After Dark (The Vampire Next Door Book 2) (21 page)

“So, did he get back together with his girlfriend after all?”

“The story is not finished yet.” He was now completing an oil painting of flowers—several cut wildflowers laying on a bare dark wooden table, with a black background.

“You can work with so little light?” It was obvious that he could. Only one light was lit in the room, a small table lamp, and when he looked up to speak she could see the reddish amber glow reflected in his catlike eyes. “Well? Does Pavel get back together with Yelena?” The long-awaited story of their love. She wanted to hear it, hear all of it, close her eyes and imagine it.

“You’re getting ahead of things. But, that’s typical. You people always hurry through everything.”

“Well, we don’t live for hundreds of years.”

“Would you like for me to go on?”

Svetlana rushed out to greet Mikhail when she saw him approach in the moonlight. She heard horses coming, and dropped her bow and quiver when she realized who it was. Mikhail dismounted and seized her quickly in his arms. “I thought I would never see you again.”

Pavel dismounted and took both their horses; he listened as she sobbed quietly. “Do not be sad, I have brought him back to you.” He helped Katarina off her horse and told her that soon she would be in a warm, safe bed and that she could finally rest.

Svetlana’s sister came out to see what the commotion was. “Ah, but he has come back to you finally! The young hunter from the castle. And I thought he married some horrible wealthy duchess from a foreign land for her money!” She laughed. “And where was he?”

“We were held prisoner,” Pavel stated. The women remembered hunting with him in the forest not long ago and they were glad to see him as well. “We were held against our will, at that fortress.”

“A curse on that wretched swine they call a king!” Natasha hissed. “He is nothing but a butcher and a dog!”

“You have a harsh tongue, beautiful Natasha,” Pavel was not used to hearing a woman speak so, “but, I fear you are right.”

Together they led the horses to the stable.

“Someone is coming,” Natasha spun quickly around to look into the forest, and reached for her dagger.

“I nearly forgot,” Pavel whispered. It was Dmitri on the mare Pavel had stolen. “Yes, he begged to come with us.”

“A little slow, isn’t he?”

“Never mind. I suppose he can see to our horses.”

Mikhail and Svetlana were still warm in each other’s arms while Katarina shivered alone in the cold darkness. Pavel threw his cloak over her shoulders and brought her inside by the fire. “I am sorry, they have no food here for you. But there is a village down the hill in the small valley. It is nearly dawn, perhaps after you rest awhile.”

“What shall become of us?” She buried her face in her quivering hands. “Do tell me, what shall become of us?”

“So, you do speak,” he almost laughed. “I do not understand what troubles you, woman. You are free from your uncle. It is what you wanted, is it not?”

“Yes,” she whispered, trying to hold back tears. “But, this dark forest, it is filled with terrible wolves, and these two sorceresses, what sort of spell have they cast over my brother? Am I to be next? What unholy things will be done to me?” She cringed on the stone hearth and drew herself into a corner.

“You are exhausted. Rest. In the morning you shall be fine.”

“I know what you all are. I cannot rest here, not with the three of you!”

“Indeed you can, for that is what we will do. Soon we will all sleep. As for spells, I only know the movements of the moon and stars, and the planting seasons they foretell, and I know the beasts that I hunt. I know the forest and the medicines that grow wild within. I have no other magic. Please, rest, no harm will come to you. Stay by the fire if you like. I will get you a blanket.”

But she sat and watched his every movement with suspicion. Mikhail and Svetlana finally entered; they were speaking to each other quietly as they came in. But he left her side to go to Katarina. “Are you not well, my sister?”

“Mikhail? Are you mad? These friends of yours—”

“Yes. I know. forgive me. We have nowhere else to stay. Svetlana tells me we are all welcome to stay here. And she would like you to take her own bed while she remains in the stable for the day. Her sister will also, for their home is very small, with little room for more than a few.”

Pavel was relieved that the trouble would be solved. “There now, you see, you and your brother will stay here, and keep warm by the fire. The three of us shall sleep with the animals. So, you have nothing to fear from us.” He took his woolen cloak back and prepared to go outside. “Let us now go, Svetlana,” and they left as Mikhail hastily tried to explain things to his distraught and exhausted sister. They did not pause to listen.

The sun was gradually rising to brighten the sky. Pavel stopped to look up at the few remaining stars that still flashed in the dark heavens. They had lit the night sky for thousands of years before he walked the earth and they would keep lighting the night sky for thousands of years after he was gone. They hung in the deep silken sky when his people were honored as the children of the dark goddess of the night. And the stars themselves, he remembered, were once gods, as also were the trees and the animals. A time came when men worshipped a new God, and now his people were nearly forgotten. But now, men of wealth and power lived as though they themselves were gods, in fine palaces, with an overabundance of food and wine, while others starved outside the palace gates. They wore fine clothes and jewels while those in the village in the valley down below froze in the snows of winter. In a short span of years the men who lived as gods would die, the stars would continue to watch over the night sky, and Pavel’s people would still hunt through the dark forest when the great kingdoms passed away… He sadly looked away from the brightening sky and entered the stable.

When he entered he found that Svetlana was already inside, sleeping soundly on a horse blanket spread out over a small pile of straw. And Natasha her sister was trying to continue a conversation with the timid Dmitri. She asked where he had come from, where he would be travelling to, and she asked if the iron slave collar he wore ever came off.

“Let the poor boy sleep, Natasha. He has not your strength.”

“But Pavel, we never see strangers in our forest.”

He threw his cloak down on the ground in an empty stall. “We once slept the day safely in temples filled with fine silver. Now we must rest with the animals.”

“I hear their new God lived in a stable once, with his mother. The people came to the stable, even kings, to bring Him gold,” she asked Dmitri if it was really true. He simply nodded.

“Then, they are still paying us homage by casting us out in the cold with the beasts.” He rested on the floor of the stable. “You may awaken us when that mad dog butcher of a king arrives with the gold, Dmitri.”

She drove herself home that night. He had almost forgotten that she came in her own car and he offered to drive her.

He went out the back door after midnight, down the steps to where his Pontiac waited. It started quietly in the warm southern California night. He had to finish what he was doing. They all had to.

Together they needed to try and stop the madness, or at least find answers.

Alexandra fed her tropical fish while he sat in her living room waiting for her. “You know, Rick, you really ought to talk to him. And soon.”

“Yeah? So the little idiot can lose it again and blow my brains out? Or maybe I’ll be lucky because he’ll be so drunk he won’t aim right as usual.”

“Rick! He has a problem.”

“He is the problem.” He hated it when Alexandra defended worthless types of people who didn’t deserve it. “He’s going to keep saying that we are responsible and when he gets the chance he’ll do something about it. He might not go through the proper channels, either. He’s crazy enough to act on his own. He’ll hurt somebody.”

She put the fish food away and went to get her brown leather jacket. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean, Alexandra. The moron might actually start killing us off. Think about it. He’s capable.” He got up and followed her out the door. “He is capable.”

She gazed warily at the locked door of Martin’s apartment as they passed it before continuing down the stairs to leave the building. “No. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Rick, you’re scaring me.”

“Yeah?” He held the door for her as they went outside into the darkened streets. “It’s about time we all get scared.”

The night was quiet except for a dog barking in the distance. The pale yellow moon glowed overhead in the dark humid haze.

They parked where the most recent killing had occurred. And waited.

“Do you think people will really believe it’s people like us that are doing these things?” she asked. “I mean, people don’t even believe we exist.”

“Don’t forget that girl on the East Coast. Maybe someone out there does know we exist.”

“Rick. Please shut up about the college kid who wrote that story. We have enough problems of our own right now. I don’t want to think about that; not until we get this solved.”

“Yeah, right. Hey. Let’s go down to After Dark when we’re done for the night. My refrigerator is empty. I’m empty.”

Well, if he wasn’t too lazy to come pick it up and bring it home and re-stock.
“Yeah. And we could pick up some news. Maybe someone else heard something.”

They remained there for an hour. Nothing. Rick started the car; together they prowled the streets, their eyes sharply cutting through the cool darkness. They drifted by a camp of homeless. Like gypsies they were gathered around fires, lit in trash cans. They stood in small circles around the bright flames to keep warm in the cold of the night, protect themselves from what lurked in the darkness. There were families, mothers with children, old men and women sheltering themselves in boxes. They watched the long red Pontiac suspiciously as it passed by.

“I can’t believe no one does anything to help these people,” she said.

“There are places for them to go, but the shelters get filled up. Some people care, but it’s just not enough.” He silently turned the car around, headed back onto the main road, accelerated swiftly back into the better parts of town. “Let’s go down to After Dark.”

“Okay. Maybe someone there heard something.”

Leon wandered to their table, pulled out a chair and sat.

“Any news?” Alexandra asked. She knew he would tell them anyway.

“Yeah. Rick, people are lookin’ for you.”

“Was he drunk again?”

“No. Not cops. Haven’t seen Martin lately, I think he’s too embarrassed.”

“Rick.” She instinctively needed to defend Martin again. “Please just talk to him.”

“Maybe, just for you.” He would not admit that he intended to anyway. “Okay.” He turned to Leon. “So, who’s looking for me?”

“I’ll tell you.” Leon went to the large refrigerator that was behind the counter, took out a bottle and poured blood into two ceramic cups, placed them in one of the microwaves that was on the countertop. He was extremely used to heating it, he knew the exact time and temperature. He brought them over on a tray with his own beer. “It’s a couple of homeless people.”

“What?”

“Yeah. That’s right. Lookin’ for you. By name. Gave a good description, too, right down to the grease stain on your leather jacket,” Leon laughed sarcastically.

“They want to nail me because of Bruce.”

“Don’t think so; didn’t look too hostile to me.”

“So, did these individuals leave their business card or what?”

“They said to meet under the stone bridge, the old bridge under the main road that leads out of town, tomorrow, at midnight.”

“Rick,” Alexandra pleaded, “don’t go.”

“I have to make them know I wasn’t involved.”

Leon sipped his beer. “Anyway, Rick, been nice to know you.”

“Leon, where’s Alex? He’s usually here. I’ll take him with me.”

“He got his own problems right now.”

“Good God, I’ve finally done it.” He returned earlier than expected. Keisha was in the kitchen, making herself a sandwich.

“What is it, Mr.—?”

“Oh, please, call me Alex. Yes, I think I’ve finally done it.” He noticed that her little boy had the television volume cranked up extremely loud, though he could not explain in front of Tirrell how it tortured his sensitive ears. Alex struggled to pretend not to notice. “I finally collected one half of one month’s rent from the Wicked Witch of the New Age.”

“Oh, I see. Tirrell, it’s time for you to go to bed,” Keisha remembered what Lina told her about loud noise.

“But it’s early, I wanna—”

“No! You have school tomorrow.”

“I don’t like school.”

“Don’t talk back. Now get to bed.”

Tirrell slowly and reluctantly went to what was once Alex and Lina’s room. The dog got up from in front of the television and followed.

“You’ve been so good to put up with the both of us.” She immediately turned down the volume.