Of Blood and Sorrow

by Christine Rains

  “Ah, Svetla. The poor babe was sickly.” The Lady’s fierceness softened.

  “I thought you might have heard already from Bolona. She called last night to make sure I made it home safely.”

  “I haven’t heard from her today. There was no answer at her house or the funeral home when I called this morning. I thought perhaps—” The Lady cut herself short. Her brows furrowed. “Why were you there?”

  “Well…” I squirmed under her harsh gaze. I wondered if the Lady’s wrath would fall upon me again, but I would tell the truth and face whatever consequences came my way. “I went with Abdiel to a club to rescue Nicolas, and there was a fight between the vampires and Allu. Nicolas and I fled to the funeral home.”

  “Were you followed?”

  “No.” I paused and corrected myself. “I don’t think so.” My breath hitched as I realized what the Lady was suggesting.

  With a furious shriek, the Lady spun and raced up the stairs. I jumped off the bed and ran after her out the front door. The cold November air bit at my naked flesh.

  The Lady shimmered like a mirage, and then she disappeared.

  “Lady!” I spied one of the neighbors looking out her window as I called to the ancient demon and ran back inside, shutting the door. I nearly fell down the stairs as I hurried to my wardrobe to grab a sweater and yanked it on.

  “What’s going on?” Nicolas sat. His flesh reddened and blistered.

  “Something’s happened to the Putzkammers. I think Hessa went to the funeral home after we left.” Please not the Putzkammers. Please let nothing happen to them.

  I wanted to scream as the Lady had, but it would take away valuable seconds. I jammed my feet into a pair of black sneakers.

  “You don’t have to go. You don’t need to see—”

  “I need to see it.” I hated how we were talking as if it were true, as if something terrible had happened. “It’s my fault.”

  “Erin, none of this is your fault.” Nicolas reached out for my hand, but I jerked away from him.

  “It is. If I didn’t take us back there last night—”

  “Then Aleo and his sons would have been dead.”

  “And now they’re all probably dead.” I shot back with a sob and tore up the stairs. I grabbed the keys to the Lady’s car and didn’t bother locking the door as I left the house.

  Please let it not be true.

  I pulled in behind the police cars in the parking lot. I sat there for a minute with the motor running, hands gripping the wheel. Tears blurred my vision. Police came in and out of the building. Two ambulances sat next to the side entrance. A half dozen reporters braved the cold as they tried to get anyone’s attention from the other side of the police line.

  There was a knock on my window, and I started. I turned my head to see an officer gesturing for me to exit the vehicle.

  I turned off the car and was surprised I could stand as I got out.

  “This is a closed crime scene, miss. May I ask what you’re doing here?”

  “I work here.” My voice trembled. “What… what happened?”

  “You’re Erin Driscol?” he asked, and I nodded numbly. “I’m sorry, miss. Gang violence, we think. We’re going to need to ask you some questions.”

  “Is… is everyone…?” I couldn’t even form the question.

  “Mr. Putzkammer is in critical condition, but he’s refused hospital treatment. His sons are injured but nothing serious. Mrs. Putzkammer, unfortunately…”

  “No.” Not Bolona. It couldn’t be. I shook my head. My legs trembled and I stumbled.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Driscol.” The officer caught me as I started to fall to the ground. He escorted me inside through the side entrance and directly into the family sitting room. Everything seemed untouched in there except for Aleo lying wrapped up in blankets on the couch. Cort and Paul stood vigil beside him.

  I found enough strength to run over to Aleo’s side. He smiled to see me. He was missing teeth, and his face was bruised and swollen. The blankets were splattered with blood. I could only imagine what sort of wounds he sustained that I couldn’t see.

  “Erin, you didn’t need to come.”

  “I’m so sorry.” I whispered, unable to say anything else as my tears fell.

  “It’s all right, dear. I’m glad I could see you once more. My boys will take care of you.” Aleo coughed, blood coating his lips. “Ammut and Bolona are waiting for me.”

  No, no, no! Aleo was the rock of the family. He held everything together.

  “Please, don’t die. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll leave town. Go far away. You can come with me.” I clutched at the side of the couch. His arms were wrapped up. There was no hand to hold.

  “You’re a good girl. Don’t ever forget it. Bolona and I love you like one of our own.” Aleo coughed again, and his body went into spasms. Cort pushed me gently back and held his father on the couch. I’d never seen so much emotion in the elder son’s eyes nor felt it rolling off of him as it was now.

  Once the seizure stopped, Cort and Aleo whispered to one another. Aleo’s few last words before he went still. Cort lowered his forehead to touch it to his father’s chest. Paul moaned with anguish and sank into the closest chair.

  Not Aleo. He was the only father I ever had.

  My heart, already shredded by the loss of Connor and Bolona, tore into tiny bits. The family I loved was being taken from me one by one. While I had tasted deep sorrow, it wasn’t the same as experiencing it claw at me from the inside out.

  I cried at the foot of the couch, pressing my face against the soft arm, and bit back the immense wave of sorrow I wanted to scream out. I then forced myself up, needing the comfort of one of the brothers, and embraced Paul. He squeezed me tightly to him. The room grew quiet except for the soft sounds of our grief. I had no will power to stop myself from supping upon it.

  A younger Aleo tossing a ball with Cort as a boy. They laughed as they talked, enjoying a sunny summer afternoon.

  Paul as a teenager in the basement watching intently as Aleo explained how to properly prepare a Thuu demon for its funeral rites. When Paul answered Aleo’s questions correctly, his father smiled at him proudly.

  I could feel the brothers holding back just as I was. We all knew there were eyes upon us.

  “Oh, you poor dears.”

  I peered up to see the Lady in her normal human form come into the room on the arm of an attractive young policeman. She released him and came over to peer down at Aleo with tears in her eyes. She touched his forehead, closed her eyes, and moved her lips as if in prayer.

  The Lady then kissed the tops of Cort’s and Paul’s heads. They could not stop themselves from flinching at her touch.

  Finally, she gathered me to her. She stroked my arm and held me against her. “Sweet girl. You didn’t need to come in to see this.”

  “You know her, Ms. Pol?” the young officer asked.

  “Yes, of course. Erin Driscol. I’m her landlady as well as a friend of the family. Don’t you think about questioning her right now.” The Lady shook a finger at the officers. “She’s a fragile thing. She was at work last night, as you well know, and she was home the rest of the night with me.”

  I nodded, but didn’t say anything more. It would give me a bit of time to find out what really happened and what I needed to say to the authorities. I lowered myself into a chair, and the Lady shooed the officers out of the room to give us some time alone to grieve.

  “This shouldn’t have happened.” The Lady’s voice was no longer sweet and sympathetic. “Aleo was powerful. How did a bunch of unnaturals manage to do this to him?”

  The Lady was back in her golden form. She stood like an avenging Fury behind the couch on which Aleo lay. Paul didn’t even look in her direction. Most likely, he couldn’t. Cort glanced briefly, but he couldn’t hold her flaming gaze.

  “I don’t know. I thought Dad and I could take care of a few vampires. We had Paul take Mom downstairs.” Cort’s jaw clench
ed tighter. “There were more than a few, though. And they were stronger than they should be. Not all of them could have been old ones.” He shook his head and ran his hands through his short dark hair. “Dad called his blood forth, but it wasn’t enough. I didn’t get a chance to try. I was knocked unconscious. Don’t know why they didn’t kill me too.”

  “Your father called on the Blood of Ammut?” The Lady raised her brows.

  “Transformation and all.” Cort laid a hand gently on his father’s unmoving chest. “They started to kneel, falling down in front of him. I was taking off their heads with little resistance. But then that bitch…” He growled and his hand closed into a fist. “She just walked right up to him and—”

  “Yes, we can guess what she did.” The Lady stopped him before he went into too much gory detail. “Paul? What happened downstairs?”

  Paul’s voice was quiet and tremulous. “Mom… she didn’t stand a chance. Not even with her magic. Two of them chased me around, playing with me, but I locked myself in the freezer. They tried to get in, but they stopped. Maybe that’s when Dad transformed. I can’t believe he did it.”

  “Of course you can.” Cort shot him a hard look. “Dad was true to Ammut. The blood was strong in him.”

  “That it was.” The Lady came around to stand beside me again. “We should all say our goodbyes to him now. His body needs to be incinerated immediately. We can’t have the police wanting to take a look at him.”

  “I’ll do it tonight,” Paul said.

  “You will do it today. I’ll not leave here until I see Aleo given to the flames.” The Lady’s tone made him cringe, but he nodded.

  We each took our turn kneeling by Aleo’s side. I said no prayers and couldn’t bring myself to kiss his head as the Lady had done. I loved Aleo, but his soul had moved on. He’d be with Bolona, even if the thought gave me no comfort. I didn’t ask to see Bolona’s body and no one offered.

  They died because I was stupid enough to come back here. I curled up on the chair once I was done. I paid no attention when the Lady put on her human face again and opened the door so Cort could carry his father downstairs. She followed him out, and I almost thought I was alone until Paul knelt in front of me.

  “You need anything before I head on down?” He spoke softly, sounding as worn down as I felt.

  “No, thank you.”

  Paul nodded, rose a few inches, and then sank down again. He took one of my hands in his. “Erin, you should do as Dad wanted you to.” His lips thinned as his gaze dropped. “Get out of town. Today. Go far away. It’s not safe for you here.”

  “I can’t.” I sighed and squeezed his hand.

  “I know. I understand.” Paul put his forehead to my knuckles for a few seconds. He trembled, fear as powerful as his sorrow rolling off him. “But please, leave for me. For Cort. That vampire, Hessa, she’ll come for us all. I wasn’t strong enough to protect Mom. I wasn’t enough… The only thing I can do for you is try to convince you to leave town.”

  I wanted to go for him. To relieve him of this miserable fear for me. “I’ll stay with the Lady. I’ll be safe.”

  “Keeping the company of a vampire isn’t safe.”

  My chest tightened. The old hatred against vampires would never die amongst demons. Even if Nicolas saved the world and cured cancer, they still wouldn’t believe he was good. The urge to say I was sorry sat upon my tongue, but I bit it back. I couldn’t be sorry about helping Nicolas.

  After a half minute of silence, Paul rose and kissed me on the head. “Please stay at the Lady’s. It’s not even safe here anymore.”

  “I will.” I gave him a sad smile. “You can stay there too.”

  Paul grimaced. “I’m seriously considering it.”

  That said how dire the situation was itself. No male in their right mind ever wanted to enter the Lady’s abode.

  Paul left to go downstairs, and about five minutes later, a tall man in a dark suit sauntered in and poured himself a cup of coffee. He glanced over at me. “Want a cup?”

  The smell was familiar and comforting. I nodded.

  He brought over a mug and set it on the table next to me. He moved a chair to sit across from me and sipped his drink. He made a little sound of pleasure and sat back, long legs bent and wide. “So you want to tell me what happened?”

  I noticed he had a badge and ID card around his neck. I hadn’t seen that when he walked in. I should have known he was one of the cops. The way he walked, the tense squareness of his shoulders. Even the way he enjoyed his coffee. Cop shows were right about some things. “I wasn’t here. I don’t know what went on.”

  “I know you weren’t here.” He took another sip and smacked his lips.

  I gnawed on my lower lip, not knowing if I should say anything. My silence prompted him to speak again.

  “I want to know what happened after you left the club.” He gave me a small tight smile.

  I sucked in a breath. How did he know I was at the Basement? My mind spun and whirled. Did they trace the attack back to the club already? There were likely security cameras. Did they catch me on video? How was I going to explain what happened?

  “What club?” I fumbled with the words. I didn’t even know where to begin if I did say anything. Best to deny it all unless they showed me some proof.

  “The Basement.” His voice turned flatter, deeper. His gaze was more piercing. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “What happened after the vampires attacked?”

  “What?” I coughed as my stomach spasmed, tasting coffee and bile. I wanted to shout for the Lady, for Cort, for anyone to come save me from this questioning. What the hell did this guy know?

  He grunted, clearly annoyed. He rubbed his big hands over his face, and when they dropped, Nicolas stared back at me. He glared at me and then ran his hands over his face again to replace it with the detective’s again.

  “You’re alive.” I let out a long breath. I almost wanted to hug him. Almost. I never thought I’d be relieved to see an Allu demon. It was wisest to remain in my seat, though.

  “Of course I am.” He looked affronted that I would think otherwise. His hand went for the coffee again. “Are you going to answer my question?”

  “Have you talked to Cort or Paul yet?”

  He shook his head and took a big gulp. “Just got here.”

  “All right.” I glimpsed at both doors. Seeing no one else nearby, I turned back to him. “Nicolas and I came back here after we escaped. The Putzkammers were having some trouble with the Rusalka. I helped with the situation.” I wasn’t going to expand on it unless he wanted to know more, but he didn’t indicate that he did. “After it was cleared up, I went home to the Lady’s house.”

  “And your vampire friend?”

  “He came home with me.” I didn’t have anything to be embarrassed about, but it was difficult to say it to him.

  “And he stayed with you all night?” Abdiel lifted a brow. “In the Lady’s house?”

  I wasn’t sure what part he was finding more unbelievable. Hell, I didn’t know what I found most unbelievable at the moment.

  “Yes, all night at the Lady’s house. He’s still there, and she knows he’s there.” It felt good in a way to say it and rub it in a little. Nicolas was more daring than Abdiel. He spent the night, more importantly, the day, in the Lady’s home.

  He huffed and looked down at his mug. “I assume the vampires followed you back here and struck after you left.”

  “We weren’t followed, but I’m guessing they had a good idea where to find me.” I noted his look and folded my arms. “We weren’t followed. Why wouldn’t they attack immediately if they did? We were here for over an hour dealing with the Rusalka and the aftermath.”

  “Good question.” Abdiel nodded, and his brows creased with his thoughts. “It’s you and your vampire friend they want. So why wait until you’re gone?” He ran a finger around the rim of his cup. “You were likely followed. I’ve been tracking you for a while now and never once have
you or your vampire noticed me.”

  That’s because being a sneaky bastard was what he did. I didn’t say that out loud, though. His following me saved me at the mall. So I said the most intelligent reply I could muster. “Yeah, well, whatever.”

  “With Aleo dead…” Abdiel’s jaw tightened. A spike of angry sorrow widened my eyes. “I promised I’d watch over his sons and you. Before, I was letting you go your own way. I knew with that vampire hanging around you, Hessa would eventually come out to play. Then I could find out what was going on with the drugs and end it. End her.” He growled with the statement. “Now you just need to stay in the Lady’s house. Don’t leave or I will stuff you back in there myself.”

  Did he just admit to using me as bait to draw Hessa out? I blinked and rubbed my forehead. I wasn’t as surprised by that admission as the one that he would protect me and the remaining Putzkammers. Aleo did command a lot of respect, but over an Allu demon?

  I turned my head as I heard voices approaching from down the hall. Any questions I had weren’t going to get asked as Abdiel downed the rest of his coffee and stood. “Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Driscol. I’ll be in touch with you.”

  The Lady walked in with two officers in tow. She looked at Abdiel, and a slow smile spread across her lips. She made a small gesture to the other two men.

  “If you would excuse me, gentlemen, I need a word with the detective here.” With her smile and wave, they exited the room and shut the door behind them.

  Abdiel stood rigid, his face expressionless.

  “Well, well.” The Lady flowed around the furniture, transforming into her After Noon form. “You survived the vampires and are lurking around a crime scene, particularly around Erin. Please tell me it isn’t what I think it is.”

  “If you’re thinking I’m strong and clever and I can mask my scent amongst the undead, then yes, it is what you’re thinking.” His voice was dry and wary.

  “I never doubted your strength and wiliness. And all those other impressive attributes.” The Lady’s gaze wandered along his tall, muscled body. “You are the best at what you do, but Hessa has someone in the demon community wrapped around her little finger. What she’s doing is something your kind is known for.”