“I thought she considers us sensitive, like she is.”
“Um hm? And how many super sensitive people can suddenly be around when she’s never known any other than herself? How do I get past the fact that two of us live in the same house?”
Louie walked to the kitchen window. “Canyon Lake is obviously too far away from Claremont. How about Upland? That’s what, two or three miles? What distance can she sense?”
“Not as far as that,” I said. “Upland would work.”
“I’ll be there this evening, settle someplace and call you.”
Conor frowned. Inappropriate of him, and I sensed an unwise challenge coming. His vampire was really hauling him around today. The challenge came with a spit. “You can do daylight, Louie. Why wait? You need another bite on your honey before you help Brecken?”
I barely saw as Louie's hand flicked out, slamming Conor's head to the side and raking a deep scratch along his jaw. “You forget yourself, vampire,” Louie snarled. “Nobody disrespects Yvonne, and no one questions me and what I choose to do.” He smacked Conor again.
Conor reeled then righted himself and scooted back, a hand at the blood running down his neck. There was a shocked look on his face and he had no idea how much Louie had held back. The scratch was deep, a long gouge really, and he was lucky there was only one.
“What’s with you,” I sneered. “Didn’t your Mommy teach you any manners?”
“I don’t know. I mean, she did.” He panted, totally shaken. “I didn’t know I was going to say that. It just came out.” Confusion stippled across his face. And anger.
I got up and handed him a kitchen towel. His humanity struggled to surface, but we were looking at Conor’s vamp, and scorn was in my voice. “You’re a mess. Get control of yourself.”
He threw the towel like a baseball, trying hard for distance. It isn’t actually possible to look fierce throwing a limp towel and I mocked his ridiculous gesture. “Pathetic, Conor.”
He swiped at the wound, his teeth set. Not so easy to control the fuming dark, but I had to hand him credit - he worked at it. His body trembled with rage and humiliation, but his mouth spoke the needed words. “I’m sorry, Louie. I don’t know why I said that.” Conor probably meant it. He better mean it.
But Louie was mild again. “Here’s what’s going on with you, Conor. By nature, we’re short tempered and mean. All of us. Vicious. Aggressive. It just goes with the territory. That’s you, too, and it’ll never change, so either ride that road, or take control of both selves.”
Conor squirmed in his chair, but he was listening.
Louie stabbed his finger. “You can never drop that control, because if you do, your killing nature will dominate. It's up to each one of us and generally gets a easier with practice. But if you relax, your humanity won’t have chance.” He turned very still, eyes hard. “I suggest you don’t relax.”
Conor almost screamed. “But what if it happens again? In front of you or someone else? I don’t know how I can control that. And I’m not that way, vicious and mean.”
“Yes, you are that way. Maybe not before, but you are now. Forever.” Louie’s mild tone belied the steel in his eyes. “Let me give you some extra incentive. If you don’t strengthen your control, I’ll just get rid of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll kill you, Conor. Not my vamp. My humanity will do it. I’ll kill you because you’re dangerous to people and my vote comes down on the side of humans. Where’s your vote?”
He cringed, realizing that he could lose his life, right here at this kitchen table. An audible gulp. “I vote for people.” Amazingly, control was already asserting itself.
“Then act like it,” Louie snapped. “All the time.”
Conor's eyes were wide as he looked at me. I answered his unspoken question. “I come down on the side of humans, too. Do as Louie said and grip that control like your life depended on it.” I gave him a tight smile. “It’s a day of unexpected lessons. Don’t forget them.”
“Yeah, but - would you kill me, too, Brecken?”
“If you were dangerous, I’d do it in a heartbeat. And you are dangerous, if your dark side takes over.”
He fingered his jaw. The deep gouge was nearly gone. “I don’t know if I can live like this.”
“Oh, you can,” I said. “Your vamp is strong but your human part is, too. I’ve seen a natural goodness in you, which is why I brought you with me today. I admire your grit and the decisions you’ve made. Don’t let a little succulent, human blood rile you up.”
Conor grunted. And so did I. Maybe I should have left the word 'succulent' out of the picture.
Time was passing and I wanted to move on so I leaned over and whopped him on the side of his head. “Use what’s upstairs here. Be smart and be our friend.”
He swished his fingers through his short hair. “How long did it take you to have so much control?”
“Ahh, damn. Years, weeks. Yesterday. Today.”
“Today?”
I stared at him hard. “Conor, I drank from my friend’s woman. Someone he cares about. I stopped, but I wanted to take it all.”
“You mean take her life?” His eyes flicked to Louie, who was surveying him through half closed lids. “And you trusted Brecken with her?”
“Always,” Louie said. “As I trust myself. I, too, want to take it all, but more of me wants not to. We live with both desires and choose which one wins. Every day we must choose.”
“What about Russell?” Conor asked me. “Will you kill him?”
“Probably. Maybe not, but I think so.” I closed my eyes. Extreme measures.
“Because of Henna?”
I looked at him. “That’s what this is all about, Conor.”
He sat up straight. “Okay, you can count on me. I won’t lose control again. I’ll die first.”
“Yes,” Louie said. “That’s possible. Now check your face. There’s blood on it and you need to wash it before I lick it off.”
Conor jerked back, revolted, and we rocked with laughter while he dunked his whole head at the kitchen sink.
“Do you have a plan?” Louie finally asked.
“It's incomplete.”
We spent the next two hours back and forth, refining ways to keep Henna safe. I had Russell's last name from the driver's license in his backpack, so I ran a computer check on his past and was pleased to find a bit more information, although I couldn't find Henna's mother. The afternoon waned and it was time to get going. I went in to lightly stroke dozing Yvonne’s hair and thank her. A nod from Louie and we left.
On the drive home I watched Conor from the corner of my eye. It's not in our nature to be humble. A mortal might have left Louie’s house filled with contrition over his misbehavior. But Conor, newbie or not, rode beside me oozing confidence and power. He took his licks and got up fighting. Any of us would be the same. The difference was that passionate moral core I’d sensed in him right from the start.
I felt him playing with control - vamp out, vamp shoved down. He let me stand witness, not embarrassed that I knew he was practicing. Hmm. My tongue ran across willful fangs. Apparently I could use a refresher course myself.
Chapter 60
I dropped Conor and went home to shower. The trip to Canyon Lake had gone better than expected and I could hardly wait to see Henna She was only scheduled for the first set at the Tavern, so we had the whole evening. The whole night, for that matter, while Louie, and eventually Conor, searched for Russell. I was certain we'd find him, but if things went bad, I held my wild card. Extreme measures.
I was in the middle of soaping up when, with no inner warning, an intense blast of energy ripped across my skin and deep into me – there, then gone.
“Henna!”
My head whipped towards her home. I pushed out to touch her, and found a void. I pushed farther, knowing she was there, desperate to feel what happened. But the sizzling fire of Henna had gone out.
I rinsed in
seconds, threw on clothes and sped up the street. Moments later I was at a corner near her house, staring at her car. The high pitch of a siren rose from the Village. My eyes swept the street and landed on a young boy.
“Did you see anything? The driver of this car? Where is she?” I moved too quickly and the boy stumbled back. I pulled his phone away, shouting my questions. “Where is the woman who was driving this car?”
“With the other woman,” he stammered. “I called 911 and they’re coming. You can hear them.” He fell on his butt.
I squatted over him, trying to be gentle. “Tell me what happened.”
“A car ran into that one.” He reached towards the phone.
“And the driver?” I handed him the phone and he clutched it, alarmed eyes blinking. I softened my voice and went into his young mind, not to take, but to soothe. “What’s your name?”
“Tran.” He said something in the phone and a woman answered. Vietnamese, I realized, probably his mother. But I needed him back with me.
“Tran, you called the police. That’s me. Tell her you’ll call back.”
He spoke a few words. “Mister, my dad is coming.”
“Good. Now tell me exactly what you saw.”
“I was going to cross the street and that car over there stopped. Then a car banged into the back end and shoved it out in middle like it is. They both got out and went to the back car and opened the door. The fat woman pushed at the younger one and she fell inside and they left. I think she fainted.”
I swallowed. “Did the younger one say anything?”
“No. Mister, they probably went to the hospital.”
I stared at the intersection and cursed myself.
“They left that car just sitting there. So I called 911. You.” His mouth twisted, unsure.
“You're a good witness, Tran. Was there anyone else in the back car?”
He looked at Henna’s car. “I think it was empty.”
“How long ago did this happen?”
“Just now. I mean, a few minutes ago. I called my Mom and then you got here. But my Dad's coming.”
“Yes, that's good. Which direction did the fat lady go?”
“That way.” He turned and pointed west.
“They say anything else? Either one?”
“Yes, but I didn't hear what. The front driver had something in her hand and she dropped it when she fainted. See? It's over there on the road.”
I ran over and picked it up. A driver's license. Henna's. “Tran, can you describe the fat woman and her car?”
“White. It looked pretty new. I didn’t see what the women looked like much. But the fat one was older.” Tran was looking towards the sirens.
“Did you hear any names?”
“No.” His voice dropped. “Am I in trouble?”
“No, Tran. You did well.”
The siren was close. I spun to Henna’s car. Her purse was on the front seat. I snatched it and dove into my car.
They could be on any street, even the freeway. Especially the freeway, and there are two, both near by, damn it. How do I find her if I can't feel her? Fainted, Tran said. More likely knocked out. But she would regain consciousness sooner or later. I flung my energy far and swept a broad swathe through the night. Nothing. But I had to try. My tires screeched as I tore west in pursuit of a nondescript white car and the sickening sense of nothing.
Chapter 61
Distant words. “Wake up, Henna.” Thick fuzz, unimportant, but all that existed. I was under it, surrounded by it, and I didn’t care.
The next time that fuzz was thinner and tendrils worked their way towards me. Or maybe around me. “Henna.” seemed to echo through the fuzz. Then nothingness and I drifted in it.
Fuzz still hovered, but the strange tendrils became menacing. They seemed to dangle over me and I shrunk from them. Then the tendrils stabbed, jerking me from dreamy nowhere into dark nowhere. Fear caught me and I gasped, eyes wide open, seeing nothing. Feeling nothing. No, I did feel those awful tendrils - and slowly my senses opened more, but like they were drugged.
My eyelids fluttered. I was stretched out under covers, awake now, oddly sluggish. Even so, I knew the tendrils for what they were. Recognizable stabs of that man who had come to the Tavern. My Stalker.
I didn’t move, didn’t twist or try to sit up, but carefully reached out - and he was there. Not next to me in the dark, but close. Horrified, I pulled myself in, trying to recover the fuzzy nothingness so I could fall back into it.
That attempt didn’t last and was useless, anyway. I was definitely awake and in a strange room. But whose room and how did I get here? A flush of anger curled with the fear.
If my muscles felt sluggish, my brain no longer did and I looked around. It was night. Okay. The door was partly open and a light reflected into the room. At least I could see a little bit.
Stiffly, I turned my head and peered across the space. A small room with another bed, low dresser and a closet with the door slid open. Something on the floor. Oh, shoes, really small and I could see tiny shirts hanging in the closet. On the wall, two posters of - what? A race car and some sort of transformer creature. A room for little boys?
My eyelids drooped and I lay thinking, avoiding the sense of stalker presence. I knew where I was and I didn’t know where I was. Blocking the hovering terror, I tried to remember, looking for answers. And some came.
I returned from the university and found Christina still sick in bed. She had a fever and didn't remember anything about her day and she was coughing a lot and she’d thrown up. I tended to her, but she only wanted water and sleep. “Go sing,” she said. “I’ll be okay. I’m not moving from this bed.”
I brought her a towel in case she got sick again, then got ready. I remember wanting to dress special for Brecken. Where were we going tonight? I remember he called me at the PR and walked by on campus. He was watching over me and I wasn't so worried anymore about my stalker at the Tavern. Guess that was a mistake. I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled the cover higher.
But I needed to see more. My hair caught under my shoulder when I tried to raise my head. I relaxed back, remembering that I wanted to catch Conor again after my set. I wanted to find out if Conor would admit that he felt that other presence at the Tavern. The presence I feel close by right now.
For a moment my head reeled, but then I was back, unbelievable knowledge searing through my brain. Of course. I live in a world that can’t exist. I sing in a place where a good looking vampire plays the banjo and comes from South Dakota. I’m dating a guy who is drop dead gorgeous, who writes novels and plays tennis and - oh, yeah - also happens to be a vampire.
Two non-existent fictions are circling in my life. A third was in Santa Barbara. And a fourth waited somewhere on the other side of this bedroom door. It wasn’t my imagination. This was real and I was - kidnapped. Terrifying, but I could think of no other word for it.
I moved my arms and legs. Not tied, but I wasn’t free, either, because he was here. I wanted to scream for help, but I knew better. The only one who would come was ... Stalker. Captor, I corrected myself. I huddled deeper, stunned and shaking. But I’d already accepted their existence and remembering didn’t stun me for long. I needed to know where I was and how to escape.
I remember skipping down the front steps, wearing new pants and top, boots and - what? Oh yes, my onyx necklace. I reached up to feel for it. The necklace was still there and so was a tender spot just under my ear. No, two spots, not far apart.
Lord, no. Did he bite me? My breath choked. The woman with Logan had spots, but they faded away. She had rubbed her neck and it didn’t hurt. I think. My skin was tender, but was anything visible? I needed a mirror.
This was a living nightmare, but I had to go through everything.
I drove downhill from my house. Not quite dark, no street lights shining yet. There was a car behind me and a boy riding his bike and I stopped to let him cross. Then a hard lurch. The car back ended me into the inter
section. My neck jerked and it hurt. Then - oh yeah.
A woman got out. “Look at my car. Come here.”
She tugged my arm and I knew her face. She’d been in the Tavern two nights ago, sitting alone. In her mid thirties, I’d guess, and big. I’d never seen her before the other night and now we had an accident and she was yelling at me to look. I imagined a child, a bumped head, or … I didn’t know. But I was okay, so I got my license and decided to check the damage to my car.
She was mad and pulled me to her back door. I peered in and the car was empty. The woman cussed and I straightened up for the exchange of I.D. Then her hand shot in front of my face and jabbed me. I remember pain and going numb and a strong shove and a cloth pressed over my face.
Then nothing - until the fuzz and this room.
I lay quiet, but the door swung open anyway and I felt him beside the bed. “You’re awake,” a voice said. “Don’t be scared, Henna. I'm not going to hurt you.”
His voice caught as he spoke to me. I heard the intensity, the awful attempt to comfort. There wasn’t much choice, so I opened my eyes and looked up into his.
I stared and he let me. Light from the hall touched him and I could see clearly. He had dark hair, and full brows. His eyes were lowered, looking at me, and he was medium height and slender. Once, I tried to picture the Venice stalker, but now, he was older then I imagined.
“Who are you and where am I?” My voice sounded strong and brave. How could I be strong and brave? The energy pouring from him made me want to puke. I cowered behind my precious walls, even as I stared him boldly in the eyes.
“You’re with me,” he said. “Where you belong. I’m Russell.”
Chapter 62
In a way it was like Henna's disappearance a few days back, only this time she hadn’t left of her own free will. I searched before and will do it again. Call Louie while I drive.
Azusa first. Russell wasn't there, but the fat woman could be. Strike out. Venice Beach next and no Russell, but I felt another vampire and trailed him to question. An old acquaintance who actually knew Russell, too. But no contact in weeks. Dead end.
Silver Page 37
