Turning Point

by K M Smith

  Finally forcing herself to look at the creature’s eyes, Sarah sat up straight and took a deep breath. If she could stand to look at those eyes for long enough, maybe she would find her daughter in there somewhere. Sarah searched, but Alice wasn’t home. Her mind made up, she cleared her throat and said, “You must leave.”

  The creature who looked like Alice staggered back. Her black eyes flooded with tears, and her hands curled to tight fists. Sarah felt a brief sense of panic, as though she had poked the bear, and she turned her head away, afraid to see what would happen next. A moment later and without a sound, the creature that used to be Alice was gone.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Jake

  Jake and Leo rushed back upstairs as soon as they discovered where Alice was. Their thunderous footsteps echoed through the townhouse, sounding like a troop of kindergartners touring the place. It was otherwise quiet in the house, but they didn’t expect any of the vampires to have responded to the pull of the sun yet. Regardless, Leo’s conversation meant they knew where Alice was, and that meant she was still alive. And that meant they could get her back. All things they were ecstatic to share with Drew.

  “Drew!” Jake raced down the hall. “Drew! We found her!”

  Leo ambled along behind his partner and mumbled, “I found her, I think you mean.”

  Jake ignored Leo except to share a not-so-friendly gesture expressing exactly how much he cared about the distinction, just before he rounded the corner outside Drew’s study.

  Leo snickered and thought at Jake, ‘Bite me!’

  Jake blew into the study and stumbled over Drew who was still in his chair. He apparently hadn’t moved since they’d left him earlier. He looked like a forgotten wax statue in a history museum, despondent, forlorn, and immobile.

  “Drew! Leo got her! He found Alice! She’s—” Jake stopped shouting when Leo elbowed him in the gut. The look in Leo’s eyes told Jake the distinction did matter, and he backed off.

  “She’s back in Albion,” Leo said without emotion. He didn’t add any information to the statement.

  Jake knew his partner would be waiting for Drew to tell him what to do next. Leo’s MO was to do the job, report on the job, and wait for further instruction.

  Drew nodded at the news, but he made no move to react or show that he understood—or cared. Jake paced and huffed. And paced. And huffed. And tapped his foot. He stared at Drew, eager to get going.

  He should relax, but he had too much pent-up energy to stand around doing nothing.

  Leo gave him a mental dressing down from the doorway, checking his fingernails and sucking his teeth. ‘Simmer down, man! You can’t pace Drew into answering you!’

  Scowling at Leo, he stopped pacing.

  ‘That’s better,’ Leo thought and walked over to stand closer to Drew’s chair. Jake followed, hoping their proximity would encourage their leader to respond.

  Once they were close to Drew, Jake cleared his throat. One final push. He pulled a face at Leo, daring him to say something. Holding his hands up, Leo shook his head and frowned in reply.

  As if noticing them for the first time, Drew glanced up and said, “Oh, uh, thanks guys. You did… great.” His voice fell flat, and the air in the room became stale and unpleasant. Hands on his hips, Jake tutted in frustration and began pacing again. He hated waiting around for someone else to make a decision. Monotony ruled his life after death. Performing someone else’s mundane tasks. Wasn’t that what adolescence was for? The one who turned him promised luxury and freedom beyond his imagination. The reality proved to be much less exciting. But he chose this path, he would need to deal with it. For now.

  After several stale and quiet moments, Jake and Leo looked at each other, not sure what to make of Drew’s lack of enthusiasm. Unable to endure the silence any longer, Jake spoke up animatedly, “Yeah, it is great. Now we can go and get her!” he glanced at Leo, hoping his partner would show similar levels of enthusiasm and that their energy would rub off on Drew. “I bet if we called the funeral home, they’d give us a casket and a hearse with a driver, so we could get a jump on daylight—she’d never expect us to arrive by nightfall!” Jake spoke rapidly in the hope that his energy would light a fire under Drew.

  Leo shook his head at Jake, ‘Lay off, would ya!’

  Jake cleared his throat in reply and bounced on the balls of his feet ready to launch as soon as Drew gave the signal.

  Drew glanced at Jake and Leo and took a long, sobering breath. “No, no. Let’s rest today,” he said. Then added seemingly as an afterthought, “She won’t go far.”

  “She won’t go far? What are you talking about, Drew? What’s gotten into you?” Jake bellowed. He was reeling from the energy that had been building up inside him since Alice disappeared. He felt something when she blinked out of that room. His heart tugged, and the air fizzled out of his chest; he thought she was gone forever. Now, he knew where she was, and he was damn sure he would get her back. He hearkened back to his days as a trader, working the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, edging out the guys who didn’t possess the bravado to get the job done. He had what it took, and he would stop at nothing to make the trade, just like he would stop at nothing to get Alice back. Even if that meant getting a price put on his head or getting kicked out of Drew’s crew.

  “How can you sit there?” Jake spat the words out of his mouth. “Acting like you don’t care? We brought you big news, news that you wanted, and now you’re not the least bit interested that we actually made contact with her and that she still exists! Shit, man. For all we knew she blinked into oblivion a few hours ago… now you don’t want to hear what happened? Why the hell did you have us go all the way to Albion in the first place if you never intended to do anything with her? Jesus. What a ridiculous fucking mess.”

  Leo hung back, watching Drew intently as his partner unleashed his fury on their leader. ‘Be careful, Jake. Drew’s still your superior. I got your back, man, but just be careful. I ain’t never seen ’im like this before.’

  Jake kept pacing, but with less vigor, the wind out of his sails.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  Drew

  Drew hung his head during the verbal lashing from Jake. Jake was right. They should be out there right now trying to find his daughter. Instead, his worst rival—his creator—took refuge in a light-tight bedroom upstairs. And Drew shut down. Part of him wanted to rush up the stairs, crash through the door and stake Adam. Drew left Albion to keep from doing someone else’s bidding. It took years, but he created a life and a name for himself in New York. His reputation wasn’t Adam’s to take.

  But the moment Adam blew into the room, the equilibrium changed. Power leaked from Drew, puddling around him and fizzling at his feet. For years, he worked to get out from under the specter of Adam’s gaze. In the early days, Drew’s every action was fueled by revenge against his creator. Killing for sport. Attempting to create fledglings of his own. And failing. He ran New York like a mob boss – underlings doing his bidding, a hot woman by his side whenever he wanted her, making his own rules and damning the rest.

  Or so he thought. Looking back on it, every powerful move he made had been at Eliza’s suggestion. If he dared to make his own choice, she would clean up after him. Countless mutant fledglings were put down at her hands. Jake and Leo always looked to Eliza for confirmation before he set them on a mission. Like always. Drew took a backseat in the design of his life. Sarah ran his life from New York to Albion, and he fucked that up. Adam ran him out of Albion. Eliza pushed him down until he fit neatly into her little box. And Alice—even she had more balls than he did. And poof. She was gone.

  Poor Drew. Poor, miserable, fucking Drew.

  “Do what you want. I don’t care,” he finally said out loud. He got up and unceremoniously left the room. Their eyes burned into him as he moved. Let ‘em stare. Let ‘em hate me. He heard scuffling and grunts that he assumed were Jake and Leo fussing over him, but again it didn’t matter. Heading to h
is room to mope before answering the call of the sun, he slowed down just in front of his doorway as his ears picked up the argument in the study.

  “What the fuck was that?” Jake asked Leo.

  “Beats me. Seems like a schmuck move if you ask me.”

  Drew rolled his eyes but kept listening. Jake spoke up, “We gotta move on this. Today.”

  “How you plannin’ to do that, Romeo?”

  Romeo? What the hell does that mean? Drew turned around to make his way back to the study. That’s my daughter they’re talking about!

  “Any way I can,” Jake said.

  Leo grunted, “It ain’t your call.”

  “What are you talking about, Leo? We did all this fucking work, and now we’re just supposed to drop it because Drew’s despondent?”

  Their argument lit a fire under Drew as he barreled down the corridor. Don’t they know who’s in charge here? Hearing footsteps on the stairs above him, he froze in his tracks. The last thing he wanted was to have someone catch him eavesdropping like some schoolboy schmuck. Tiptoeing back to his room to hide from whoever was coming down the stairs, he groaned inwardly. So much for dignity. It had taken him years to build his reputation, his empire. Now, that was coming to an end. How could one person have so much power over another person’s life and not even know it? At his doorway, he paused to hear what was happening in the study.

  As if on cue, Leo sucked his teeth, “Yup. Pretty much.”

  “Seriously, Leo? You know what? I don’t fucking care if I’m the only one. I’m going to get her back. Today.”

  “I wouldn’t.” Eliza’s voice cut through Jake’s angry tirade. Eliza to the rescue, as usual, Drew thought and quietly slid through the open door to his room.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  Eliza

  From the doorway, Eliza eyed up Jake. Riled up and shouting at Drew? Belittling the hand that feeds? Two weeks ago, he happily played video games all night and complained when it was time to hunt. No, something wasn’t right. Making rash decisions, personality turned upside down? She should’ve noticed earlier, but Jake was in love. With Alice. The boss’s daughter. Not very clever.

  This revelation put strain on an already unstable set of circumstances. She would need to micromanage Jake’s every move until the Alice situation was resolved. She remembered the first time she fell in love after becoming a vampire. Poor choices led to several dead, actually dead, bodies. Vampires experienced everything in high definition, including their emotions. Love, the most intense of all; followed closely by lust, but that caused its own set of problems. No, a vampire newly in love was not to be trusted. Unable to regulate his emotions, he posed a significant threat—not only to those who blocked him from the object of his desire, but also to himself.

  The sun had fully risen. Eliza fought against its pull because she would have to be the strong one. Drew sulked in his room, Adam did whatever Adam wanted to do while Jake was seriously considering going out the front door and into the sun to track down Alice. At least Leo hasn’t lost his mind. Eliza would be the voice of reason. She couldn’t let Jake rush outside to meet certain death.

  “You can’t stop me, Eliza. You have no control over me.”

  “Oh, I know. You remind me all the time, Jake. Yet here you are.”

  Agitated and obviously still contemplating bolting for the door, Jake paced in front of Eliza. An angry animal in its cage, waiting for someone to stick their arm through so he could take his vengeance out on them.

  “Jake,” Eliza said, projecting comfort in her voice. “Jake, think about what you’re proposing.”

  “Stop it, Eliza. I know what you’re doing. I’m not Drew. I don’t need to be molly-coddled.”

  “Oh, I see. Okay. Go out that door then. Good luck to you, but you won’t last thirty seconds.”

  “She’s right, man,” Leo cut in. “We need to wait ’til tonight. But we’ll go the second the sun goes down. I swear.”

  Jake stopped to make eye contact with Leo. They shared an unbreakable bond; common for vampires who spent decades together. She hoped the bond was strong enough to help Jake come to his senses before it was too late. Narrowing his eyes at Leo, Jake nodded, the storm over.

  Jake released the breath he had been holding. “Shit!” he pulled at his hair.

  Leo grimaced, but his face softened as it became obvious that his friend was back and wouldn’t be risking his life for this girl, at least not today. “C’mon, man, let’s go answer the sun’s call. As soon as she’s down, we’ll be out the door and on our way.”

  Eliza left the room. She had nothing to add. Leo and Jake would handle it. They would stop at nothing to get Alice back. But what the hell was wrong with Drew? Hiding in his room while Jake and Leo battle it out? While she came to talk sense into them? This was a new level of apathy, and Eliza was determined to find out what was fueling it.

  ◆◆◆

  The door to Drew’s room was shut tight, a clear signal he didn’t want to be disturbed. Disregarding his wishes, Eliza twisted the knob and pushed hard only to find her body folding into her shoulder as the door stayed fast.

  “Ouch!” She rubbed her shoulder. Drew never locked her out. Even when he was angry, he’d always let her in to talk him through it or comfort him. Their physical chemistry had been the one aspect of their relationship they could rely on. If something couldn’t be fixed, at least it could be forgotten about after grinding, sweating, and smashing themselves into each other for a couple hours.

  “You know what, Drew? You’re on your own with this one,” Eliza muttered through the door. “I’m with the guys. They’re right. We leave at sunset. With or without you.” Pressing her palm to the door, she waited for him to respond. After no response, mental or otherwise, she turned and let her fingers trail along the wall as she walked down the corridor.

  When Eliza reached her room, she found Adam propped on her bed waiting for her like they were old friends and his being there was an everyday occurrence. Without thinking, she lunged. The look on Adam’s face as she sent him flying across the room almost made up for the cold-shoulder she received from Drew.

  “Whoa!” After crashing into the wall, Adam was forced to pick himself up off the floor. “Hey,” he pleaded, “I’m just here to talk. I—”

  “You’re going to leave my room. Now.” When Adam didn’t budge, she added, “I thought the throwing thing would’ve made it pretty clear you’re unwelcome in here. For any reason.”

  Adam’s shoulders sank, and he looked pitiful, but Eliza stood firm. Shooting daggers from her eyes, she crossed her arms over chest and looked from Adam to the door. Clearly dejected, he stalked away, stopping just before the threshold. “Fine. But you’re going to wish you had me with you when you get to Albion.” In a blink, he was gone.

  Defiant, Eliza remained where she was, arms crossed and senses on alert, until she was certain her unwanted guest had gone. She let out a long sigh and walked over to her bed to straighten it. Adam had left impressions of himself in the covers, and she wanted no reminders of his existence. As if I’ll need his help in Albion. Pretty sure three strong vampires can find their way through a Podunk little backwoods town. Eliza grumbled and carried on taking out her frustration—with Adam and Drew—on the pillows, punching them a little harder than necessary to fluff them, and throwing them back into position. Wait, she thought, and paused mid-toss, not three vampires, four. Drew’s coming too. This is his mess, he’s got to be there.

  The bed looked worse than before she straightened it. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Ugh!” How could she have let both Drew and Adam get under her skin like this? She’d fought tougher battles and kept her cool. “Dammit, he’s going. They both are,” she announced to the empty room. She straightened her bed again before breezing out the door and down the hall to Adam’s room.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Adam

  Lying on the cold, hard floor in the lonely upstairs room, Adam closed his eyes to g
ive in to the sun for the day when he felt a presence standing over him. He opened one eye to see Eliza leaning forward, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, waiting for him to wake up.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s the last look you gave me as I was leaving your room. Only now, you’re here in my room.” Adam sat upright, bending at the waist, and glared at his uninvited guest. “I feel as though I am supposed to throw you across the room now. That’s the way we greet people here, right?”

  “Funny,” Eliza said and rolled her eyes.

  “I love that you get my humor,” Adam replied as he stood and made his way to the door. Leaning back against it, he placed both hands on the doorknob, ready to escort Eliza out. “But really, why are you here?”

  “I need you in Albion.”

  “What was that? I’m afraid my vampire hearing isn’t working too well. Did you just say you need me?” Adam let go of the door and strode toward Eliza. “Perhaps you said you need shoes in Albion. And, I dare say you’re right. Maybe even boots. It’s cold and slushy this time of year.” Adam arched his eyebrow at her. He loved being a jackass.

  “Drew was right. You’re an asshole.”

  “I aim to please.”

  “It was a mistake to come in here.”

  “But you’re not moving toward the door, so I’m thinking you want me to tell you something else? Like, ‘No, no, Eliza, I’m here to help you in any way I can. Stay. Please. Let’s work this out.’” Adam folded his hands together and over-enthusiastically kneeled in front of her. “Something like that?”

  “Fine. You don’t want to help. I’ll go. Never mind.” Eliza stepped around Adam on her way to the door. Adam made it there before she did, keeping her in the room, and in his presence, for a little while longer.