I hear a small gasp come from Miriam’s direction in the front row. She turns to look at me with two parts confusion and one part panic. She was not expecting me to be here.
I stay near the exit, keeping my distance from Nice. “Esteemed fellow society leaders, ex-council members, and…everyone else. I am here to call out Mr. Nicephorus as a fraud. He stole my librarian, who by some miracle became pregnant with my child, and then he used this precious little creature to blackmail her into becoming his wife. It is why I could not tell the truth last week. Had I done so, Nice would have killed my child and likely murdered Miriam, too.”
The room of spectators explodes with gasps and loud discussion.
“Lies!” Nice barks. “Vanderhorthsssth is telling lies. The Nice would never do such a thing. And my wife loves me, as she will tell you.”
Pioneer Patty, who sits at the front table facing the room and myself, stands and demands order. The noise quickly dies down. “Do you have proof of what you’re saying, Mr. Vanderhorst? Because, though we all respect you, the law requires the accused to at least look guilty.”
Depending on which side you are on, this is one of the perks of vampire law. To be convicted of a crime, you simply have to look guilty. The truth is, vampires are very good at covering up our crimes—comes with the nature of our species—so it is often impossible to provide hard proof. Luckily today, however, I have it.
I lean down and lift a confused-looking Stella, holding her to my hip. Wow. She’s heavy. “I have brought my daughter, and though she is unaware of the threats against her mother and her own life, she can tell you that she has only been permitted to see Miriam once a week and has been forced to constantly move from hotel to hotel—”
“Michael?” Miriam pipes up. “I’ve never seen that girl in my life.”
I blink. “Pardon?”
Miriam shakes her head with stiff jerks, almost like she’s saying, Nononono… Abort! Abort! “That girl is at least eight or nine. I’ve only known you for five years.”
“But…she…” I look at the girl in my arms. “You’re not Stella?”
She shakes her head. “My name is Hope.”
“But you’ve been answering to Stella the entire time.”
“No, I haven’t.” She shakes her head again.
I glance at Miriam and then at the room filled with smirking, confused, and thoroughly entertained vampires.
“There. You see!” Nice laughs. “Vanderhorthsssth is fabricating it all.”
Oh, dear God. I took the wrong girl! Which means I do not have Stella! No. No. No… How could I let this happen? They were counting on me, and…and…once again, I failed. What sort of man am I? I mean, when my nation needs me, I’m there. My society needs me, done. Miriam and Stella need me, and I completely screw up? I was so desperate, I just grabbed the first little girl who could possibly be my daughter. My emotions keep getting in the way. And now it has cost me everything.
No! I cannot let Nice win! I must think of something and fast. But what? The only thing going for me is my reputation.
I set Hope down and clear my throat to address the room. “It appears as though I rescued the wrong girl, possibly a result of having ingested an extraordinary amount of mushrooms disguised as a man. That being said, I am telling the truth.” I look around at the faces in the meeting hall, most of whom I know well. “I have served our people for over four centuries. When I was called upon to fight, I fought. When I was asked to rule, I ruled. I have always put our people first and lived by a moral code that has given me a reputation of fairness and honesty—well, honest for a vampire. So I ask you all today to believe me when I say that my accusations are true. Nice must pay for his crimes and not be made king.”
Nice shakes his head. “This from a vampire I saved? Choo are jealous, Vanderhorsthsssth.” He turns to Miriam. “Tell them, my love. Tell everyone, like you did before, that Vanderhorthsssth is not your fanged love and never was.”
I look at her, pleading with my eyes. All Miriam must do is tell the truth. If she does, Nice goes to prison, and together, we will find Stella. I hope?
“You’re shaking again.” Hope slides her little hand into mine. “Don’t be afraid, Vanderhorst. Daddy always says that telling the truth is the only way to win. And cheaters die a slow painful death in the fiery bowels of hell.”
If only that were true. I smile down at her big reassuring eyes. I do not think she understands the vampire world, where at the end of the day power is what matters most. “Thank you, Hope. Also, I am very sorry about kidnapping you.”
She shrugs. “Mommy and Daddy won’t be back from their trip until tomorrow, and I really hate my grandma. She smells funny.”
The woman I punched and threw into the dumpster is her grandma? Oh, dear Lord. I sigh. Guess I will just have to add it to the list… “Just as soon as we are able, we will go to the store and buy lots of perfume to go with the large sum of cash I will need to give her as compensation.”
I turn and look at Miriam, who is staring across the room at the two of us with tearing eyes.
“My dove, tell them,” Nice demands.
“It’s true,” she blurts out. “Every word of it.”
My heart sinks, but I understand why Miriam must keep up with the charade. Nice has the real Stella.
I am such a fool! How could I have grabbed the wrong girl?
Miriam continues, “Everything Michael said is the truth. I love him. I was with him, and then Nice took me and threatened me and my baby if I didn’t role-play as his Fanged Love bride.”
Yes! My heart glows with warmth, but my stomach knots, knowing this is far from over.
The room erupts with gasps, and someone cries for Nice’s head. He bolts for the side door. Fortunately, it’s locked. The doors in this place are built for vampires.
“Don’t let him leave!” I point. He’s the only one who knows where our daughter is.
“You cannot hold me. I am Nicephorus, the great general and fabulous dresser!” He dashes back to Miriam and wraps his arm around her neck.
I rarely feel the need to curse, but now feels like the opportune moment. “Fuck.”
Miriam’s eyes are glued to mine in a silent plea to do something. But I have no leverage other than threats. I am standing much too far away to try to pull him off her. Everyone else is likely too frightened of his strength to act.
“I wish to retake the throne,” I say loudly to the room while keeping my eyes on Miriam and Nice. “So if enough of our leaders are present in the room, I request a vote to be taken. Now. This instant.” The rule is I must have the support of the majority of the society leaders and their generals. The council members are no longer in power, but they represent our oldest, most powerful members of each society, so their support is essential, too. I don’t have time to count, but I think we have a quorum.
“Diss will do nothing, Vanderhorsthsssth! I do not fear you now, and I will not fear you if you are king.”
I step forward and lift my chin. “Either way, I lose Miriam. Isn’t that right, Nice? You’ll kill her or take her, and I will never see her or my daughter again. But if I am king, at the very least, I can assure you will never know a moment’s rest for the remainder of your frilly, lace-filled existence. I will hunt you at every F-A-N-G-E-D-L-O-V-E town, city, state, or country. If it takes two hundred years, I will find you and make you pay. And you will die knowing that Miriam never loved you. Also, you are a horrible dresser.”
Nice narrows his dark nefarious eyes while Miriam squirms in his grip. “Zat wasn’t very nice! Pun intended.” He grips a chunk of her hair and yanks Miriam’s head to the side.
I hear the crack of her neck. “No!”
Miriam falls to the floor, and my entire world falls away with her. I cannot move. I cannot believe what has just happened. Somewhere in the background of my mind, I hear little Hope scream and everyone else saying things like “Oh no he dinn’t.”
“I will send you pictures of Stell
a when she is eighty. Ta-ta!” Nice zips to the door, and this time, he hits it hard. The entire thing explodes outward.
Gretta appears at my side. “I missed something big, didn’t I?”
I don’t speak because I cannot.
Gretta goes to her tiptoes to try to see over the crowd. “Wait. Oh no. Is that…?” She points to the front of the room and puts two and two together. “Well, this is a crap ending.” Gretta looks up at Patty. “Honestly, I’m a little disappointed. Can’t we do any better, Pats? I mean, at least let the poor guy get his revenge. We kinda owe him.”
“You’re right.” Pioneer Patty raps her gavel on the table. “All in favor of Michael Vanderhorst as the new king?” I hear the faint rumble of ayes.
“Then it is so,” Patty says. “As the appointed representative of these proceedings, I declare that Michael Vanderhorst has been granted full and absolute authority to rule, serve, and protect all five hundred and eighty-two societies. Sir, we await your instructions, and I really hope they are to get Nice—wait. Sorry. I mean, to get mean with Nice. Oh, you get it.”
It clicks in my head that I now have an army at my disposal. That is why they’ve done this. I should have used an army the first time to find him, but I thought it would only make him go deeper underground.
This time, I will not make the same mistake. “Find him and find my daughter. And then kill Nice.”
“Done.” Patty pounds her gavel, and the crowd disperses in the blink of an eye. I am left standing in an empty room with Gretta and a terrified Hope by my side. I cannot bring myself to go to Miriam and look down at her lifeless eyes.
“Michael,” Gretta speaks quietly, “I am so sorry. What can I do for you? What do you need?”
This is all my fault. I let my emotions get in the way by grabbing Hope. And then, right now, I let my anger and pride speak to Nice. I should have backed down the moment I realized I had the wrong kid. But no. I egged him on.
“I didn’t believe Nice would hurt her,” I mutter to myself. “I thought he loved her. But he didn’t. He loved his fantasy.” For him, it’s always been about that damned book, and in his eyes, Miriam was just playing a part. Completely replaceable. But I didn’t see it because my ego and jealousy and anger were in the way. I should have known. I should have fucking known.
“Just stay strong. They’ll find your daughter. I’m sure they will,” Gretta says quietly, “and she’ll need you.”
I swallow down the bitter rage welling in my chest. “Would you be so kind as to help Hope find her way home and to make reparations to her grandmother?”
“Sure. Of course.” Gretta takes Hope’s hand. “Come on, kid.”
“Bye, Vanderhorst,” Hope says in her tiny, sniffling voice. “I hope you find Stella.”
“Thank you, little one.” I pat her head but can offer nothing more. My insides feel as though they are slowly melting.
The two leave, and now it is just me and my librarian. I finally got my wish, to have her all to myself again. I just never imagined she wouldn’t be alive. And there isn’t a damned thing I can do about it.
I am devastated, and my life will never be the same again. Miriam was everything to me. Everything.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The rest of the day is an absolute blur. Someone is kind enough to wrap my sweet librarian in a blanket and take her to the funeral home. There are two that we utilize in the city, one run by a society member who will ensure Miriam is taken care of—death certificate and all. I cannot bear the thought of seeing her in a coffin or burying her. The ache of grief has settle deep in my soul, and the only thing keeping me from drinking an entire bottle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup and ending it all is the thought that Stella might still be alive.
Of course, now the dark thoughts are taking over. If we find Stella, what sort of father will I be? I did not rescue her when I was supposed to. I let her mother die. And any moment now, I know that both of those thoughts are going to sink in and break me into a thousand tiny pieces.
You must keep your shit together, Vanderhorst. Falling apart is not an option. Think of Stella.
The manhunt is on for Nice; every member of my society here in Cincinnati and in Arizona is pitching in to organize a massive search. Anyone who harbors Nice will be dusted. If he attempts to fly from the country, take a boat, or drive anywhere, we will spot him.
“Sir?” There’s a knock on Lula’s office door, where I am using her computer to make a list of all the cities starting with the letter N. I figure that Nice probably moved Stella from whichever A city she was in. Of course, now that he’s on the run, he might have already called the nanny and given the execution order.
God, I hope not.
“Yes. Come in,” I say.
“Sir, I understand that you ordered Lula to be released,” says a shirtless gentleman named Russel, whom Lula hired from the Texas territory to help with administrative work. Predictably, her entire staff is male, and I’m fairly certain she had a no-shirts rule because I keep seeing half-dressed men walking around the office.
It is no wonder everyone was quick to get rid of her. She never took the job seriously. Of course, I take full responsibility. I knew she wasn’t ready for such a role, but I was too wrapped up in my grief to care. Five years of sorrow, only to end here. How much more can one vampire take?
“Yes,” I say. “I gave the order. What is taking so long?” I hadn’t noticed, but it’s been hours since I summoned Lula.
“She refuses to come out of her cell.”
“Why?” I lift one brow.
“She won’t say.”
I growl out a breath. I cannot deal with this right now. Not today. “Very well. Just let her know she is free to leave when she’s ready.” One would think my best friend, my family, should be by my side at a time like this. Dammit, Lula. I could really use your help right now. “On second thought…” I stand. “I’ll go see Lula myself.” I am furious.
I march down the stairs to the basement and holding cells. I pass through a series of barred doors and past the guards. Everyone avoids eye contact, as if they pity me. But if that were true, I would not have the support to be king again.
“Tell me why you looked away just now,” I ask the man standing just outside the entry to the jail.
“Sir?”
“You looked away. Why?”
“I feel like I have failed you, sir.”
“Failed me? How?”
“You fought for all of us over and over again. You stopped Clive, and he would have executed our families and everyone in our societies.”
“True, but how does this signify you have failed me?”
“Nice killed your librarian, and we all know how much you loved her. Now he’s taken your daughter, who, if she is what you say, is a sort of miracle. Further proof you are our rightful king.”
I get that vampires are ancient, some more than others, but this notion of rightful rulers and divine providence is an antiquated notion.
“No one failed me,” I say. “I failed myself. And I am ruler because I killed a lot of fucking vampires, and people think I can keep the peace, which remains to be seen.”
He bobs his head, but I can tell I haven’t gotten through to him. Vampires are stubborn that way.
At the end of my rope, I approach Lula’s holding cell at the end of the row. It’s cold and dark down here—far too relaxing for a vampire jail. We should add more light. Make it uncomfortable. “What the devil is wrong with you, woman?”
“Michael?” Sitting on the cot, Lula looks up with her big brown eyes.
“In the flesh, as you can see. Now get your ass out of there and stop this bullcrap right now.”
She stares at me, and I know something else is the matter, but I do not care. “Miriam is dead. Nice still has Stella. I need your assistance.”
“I can’t help you right now, Michael.”
“Why?” I bark.
“Because…I…”
“Spit it out
, Lula.”
“Because I’m a horrible person.”
“Yes. I know. What is your point?” I fold my arms over my chest.
“I tried to tell you. So many times! But I know you’ll never ever forgive me.” She drags her fist across her nose, sniffling.
“I don’t have time for this, so if you want to play these cryptic games, go right ahead.”
She hiccups out a sob. “This whole thing is my fault. All of it! I knew Nice wanted to take Miriam. He told me he would and that if I wanted his help in killing Clive, I wouldn’t get in his way.” Lula covers her face.
I was aware that she had recruited Nice to help, but not that she made a deal with him. This is unforgivable!
“Why would you do such a thing?” I growl.
“To save you. Clive was going to tear your head off, and I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you. It’s why…” Her voice trails off on a barrage of snivels. “I didn’t tell you when I really found Miriam. I tracked Nice from his Fanged Love, Book Three purchase. Not number four.” She sobs some more into her hands. “I wanted to tell you I had a solid lead, but then…I couldn’t do it. So I let it go, but I knew for years how to track them down again. I just kept hoping that maybe you would forget about her.”
“What?” Anger twists my insides.
She looks up at me, tears gushing from her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I know it’s indefensible. But I still love you and thought maybe… Oh, God. I am a monster.”
Love? Whatever she feels for me, it is not that.
“How could you, Lula?” I snarl in a low, quiet voice.
“I know. I know. That’s why I finally told you where she was. I saw you weren’t ever going to move on, but if I’d known she was pregnant and had a baby, I never would’ve done any of it. I swear.” She bawls hysterically. “And now your librarian is dead, and I’ve lost you forever and…”
I am such a fool. I knew I should not have trusted Lula again.
I open the cell door and step to the side. “You do not get to sit inside here wallowing. Go find my damned child, or so help me, Lula, I will dust you right here and now.”
The Librarian's Vampire Assistant, Book 4 Page 13
