by S. J. Wright
“Okay. Who is this?” I demanded.
“Who I am is of no consequence.” He replied calmly, “The person who wants to meet you would like to make sure that you will be available two days from now.”
“What is this about?”
There was a moment’s pause, “It is regarding the vampire in your custody. Michael Graviano.”
I grew very still. I’d never heard Michael’s last name before. It sounded Greek, I supposed. I peeked around the corner and saw that Michael was on the back porch with Nelly, opening the packages he’d received from Victoria. Could this caller be someone from the council? Had they discovered I’d released Michael?
“What about him?” I asked.
“There are some who say he was incarcerated without good reason. My employer would like to meet with you, two nights from now in Indianapolis. I will be calling you again with the place and time. It would not be wise of you to share this with anyone.” There was a barely audible click over the line and then silence.
I stared at the phone, thinking furiously. Who could want to meet me? If it were someone trying to free Michael based on real evidence, I knew I had to hear them out. Of course, he would never approve of me going alone. Deciding to keep the information to myself, I slipped the phone back into my pocket.
“Who was that?” Michael had crept up behind me without me realizing it.
“Just Katie.” I lied.
I felt his breath in my ear. It created a riot of hot sparks across my cheeks and neck.
“You’re not a skilled liar, my love.” He grasped my arms gently and turned me to face him. I nearly melted into the floor at the admonishment written across his face and the way his clear blue eyes studied me.
“I’m sorry.” I sighed, “But it’s not going to be easy to just put all my trust in you right away.” Reaching up, I tucked back a lock of hair that had fallen down over his ear, “You are a blood-sucking beast of the night, right?”
“Hmm.” He wasn’t satisfied with my teasing, but he dropped the subject.
“Hey, what happened with Luanna? Is she still in the caves?”
“She is still there. I need to get some answers out of her about Gunter.” He said.
I didn’t want him to leave, but he was moving toward the front door. Craving an embrace, a quick kiss, a whispered word, I grabbed his arm, “You’re going?”
He nodded shortly, glancing down at my hand, “I have things I need to take care of.” Brightening suddenly, he flashed a grin, “Don’t worry, angel. I’ll be back.”
Arrogant, as always. I took my hand off his arm and shrugged. “Oh, that’s fine. Don’t hurry back.”
“Oh, no. Don’t play the tough girl with me.” He whispered the words in my ear, his lips grazing my earlobe, “We both know that the other cares. No more pretending.”
Did he have any idea how hard that was for me? To just let go and not worry about protecting myself? Perhaps he knew. Maybe he thought he could change me, make me trust him. He brushed my cheek with his lips and slipped out the door before I could say anything more.
I wandered into the kitchen. It was lit only by the light over the sink. Nelly sat at the kitchen table, sipping at a cup of tea.
“He said he’d be back for the packages later.” She said.
I nodded absently, “Sure.”
My emotions were at war inside me. Everything that had happened with Alex had left me totally off balance. I wasn’t sure how to handle Michael, now that I knew he wanted me. He had earned my trust by returning to the Inn, but what if he had some other agenda? I was terrified he would end up turning away from me.
“Penny for your thoughts.” Nelly said.
I nibbled on my thumbnail, looking out the window into the fathomless woods beyond the backyard. After a moment, I turned to her. “Would it be a really bad thing if I fell for Michael?”
She pursed her lips and raised her gray eyebrows, “It could be.” She didn’t seem very surprised by my question, I’d noticed. She patted the chair next to her, so I sat down and crossed my arms on the tabletop.
“He’s difficult.” I said.
“Yes, he is that.” She replied calmly, taking another sip from her steaming cup of Earl Grey.
“And he’s egotistical.”
“I believe he can be that way sometimes.”
A heavy sigh escaped me, and I lowered my head into my arms. “This is so messed up.”
“I’m going to tell you what my Aunt Lucille told me when I first asked her about love.”
I turned to look at her without much enthusiasm, “What’s that?”
“Keep your head above your heart. God put it there for a reason. And don’t be a whiney little asshole.” She grinned over at me.
Laughter exploded out of me, “She actually said that?”
Nelly nodded wisely and drank the last of her tea. “Yes, indeed. Lucille gave some good advice sometimes, but she could be a cold-hearted bitch.”
Chapter 12 – Michael
None of it had gone as planned. I was to have made the call and then lured her outside of the boundary. I had been caught up in the hope that lit her entire face. None of the speech I had prepared made it past my lips. All I could do was question my own purposes as I watched her. Her hair fell around her face like a shimmering amber veil, lifting and undulating with the wind. Her eyes were wide with anticipation, glittering in the meager light of the evening.
In the centuries since I had become one of the undead, I had never wanted a mortal woman as intensely as I craved Sarah. She was the ultimate temptation. Not just the breathtakingly delicious blood that flowed through her veins. I had the pleasure of tasting a little of it when I healed the wounds that Alex had inflicted on her. What had me entranced was the strength of her convictions, the saucy way she tossed harsh words at those she feared the most. Her courage, her voice, her hidden insecurities.
Every little fanciful thought that had ever passed through my mind about the girl suddenly rushed over me as I stood there in the darkness on that road. She stood there, hiding nothing. The expression she wore tore holes through me with its honesty. I might have drawn her away at that moment. It would have only taken a gentle word or two, but I felt powerless.
I have had many women. In the beginning, it was always about the blood and satisfying that thirst that drives all vampires. But we are capable of much more. I learned how to use my words, my eyes, my hands and my mouth to bring the kind of pleasure to a woman that she had never before experienced. There were times when all I really wanted was the coppery warmth of blood in my mouth, flowing down my throat. However, I preferred to be discrete with my feeding. If a woman was rendered nearly unconscious due to the effects of an incredible orgasm, she was less likely to feel alarmed when my teeth sank into her flesh. Compulsion is one of my abilities, but I use it sparingly. Perhaps it is one of my few moral qualms.
Sarah’s sudden vulnerability left me stunned. When I crossed over the boundary and took her into my arms, it was the strangest sensation. No one who knew me would have believed how easily I tossed away my chance at freedom. The deadly vampire, Michael Graviano, drawn back into imprisonment due to the heartrending expression on the face of a human. Impossible.
When I left the house, the snow had begun to taper off. As I walked slowly down the lane towards the meadow, I drew from my coat pocket the cell phone that Victoria had insisted I purchase. It had taken only a few moments for me to flip through the little operating manual, memorizing the button functions, how to set up the address book, how to set up my voicemail box and how to delete call information. That last one might prove to be very important.
The technological advances of this new century were alarming. I wasn’t opposed to learning as much as I could, but learning to drive a vehicle was something different. Trusting a machine to move safely at seventy miles per hour was beyond me. Vampires are not technically immortal. There are ways to destroy us. Decapitation due to a high-speed collision would
definitely put an end to my endless desires and numerous sins.
I tapped the necessary keys to bring up Victoria’s cell phone number and hit the send button.
“Michael.”
“I’m back inside the containment field.”
She didn’t seem at all surprised, “I know. Meekah told me it would happen that way. What’s going on there?”
Victoria and I had not discussed the unusual relationship I had with Sarah. We discussed strategy in regards to the council, in particular, Isaiah. We had talked about Alex and how his powers had developed. She had said quite simply that she liked Sarah, admired her spirit, and felt that she would turn out to be a valuable ally.
I didn’t share with Victoria the dreams I’d had about the girl. I’d neglected to mention the heat that infused me whenever she was close. I said nothing about the way she aroused every carnal instinct within me to rise up and roar with fruitless anger at the hopeless situation in which we were mired.
But Victoria was no fool. Meekah could have told her anything. My faith in Victoria was well placed. She would never betray me, never rise against me in any fashion. Meekah was questionable, but not Victoria.
“Sarah is safe. I did see Alex once outside of town, but he got away.”
She sighed, “He’s going to be a problem, Michael.”
“I know. Has Meekah said anything more?”
“Nothing useful. She wants to leave.”
Pausing at the entrance to the meadow, I cursed. I needed to know that Meekah was on my side and wouldn’t hesitate to provide information if I needed it. She was incredibly hard to please, and I didn’t trust her. She might already be working against me.
“Let her go. But keep an eye on her for a day or two.”
“You think Isaiah may have recruited her?”
“It has crossed my mind. I wish I had some kind of leverage with her.” I said.
Victoria chuckled, “Reminds me of old times.”
With a low grunt, I acknowledged her sharp memory. “She’s a thorn in my side, Vic. There’s no controlling her, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”
“You know how I admire her spirit, Michael. But you’re right. Maybe it’s time you washed your hands of her.” She paused a moment, and her next words were said with genuine alarm. “If she ever truly wanted revenge, she would have all the ammunition available to destroy you.”
I approached the huge boulders leisurely, “I know. That’s part of the reason why I haven’t completely let her go. Between the threat that she represents and the power she holds with those visions, it would be in our best interest to keep her as happy as possible.”
That’s when I realized I was no longer alone in the clearing. A familiar old scent was wafting through the chilling winds, “I’ve got company, Vic. I’ll phone you tomorrow.” I pressed the end button and walked around the largest of the three huge rocks.
A decrepit, gray figure of a creature was leaning weakly against the rocky surface. It lifted its head with a groan and eyed me with familiar black eyes. The thing coughed and wretched, producing nothing from inside but a cloud of gray dust that was taken up on the winds without touching the ground.
“Convenient timing, Jones.” I said with a grin.
The reply was a grinding mumble that would have frightened the hardiest of old souls, “Either go to hell or give me blood, you worthless old Yank.” There was the tiniest hint of a British accent somewhere in there.
“We’re already in hell, my friend.” I replied brightly. “Welcome to Indiana.”
Then I plunged my sharp canines into my wrist and held out my arm to him.
Chapter 13 – Sarah
The lights of the city beckoned me forward. They illuminated the busy streets and sidewalks in downtown Indianapolis just as they had the first time I’d come into the city with my father when I was just ten years old.
We had come there for the Circle of Lights festival. I remembered that Katie had been sick with the flu the day after Thanksgiving, and Nelly knew I had been pleading with my father to take me downtown. Some of my friends at school had been bragging that they went to the festival downtown every year. Nelly urged my dad to take me while she looked after Katie. It was one of the few times that he had taken time away from the Inn just for me.
We had to park far away from the monument. I remember how he carried me on his shoulders for part of the way and how I tickled his ears when I was up there, looking out at all of the people and lights. It was like a whole new world, this busy place so far away from the peaceful fields and forests of home.
This time, it was no festival I was attending, but an important meeting. It was a meeting with someone powerful. Katie had returned the journal to me one day when we had lunch on the west side of Indy. She didn’t ask many questions that day, but she was in a hurry to get back to school for a class. I was planning to add an entry to the journal after the meeting. I wanted to record as much as I could remember, just as my grandfather had done after he had attended these kinds of functions.
Michael didn’t know about my plans that evening. I hadn’t even told Nelly what I was really doing. She had gone to Greenwood again, this time to visit her brother who was recovering from pneumonia and was still in the hospital.
So it had been a good time for mulling over the events that had occurred over the past few weeks, as I drove north towards the city. The traffic wasn’t too heavy that evening. The snow that had fallen several days ago had quickly melted, and we had experienced a short warming trend.
The voicemail message that I’d received on my cell phone stated that I was expected to attend a meeting at The St. Elizabeth Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard of the truck. If I could find a decent spot in the parking garage, I would still be a few minutes early.
I walked into the marble-floored lobby not knowing what to expect. I hadn’t been downtown in a very long time, and never had I been into that particular hotel. It was classically elegant, decorated in muted earth tones with overstuffed leather sofas and glass-topped tables. There were large potted plants in every corner that looked well tended and gave a natural air to the lobby.
Approaching the front desk, I smiled at the clerk. He was a young black man with an impeccable smile and welcoming expression.
“How may I help you?”
“My name is Sarah Wood. I was supposed to meet someone here.” I tugged nervously at one of the sleeves of the new black blazer I wore. I hated wearing the things, but my father had told me years ago that a black blazer and slacks were classic business wear. That had been before I’d dropped out of business school, and he was attempting to give me some advice about proper interview attire.
“Yes, Miss Wood. Mrs. Latimer is expecting you. She is down the hall, in the Venetian Business Suite. Would you like me to show you?”
“No, thank you. Just point me in the right direction.”
Mrs. Latimer was expecting me. The person who’d called my cell phone had been a man. I was sure of that much. But he hadn’t left his name or the names of who I was supposed to meet.
I headed in the direction in which the clerk had pointed and began looking at the names on the brass plates next to each intricately carved door. An elegantly dressed elderly couple passed me, and I smiled politely at them.
Out of my element and hating what I was wearing, my frazzled state of mind caused me to miss the suite, and I had to turn back when I reached the end of the hall and an exit that led to a side alley. Finally, I saw the nameplate I’d been looking for and reached for the doorknob.
Whoever waited at the other side of that door knew about Michael. They knew about the role I’d inherited. How much information should I withhold if the questions became too pointed? I took a deep breath to calm myself, turned the knob, and pushed the door open.
The suite was occupied by only one person. It was an elderly lady with stylishly cut silver hair, and she was smiling at me as I entered.
She sat at a small round table that was covered with a pristine white tablecloth, a pitcher of water and one glass.
“I’m sorry,” I started badly, glancing behind me towards the door. “I believe I’m in the wrong room.”
“You’re in the right place, my dear.” Her voice was gentle and soothing, carrying with it a hint of an Italian accent. I noticed then that her eyes were black as ink, gleaming at me in a certain amount of personal amusement.
She wore a platinum ring on one hand with a huge ruby in the center. It flashed at me menacingly as she waved me towards the empty chair across from her, “Please have a seat, Sarah. I’m very eager to talk with you.”
Uneasily, I lowered myself into the richly upholstered chair across from her. Her eyes made me shiver. She settled back into her chair and tilted her head as she looked at me. My heart was fluttering madly in my chest. Suddenly, I felt the need to run away.
“Let me introduce myself. I am Theodora.” There was regality in that voice. It was impossible to deny that this woman was quite powerful. Just the quiet dignity of the way she sat was enough to prove that point. She held herself as a queen might.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I replied, still not able to look her in the face. Fear was still rising inside me.
“You are afraid.” She said lightly. “There’s no reason for that, my dear. I have no intention of doing you any harm.”
“Are you a vampire?”
She nodded and smiled a little sadly, “Yes, I am. But probably not the kind you might expect.”
“There are different kinds of vampires?” This was news to me.
Waving a pale hand, she shook her head, “We’ll not delve into those matters at this point. Let us discuss your current role.”
I considered her statement and the situation as a whole. I was in an unfamiliar place with a very dangerous stranger who had just admitted to being a vampire. Anger ignited inside me like a bright fire.
