The Crimes of Orphans

by Obie Williams

  He didn’t have a chance to finish before Lita drew his own revolver and cracked him across the cheek with it, knocking him back to the floor. She then dropped it and kicked it under the bed.

  Christopher brought his knuckles up to his cheek and glared at her. “Thanks.”

  “No problem,” she said with a smirk. Getting to hit someone had lightened her mood. “Are you ready yet, kid?”

  Amelie emerged from the closet a moment later, clad in a black, long-sleeved shirt and slacks. “How’s this?”

  “Great,” Lita said unenthusiastically. “Alright, big guy, how we getting out of here?”

  Christopher rose once more and went to a large oak armoire that stood against the wall facing the end of Amelie’s bed. He threw his weight against the side of it and slid it over to reveal a square door in the wall. It was the opening to an old dumbwaiter.

  Amelie blinked. “I didn’t know that was there.”

  Christopher chuckled. “You get the blueprints to this place when you become head guard. I know all of its secrets.” With that, he opened the dumbwaiter door and started pulling the rope inside, bringing it up to their level. “This will take you down to the basement. Adjacent to that is the wine cellar. In the back, past the last row of shelves, there’s an old cellar door. It might take some prying to get it open, but it’ll lead you right up into the orchard.” He glanced over his shoulder at Lita. “Will that do for you?”

  “Perfectly, actually,” she said, holstering her weapon and crossing her arms.

  “Good. Wait five minutes after you get down there so I have time to redirect all the guards, then get the hell out of here.” Christopher finished hoisting up the dumbwaiter and stepped aside. “Now listen, about eight or nine miles outside of Maple City, there’s a little road that leads to a big old cemetery in the forest, do you know it?” Lita nodded. “Alright, at noon tomorrow either I or someone I send will meet you there and tell you what to do next. If it’s not me, they’ll have to give you a password so you know I sent them. The password is ladybug.” Lita coughed suddenly, trying to contain a laugh. “Problem?” Christopher asked.

  She cleared her throat. “No, no. Nothing at all. Ladybug. It’s…adorable.” Even Amelie had to cover her mouth to hide a smirk.

  Christopher sighed and shook his head. “You be safe now, you understand young miss?”

  Amelie suddenly ran to him and threw her arms around his midsection tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered. Christopher, after a moment of shock, hugged her back gently. Lita rolled her eyes at the exchange, but allowed it a moment to take place. When Amelie pulled back and looked up at Christopher, her eyes glimmered with a thin veil of tears. “Christopher, please tell my father I love him and…” She paused, unable to think of anything else to say as she realized she might very well never see him again. She tried to fight back the sudden urge to stay. “Just that I love him.”

  “I will, Amelie. I promise.” He gave her another quick hug and whispered, “Just be careful,” before motioning for her to get in the dumbwaiter. She nodded, then rose up on her tip-toes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before climbing into the small, square space.

  Lita went next, lifting one foot into the box before pausing to look at Christopher. “Make sure you keep your boys good and off our backs, big guy. I’ll have her out of here in no time.”

  Christopher extended a hand. “The name’s Christopher.”

  Lita eyed it, then him. “Good for you.” She climbed into the dumbwaiter.

  Letting out a snort, Christopher leaned down and peered in at Lita one last time. “You get her killed, I will find you.”

  “Yeah, good fucking luck,” Lita said with a laugh and closed the door. Christopher gritted his teeth angrily as he slid the armoire back into place, then waited for the squeaking of the dumbwaiter’s pulley to stop before recovering his lost weapon from under the bed and heading into the hall.

  II

  They made the return trip to Rain’s car with relative ease. They encountered no guards; Christopher had kept his word. Amelie did well for a little rich girl, in Lita’s opinion. She had stayed low and silent the whole time. She only encountered some trouble at the outer wall, but Lita was able to climb to the top and then pull her up and over. At last they found themselves crouched behind a gravestone at the edge of the cemetery, Rain’s car within sight only thirty feet away.

  “I’ll go get it started, then you come and get in,” Lita said.

  “You won’t leave me?” Amelie asked.

  “Tempting, but no,” Lita replied, then hurried out, staying low as she advanced on the vehicle. She quickly rounded it, hopped inside, and brought it to life before gesturing Amelie over. She followed Lita’s example, climbing into the passenger seat just as quickly.

  Christopher’s way out of the city was brilliant. Lita didn’t see a single soul and she’d have never believed there could be a road under that bridge if she hadn’t seen it for herself. It was almost unsettling how easy it was for them to leave town and get back onto the highway towards the brothers’ house.

  “This is a nice car,” Amelie said, cutting through the silence once they were far enough from the city that Lita felt comfortable turning on more than just the car’s running lights.

  “Count yourself lucky. I’m really sticking my neck out returning this to the asshole I borrowed it from,” Lita replied.

  “You don’t seem the type to borrow things,” Amelie ventured.

  “Yeah, well, he’s not the type to loan things out,” Lita replied.

  Another long silence ensued.

  “My name’s Amelie,” she said finally.

  “I know,” Lita replied dryly, staring at the road.

  “What’s yours?” she asked meekly.

  There was a lengthy pause before she finally replied, “Lita.”

  “That’s pretty,” Amelie said, but was again only greeted by silence. She turned her eyes out the window, watching as rain began to drizzle against her youthful reflection.

  “Lita?”

  “What?”

  “When we first met, why didn’t you kill me?”

  “You reminded me of someone I used to know.”

  “Who?”

  “It’s time to be quiet now.”

  TEN

  I

  Lita was concerned.

  Not because she had backed out of her job and taken flight with the target. She was damned good at hiding if the situation called for it. And not because she was returning a stolen car to a likely furious and possibly homicidal vampire. Were she really that afraid of him, she’d just keep on driving. No, Lita was concerned because there was a young girl in the seat next to her that she was on a mission to protect, and she had no idea why.

  The person she knew herself to be had never acted this way and, in her defense, she’d never had any reason to help anyone but herself. No one had ever done her any charity. Even the freedom Cleric had handed her—a gift of death in a wrapping of gospel—had turned out to be a debt she was forced to repay in conscience, innocence, and blood. So to do something selfless—to make an attempt at saving another human being, putting herself in real danger in the process—that wasn’t like her at all. And she did not particularly enjoy it.

  Bringing the car to a stop outside the Moonshadow house, Lita sighed and killed the engine. “You ready to see some fireworks, kid?” she asked, glancing at Amelie. The young lady nodded, though she didn’t know what she was agreeing to. Lita chuckled. “I should send you in first.” She was only half joking.

  Lita climbed out of the car, grabbing her bag in the process, and headed for the house. Amelie followed close behind. Pausing briefly at the front door, she reached back and brushed her fingers over her firearm. She didn’t figure on having to use it, but she compulsively double-checked its availability before walking into any tense situation. She nodded to herself and went inside.

  Rain’s head shot up as soon as they walked in, but Lita could only see
his face over the back of the couch. He was kneeling in front of the armchair, tending to a very groggy-looking Alex, who must have only come around moments earlier. The boy leaned against the arm of the chair, his face pallid, head propped up in one hand.

  Rain, however, held no visible lasting effects of the drug in his eyes. All they reflected were rage as soon as he caught sight of Lita. He rose to his feet and rounded the couch with startling agility as he advanced towards her. “You have exactly three seconds to explain just what the hell you think you were—” he stopped, both in his tracks and his speech, as Lita held up a hushing hand and Amelie stepped out from behind her, looking spooked.

  Rain blinked. “Who is this?” he asked, his tone unchanged. Alex raised his head, squinting at the three of them.

  “Her name is Amelie,” Lita said in a calm, quiet tone. Her eyes didn’t flinch from Rain’s. “She’s the Daughter of Chicane.”

  Rain’s right eyebrow rose slightly and his hands found his hips. “And what is she doing here?”

  “Her brother—” Lita began.

  “Step,” Amelie interjected.

  “Her stepbrother,” Lita continued, shooting the girl a look, “is trying to have her killed. She needs a place to hide out for a few days.”

  Rain glanced back and forth between the two. “And how do you figure into all of this?”

  Lita’s eyes dropped then and she bit the inside of her cheek. “I was supposed to kill her.” Amelie looked away as well and Alex sat up, piqued interest clearing the last of his mind’s fog.

  Rain’s jaw clenched, the tendons in his neck flexing. “So let me get this straight,” he said, the volume of his voice not rising, but anger rising within it. “First you neglect to mention that you’re an assassin. You then proceed to steal my car in order to go on a job. Then you snatch up your target and bring her back to my home, where she may very well be followed by further—and likely more competent—killers?”

  “We weren’t followed,” Lita said quietly, but her gaze remained lowered. She hadn’t felt much shame since childhood, but the tightness in her chest was bringing back unpleasant memories.

  Rain’s hands fell to his sides and balled into tight fists. He opened his mouth to say more, but stopped when Amelie suddenly took it upon herself to step forward.

  “Sir,” she said cautiously, “Please don’t be angry with Lita. I asked her to bring me somewhere I could be safe. She felt sure this place could offer me that. But I don’t wish to put you or anyone else in danger. I’d rather go and find somewhere myself to—”

  “Wait a minute,” Alex said as he pushed himself out of the chair. Rain gave him a look, but Alex shot one right back as he approached the group. “We can at least treat you, our guest, to something warm to drink. Right, Rain?”

  Rain bristled, but then sighed and released the tension from his fists. “Fine. Take the young lady in and make some tea, Alex. I’m going to have a conversation with Lita.”

  Alex motioned for Amelie to follow him. She whispered a quiet “Thank you” to Rain before heading along. Lita raised her eyes finally, looking to Alex first, but all he returned was a mistrustful glare before escorting Amelie to the kitchen. She sighed and turned her gaze to Rain.

  He pointed towards the stairs, as though sentencing a small child to time in her bedroom. “Upstairs,” he said firmly.

  Lita, feeling too emotionally drained to put up any of her usual stubbornness, only nodded and headed that way with Rain following behind.

  At the top of the staircase there was a long hallway with three doors on each side and one at the end. Rain moved in front of Lita and led her to the second door on the left, opening it and ushering her into a moderately sized bedroom. It was simply furnished, not personalized in any way. Lita supposed it was a guest room.

  “Sit,” Rain said, pointing to the bed. Lita dropped her heavy bag on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. She stared down at her hands in silence.

  II

  Downstairs in the kitchen, Alex had gone to the stove and motioned Amelie to sit at the table. She took up a chair and looked around the kitchen.

  “You have a lovely home,” she said.

  “Thank you,” Alex replied as he pulled a teapot down from one of the hooks above the stove and carried it over to the sink. “My brother built it himself. I wish I could say I helped, but I was…away for several years. When I came back it was already done.”

  “It’s just you and him living here?” Amelie asked.

  “It is. In fact, you and Lita are the only other people who’ve ever stepped foot inside this house. That I know of, anyway.” The teapot full, Alex shut off the sink and carried it to the stove.

  “It seems like a lot of space for only two people,” she said.

  Alex chuckled. “Not compared to the High Palace, it isn’t.”

  “No, I suppose not,” Amelie said with a smile.

  “I’m not sure I could live in a place that big. I feel like I’d get lost.” As the teapot heated up, Alex started retrieving mugs and other things from various cabinets.

  “I do feel a little lost in there sometimes,” Amelie replied distantly, her eyes drifting towards the bay windows and the moonlit landscape that lay outside. Alex said something then that she didn’t catch. “I’m sorry, what was that?” she asked, returning her attention to him.

  “I asked how you take your tea,” he said. “We have no cream, but we do have sugar and honey.”

  Amelie’s face lit up. “I haven’t had honey in months! I was told there had been a shortage this year!”

  Alex smiled. “My brother has a way of getting things that aren’t always easy to find. So honey it is then?”

  “Yes, please,” she said, returning his smile and feeling a warm blush creep up on her cheeks. Alex pretended not to notice, but he soon felt his own face start to burn as well.

  III

  Upstairs, a long silence had passed between the two of them. Rain had found a spot leaning against the closed door and was smoking a cigarette in a slow, thoughtful way he sometimes did, listening to the almost imperceptible hisses and crackles of burning tobacco and paper with each drag he took. Lita, however, had hardly moved at all. She still sat just staring down at her hands, feeling numb.

  “You’ve got to be the worst assassin I’ve ever heard of,” Rain finally said. “I can’t say I condone humans killing one another, but what in God’s name would possess you to try to rescue your…”

  For the second time since they met, Rain felt words fail him because of a single look in Lita’s eyes. This time, it wasn’t her rage that stopped him cold. It was something he hadn’t seen in her before. As she looked up at him, her green eyes glistened with tears.

  “The last person I killed was five years ago,” she said shakily, “and it was that girl’s mother.”

  Rain’s brow knitted. “What?”

  Lita opened her mouth, and before she knew it was happening, it all began spilling out. She barely touched on the matter of her uncle, but Rain read between the lines there. She told him about being raised to be an assassin. Then the assignment gone wrong that opened her eyes to what she was doing. Finally, her acceptance of this last job out of pure desperation to be free of this place that haunted her so.

  By the time she was finished, the strong-willed, brash woman was nearly sobbing and Rain, displaying a level of patience that can only be learned through immortality, stood silently listening.

  “When I saw that girl again, I couldn’t do it,” she whispered. “And when she asked me to help her, I couldn’t say no. I took from her the one thing I’ve always wished I’d had.” Her eyes were set on Rain, tears trickling down her cheeks. “Can you imagine what that did to me? What it’s like to lose your mother so young you can’t even remember her face, and then to be raised by a hateful, abusive bastard?”

  Rain’s jaw clenched reflexively. “I think you and I have more in common than you know.”

  Lita dropped her gaze once m
ore and shook her head. “I just don’t get it.”

  “What don’t you get?” Rain asked.

  “Why I took her. Why I agreed. I mean, I get why I couldn’t kill her, but this…this isn’t me. I don’t help people. I do what needs to get done to help me, and I get the fuck out. So why? Why did I take her?”

  Rain suddenly chuckled and Lita looked up quickly, hurt, thinking he was laughing at her. He raised a hand, assuring her that he was not.

  “Redemption is a funny thing,” he said in a gentle tone. “Even if we don’t ask for it—even if we don’t think we want it—sometimes we seek it out. In our words and our actions. Because something drives us to make right the things that we did. It’s what allows us to keep living with ourselves.”

  Lita nodded, then sniffled and wiped her nose. “I guess,” she said wearily. “Well, anyway, I brought her this far. I should get the hell out of here before I cause any more trouble. Just promise you won’t turn her away. She’s innocent in all of this.” She started to stand, but Rain stepped forward, gesturing for her to sit.

  “Nobody’s going anywhere,” he said. “There’s plenty of room in this house. Alex and I will help you look after her. Anyone who comes looking for either of you will have to answer to us.”

  Lita shook her head in disbelief and new tears sprang into her eyes. “Why? Why are you helping me after everything I did?”

  “We’re all looking for forgiveness from someone,” he said softly. “Even if it can’t come from those we hurt.”

  Lita sniffled again and wiped her eyes with her forearm. “Thank you,” she whispered. Rain nodded.

  “Take a few minutes to collect yourself, then come downstairs and we’ll all talk things over.” He turned to leave.

  “I don’t get you,” Lita said, almost inaudibly.

  Rain paused, looking back at her. “How do you mean?”

  She laughed briefly, a short, bitter sound. “All my life I’ve watched people do the most awful things imaginable to one another out of nothing more than greed and lust and anger.” She looked up at him, her eyes wide and naked. “But you’re a fucking vampire, yet you’re the first person who’s ever offered me anything without expecting something in return. You’re…” she paused, looking for the right word. “…unique. I can’t be the only one to see that about you, right?”