“I’m coming,” she insisted.
I sighed in defeat, frustrated with how hard it was to keep her out of harm’s way. However, she was strong and self-reliant, and I had to give her credit for those things. “Fine. Go through the front, ring the doorbell, then hide. This will hopefully provide a distraction. I’ll go around the back and try to slip in unnoticed.”
“I can do that,” Fiona said. “Perhaps our guy will answer the door and I can shoot him from my hiding spot.”
“Here’s to hoping it’s that easy,” I said and leaned in to kiss her. “Stay safe.”
“You too, my love.”
I smiled at the endearment, but we didn’t have time to linger. We were here on a mission.
As Fiona ascended the driveway and snuck toward the front door, I raced to the side yard with my vampire speed, easily hopping the fence without having to open the gate and risk the potential noise. Hopefully, I wasn’t going to be met by a dog lounging in the backyard. Dogs didn’t particularly like vampires—or any supernatural for that matter.
I quickly made a pass around the back of the house, which took all of a few seconds. Curtains were drawn at all the windows and glass sliding doors. There were also no open windows on the second story.
I stepped up to one of the glass sliding doors and gently put my ear up to the pane. I could hear a male and female voice from inside, clear enough that they might actually have been in the room on the other side of the glass. And just as I was trying to make out what they were saying, their unpleasant conversation was interrupted by the doorbell.
Good job, Fiona, I thought.
“Are you expecting anyone, m’dear?” the male voice asked. After a moment’s delay, he continued talking. “Perhaps it’s your daughter. You said she’d gone out with her father, right? Go see if it’s them and feel free to invite them in. The more the merrier.”
The intruder was obviously toying with Gillian, but luckily, it didn’t seem like she was in too bad of a shape.
I was tempted to yank on the glass sliding door and break the lock but didn’t want to deprive the house of that small line of defense if I didn’t have to. So, I sped around to the side door, ducked so I wouldn’t be seen in the window taking up the door’s upper half and removed the small lock-picking set from my pocket. It was a standard lock and didn’t require much skill to open it.
“There’s no one there,” Gillian said. They were still standing by the front door as I inched the side one open.
“Now, who would want to do a thing like that?” the male voice asked, amusement in his tone.
“I don’t know. Truly, I don’t,” she said, her voice unsteady.
“Someone obviously thinks they’re pretty funny,” the vampire said, yanking Gillian away from the door and slamming it closed.
I kept the side door only slightly ajar as the vampire tugged Gillian from the entryway, which was a clear view from the side door. As soon as they’d passed, I inched the door open, stopping at the first creak and waiting for a potential reaction from the other room.
“I think I’m about ready for another snack,” the vampire said. “Some sweet dessert.”
“No… Please, no more,” Gillian pleaded.
I opened the door wider so I could slip through, then left it open as I ventured farther into the house. I turned into the first room I came across, ready to take the vampire by surprise, when the floor creaked under my feet, causing me to freeze.
Ahead was the glass sliding door I’d been standing next to outside. And before I knew it, the vampire intruder was standing between it and me.
“And what have we here?” the man asked. He was tall and wiry, with disheveled blond hair and ragged clothes at least a size too big. On his face was painted a manic smile that nearly reached his ears. “Are you the ex-husband? I’d love to meet the sweet daughter I’ve seen in so many pictures around the house. Is she with you?”
“No,” I simply said, realizing I should have had my gun out and ready.
As fast as I was able to pull it from its holster, my opponent was fast enough to knock it from my hands. The weapon flew through the glass front of a china cabinet and disappeared inside the mountains of dishes. However, the man still didn’t know who he was dealing with, and in a flash, I grabbed him by the neck and headbutted him hard enough to cave in his nose.
That will take more than a moment to heal!
The intruder howled in pain and sank to his knees as blood poured down his face, at which time I kicked him in the chest, knocking him back several more feet.
“You—you’re a vampire,” the intruder exclaimed, his voice nasal from the broken nose already beginning to heal.
“Good of you to notice,” I said, taking a step closer and standing over him. “And if you value your life, then it’s time you leave.” I wanted to sound diplomatic but had no intention of letting him get away.
“I value my life greatly, but I also value what’s rightfully mine.” The man leaped up and lunged for me, but I knocked him away, sending him flying over the dining room table. His body sent several of the chairs toppling over and crunching under the weight of him.
I sped around the table to meet him, but he kicked my legs out from under me, sending me to the floor. With his fangs out and an amplified roar, he pounced on top of me.
His nose had inflated back to its normal positioning and the blood had stopped pouring, but his face was still streaked with red.
I suffered several punches to the face before I managed to buck him off. His body ricocheted off the wall, cracking the drywall. I had just enough time to spring to my feet and grab the knife on my belt. Once it was unsheathed, I flicked my wrist to reveal the extent of the weapon I now held. The blade of the collapsible sword extended and clicked into place.
My attacker’s eyes grew wide at the realization of the instrument of death I held in my right hand, even before I began to swing it in his direction.
“I gave you a chance,” I said. “Now it’s too late.”
I wasted no time driving the blade through his stomach, bringing him once again to the floor. The vampire groaned and brought his hands to the gushing wound just as I retracted the blade from his flesh and swung it in one last large arc to separate his head from his body.
I stood over him as the body toppled to the side and the head rolled under the table. The scene was grisly, blood everywhere—but within a few minutes, every last ounce of him would be ash only needing to be vacuumed away.
When I headed into the kitchen to wipe off the blade, I noticed Fiona standing in the doorway.
“You alright?” she asked.
“Never better,” I said.
She eyed the sword, obviously not realizing I’d been carrying it. Since Damien’s announcement, I knew I had to be even more prepared every time I stepped out into the world.
“Wouldn’t your gun have been easier?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Maybe—if I hadn’t lost it.” I approached the china cabinet and reached in through the broken glass to retrieve the pistol.
“I guess you should be more careful,” Fiona said with a sarcastic grin. “And I think you’re going to owe her for property damage.” Fiona’s gaze scanned all the destruction the altercation had wreaked upon the room, of which there was quite a bit.
“You’ve got money,” I said and stepped past her into the kitchen. I tore off a few sheets from the paper towel roll and wiped the still glistening blood from the blade, not wanting to wait for it to turn to ash as well; I wanted to collapse the sword and return it to the small sheath on my hip. “Have you checked on Gillian and Abigail yet?”
“No; I just got here,” she said and ventured into the other room. “Where’d she go?”
Throughout the commotion, I hadn’t concentrated on what noises Gillian was making from the adjacent room. “Didn’t you say Abigail was hiding in her room upstairs?”
Fiona nodded.
“Then she probably ran up as soon as she
had the chance.”
“Unless she was still afraid of her daughter being found out,” Fiona argued, but then smirked and added, “but you’re probably right.” Without another word, she bounded up the stairs, calling for her half-sister. “Abigail! Abigail!”
I followed, and by the time I reached Abigail’s room, she already had her little arms wrapped tightly around Fiona. Gillian, on the other hand, was standing in the corner, not exactly sure what to make of the unexpected reunion.
“You came! You really came!” Abigail cried. “Mom, she came to help us!”
“You’re the girl who showed up on my doorstep earlier in the year, aren’t you?” Gillian finally said. “The one looking for Roland.”
“And the girl who just helped save your life, as well as the life of your daughter,” I chimed in, still standing in the doorway.
“And who are you?”
“A friend—a friend of Fiona here—and Roland.” I tried to remember the difficult ordeal she’d just been through and not to let her irritation and ungratefulness get to me. And besides, we were really here for Abigail.
“Is he gone?” Gillian asked. “That monster who forced his way into my house?”
“He’s been dealt with,” I said, now stepping farther into the room. “Did he mention anything about friends while he was here? Anyone who may come here looking for him?”
Gillian shook her head. “He said very little about himself.”
“Then you should be okay. Though there’s some damage to your dining room. Sorry about that.”
“Really? How much?” Gillian frowned, then pushed past me to return downstairs and examine the damage.
Was she really concerned about damage to her wall and furniture after being attacked by a vampire? It seemed her priorities were terribly misaligned.
I followed, hoping she wasn’t going to walk in on the murder scene and was relieved to find the blood splatter gone upon entering.
“It’s worse than I thought,” Gillian said, hands on her hips, as she turned in a circle. Her eyes critically surveyed the damage. “And where did all this dirt come from? It’s going to clog my vacuum.”
Fiona and Abigail were now standing by me, peeking into the room.
“Is he really gone?” Abigail asked, her voice still tentative.
“Yes,’ I said. “What’s left of him is on the floor—the dirt your mother so aptly pointed out. It’s actually ash—what vampires are reduced to after they die.”
“I thought it smelled like death in here,” Gillian commented, then walked over to the china cabinet and shook her head at the broken glass. “I had antiques in there.”
“That was my fault,” I said. “I can replace them.”
“You can’t replace antiques.”
“I’ll buy you new ones—better antiques. Older ones,” I said, trying not to let the exasperation show in my voice.
“New ones won’t hold the same sentimental value.” She picked up a broken serving bowl, gazed upon it sorrowfully, and sighed. “How did you say you knew Roland?” Gillian asked after setting the broken dish back with the others. “This one claims to be his lost daughter. What about you?”
“I work with him,” I said.
“Work with him? I thought he was dead?”
I glanced back at Fiona, realizing I’d spoken out of turn. To give the family closure and to assure them Roland hadn’t simply abandoned his family, Fiona had told them he’d died and his death had been covered up. It was some type of government conspiracy, the details of which she never explained because… well, because the story obviously wasn’t true.
Fiona stepped up, glancing back at Abigail and taking a deep breath. “I know that was what I originally told you, but it wasn’t entirely true. Though you must know that he didn’t leave voluntarily. And his health is ailing. But he is alive.” Then Fiona glanced at me, her expression hopeful. “We can take them to see him—can’t we?”
“I—I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I said.
“I can see my father?” Abigail exclaimed, giddily. “He’s really alive?”
Gillian was quiet again, her eyes growing glassy.
“Couldn’t we bring him here? It could be like a field trip,” Fiona said. “I don’t see what that would hurt anymore.”
“He lives off of routine,” I said. “I have no idea how he’d react to such a deviation.”
“Then we can take them to him. Abigail deserves to see her father. How many more chances will she get?” Fiona was standing firm, not willing to take no for an answer.
“You know where he is?” Gillian finally asked. “Where he’s been for these past few years?”
“I didn’t lie to you when I told you I found him,” Fiona said.
“Only that he was dead.” Gillian frowned.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you the truth, but I was sworn to secrecy by the organization housing him—the organization Matthew is a part of—that I’m now a part of.”
“None of this is making any sense.” Gillian shook her head, her frustration returning in full force.
“Which is why it would be so much easier to just take you to him.” Fiona turned her attention back to me. “Don’t you agree?”
I sighed. “Yes. But not through the portal. We’ll have to go the old-fashioned way.”
“Are you saying we drive to Nevada?”
“That’s what I’m saying,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. “An old-fashioned road trip.”
33
Fiona
“Don’t you think that was something we should have discussed in private before casually offering Abigail a reunion with her father?” Matthew asked, still a little peeved from the turn the conversation had taken back at Gillian’s house.
“With everything that’s happened, I don’t see what the big deal is anymore,” I said, my eyes on the road as Matthew drove down the still deserted streets.
“We don’t know how he will react to seeing them.”
“He talks fondly of them all the time. It’s the family he actually remembers.” I didn’t bother bringing up the moment of clarity he’d had on one of my visits where he’d briefly remembered my mother and me. And it didn’t last for much more than a moment.
“He thinks Abigail is dead,” Matthew argued.
“He thought I was her ghost the first few times I visited, and my presence didn’t make him any crazier than he already was. Why are you so opposed to this? I don’t believe it has to do with his mental state.”
Matthew was quiet for a long moment, his jaw tense, his lips set in a firm line. “I know it should be okay to let others past the gates of Society-run facilities now,” Matthew said, breaking the silence that had passed the point of uncomfortable. “But the gates have not been overrun yet. The compounds are still a haven for our members, but who knows how long that will last? We can’t just open them up for everyone in need. Our compounds aren’t going to become refugee camps for vampire victims.”
“I’m not trying to open the gates up for everyone—just my family—and just so Abigail can see her father. They deserve some closure since he’s never coming home. You gave me the opportunity for closure. Abigail deserves the same. It’s not her fault she’s not old enough to become a candidate. And according to our vision of the future, she never will be,” I said.
“Don’t think I don’t know where this conversation or subsequent ones will ultimately lead.” Matthew finally took a moment to glance over at me, then returned his attention to the road.
“Oh yeah, and where’s that, mister know-it-all?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood a little. I didn’t want us to continue to fight—as long as I could still take them to see Roland.
“You’ll want to get them onto the roster for ParallEarth, so they’ll be far away from here when the bombs drop,” Matthew said, matter-of-factly.
I hadn’t thought that far ahead, only taking it one step at a time. But he was right; if there was a chance I could
save them, then I would—even Gillian. However, I didn’t want to push my luck right now.
“I’m not asking for you to pull those sorts of strings right now. I just want to give them the closure we spoke about, then they will return home and continue on with their normal lives—whatever that means now. I want to be more in their lives and help them where I can, but I understand they’re not Society members. Maybe Gillian will be more accepting after today’s event.”
“I wasn’t getting the most accepting vibe from her,” Matthew said with a chuckle.
“Baby steps then,” I said, returning his smile.
The rest of the drive back to my condo was more comfortable, now that Matthew had more fully accepted my request to take Abigail and Gillian to see Roland. I was excited to see him again myself since I hadn’t been there to transcribe for quite some time. I knew, though, that I needed to manage my expectations; he would almost certainly recognize them for who they were—who they really were—and he’d recognize me as Fiona, the new initiate of the Society. I had to prepare myself for how much that would hurt.
When we returned to the condo, we found Candace in the living room, nursing another glass of wine, this one white, so a new bottle had been obviously opened. She was leaning back into the plush cushions, looking sleepy. I could sure have used a nap myself, especially one with Matthew wrapped around me.
“Where are the others?” I asked as I approached her.
Instead of providing a verbal answer, she pointed to the balcony. I shrugged and proceeded outside. I was stopped in my tracks at the threshold of the glass sliding door when I saw Alexis and Sean. They were standing against the glass railing, his hands on her waist, her hands around his neck, their lips firmly connected.
I coughed to announce myself and they broke apart like they’d been given an electric shock. I surely had.
“It’s not what you think,” Sean said, nervously, then wiped his lips with the back of his hand.
“Oh, so you two weren’t kissing?” I asked. “I must be hallucinating.”
“Well, it is what you saw,” Alexis said.
Angeles Covenant Page 18
