Darkling

by Sabolic, Mima

  “You could say so,” he said, eyeing me up.

  “So what do you do?” I asked casually.

  “I do a lot of research.” Damn vampires, could they be more vague?

  “You’re like a scientist?” I pushed, hoping to get more out of him.

  “Something like that.”

  “Do you work for someone?” I continued, hoping my innocent little questions could be filed away under the “two-strangers-getting-to-know-each-other” type of talk.

  “Theo is known to be a lone wolf,” Doris chimed in. Theo spun a bag of brown sugar between his fingers, smiling shyly.

  “What did you do before your work for Baldur?” he asked me.

  “I was studying Social Science at UC Berkeley.”

  Theo’s face clearly said that that wasn’t what he had had in mind. But he didn’t ask again. He took a sip of his coffee and turned to Doris.

  “You look prettier than the last time I saw you.”

  “Ah, flatterer!” Doris made an old movie diva gesture with her hand and an avalanche of blinks. “Thanks.”

  “Doris said you two stayed at the Kyrill court together,” I said, hoping to get some info on the place.

  “Yes, those days were nice.”

  “And sunny!” Doris added.

  “Speaking of which, how are you dealing with the North Pole cold?” Theo laughed.

  “It is an imaginary line, but the cold is very real!”

  “Did Simona return to Patmos?” Theodore asked, and my alarms went off. Patmos? That sounds Greek enough to be the place of the court.

  “She was in Tromsø a few days before we took off,” Doris shrugged. The thought of Simona and Belun somewhere together stung.

  “Maybe she’s with Belun.”

  “No, she isn’t,” he shot back at me. He seemed pretty sure about it, but only a few seconds before he had asked us of her whereabouts. So he was trying to find Belun—the other day’s question wasn’t just curiosity, but something else. Theodore was snooping around for Belun’s location. Maybe he was tracking him. I knew this guy had something to do with him!

  “By the way, Nika shoved Simona into a pool,” Doris said laughing, and Theo lifted his eyebrows. Okaay. That wasn’t a detail that her brother needed to know. But he smiled too.

  Good, I wouldn’t be the night’s dinner.

  “I guess she was in your way,” he commented, amused.

  “Set thought that I was getting in her way.”

  “Apius? So you guys have been having a good time there.”

  “Yeah, and now the crowd is even bigger since the Original’s arrival.”

  “Tertius,” I corrected her, feeling Theo’s look resting a little longer on me.

  “How’s your Inquirer job going?” he asked.

  “It was going well.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “My unexpected vacation happened.” I looked at him. His face showed the same need that I had for answers. What were his reasons, I wondered.

  Doris ordered us another round of drinks, and they started talking about some people I had never heard of. From time to time I would check on Mr. Hyde, but everything seemed to be okay. Even later in my room, I was wondering if I should take the meds or just skip them. Popping off the cap of the prescription bottle, I saw there were only a few pills left. I hadn’t thought of asking for another bottle before we left the compound. And now I had to ration them.

  I decided to take them only when in need.

  That night my dream brought me darkness. What a shocker. But there was a noticeable lack of breathing. Even the air seemed lighter, unlike the other times. And as soon as I realized this, the density of the darkness started to dissolve.

  The image that emerged showed me the view—the other side of the hill that I had dreamed about before. The fog clinging to the ground made it look like a scene from a horror movie, but I wasn’t afraid, even though a large number of graves surrounded me. It looked like some very old cemetery, and all the graves were full, unlike those five empty ones on the top of the hill. I searched for some names, or even dates, but the graves were unmarked. I didn’t feel at all afraid, only curious.

  I looked around to see if there was anything besides these graves and saw a shack nearby. Inside it was clean, with a made bed that had digging tools under it. It smelled like a very old place. There was also a worn-out pair of boots under the bed, reminding me of the gravedigger from one of my previous dreams. Did he live here? Was he still digging that sixth grave? I remembered his words: “Just a little bit more.” Who was he digging that grave for anyway?

  The silence didn’t seem actually dead; it was more like a sleepy silence. Walking among the graves, I looked at the top of the hill. And that was the moment when I woke up.

  Blinking off the sunlight that filled my room, I reached for the ringing phone.

  “Hey sleepyhead!”

  “Jules!”

  “Morning, Nika. I was missing you, so I called,” she said, joyfully.

  “I’m so glad you did! How are you?”

  “Mostly the same old same old.”

  “Mostly?” I asked, pulling the cover partially over my head to avoid the light.

  “Well, I have some news I wanted to share.” She sounded pretty excited. “I’m pregnant!”

  I was speechless. She had completely taken me by surprise.

  “Nika? You still there?”

  “Yeah.” I needed a few more seconds to gather myself. “Well, congrats!”

  “You’re shocked aren’t you?” she giggled.

  “Yeah, pretty much. Sorry. May I ask who the father is?”

  “Ah, darling, you’ve met him. It’s François Matthews.”

  “The history teacher?”

  “Yep.”

  “So how do you feel now, considering?”

  “Perfect! We found out last night, and I panicked at first; but we sat and talked and decided to go for it.” I could hear her smiling.

  “I’m happy for you.” I was finally getting over the shock. “As long as it’s your own decision.”

  “Yes the child is. Marriage . . . I don’t know yet. I mean, he wants it, but—”

  “I understand. All the stories we’ve heard, love, pain, and getting old.”

  “Yeah. That’s the problem.”

  “You should give it some time before you decide that one. Enjoy your pregnancy now, you want a kid. Decide later if you want to take him up on his marriage offer.”

  “That’s what I think, too. So far, I can see the kid, nothing more.”

  “Then follow your instincts,” I counseled her. “What’ll happen with your work now?”

  “François thinks that I should quit while I’m pregnant. But I want to continue for the next few months. Things are getting interesting.”

  “In the compound?”

  “Mm-hmm. Blake thinks I’m imagining things, but he can’t see anything beyond his research paper. Something’s up, I’m sure. You can feel it in the air between the vamps and the Vocati. But I still can’t put my finger on it.”

  “Have you talked with Max or Gustavo about it?”

  “Tibor’s also aware of some change, and so is Lyndon. But Max just shrugged me off.”

  “What is it that made you think something’s off?”

  “There’s a certain tension in the air. It’s in the way that the vamps speak, especially when they talk about Baldur. The way they walk, the way the Vocati have started smirking all of a sudden. Thing are different and it’s not just because of my pregnancy.”

  “In what way are they mentioning Baldur?”

  “I haven’t heard. But there’s lots of whispering, and it wasn’t there before. And as for Gustavo, I haven’t seen him for some time.”

  “I don’t know what to say. I haven’t heard anything from everyone here. Not that I would, but if it was something big, I think I’d have caught on to it.”

  “Let me know if you hear anything,” she said.
>
  “You too. And thanks for the news!”

  “Take care, Nika,” Julia said joyfully, sending me an air kiss down the line.

  What were the whispers about? It apparently had something to do with Baldur, but I wondered what story had leaked. I had the feeling that Tertius would know, which made me wonder if Balthazar did too. But he hadn’t joined us for breakfast. Nor was he home for the next few days. Was it something to do with Tromsø? Or Belun? When I asked Clara if Balthazar was normally absent a lot, she only shrugged.

  Twice we went for a picnic with her and the kids, which I cannot say I enjoyed. Being a single child, I wasn’t much used to having children around me with all their questions and behavior. But, unlike me, Doris and Theodore enjoyed those moments.

  I stopped taking the pills each morning, but I carried them with me in case of necessity. My dreams returned, so did the anger. But it wasn’t really anger—it was more like I was grumpy from time to time. Still, in case of emergency, the pills were in my pocket.

  “Julia’s pregnant and François Matthews is the father,” I said, one evening after dinner.

  “Your Julia?” Doris asked, and I nodded. “That’s wonderful!”

  “Yeah, she seemed happy.”

  “Matthews, the historian?” Theo asked.

  “You know him?”

  “Yeah, before he started working for Baldur, he was in Kyrill’s library. He helped me find some things on several occasions,” he said.

  “Didn’t you tell me once that you suspected her of dating someone?” Doris asked, still thrilled with the news.

  “I did, but I didn’t know who the beau was,” I smiled. “Do your women have maternal instincts?” I asked her, carefully.

  “Nope. We don’t have a reproductive role.”

  “And you, Theo, do you have any offspring?” But he laughed and shook his head.

  “None that I know of,” he said, joking.

  “Well, if most of you don’t make children, how does your race survive?”

  “Let’s say these are some tough times for us, too.” A shadow crossed his eyes. “But there’s a lot of us from previous eras, so we aren’t going extinct. I will leave offspring when I find the right partner.”

  “As long as you don’t plan to bail on us,” Doris laughed, and he smiled shyly.

  It made me wonder about Aidan’s view on the topic, and how it worked when two vampires were in love. I’d heard about payment agreements with human women . . . maybe that could be it.

  An old wall clock showed that it was half past nine in the evening. I looked at Theo, waiting for him to make his apologies and go somewhere, like he’d been doing the last couple of days. He had mentioned some errands, and I’d been playing with the idea of following him. But he was still into his book, so I decided to go running.

  Changing clothes in my room, the figurine caught my attention. Taking it with me, I left the house. I could feel anxiety creeping up on me, and I hoped that running would get it out of my system.

  The woods weren’t dense, so there was enough light from the city that lay below the hill. I ran through the trees, holding the metal figurine tightly. Memories began to surface: that time when I sprained my ankle and Belun had held me in his arms, the feeling of that intense silence and the almost invisible twitches of his face. It seemed as if it had all happened a whole century ago. Then, how he worried when I had started to breathe hard; our first attempts at normal communication. . . .

  What did he feel for me? From starting out being annoyed by me, he had turned out to be very nice. But was that only friendship or was it something else? And the pain in my chest that I had felt during the Vocati attack, what was that about? Why would I have felt Belun that deeply and strongly? And then the figurine—was it goodbye, in a way that I’d never see him again?! The thought made my stomach clench.

  The woods became quieter while my feelings drummed loudly inside me. I wanted to cry, but nothing came out, my legs just ran faster. Maybe letting out a scream would make things easier. I stopped running. I was breathing hard. I don’t know how much time passed while I stood there with my hands on my thighs.

  The wind began to pick up, carrying the sense of someone’s presence.

  I noticed him walking near the woods, taking a path toward the town. First I followed him with my eyes, and then I decided to go after him. It was Theo; I recognized the Vietnam War army jacket. I followed his step, keeping hidden back among the trees. His head was down, and he seemed lost in his thoughts, following the path as if he knew it by heart. Hopefully I’d get some answers about his mystery errands soon.

  The town lights were close, and after several minutes, I traded trees for buildings—staying in the shadows. His eyes still down, walking at a relaxed pace, Theo suddenly changed his course and entered a building. I watched through the glass side of the building as he climbed the stairs to the top floor. I waited in the hall of the building opposite.

  Not much time had passed before he exited the building holding a yellow file folder in his hand. I backed deeper into the shadows as he turned and looked each way, finally returning in the same direction from which he came. What was in the file folder? He held it firmly and this time looked in front of him. His grip told me that he already knew the contents.

  I decided to lag behind and check the top floor residents, since he was probably returning to Balthazar’s place. When he was far enough away, I ran across and into the building. It smelled of fresh paint, and the walls were a new beige color. I ran up the stairs to the top, and checked the name plates on the doors in the hall. I had hoped to find some agency or the like—not private homes. Unfortunately, there was nothing that suggested otherwise. Crap.

  I checked every door, looking for the signs of a recent visit. And there it was. A piece of dead leaf fallen from someone’s shoes. The dirt on it was fresh. So Theodore had walked through this door. But why?

  The door didn’t have a name plate, only a number. I sniffed the air, but nothing odd came from the inside. Then I put my ear to the door, trying to hear what was going on inside.

  Footsteps. Then there was the click of a camera. And many more after. At least that cleared up the question of the file folder contents. It had to hold some photographs, and I had to see them. Tomorrow after breakfast, perhaps I could sneak into Theodore’s room. I wondered who was in those pictures.

  Chapter 22

  A Deal

  I was so anxious that night that I had to take a pill if I wanted a little bit of sleep. There were only a few pills left, and I really had to be careful how and when I would use them. After my interesting dreams on previous nights, I found myself back in the darkness. The breathing had returned and it was much heavier than before. I tried to look through the dark, but there was nothing beyond it. A solitary dungeon, again.

  The next morning I overslept. Crap. I had wanted to sneak into Theo’s room while they were at breakfast, but now that plan was ruined.

  The dining room was empty. Where was everyone?

  “Miss Nika?” It was a servant behind me.

  “Where’re the others?”

  “They left with Mrs. Clara and the children, they didn’t want to wake you. Also, they said they wouldn’t be long.”

  “Both of them? Doris and Theodore?”

  “Yes, Miss.”

  Well, now. I could pull off my stunt anyway! Plus, I’d have more time to snoop around his room.

  “Ah, Nika. Good morning!”

  “Balthazar! I didn’t know you were back.” He startled me. This wasn’t good for my plan.

  “I returned early this morning. Shall we have breakfast? I see you missed the picnic, too.” He smiled; his face seemed tired. “This will give us some time to talk.”

  I hadn’t planned this talk. I wasn’t really prepared for the mind games now.

  “Was your trip successful?” I asked.

  “I certainly hope so.”

  Okay, here we go.

  “So, Belun wa
s your team leader,” Balthazar started.

  Was? Why the past tense?

  “Still is,” I corrected him, but his head bobbed to the side vaguely.

  “How do you like working with him?”

  The questions began while the toast crunched under our fingers.

  “We didn’t get along in the beginning, but we’ve found a way to respect each other.” I decided to give less vague answers; after all, it had always worked with Tertius. It really seemed that when you gave something, you got something in return.

  “I don’t know him that well,” he said. “But I’ve heard only the good things about him. And I was intrigued when I heard he was leading the team of the Original Vocati.”

  I regarded him in silence, expecting more.

  “He’s now in the limelight, so to speak. Many are interested in him,” Balthazar added.

  “I guess Tertius is a big deal.”

  “Right.”

  The limelight. Was he thinking about the whole team or only Belun? I mean, Tertius was old news, and Balthazar was supposed to be the center of the information network, according to Doris. So, could he have been referring to something other than Belun’s job? And who were these many who were showing interest in Belun. Was Theodore one of them?

  We ate in silence for a while.

  “Inquirers usually take their vacation days at a different time of the year,” he finally said.

  So he knew something, but not my part of the puzzle. Okay, I’d play.

  “It was Belun who needed the days off.” My answer seemed to surprise him. He definitely knew something about him, and now he wanted to find out more. So did I.

  “I find it interesting that his father also differed regarding Baldur’s ideas,” he said, putting more butter on his toast.

  “And if they don’t trust their ancestor . . .”

  “Exactly, my dear. You’re very well versed in these things.”

  I answered with a smile. I didn’t know the ground I had been walking as well as he thought, but it seemed to be working. Maybe I would find out about the animosity that some vamps had toward the Fifth Elder.

  “You yourself do not seem inclined toward Baldur. Why’s that? Humans usually find him nice and polite.”