After the Fall (5 page)

There was a loud popping sound, like rope snapping. It was so loud it made Rhiannon stir in her sleep. I held the axe at bay with one hand while Alaric tried to push it down with all his body. He might as well have been pushing it into a rock. My strength had returned. I gripped the handle tighter and heard the wood splintering in my hand. Alaric let go of the axe and backed into the bars. I tossed the axe to the side and stared at him.

“What exactly are you, devil?” he asked.

“I’m not one of
them
,” I said.

We stood at an impasse for some time while Rhiannon slumbered on the other bed. Even with her ruined neck, she was still beautiful. I smiled on her for a moment.

“Then…if you’re not one of…them. Does that mean she…?”

“She will live. I am sure she will live.” There was a shade of uncertainty in my mind, but if she had not fallen ill at this point, she would be fine.

The great big man was breathing hard and fast. His barrel chest was rising and falling, and there was fear in his eyes.

“I believe you have saved me as well. That debt has been well repaid. However, I must ask your forgiveness for your wife. She was the instrument of my salvation and I have injured her. I accept that you must do what is necessary to avenge her honor.” I handed him the thin knife that his son had dropped on his way out. “Do what you must. Make it right.”

The man gripped the knife in his bear claw hand. It looked like a toothpick compared to him. He looked at the knife, then at me, going back and forth until he settled his eyes on me and tossed the knife aside.

“I cannot kill a messenger from God,” he said.

After all I had seen, this was the point when it got weird for me.

Complications of the Flesh

“You are not one of the risen dead, but it is clear that you are different. How did you survive the bite? No one has ever survived it, but you did. What are you?”

I took a moment to put my thoughts together and keep him in suspense. “First, I must apologize for not telling you that I was bitten, but I did not think that it would affect me. I also believed that your men would drive a bolt into my brain as soon as I said yes.”

He stopped for a second to consider this. “You are right. They would have done so.”

“Then you know why I lied.”

“You still haven’t told me what you are.”

“I don’t think you want to know.”

“But I do! Why else would I ask?”

“I believe you, but there are some things that should remain in the dark.”

“Then tell me why you attacked my wife.”

“It was she who removed my muffle and approached me while I was feverish. My restraints were still on when you came to dispatch me.”

“Those were in place for our safety. We were willing to let you die peacefully and dispatch you in a humane way before you revived.”

“And I’m not complaining, believe me, but why would you think letting someone die after a long, painful fever would be more merciful than to send them out quietly in their sleep?”

“To kill them before they transform would be murder, pure and simple, and the Creator said, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ What’s more, no one has lasted this long, much less survived it.”

“So you think that killing a human is immoral but killing them after they’ve
changed
is all good and well?”

“It’s not the same thing. Those things are demons. They are evil. We have a choice. Those
aberrations
do not. They are the Devil’s servants, and we have an obligation to kill them.”

“Fine, if that’s what you believe.”

“You saved my son. I felt I owed you a dignified death.”

“I’m glad for that. It’s the reason we are standing here talking.”

“There’s still the matter of my wife.”

I looked at her as she slept peacefully. It may have been my imagination, but I thought I saw the faintest trace of a smile on her lips. “She will recover. Give her a few days of good food, rest, nothing strenuous. Your wife will be right as rain.”

Alaric accepted this with an uneasy smile and went to his wife’s side. “When I saw her, I thought I had lost her. I couldn’t go through that. Not again.”

I could imagine what happened to his first wife. There was no need to twist the knife in his heart, so I changed the subject. “I will be leaving today. I don’t wish to cause your family any more grief.”

“You can take a few more days to regain your strength. I’ll not have you turned out into the wilderness.”

What I really wanted was to stay in this cornucopia that they called a town. It was the first large settlement I had seen in many years and I would be hard pressed to find another, but Alaric had come too close to discovering the truth about me. This was not the kind of place to be outed as a Vampire. I’m sure there is a burning stake somewhere in this place reserved for witches, heretics, and other creatures like me.

“No, I think I should get back on the road, just as I meant to do last night.”

“It’s been three days since the dinner.”

“I…I see. All the more reason for me to be going.”

“What will you do? It will be dark in a few hours. You won’t have the benefit of a full day to start.”

“They are out both day and night. It’s not the night that worries me. I’m more of a night person anyway.” I hoped this would reassure him, but it only seemed to worry him more. “I don’t understand. Please explain to me why you wouldn’t want me to leave after all that’s happened.”

“I can’t. If you are resolved to leave, you are welcome to go anytime. We will give you food, drink, and any other supplies you need.”

Sure, just send me a few young, robust people full of rich blood and I’ll be on my way.
“Thank you, but I will just go with the things I brought.”

We started to walk out of the room when he paused. “Do you think she’ll be—?”

“Yes, she will be just fine. Just let her sleep.”

The staircase spiraled its way back to the house. When Alaric opened the door, I came under assault. Daylight, my old nemesis had come back with a vengeance. Those days spent underground had wiped out what little resistance I had built up against the light. It was so bright I had to clamp my hand down on my eyes to shut it out. Fortunately, my hearing had not diminished one bit, and I was able to follow Alaric’s footsteps through the house until we came to a guest room upstairs. When I heard the sound of curtains sliding on their rods, I felt it was safe to open my eyes.

“I see you cannot stand the light either. Has it always been this way?”

“Almost my whole life,” I replied.

“How do you expect to travel by day in your condition? I don’t even know how you managed to do it last time.”

I searched for a reply and when I could find none, I shrugged. “I will wait for nightfall, then. No other choice until I regain some of my resistance to the light.”

He nodded and went to the closet to retrieve my backpack, that old beat-up relic that I had mended so much I didn’t know where the original fabric ended and my repairs began.

“These are your belongings. I ordered them brought up here and no one has been allowed to come in this room.”

I’ll be the judge of that.
“Can I see?”

He passed them to me. “You know, I’m sure we can find you something…less worn.”

“Thanks. I rather like this old thing.” I tried to open the zipper but it stuck. When I pulled harder, the seams came loose
—again
. This backpack was like an old friend and I hated to part with it. However, some part of me knew it would have to go someday. The curse of being immortal is to lose everything you love. “Okay, I’m ready. What do you have for a replacement?”

I received my new backpack with mixed feelings, but I knew it was inevitable. The new one was made of thick hand-stitched buckskin, tanned sandy brown. Straps and buckles replaced the convenient but problematic zipper. It was actually a nice backpack, sturdy and honest, crafted in the same way everything was in this place.

The dream was fun while it lasted, but it was not meant to be. I had to leave, and I meant to do it tonight, lest I be tempted to stay in this boiling cauldron of a house. My things were packed and ready to leave at a moment’s notice. There was just one more thing to do. I had packed a few cans and jars of preserves, courtesy of my host, but what I needed most I could not take with me. In the golden days of refrigeration, one could stockpile a considerable supply of fresh blood that could provide sustenance for a year or more. One need only warm it, mix it gently, and it would be almost as good as the real thing. I say almost because it is like having a leftover meal from many days prior versus a fresh, home-cooked meal, or a piece of stale bread compared to a bite of a loaf that is fresh out of the oven. A poor substitute, but good enough to survive. It has been a while since I experienced those things, but they remained fresh as ever in my mind. Those of us who were blessed—or damned—enough to know the pleasure of a live meal know the difference.

Dusk began to paint the sky red and I ventured my way out of the room. I made it down the stairs and felt a pang of guilt for poor Rhiannon, who had sacrificed a bit of her health to restore mine. Besides, she was so fair to behold that I thought I should steal one last glance and burn it into my memory before I go. It may be a long time before I see another person, much less one as fair as this one, in the full bloom of youth.

I entered the room to find the matron tending to her. Alaric was close by with a sullen look on his face. He was worrying too much. I could sense her strength, and it was growing even now. The scent began to intoxicate me and I had to summon up my will to bring my feelings to order.

The matron gasped and clutched at her chest as if she’d seen a ghost, and by all accounts, she had. She stumbled backward and placed herself between us to protect her. I closed my eyes and lowered my head in acknowledgement, for I knew I deserved every bit of her reaction.

“It’s okay, Evelyn,” said Alaric. “He is not infected, never was. All he had was a case of fever and he’s made a full recovery. Am I right, Mordecai?”

I nodded.

“But what happened to Mrs. Rhiannon’s neck?”

“Just a mere accident when she came to check on him out of pity and he attacked in the throes of delirium.”

“Something like that,” I added. The matron calmed down, but she still eyed me with caution. Something told her I was up to no good. She had good instincts.

“Just came to say my final goodbyes,” I said.

“I know we spoke at length, but I would like a word with you before you go. Can you wait until I meet with the guard? I will not be gone long.”

“Yes,” I lied. It would give me the perfect chance to slip out unnoticed.

Rhiannon was already stirring before I arrived, but she sat bolt upright and looked at me with excitement with a twinge of fear. The sight of me should have given her pause, if not downright panic, but she seemed all the more excited by the danger of it.

“Can you bring me some hot tea?” she said to the matron, who looked at me and hesitated. “I’m still feeling so weak.” She put a hand to her forehead for effect. And I thought Hollywood was dead.

“I will be right back.” She scurried out of the room, resolved to return straightaway. Truth was, I was as scared to be alone in the room as she was to leave us. I did not trust myself. Call it pheromones or whatever you will, but her essence seemed to breathe right out of her pores and I was doing everything I could to hold myself in place.

“Come closer,” she said. 

How could she be so cruel to tempt me so? If she only knew the truth, she would have asked me to leave and never return. Yet I could not say no to those emerald eyes and pale face, with the smallest of freckles dotting the underside of her eyes and cheeks. I did as she bade me.

I stood at the side of the bed and looked down. She took my hand and gripped it. Now I could feel her heartbeat through her fingertips, the river of blood coursing beneath. It seemed to beckon to me, inviting me to taste more of her. She grabbed my arm and pulled until I knelt down closer to her.

“There, that’s better.” She smiled and showed me the rows of ivory white teeth framed by her ruby lips. I clenched my jaw and let out a strained breath as I struggled against the urge to seize her and feed again. “I know what you want,” she said. I felt my heart leap in panic. All I wanted to do was leave the room, leave this town and never return. She pulled down the other side of the scarf tied around her neck and caressed it. I took a quick breath and looked at her with wide eyes. She laughed. She was actually enjoying this.

“It’s my blood you want, isn’t it? You desire it, you crave it. Why not take it? Drink of me until you’ve had your fill.”

My fangs started their downward journey. Every other part of me was ready to do as she asked, but I held fast.

“I’ve already taken too much. You must rest.”

“No. I don’t need rest. I need you.”

At this point, my ears were filled with the rushing river of my own blood. I couldn’t resist for much longer and decided to leave while I still had the power to resist. When I tried to get up, she clung to me and refused to let go.