t understand that we still looked just like them.”
“Huh…” I felt a shiver deep in my core, but it was probably just my mortal memory of how terrified I would have been if I’d know there were vampires.
Dorian clapped his hands, rubbing them together. “Now, let’s do a little target practice. Shall we?”
There’s nothing quite like being handed an obviously valuable antique and being told to use it for protection. But shooting the mini-crossbow turned out to be reasonably easy. If I had still been a mortal, then I would have struggled with the weight. But as a vampire, I found I could hold the heavy hunk of iron reasonably steady as I fired wooden bolts at a target that was set up at the far end of the armory.
“Good. Very good,” Dorian said, admiring my marksmanship after I’d fired off a few rounds. “You’re a natural.”
“I’ve never shot anything before in my life,” I admitted. Not even in an arcade or on a video game counsel. I’d never had any money to pump quarters into arcade games and I’d never had any friends who had PlayStation, or whatever game stuff some people have in their homes. I was surprised to discover that shooting the crossbow was surprisingly fun.
“Come on,” he said, giving my shoulder a squeeze as I reloaded the crossbow. “I think you’re ready. Let’s just get a few more weapons together and then try to relax a little. I want you well rested before the sun sets or I’m going to have to put my foot down about you going.”
“Put your foot down?” I gave him a sharp look.
Dorian added, rather sternly, “I am, after all, your maker.”
I was about to tell him to get bent, but then an impish grin spread across his handsome face and I knew he was teasing.
After we’d set aside a modest selection of stakes, a few silver handcuffs, silver netting, and some other weaponry for the servants to pack, we agreed that we were ready. “Best not to be too encumbered,” Dorian noted. “Plus, we really should get some rest.” We headed upstairs to my rooms.
“You wanted to see me, Mr. Wanderlind?” Viggo asked, finding us in the little sitting room off the bedroom I was using. We were quenching our appetites before lying down to rest.
“Yes, Viggo,” Dorian said, getting to his feet. He gestured toward me. “My progeny needs a full set of leather clothing. I’d like boots, leather pants, and a jacket with a high collar. And we need it right away, before sundown.”
The giant nodded. “I shall ask Gloria to go with me. She will know much better what to buy.”
“Thank you, Viggo,” Dorian said, reaching up to pat the man on the shoulder. “And I want strong, durable stuff.”
Viggo blinked slowly. “I understand.”
After the servant left, Dorian turned to me. “Drink up; it’s time I tucked you into bed.”
Tucked me in? I didn’t like the sound of that. “Aren’t you going to stay?” I asked, unable to keep a slight pout out of my voice.
Dorian folded his arms. “Do you really think you could behave yourself if I stayed?”
I thought it over. Dorian was just so damn sexy, and I was out of my mind with happiness that he still loved me and that we were still together, but I was also bone tired, even with several cups of blood to refresh me. “I think I can control myself,” I assured him.
He stared at me for several more seconds before saying, “Then I’ll stay. But I promise you, if you get up to any of your nonsense, I will leave the room.”
I had to suppress a giggle; he sounded so stern and sincere. “I promise to do my best to keep my hands to myself.”
It was so wonderful to be in Dorian’s arms again that I almost had to go back on my promise. I felt his whole body stiffen as I snuggled up against him, as if at any moment he was going to spring from the bed. And I half considered teasing him just a little But fatigue turned out to be much stronger than any of my desires and I found myself drifting off into that weird twilight state that the undead refer to as sleep. It was bliss.
When I opened my eyes a few hours later, I was alone. The sun was starting to set; I could feel it. And it suddenly occurred to me that Dorian might try to slip off with the other vampires, and leave me behind.
Not if I had anything to say about it, I decided, leaping out of bed. I would go to Sterngrove on my own, if I had to. My mother didn’t know Dorian. She didn’t really understand about the undead, even if she thought she did. I had to be there for her, I thought as I quickly whipped off my pajamas and struggled into Dorian’s aunt’s clothes. If it was true that the bounty hunters weren’t going to hurt me, then I had a fighting chance. And I intended to fight. I didn’t care if I had to stake half the undead population; no one was going to mess with my mom.
As I was looking around for anything I could use to arm myself, the door opened and Dorian strode in, a stack of leather clothing draped over one arm.
“Oh good, you’re up,” he said, planting a kiss on my forehead.
“Where have you been?!” I blurted, for no apparent reason; he had obviously not snuck off without me.
“You were resting and I didn’t want to disturb you.” He handed me the leathers, ignoring my little outburst. “I’ve checked with our guests, and I have to say I’m pleased. They’re all still missing a bit of hair, but I’m not going to hold looking unkempt against them.” Walking over, he filled his cup from the carafe and took a long drink. “How long have you been up?”
“I thought you’d snuck off without me,” I said in a sullen voice.
Dorian took another long drink, swallowed, put his cup down, and looked at me. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider it.” Before
I could launch into a time-consuming rant, he added, “I think you’d better try those on,” he said, gesturing toward the leathers. “I hope they fit. We’d better get going as soon as the sun is down. Everyone else is ready and waiting.”
Hurrying into the bathroom, I did a bit of hopping around to fit into the leather pants, but once I had them on, they felt good. The jacket was also snug, but not super restricting. I had to wonder where in the world Gloria managed to get such nice leathers in Tiburon, Ohio. Or did she have to make a quick trip to Cleveland and back? It was the closest city and the only explanation that made any sense.
“You look wonderful,” Dorian said as I exited the bathroom. He handed me a pair of black leather boots that laced up the front. They looked like something I imagined soldiers wore when going out on night maneuvers.
My maker continued to watch me while I laced up the boots. “Once this is all over, I might buy a motorcycle, just so I can see you wearing this outfit some more,” he said. “It might be fun to drive around with you on the back.”
I glanced up at him. “What makes you think I wouldn’t want to drive?”
He narrowed his eyes at me, but I could tell he was amused. “We’ll argue about that later. Right now we have your mother to save.” He filled two goblets and handed me one. “Do you think there’s any truth to this whole rumor? Or is it just some of your mother’s mischief gone horribly wrong?”
I was surprised when my mother told me that my father was a vampire, but I was also used to her nonsense. An impish sense of humor combined with a rocky mental condition had always made my mom an unusual person to have as a parent.
“My guess is no,” I told him as he handed me a pair of leather gloves. “If I really think about it, I honestly believe she said all that just to mess with me. Or maybe she thought it would make me feel better about being a vampire.” Although she had been completely accepting of my altered state when I first told her, even slightly delighting with it, which made me believe she might have had previous exposure to the undead.
