Echoes & Silence Part 1

by Angela M Hudson

  I backed away in a quick step, wiping and scraping at my own mouth to rid it of his soiled blood.

  David pulled his sleeve up a bit higher and offered me a swig of his forearm, and despite his skin being almost as gross to me right now as Steve’s, I grabbed his arm and sunk my teeth in, letting Jason handle the convulsing vampire on the gurney.

  Not one thought about whose blood cleansed my throat was allowed to enter my mind. I kept my eyes closed and pictured David with those girls, using my hatred to stop any desire rising to the surface. To my surprise it actually helped, but I knew his taste and his smell so well that mind tricks wouldn’t work for long to keep me from admitting to myself that I’d missed this—missed his blood, his skin, his…

  “Ara,” Jase said urgently. “It’s time.”

  I closed my lips and drew one last sip of blood through them, licking my mouth clean as I faced Jason and the scumbag patient.

  “Make it quick, Ara.” Jase pinned him down at the leg and arm, and motioned for me to move around to his side. “Place your hand on his chest, and don’t just zap him. You only need between 200 and 1700 volts.”

  “How will I know how many that is?”

  “It should be instinct. You’ve been using this power enough now to call on instinct. Just start low, as if you mean to shock someone you don’t want to kill, and we’ll go from there.”

  I laid my hands to the hairy, sweaty chest and closed my eyes tight, repositioning my feet to hold me up where the vampire struggled under me. I could smell his flesh changing, feel the blood in his veins stop moving, stop pulsing as the immortal life-force left him cell by cell. And with a deep, long breath, I imagined his pulse—imagined the beat, the way a heart usually felt under my hands.

  “Ara, we’re running out of time,” Jason said. “Zap him.”

  But that wasn’t what this beast needed. He needed to die. He’d done terrible things in his life, things I felt in his soul, things I saw as I touched him, like looking into a man’s eyes. I couldn’t allow him to live. Couldn’t use the force of nature to give him passage back to the realm of life. He—

  “Ara.” David’s hand came down on mine. “You can do this.”

  He showed me the Damned in his thoughts then—the tortures they’d suffered against the things they enjoyed, and one of those things they enjoyed was eating humans. Live humans—something we had to hunt high and low to find for them so as not to decrease the population. They wouldn’t eat dead things. But I could make this man live, and the Damned would have a very enjoyable evening.

  With this in mind, I focused not on saving his life but giving a gift to my children. And a small spark, just a warm little jolt, moved the man’s chest, his whole body jumping like he’d gone over a speed bump. I pushed down with my hands, holding him in place, and zapped him again, this time just a little bit harder.

  “Wait.” Jason grabbed my wrist and turned to watch a monitor behind us.

  It bleeped once and stopped.

  David’s hands fell to his sides and he stepped closer to the screen.

  “Just… wait,” Jason said again.

  My hands stayed at the ready, my own heart beating fiercely in my chest. If this worked, it meant an entirely different life for every single one of those children, not to mention any vampires that have suffered the travesties of immortality against their will. And hope filled me like a pulse from another body. I wanted this to work more than I wanted the sky to be blue tomorrow.

  “Maybe try one more shoc—” Jase started, and then the monitor beeped. We all drew a tight breath, waiting, and a second later the man’s chest caved, expanding and contracting as he took a huge, heaving breath and started coughing.

  David swept me backward out of the chaos that followed, as Jason pinned more monitors and all kinds of other gadgets to the man, immediately taking blood and writing things down.

  “Did I do it?” I asked. “Did it actually work? Is he alive?”

  “Yes, my love.” David’s arms tightened like a belt around my shoulders and he rested his jaw against the curve. “You did it.”

  Jason stopped working for a second and looked up at his brother as the words my love rang through us both, and I just stood there holding my breath, my own heart faltering.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Force of habit.”

  I nodded and moved out of his arms to stand beside the patient, his heart now steady and strong, moving the blood through his limbs as if he’d never been immortal. “I can’t believe it.”

  Jason offered a busy but happy smile. “I’ll just monitor him through the night, and if he’s still alive in the morning, we’ll bring up another few test subjects.”

  “What about your trip to the asylum?”

  “It can wait,” David said, standing beside me. “We’ll leave in a day or two.”

  * * *

  The wine made the blood run warm and pink in the cheeks of the faces down the table. They laughed and clapped loudly as David delivered the happy news—narrating every fine detail of our adventurous day from the two AM start, where Steve became the first ever reversed vampire, to the six PM finish where we rolled our sleeves down, patted our backs and closed the observation room doors on four living specimens—all set to meet their prize later tonight at the children’s feeding time.

  It gave the members of the House great pleasure to hear the news, and the prospective “prize” for our reversees became the punch line of many hearty jokes for the next half hour or so.

  I sat back, listening intently to what everyone was saying, and more than a few times leaned sideways to make room for those who came in pairs or threes to congratulate the vampire beside me. He, of course, turned them my way, declaring that I was the miracle, not him. But they were all smart enough to see that none of us would’ve figured this out if it weren’t for Jason. And he wore the respect and glorification he received like a true noble.

  I reached over and tucked my fingertips into the curve of his fist, squeezing gently. “I’m proud of you, Jase.”

  He squeezed back.

  “I gotta say,” Mike butted in, his mouth full, “I never doubted you for a second.”

  Jase and I laughed, as did a few nearby listeners.

  “Jason,” Emily called, leaning forward as if that’d bring her a bit closer to our end of the table. “I really do hope this brings you some recognition now. I know how badly you’ve always wanted it.”

  He sent her a sweet smile, that old connection they once had surfacing for a moment in the air. “Thank you, Em.”

  She nodded and turned to the side when Blade tapped her.

  “Perhaps a live demonstration might be in order?” Margret suggested. “We could invite the local rag and a few members from the IVRS.”

  Jason went to nod, then stopped to look at David. “If the king approves.”

  “I’d imagine I have very little say in the matter,” he said, sipping his wine through a smile. “Perhaps you should ask our queen.”

  I tried to seem composed at, for once, being in charge. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  “Very well,” Margret said. “I shall see to it tomorrow. Perhaps we can arrange it for three days’ time?”

  “No. It needs to be the day after tomorrow,” David said. “Jason and I have business to attend to at the asylum in New Haven the following day.”

  “Oh, and what business is that?” Margret inquired.

  David explained the situation with Pepper, leaving out as much detail as possible, while the members of our small family listened intently, nodding and agreeing in amazement.

  “Quite the asset, this young nephew of yours,” Walt said to Arthur.

  “Yes, he seems to have proven himself rather invaluable to our community,” Arthur said.

  “And, on that note, I must ask you all to raise your glasses,” David said, standing up.

  The conversations around the table halted for the king’s command of the room.

  “To the tirele
ss efforts and imagination of my inhumanly intelligent brother”—he bowed his head to Jason—“you’ve done our family name and our nation proud.”

  “Hear, hear.” A few old men nodded, tapping glasses or rapping their knuckles on the table.

  Jason bowed his head to his glass and the king behind it, muttering a quiet thank you.

  “And I must also propose a toast to my wife.” David raised his glass to me, all heads turning then in unison. “To my queen,” he added, but I knew it was a correction, not just an acknowledgment of my role. “I always knew you had something special in you,” he said, grinning. “I just never imagined it would take a scientist to figure it out.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “But, all jokes aside, I’m proud of you, Ara, and everything that you’ve become.” He smiled softly, his eyes locked and full of pride on mine. “I know if your mom and your dad were here today to see what you’ve achieved, what you’ve endured just for the safety and freedom of your people, they’d be so humbled by it—by how hard you fought not only for the dramatic changes in the lives of those cursed children, but also the prisoners who would otherwise still be chained and tortured, forever forgotten, irredeemable. And lastly, for the incredible and unimaginable power and strength you have inside you. You truly are an amazing queen and an even more amazing girl.” He held his glass high. “To Queen Amara.”

  “To Queen Amara,” everyone responded.

  Mike leaned over and patted my back. “Shape of things to come,” he said suggestively.

  “What do you mean?”

  We both looked down at David, who glanced away quickly as our eyes met.

  “He means it appears as though the king has let bygones be bygones,” Jason said.

  “Which bygones?”

  “Walt?” David cut in loudly but spritely.

  Jase, Mike and I stopped talking.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Walt said.

  “We were hoping you could see to establishing a Reversal Clinic and drawing up draft application forms for vampires wishing to register for the process.”

  Walt seemed taken aback, his fat cheeks wobbling like a turkey’s neck as he moved his head from side to side in disbelief. “I… I’d be only too happy to, Your Majesty.”

  “Excellent.” David sipped his blood. “You can choose a team and”—he turned to Arthur—“I wondered if you might assist Ara over the next few days once Jason and I leave town, Uncle. Performing this procedure on such young children could be a rather daunting emotional process.”

  Arthur bowed his head. “It would be my pleasure.”

  “Thanks, Arthur,” I said.

  “Ooh, I can help too.” Emily put her hand up. “Any excuse to go play with the children.”

  David looked at me to answer.

  “Sure, Em,” I said. “That’d be great.”

  She wriggled back in her seat, celebrating with a private fist-pump. Blade wrapped his arm around her shoulders and leaned in to talk quietly with her, and at the time my attention drifted away from them and onto Mike, I noticed the sudden change in his energy.

  “Mike?”

  “Mm?” He looked up from his plate.

  “You okay?”

  He reached across again and patted my arm. “I’m fine, kiddo.”

  4

  Rain rolled across the countryside in a fine misty ribbon, dampening Jason’s cheek and leaving watery confetti on his dark brows. He took one last look at me, then climbed the two steps back to the top of the porch and drew my hand out from the fold of my arm. “Max is fine now, Ara,” he promised. “He was still breathing this morning, and Katy says his night terrors have completely ceased, and that was with David erasing his mind. You need to stop worrying. I can’t leave you when you have that look on your face.”

  “I can’t help it,” I said, pulling my sleeves over my cold hands then tucking them back into a fold. “It’s just too good to be true. All of it. I mean, what if they all start dying in a few days?”

  “They won’t,” he said, sending that certainty through the touch of his hand. “They’re alive and healthy. There’s been nothing to indicate any adverse reactions from the change.”

  “But, you haven’t even got half the results back. Those will take weeks.” I wiped my sleeve across my eyebrows, blinking the fine raindrops from my lashes. “What if we acted too hastily? Maybe we should’ve—”

  “Stop worrying.” He came up the last step to stand closer, dropping his duffle bag by his foot. “You’ll see. Everything will be fine.”

  I nodded, forcing a weak smile.

  “And… one more thing.” He cupped the side of my face, setting his lips softly to my brow and whispering so quietly into my hair then that no one even a foot away would’ve heard. “He didn’t do it, Ara.”

  “Who didn’t do what?” I asked, keeping my face against the soft, moist opening of his lips.

  “David. He didn’t sleep with those humans.”

  “What do you mean?” I leaned back a bit and looked down the steps at David; he was busy packing up the car, not paying any attention to what Jason and I were saying… or doing.

  Jase checked over his shoulder. “He sent the girls home after you left his room that night.”

  “He didn’t even kill them?”

  “He, uh…” He laughed breathily. “He lost his appetite.”

  I smiled under the veil of my wet, curling hair.

  Jason swept it back and kissed my brow. “I gotta go, okay? Before David finishes pretending to pack the car and starts getting antsy.”

  “Okay. Be safe.”

  “We will.” He backed away a step, his green eyes standing out like summer to a gray sky, making me wish I’d held eye-contact before now. “And I’m just a phone call away if you need someone, okay? Don’t try to be too strong, Ara. It’s barely been two weeks since your dad died.”

  “I have Mike.” I inclined my head toward the line of servants and knights standing in respectful farewell under the light rain. “He’s stayed with me a few nights this week.”

  “I know.” Jase and Mike gave each other a small nod of acknowledgement. However, Jase added in thought, he might need you a little more than you need him, I think.

  What do you mean?

  It’s not just the passing of your father. He’s had a lot go wrong in his life lately, he... He looked at Mike again; I looked too, and I saw it then—saw that the light had almost completely faded from his eyes.

  I think I know how to cheer him up, I thought.

  Jase grinned at my wavering fingers. “Have fun then, okay? Try not to focus on problems.”

  “I won’t. And…” I glanced once at David, now sitting in the driver’s seat, tapping his fingers to a beat against the steering wheel. “Thanks for telling me about… you know.”

  “Any time, sweet girl. I knew it was eatin’ y’up.”

  “It shouldn’t, though, should it? I mean…” I pictured those girls again, then pictured everything I’d imagined he did with them. “It’s not cheating. We’re not together.”

  “It’s not about that—about cheating. It’s about him being ready to take that step. That’s why you were hurt. It signifies ultimate acceptance, and you weren’t ready for that, and…” He jerked his eyes at his brother. “Neither is he.”

  “He’s not?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why?”

  Jase just took a few more steps back, shaking his head like something was amusing. “I’ll let you figure that one out, my pretty little queen. See you in a few days.”

  “Bye.” I put my hand up to wave, and Mike stepped in to stand beside me, one hand in his pocket, the other waving too. “Do you think I should maybe say something to David before he goes?”

  “Like what?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “I dunno. Goodbye, maybe. Good luck?”

  Mike’s head turned slowly, and his eyes found mine, lit with that knowing smile of his. “How are things with you and ol’ Cran
ky King then?”

  I watched the car take the final turn down the road leading out of the manor. “Well, we’re not really okay yet, but… I think—”

  “You can be civil, at least?” Mike asked, hopeful.

  “Yeah.” I nodded, turning back toward the manor. “I think we’ll at least be friends—eventually.”

  “And what about the baby?” He reached across and patted the small mound. “Has he apologized for what he said?”

  “Kinda. He did say he didn’t mean it, but he’s taken no steps to acknowledge his role in her creation.”

  “Give him time,” he said softly. “I’m seeing more of my old mate in that king these last two weeks than I’ve seen in a long time.”

  “Maybe that trip to Paris did him some good.”

  “I think you’re right,” he said, nodding to himself. “He needed to get away.”

  “Yeah.” I slinked in through the front door as Mike opened it. “I think we both needed some space.”

  “Yup. But you could both still use a bloody wake-up call as well.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, shutting the door with my hip.

  “You need to stop fraternizing with that brother of his, and David needs to stop pretending he’s okay with it.”

  I laughed to myself. “Don’t worry, Mike. David and I will sort out our issues eventually.”

  “I’m sure you will but, this time, you’re not the one acting like a child.”

  “That makes for a nice change, huh?” I bumped him with my elbow.

  He tugged me in with the crook of his arm and kissed my wet hair. “You’ve always had a good head on your shoulders, Ar. You just lost it for a while after your mom died.”

  My lips made a rather melodramatic pout. “I miss her still.”

  “Me too.”

  * * *

  The evening sun set like a ball of flames on the horizon, giving the stone terrace outside the Great Hall a kind of orange tinge. I’d expected to be back from the Institute for the Damned long before now, but it somehow seemed as if the walk down there was getting longer and longer, making the walk back feel like a marathon. I contemplated the idea, as I took a seat on the steps beside Falcon, that maybe the Institute was slowly slipping down the hill or something, taking it farther and farther from the manor. It certainly had nothing to do with how tired I was today.