Dead and Breakfast

by Lisa Rene' Smith

  Alex could no longer keep it in. She burst into giggles, covering her mouth with her hand as if that would stop the insulting guffaws. “Sorry—sorry.” Alex wiped tears from her cheeks onto her shirtsleeve. “Sorry, really—a vampire huh?”

  Effie frowned but didn’t mention her giggling fit. “So, want some breakfast?”

  After ordering, Alex twisted around on her barstool to stare out the windows at the now bustling small town. Everyone appeared normal, but she knew the entire population must believe the same nonsense that this old couple did. A vampire? Oh please. This east Texas town is a far cry from Transylvania, and vampires don’t exist…

  But what was it that graced the shadows outside her window last night?

  * * * *

  Alex made her way back to the lodge, her mind reeling with all the information she picked up during her trip into Evergreen. Bethanne, the woman who disappeared, had been there one day, and gone the next. She’d been engaged to the Sheriff in town and he’d almost lost his sanity when she vanished. The clerk at the grocery store said he raged for months about the vampire hiding in the woods near the lodge—the vampire that came and took Bethanne’s life. Her body had never been found.

  No proof that Bethanne hadn’t just run off with another man. Nobody said anything about that. Why was that Sheriff so all-fired sure an alleged vampire murdered Bethanne?

  * * * *

  After unloading the groceries, Alex decided to explore the grounds. The cabins she’d drooled over in the internet pictures dotted the woods surrounding the larger lodge. She found many of them still furnished and in surprisingly good condition—almost as if the occupants left last week. With just a little dusting they would be ready for guests.

  Alex closed the last cabin door and stepped down off the porch, slipping the ring of keys back into her pocket. Despite the afternoon heat, chills washed over Alex’s skin and she rubbed her palms down her arms to try and ward them off. Nothing helped. The tiny blonde hairs stood erect, electrified and screaming of the silent danger threatening her. Heart pounding in her ears, Alex turned and dashed back to the lodge, throwing the heavy door open and slamming it shut behind her. Sweat poured between her breasts, soaking her sports bra as she fell against the door gasping for breath. What the hell just happened?

  Several long moments passed before the trembling in her legs ceased and she eased away from the door. She’d let those silly town folk’s stories get to her! Alex laughed out loud, her voice echoing inside the immense log building. She had to pull herself together or she’d never be able to open this place as a Bed & Breakfast. How could she get people to stay here if she ran around her own place of business with invisible foes on her heels? How ridiculous.

  With slow sliding steps, Alex crossed the room to stand in front of the fireplace. Hmm. Yesterday she hadn’t noticed that the stones for the large hearth looked a bit different than the rest of the immense rock formation. A close match, yes, but a slightly different shade of the muddy red color that made up the rest of the fireplace. She sat on the hearth and the temperature plummeted around her as soon as her butt cheeks met the smooth rock. Springing to her feet, she dashed to the middle of the room and stared back at the huge stones as if they would roll toward her in an avalanche bent on crushing the life from her body. There had to be some reason for the strange draft around here. A cold wind inside the lodge—it seemed crazy.

  The ringing phone in her pocket distracted her from the odd chill and surreal experience. She welcomed the interruption.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey Girl. Were you ever gonna call me again? You move into your new place and just drop little ol Maddie like a hot potato.”

  Alex laughed. She’d just seen Maddie, oh gosh, was it yesterday?

  “Hey, why don’t you drive back up here and help me? You’d freak over the cabins—they barely even need cleaning, no kidding.”

  “Well I was about to ask if you needed me to bring you anything.”

  “No thanks, Maddie. I went into Evergreen and picked up everything I need for now—even some wine coolers.”

  “Hey, I may just have to come up there and help you drink those wine coolers.” They both laughed, knowing Maddie wouldn’t make that long drive again any time soon, not when she had her current love interest, Sam, there demanding her attention.

  Alex heard Maddie’s quick intake of breath, then silence screamed across the airwaves as she prepared to say something else.

  “I did a bit of research on your new place.”

  “What?”

  “Shh. Don’t get mad at me Alex. It’s weird you know. That woman, the owner of the Pine Lodge, Bethanne Martin, disappeared without a trace the week before her wedding to Sheriff Thomas.”

  “Yeah, I already know. I heard all that when I went into town.”

  “Well the reporter that wrote this article said the Sheriff reported…” Maddie laughed into the phone, but it sounded tinny and forced. “He swore up and down that a vampire killed his fiancé. Said he saw him with his own eyes and the monster would kill anyone that ventured out to that place too. And get this—the Sheriff’s investigation found no proof at all of the crime. Without a body, law enforcement could do little more than send out a missing person’s bulletin.”

  “Well according to the town residents, it’s all true. Maddie, they won’t even leave their homes when the sun is down. I just don’t get how logical people can believe such a crock of shit! I expect to see Mulder and Scully here any day.”

  Maddie laughed with Alex at the ‘X-Files’ joke, then she grew serious.

  “Well you just watch yourself, sweetie. Don’t go outside after dark. What if there really is a monster in your woods?”

  “I’ll be fine—really. The sheriff says he’ll stop by every day to check in. He’s quite friendly, though a bit too nosy if you ask me.”

  Alex hung up her phone and went to the kitchen for one of those wine coolers. Yum. Strawberry. She downed that one and had another. All warm inside, she no longer even thought about those odd chills or the silly rumors perpetuated by an entire town.

  * * * *

  Alex worked hard every day and just a week later the place looked great, though she fell into bed most nights weak with exhaustion. The restless nights wore her down.

  The strange shadow visited her every evening, but now she waited for it, the scratch at the window, the darkness crossing in front of the moon. No longer frightened by it, during those times she didn’t feel so lonely.

  Her only other contact came when the sheriff drove out to check on her. He made himself at home and even nosed around the lodge, looking into nooks and crannies as if he might find a burglar hiding there. She’d asked him what he searched for and his answer—a muffled, ‘nothin.’ He always told her to “be careful” before he drove off, his handsome brow creased with worry.

  * * * *

  Another evening rolled around and the chill seemed more present than ever before, washing over Alex as she washed dishes, scrubbed toilets and put fresh linens on the numerous beds. She swept the hardwood floors with the cold draft swishing around her bare ankles, crawling up her spine and entwining through her hair. At least the heat of the Texas autumn didn’t faze her with her own personal air conditioner ever present. She couldn’t escape it so she stopped trying. It never caused harm, just made its ‘presence’ known.

  “Okay, time to shower. Skeedaddle Chilly.” Alex laughed at herself, talking to nobody. She should get a dog, and soon, before she ended up in the loony bin. She pictured the psychiatrist bending over her as she reclined in a padded room, her arms twisted behind her in a straitjacket. “So tell me Miss Murphy, does Chilly talk to you?”

  Fresh from her shower, Alex stepped into the bedroom and stopped short. An exquisite young man stood in the middle of the room, a scowl marring his gorgeous dark face.

  “Why have you summoned me here?” His bellow startled Alex and she dropped her towel, leaving her naked body exposed to the i
ntruder.

  Alex scrambled to pick up the towel and wrap it around her shivering body. As she bent over, damp hair fell from the smaller towel twisted on top of her head, covering her face like a thick, smothering blanket. Now frantic, she swiped at clinging hair with one hand and tried to hold a terry cloth barrier over her nudity with the other.

  “Who the hell are you?” Alex fumbled as she screeched at the now very amused man. His scowl turned into a lecherous grin, showing off even white teeth that glowed in her darkened room.

  “What are you doing here?” His smile didn’t waver at her words. “I’m calling the sheriff.”

  The smirk vanished, his lips now thin slashes above his chin. “You will not call that man.”

  “I’ll…” Alex hesitated, wondering why she didn’t feel more alarmed by his presence. “Why shouldn’t I call the sheriff?”

  “I don’t trust him. Plus, you called me and I am here.” He crossed his arms, nice arms, in front of his chest and widened his stance to show that he had no intention of leaving any time soon.

  “I did no such thing. I haven’t the slightest idea who you are, how you got into my lodge or what you want!”

  He tilted his head to the side, examining her as she spoke. She got the sensation that he did more than just watch her and if she weren’t already undressed she would feel naked now.

  “Hmm. I sense that you speak the truth, yet the summons came from this place. I am not mistaken about that.”

  “What are you—a genie? I haven’t been rubbing any bottles.”

  He stepped toward her, a slight smile brightening his already handsome face. “I have something you can rub on.”

  Heat flashed into Alex’s face and washed down her body as he drew near and she backed away until her heels hit the foot of the chest of drawers. He trapped her with his dark eyes and held her captive there against the rough furniture.

  “The least you could do is allow me a small taste before I must be on my way. I traveled a considerable distance to reach you.”

  She held her breath as his fingertips touched her chin, tilting her head to the side. She saw his sharp teeth resting against a full lower lip as he bent to her throat. Oh no, the vampire story is real!

  Chilly came back and whipped up a frigid breeze between them. The vampire backed away, horrified, and Alex knew he felt it too. “What is this? You have a spirit protecting you?”

  “A spirit?” Alex rolled her eyes—then it dawned on her that she didn’t believe in ghosts, and she had a vampire standing beside her.

  “Why did you kill Bethanne Martin? Did you drain her blood?” Alex raised her voice, hysteria not far away even though he sure didn’t act like a killer.

  The vampire stumbled back and fell onto her bed. “Kill her? Kill her? I loved Bethanne. She planned to go away with me but she stood me up. I knew then she had decided to stay with her fiancé, the sheriff, instead. I left these woods, alone and brokenhearted.”

  Alex shook her head, avoiding his gorgeous eyes—not knowing if he lied through his pointed teeth. She grabbed her clothes out of the drawer behind her and slid toward the bathroom. Standing in the doorway, she took in his dejected posture. “Listen, lemme get some clothes on. Don’t leave, okay?” Why the heck did she just ask him to stick around? She really had lost it!

  After getting dressed, Alex rushed out of the bathroom to find him gone.

  “Down here, Alex.”

  Whoa—he knew her name!

  Beneath that hideous antler chandelier stood the vampire, a beautiful sculpted titan, glaring at the fireplace. Alex stopped on the stairs, hesitant about approaching him. Menace emanated from him in angry ripples.

  “Are you okay?” Her voice squeaked and came out sounding like a little girl’s.

  “Did you do this?” The vampire pointed at the fireplace and looked back at her baffled face. “I see that you have no idea what I’m talking about. Your smoky blue eyes, no, your entire face is so very expressive.”

  “Um…” Do vampires have names?

  “Did you notice the difference in the rock here on the large hearth? And my name is Micah.”

  Oh Micah…come to Mama. Again her cheeks blazed. He must be influencing her with his special powers—that had to be why these licentious thoughts entered her frazzled mind.

  “So Micah, do you know that the entire town of Evergreen is afraid to come out at night because you killed Bethanne?”

  His hands in tight fists, he turned to face her. She watched his jaw move as he ground his teeth together. When he spoke, his voice reached her as if in a maelstrom of raw emotion. “I did not kill my Bethanne. I would never hurt her.”

  Alex believed him. Chilly wove around her waist, caressing her hair again with long even strokes. Comforting touches, these sensations she had witnessed time and time again since she moved into the lodge. This time Alex could swear that Chilly tried to let her know she also believed Micah. It sounded crazy, but so was standing in the same room with a vampire, talking as if no danger existed.

  “So how do you think this rumor about the murder got started then? She was supposed to marry the sheriff.”

  Micah shook his head. “She was engaged to him, yes. But she loved me. She planned to leave him and come with me to Europe.” He strode over to the fireplace and kneeled in front of the hearth, running his fingers over the stones as if they held the story there in Braille. “He frightened her. The sheriff wanted to control every facet of her life.”

  He stood, turned, and sat on the hearth. Alex watched as his soft looking hair seemed to move on its own and he turned his head one way then the other. Chilly! Chilly stroked his dark hair.

  “Strange isn’t it?” Alex smiled as she watched his hair lift again. “I’ve been visited by these chilly hands since I got here. It scared me at first, but not any more. Chilly keeps me company.”

  “Chilly?”

  “Well I had to call the ghost something and the air always gets very cold when she is near.”

  “She?”

  “Just a guess. She likes to play with my hair—and apparently, yours too.” She laughed as his hair flipped out from the side of his head and settled again like fine strands of black silk.

  “So did the fireplace look like this when you bought the lodge?” He gestured at the wide hearth as he spoke.

  “Yes, it did. I thought that the extremely wide hearth looked a little odd, but figured someone wanted to make it a place for people to sit…” Alex giggled. “…a lot of people to sit.”

  He smiled and the breath caught in Alex’s throat. Nobody should look that good.

  “Well, this is new. Bethanne must have done this after I left. It saddens me to think that she covered my lair on purpose. It is almost as if she wanted to bury my memory.”

  “But, Micah—Bethanne disappeared one week before her wedding.”

  Jumping to his feet, he crossed the room in three strides and grabbed her by the shoulders. “What are you saying? Do you still think that I killed my beloved? I’m telling you—I left without her. She chose not to meet me.”

  Alex winced as his fingers dug into her muscles. “You’re hurting me.”

  Micah jerked his hands away so fast that he threw Alex off balance. With another quick move, he caught her by the arm and steadied her. “Sorry dear.”

  “It’s okay. Hey you said your lair? You lived here?”

  His eyes clouded with pain. “Yes, I did. I don’t like the cold. I spent winters here. The wine cellar was perfect for me. This fireplace, well it was a walk-in and inside the rock walls a door to the steep stairway remained hidden from the view of anyone in the room. Quite ingenious really and not a soul knew about it until Bethanne. She caught me one night as I left my lair and exited the fireplace.” He laughed as he reminisced. “To say that I surprised her is a huge understatement.”

  Alex couldn’t keep her curiosity at bay any longer. She moved to the fireplace, stepped up on the raised hearth and peered into the cavernous mou
th of the rock structure. The rock inside didn’t appear blackened at all, as if no fire had burned here. Yes, the fireplace had been remodeled, with new stones lining the interior and the huge smooth rock bench outside. If there had been a door there, it no longer existed.

  “Well, I guess the real question is—where is Bethanne? If she didn’t leave with me and the sheriff told the entire town I killed her—where is she?”

  Chilly whipped into a frenzy, surrounding Alex as she stared into the fireplace. The wind raged up the chimney and formed a vortex in the narrow passage.

  “We should remove this rock, everything that was not here when you last visited this place.” Excited, Alex turned to Micah. He rushed to join her.

  “I agree.”

  “Step away, the both of you.” The startled pair whipped around to see the Sheriff, holding his rifle, pointed right at Micah’s chest.

  “What is wrong with you? This man is a friend of mine.” Alex put her hands on her hips and glared at Sheriff Thomas.

  A strangled sound left the sheriff’s lips and spit ran down his chin. His face turned a livid maroon and the chords popped out in his neck. “I know who that is!” His clenched throat made the words sound gargled, under water.

  “Get away from that monster Ms. Murphy. Get away before you get hurt.”

  “Sheriff. He’s not a monster.”

  “I see he has already used his unholy influence on you too.”

  Micah rushed at the Sheriff and the rifle fired, striking him in the shoulder. Blood soaked his shirt as Micah fell to the floor, clutching his wound.

  Alex screamed and bent to help Micah. The sheriff bellowed. “No! Stop or I’ll shoot you too.”

  “I thought an officer of the law would protect people, not shoot them.” Tears poured down her face like the blood flowing from Micah’s gunshot wound.

  “That creature is not human, young lady. You should’ve minded your own damn business. None of this had to happen.”

  “What are you talking about? I bought this property to turn it into a Bed & Breakfast. This is my business and this man is my guest.” Alex twisted her lips into a sneer as she stared into the sheriff’s hateful face. “What really happened to Bethanne?”