by Lynne Murray
“I sincerely apologize for calling so late.” Even I could hear the fear vibrating in my voice.
“Hi, Kris, don’t worry about the time. What’s going on?”
“That’s just it, Larry. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I need to talk to you about something I’m seeing. It’s either a hallucination—or, I don’t know what.” I explained about the floating creatures outside Vi’s place and my window.
“How very William Blake.”
“Don’t go Joseph Campbell on me, Larry.”
“No, hon, I was trying to make you laugh. What you describe sounds terrifying. Shall I come over?”
“Okay, but Larry—”
“Yes, dear.”
“If you see anything that looks dangerous, turn around and run like hell. Call me from home. Don’t put yourself at risk.”
“Hang in there, Kris. I’ll be right over.”
Chapter 57
Kristin Marlowe’s typed notes
August 27th predawn hours
Ten minutes later I buzzed Larry through the gate and he walked past the hordes of floating monsters as if they did not exist. I pulled him inside without a word and shut the door on the creatures hovering just outside.
Hugging Larry made me feel much better. But the specter bobbing curiously at the window over his shoulder made me feel much worse.
Larry clearly didn’t see it, and his presence didn’t stop my seeing it.
“Let’s start by turning on a few lights,” he said. “You’re sitting in the dark.”
I let him turn on a lamp. The light masked the creatures outdoors, but it made me feel more vulnerable, a victim targeted in a spotlight.
“You’ve just been through an awful tragedy, Kris.”
We went into my small kitchen—the window over the sink and counter faced Vi’s garden and the back of her house, but I purposefully sat in the little breakfast nook facing away from the window. Larry sat facing me, ignoring the creatures outside the window.
“Do you think I’m having a breakdown?”
“Tell me what you see now.”
“I’m making a point of not looking, but whenever I do, they’re there. I realize that by telling you this I’m putting myself in a vulnerable position.”
He squeezed my hand. “You can trust me not to abuse your confidence. All I can say for starters is that you’re definitely seeing a reality that I’m not seeing. Have you been eating regularly? I know you’re grieving, and if you forget to eat, that can put you in an altered state.”
“Some of my neighbors brought food. I’ve been eating.”
“You aren’t on any medications that might explain what you’re seeing?”
“No.”
“Would you like to be on some medications? I brought my prescription pad and some sample packs of anti-psychotics. But I would also be happy to drive you to the emergency room of your choice and talk to the docs there. If we do that, I’ll stick around and back you up, however you want.”
I hugged him again. “You’re a true friend, Larry, and I really appreciate that offer. But as a friend, I would ask you to not do that for the moment. I’m freaked out, but I’m hoping whatever it is will just go away and not come back.”
“You’ve never had this kind of hallucination before?”
“Never.”
“I’m not an expert on this particular area, but it does seem late in life to begin visual hallucinations, unless there’s some kind of toxic mold in the house that’s starting to affect you. Maybe you’ve got a brain tumor.” He saw my face and patted my hand. “Just trying to cheer you up. Maybe someone slipped some hallucinatory drugs into a chicken noodle casserole in a misguided attempt at comfort food. Did anyone bring you suspicious brownies?”
I had to laugh, which made me feel a little better. I hated to withhold the information about Vi’s death, but he hadn’t seen it, and he didn’t see the monsters swarming on the house now, so I hesitated. He already thought I was hallucinating—bringing up vampires would convince him I was totally delusional. “Did Bram Van Helsing talk at all about Vi’s death?”
“No. He went back to Arizona to clear up some details and get his car. From everything he said, Vi’s sudden illness and death must have been very traumatic. He did say he was very touched to have been able to help you, and he was coming back here this weekend.” He smiled a little mischievously. “He asked me not to be offended at how hurt he was that you thought he was gay.”
“I apologized for that, okay? I’ve been living in San Francisco too long.”
“I had a feeling he liked you, and this just confirms it.”
“Thanks, that cheers me up. I’m looking forward to seeing him again.”
“And seeing more of him next time.” Larry winked.
I had to laugh. Somehow Larry had accomplished the impossible and made the terror fade just a little.
He patted my shoulder. “Okay, Kris. Now that we’ve got your love life back on track, let’s do an assessment. You told me what you see. Do you hear anything? Voices? Whispers, unusual sounds?”
“No.” Now that he mentioned it, I considered how odd that the mass outside was so amazingly silent. Suddenly I took comfort in the possibility that this was a passing hallucination.
“How about other senses—do you feel as if anything is touching you? Like a crawling sensation on your skin?”
“You’re creeping me out even more, Larry.” I shuddered. “No tactile sensations, but thanks for suggesting it.”
“It’s very common for people who have recently lost a loved one to experience hearing their voice or briefly seeing them.”
I shuddered. “Yes. I’ve heard of that.” I was pretty sure Vi’s vampire life was not a delusion, but would I know if it was?
Larry put his hand on my forehead. “No sign of a fever—infections can cause hallucinations. We could take your temperature, but your forehead is actually cool and not clammy. No outward signs of shock. No hot and cold feelings?”
I shook my head.
“You’re shaking a little, though.”
“Scared,” was all I could say.
Larry got up and came over to hug me again and sat down next to me on the padded bench of the breakfast nook keeping an arm around my shoulders. “You’ve had such a rough time the last few days. Are you sure you don’t want to come back to sleep in my guest room, just to get away from this place for awhile?”
I sighed. “No, thanks, I’d better stay. I’ve got to feed Vi’s cats in the morning.”
“You’re shivering. How about if I tuck you in with an extra blanket and warm up some milk for you with toast. In my handy dandy drugs sample bag I have a mild sedative if you’d like it--no?”
I shook my head and managed a shaky laugh. “I might warm up some milk. I’m better now, thanks, Larry. You should go home—you’ve got my clients to see as well as your own tomorrow. But thanks for coming over at this hour and listening to me without judgment. I think I just needed to hear a professional verdict of sanity.”
“Relative sanity, Kris. Everything is relative.”
“Thank you, Doctor Einstein.”
He left soon after. I watched him go through the gate, and a few inches away on the other side of the window the red-eyed creature stared at me. I made eye contact and for a dizzying moment I was pulled into the human-looking iris in the middle of the neon-red eyeball.
The thing opened a mouth that was crowded with razor sharp teeth and smashed it up against the window pane with a solid thunk. Then it began to suck. Each one of those needle-like teeth opened up, drawing energy out of me. I could feel it, almost see the life force draining out of me in a tangible gush. I staggered a step forward.
The phone rang and I jumped. That broke whatever link had been established. I heard a loud pop. It might have been the creature peeling away from the window glass. I resisted the urge to check, and backed away. It didn’t seem to be breaking the glass or coming in, but I felt drained. The damn
thing had been sucking my life force through the window.
I turned and scrambled for the phone.
Vi’s voice was loud and harsh on the line. “Stay away from the windows. Keep your back to them. Any attention draws them. Their eyes kill. Don’t look.”
She hung up.
I held the phone stunned for a moment, then remembered that Sir John’s voice had somehow reached me to say something similar when I was pulling Vi away from the window. The night she got sick. Two nights before she died.
The trembling had been replaced by a bone-deep weariness. I went to get some duct tape out of a drawer and taped the edges of the curtains down so not even a trace of window could be seen. I couldn’t help but think of a schizophrenic woman I’d met working at a free clinic, who lined her coat and hat with aluminum foil to ward off dangerous thought wave transmissions. Somehow that didn’t seem so crazy to me at this point. What if I had told Larry that a phone call from a dead woman had given me suggestions about warding off red-eyed, energy-sucking creatures.
I looked at my watch. It was nearly 4:00 a.m. I sat in the chair, well away from the window, and tried to think clearly. Finally I pulled out my purse and dug out Edgar Morford’s card. The vampire lawyer’s number was the same as the one I had copied from Sir John.
If midnight was noon in the vampire world, as Sir John had told us, then 3:45 a.m. would fall toward the end of his business day.
Chapter 58
Kristin Marlowe’s typed notes
August 27th 4:00 a.m.
Morford answered on the first ring. “Kristin.” Either a psychic vampire, or one with caller I.D.
“Edgar, something weird is happening.”
“Describe it.”
“I can see the back of Vi’s house from my front window. It’s covered in a swarm of huge gray—things with red eyes. I think they saw me and now some of them have come over to my window.” I couldn’t disguise the raw edge of hysteria in my voice.
“ You just had a narrow escape. You must have known not to look in their eyes or you wouldn’t be talking to me. “ His voice grew cautious.”I think I know what you’re dealing with, but just to be sure, describe these things.”
“Red eyes, different sizes, but they look somewhat human. Except they float. They’re bumping up against my window like moths. I think—” My throat was so dry I could barely speak. “I think one of them was draining my life force when I made eye contact.”
“Never do that, and don’t give them the slightest invitation to come in.”
“They could get in?”
“Only if you are insane enough to invite them.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Then you should be safe if you ignore them.”
“But they’re crawling all over Vi’s house.”
“That is puzzling.” His voice tone was chilly. “We don’t know a lot about them. Studying them is dangerous. It’s not unheard of for living humans to see them if they have been vampire-bit. Sir John drank your blood—any vampire can tell this when they meet you. But the horde you describe only swarm when living people invite them. You didn’t invoke them somehow, did you, even by accident?”
“My God, no!”
“They can bring humans over into a kind of undeath. We call them the Others but they do not speak to vampires except to kill us. No one knows where they came from or how to destroy them. I cannot imagine why they would attack Violet’s house. It was Sir John who brought Violet over, was it not?”
“Yes. He did. I saw it.”
“Eyewitness testimony is persuasive.” His tone was dry, as if he suspected me of not telling the whole truth. “Violet rose up like a vampire—that I myself saw.”
“Can they hurt Vi? They’re all over her house.”
“She’s going to her orientation meetings, isn’t she?”
“Of course she is. She wouldn’t miss them.”
“Don’t worry, then. From the first night she has received instructions about how to deal with them.”
“But you said your organization takes care of vampires in need.”
“Not the Others—or their spawn. Avoid them. They will kill you. Or worse.” He hung up on me.
Bastard. So there was some kind of class war going on among vampires. British vampires with titles and their guests got preferential treatment. Vampires with property got custom coffin bases and an education. Bring us your tired, your poor, your correctly bitten humans, okay. But if you get bitten by seething masses of inhuman, fiends with red eyes glowing like coals, you’re on your own.
I was shaking again, but a large part of it was anger. I hate to prejudge any creature. But they had almost killed Vi and now they were back to finish the job. I gazed at the curtain. On the other side of it the vague shapes were hovering, bumping against the window gently. Red light flickered around the edges of the door as they explored the cracks.
Vi said looking at them made them stronger, but it was hard to turn my back. I made my way back to the bedroom and closed the door to the hall. Suddenly I went from hyper alert to exhausted. I had a lot of questions for Vi—if we both survived the night.
Chapter 59
Kristin Marlowe’s typed notes
August 27th continued
I awoke to full daylight with a start, looking around for some kind of attacker. The morning was quiet, wrapped in fog. I put on a terrycloth robe and crept to the front window, unpeeled the duct tape and looked out into the garden. The only eyes that met mine in the cold gray light of dawn were the two feral cats waiting for their morning handout.
I got dressed and grabbed the shoulder bag where Vi kept food and water for them. Meanwhile, in the house, Vi’s cats had come out of hiding. All five of them, including the shy mother and kitten sat in the window. When I went into Vi’s kitchen they all clustered around my feet loudly demanding breakfast. I found a note from Vi taped to the cupboard where I couldn’t miss it.
Dear Kris, I think the Others might kill the cats. I can’t protect them much longer. Please get all of them out of here now. Don’t feed them till you get them in the carrier.
Call Pamela and explain you have to move the house ferals. She’ll lend you a trap.
They’re taking my words, Kris. I don’t know how long before they take my self. Kiss my babies for me. Tell them I loved them as long as I could. I know you will take care of them.
There was a faint red blot on the page, as if from a blood-tinged tear.
Moving the cats took hours.
I started with Ariel. Vi had once told me he was so smart he would hide the minute he knew what was up. I ferried him across the garden to my bedroom and closed him in there.
Hamlet tried to resist going into the biggest carrier, but he was so terrified that he just froze and I hefted him in and locked the door before he could back out. He was heavy enough that I had to use both hands and brace the carrier against my thighs crossing the garden.
Sly accepted the relocation with only a few despairing mews on the trip across the garden.
Then I brought over all but one of their litter boxes, food and water bowls. I called Pamela about borrowing the trap, but she was out for the day, and it began to get closer to dark. The female cats would have to spend one more night at Vi’s. I left a tiny amount of food and some water for them and went to comfort the other cats.
The office where I saw my clients seemed too close to the Others outside. I hauled the carriers back to my bedroom at the back of the house. It had heavy curtains over the window, and that put two doors between us and the silent horde. I opened the carrier doors and there was a pause. Each cat exited his carrier the same way, belly to the ground, eyes wide, looking for a place to hide. The bed was close and they sneaked under it and hunkered down. I put out food and water, installed a litter box on some newspapers.
The first of the Others came swooping across the sky as I left a brief note for Vi. I was not going out again that night. Neither was Vi, evidently. She was going to
stay and protect the girl cats.
I lay on the bed, but there was no sound from the cats underneath. It was going to be a long night for all of us. I found myself touching the scar on my neck. Where was Sir John when we really needed him?
The phone rang. It was Vi.
Chapter 60
Hal Roy’s spoken notes
silver flash drive/voice recorder
August 26th
I got into Washington, D.C. late in the day on the 25th. It was dark by the time I checked into my hotel. I tried not to think about leaving Mina alone with those hordes of monsters. Until the night before I had assumed she was safe because she couldn’t see them. I could only hope she would follow my instructions and be okay.
As unpacked my suitcase, I heard a knock at the door. I looked out the peephole, half expecting a hotel employee or messenger, and saw two official-looking men, one African American, one Asian. They wore dark suits. The black man held up a photo ID. “Mr. Roy, I’m Agent Fowler,” he said through the closed door. “This is Agent Park. We need to speak to you.”
“What’s this about?” My first thought was a security check for my next assignment but the ID didn’t seem quite right. I kept the chain on the door. “What agency are you with?”
“We’re with the FVIA, sir. The Federal Vampire Investigation Agency.”
“Is this some kind of joke?” I was totally lost. Such a practical joke made no sense. I had never breathed the word “vampire” to anyone Washington. The only people I’d ever told about Jack were my friends in San Francisco and since we’d encountered the Others, any hint of playfulness was gone.
“May we come in?”
I had wanted to meet other vampires. Maybe they could help. I unchained the door and stepped back. They waited. They appeared to need an invitation.
“You two gentlemen can come in.”
Agent Fowler stepped in and Agent Park followed him and closed the door. The hotel room had a table and chairs and an armchair. I sat in the armchair and gestured to my two visitors to sit. They ignored the invitation and continued to stand.
