Rising Dark (The Darkling Trilogy, Book 2)

by A. D. Koboah

  ***

  It was 1971 and the only thing that had changed about me was my clothes. In order to blend in with those around me, I finally gave up my beloved tailored suits and succumbed to the fashions of that time. I wore high-waisted flared trousers with a low slung vest top and black leather jacket, clothes I felt looked simply ridiculous—even then. I was on my way back to the mansion when an image came to me. It was of an old beat-up car idling by the side of the road. I saw a tall, willowy figure in an equally beaten-up tan leather jacket, a large bag slung over her shoulder, her afro a large, dark cloud above her shoulders. She moved away from the car. Her destination? The mansion. Whether the image had come from Mama or Luna, was hard to tell. All I knew was the woman was dangerous.

  She was already at the mansion by the time I got there, having walked all night to reach it. She waited for me to enter it as the night sky began to lighten. As silent as a cat, she climbed nimbly over the wall and entered the grounds, sure I would be unaware of her presence, as her scent had been hidden by either a spell or herbs. Her thoughts were also hidden. She stopped halfway across the field of flowers to survey the house, placing her bag down on the grass. I stepped out of the ether, a few feet behind her.

  Her sixth sense was incredibly strong. She began to whirl around even before I completely re-materialised behind her. I saw the glint of silver as two small knives flew through the air toward me. I leapt back into the ether. I materialised to her left, knocking her to the ground.

  She hit the ground with a sharp intake of breath. Fear, something that did not come easily to her, brightened her dark brown eyes as I came to stand over her.

  I was looking at a slip of a girl, really. She looked about fourteen, although I guessed she was older than she appeared to be. She was skinny, her complexion the colour of dark honey, her small face all eyes beneath that gigantic afro, the only thing of substance on her entire body.

  In her fear and confusion, the control she had over her thoughts slackened and I saw why she was so shocked. She was wearing an amulet, which drew on the natural magic that prevented vampires from entering a home uninvited. It should have repelled me, as well as slowed me down considerably, when I got close enough to touch her. But she had no way of knowing something like that would not work on me.

  “Hm, I don’t know how we missed you for so long,” I mused to myself out loud.

  I knew who all of Luna’s descendants were and had provided for them all in some way or another. This one was a complete mystery to me.

  She stared at me, her hand slowly inching toward her waist.

  “There is no point reaching for whatever it is you have concealed there. As you have gathered by now, that little amulet of yours will not work on me, so I can easily disarm you. If you understand anything about magic, you will know there is a reason for that. I am not your enemy...Sutana.”

  Her eyes narrowed at the mention of her name, which I had plucked from her mind when her control had slackened.

  I offered my hand to her. She ignored it and rose to her feet, her movements quick and fluid.

  “It don’t matter if you ain’t my enemy, you’re still one of them!” Her hand was inching toward her waist again.

  “Yes. But you’re not strong enough to kill me without that amulet. If there was any danger of that, Luna would not have let you get this far.”

  She bristled with anger. “That mean-ass vamp ain’t got nothin’ on me! I’ll make sure I bury her the next time we meet.”

  “Unlikely, as you clearly have no idea how powerful she is, or that you are one of her descendants.”

  There was complete silence, her eyes widening in mortification, her mouth hanging open. Then her hands curled into fists and she stamped her foot.

  “What?”

  “Perhaps you had better come inside,” I said, trying to hide a small smile.

  I turned my back on her and walked toward the mansion. After a few moments, she followed.

  In the kitchen, she glared at me. “You’d better not tell nobody I’m related to a vamp. It’ll kill my rep.”

  “I have no intention of telling anyone. Would you like a drink, or perhaps something to eat?”

  “You got food?” Her face lit up and she appeared much younger for a few seconds. “I don’t know of no vamp that eats.”

  “As you’ll come to see, Luna and I are not...um... Help yourself,” I said as she rushed past me to the fridge.

  There was half a roast chicken in the fridge. She pulled off a drumstick and took a bite out of it, pulling out other items and throwing it in her bag.

  She moved to the cupboards and I watched her add a few other things to the bag before she returned to the fridge. She made herself a chicken sandwich and pulled out a large bottle of Coca Cola along with crisps and any sweet thing she could find before we retired to the drawing room, where I was able to find out a little bit about her, as well as tell her about Luna.

  Sutana was a self-taught, self-styled vampire hunter. Though she was barely out of school, she was remarkably skilled at hunting down and killing vampires, and had a fearsome reputation. But I found it difficult to take her seriously. Firstly because of the way she dressed. She had seen a film called Shaft a few weeks before and had shamelessly modelled herself on the main character, from her clothes, movements, and even some of her phrases. It was laughable as the effect on her was comical. She was stick thin, her bony knees jutting out of her flared jeans. But I was pleased to see her and watched her carefully for the little sparks of Luna I saw in all her descendants.

  “Damn,” she said when I finished a condensed version of Luna’s life story. “Damn right she didn’t tell me we was related. Damn.”

  She kicked off her boots, which were in an even worse state of wear than the leather jacket strewn over the sofa, and stretched out in front of the TV, biting into her third helping of food. Turning up the volume of the TV, which irritated my sensitive hearing, she shouted over the sound of a popular television show.

  “That vamp has a serious mean streak, and her kills are on a whole other level.”

  “She’s killing again?” I said in consternation.

  “Well...naw. From what my sources tell me, she ain’t killed a human in years, but she slips from time to time. This is the longest she’s gone without killing. But she can’t be trusted. No vamp can be trusted,” she added, looking pointedly at me.

  She stuffed the last of the food in her mouth and stretched out on the sofa, her stomach protruding and looking extremely out of place on such a slender frame.

  “So you’re telling me she’s invincible and there ain’t much on this Earth that can kill her.”

  “She can be killed, but not easily, and I don’t suggest you try her patience by making an attempt. She could snap you into little pieces and there wouldn’t be much that anyone could do about it.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that.”

  “You’re such a child, Sutana. It is a wonder you haven’t got yourself killed already. Go home. A vampire hunter is not the kind of life for a child.”

  “Home is wherever I lay my knives and my boots. This is my destiny. I’ve seen it all and I know I ain’t gonna live past the end of this year. I was born to kill the Vuillemot vampires. Once I’ve done that, I’ll move on to the next life.”

  “Once you kill the who?”

  “You ain’t heard of them?” She appeared shocked. “How the hell ain’t you heard of the Vuillemot vampires? Everybody knows who they are.”

  I rolled my eyes and moved to my desk, picking up a pen and paper. “Clearly you need a stabilising influence in your life. This is the name and address of your second cousin. She’s a very sweet, tolerant woman who has a tendency to overfeed everyone. You could do with a few good meals. Maybe she can tell you all you need to know about your family, about Grandmother Luna.”

  I couldn’t resist a little smile at the stony glare she directed at me at the mention of Grandmother Luna.

  Then
she smiled, snatching the piece of paper out of my hand.

  “Thanks. Since you’re Grandmama’s boyfriend, that makes you practically family. So what should I call you? Uncle? Grandpappy?”

  “Avery will suffice.”

  “Grandpa Avery it is, then.”

  She leaned back in the sofa.

  “So she used to live here, huh? I can see why she liked this place. It has a nice vibe to it, the kind of place where you can just go to sleep and never wake up.” I didn’t like where this was headed at all, especially since she looked as if she had no intention of leaving. “I don’t never sleep much. I always have strange dreams of this creepy—”

  “The chapel? You’ve dreamt about the chapel? How odd.”

  “It’s a real place?” She shivered slightly. “Creepy.”

  Seeing how comfortable she appeared to be, I reached for my car keys and tossed them to her.

  “Here you go. I can’t bear the thought of you not having a means of getting yourself home.”

  A huge smile spread across her face and she got to her feet.

  “Don’t think I’m giving it back,” she said before tucking the car keys into her jeans pocket and reaching for her leather jacket.

  “Fine.”

  After another glance at the pitiful leather jacket, I moved to the safe hidden behind one of the paintings in the room and opened it, drawing out some bills. After another glance at her, and her worn down shoes, I added a few more.

  “Here.” I tossed the rolled up bills to her, which she plucked deftly out of the air.

  “Oh, you just spoiling me now, Grandpapa.” She tucked it into her bra, which clearly had a lot of room in it, judging by her boyish chest.

  She moved to the door where she stopped and faced me. “I never thought I’d be able to say this about a vamp, but I like you, Grandpa. I’ll tell Grandmama you sent your love the next time I see her. But I don’t know, she seemed pretty into her new man.”

  I stiffened slightly but affected an air of nonchalance.

  “You should see him,” she continued. “He’s one long cup of hot chocolate. Well, it was nice meeting you, Grandpa, and I’ll make sure I pass by the next time I’m in town.”

  Those were not words I wanted to hear, but thankfully, she was gone.

  I moved to the window when I heard Sutana start up the car and drive away.

  I had become aware of Luna’s presence halfway during Sutana’s visit. She had been following her for months and was at this moment hidden in the boot of the car I had given Sutana. Aside from vampires, 1970s America was not a safe place for a young black woman travelling on her own. I shook my head. It was a wonder Sutana had survived for so long. I caught a glimpse of Luna’s thoughts. She was tired and exasperated with the child and her recklessness. All of Luna’s descendants were a handful, but this one was the most troublesome of them all. The only reason she had let Sutana reach the mansion is because she hoped I would be able to convince her to stop her reckless obsession with killing the Vuillemot vampires and perhaps take her under my wing.

  “Oh no,” I said aloud as Sutana drove toward the mansion gates. “That one is all yours.”

  There was only the impression of exasperated amusement at those words. I smiled to myself and then quickly brought it in check.

  Luna was no longer a friend. She was an enemy. We would always look out for her family and mine, but she would be an enemy for as long as I lived and the hatred I had toward her burned fiercely even after so many years.

  ***

  Sutana kept her promise to pass by whenever she was in the area.

  I came home one morning to find one of the windows in the kitchen broken. The contents of the cupboard and fridge had noticeably decreased and there was a little note on the kitchen table.

  Hey Grandpapa.

  Can you stock up on some Pop-Tarts and Pringles please.

  Thanks.

  Sutana.

  Vampire Hunter Extraordinaire.

  I tore up the note and called someone to come and replace the broken window.

  On another occasion, I returned to find the same window in the kitchen broken and Sutana fast asleep on the sofa, dirty plates dotting the area around her. Her muddy boots had been tossed on the floor. Alarm gripped me when I saw blood on her arms and clothing. Thankfully the blood was not human blood. It was vampire blood.

  Blood she got on the sofa.

  I stared at her in exasperation for a few moments before I left the room. She was still fast asleep when someone arrived to replace the broken window. Thankfully she was gone when I awoke at dusk. I found another little note on the kitchen table.

  Don’t forget my

  Pop-Tarts and Pringles!!!!!

  Sutana.

  Vampire Hunter Extraordinaire.

  I tore up that note and considered keeping the fridge and cupboards bare in the hopes it would prevent further visits.

  About a month later, I awoke at dusk to the sound of the television. I sighed. How on earth did she manage to get into the mansion without waking me?

  I shimmered out of my bedroom and into the drawing room. She was sprawled out on the sofa surrounded by dirty plates. Her appearance had only marginally changed. She had new shoes and her stomach protruded painfully from the food she had overindulged in. The flea ridden leather jacket had been thrown over the sofa.

  “Hey, Grandpapa. How you doin?”

  “Why are you here, Sutana? Hasn’t Luna been keeping an eye on you?”

  “Grandmama? Naw, she’s busy with her new man.”

  “What about your cousin Mimi?”

  “She’s okay.”

  She didn’t say any more, and it was unlikely I would find out what had happened with her kind, sweet cousin, because she had learned to shield her thoughts much better since we first met.

  “You want some Doritos?” she asked, offering me a half empty bag of crisps.

  I shook my head. She reached into the bag, pulling out a fistful of crisps and stuffing it in her mouth.

  “Man,” she said, talking with her mouth full. “The walk here sure worked up an appetite.”

  “You walked here? Again? What happened to the car I gave you?”

  “Oh, I sold that weeks ago. Grandmama confiscated my weapons so I had to buy a whole new stash.” She yawned and settled herself deeper into the chair. “So when are you and Grandmama gonna get back together?”

  “Didn’t you say she has a ‘new man?’”

  “Oh, right. I told you that, didn’t I?”

  She settled deeper into the sofa and yawned sleepily. “And what happened with you two, anyway?”

  I picked up my car keys and tossed it to her.

  A huge smile spread across her face.

  “Oh, Grandpapa. You shouldn’t.” I expected her to get to her feet. But she sat gazing expectantly at me. “So I don’t get no pocket money this visit?”

  I sighed and moved to the safe. She was right behind me, peering over my shoulder as I opened it. I reached for a wad of money and peeled off a few bills.

  “You know, this house is just so relaxing. I think I might find my way back down south in a few weeks, depending on how long my pocket money lasts.”

  I peeled off a few more bills.

  “Yeah, I think a month or two max, and then I’ll head straight back here.”

  I handed her the whole wad of money.

  “Why, thank you, Grandpapa. This is enough to see me away from here for years.”

  She did the pitiful little thing of tucking the money in her bra where it lay, the size of a brick, against her flat chest.

  Sweeping her jacket off the sofa, she moved to the door. “I’ll tell Grandmama you sent your love.”

  She blew me a kiss and was gone.

  I was left alone, thoughts of Luna in the silence all around me. I was so angry at Luna for what she had done, but beneath that anger was love. Love that burned brightly despite her faults and the pain she had caused. And with that love w
ould always be pain. Pain and longing.

  Chapter 38

  Time no longer had any power over an immortal like me. But it still found ways to punish me. Repetition seemed to be one of its most potent weapons and, if you live long enough, your sins always come back to haunt you, as it did on one cold autumn night.

  It was 1972 and I was in my study, bored and miserable when a noise, that of someone moving around outside the gates of the mansion, reached me. They were still now and all I heard was breathing and a heartbeat. I was in no mood for trespassers and I dipped into the ether, meaning to frighten the hell out of whoever was there.

  I materialised outside the gates, a few metres from the person. An icy chill pressed itself against me, rendering me frozen in terror.

  A flame-haired child was standing at the gates with her back to me. My heart seemed to stop with a sharp twist and that awful night in the woods from so many years ago came flooding back.

  Fearing a ghost had come back to exact its vengeance, I took a step back. The noise made her spin around. I was expecting to see the same face and it was a few seconds before it registered that I was looking at a completely different child. She had long red hair, but it hung loose instead of in bunches. She was thin, pale, dirty and had cuts on her legs. She shivered in the moonlight. Fear contorted her features and she stumbled away. I stood there as she disappeared into the gloom and it was a few moments before I regained my senses. I disappeared and materialised a few feet from her. She screamed. But before she could run away, I grasped her arm and reached into her mind to soothe her.

  Her screams faded away and she stood breathing heavily in the night air. I picked her up. There was no resistance. She was slack and pliable as the other red-haired child had been when I drained her blood. The difference between then and now was that I was shaking as much as she was as I took her back to the mansion.