Deadman's Blood

by T. Lynne Tolles

  Now that he’d found her once again, all the feelings from before came flooding back, stronger and more intense than he ever thought imaginable. Was it that he had loved her all this time, but just wouldn’t allow those feelings to surface? Or was it just the anticipation of confronting her with the truth in hopes that she might feel the same for him after all this time?

  He felt sure that was wishful thinking. How could she possibly be happy about being locked away, having her child taken from her, and missing out on life? After all, this was all his fault. If he had kept tabs on her, he might have suspected the pregnancy and could have intervened. He wondered how everything had gotten so complicated. Chances were that she might not recover from the years of being locked away and so heavily medicated. Even with this specialist he’d found for her, it might be too late. Poor Katarina, he thought. How could I have done this to her?

  A knock at the door jolted him from his thoughts of Katarina and his computer email box. “Come in,” he said as he closed his laptop.

  Josh entered, “Is this a bad time?”

  “Not at all, my boy. Come in. Sit down. What can I do for you?”

  “Well, it’s not really what you can do for me; its more that I wanted to let you know something,” Josh said.

  “And what might that be?” Dominic asked.

  “Well, I wanted to let you know that I’m making flight arrangements for Lanie and me to visit my parents in a couple of days.”

  “Oh. Everything is okay, I hope,” Dominic replied, a little concerned.

  “Oh no…everything is fine; I just want to introduce them to Lanie,” Josh answered.

  “That’s a big step in a man’s life. Bringing a young woman home to meet the parents usually means you plan on making her a permanent part of your life,” Dominic said.

  “Exactly. She has no parents for me to ask for permission…” Josh started.

  “Whoa…permission? Are you planning on asking her to marry you?” Dominic asked.

  “I am,” Josh announced.

  “Don’t you think it’s a bit soon for that? I mean, what’s the rush?” Dominic wondered.

  “No rush. I just think it’s right, so why wait?”

  “This doesn’t have anything to do with the ‘virgin’ issue does it?” Dominic asked.

  “The what? No. I can’t believe he told you. No,” Josh said in a huff and started to get up.

  “Josh. Wait. I’ve handled this badly…please sit down,” Dominic apologized.

  Josh turned reluctantly, and then plopped down in the chair once more.

  “Please don’t be upset with Anton. He revealed the contents of your conversation mostly because he was so thrilled to have you confide in him and well, when he said you confided in him on a most personal matter, it just kind of came out. It was not intentional.

  “You are a grown man, and you certainly don’t need a wanna-be dad telling you what you should do with your life; you already have a father for that. I adore Melanie and I’m glad you’ve found each other. I think you match up well and I have no doubt that she will be wonderful and caring wife.

  “I’m sorry for stepping out of bounds. If you should ever want my opinion, I will be here for you. I promise to try and not be too fatherly. If you will, though, allow a suggestion?” Dominic asked.

  Josh shrugged in agreement.

  “No worries. This has nothing to do with Melanie or marriage.” Dominic smiled, hoping to get Josh to smile back. He did. “Instead of flying to your parents, why don’t you have them fly out to Connecticut? They can stay here. It would be for purely selfish reasons on my part, as I am dying to meet them and hear about your childhood. Do you think that they would agree to such a thing?”

  “I’m sure they would like to meet you too; I just don’t want to put you out. You’ve already done so much for me and Lanie already,” Josh answered.

  “Well, whether you think of me as family or not, I would like to be a part of your life and meeting your parents would mean a lot to me,” Dominic relayed.

  “I don’t see how I can say no to that…except…what about the vampire thing?” Josh asked.

  “Unless you want them to know, I don’t see why they have to be told. It’s up to you on what you think they can handle, or what you want them to know about us,” Dominic assured.

  “Okay. I’ll ask them and let you know,” Josh said. “And I’m sorry I acted defensively to your questions. Maybe there is some truth to me rushing things a bit for the reasons you mentioned. I want to do the right thing by her. She deserves that.”

  “True and it’s very noble of you,” Dominic admitted.

  “But…?” Josh asked.

  “No but,” Dominic said.

  “I know a father ‘but’ when I hear one. It’s okay. I’m asking,” Josh stated.

  “In that case, I just would like to point out that whatever you decide, I’m fine with, and that if my parents ever heard me say this, I’d probably never hear the end of it. I’m a believer in love and commitment and I don’t think anyone should jump into bed with someone just to satiate their carnal needs; jumping into marriage isn’t the answer either. Society no longer frowns upon couples co-habiting before they are married like they did when I was young, or even when Anton was young. I’ve seen a lot of my friends who married more for lust than for love and years down the road dearly regretted their impulsiveness.

  “I can see the love between you, that’s not my concern. But now that the danger from Dimitri is over, maybe you should get to know one another better. Some of my fondest memories of Sophia were when I was courting her - finding every little thing she said interesting, having our first fight and making up afterwards. And this goes for Katarina too. She used to bite her lip when she was nervous or thinking very hard and I found it so adorable. I’m not sure she even realized she did it. I always wondered if she did this as a little girl and thought what an adorable little girl she must have been with skinned knees and pigtails…smiling hugely with one or two baby teeth missing.”

  Josh watched as Dominic seemed to drift off in his thoughts about Katarina, his eyes sparkling. Josh smiled himself and when Dominic realized he had stopped talking and he started to gather his thoughts about the topic at hand, Josh said, “Does Katarina know you still love HER?”

  Dominic chuckled. “Truthfully, I’m not sure I ever stopped, but now that she has been brought back into the forefront of my thoughts, I must admit my feelings for her are stronger than I ever thought possible. You play a part in that too. Being around you and noticing traits in you that she had and, well, of course, knowing that we made something amazing out of that love and brief time we had together.”

  Josh blushed and looked down at his lap as he started to smile.

  Dominic continued, “You know, in a way I am quite torn in my advice to you.”

  “Why is that?” Josh asked.

  “After wasting so much precious time without Katarina and having so few years with Sophia, part of me wants to say go grab Melanie and make love to her, spend every second you can with her. Let your heart be your guide. And the other part sees how miserable Anton was for so long for impetuously diving in to a marriage when he barely knew Libby.”

  *****

  Devon stood at the door of the bathroom and knocked quietly. “Sweetness? Are you okay?” he said.

  “I’m fine. Just thought for a moment there I was going to be sick,” Darby answered.

  “Maybe you are coming down with something?” Devon asked with concern.

  “Yeah…maybe,” she admitted.

  “Can I get you anything?” he asked.

  Darby opened the door of the bathroom with a weak smile on her face and said, “No, Sweetie. I’m fine.”

  “Well, maybe we should postpone our trip to Ireland,” Devon wondered.

  “No. We need to get over there and get things started if we are ever going to move there. Truly. I’ll be fine,” Darby said.

  “Okay. I got your passport y
esterday and we’re set to leave the day after tomorrow, but if you don’t feel up to it, I can change the reservations, or I can go myself,” Devon explained.

  “Not on your life. I don’t want you out of my sight for one moment. I spent months alone when I was looking for you. I couldn’t stand it if you were gone,” Darby said.

  Devon smiled and pulled Darby to him gently, wrapping his strong arms around her as she loosely wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. Darby thought, how funny it is that one often takes these quiet moments of tenderness for granted, but when one has been without them for a while they are so warming to the soul. She was grateful to have Devon back in her arms again.

  Devon spoke softly as he pulled away from her only enough to look her in the eyes, “I’ll let Dominic know what our plans are. Why don’t you go lie down?”

  “Yeah. Okay,” Darby conceded.

  *****

  Several days later, Dominic found himself again at his computer checking the status of Katarina and mulling over how hard it was going to be to say goodbye today. Devon and Darby would be flying to Ireland for a week or two to check out the house, and get some contractors in the house to start upgrading the electrical and plumbing along with some maintenance repairs Devon was sure that were needed.

  Anton was headed to New York and was planning on staying at the penthouse for a week or so. He had been neglecting his gallery for too long now and he had a pile of paperwork and calls that could no longer be ignored.

  Blake, Rowan, Dean, and Sally were heading back to California. Dominic hated that they were so far away. He felt closer to Devon and Blake than he ever had and it made his heart ache to think of the distance that would be between them.

  Josh had called his parents and they had accepted the invitation Dominic had extended to them. They would be arriving a few days.

  With Darby and Devon leaving, it was the perfect time for Mark and Alyssa to start moving into the guest house and they were quite excited about it. Dominic knew this was a big step for Mark as he was sure that Mark had never been at this stage of a relationship before. Alyssa had already gotten a couple of interviews in town for a receptionist position, so everything looked like it was working out for the best.

  Dominic wasn’t sure what Josh and Melanie’s plans were at this point. He hoped they too would not end up residing on the west coast, but he knew it was where they both called home. He felt he had missed so much of Josh’s life up to this point; he certainly didn’t want to lose him again. Dominic wished he could just pronounce an edict that forbade anyone from leaving, but he knew that wasn’t possible. He had raised some strong-willed boys and knew that would only make them run further away.

  How cold and empty the house would be once again. He stared out the window behind his desk at the blue sky, the green of the grass, and the gentle breeze stirring the leaves on the branches. It seemed wrong; it should be gray and somber, maybe raining, reflecting how he felt about this day.

  Just then the computer chimed. An email had arrived. Not expecting it to be anything but boring business stuff, he pulled his attentions from his somber thoughts and back into reality and clicked on the computer to clear it of its sleep mode. It was a message from the doctor that was treating Katarina.

  Mr. Larsen

  I know you have been eager to see some improvement in Ms. Jansson’s mental health. I’m sorry I haven’t written before hand but I did not want to give you any false hopes. Having been prescribed the amounts of medications Ms. Jansson has, it was highly unlikely that she could come away from such an extensive treatment without some mental inabilities or maintain all of her faculties, but I am overjoyed to say that she is progressing very well indeed.

  She has been weaned from all her medications and is now talking with our therapist. After conferring with him, we are quite sure that she will recover fully without any permanent damage.

  She was rather shocked to find so many years had gone by, for she doesn’t remember much at all. The therapist and I agree that it might be a good time for you to visit, if you are so inclined. Her family is all but gone and those still around no longer want to deal with her, so we feel that given your relationship, you might be a good way to help her make her way back into the present.

  If you agree to helping, we will make arrangements for your first visit at your earliest convenience.

  Best Regards

  Dr. Thompson MD

  The smile that came to Dominic’s lips as he read the letter made him blush. How long had it been since he had blushed? He wasn’t sure. All the gloomy thoughts of the family heading back to their own lives washed away and suddenly, the beautiful day looked somehow more perfect.

  Katarina’s going to be okay. What a miracle, indeed. Blissful thoughts of moonlit strolls, dancing under the stars, and dinners by candlelight flooded his mind before he pulled back to his senses. Let’s not go crazy. You don’t even know how she’s going to react to you.

  He quickly started tapping at the keyboard in response to Dr. Thompson’s email, letting him know that he would be happy to help. He also thought he would have to let Josh know that Katarina was improving. Wouldn’t it be amazing after all that the three of us have been through, if we didn’t turn out to be some semblance of a family? he wondered. The smile made its way back to his lips along with another blush, much like the blush he had seen on Josh earlier.

  Chapter Ten

  It had been a bumpy ride of a day. So many emotions running rampant as everyone said their goodbyes. After being angry at Devon for so long, Anton found himself really hating the thought of Devon and Darby moving to Ireland permanently. He laid in bed mulling over the snippets of conversations from the exhausting day.

  As he started to wind down from the day’s stress, he slipped into a dark abyss where sleep waited for him. Tonight however, would not find him a restful sleep as he drifted into the head of the killer vampire he had visited a while back.

  Such an odd sensation it was to be in someone else’s head, not able to hear their thoughts, only his own which were confused and disturbed by his last trek with the hunter.

  It was night time and the predator was moving fast. The stealth and speed of his host was unmatched. Voices, night life, and the elements were hardly identifiable due to the speed. They were more like garbled waves of sound making a wake as they sped through them.

  Next was an extreme cold and all he could see out of the windows of eyes, was green, murky darkness. When a fish darted in front of them, he realized his host was racing under water. Here the sounds were even more muffled. He wasn’t sure but he thought a boat might have passed overhead; when his host looked up and was silhouetted by the moonlight, he saw the white, churning line that the boat was making as it headed to its destination.

  When they finally emerged from the water, Anton started to recognize some features in the land and then spied the unmistakable landmark for which they were headed; they were on Heart Island and they were headed for the tunnels towards the altar room he and his family had far too recently visited.

  While heading for the tunnel, his host walked by the shiny windows of a docked water taxi and turned towards it to make sure no one was on board. The reflection that Anton saw in the window was one that brought a chill of fear up his spine, as it was none other than the infamous Dark Angel.

  The Dark Angel was a vampire gun for hire and no one ever walked away alive from a bout with it. He had met and had a conversation with the Dark Angel once in this very place not long ago. It had been like being in the presence of a famous outlaw or gangster, Anton had been in awe of the Dark Angel’s presence, but he knew far too well he was one of very few that would ever live to tell the tale. Now finding he was inside the head of such a creature, he wondered if there had been some deep seated connection that had happened when they’d met that was causing him to see through its eyes.

  They headed straight for the altar room and once there, they made a beeline for the hu
ge hearth. The black-gloved hands reached out for a stone near the bottom right of the base. There it stopped. The stone appeared to be missing. The hand reached in the dark crevice, revealing nothing. Whatever was supposed to be there wasn’t there any longer.

  Was this the stone that Dominic had said had fallen, exposing the artifact he had found during that fateful day when everyone had been there fighting Dimitri and his thug vampires? Had this artifact been the reason he himself had run into the Dark Angel that day when Dominic had sent him out with an ancient, hand-sketched map in hopes of finding the altar room? What significance was the artifact if the Dark Angel had need of it? And how did the Dark Angel even know about the artifact?

  So many questions ran through his head that he sat up suddenly in bed in a cold sweat, still painfully aware of what he had just experienced. Before he could forget even the slightest of details, he grabbed a pen and the notepad Blake had suggested he keep by his bed, and wrote down all the details.

  When he was done, he laid back in his bed, adrenaline still pumping throughout his body, and thought on all the questions that his adventure in the Dark Angel’s head had brought up and what they might mean. Whatever it was, he was sure it would not be anything good. He would have to relay the sorted details to Dominic in the morning and hoped his father would have some thoughts on the matter.

  *****

  Dominic was as nervous as a high school kid going on his first date. He sat in the waiting room of the doctor’s office and flipped through one of the outdated, well-read magazines on the table in front of him. He was not really reading it; it was just something to do with his nervous hands as he waited for someone to call his name.

  Part of him wanted to make a mad dash for the door, and another part of him wanted to see Katarina so badly despite the unknowns that he stayed glued to the chair in anticipation. Would she be happy to see him? Would she be angry and blame him for the almost thirty years lost to her? There were so many possibilities that he felt a wave of nausea pass through him. What would he do if his presence was ill received? Could he live with that? Did he have a choice?