by Jen Pretty
There were several other vampires around and about a dozen or so humans. I supposed they had to get their blood from somewhere. Living in the middle of nowhere, couldn’t offer easy access to volunteers.
“Here you are, guys. Sorry, we can’t offer nicer accommodations, but hopefully, we can wrap this up quickly and get y’all back to where you came from.” He looked at me; I was still wearing my snowsuit and felt like a blimp wearing it indoors, but I was barely starting to feel my ass again and I wasn’t ready to take it off.
Clive dumped our bags on the bed and I rooted through mine for some gum. Chewing it always helped settle my stomach. The nausea from Durga’s display beside the airplane was still plaguing me. She tried to come forward again, but I squashed her down. No more Mrs. Nice Lark. This deity needed to learn some manners.
I waddled into the tiny washroom making a classy swish-swish noise as the legs of my snow pants rubbed together, then struggled out of the snowsuit. God, all these layers were inconvenient.
When I walked back out carrying my outdoor gear, the team was ready to go and waiting by the door that led back to the garage. Vlad was in the middle of an animated discussion in Russian with one of the female vampires. It sounded like they knew each other and the woman was smiling at him in a way I recognized. Her hand was on his arm and she laughed a bit too loud. Yup, some history there. I didn’t know much about Vlad’s life, he was a private guy, so this was a rare insight into the world of Vlad.
I fought my way back into the snow suit and we all climbed aboard the noisy snowmobiles. When the garage door opened, I realized it was fully dark out now, even though it was still early evening. Luckily the sleds had headlights. This time I pulled my hood down tighter and tucked my chin into the coat. I still had to bury my face in Ajax’s back, but it wasn’t as bad as the first time. I was able to peek sideways for a few moments as we left the forest trail an hour later and approached the open shoreline to catch a glimpse of the bay. The white-capped waves that glittered in the moonlight seemed to call to me. It didn’t feel like when I sensed a vampire. It was like a beacon guiding me home. Every wave was a hand drawing me forward.
The snowmobile stopped in front of a small log cabin edging the Hudson Bay. The frigid water lapped at the shore. When I commented that it should be frozen, one of the other vampires informed me that it was high enough in salt that it wouldn’t freeze until nearly Christmas, but he warned me to keep my eyes peeled for polar bears. Like this frozen world wasn’t already deadly enough.
We entered the cottage and every vampire breathed deeply. I sucked air in through my nose too but didn’t smell anything. These vamps could scent a whole lot more than I could so I watched as Vlad circled the tiny room, his nostrils flaring. It could hardly be called a cabin. The one-room structure was so small, it only had a bed and a wood burning cook stove. I took off my mitt, held my hand above the stove and slowly lowered it until I was touching it. It was cold.
“He was here, but not today. How long ago did you see him?” Vlad asked Ajax.
“Yesterday morning. We were out fishing on the Bay and saw movement. I pulled in close to shore, but there is nowhere to dock here. Not that I would have faced him alone anyway. I’m only half your age, Vlad.”
“No, you did the right thing. Maybe we could go around the area and see if Durga has any idea which direction he went,” Vlad said, glancing sideways at me for confirmation as he said it.
I nodded and we all mounted up and moved ‘em out. We trailed along the shore of the bay for a while and then doubled back, moving more inland to the tree line. The snow here was more powdery and deeper, so the snowmobiles had to go slower, but in the protection of the tree line, I was able to send out my senses and look for the old vampire or any vampire. I slowed my breathing and reached out farther. I found the vampires back at the estate, but nothing else. I tapped Ajax shoulder and shook my head when he turned to look at me. He cursed and turned the machine around before stopping and shutting it off to talk to the rest of the vampires.
“Sorry, guys. I don’t sense him here at all,” I said, pulling my face back into my coat to try and warm up my chin.
“I haven’t caught his scent either,” Vlad said. “He must have left. I checked with the Canadian Air traffic control and there were several planes scheduled within a reasonable distance of here in the last 24 hours. He could have easily been on one of them. There is even a road kept plowed close enough he could have taken a sled there and then driven out. Particularly if he knew he was spotted.”
“I wish I had been able to contact Vaughn sooner,” Ajax said, kicking some snow from his boot.
“Don’t worry about it; it's only a matter of time before we catch up to him,” I assured Ajax, though I had my serious doubts. Vernon was sneaky and smart for a fallen vampire. All the other fallen vampires I had met were like wild animals. Completely out of control and vicious.
We headed back to the estate. Our plane wouldn’t arrive until the next morning to take us back to Ottawa. Another failed attempt.
At the house, we had some dinner and Ajax set up my phone to access the internet. So, I found Frankie online and sent him a message. My phone dinged a second later.
What the heck are you doing in Canada? – he sent.
Chasing down the creepy old vampire. – I replied
Jesus. Did you find him? - He sent. He knew exactly who I meant.
He was here, but now he’s gone. – I replied.
Frankie had become a bit obsessed with catching Vernon after the way he had been knocked out and tied up in the warehouse to be used as bait to kill me. He had been gone more than he had been home over the last month; following leads acquired from mysterious sources in the magical community. I offered to share leads with him, but he said he wanted to divide and conquer.
Laughter from the living room caught my attention. Vlad and the Russian vampire he had been talking to before were sitting close with smiles on their faces. She introduced herself at dinner. Her name was Darya and, apparently, she and Vlad knew each other before he left Russia for North America. I suspected it was more than a passing acquaintance and hearing him laugh like that confirmed it in my mind.
I smiled to myself and continued drinking my cup of tea.
“What are you smiling at?” Ajax asked as he sat down at the table across from me, a cup of coffee in hand.
“Nothing,” I replied.
“Do you speak Russian?” he whispered, looking past my shoulder at the pair of vampires giggling on the couch.
“No, but that is a universal language, is it not?” I replied taking another sip of my tea. He flashed me a crooked grin.
“I suppose so. I think I might be losing my first in command. It sounds like she might be heading south with you,” He said before taking a sip of his coffee.
I peeked over my shoulder, wishing I had learned Russian so I could eavesdrop properly. Not that it was any of my business.
By three in the morning I had played every game I had on my phone and killed my phone battery. Ajax turned on an action movie and some of the other vampires came out to watch with us. One of them made popcorn and placed it on the table in front of me cautiously watching my every move before he moved back across the room to a chair that was far enough that he could barely see the tv, but he kept his eyes towards my feet anyway. Thank you, Durga, for making my life so awkward. I sighed and tried smiling at him, but he wouldn’t look me in the eye so I gave up and ate the damn popcorn. Only a couple more hours till we could leave and the poor vampire would be safe from me and my crazy ass deity.
I rose to use the washroom as the movie ended and the vampire who had been afraid of me left so fast that he knocked over his chair in his haste.
I stared at myself in the mirror. Durga tried to push her way to the surface and my eyes turned red, but I pushed her back down. I wasn’t crazy about feeling like a bully and that’s what it felt like to have an innocent vampire afraid of me. I walked out of the bathroom
and lay down on the bed in the corner of the guest room.
Durga kept pushing at me. I tried to ignore her and get some rest, but when she pushed harder, I relented and sat back up. It wouldn’t hurt to check for the old vampire one last time. I took some deep breaths and centred myself, then sent my senses out of the room. The living room was still busy with vampires and so were a few of the other rooms. I couldn’t see the humans, but when I sent my senses out further, there seemed to be a vampire near the outside wall, or was it outside? I watched this vampire for a moment. Then did a quick count of the vampires in the house. I knew there were 12 vampires living here, but there was one extra. I counted again. Then flashed all my senses back to the vampire at the wall, except he was walking away from the house now. Nobody should be outside. My eyes flashed open.
“He’s outside!” I yelled. A massive blast rocked the building with a deafening sound. It blew out my eardrums, muffling the cries and sounds of wood splintering. I leapt from the bed and tried to run back into the living room, but the doorway collapsed in front of me and snow fell into the room, blocking my exit. There were no windows in this room, but I backed towards the outside wall, hoping it would stay upright. An intense ringing filled my damaged ears. The sound of splintering wood and breaking glass as the house crumbled around me seemed distant even though I knew it had to be loud. I put my hand up to the warm trickle of blood that ran down my cheek from my ear.
“Lark!” I heard Cedric's voice, muted, like I was under water.
“I’m in here!” I yelled back. “It was Vernon!” Durga pushed at my skin, but there was nowhere to go, trapped in this room. When the sounds of the building collapsing ceased, I crept towards the door and began pulling gingerly at the fallen ceiling tiles and destruction. I pulled one tile off and found Cedric using a tile to scoop snow off the doorway. He had a small hole dug already, so I raced back to the bed and grabbed our bags and some of the winter clothes and shoved them out to him. There was no way we would survive in the extreme cold without some protection. Once he pulled that stuff through, I reached up, and he grabbed my arms, pulling me up and out into the early morning light.
CHAPTER THREE
One thing I knew for sure was that vampires were tough and hard to kill. I pulled on a heavy coat and hat and started digging. Clive and Vlad were helping Ajax pull the vampires out from the buried living room. Across the disaster area, where one of the back rooms used to stand, was smoke and I could hear the snap of a fire. I knew there were vampires in there and the fire was relatively small, so I crawled across the rubble of the house and started yanking at the pieces of wall and ceiling.
“Hello?” I yelled into the debris. There was no response, but I went back to digging. The small fire grew bigger. The wind blew the smoke towards me, and my eyes teared. My fingers went numb from the snow. I knew any vampire that was buried here would be alive if I could get them out.
Sweat ran down my back beneath my coat as the fire’s heat intensified. It melted the snow, making it heavy and soupy. Eventually I hit something. Make that someone.
A hand appeared through, and I tossed my make-shift shovel away and started digging by hand. Trying to clear some of the slushy snow from around whoever was trapped there. Once I could see more of the arm, I gave up trying to dig them out and grabbed ahold of them as firmly as I could with numb hands.
I leaned back, pulling hard until a face emerged from the debris. Like a newborn foal, the vampire was soaking wet and limp, her long dark hair startling against the snow. When I finally got her clear, she pushed her hair back from her face and I realized it was Darya.
“Thank you, Lark,” she mumbled as she scraped snow and slush off her arms and face. I slid back across the wreckage to where I left my bag and pulled out a sweater for her. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing.
She smiled and put it on. I knew she wouldn’t die from the cold, but it couldn’t feel good to be buried under it.
“Devon was near me when the roof caved in,” she said.
“Ok, I’ll go look for him,” I replied.
My limbs shook as the adrenaline waned and left my system. I wasn’t going to be able to do much more, but thankfully Ajax came over and helped me dig. I couldn’t stop until I found the missing vampire, Devon.
The fire smoldered now, having burned what it could. Everything else was frozen and wet. The melted snow became ice. We had to get everyone out fast or they would be stuck. My arms and legs burned with exhaustion, but I kept digging. As Ajax pulled off pieces of wood that used to be the frame of the house, making a hole down into the ruined building, I pushed more snow out of the way.
“Is Vernon still nearby, Lark?” Ajax called from down in the hole he had created.
“I can’t tell. My senses only work when I’m calm. It’s still a pretty new skill,” I said as I pulled up what looked like part of a bed frame and tossed it behind me.
“Now would be a good time to try, darlin. I don’t like feeling like a sitting duck.”
“Ok.” I moved just beyond the wreckage and sat in the snow. My ass was wet and frozen anyway, a little more snow probably wouldn’t hurt me. I took a deep breath in through my nose and let it out slowly through my mouth, letting my body find peace even in this hell. I moved all the negative thoughts to the back of my mind where I couldn’t touch them.
At first, nothing happened, I couldn’t sense a single vampire anywhere. Then my senses slowly started moving away from me until I saw all the vampires around me. Like red dots on a radar map, I watched as they moved around me. A few seemed familiar and I assumed they were my team. I didn’t have time to focus on those. There were still a few under the snow, but most were opening the garage doors to get out the snowmobiles. The garage, still standing, was our saving grace. I remembered there were humans in the house, and my mind tried to focus on that thought, but I pushed it to the back and sent my senses further.
I moved out miles from the complex before I finally found one lone vampire. He was moving fast on a snowmobile. I watched as he pulled up to the small airport where our plane landed not even twelve hours ago. He was getting away.
I came back to the present just as the snowmobiles pulled out of the garage with sleds attached.
“He’s at the airport now,” I said as Clive hurried towards me. I stood and ran for the snowmobile. Durga was pushing me to hurry and catch our prey.
“We won’t make it in time,” Clive called after me.
Durga shoved forward in anger and kicked a singed piece of the destroyed building. Launching it across the mess created by the bomb.
“He will pay for this!” She yelled before I shoved her back into the corner she occupied inside me. I turned and dropped to my knees, vomiting in the snow.
I wiped my mouth on the sleeve of my coat and the cold finally took hold. My whole body started shaking and my teeth chattered as I struggled to my feet and continued towards the snowmobile.
“We lost eight humans. I would hear their heartbeats if they were still alive.” I overheard Ajax tell Vlad as I walked past him. The look of devastation on Ajax’s face said everything. These were his people and he had lost them in the blink of an eye. I didn’t need Durga’s rage. I was pissed enough for the both of us. If I had only thought to check a few minutes sooner, I could have saved those eight lives. I was too damn late.
The snowmobiles were overcrowded as we moved across the snowy fields and through tree-lined paths towards the small town, where we could stay until our plane arrived. I watched the sun rise above the trees from the back of Ajax’s snowmobile. My sunglasses were lost somewhere in the disaster that used to be a home for these dozen vampires, so I closed my eyes and let my mind drift away. When I calmed enough, lulled by the buzz of the engine, I sent my senses out as far as they would go. Every vampire in range was with us. Vernon was gone.
When we arrived back at the frozen landing strip, our plane was waiting.
“I’m sorry about your people. I shoul
d have never stayed with you,” I said to Ajax.
“That wasn’t your fault, Lark. We had no way to know he would do that.”
I nodded, though I could have imagined it, had I tried. Vernon nearly blew me up once already. I should have kept checking for him. I put a target on that house, and he aimed right for it. I wouldn’t be so careless next time, but that was little consolation to the humans who died or the vampires who lost their human friends.
As predicted, Darya came back with us. She and Vlad spent the flight to Ottawa with their heads together, speaking softly in Russian.
For me, the flight was miserable. I was freezing cold and in damp clothes still. Luckily, when we got to the Ottawa airport, we were able to buy new clothes and change. Vincent's private jet was ready to go, so there was no delay in boarding. I slept the rest of the way home and only woke when Vlad shook my shoulder.
“We are home, Lark,” he said.
I wrapped the blanket around me and did a zombie walk from the plane to the car.
“I spoke to Vincent,” Cedric said as the car weaved out of the airport parking lot.
“He would like to see you when we get home.”
I caught Cedric’s eye in the rear-view mirror and nodded. I didn’t feel much like talking to anyone, so I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep the rest of the way home.
Finally, back at the mansion, I climbed the stairs to my room and locked the door. I cried in the shower until I was clean and then collapsed in bed. Vincent would have to wait.
∞∞∞
I woke but didn’t open my eyes. I knew he was there and he probably already knew I was awake, too, through some weird ass vampire sense. Maybe I smelled different when I was awake. Or perhaps I snored. No one ever told me I snored, but it would be a good sign I was awake if I stopped snoring, and it would solve the mystery of how he always knew. I hoped I didn’t snore.
