Excuse yourself to the ladies room. At the end of the hallway is a staircase that leads to the service entrance. I’ll be waiting in the alley.
I was intrigued, but I was also wary. The old man didn’t appear to be a vampire, and he seemed positively ancient, but that didn’t mean he was incapable of overpowering me or that he was working alone. Then again, there was no guarantee that staying with Damien wasn’t a trap as well.
“If you’ll pardon me for a moment, I need to visit the ladies room,” I said as casually as I could. “Do you know where that is?”
“Down the hall to your left,” he replied.
“Thanks.”
I found the staircase and went quickly down after determining that no one followed. I didn’t see anyone in the alley.
“Over here,” the old man whispered from a recessed doorway set partially into the ground. The door was open and he beckoned me inside.
“Won’t be seen… or h-heard in here,” he informed me in as he shut the door. His voice was cracked and brittle, but had a rather peculiar accent that sounded local, yet there was something off and old fashioned about it.
“You’re Sam, aren’t you? How did you know where I live?” I asked, realizing it sounded somewhat rude, but at that point, I didn’t care.
“I’m Sam, but that ain’t important. You got my letter?”
“I did,” I confirmed.
“Why didn’t you come?” he asked, astonished. “I could have helped you.”
“I didn’t find it until last night. We haven’t been staying at our house much lately and honestly, I couldn’t read much of what you wrote,” I said with an apologetic smile. “What do you mean, you could have helped me?”
“Forgive me then, my hand is not as steady as it once was. You’ve been poisoned, Lucy, and you ain’t got much time before that poison kills you.”
“How do you know this?” I asked sharply.
“Because I was there when the lady doctor gave the instructions to my mistress and told her she only had sixty days to find you before the serum kills you. I was there when she commanded the young boy to poison you. That was near two months ago, Lucy.”
“Who is your mistress?” I asked shakily. I didn’t know if Sam was telling me the truth or not, but I was scared nonetheless.
“I think you already know the answer to that,” he said with a pointed look. “She’s gone by many names over the years, but those of us she punished with eternal servitude have always known her as the devil of Vieux Carrè.”
“LaLaurie,” I stated. “Who are you, Sam?”
“I’m nobody, Lucy, just a ghost of a man who wants to see the end of the reign of evil in this world.”
“Humor me, Sam,” I said with a sigh. I’d long been used to New Orleans residents speaking in flowery riddles. Everyone from Evan to Ida had their own quirks, but I didn’t have time for vagueness.
“In 1833, I was a young man who still believed in a loving and benevolent god. I was still a slave, mind you, but the good people of New Orleans had risen up against the devil and removed all of us abused slaves from her house. But not a one of us truly escaped. Within a month, we were all brought back. I don’t know what she did to us, but when old age failed to claim our souls, I knew the devil was involved. She never let us go and she never let us die.”
I knew the story he was referring to. Supposedly, when LaLaurie’s slaves were removed from her home on suspicions of cruelty, she had friends and family members purchase them and secretly bring them back to the house. That Sam was claiming to be one of those slaves was preposterous, but not entirely impossible. After all, Lona had been subjected to the same horrific experiments that stopped her from aging after she had been abducted by the ES. I could certainly believe that LaLaurie would be the type to give her slaves an unnaturally long lifespan. The painful and unnecessarily cruel process was more akin to torture than science, which seemed to fit with everything we knew about her.
“Why do you want to help me?” I asked. After all, if Sam was telling the truth, there was no reason to believe that he wasn’t under the influence of a drug like Neurephenhol.
“Because if she gets what she wants from you, others will suffer the same fate as we have. And for me, there will be no end to my enslavement. Eternal life is a curse, Lucy, one that I would not wish on my worst enemy. I only want to die, but not before bringing the devil to her judgment.”
“You know where she is?” I asked.
“At the moment? No,” he replied. “But I know her schedule well. There is a cure. She keeps it locked away in her private quarters. I’ve long since grown immune to the drug she uses to suppress my free will and I believe I can remove it for you. But Lucy, I am older than a man should ever be allowed and as such, I am tired and no longer spry. Our timing needs to be exact.”
“And when I am cured?” I asked.
“Kill the witch,” he whispered. “And then kill me.”
I was taken aback by his request. “I… I don’t know if I can do that,” I said honestly.
“Please,” he said softly. “There were eight of us once, but the others have all done what I cannot. I wish I had their strength, but I’m a Christian and a coward, Lucy. If there is a Heaven to take mercy on my wretched soul, I ain’t about to throw it away with an unforgivable sin.”
“What do I need to do?” I asked, avoiding confirmation that I would honor his final request, but leaving it open. I didn’t have time for a moral or religious debate, nor did I think it would matter much if I had tried.
“You still have the address?” he asked.
“I do, but I went there earlier tonight,” I said. “It’s nothing but an old shop.”
“Below the shop is the entrance to the true horror chamber of 1140 Royal,” he said with a knowing nod. “Surprised, are you?” he asked, acknowledging my skeptical look. “No one looks for what they believe to be impossible. Tell me, is it so hard to comprehend that those who believe themselves to be gods among men are also capable of constructing quarters under earth that even the dead will not stay interred beneath?”
“I guess not,” I replied with a repressed shudder.
“You’ll need not come in,” he assured me. “I’ll bring you the cure and meet you in the alley, but you must be there no later than midnight tomorrow, but not much earlier, lest she catch you nearby. Once you are healed, we will lay a trap. Now go, before your dubious companion grows suspicious.”
“About that,” I said suddenly. “Do you recognize him? The man I am with tonight?”
“He’s one of those French devils. I’ve seen plenty of them come and go over the years, but no, I do not recognize him specifically.”
“Thank you, Sam.”
As I exited the cellar, I saw movement in the alley and pressed myself into the shadows. Cautiously, I peered around the edge of the doorway, and saw the last person I wanted to see. Thankfully, he seemed to be alone this time.
“Where’s your girlfriend?” I asked, stepping out of the shadows.
Clearly, I startled him, but he regained his composure and leveled me with a hard stare.
“We need to talk, but not here,” he said with an ominous look at the building that housed the club.
“Do we?” I countered, measuring my words carefully. “Because I don’t think there’s anything left to say, Andre. I’m not blind. I saw you. I followed you after your date last night.”
“Look,” he said with a sigh. “I’m-”
“So, this is the reason you ran out on me?”
The door to the club opened and Damien stepped out into the alley, coming immediately to my side. I had been hoping to avoid him as well, but the stunned and hurt look on Andre’s face almost made it worthwhile.
“You’re a coward and a hypocrite, Andre,” I spat and stormed away, praying that neither would follow. The sound of their hushed argument gave me relief and I broke into a run, losing myself in the shadows of the alley. I had too much on my mind at the mome
nt to worry about a broken heart.
Chapter 25
Once again, I found myself back at the house just as the sun was coming up. This time, though, I had a plan. Determining who, if anyone, was telling the truth was a waste of time. I’d made the mistake of trusting the wrong people too many times to do it again. Instead, I prepared for war. Knowing that I couldn’t rely on my blood or abilities was frightening, but fortunately, I had plenty of ways to work around that particular handicap.
EJC had developed a thinner, lighter version of the titanium alloy matrix that could be made into a flexible and comfortable fabric. Since I was nearly invincible at the time it went into testing, I had a prototype suit that was built specifically for me. It wouldn’t stop a bullet, but it easily deflected bladed weapons and even the powerful push of our CPA needles. The best part was that it had plenty of pockets and a built in utility belt for holding an assortment of weapons and supplies. After gearing up, I checked my appearance in the mirror. I couldn’t help but laugh. I looked like a vigilante super hero in the all black jumpsuit. All that was missing was a cape and helmet.
There was just one more item I could use to my advantage, but as I keyed in the code to open the safe, I hesitated. After the incident at Blackthorn Plantation, Andre insisted that I take lessons to learn how to shoot and properly handle a gun, if for no other reason than to get over my paralyzing fear of them. Hugh and Miles did a great job of making me comfortable, and I managed to learn to shoot with some accuracy, but I was still reluctant to carry a firearm.
Finally, I determined that any advantage would be welcome, so I pulled out the smallest case and shut the safe. I did a safety check before slipping the gun into the suit’s holster. It looked like a toy, but like the suit, this was a prototype. The bullets were small, but deadly. I only hoped I wouldn’t find myself in a situation where I had to rely on their efficiency.
I heard the back door slam shut and jumped, instinctively grabbing two CPAs.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, relaxing only enough to lower my weapons as Andre entered the living room.
“I live here,” he stated calmly and sat down on the couch. Seeing him act as if nothing was wrong made my blood boil.
“Alright then,” I said as calmly as I could. “I’ll be on my way. I don’t want to cause any problems when your girlfriend shows up.”
“Do you ever stop and think before you react?” he asked, dropping his calm façade. “I have been doing everything in my power to protect you, and for what? You sneak out of headquarters and run head first into danger. Do you have a death wish?”
“You have got some nerve,” I hissed. I was so angry, I swear, I could actually feel my blood boiling. “Protecting me? Is that what you call intimate dinners with another fucking woman? I have eyes, Andre!”
“You saw what you wanted to, Lucy. If you took a fraction of a second to think about what you’re accusing me of, you’ll realize how foolish you sound right now.”
“Oh, I know how foolish I am,” I said with a glance at the ring on my finger. “Foolish enough to think that you were different from the other jerks I dated.” I yanked the ring off my finger and slammed it down on the coffee table.
“Lucy, don’t-”
“Goodbye, Andre,” I said and stormed out. I only got as far as the kitchen before he grabbed my arm.
“Lucy, if you leave, you’ll be killed.”
“And if I don’t, I’ll die anyway,” I said and shrugged off his hold.
“She doesn’t know who you are. Don’t you get that?” He let out a frustrated sigh and gave me a pleading look. “Lucy, Alex is the one who poisoned you. She thinks she has me fooled into believing that she can help you. She doesn’t know that you’ve transformed and I’ve been keeping her at bay by telling her that you ran off and I can’t find you. When you actually did run off, you jeopardized us both. I’ve had no choice but to keep my distance and pretend I didn’t know you.”
Part of me, a big part actually, wanted to believe him. But at the same time, my head was swimming with all of the lies and deceptions that I’d put up with and I wasn’t in a forgiving mood.
“And it never occurred to you to tell me any of this?” I asked him. “Do you know what kind of hell you put me through?”
“Do you honestly think I didn’t take into consideration what I was doing or how you might interpret my behavior?” he replied. “As soon as I saw you last night, I knew that the damage was already done. I decided that acting the part of an asshole would keep you alive long enough for me to beg forgiveness later.”
“If I survive this ordeal, then maybe I’ll give you a chance to do just that,” I said icily. “But if you think I’m going to tuck myself away at headquarters and wait this out, you’re sadly mistaken. I wasn’t kidding, Andre. Unless I get the antidote to whatever she did to me, I’ll be dead in a few days anyway.”
“Do you really trust what Damien has told you?” he asked warily.
“I haven’t trusted a damned thing Damien has said since the day I met him. I’ll deal with Damien later,” I assured him. It occurred to me that if Andre was telling the truth, then it was possible that Damien knew exactly who Alex was. If I wasn’t convinced that his intentions were not in my best interest before, I certainly was now. It was also likely that Andre had no idea who he was really cozying up to under the pretext to protecting me.
“Tell me,” I said, “Is Alex getting nervous?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Does she seem more desperate to find me?”
“She’s been more persistent in trying to find you in the last few days,” he admitted. “Why?”
“Ask Abe,” I replied. “He knows why I was poisoned, even if he hasn’t yet found a way to reverse the effects. I wasn’t being hyperbolic, Andre. The clock is literally ticking and I’m hanging everything on one slim hope that at least one person wasn’t lying to me. Let me have that, and if I succeed, I’ll happily go back to headquarters and help put an end to this once and for all.” With that, I grabbed my keys from the counter.
“Lucy, it’s daytime. Where the hell do you think you can go right now?”
“I don’t know, but I do know I’m going to need some sleep before I do anything else.”
“You have a bed here,” he said with a glance at the stairs.
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked with a derisive laugh. “I’m sorry, Andre, but I just don’t trust that you won’t do something stupid to stop me from leaving.”
“Ouch,” he said with a pained expression that I dismissed as manipulative.
“The truth can be painful,” I snapped and slammed the door behind me.
As soon as I walked outside, I knew I was screwed. Aside from sticking out as a monster, there really was a grain of truth to the myth that the sun is deadly to vampires, at least in my current state. Even though the temperature was only in the sixties, it felt as if my skin was going to burst into flames. I got in my car, cranked the air conditioner, and began driving, hoping that I could come up with a plan before I crashed.
The problem with New Orleans was that while there were plenty of places to hide at night, daytime was another matter entirely. There were several abandoned buildings that I could have holed up in, but getting to them was another matter entirely. After driving around the city a few times, I came up with a plan. I pulled into one of the public parking garages on Canal that I knew had an automated payment system. After getting my ticket, I found a spot in a dark corner, locked all of the doors, and climbed into the trunk of my car, silently patting myself on the back for not getting a hatchback. I pulled the seat back into place and curled up for a much-needed nap.
I awoke a few hours later to a strange buzzing sensation in my cheek. At some point, I must have rolled onto my phone, which was vibrating because Holly was calling me. I was about to hit ignore when I noticed I had missed several calls from her already.
“Holly, what’s wrong?”
“Finally! Where the hell have you been?”
“Sleeping,” I said with a yawn. “Why?”
“I just sent you the report from Paris,” she replied. “Lucy, this is pretty messed up. The diary was a fake, so were the paintings. I can’t even begin to tell you everything. Just read it and please, please call me back when you’re done.”
As soon as I hung up, I checked my inbox and found the report. The hidden passage that Lisette and Fausto found had apparently led to a goldmine of information, including an art studio and several early attempts to replicate the lost paintings of Erwin Arthur. Lab analysis showed that the finished products had been painted over other works of art that had been hanging in Oscar’s apartment. This explained why I remembered a different painting as well as the authentic discoloration on the wall where the painting had been removed. They also found Oscar’s actual diary, noting that the scrap of paper we had picked up in his apartment had come from the original. According to the report, there was nothing in the original to suggest that Oscar ever had a brother.
Piecing together what we already knew with what was found in Paris, it almost seemed as if the only motive behind the elaborate ruse was to play upon my emotions and cause discord within the organization. I had a hard time believing that anyone would go to such lengths to create a false path for me to follow, especially given how unlikely it was that we would have figured out all of the complex clues. But according to the report, everything had been orchestrated in such a way that had we missed something, another clue would have been put in place to get us back on track. To say that this blew my mind was an understatement. There was even an email detailing a revised plan as to how to let us know the second painting had been sent to the Kimbell once it became apparent that the government wasn’t going to share the information.
I was about to call Holly back when I noticed that Oscar’s true diary was attached to the email as well. It began in 1895 with a reference to a letter from his father. Fausto pointed out that the letter, which was found with the diary, was written in the old language, just as the fake had been. He went on to say that the true letter contained more interesting information and a better understanding of the actual history of the ES. I scrolled to the bottom and read his translation first.
The Eyes of the Sun: The Complete Trilogy Page 87
