by Billy Lyon
A stunned Eric lying motionless on the ground was what Steven had hoped to achieve. Before Eric could recover and switch out of his bat form, Steven changed back into his vampire body and snatched Eric into his hands. He held Eric aloft by each of his wingtips. Eric wiggled and squirmed in a wild attempt to break free, but Steven held fast. In triumph he lifted the prize high above his head and let loose a victory scream that split the sky.
The others stepped out from the shadows. Anna Marie rushed to Steven and grabbed his arms. “Enough! You’ve won, Steven, so let him go.”
Steven reluctantly obeyed and choked back the all-consuming bloodlust that threatened to overtake him. Shortly after, Eric transformed back into his vampire body. He stood glaring at the others, with frightened, dangerous eyes. Steven approached Eric and offered his hand. “Can we call a truce, Eric? I’d like for the two of us to be friends again.”
Eric looked at Steven’s hand as if it were a dog turd he’d scraped off the bottom of his shoe, and slapped it away. “Go fuck yourself. I don’t need your truce or your friendship.” He turned to Anna Marie. “And I sure as hell don’t need you.”
“Eric, please don’t do this,” Anna Marie said. “I’m sorry that I don’t love you the way you want, but I do care about you. Everyone here does.”
Teresa stepped forward and placed a hand on Eric’s shoulder. “Anna Marie is right Eric,” she said in a soft voice. “No one cares about what happened here tonight. Let’s forget about it and move forward as a clan.”
Eric’s face twisted with rage. He looked at Anna Marie while pointing at Steven. “Keep your boy-toy, Your Majesty,” he growled. “Have fun with him while you can, but mark my words. You’ll be sorry.” He glanced wildly at each one of them before bringing his gaze back to Anna Marie. “You’ll all be sorry.” Then, he ran off into the woods.
21
It was at least a quarter of an hour before anyone said anything, mainly because no one knew what to say. Anna Marie squeezed Steven’s hand.
“I’m really sorry, everyone,” Steven said. “All I wanted to do was show Eric that I could handle myself.”
Anna Marie tried to smile. “It’s not your fault, Steven. It’s mine. I should have taken Eric aside and hashed this out with him away from everyone else. He’s just so damned headstrong and proud that he won’t listen to anyone. He always has been.” She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a packet of cigarettes, lit one, and took a deep drag. As she exhaled, she cast a bleak look towards the ground. “Some leader I am.”
“Stop being so hard on yourself,” Teresa said. “This situation has been building for God knows how long and it had to come to a head sooner or later. We all know that Eric despises authority of any kind, and can’t stand orders unless he’s the one giving them. He only used the relationship between you and Steven as an excuse. He’ll come back in a few days once he realizes we aren’t going to chase after him and beg him to return.”
“Thanks, Teresa,” Anna Marie said, “but I’m not as sure as you are that he’ll return. As angry as he’s been in the past I never saw him look the way he did just now.”
I wonder if anyone has ever gotten mad and left the clan before? Steven wondered. Surely Eric can’t be the first vampire to lose his cool in such a big way. I’ll ask Anna Marie later. The best thing for me I can do right now is shut the hell up. I’ve already caused enough trouble.
Samantha took the half-smoked cigarette from Anna Marie’s hand and took a drag before handing it back. “Teresa’s right. You can’t blame yourself. Eric will be back, but I am worried about where he’s going to sleep today. There’s only a half an hour left until sunrise.”
“Eric may be a hothead,” Teresa said, “but he’s not stupid. I’m sure he’s got a back-up coffin stashed not far from here. Don’t we all keep one nearby in case of emergency? Don’t worry, Samantha. Eric will be fine, and back with us before we know it.”
After that there didn’t seem to be much left to say, so they walked back inside and went to sleep.
22
The next evening, Steven woke as usual, to the voice of the sexy, British computer vixen. Still sleepy, he stumbled out of his coffin and looked around for Anna Marie. She was nowhere to be found, so he called for Lisa instead. She entered quickly, looking as good as ever. She had somehow managed to subdue her masses of red hair into a French twist and was dressed in a conservative business suit that displayed her most valuable assets in a tasteful way.
At the moment, however, she looked more like an angel of mercy than anything else, since she was carrying a tray that contained a syringe, along with a vial of some kind of opiate.
“Good evening, Steven,” Lisa said. “I hope you slept well.” She pointed to the tray. “I took the liberty of preparing an injection of 5ccs of Fentanyl. Will that suffice for now?”
“I did sleep well, Lisa, and 5ccs of Fentanyl will more than suffice. Thanks.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Lisa replied sweetly, and tied off his arm.
Thirty seconds later Steven was once again floating happily on the cloud he had called home for the past decade and was oblivious to everything around him until Lisa’s voice broke through his happy haze.
“Sorry to interrupt, but Anna Marie asked me to let you know that there is an important meeting tonight at 2AM in the conference room where you met last night. She also sends her apologies for not being able to be with you until the meeting starts, but has other obligations that can’t wait.”
“Thanks, Lisa,” Steven said. “You may go.”
Since it appeared as though he had some free time, Steven thought it might be fun to go out and do some hunting. He hadn’t eaten anything in the past twenty-four hours except for a couple bottles of blood, and was starving.
He walked to the window, opened it, and stuck his hand outside. It was hot, but the humidity was low despite last night’s storm, so he decided to fly and changed into his favorite winged mammal.
Remembering what Teresa had said about strippers’ blood having a high dope content, Steven initially flew in an easterly direction toward the beach. There were some relatively classy strip clubs in Daytona, and it wouldn’t take long to get to one. He hadn’t made it very far, however, before he changed course and headed toward Altamonte Springs instead. He couldn’t stop thinking about home, his human home, and wanted to see his dad, if only to let him know that his wife wouldn’t be coming back to him. He could always get something to eat on the way back.
As he flew, Steven reflected on his relationship with his Dad. The two of them had once been so close that they were more like brothers than father and son.
Everything had come to a head just over a year ago. It was early Autumn, and Steven was on the streets, more strung out than usual, and sick as hell. Because he had stolen so much from them already, his parents had secured their remaining valuables into a combination safe that was bolted to the floor of their bedroom. There was one item of value, however, that Steven hoped they had forgotten about.
Steven crept inside the house around 1AM, using the key his parents didn’t know he still had. Once inside, he opened the front door and crept into Allen’s room. Steven’s Mom and Dad hadn’t been able to make themselves clean out the room where their son had slept, and it looked pretty much the same way it had when he’d been alive.
Allen loved anything to do with the space program. His main ambition in life was to one day become an astronaut. Most kids have similar desires when they’re young, but Allen was serious about it. One Christmas, he received a one-ounce pure gold coin that commemorated the 1986 Challenger Disaster. Steven’s hope was that in their grief his parents had forgotten that he had kept the coin on top of the dresser in his room. As luck would have it, they had.
Steven snatched the coin and would have gotten away easily if it hadn’t been for Buster, who neither knew nor cared that Steven was now persona non grata. As such, he stood in the doorway squirming and pissing on the floor, ba
rking to beat the band.
“Buster! Be Quiet!”
“You son of a bitch,” Steven’s father said. “Do you really dare to steal from your dead twin brother? Can you actually have sunk so low?”
“Dad, please,” Steven whined. “I’m really sick.”
“I don’t care. I want you out of my house, but before you go, put your brother’s coin back where you found it.” In his hand was the .38 Special he’d bought years ago to protect the family against home invasion.
“Dad, put the gun away,” Steven said. “You know you’re not going to shoot me. I’ll go, but I’m taking the coin with me.”
His Father’s response was to place the barrel flush with Steven’s forehead and pull the hammer back. “Like hell you are.”
Steven’s mother entered the room. “Stop fighting, both of you,” she pleaded. “Richard, put that gun away. Steven, I’ll get you some money, but please don’t take your brother’s coin.”
She sounded so tired and pitiful that Steven felt sorry for her in spite of himself. He held the coin out and would have exchanged it for a couple hundred bucks just to spare her any further misery but his Dad got in the way. “It should have been you, Steven. Why couldn’t it have been you?”
“Always nice to see you too, Dad, but I’ve got things to do,” Steven said.
“Don’t you ever call me Dad again,” He pointed the revolver at Steven a second time. “Linda, call the police.” Steven wasn’t about to go cold turkey in jail for the second time in six months, so he punched his dad in the gut and took the revolver away from him.
Steven’s mother walked the short distance to the hallway and picked up the phone to dial 911. “Heaven knows I don’t want to do this, Steven, but you’ve given me no choice. Things have gone too far.”
Steven lifted the gun again, striking his mother across the mouth this time. All he had meant to do was stun her into dropping the phone, but she fell unconscious to the ground, blood gushing from a deep gash in her forehead. Steven’s dad had recovered enough to help her, but before he did, her turned to Steven. “Take the coin and get the fuck out of here. I hate you, and I never want to see you again.
Coming back to the present, Steven decreased speed and descended as he approached the old neighborhood. Once he was satisfied that he was alone he changed and walked unnoticed to his parent’s front porch.
The door was locked, so Steven changed into a fog and slipped into the house through the tiny crack beneath the doorsill. The house was filthy. So filthy, that Steven had to remove a mountain of dirty clothes off the couch just to clear a space big enough to sit.
Steven’s ass had barely made contact with the sofa when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. His beleaguered father stood over him, holding a baseball bat. The blow would have probably killed him if it weren’t for the fact that he was now immune to death (at least from Louisville Sluggers).
“Dad,” Steven stammered. “Dad, I -”
“I told you not to call me that. Where is your mother?”
His good intentions in coming home vanished and he reverted back to the anger and resentment that had been such a familiar companion. “How the hell should I know? I haven’t seen her in weeks!”
“You’re a goddamned liar! She disappeared three days ago, and the neighbors told the police that there were some shady looking strangers hanging around the house just before it happened. Now who do we know that might associate with any shady looking strangers, Steven?
“I’ll answer all of your questions if you’ll just be quiet for a minute and let me up.” Steven’s Dad looked at him curiously, but moved to the side. Steven shuffled to the sofa and sat down. “I shouldn’t have come here. It was a mistake,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.
Steven’s father noticed the change in his son’s demeanor. “Oh, no, Steven. What did you do? I was just fishing before but… Steven, I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to tell me the truth. I deserve the truth.”
“I know you do. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
“Do you know what happened to Linda?”
“Yes.”
“Is she dead?”
“Yes.”
Steven’s father’s voice faltered just a bit at that point, but he kept going. There was one remaining question that had to be answered, and even though both of them knew what the answer would be, he asked it anyway.
“Did you have anything to do with her death?”
“Yes.”
Steven’s dad walked to the sofa and sat down beside his son. He appeared to age thirty years almost instantly, and Steven feared the old man might have a heart attack or a stroke. “I can’t believe any of this is happening,” he said. “Steven, I want you to stay here while I call the police. If you try and leave I swear to God I’ll kill you.”
He stood, removed his cell phone from his pants pocket, and started to call 911, but froze in place before dialing even a single number. “Steven?” His voice was much different now. Instead of being angry, he now seemed only confused. He also sounded afraid for the first time since Steven had arrived.
At first Steven couldn’t understand the change in his Dad’s demeanor, but then he looked up and saw him staring into the large mirror that hung on the wall in front of them. The mirror in which Steven should have cast a reflection, but didn’t.
“I must be seeing things,” he said. “Of course. That’s it. I’m going to close my eyes, and when I open them again, Steven will be in the mirror, right where he belongs. I’m seeing things. Must be seeing things.”
“That’s right, Dad,” Steven said, not paying much attention. “Right where I belong. Now please. Take a seat and let’s talk.”
“Talk? We should talk? But we can’t talk. You’re not in the mirror.”
Then Steven realized. Oh, shit. It’s finally happened. I’ve driven my Dad crazy.
He was now holding a wet washcloth, and looked at Steven through a vacant smile. “It’s okay, Steven. Gonna clean that mirror, and it’ll all be okay. You’ll be back inside.
What the fuck am I going to do with him? I can’t call the cops, and I can’t call the paramedics. They’ll take him away and lock him up somewhere, forever.
“Son? Do you have a mirror? Mine doesn’t work.”
“Yeah, Dad, just have a seat. I’ll have a new mirror for you soon.”
“A new mirror. That’s the ticket.”
I’m gonna have to take him to Anna Marie. She’ll probably be pissed off at first, but what the fuck else can I do? When she sees him, she’ll understand.
Steven approached his Dad slowly, carefully. “Dad I need you to come with me. We’re going to find the new mirror.” Then it hit him. How in the hell am I going to get him to the mansion? Anna Marie is busy. Wait, I’ll call Lisa, she’s pretty smart, for a human. She’ll know what to do. He started to place the call, but was interrupted again.
“It’s okay, Steven,” his dad said. “I found it. The good mirror. I had it in my pocket.”
Great, Dad, Steven replied, still not really paying attention. Do I even have the phone number to the mansion?
“No mansion,” his dad said. “A mirror. Right here, in my pocket.” He took a revolver out of his pocket, the same revolver that caused so much trouble a year ago.
“Dad, put the gun down!”
“No gun, mirror!” then “You’re a vampire! Not in the mirror! I’m a vampire! I am! I am!
Then he raised the revolver to his head. Steven ran towards him with all the supernatural speed he could muster, but it was too little, too late. Before he could get close enough to stop him, his father stuck the revolver into his mouth, and pulled the trigger.
23
Steven sobbed bitterly as he wiped the blood, brains, and assorted gore off his face.
He walked into the bedroom, removed a sheet from his parents’ bed, and used it to cover his father’s body. If time hadn’t factored into the equation he wo
uld have taken his Dad with him to be buried alongside his Mom. The sound of approaching sirens, however, made this impossible. Soon policemen would be arriving in droves, and Steven had to get out quickly if he wanted to avoid drawing attention to the clan.
“I love you, Dad,” he said softly, “and I know that you’re happy now. Goodbye.” Having bidden farewell to the last remaining member of his human family, Steven opened the door, changed, and flew away unnoticed.
Steven’s pace was noticeably slower on the return trip. His father’s death bothered him more than he would have once thought. In all honesty, he felt worse now than he had after killing his mother. Even though relations with his Mom had become strained during the past decade she had always made it clear to Steven that she still loved him. This was true no matter how many times he had lied to her, stolen from her, or taken advantage of her kindness. The situation was different with his Dad, who had vociferously stated his hatred for Steven for so long that he actually believed it.
Each member of his human family was now in Heaven and would spend eternity together. It would be impossible not to miss them, but Steven had found his own happiness as well. As much as it hurt right now, everything had worked out best for all concerned.
Far in the distance the mansion’s lights appeared like a lighthouse’s beacon, guiding Steven safely home. As he flew towards them, he vowed to leave his human history in the past where it belonged and look to the future with no regrets. He flew to the balcony of the room he shared with Anna Marie. There were forty-five minutes left until it was time for their meeting, and he wanted to spend it with her if possible. He found her at once, standing beside their bed with her back turned to him.
Perfect. Steven flew towards her as quietly as he could, hoping to sneak up on her and nip playfully at her neck and arms before he turned. Unfortunately, Anna Marie vanished just as he was getting ready to make contact and he crashed into the wall beside the bed. He sunk to the floor, stunned, and lay there for the few seconds it took him to regain his bearings. Above him Anna Marie laughed. Steven changed and weakly rose to his feet with some assistance from his queen. He gave her a kiss.
