by Tinnean
In spite of his words, Adam was tense.
Okay, that clinched it. After class on Monday, I was definitely going to pay a visit to Father Ian and get that holy water.
ADAM STAYED with me for the next few nights. We slept away the daylight hours, and I’d wake up about six thirty or seven, walk Mina, and then make myself some breakfast. A bag of blood would be nuked and ready for Adam when he woke up.
Afterward we went to the nearest home improvement store, since the nursery closed too early, and restocked the Easter plants. I’d have to go shopping for the decorations, but that could wait until after Adam left and my schedule returned to normal.
And while he helped me replant the azaleas, hyacinths, hydrangeas, daffodils, and tulips, he answered all the questions I’d amassed, telling me more of what I needed to know about being a sabor.
He finished by saying, “But of course we can’t be sure with you.”
“I’m not following you.”
“Because of your bloodlines.”
“I’m still not following you.”
“Let me put it like this: in your veins runs the blood of the two most powerful sabor lines in our history.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Wow!” For a while I gave this some thought, but then I shrugged it off: it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t be passing that on to my children, since I wouldn’t be having any. I patted down the soil around the last of the daffodils and sat back on my heels. “I love you, Adam.”
He looked startled. “I don’t need to feed!”
“And I don’t need to be fed from.” Although if he wanted to, I wouldn’t have said no. “That’s okay. I just wanted you to know.”
His expression darkened. I’d never seen it that hard, and I wondered what was bothering him. “I won’t allow you to become de Vivar’s toy!”
“I know that.” I wasn’t going to let that happen, either. I’d cut my throat and let myself bleed out first.
“Tyrell?”
I knee-walked to where he was planting some lilies of the valley beneath the bay window—they would be in the shade when the sun came up—and kissed his mouth. “I’m just saying I love you,” I murmured against his lips.
“Dragul meu!” He fisted his hands in my hair and drew me deeper into the kiss.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when a car with a bad muffler drove by. The driver leaned on the horn and yelled out the window, “There’s a house right behind you! Use it!”
“Asshole,” I groused. “What the heck is he doing out at this time?”
“He’s probably thinking the same thing about us.” Adam tipped my chin up. “And I’d like nothing better, but—”
“I know.” I leaned in for a final kiss. “Let’s get this done. There’s a vampyr marathon on. We can watch it and make fun of everything they get wrong.”
I JERKED awake. “Adam?”
The bed dipped and he knelt on it, pulling me into his arms. “I must go, Ty. I’ve stayed longer than I should have.”
“I’m having everyone here for Easter dinner. Please come!”
“I’d enjoy nothing more, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to. The rege has work for me to do.”
Well, shoot. “When will I see you again?” I wrapped my arms around him.
“Perhaps for your—”
“No! Don’t say my birthday!” I leaned back and clutched at the front of his shirt. I knew if I protested any more I’d come across as a whiny brat, so I shut up.
“Mina has been walked. I don’t want you to go out after sundown unless Raymond is with you.”
“Yes, Adam. But….” I had a sudden thought, and I went cold. “What about my dad and my friends? Are they safe?”
“Someone will be guarding them.” He ran a hand through my hair. “Remember, you have the cell phone with my number on it. I’ve also logged the rege’s number. However, you will call me if you ever have need.”
“Yes, Adam,” I repeated.
He smiled. A final kiss, and he was gone.
I looked at the clock. He must have let me sleep through the day and most of the night. Had he held me in his arms, keeping me near for as long as he could?
I liked that idea.
I got up and made myself some breakfast. I had homework I needed to finish, and then I’d have to go to class.
“Good morning, Tyrell.”
“Jesus Christ!” I dropped the frying pan, and the eggs splattered all over the floor. Mina started licking at the broken yolks.
“No, it’s Raymond.” He was stretched out on the love seat, his legs hanging over an arm since it couldn’t accommodate his height. Had he just arrived, and was that why he hadn’t opened it out?
“Asshole. I knew that. You scared me spitless!”
“You did give me permission to enter.” And of course that was why Mina hadn’t barked at him. “Both the rege and le duc wished me to guard you.”
“Yeah, but—” I shook my head. “Never mind. Do you need breakfast?”
“I can’t feed from you!”
“I wasn’t offering.” I scowled at him. “There’s some blood in the fridge, and I can nuke it for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” I picked up the frying pan, put it in the sink, and went to the fridge to remove a bag of blood. I put it into the microwave and set it to warm, then took some paper towels from the roll and cleaned up what Mina had left behind on the floor. “By the way, any word on de Vivar’s plans?”
“He was badly injured when he attempted to get into your home.”
“Serves the son of a bitch right. Are his minions still out to get me?”
“At this point, no.”
“Because they know you’re here.”
“Yes. Although some of them—the women—have taken the opportunity to seek asylum with mon seigneur.”
“How long will this be going on?”
“Until mon seigneur discovers his new whereabouts.”
“New?” This didn’t sound good.
“When we came across his mausoleum, we found it abandoned.”
“So he could be anywhere.”
“Unfortunately… yes.”
Shit. Something about his expression told me more was wrong than Jack Splat splitting. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He scowled. What was up with that? Was it a favorite facial expression of his? Then he sighed. “You may as well be informed. The Mifflin police are investigating the cemetery where de Vivar had his mausoleum.”
“Why? Oh, crap.” Mifflin was about fifty miles west of Clewiston. The cemetery was huge and dated back before the American Revolution, although a newer one had been commissioned about a hundred years ago. When my Social Studies class at Horatio Gates High studied that time period, our teacher had arranged an overnight trip to visit the town and the cemetery. “Did he bury bodies of normals there?”
Raymond stared at me. “How did you come to that conclusion?”
“It makes sense. And he sounds like a big enough sicko to do that. Do you know how many bodies were found?”
“More than ten, less than twenty-five. Of course that’s not including the skeletal remains, which brings the total to almost one hundred.”
I felt myself turn cold. “Won’t a forensic pathologist be able to determine the age of the bones?”
Raymond gave me another look, this one baffled. “How do you know these things?”
“I watch reruns of Crossing Jordan and the CSIs. How could all these people go missing and no one reported them?”
“Some were homeless. Some were prostitutes or drug addicts. Some were simply discarded by their families.”
“Those poor people.” None of them deserved that.
“The police aren’t happy this has happened in their township.”
“I can imagine. How much trouble is this going to cause the rege?”
“We’ll have to wait and see. Mon seigneur has
someone on the force who will keep him appraised.”
This wasn’t good. Oh, not about the cop who was helping out. I wondered if he… or she… knew who they were helping. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Just stay out of de Vivar’s grasp.”
“Not a problem.” The microwave dinged, and I opened the door and handed him the blood. “Here. Knock yourself out.”
He took it and held it to his mouth. His fangs elongated, and he punctured the bag and began feeding.
I looked at the window. It wasn’t light yet, but it would be soon.
“You can’t sleep on the love seat. Even if I open it up, it wouldn’t be big enough for you. I’ll make up the bed for you.”
“I can sleep in the trunk of your car. In fact, that might be best.”
“No, it wouldn’t. It would be even more uncomfortable. And besides, I have classes today. It’s a pretty secure campus, but what would happen if my car got stolen?”
“Someone would get a very rude awakening when they opened the trunk.”
“You don’t have to sound so happy about it.” I hurried into the bedroom and changed the sheets, then took out a set of clean clothes, hung them up in the bathroom, and returned to the living room.
“You’ll be home before sundown?” His words were becoming lethargic.
“Yes. Class ends early, and I… uh… have a study group.” I was actually going to see Father Ian about that holy water. “But I should be home by five thirty at the latest.” Which was a couple of hours before dark.
“I recharged your digital recorder.”
“Th-thank you.” With everything that had been going on, I’d completely forgotten it had crapped out on me in class last week.
He waved aside my thanks. “Groceries?”
“Adam and I went shopping at the twenty-four-hour supermarket in Pritchert. I won’t be late.”
Raymond touched my shoulder, and I let him, but I shuddered. “I beg your pardon,” he said. He put the empty bag of blood into the bin under the sink and went into the bedroom.
I followed after him. He was sprawled out on the bed, taking up most of the room. The curtains were drawn and the shutters were closed up tight. No light would get in through the window.
I pulled shut the door to the bathroom, then went into the dining room and shut that door as well.
A glance at the clock told me I had a couple of hours before I needed to get on the road. I had breakfast, fed and walked Mina, and then went to my desk and took out the homework that was due.
DR. VON Bulwer eyed me as I walked into class. “I hope you’ve recovered from last week.”
“Yes, thank you.” I took my seat, opened my messenger bag, and placed my books and recorder on the desk. It was really nice of Raymond to make sure it was recharged.
“Is that a black eye?”
“Excuse me?” Involuntarily I touched my fingertips to my eye. “Uh… yes.” How the heck could he know that? The bruising wasn’t obvious—having Adam’s blood had taken care of it.
“You’re not going to tell me you walked into a door, I hope.”
The class snickered.
“No. I walked into a fist.” The laughter became louder, and I glanced over my shoulder. “I don’t know what you find so funny. It happens.”
“Mr. Small.”
I met Dr. von Bulwer’s gaze, but I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t going to tell him my best friend had been controlled by a vampyr.
He frowned. “If you’ll see me after class?”
“All right.”
He turned and began writing on the whiteboard. “Now, we’ll start with this formula….”
THE ROOM had emptied out, and I was repacking my messenger bag when Dr. von Bulwer came to stand before me. “You’re one of my best students, Mr. Small. What happened to you last week?”
I shrugged. “I guess I was just having an off week.”
“Really? Then I’d say the past few days saw that remedied.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s quite some love bite on your neck. One might almost think it was a literal bite.”
In spite of myself I slapped my hand to my throat. The collar of my turtleneck didn’t feel as if it had slipped, but if it hadn’t, how had he seen that? “It’s a birthmark. I’ve had it all my life.”
“Indeed?” He reached out, and I shied away. “Mr. Small?”
“I don’t like being touched. Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Is anyone harming you? I know you live by yourself.” He did?
“How do you know that?” Was he stalking me?
He waved aside my question. “A… boyfriend, perhaps?”
“No!”
“I want you to know you can come to me if you feel as if you’re in any kind of danger.”
I bit back a laugh. There was a wacko vampyr who wanted me so he could become rege. If I told my professor that, I had a feeling he’d make sure I wound up in a rubber room.
“Thank you, Dr. von Bulwer, but I’m fine, and I’m not in an abusive relationship. If there’s nothing else?” I didn’t wait for him to answer. “I’ll see you in lab on Wednesday.”
“Very well.” He went to the whiteboard and began wiping off the formulas he’d written on it, but I could feel his gaze on me as I walked out.
I LUCKED out in that there was very little traffic, and it only took me two hours to get to Clewiston and the church Dad and I had attended for years. I parked in front of the rectory, jogged up the first set of steps, walked to the second set and climbed them, and finally rang the doorbell.
“Yes?” Mrs. Fitzgerald had been housekeeper at Our Lady Star of the Sea for six pastors. “My word, if it isn’t Tyrell Small!”
“Hi, Mrs. Fitz.”
“Come in, come in. Your daddy told us you’d moved.”
“I’m living near Pritchert, where I go to school.”
“Will we see you at Easter service?”
“I’m afraid not. Saints Martha and Mary is my parish now.” We chatted a few more minutes, catching up, and then I said, “Is Father Ian available?”
“I’m afraid you just missed him. He’s making his rounds at the hospital. Father Toby is here, though, if you’d like to see him?”
“That would be great.” Father Toby was a young priest who’d arrived at OLSS about a year and a half ago. I’d gotten to talk to him a bit at that time, and it turned out this was his first assignment.
Mrs. Fitzgerald led me to the office and tapped on the door.
“Come.”
“Tyrell Small to see you, Father.” She smiled at me and stepped aside to let me enter.
“Tyrell. It’s good to see you after so long.”
“Thanks, Father Toby. It’s good to see you too.” I crossed to his desk. He was a smart priest who’d picked up on our first meeting the fact that I didn’t like to be touched. “I hope it’s okay I don’t have an appointment?”
“It’s fine! I was working on my sermon for Sunday, and I could use a break.” He smiled broadly.
I just hoped he wouldn’t be too curious as to why I needed holy water.
I GOT home before dark with a plastic water bottle filled to the top. Father Toby hadn’t done more than give me a brief stare before taking the bottle from the little fridge in the corner and blessing its contents, and I’d been too grateful to question his lack of curiosity.
Vampyrs weren’t likely to drink from the bottle—I shivered at the image of what holy water could do to them if they swallowed it—but to be on the safe side, I put a label on the bottle and stored it in a cabinet in the garage.
And when Raymond woke, I nuked a bag of blood for him and told him what I’d done.
“Hmm. You should have told me, but having it is a good idea.”
I blew out a breath. I hadn’t been certain if he’d be pissed at me. “I didn’t have time today to get a couple of plastic vials—”
“Glass.”
<
br /> “Huh?”
“Glass vials will be more effective if you need them to break.”
“Uh…. Okay.” He’d know better than I did. “I have no idea where I can find them. Maybe from a medical supply place? Oh wait! Test tubes!”
“You’re not going out again, are you?”
“Only to walk Mina.”
“All right. As soon as you have, I’ll pay a visit to a… friend who works in glass. She’ll make a half dozen for you. With screw tops and a loop for a lanyard.” He was getting enthusiastic. “You’ll wear this around your neck.” Apparently satisfied with how things were going to go, he drove his fangs into the bag of blood and began feeding.
“C’mon, Mina.” She’d been attacking my Nike’s lace, but she seemed to understand we were going for a walk, and she scampered toward the front door. “Do you want us to wait for you?” I asked Raymond.
He shook his head.
“Okay.” I took Mina’s leash and snapped it to her collar. “We shouldn’t be too long, Raymond. Let’s go, pup.”
A FEW days later, I woke to find a box of glass vials on the dining room table. They were beautifully worked, the sides decorated with engravings of dragons and wolves. I filled two of them. One I kept in a cushioned pocket of my messenger bag and the other I put around my neck, where it hung next to my half of the mizpah.
EVER SINCE Dr. von Bulwer had asked about my birthmark, he always seemed to be watching me—during every lecture and lab, when I entered the room, when I got ready to leave it.
He made me really nervous.
But he was a normal, and there was no way he could know about vampyrs and sabors; I was probably making a mountain out of a molehill.
Wasn’t I?
Finally, though, the spring semester ended, and I breathed a sigh of relief, not only because I’d aced all my classes but because I wouldn’t have another class with him.
MINA AND I went to Dad’s for the long Memorial Day weekend, and Jimmy and Trish joined us for the barbecue we had on Monday, along with Mrs. Wilder, who made a wicked ambrosia.
