by Kailin Gow
“I promise.”
Kalina went white as she picked up the phone. Vamps…in Rutherford, again? The people she knew and loved – once more in danger. Would she never be rid of this nameless fear that bubbled up inside of her?
Justin put his arm around Kalina. “Don’t worry,” he said softly. “She’s a strong girl – even if she is human. She’ll be fine. And if I recall correctly, she does know her way around a pretty mean stake.”
“We need to head back to Rutherford, stat,” said Kalina. “I bet Molotov’s already there – and the longer we let it go the more people will die.”
“If Molotov’s there, Octavius can’t be too far off. And who knows whether he’s affected or not? If the Life’s Blood’s as unpredictable as you say…” Max frowned.
“And Jaegar? What about him?” Stuart interrupted.
Kalina sighed as she thought of Jaegar – confused, alone, scared, like an animal in the wilderness. Unable to control what was happening to him, the dark force taking over his mind. Just being close to him made Kalina realize how much she cared for him – how much she loved him, missed him. Understood him. There was something in Jaegar that Kalina recognized, that bound the two of them together. That linked them – the same wry, dangerous darkness that she knew lurked deep down within her own soul. They were the same, she and he. Hiding their pain, their vulnerability, beneath a mask of arrogance and confidence, using witty banter and ironic flirtation to mask the truth of their souls. Seven hundred years on earth could make Jaegar develop a pretty hard shell, Kalina knew, but it couldn’t erase the deep pain and humanity within. Deep down, he was an innocent. Unlike Stuart, who had the looks of an angelic choir boy and the soul of an old man.
“Listen, Max? Why don’t you, Justin, and Stuart head to Rutherford to survey the initial damage? I’ll deal with Jaegar and catch up with you.”
Max shot a look of concern at Kalina. “Kalina, that’s…”
“I know what I’m doing!”
“Kal,” Justin’s voice took on the tones of warning. “You’re not thinking with your head, but with your heart. You can’t let your feelings take over like this. He’s still under the influence of Life’s Blood, whether he wants to be or not. That means he can hurt you, whether or not he’s trying to….”
“Which is why I have to get to him and help him,” said Kalina. “If he’s under the influence, I can help him find himself again. It worked once before, didn’t it?”
Stuart was looking dubious, but to Kalina’s surprise Max nodded grimly.
“Kalina’s right,” said Max. “I trust her intuition – she knows what it’s like to be a Carrier. She knows the power she holds…” She sighed heavily. “It’s settled, then. Justin, you will come back to Rutherford with me. Stuart – you wait here and keep an eye on Kalina. You’ll slow us down, otherwise, and with Rutherford in danger we need to get there as quickly as possible. If Molotov and his minions are attacking, they’re going to need all the help they can get.”
Max and Justin quickly prepared for their departure, waiting only for sundown so that Justin could fly without incident. Kalina could hardly believe it – imagine Justin, her brother Justin, about to fly across the Pacific without wings. She herself had only just gotten used to the idea of flying herself – somehow, seeing Justin do it made everything more surreal. Nevertheless, she tried to compose herself as much as possible, going up to her mother and wrapping her arms around her in a great bear hug. “Max,” Kalina whispered, “promise me you’ll be careful, okay? I don’t want to lose you, too.”
Max nodded. “You won’t, Kal,” she said. “I promise. But listen to me – if things get dangerous…” She placed a slender gold chain around Kalina’s neck. Hanging upon the chain was a glass vial. “I used this once to bring Stuart back from the brink. It could work on another vampire who’s been infected. Use it when you need it.”
Kalina fingered the necklace. “Thanks, Mom.”
If Max was embarrassed, she barely showed it; nevertheless, her pallid cheeks turned a slight shade of red. “Mom…” she repeated. “Yes, I suppose…I like how it sounds. I never got that when you were little – the feeling of a baby calling you that for the very first time. But…I can almost imagine it feels something like this.”
But before Kalina could respond, Max was her customary stoic self again. “Anyway, we haven’t got any more time to waste on talking. We don’t want to risk what happened in Switzerland happening again.”
Justin too wrapped his arms around Kalina, enveloping her in a great bear hug. “You take care, sis,” he said. “I know you can do it on your own, but without a vampire around to protect you I can’t help but be a little bit worried. At least Stuart’s a help. He might not be a physical vamp anymore – but he knows his brothers. He knows how vamps work. That’s half the battle, knowing how they think…” He stopped himself suddenly, blushing. “How we think.”
“Be sure to check in on Maeve, okay?” Kalina said. “I’m worried about her. While we’ve been out chasing Carriers, she’s been taking care of Rutherford. And let me tell you, she’s been doing a lot for a human.”
“I know, Kal,” said Justin, nodding. “She’s a real friend, that one. I’ll watch out for her, don’t you worry.”
“Good,” said Kal. “And you be careful, too.” She smiled half-heartedly. “And if I run into any particularly nice Carrier girls with a penchant for sexy doctors…”
“You’ll give me a call?”
“Naturally.”
“Don’t worry about me, Kalina,” Justin said. “I don’t think that whole immortality thing’s so bad. Plenty of time to pay off my student loans. In any case, I’ve got plenty of time to meet the right girl, now.” He stopped. “I used to think being a vampire would get in the way, that it would destroy my future, my destiny. But now I know – this is my destiny. This is my future. A chance to take over my parents’ research, to follow in their footsteps. To do what they did. I just never thought I’d be doing it as a vampire.”
“Neither did I,” Kalina said softly. “Neither did I.”
Chapter 8
After Justin and Max had flown together into the sunset, Kalina remained staring mournfully out the window, watching them get smaller and smaller until two tiny dark points vanished into the bright orange glow of impending night. She felt a sudden pang of sadness at their absence. Would she ever see the two of them again? Time and time again, the people she loved had been threatened by the vampires she feared. She’d always beaten them before. But this time felt different. With neither Jaegar nor Octavius by her side she felt weak, exposed. The family she had made for herself – a mix of those she had grown up with and those she learned to love – had imploded upon itself. She and Stuart were all that was left.
“Cheer up,” said Stuart, softly brushing his fingertips along her shoulders. “I’ve got something to show you.” He took hold of her hands and lightly pulled her towards him, leading her alongside the plush, marble corridor towards his suite.
Kalina gasped as he opened the door. Their own room had been lovely, to be sure, but this room was something else. Gleaming gold statues sat perched upon marble columns; Renaissance portraits mingled with shining collections of gemstones. A fire roared heartily in the intricately carved fireplace, over which hung an oil painting of a handsome young nobleman in the garb of an 18th century prince. But his face was familiar to Kalina.
“Is that you?”
“I’ve been coming here since the hotel first opened in the ‘70’s,” said Stuart. “Or my so-called father has. I purchased this room years ago. I’m in their system. It beats having to produce an ID and passport every time I go anywhere – believe me, being a vampire has its disadvantages that way. I don’t even have a driver’s license!” He smiled. “But look…” He walked over to the wood-paneled walls. Kalina gasped as he effortlessly slid aside the paneling, revealing three sets of shelves.
“What the…”
This wasn’t a lux
ury suite but an arsenal. The walls were lined with all sorts of contraptions – guns, rifles, pistols – modified to accommodate a range of stakes. Twenty crosses hung from the wall, as did a full set of Bibles.
“I’m out of vampire wine,” said Stuart, “but the rest…it’s all just as I left it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I was never very popular with the other vampires – even before I met you, Kalina. Those of us who worked with Octavius’ army, with the Consortium, were always in danger. I used this place to hide a cache of weapons in case I was ever threatened. And now, just because I’m not a vampire doesn’t mean that I’m interested in putting myself in danger. It’s not my day to die, and it isn’t yours, either. Choose your weapons.”
“Are we going to use these against Jaegar?” Kalina’s mouth dropped open in horror. “Or Octavius?” She looked up at Stuart with pleading eyes. “Please, Stuart, I thought we were going to try to save them first. I know you think that they’re a threat, but you have to at least…”
Stuart sighed heavily, pain clouding his eyes. “I hope that we never have to,” Stuart said with a grim look upon his beautiful face. “But you remember, don’t you, what Molotov did back across the ocean? He was able to create an entire army from a single village – making his own slaves. Molotov is ruthless, Kalina, and even if you stop to care about the people you love that’s no guarantee he won’t hit you quickly where it hurts. He might even know where all the Carriers are – and I don’t doubt he has spies and trackers on us everywhere, even here. For all we know he could have been behind the plane crash. And this isn’t the time or the place for you to be vulnerable, Kalina. You need to be strong. But more importantly, you need to be safe.”
“He’s not here,” Kalina insisted. “He’s almost certainly in Rutherford, guarding his precious Carriers.”
“We don’t know that,” said Stuart. “He wants us to think that, but he’s tricked us before. In Switzerland. In Mongolia. He could have sent his cronies to deal with the girls in California while he himself follows our every move. Do you really want to take that chance, Kalina?” He shook his head, going to the cabinets and filling his backpack with stakes and bottles of holy water. “I’ve still got those rubies from Mongolia – and we’ll have more. I sent my contact to go in search of more and bring them back here.”
“You’ve got all this worked out, huh?” Kalina looked around the room with surprise and admiration. “I have to admit I’m impressed.”
“You shouldn’t forget, my dear, I’m the one in charge of the human-wine division of Greystone Wineries. And plenty of other companies. Back in England, centuries ago, my training to be a priest meant I was one of very few who could read or write – I was in charge of local business. And while those certainly aren’t unique skills now, I managed to stay…ahead of the times. I’m used to running a business. Some of the companies I picked up shortly after the Industrial Revolution are still turning a profit.”
“So the private jet…” Kalina said, feeling guilty as she thought of millions of dollars’ worth of Stuart’s money going down in smoke.
“Pocket change,” said Stuart. He smiled and put an arm around her, kissing her lightly on the forehead. “Besides, you shouldn’t worry about money at a time like this. You’ve got to let me help you. You loved me enough to give me back my human life – how could I ever think of putting a price on that? I could give you all of this and I’d still be in your debt, as far as I see it…”
“I wish I could pay you back, someday…” said Kalina. “At least for the jet. Although considering it looks like I’m never getting a college degree, I’m not sure how employable a high school graduate with a tendency towards running away would be in this economy.”
“Kalina, you’ll be taken care of. Greystone Wineries alone makes profits in the billions…”
“Billions,” Kalina gaped. Good thing Justin wasn’t around to hear that, she thought – he’d insist she married Stuart on the spot! Vampire or not, that money was enough to last several lifetimes.
Stuart laughed. “I don’t have to be telepathic to know what you’re thinking, Kalina. If I had thought it would have made any difference to you, I would have told you about it that night back at the Winery, when we were talking about our future. I’m not above using every instrument in my arsenal to try to convince you I’m worth having…but I knew it wouldn’t matter to you. I didn’t want it to matter…” His gaze grew wistful and he turned away from her, avoiding her gaze. Kalina flushed slightly. She knew he was getting better at hiding the looks of love that appeared from time to time in his eyes, but that didn’t mean that they had gone away altogether. She could still feel the warmth between them; their connection still burned through her.
“Come on,” said Stuart. “We need to go.” He started putting on what looked like a military-style jacket covered in pockets.
“Go where?” Kalina asked.
“We’re leaving the hotel, Kal. I know I said Jaegar would come back here, but now I’m not so sure. Right now he’s struggling with himself – I remember what it was like – and I bet he’s trying to stay away from temptation to avoid Life’s Blood having power over him. He can’t go near you. But I know him, and I know he’s going to have a hard time staying away from you. He’s probably nearby. Last time we were here, he had a special place he liked to go to. To be alone. To think. I didn’t want to tell you in front of the others in case Justin or Max got too aggressive…”
“How did you know about this place?”
“We used to be close once,” said Stuart. “Long before everything that happened with Aaron…”
“I thought the two of you were estranged.”
“After Aaron and Marilee, we hardly spoke. There was so much bad blood between us. But before that…we were brothers, after all. We were close – we had to be. We’ve only had each other, and then Aaron…”
Stuart went quiet and Kalina squeezed his hand. She knew how much he hated talking about his brother; his eyes filled with pain. One day, Kalina told herself, she would ask Stuart the full story about what happened to Aaron’s mother, the woman he had once loved…but today wasn’t the day. Not with Jaegar and Octavius still on the loose.
“I should go get ready,” Kalina said.
“I’ll come with you,” said Stuart. “Without my super-hearing I’ll have to use you to figure out what’s up. Not a bad superpower, don’t you know?”
He placed his cheek against hers and Kalina smiled. Stuart’s sad eyes always had the power to make her heart melt. She knew deep down that she’d never be able to do anything about that – but she ached to cure his pain, to take away his sadness.
But with Jaegar and Octavius taking up so much of her love, she knew that she would never be able to give him what he really wanted from her. Her heart.
“I’m sorry, Stuart,” she whispered softly – so softly that she knew he could not hear her.
Chapter 9
It was a relief for Kalina to go back to her room in order to change. Being in such close quarters with Stuart was difficult for her. She knew that she did not love him the way she did Octavius and Jaegar – that she could not love him as much as he loved her. And yet spending time together reminded her of all that she had lost, of the innocence of their first few dates. She knew that she could not make him stop loving her; the knowledge filled her with guilt and shame. It was no longer her blood that drove him – at least before, she could have blamed Stuart’s feelings for her on the fact that she was a Carrier. But now it was different. He loved her for her – and yet she could not reciprocate.
Had she led him on? Kalina sighed. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for the way things had turned out with Stuart. Once she had been attracted to him – once she had been interested in dating him. But that felt like centuries ago. Could it only have been last year that he was frying eggs in her kitchen, laughing and joking with a human Justin? She had been through so much since then, with Jaegar and
Octavius, that it hardly felt real. But all it took was one look at Stuart’s face to remind her that she had left her mark on him: she had made him fall in love with her, intentionally or not. The only thing to do now was try to minimize the pain that this love would cause. Stuart, she knew, was an honorable man; he kept his word. He had sworn to love her until the very end of his life and she did not doubt that he would keep his promise, even if it meant letting his own heart break and shatter. All he wanted, she knew, was a normal life – marriage, children. Would he ever get those things? Even as a human, she knew, as long as he was pining after her, he would never be able to be free of his old vampire life.
He deserves better, thought Kalina sadly. Stuart had always been so noble, so brave, courageous enough to face down danger for the people he loved. She remembered how Stuart had been willing to sacrifice his life – his hope – when Jaegar had turned the last time in order to protect her. Of course, he had been a vampire then. But somehow humanity had made Stuart stronger, not weaker. He may not have had the powers he had once possessed, but his heroism, his fervent conviction that his life was only worth living insofar as he spent it protecting the people he cared about – those things had gotten more palpable now. Human or vampire, Stuart was really something special.
