by L. M. Justus
Trudy gazed into his eyes as though considering whether to tell her story. She tucked a strand of her shoulder-length, slightly graying brown hair behind her ear, shuddered out a sigh and began. “Five years ago, I was having dinner with my boyfriend, Brian, and I guessed he was about to ask me to marry him. But before he got the chance to propose, we were attacked. Brian was killed, an engagement ring in his pocket. I fell during the attack and hit my neck, temporarily paralyzing my body from the waist down. I spent months recuperating and going to physio. One of the worst parts about the whole thing was that I knew we’d been attacked by a vampire, but no one believed me. There was no physical evidence–no bite marks–and the vampire disappeared without a trace.”
“This occurred in your place of residence?” Nathaniel asked.
“No, we were at a restaurant.”
Nathaniel frowned. “You were attacked in a public venue? Why did no one believe you if they witnessed the event?”
“We had a private room,” she explained. “No one saw what happened except me and Brian.”
“I see.” Nathaniel pondered her story for a minute in silence. “I am perplexed. The vampire in question should have altered your memory of the attack. The only explanation for such boldness would be a lack of sanity due to old age, but it is exceedingly rare for a vampire to reach such a state without meeting the sun as per our accepted traditions.”
Trudy shook her head. “I think he did try to make me forget, but it didn’t work. Liz thought it was because I’d had quite a lot to drink, plus I’d taken cold medicine. Somehow, that might have nullified his mind control.”
“Liz?”
“One of my fellow vampire hunters,” Trudy explained, her mouth twisting as if to hold in her emotions and bad memories. “I assume she was infected by the virus and died back in New York.”
“Oh. I am sorry. Her theory regarding your temporary immunity to mind control is most interesting. We could test you now, to see if you are completely immune, like Sarah.”
“Okay,” Trudy said with a hint of hesitation.
“Slap me,” Nathaniel commanded.
Trudy complied immediately. “Oh, my God! I’m so sorry.”
“No, it is all right,” he reassured her. “I told you to hit me. We can safely assume you are not able to resist vampire mind control however.”
Trudy blinked slowly before continuing. “Well, despite that vampire telling me to forget him, I’ll never forget his face. I see it in my nightmares all the time. It’s frustrating, knowing he got away with murder, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”
Nathaniel reached across the bed to curl his hand over Trudy’s, carefully watching for her reaction. Her skin was soft and warm, and he marveled at the electric sensation of the contact. They shared a look, and a feeling of compassion washed over Nathaniel.
“I am very sorry for your suffering, Trudy. I believe Brian would have been fortunate indeed to have you as a wife.” He pulled his hand back and tried to smile reassuringly. Trudy’s eyes glistened with unshed tears and she bobbed her head in unspoken agreement.
“Perhaps you should get some rest,” he suggested lightly. “I will not be very good company after I feed.”
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Unless you prefer privacy?”
“Not at all. This is natural for me. It is who I am, or . . . what I am, I suppose.” He lifted Albert’s arm and pushed up the sleeve to reveal the tender flesh of his wrist. Nathaniel’s fangs extended fully as he prepared to feed.
Trudy’s gaze remained fixed on Nathaniel, not shying away from observing the process. He bit down, and the blood flowed into his mouth. The nourishing liquid set a familiar fire to his thirsty veins; the process never ceased to invigorate him with life and pleasure. He closed his eyes, savoring the heady sensation as fresh blood infused every cell of his body.
When he finished, he licked the puncture wounds to heal them before sending Albert back upstairs to bed. He stretched out on the futon for his death sleep, turning to face Trudy as his eyelids grew heavy.
“Sleep well,” she said, and he was gone.
Nathaniel opened his eyes. Trudy was sitting next to him on the bed, her nose buried in a book.
“A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle,” he said, startling Trudy.
“Oh, you’re awake,” she said.
“Are you enjoying it?” he asked, indicating the book she had lowered onto her lap.
“I found it on one of the bookshelves and decided to flip through it for old time’s sake. I had to read it in school, ages ago. At the time I didn’t like it, but I’ll admit it’s actually quite good.” She smiled, and Nathaniel couldn’t help smiling back.
“It could not have been that long ago when you first read the book,” he said.
“You’d be surprised,” she chuckled. “I’m easily old enough to be Reed’s mother.”
“That is young to me,” he said.
“Are you . . . older than you look? If you don’t mind me asking, that is. I know vampires can appear much younger than they are.”
“I was twenty-eight when I was turned. The year was . . . 1793.”
Trudy gaped at him, but said nothing.
Nathaniel worried about his revelation shocking Trudy and alienating her, just when they had started to connect. “I have been attempting to finish War and Peace for over a hundred years,” he said, in an effort to have a more normal conversation. “But I seldom find the time to read. Or perhaps it is not the right genre for me. I did manage to make quick work of the multitude of Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”
She let out a long breath. “1793?” she said. “I can’t even imagine the things you must have seen in your lifetime. I’d love to hear about some of your experiences, if you’re willing to share,” she said. Her eyes were lit with curiosity and wonder, and Nathaniel felt strangely elated. He had never cared to relate tales from his past with anyone before, but the thought of describing his experiences to Trudy felt right.
Feet clomped down the stairs and Reed appeared at the bottom of the basement steps. He walked over to the bed, flopping down and squashing himself between Trudy and Nathaniel.
“I’m dying of boredom,” Reed stated. “The girls are asleep.”
He glanced between Trudy and Nathaniel, his nostrils flaring slightly at the scent of attraction in the air, and his face reddened. “Or, I could continue being bored upstairs.”
Trudy laughed. “It’s okay, Reed. I should try to get some sleep, and now that you’re here you can make sure Nathaniel’s not sitting all by himself.”
“Yes, it would be wise to rest up while you can, Trudy. We may have a long night ahead of us,” Nathaniel said. “Thank you for the enlightening conversation,” he added.
“Any time.” She grinned, stood up, and turned to head upstairs to rest for the day. Nathaniel appreciated the women adjusting to a vampire schedule.
“So what’s the plan?” Reed said.
Nathaniel shifted position, trying to get comfortable. “Stand up,” he said.
Reed frowned, but obeyed without question. Nathaniel transformed the futon back into a couch and sat down. He patted the spot next to him. “Please, sit.”
“Are you gonna answer my question?”
“I am thinking.”
Reed rolled his eyes.
“You must learn patience,” Nathaniel said.
“Okay, Yoda,” Reed said and sat down. He crossed his arms behind his head and slouched back.
Nathaniel blinked. “I swear at times I question whether we speak the same language.”
“Dude, if you don’t have a plan, it’s okay to say so. It’s not like I have any ideas, which is why I was hoping you had it all figured out.”
“I cannot predict how the local vampires will react to us and our predicament, however, the first thing we must do is identify ourselves to them,” Nathaniel said. “To do so, we shall enter the heart of Montreal where the
vampires on patrol will be sure to find us. Then we can request an audience with the King. What happens after that remains to be seen.”
“Okay, so here’s a crazy idea,” Reed said. “Forget about meeting the Montreal vampires. If we go ahead and turn one of the girls, the Queen will leave us alone and we can stop running.”
“You must be joking.”
“Sophie keeps saying she wants to be a vampire anyway, so let’s see if she’s serious.”
“You know Sarah will never agree to that. The risk is far too great,” Nathaniel argued.
“Well, it’s not really up to Sarah is it?”
“No, I am convinced the Montreal vampires can offer us protection from the Queen. We do not need to consider turning any of the women.”
Reed snorted. “You think the Montreal vampires can protect us from a four hundred-year-old vampire who’s stronger than all of us put together? They don’t even know us. Why would they bother?”
“We have much to offer them in terms of service. Your immunity to sunlight will be of particular interest to them, I am sure.”
Reed sat up, his gaze serious as he looked Nathaniel in the eye. “Listen, the Queen’s going to catch up to us, one way or another. I hope the Montreal vamps can help us, but if they can’t, the Queen’s going to choose one of the women and try to turn them. No offense to Sophie, but I can’t–”
He paused and clenched his fists, taking a moment to compose himself before continuing.
“I can’t stand to lose anyone else that I care about, Nathaniel. If it comes down to it, let’s face it, Trudy has the worst chance of surviving the transformation because she’s older. That leaves the other two. You’ve had to make hard decisions before, right?”
Nathaniel nodded.
“I’m just saying . . . if we’re backed into a corner; please don’t let anything happen to Sarah. No matter what you have to do.”
“I hope it will not come to that, but I shall do my best,” Nathaniel said.
“And don’t tell them I said any of this,” Reed added.
“Of course not. I promise I will keep this conversation strictly confidential. Now, why don’t you choose a book from one of these shelves to occupy yourself while we wait for the sun to set?”
Reed glanced at the books and grimaced. “I hate reading.”
“Ironic, considering your name is ‘Reed.’”
“Is that your version of a joke?”
“Merely an observation,” Nathaniel answered with a tight smile.
He was fond of the boy, but they were truly from different eras. Their instinct for survival and to protect the ones they cared for was the same, however. Soon, they would discover if their efforts to find a safe haven would become reality or be yet another failed dream.
Reed
Hanging out in a tiny basement with Nathaniel for a whole day was insanely boring. He was his usual non-talkative self and seemed almost in heaven browsing through the collection of crappy paperback novels lining Albert’s shelves. I’d learned my lesson about wishing for more excitement in my life, but man, I was beyond anxious to get out of that place.
After the sun had almost set, I went to feed from Albert’s wife as Nathaniel had suggested. I was jealous as hell of the others, who had just finished eating a stew that smelled delicious and had been simmering all day in a slow cooker. Somehow, I managed to keep my mouth shut and set about doing my duty without complaining.
I led Albert’s wife up the stairs and gestured for her to follow me into the bedroom. It was almost scary how easy it was to get her to obey my instructions; Nathaniel had done a great job prepping her for me with his mind control. I could imagine how powerful it would feel to have that ability myself, and how easy it would be to abuse it. Not that I had to worry about it since I couldn’t control anyone’s mind. To think there were vampires all over the world, hypnotizing humans to do God knows what; how crazy was that?
Brushing her hair aside to expose her neck, I waited for my fangs to extend while Albert’s wife stood still. My thirst took control, and I leaned over to pierce my teeth through her flesh. It was no stew, but I had to admit it still tasted really damn good. Even better than the flavor, the energy that infused my body was amazing.
I finished up and told her to go back downstairs. Crawling onto the bed, I dragged myself up to one of the pillows and then fell into my death sleep.
About an hour later, I woke up and jogged down to the main floor. Everyone was already putting on their winter stuff to head out. After a quick ‘hello,’ I threw on my coat and boots, and we filed out the front door.
It was a shock stepping into the freezing cold; the temperature had definitely dropped several more degrees. Albert led us to his beat-up old van and we crammed ourselves inside. There were only two seats, the driver’s seat and the passenger seat. Nathaniel sat up front with Albert and the rest of us sat huddled on the floor in the back.
The girls had looked groggy earlier, but the chilly air seemed to wake them up. Trudy and Sophie started up a quiet conversation while I snuggled closer to Sarah. I wrapped my arm around her and she nestled against me. Her familiar scent calmed me and I gave her a light kiss on the forehead.
We had been quiet for about half an hour when she asked, “What did you and Nathaniel talk about while we were sleeping?”
I darted a glance at Sophie. “Nothing,” I said. I quickly forced myself to imagine playing a game of football. I hoped Sarah hadn’t read my mind and found out about my suggestion to Nathaniel. It made sense to me–trying to turn Sophie into a vampire in order to get the Queen off our backs–but Sarah would disagree.
Sarah squinted at me. “Reed?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you trying to hide something from me?”
“No. Of course not.” I looked away.
“Reed, come on,” she said, turning my face toward her. “It’s all right. You don’t have to tell me everything. I trust you.”
I wanted to confide in her, but I didn’t want her to get mad at me. My top priority was keeping her safe. “I’ll die before I let anything happen to you,” I said.
She opened her mouth to reply just as the van slowed and pulled up to a curb in front of a large church.
I opened the double-doors at the rear of the van and we climbed out into the frigid night. There weren’t many people around even though it looked like we were in the heart of the city.
“The Notre Dame,” Albert said, gesturing to the church. “Farewell,” he added before getting back into his van. He pulled away from the curb and drove off toward home, leaving us downtown in the heart of Montreal.
“I’ve heard of the Notre Dame,” I said, lifting my head to take in the twin turrets from top to bottom.
“You are probably thinking of the Notre Dame in Paris,” Nathaniel said.
Trudy rubbed her hands over her arms. “It’s certainly impressive on the outside. Do you think we could peek inside and take advantage of the warmth while we’re at it?”
“Can vampires go inside churches?” Sophie asked.
“Of course,” Nathaniel said, leading the way.
We passed some newspaper boxes, and I scanned the headlines. Some of the papers were in English, but even without knowing any French, I could tell the headlines all said basically the same thing. In French, New York was still ‘New York’ and zombies was ‘les zombies.’
“Does anyone have a dollar?” I asked.
“Not a Canadian dollar,” Sophie said.
Nathaniel walked over and wrenched one of the boxes open. He reached in, grabbed a paper and gave it to me. Then he continued toward the church without saying a word.
I glanced at the broken newspaper box and turned to Sarah, who was shaking her head. “Okaaay,” I said, as I tucked the paper under one arm and guided Sarah toward the church with the other. Hopefully I’d get a chance to read the paper soon. I was more than a little curious to find out what had happened after we left and what the authorities were
going to do about the whole mess.
As our luck would have it, the church was locked outside regular visiting hours, which meant Nathaniel had to continue his streak of illegal activities by breaking in. He popped the door open and a welcome flow of warm air spilled over us. We went inside and got our first look at the cavernous interior.
Only a few lights were switched on for the night, but the sight was still breathtaking. Blue bulbs glowed at the front of the church, stretching along an expanse of gold statues and an intricate network of spires and columns. Our footsteps on the marble floor echoed across the vast space.
We chose a pew about halfway down the aisle and sat on the wooden bench to wait. Nathaniel had said he felt confident the Montreal vampires would come to us.
We didn’t have to wait long. Several minutes later, I detected a discreet scent I’d learned to associate with vampires. My heart leaped into my throat. What if it was the Queen? Then we were screwed and it was game over.
One of the huge church doors opened behind us. Three people stepped inside and let the door swing closed. Three vampires.
The first one looked about twenty years old, slim and a bit shorter than average, but with movie star looks and clean-cut tawny hair. The second appeared older, maybe mid-forties, broad shouldered and with a square jaw that set off his serious expression. The last was a surprise–a rare female vampire–with long dark hair and slightly Asian features. All three of them were dressed in typical winter clothing and struck me as a perfectly average-looking group of people. You would never have guessed they were vampires in a million years.
“Bon soir,” the shorter male said. He and his companions approached us and stopped about ten feet away.
Nathaniel stood and dipped his head. “Good evening.”
The rest of us stood and waited for Nathaniel to do the talking.
“My name is Nathaniel,” he said, assuming they would understand English. “We wish to request an audience with your King, however if he wants us to leave his territory we will do so at once.”
