Enduring Service

by Regina Morris

  “Yes. If you’re sure you can drive.” After she nodded that she could drive, he stood and walked her out of the room. “Another vamp baby?”

  Sulie reached in her purse to pull out her keys. “Vamps prefer to have vamp doctors and I’m the only game in town when it comes to obstetrics.”

  “But what about what you wanted to tell me?” he asked.

  “It’s nothing,” she said, feeling guilt and relief at the same time as she put this conversation, and her love life, on hold yet again.

  Chapter Five

  Sulie parked in the reserved parking for doctors at Washington Memorial Hospital and sent a quick text with her phone. Her leather medical bag lay on the passenger seat. Grabbing her bag, she exited the car, walked to the trunk and opened it. From a hidden panel, she picked up a bag of blood and put the extra food in her medical bag. The mother would need excess blood after the birth. Many times a new vampire mother would age decades immediately following the birth and Sulie liked to be prepared. Her expertise was one of the many reasons vampires sought out her services instead of going to a human doctor.

  Her phone rang as she shut the trunk and pushed the lock button on her car’s key fob. Recognizing the number as the new patient, Sulie quickened her pace to the garage exit as she answered the phone. “Are you at the hospital?”

  “The baby’s coming!” the man shrieked over the phone.

  “Where are you?” Sulie raced towards the stairs leading to the hospital entrance. In the background, she could hear a woman screaming and asking if the man could see the baby’s head.

  “We pulled into the ground floor.”

  Sulie stopped mid stride. “Ground floor? Of the parking garage?” She scanned the area and noticed a sign on the wall indicating she had parked on the fourth floor. She thought it odd that the expectant couple didn’t go to the emergency entrance.

  “Yes. Handicapped spot… Oh, my God! Come quick!”

  Another yell from the woman had Sulie running for the stairs. Taking the steps at vampire speed, she opened the door to the first floor and ran towards the row of handicapped parking spots. Instantly, she picked up the presence of other predators nearby and knew it to be the vampire family waiting for her. A green minivan with its sliding door was open. A man stood outside the door telling the woman inside to breathe.

  Bingo. Not much of a search, thank goodness.

  “I’m Dr. Anna Smith,” Sulie said, using her current alias for this hospital. “Everything is going to be okay.” Sulie rushed past the man and leaned into the minivan. The pregnant vampire appeared young. Sulie would have guessed her to be in her early twenties, which meant she was dealing with a purebred vampire. Turned humans and half–breeds couldn’t get their base Jahrling age down past their mid–twenties. This base Jahrling age, the age of maturity and fang development for vampires, was the required age that a female vampire had to be at, and maintain, to conceive and carry a baby to term. Pregnancy proved to be a difficult process, especially in leaner times when food was scarce, but it meant that all vampire babies were basically conceived on purpose and not by accident. To see a couple make it to the point of giving birth usually meant that they fully intended to love and raise the child they were bringing into this world. It was one of the many reasons Sulie loved her job.

  The mother–to–be laid across the two middle seats; her face twisted in pain and her dress was wet and pulled up past her knees as she moaned. Overall, Sulie thought the vampire looked healthy, which was a good sign.

  Sulie stepped into the van and reached for the woman’s wet dress. “You’re going to be fine. Your water has already broken so the baby will be here soon.”

  Another groan came from the woman, and she shifted her body back into the car seat against the other sliding door.

  “I know you’re in pain. I’m a doctor and I need to examine you.” Sulie moved farther into the van. She had just finished telling the man to dial the hospital number to get an emergency unit to the car when she heard the van door closing behind her. Sulie paid the movement no mind as she concentrated on her task. Again she reached for the woman’s dress so she could discover if the baby was crowning. There existed a chance that this woman was going to give birth in their Honda Odyssey and Sulie needed to know how far along the delivery had progressed. Sulie lifted the woman’s dress and couldn’t believe what she saw. She found a rubber pregnancy suit underneath. It wasn’t until the woman stopped panting, put her legs down and calmly said, “Hello Sulie,” that Sulie knew this was no new patient.

  Chapter Six

  Dixon drove up to Fang Manor, the stately mansion where the vampires lived. The three–story house sat on a ten acre lot along a quiet dead end road and was an hour’s drive outside the city. Tonight was poker night. Dixon tended to be the big loser when he played, but he didn’t play for the win. He loved the company.

  He parked his car along the driveway leading to the garage. The mansion had been the home of the vampires since well before Dixon took office. Over the past few decades, the manor had undergone changes. The place now had a sleeping deck on the third floor, a beautiful porch that wrapped around the front of the house, a restored basement and even an apartment over the detached garage. Fang Manor was a beautiful brick home, which sat in the middle of nowhere. Perfect for a den of vampires.

  Before exiting the car, Dixon grabbed a technical journal which lay on the passenger seat. This one discussed the latest apps for remotely running a home. Overall, not the most mentally challenging of documents to read, but enough to occupy his mind with numbers. Fooling Sulie proved to be one thing, but fooling her brother was a whole new ballgame. The vampire had the ability to pick up mental patterns. The last thing Dixon wanted was for Raymond to suspect any romantic intentions Dixon had for the man’s sister. Dixon felt he wasn’t good enough for Sulie and he didn’t need to hear that truth from his best friend. Plus, it would make his work as the Colony Director awkward. When dealing with vampires, attacks against the government, protecting the president — he didn’t need awkward in the mix. He needed trust and respect.

  A cool breeze hit him as he exited the car. Dixon took a tentative sniff into the air, but smelled no food cooking. The time ran past the dinner hour and the absence of food surprised him. Sulie always made something for him to eat when he came over. She had promised fish for him this evening.

  He walked past the gazebo, the rose bushes, and up to the wooden steps leading to the kitchen. The security alarm always remained activated at the house. Dixon punched in the special code, submitted to an iris eye exam, and to a fingerprint scanner. The alarm beeped, allowing him access. The building had a top of the line security model, which was detailed in another technical journal Dixon owned. One that he had nearly memorized, like many others, he read so often.

  Once in the house, he noticed Sterling, Sulie’s nephew, in the kitchen. The half–breed stood nearly as tall as Dixon, but the similarities ended there. Sterling looked GQ pretty and had the blond hair and tanned body that models envied. He wasn’t as strong as the other vampires in the group, but a far cry from a weak human. Tonight Sterling dressed in his old skin coverings, which resembled long–johns, preventing his skin from touching anything. Dixon understood the half–breed’s ability to flash on every object he touched — gleaning the object’s history in a painful process which caused Sterling to have headaches and skin rashes. Tonight, Sterling even wore gloves. It meant one thing — his wife Kate wasn’t in the house. He never needed to be that covered when his lovely pregnant wife was around.

  Overall, Sterling was easy to fool. Dixon just couldn’t let the vampire touch him or Sterling would be able to read emotions from his skin. It wasn’t like they went around hugging or anything, so Dixon rarely had to be on guard with him.

  “Grab me a beer too, will ya Sterling?” Dixon asked, smiling.

  “Sure thing.” He handed Dixon a cold bottle from the refrigerator after Dixon put his keys and coat down on the kitchen t
able.

  Fang Manor remained quiet, which seemed odd considering how many vampires lived in the mansion. Other than William, who had pulled White House duty tonight, Dixon wondered where everyone was — especially Sulie. “Where is everyone?” he asked.

  Sterling shrugged his shoulders. “The women are out to dinner with the kids. I think they’re getting pizza or something.”

  Dixon knew Sterling probably meant his pregnant wife Kate, their friend Jackie and her three children. “Did Sulie go with them?”

  Sterling took a sip of his beer, but then raised an eyebrow. “She’s not with you?”

  Dixon kept his voice level and remembered he didn’t need to play the numbers game in his head. “Not since after the press conference when she had an emergency at the hospital.”

  Sterling shook his head. “She must still be there.”

  A slight chill ran up Dixon’s spine, but he dismissed the sensation. “Babies take time I guess.” Dixon used the bottle opener on his key chain to open his beer. He glanced over at the empty stove and oven. “No food tonight.” Dixon was well aware that vampires did not eat human food unless they were younger than their Jahrling year or if they were pregnant or nursing a baby. Sulie, however, was willing to cook just for him, and even though he was not looking forward to eating fish tonight, he was hungry.

  “Dude. Get a clue and brown bag it. I mean, it’s entertaining as hell watching you choke down my aunt’s cooking, but you must pass dozens of fast food places to get here.” Sterling took a sip from his bottle as he headed out of the kitchen but then stopped shy of the door. “But, if you are hungry, feel free to make yourself something.”

  “I think I’ll wait.” Dixon smiled. Last week Sulie surprised him with a Mexican lasagna. Overall, it wasn’t bad, but the cilantro and basil did not blend well. Sometimes she’d pick up food on the way home. Those were the best meals.

  “I’m sure she’ll be home soon,” Sterling said as he left the kitchen.

  Dixon glanced at the antique clock which hung on the kitchen wall. He had helped Sulie pick out that clock several years ago from one of their favorite antique stores. The time was already late. He wondered how much longer she’d be.

  He took his beer and followed Sterling to the green poker table in the living room. Before taking a seat at the table, he swung by the light switch and turned on the overhead light. The vampires didn’t need it, but his aging eyes appreciated the new brightness in the room. More and more team members arrived at Fang Manor during the next hour, but there was no sign of Sulie anywhere. Daniel, Ben, Sterling, Raymond and Dixon sat around the table and played five card draw.

  Dixon scanned the vamps around the table. The two strongest members of the team were present. Raymond, with his dark hair and formidable build, had a noble quality about him, always watching out for all the team members — especially his sister, Sulie. And Ben, who was actually the largest member of the team. It wasn’t only his height, because he stood as tall as Raymond, but his massive build which made him the most physically intimidating. If not for his superhuman strength and speed, Ben could fit into any major league football team in the nation. In fact, both Raymond and Ben had a superhero quality about them.

  “Sulie deserves her own superhero. Not a weak human”, he thought as he continued looking at his team members.

  Sterling had the smallest build of the group, but he was the only half–breed among them — half human and half vampire. A hybrid in every sense of the word. He looked nothing like his father, Raymond. The boy had picked up much of his fair–haired, Shaun Cassidy appearance from his mother’s side of the family. Overall, he was a good kid. Dixon knew Sterling was already 180 years old, but still thought of the vamp as younger than himself. It was easy to do when the vampires chose to look as young as their Jahrling year — which Sterling always did.

  Dixon paused when he got to Daniel. The vamp was born the same year as Dixon. He had been turned decades ago, but decided to continue aging. Daniel’s hair had grown whiter than Dixon’s, and he had a few age spots around his face. The vampire resembled any elderly history professor you’d stumble upon on any college campus.

  Dixon took in a deep breath. Daniel was living the life Dixon had asked for, but could not have because the Vampire Council had denied his request. He couldn’t hold it against Daniel for being a vampire, but grew envious as hell for the vamp’s good fortune.

  He now stared at the empty spot at the table. Sulie usually sat next to Dixon, but tonight her chair remained empty. She should be here.

  Each time he heard a car approaching the mansion, Dixon felt hopeful. But each time, it wasn’t Sulie. As the night went on, his worry increased, especially since she didn’t answer her cell phone.

  He had sent her six unanswered texts over the last few hours. She always answered his calls and texts. He shifted in his seat and tried to get comfortable, but it seemed a lost cause. His mind wasn’t on poker, and he had already lost every hand they played. Studying his watch, he asked for the fourth time, “Shouldn’t Sulie be here by now?”

  “I’m sure she’s fine,” Raymond assured him. He dealt another round, but Dixon didn’t even glance at his cards. Instead, Dixon tried to fill his mind with technical details of weapons and other work related information. He knew his worry was manifested into strong emotions and thought patterns that Raymond could easily pick up. The last thing he wanted to do was to alarm Raymond that a human was interested in his sister.

  “She’s been late before. Why are you so worried?” Ben asked.

  Damn. Ben’s ability to pick up a human aura had been always the hardest for Dixon to fool.

  “Sulie seemed irritable today,” Dixon said, latching onto something which had bothered him since lunch. “Something was obviously on her mind, but she wouldn’t tell me what bothered her. We went to lunch today, and she had so many double scotches the waiter refused to serve her more.”

  “Scotch?” Ben asked. Everyone at the table exchanged glances.

  “It does sound rather off,” Daniel said in his faded English accent.

  “That doesn’t sound like her,” Sterling added.

  It didn’t. Dixon knew she never went for the hard stuff. He swallowed the lump in his throat. He should have pressed her for more details. “After the press conference, she received a call from the hospital and left. I haven’t seen or talked to her since.”

  “Well, we all saw her at the press conference earlier,” Sterling said. “But, I haven’t talked to her since last night.”

  Daniel shook his head. “Yesterday morning for me.”

  “Breakfast — two days ago,” Ben added.

  “So I was the last one to see her? That was about 3:00 this afternoon.” He raked through his snowy white hair. “She’s been gone hours and no one knows where she is.”

  “I got a text from her a little after she left you,” Raymond said.

  Dixon darted his eyes over to Raymond’s. “And?” Dixon demanded, his voice slightly raised.

  Raymond tossed his cards on the table, obviously giving up any hope of continuing the game. He took a deep breath, and then in an even tone said, “She was upset.”

  Dixon now sat at the edge of his chair, not even caring that he had given up quoting long range scanner variants in his mind. “What did she text?”

  “It’s a private matter.”

  Dixon felt the tension in the air and knew something was up; he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Of course, Sulie and Raymond were close, but it almost sounded like they were keeping secrets. That didn’t sound like either of them. He looked around the table at the other team members. The expressions on their faces were those of surprise as well.

  Raising his voice, Dixon asked, “Why was she upset?”

  Raymond shook his head. “Again, it was personal.”

  “Damn it, Raymond. Something could have happened to her. No one has heard from her in hours, she’s not answering her phone… she could be hurt, in the hospit
al, or something.”

  Biting his lip, Raymond said calmly, “First, I doubt she’s in a hospital unless she’s still working. Secondly, her phone could easily have been drained of power and she doesn’t have her charger. And lastly, she is a trained killer and an immortal. There isn’t too much she couldn’t handle on her own.”

  Dixon thought about that. Sulie was capable of handling herself in tight spots. He had three decades of first hand experience with that. But the idea of her being in a car accident, or… he couldn’t even allow his mind to go to the other possibilities.

  “It’s only been a few hours, mate. I’m sure she’s fine. Just needed some time to calm down, that’s all,” Daniel reassured him.

  Dixon was pretty sure the answer would be “no”, but still asked, “Is she dating anyone? Is that what could have upset her?”

  Sterling shook his head, threw his cards down on the table, and mumbled, “Unbelievable.”

  “No. She isn’t dating anyone at the moment,” Raymond said giving his son a stern look, which made Dixon pause.

  “Well, did she have anyone new in her life? At the hospital, maybe?” Dixon asked, shifting anxiously in his seat.

  “Sulie has run away in the past.” Raymond explained. “It was a pattern for her as a child. She ran away once after our parents’ death and again when her engagement ended.”

  Dixon’s eyebrow rose. “She was engaged?” he asked as he held up his hand to stop Raymond from continuing.

  “The engagement was a long time ago, long before her Jahrling year when she transitioned into an adult vampire.”

  Dixon knew Jahrling years, at least for purebred vampires, came at the same time humans would experience their wisdom teeth coming in. Instead of useless molars, vampires had their fangs descend. “Her Jahrling base age is twenty–two. She must have been engaged fairly young.”