Savior

by Lane Mason

  ...

  Erica had been feeling very satisfied with herself. For two days, she had gone to the solarium before bedtime, instead of the balcony. For two days, she had not smoked a cigarette. Had, was the significant word. Her satisfaction with her abstinence from nicotine was short lived. Frank, the blind date, had called and asked her out for dinner. It was very tempting to have a diversion, tempting to do a normal activity away from the mansion. After the recent attack at the night club, it seemed prudent to stay under the protection of the house of De Bello. She delayed giving him an immediate answer. She stalled by asking if she could get back to him, after she checked her schedule.

  Erica was torn. She was finding her current situation very stressful. Attempting to move on from the past was easier said than done. She tried to imagine what advice Jack would have given her. She was drawn back to the balcony, drawn to gaze upon the face that did not look so fierce as she once thought. She lit up the cigarette and gazed up at Garg.

  “Garg, I need your advice. I need your undivided attention, please. The guy’s name is Frank. He is handsome, friendly ... says all the right things. But my feelings are mixed. I still feel married. Jack is gone, but he is not. He is in my heart forever. Nothing will change that. When is it right to not feel married? When is it right to let the past go and move into the present? I am a bit of a wild goose when it comes to beliefs about mates for life. I thought Jack was my soul mate. But I think I was wrong. I did not know Jack at all. I knew a shadow of what he was. How could he know of this other world with vampires, shifters and not share this me? Was I not his wife? What happened to equality in our partnership? He treated me like a child.” Erica felt angry as she verbalized what was in her heart.

  The anger was building. “My confidence in my ability to choose who to share my heart with is shaken. I thought I had been careful with my heart.” Erica began to pace the balcony. “Apparently I was a fool. I shall guard my heart very carefully from now on.” She looked at Garg and stopped pacing. A tear trickled from the corner of the one eye she did not wipe fast enough. “I loved him, Garg, make no mistake, but he was not the one. He was not my soul mate. I shared everything with him and he shared only a part of himself with me. So, I will allow myself to search for my soul mate once more.” Erica slipped off her wedding rings. “I shall be very cautious, Garg. I am not in a hurry. But to prove to myself I am ready to move forward I shall accept the dinner invitation from Frank.” Erica realized her cigarette had gone out and she had barely touched it to her lips. She looked suspiciously at Garg, wondering what it was about that face that had her spilling her thoughts out loud. It was as if the face had some special power over her.

  Minutes later she settled into her bed pondering how to have a safe date with Frank, safe as in no other world interruptions and drama. She smiled. The date would take place here. She would invite Frank to dinner. She would set the pace and boundaries. Satisfied, she drifted into sleep, mentally and emotionally fatigued. There was no tossing and turning. She had moved her wedding rings to her right hand. She could not deny the love she had shared with Jack, but no longer would she be bound to his memory.

  Erica did not have any expectations with regards to Frank. He was charming. She had to start somewhere, and she needed to get the first date as a single woman over with. It was a symbolic date. Who knows? she thought, perhaps it could lead to a friendship. One could always use more friends. She had felt no tingles or sexual interest, but maybe that was just because she had been so wrapped up in mourning Jack. Perhaps that would change now that she had put the rings on her right hand. She had given her heart permission to search once more, to be aware of other men in a whole new light. If Frank did not want to start with friendship first, he could move on.

  From now on Erica was determined to have her head guard her heart. She had plenty of time roaming around the mansion to think about her past and her present. She did not need a man to satisfy her needs as a woman. She could please herself when needed, when sexual tension was aroused. She had smiled thinking back to the list Sally had teased about. It was time to make a list. Honesty was the first thing on the list. If a suitor was honest, he could have a face as ugly as Garg, and still have a chance for a second look. She made a mental note to have someone clean his face off. Some inconsiderate bird left a white streak hanging off one eyebrow. It made him look less menacing with bird poop, but even a statue carved in stone needed to maintain some dignity.

  10

  When morning came, Erica wondered how to plan her day. She needed purpose. For so many years, she had prepared for work, put in her time crunching numbers, and helping clients look after their assets. She decided it was time for something different. She looked about her bedroom. She could get used to such luxury very quickly. Working for money was not really needed according to Dexter, but work was needed according to Erica. Erica yawned and brushed the long blonde tresses away from her face. One could not be idle. She exited her bed with a lighter heart.

  Opening the drapes to look at the beautifully groomed landscape that was hers, she felt pride of ownership. It would have been a dream come true, had she a soul mate to share it with. She sighed and shook off the pang of regret. There was plenty of time ahead to find a soul mate. She was in no hurry. She told herself twenty-nine was still young. Women were having babies into their forties. Many put off childbearing, until after their careers were established. She remembered telling herself the year before that twenty-eight was still young. Jack had told her he wanted her all to himself for just awhile longer. She had hidden her disappointment and told herself there was plenty of time.

  It was time for coffee. She grabbed a silky robe to cover her revealing night attire and padded barefoot down to the kitchen. It was early and she felt like making her own coffee. Having Jeffrey around for protection was needed, but really, in all honesty, she did not feel comfortable having a butler yet. Perhaps it would become natural sometime, but it seemed too extravagant and foreign right now. She decided she would do what she could for herself. She felt a little more empowered. A new start, a new day, she smiled. Taking control of her life was high on her agenda. She looked down at her rings on the right hand. She looked at the pale line on her left-hand ring finger. It was time to move forward. The sad was not so sad this morning. Apparently the old saying that time heals was true.

  Fully dressed, with the conversation with Jeffery behind her, regarding the cooking chores, Erica felt relieved. Telling Jeffrey that as much as she loved his cooking, she preferred to cook for herself had been good. It did not take much of a compromise to settle on a new routine. Erica would take care of her own meals for breakfast and lunch, and Jeffery would make the evening meal. Erica smiled. Volunteer work appealed to her. She was eager to talk to Dexter about her new plan to find some non-profit charity to give time to. But first, she sent Frank a text, setting up a date for the next night.

  ...

  Dante could smell brimstone. A sure-fire sign that there was a demon nearby. It was surprising and yet not. He’d listened enough to the woman to know her troubles with the vampires but a demon was something entirely different.

  Vampires weren’t strong in traditional magic. And to summon a demon required a degree of skill with dark magic. It was possible that the demon was under the control of a witch or warlock working with the vampires in question, but it was also possible that the foul creature had been attracted to the scent of magic. The old mansion was filled with it.

  Whatever the demon’s purpose, it had come to the wrong place. Dante was all to familiar with demons’ desire to come to the human realm. It was how he’d gotten his powers. A deal with the devil as one might say, or rather a deal with a demon.

  As the demon slithered its way closer to the mansion, Dante could see the beast. It was a graxiss. A shapeshifting demon that could take on human form. Interestingly enough it was in its natural form and looked more like an upright lizard than a human.

  Dante almost grinned as wat
ched his prey. The hunt was on.

  He swooped down spreading his wings, and sailed down like a hawk zeroing in on a field mouse. Only this field mouse came from the hell and hunted humans. But the demon had as much chance against him as the mouse against the hawk. He grabbed the demon by its head and lifted it up into the air.

  The demon squealed in agony. “What are you?” It hissed.

  “Your doom,” Dante said as he torn the demon’s body apart. The body started to fall and then burst into flames. That was the one good thing about killing a demon; no clean up. Satisfied with himself for making quick work of his foe, Dante returned to his station.

  11

  Frank showed up right on time. Erica opened the door to find him standing there, with flowers in hand. The small bouquet of flowers was lovely. He was as handsome, as she remembered. The casual sports jacket, the white shirt, all made a good impression.

  “Thank you for the flowers, Frank. They are beautiful,” Erica said.

  “It is my pleasure,” said Frank as Erica accepted the flowers from him. “You look lovely tonight.”

  Erica blushed. It had been so long since she had received flowers and compliments from a man.

  “You are just in time. Dinner is almost ready. Can I get you a drink? Wine, beer?” Erica asked. “I’m having a glass of red while I get dinner ready.”

  “A glass of red would be wonderful,” said Frank.

  Erica led Frank into the living room, “I’ll be right back with the wine,”

  Frank sat at the couches and looked around the room. He admired the artwork while he waited for Erica.

  Erica walked into the kitchen. Jeffery had done the majority of the meal preparation. All she needed to do was pull the meat out of the oven. Erica looked at the timer on the oven, ten minutes. Perfect. Just enough time for some casual conversation before dinner was ready. She was nervous about the whole date process, but so far she was finding the experience relatively painless. Frank was attractive, friendly, and was a considerate date. The flowers and compliments had been nice touches. Perhaps dating wasn’t going to be as difficult as she had anticipated.

  Erica grabbed a glass for Frank, took a big sip out of her glass, then topped it off. Fortified by the alcohol, she headed back to the living room.

  “Here you go,” Erica said, as she handed Frank his glass.

  “Thank you, Erica,” said Frank. “You have an amazing home. I love the gothic art in this room. Most of the pieces are 17th century, Italian if I am not mistaken?”

  “I’m not sure,” Erica said. ‘It’s not actually my house. It belongs to a friend of mine. I am just staying here for a while,” explained Erica. The fabrication just slipped off her tongue too easily. It bothered her that she could lie so easily. But the truth would have seemed like an incredible lie. She left it at that, not wanting to get into too many details about the circumstances that led to her staying in the mansion.

  “Well, your friend has a wonderful home,” said Frank.

  They sat and drank their wine, chatting about the weather and the drive out to the city, before Erica went back into the kitchen and got dinner ready.

  She was just putting the food on table when Frank joined her in the kitchen.

  “I ran out of wine, so I thought I would come see if you needed a hand,” said Frank.

  “Actually, everything is ready,” Erica said as she grabbed the bottle of red wine. “Come sit down, it is time to eat.”

  Dinner went well. Erica enjoyed having Frank as a guest. He was charming and funny and having male company around the house that spoke to her in sentences longer than five words at a time was nice. She wasn’t really feeling any sparks for Frank, but it was a pleasant evening.

  ...

  Frank was happy. Erica was gorgeous, intelligent, and funny and she laughed at all of his jokes. He felt the evening was off to a great start. As Erica started to put the dishes from their meal away, Frank decided to test the waters. He came up behind her and when she turned back towards the table he was right in front of her. Erica saw him as she turned, but her forward momentum carried her into his arms.

  Frank leaned in and gave Erica a kiss. It took Erica by surprise. The soft gentle kiss was not unpleasant, and Erica’s initial response was to return the kiss. Her lips lingered on his for a moment before sanity put the brakes on. Erica pushed Frank away.

  “I’m sorry, Frank, but that is a bad idea. I think you should go now!”

  Frank was confused. At first she had started to return his kiss, now she was telling him to leave? “Is that really necessary?” he asked. “It was just a kiss.”

  Erica nodded vigorously, “You need to go.” Alarm bells were ringing loudly in her head. Too soon, too close, and it seemed wrong. She had panicked. She handed him his jacket.

  “What the hell?” exclaimed Frank in confusion. He reined in his emotions quickly. “Can we just forget I kissed you, and start over?” He realized he might have moved too fast kissing her, but that hardly seemed grounds for her to freak out.

  “No. I 'm just not ... not prepared ... I'm sorry I invited you—Erica stopped mid-sentence. Every word she said was coming out wrong.

  Frank had an offended look on his face. “Fine, I’m out of here,” he said.

  He stormed out the door, heading towards his car. He was confused. Why had she turned on him so quickly? Obviously, he had her signals wrong. An intimate dinner at her place apparently was not an invitation for fast-tracked intimacy! She acted like a scared virgin. This wasn’t high school. A kiss wasn’t a big deal, and he wasn’t the kind of guy who wouldn’t take no for an answer, he respected women, but Erica’s reaction felt wrong, totally over the top.

  Then Frank remembered Erica’s deceased husband. This was probably her first date since her husband died. How could he be so insensitive! Of course she would have been a little confused and likely had mixed emotions about dating. Jesus, Frank how can you be so stupid, he thought to himself.

  Frank felt bad, he had really enjoyed the evening and thought Erica was lovely. He had moved too fast. He owed her an apology. Hopefully she would accept and allow him another date some other time. Frank decided to head back to the house and apologize. The date might be over, but the least he could do was say sorry for misreading the situation. He hated leaving on such a sour note.

  As Frank turned and started back towards the house, a large shadowy figure on the roof top caught his attention. The man was watching him. Shit, thought Frank. She has security. Probably told them I was a creep and to beat my ass down, if I didn’t leave. Frank couldn’t see much of the person on the roof but he was big, very big. His stare burned into Frank’s head. A shiver ran down Frank’s spine. Perhaps it was best if he phoned and apologized. He turned and headed back to his car, wanting nothing to do with the shadowy figure staring down at him from the roof.

  ...

  Erica listened as Frank’s car started. Part of her wanted to go out and stop him from leaving. She wanted to say sorry for overreacting, but at the same time she wasn’t ready for intimacy. Perhaps it was best to just let Frank leave. She sighed as she heard Frank’s car pull out of the driveway. Her first date had been a disaster.

  Erica grabbed her glass and the bottle of wine and headed upstairs. Kicking off her high heels, she ascended the stairs. She decided the damned high heels were what made her wobbly. She stopped midway to lower the level of wine in her glass, so it would not spill. She needed to talk to someone, even if it was just a stone gargoyle who never talked back. She could talk to Jeffery, but he was almost as talkative as Garg, and at least Garg wouldn’t start squirming and look like a deer in the headlights when she discussed emotions and sex. Jeffery was a wonderful protector and handy to have around the house, but not someone to talk to about feelings.

  Walking out on to the balcony, Erica looked out into the night sky. She agitatedly walked the length of the balcony, swinging the bottle back and forth as she paced. She felt sorry for her date. She felt sorr
y for herself. She stopped pacing and tried to focus on the view. She poured herself another glass of wine. The sun was fading away, leaving the sky a wonderful collage of reds, oranges and streaks of purple. It was one thing she was starting to love about living in the country. In the city, she never got the full open views of the sky the way she did here. The stars never seemed as bright with all the competing city lights. The sound of wind whistling through the trees was much more pleasant than the symphony of the automotive orchestra filled with taxis, buses, and other cars that filled the city. But the usually calming beauty of the night sky viewed from her balcony was no match for her agitation.

  Taking a healthy drink of her wine, Erica turned her attention to Garg. “Well, date night was a disaster,” she said to her stone audience. “I turned a lovely evening into a horror show by freaking out over a kiss. I could have just let the kiss happen, or politely say not interested, but instead I freaked out and kicked him out. Total overreaction! It wasn’t like he was super aggressive, it was a simple kiss. It would have been rather enjoyable if I hadn’t freaked out. I wasn’t going to sleep with him tonight, or probably any night for that matter. I just don’t feel a spark for him that way, but still I made such a mess out of such a simple thing.” Erica sighed, and took another sip of her wine. She was talking to a bloody rock for crying out loud! She shook her head. She decided confession was good for the soul and she continued talking to the damned demonic rock face.