“Bianca called Annelise from Jamie’s phone? Yeah, I’m in Savannah, already. A vampire told me—you were right about Central Park. Location? Hang on, let me get a pen and paper.” Before he could make the writing motion with his hand, Frank had already placed what Landon needed in front of him. Landon mouthed thanks. “Okay, where’s the house located?” He frantically drew a map using the landmarks Ryker described. “She doesn’t know the address? That’s fine. We’ll find it. Really? The kids are on a plane for there? You know that for sure? Okay. Yeah, we’ll hurry. Thanks.” Hanging up the phone, he noticed Frank studying the map. “I don’t know that house in particular, but that looks like the Savannah River. It’s thata way,” said Frank, pointing toward the farthest window. “Anyway, I didn’t think you were, the guy, I mean.
The one that killed those vampires on River Street. Not with what you’ve been telling me about yourself. You know, I wonder if maybe it’s that guy you’ve been looking for.”
“River Street, huh? I’ll check it out. Thanks for the bacon and Coke.”
“You go on now, and go take care of things over there, first,” said Frank, nodding again toward LillyAnna and Allen.
Landon stood, shook Frank’s hand, and carried his Coke back to the table.
LillyAnna moved over as he sat down.
“There are some things I need to say,” said Landon. The others sat quietly.
“I owe you an apology—dad. I understand why you left. I really do. You thought you were doing what was best for your family. I appreciate your help in searching for Liam and Mara. Thank you. And thanks for passing your genes on to me. Because of what we are, we’ve got years to build our relationship and get to know each other. And I’m looking forward to that when all this is finished.” Neither Allen nor LillyAnna had a single dry eye.
“LillyAnna,” he continued, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left you. I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I was doing the right thing. I didn’t want to hurt you, but mostly, I didn’t want to get hurt. But here you are, after everything. Clearly, I was wrong.”
“It’s okay—“ she began.
“I’m not finished.” He held her hand in his, shaking. “I love you.”
“I know you do. I love you, too. But I need to thank you. When you left, it wasn’t what I wanted, but it’s what I needed. I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t have been what you needed. But staying at Burghausen, without you, I was able to deal with something personal.” She recounted what she experienced at the hands of her father.
“I’m still dealing with it, but I’m in a better place. I’m okay with who I am, and what I am. I finally confronted him, going back to Cincinnati. I showed him my other side, what I am, and told him that if he ever touched anyone like that again, I’d eat him.
The smell coming from his pants after he saw that, well, it was worth it. I don’t think he’ll hurt anyone else again. Then, I even apologized to the neighbors for killing their German shepherds. I told them the dogs had attacked me, which is what triggered my first change, of course I didn’t tell them that part, but they didn’t care. They slammed the door in my face.”
“There’s two more things I need to tell you guys before we get outta here. You just said, LillyAnna, that you weren’t ready, when I left. Well, I am ready. I’m ready for what we have; I’m ready to grow as a person; and I’m ready to quit drinking.” Their gaped mouths gave Landon the reaction he was hoping for.
“What’s the second thing?” Allen finally asked.
“I got a line on Nicholas and Jamie. Two lines, actually. The vampire at the counter said there was an incident on River Street. Then Ryker called with directions to the house they’ve been staying at, straight from Bianca. She is with them, so is Gabriel and Serinda, and the children have been let go. They’re on a plane for Germany. Plus, Celeste is missing. We’re going there first. I’ll explain how he got them, on the way.”
“Sure, son. But listen, we need to talk about something. It’s about Nicholas.”
“Tell you what—how about you fill me in after we kill the mother fucker? Let’s stay in this moment a little while longer.” Landon put his arm around Allen as they left the Waffle House. The father said no more.
Chapter 13
Bianca, sitting on the front porch steps as usual to keep away from the others, spied a young woman walking down the dusty, gravel road to the house. As the petite girl with shoulder length, blondish-brown hair got closer, Bianca felt the familiar electrical charge of a nearby vampire. She surmised it was coming from the approaching woman, since she had become accustomed to that which came from being in the same vicinity as Serinda and Gabriel.
Suddenly her eyes smiled as she realized who the coming figure was. Bianca jumped off the porch steps and ran to the young woman, arms outstretched. The visitor reciprocated the hug.
“Celeste!” cried Bianca. “What are you doing here? Where’s Catalina?” Bianca looked behind Celeste, hoping to catch a glimpse of Celeste’s girlfriend.
“She’s not with me,” said Celeste, the vampire beauty, with her high cheekbones and brown eyes, attractive to even heterosexual Bianca. “I’m here on my own. In fact, no one from Burghausen knows I’m here. She would kill me if she knew.”
“Why? Because you came to the States without her? Can’t say I blame her. I’d be upset too if my boyfriend, or girlfriend, went on a trip without me.”
“I’m not exactly here on vacation. There’s a lot of trouble brewing back home.
And it’s all coming from here. I came hoping to talk some sense into some people.
Serinda and Gabriel are here, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. They’re inside. What do you mean there’s trouble back home?”
“A line’s been drawn and people are choosing sides. There’s team Landon/Ryker, and there’s team Nicholas/Jamie.”
“How do Nicholas and Jamie have any allies at Burghausen? After everything they’ve done?”
“One word—Tsukiko.”
“That slut,” said Bianca.
“Yeah, well, there was a scuffle between her and Annelise when she tried to sleep with Ryker.”
“What?”
“Uh-huh. Anyway, Nicholas and Tsukiko are working together to get more people on their side, which seems to be happening. Most people are starting to side with them. I just don’t know what their final plan is. I don’t know how Jamie’s involved. The good news is, Landon’s on his way here. I came over to try to talk some sense into Jamie, Gabriel, and Serinda. Before Landon does get here and they get hurt. He’s not alone, either. LillyAnna and his dad are with him. So I need to go inside and see what I can do.”
“Okay, but be careful. Don’t let Nicholas in your head. He forced me to call Annelise and tell her that I was sneaking the call. I just don’t know why.”
“Yeah, I’ll watch it. You said they’re inside?”
“Yes. I’m sure they all know you’re here, since Nicholas and Jamie felt you like I did.”
Celeste started to head inside when she turned back to Bianca. “One more thing—
just in case, tell Catalina I love her.” Celeste stepped up the porch steps, and went inside.
Entering into the living room, Celeste found everyone sitting there, waiting for her, like an intervention. She noticed there was no seat for her, as she closed the door behind her.
“Please, come in,” said Nicholas. “Welcome. What a treat as we continue to receive unexpected guests.” He nodded toward Serinda.
“I am not here on behalf of Burghausen,” Celeste said.
“Oh, I’m well aware you do not speak on their behalf,” said Nicholas, smiling. “I am quite informed regarding the happenings in Germany.”
“Yes, I know. I’m here to request that everyone return with me to Burghausen.
Please help me to prevent any further deaths. We are excited to learn how it is that you are alive, Nicholas.”
“I bet you are.”
“Sir, please. I implor
e you to listen to reason. There are many in Germany that are concerned for everyone’s safety. People are beginning to not get along, in large numbers.
Things are civil now, but are unraveling at a quickened pace. You are able to stop this, Nicholas. I ask that you remember the position you held with the Consuls, the responsibility and trust you carried.”
“I need not be reminded by you of what I had,” he said, rising from his seat. “Be mindful of your place young vampire. You’re a long way from Germany.”
“My apologies, sir.” Celeste scanned the room, reading the faces of all present.
She was alone in a room full of vampires and werewolves.
“As you can see,” said Nicholas, “your assistance is neither requested nor required.”
“I see. May I request to speak with Jamie in private?”
“Absolutely, my dear. You may request.”
Nicholas and Celeste both stood there, in a seeming standoff, as everyone stared, waiting for the shot that would start the war.
“May I speak with Jamie in private?” she asked, finally realizing what she had previously asked and how much of an ass Nicholas was being.
“Of course, my dear. Jamie,” he said, his eyes still on Celeste. “Why don’t you go outside? Maybe show her the river.”
“Sure,” Jamie said, with an air of contempt at the request.
Jamie escorted Celeste outside and into the field. Celeste looked back over her shoulder at Bianca, who was watching her with a look of concern.
“What do you want?” asked Jamie.
“For you to come back to Burghausen.”
“I can’t. Banished. Remember?”
“You were banished by the Consuls. You can be readmitted by the Consuls.”
“Why would I want to be?”
“This is not you. You don’t belong here, with him.”
“How the hell do you know who I am?” he asked, stopping suddenly, locking his eyes onto hers. “Maybe this is me. Maybe here, with Nicholas, I will accomplish more than I ever would at Burghausen.”
“Can we keep walking?” asked Celeste, a feeling of unease beginning to come over her. She looked back to see if they were being followed. No one. “What will you accomplish with Nicholas that you wouldn’t in Germany? What is going on here? Did you kill those vampires in Savannah?” She was relieved when Jamie turned, heading again toward the river.
“Not sure which question you want answered first, but, no, I didn’t kill those vampires. I’ve never killed a vampire. As for the rest, we’ll see.” Soon, they reached the river. Jamie turned to face Celeste.
“I’m scared of Nicholas,” he said. “I’m glad he sent us out here, where he can’t hear us. I don’t know what to do, Celeste. I feel trapped. I don’t think I can get away.”
“Yes, you can. Let me help you. I wasn’t going to say anything, but Landon, LillyAnna, and Allen, your grandfather, are on their way. They’ll be here soon. Let’s go back, get Bianca, and get outta here.”
“You would do that for me? You would help me?”
“Yes,” said Celeste. She moved closer, embracing Jamie. He reciprocated.
Suddenly, she felt elongated claws enter her back, extending through her mostly dead organs. Leaning back, she saw Jamie’s cold face, his blank eyes.
Celeste struggled in his arms, trying to free herself, but she only felt his hold grow tighter. His claws moved inside her, cutting and dicing what few organs did work, as she flailed and fought for her freedom.
Pictures of Catalina raced through her mind, every moment they spent together, in a flash of pictures. The way Catalina would kiss, touch, and hold her. Celeste’s tongue remembered the taste of her girlfriend’s tears. The life they shared together slipped away with her own.
“I don’t need you to do anything for me,” he said. His claws retracted and she fell to her knees, losing the blood she drank earlier, the blood that gave her life.
“Jamie,” she said. “Why?” She heard approaching footsteps. Looking away from the Savannah River, back toward the house, she saw Nicholas emerge from the tall grass.
He smiled warmly at her.
“Why not?” he asked, bending over her, his hands on his knees. “Does it hurt?” Celeste nodded, as he rose. He waited a moment longer, watching her writhe. “I know Landon and the others are on their way here, because I sent them directions. You will make it all the more special. Thank you for coming. Finish her, sweet prince. Let not sentimentality sway you from the swift completion of your destiny.” Jamie, claws once again extended, hand raised, slashed through the air. Darkness engulfed Celeste.
Moments later, Bianca watched from the porch steps as Jamie emerged from the field. Neither Celeste nor Nicholas followed.
“I need you to come inside,” he said. He sounded cold and distant. More than usual.
“Where’s Celeste?”
“We sent her home.”
“Where’s Nicholas?” Her voice dropped into a low, stern tone.
Walking up the steps and through the storm door, he gave no response and made no eye contact. The screen door slammed shut behind him.
Bianca made her way into the house and, seeing Jamie, Serinda, and Gabriel seated in the living room, followed suit. For a second, the worst possible scenario flashed through her mind. What if he did something to her? Where is Nicholas? She convinced herself, though, that it wasn’t possible. There’s no way Jamie would allow something to happen to one of them. He wouldn’t go that far.
Chapter 14
Landon, LillyAnna, and Allen crept toward the old home at the end of the gravel road, having left the car parked about a mile away. They didn’t really have a plan, just a divide and conquer kind of idea.
The tire swing swung lonely in the hard wind as if looking from side to side for Landon’s children. The tall grass hushed, as the three companions circled the house, Landon and LillyAnna in wolf form, Allen unchanged, moving closer, all angles covered.
No sound came from the house itself.
What did extend out from within the walls was the smell, a putrid, rotting stench, the scent of a body. The fresh aroma filled the air—cherry deodorant and decomposition.
The wafting through the air of rotting flesh filled his wolf nostrils, sending him, and the others, into a frenzy.
Landon gave a loud bark, signaling the others that it was time. He and LillyAnna simultaneously crashed through various windows, as Allen broke in through the back door. Each prowled through the dwelling, from room to room, like a SWAT team until each officer says, “Clear.”
Landon rounded a corner to the living room, LillyAnna and Allen following close behind. The entire house was vacant, abandoned, save for one body on the living room floor. There they found Celeste.
LillyAnna howled with remorse and anger at the sight of her friend lying dead, surrounded by candles, the howling changing to a scream as she transformed. Landon followed suit. The three werewolves stood over the broken body which was also unclothed. The corpse seemed to move as the warm candlelight danced and flickered across the cold skin.
“My God,” said Allen.
Landon gazed at LillyAnna, her hand over her mouth, sobbing, as he bent downward to examine the body. His eyes fell from the living to the dead, scanning the corpse. His head moved lower still, gliding over the corpse while he smelled for traces of evidence. Landon’s fingers lightly grazed Celeste’s dead skin, over the top of the body, along the sides, then underneath, feeling for any anomalies in the wounds.
“Son of a bitch,” he said.
“What? What is it?” asked Allen.
“These wounds here,” he said, pointing to deep lacerations across her stomach.
“They’re post-mortem.”
“Tell me that’s not true.”
“Why?” LillyAnna asked, sniffling. “What difference does it make?” Landon and Allen looked at each other, then back at Celeste. “See these scratches here?” Landon pointed at claw marks that stretched ac
ross her throat. “That was the death stroke, the one that killed her, after this hole had been made.” He turned over the body, revealing the pit in her back, then returned her to the previous position.
“But these marks on her stomach,” he continued, “they were made after she had already died. They’re deep, but not so deep that they would have killed her.” Landon stood. “Nicholas, or Jamie, desecrated the body after the point of death, which is forbidden. It’s an insult to the dead and it’s a message, saying they’re not playing by anyone’s rules.”
“That’s not all,” Allen said, pointing to Landon’s name, spelled in blood, on the carpet around Celeste’s head.
“I’m gonna kill the mother fucker,” said Landon.
Landon stormed outside, followed by the others, turning his head in every direction, trying to pick up a trail.
“South,” he said, heading in his designated direction.
“Wait a minute,” LillyAnna yelled. “We can’t just leave her here, like this.”
“We’re not,” said Allen. He returned back inside and kicked over the lighted candles. The old living room, with the old, dusty drapes and furniture, was soon engulfed in flames. As was Celeste’s body.
“What are you doing,” LillyAnna yelled, as he emerged from the burning house.
“We have to bury her.”
“We can’t bury her,” responded Allen. He held a struggling LillyAnna from entering the fire. “She’s been desecrated. The body must be burned.” He paused, staring at the burning house. “Nicholas knew what he was doing.”
“I’m sorry,” Landon said. He turned back to head down the gravel road. “It hasn’t been that long since they left here. Are you two coming?” LillyAnna and Allen followed.
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