Dark Days (The Childe Series, #2) (5 page)
Across town, later that day, Cat’s uncle Michael was pacing in the church rectory. His heart and mind were heavy as he debated whether he should inform the Colvins of the letter he received a week ago. As he combed his hand through his short, bright red curly hair, he pulled out his cell phone and began to dial their number, but then wavered. Quickly ending the call, he leaned against the wall and sighed. “Maybe I can persuade Cat’s aunt Ròs that taking Cat is not what’s best for her,” Michael said out loud. “The Colvins have done so much for Cat. Now it’s my turn to uphold the wishes of my dear departed sister.” He turned to his desk and retrieved the letter. Rereading it, as he had done several times since receiving it, he felt his confidence leave him like air from a punctured balloon.
This isn’t going to be good, not good at all. I don’t think we’re ready for this,
he thought, looking solemnly out the rectory window.
Michael sat in his cozy cottage that was attached to the back of the church. As he was preparing Sunday’s sermon, a loud knock at the front door startled him. The thought of it being Ròs immediately crossed his mind and caused his heart to sink. Michael had lost track of time and was surprised that night had already fallen. As he cautiously walked down the darkened hallway, he never took his eyes off the front door. He swallowed hard before pulling the door open. Michael was relieved to see Joe, the church maintenance man, standing on the porch.
“Fixed the leak in the roof. It was quite a doozy. You okay, Father?”
“Yeah, just a little preoccupied is all. Thank you, Joe. See you at Mass tomorrow?” Michael asked.
“Yep, I’ll be there with the wife and kids, as usual,” he replied happily.
Michael closed the door firmly. He leaned against it, took in a deep breath, and willed his heart to slow down. While heading back to his study, Michael was startled by another knock at the door. He figured that Joe had forgotten something. Michael was puzzled when he opened the door and saw the front step was empty. He peered out into the lit courtyard, thankful for the street light that had been installed a year ago, and saw no one. He heard a faint squeaking noise, and looked to his right. He watched the slightly broken, old rectory sign sway back and forth in the breeze. The sign had but one sentence:
Enter all ye seeking guidance and comfort.
He had tried to replace the old sign, but the congregation had balked. So there it was, squeaking, as if protesting against the wind’s interruption of its peaceful hanging. After closing the door he made his way back down the hallway toward his study. The light in the study was dim, except for the lamp illuminating his desk.
“Hello, Michael,” a female’s voice came from the vicinity of the couch. Startled, he jumped and hit the main switch, throwing the whole room into bright light. A man and a woman sat on the old Victorian couch in front of him, smiling. “I hope you don’t mind, we came in when you were talking with your friend. We didn’t want him to see us, of course.”
“Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?!” Michael asked forcefully.
“You must forgive our poor manners. I have forgotten that we’ve never met before.” The woman said with a smile as she raised herself from the couch. Michael took a step back. She stood taller than him and had beautiful locks of bright red curly hair. Her face was pale and flawless except for a few freckles that adorned her cheeks. Her eyes were sky blue and pierced through Michael as he stared into them.
“I’m Ròs Aldridge Cowan, and this handsome devil with me is my husband, Trevor Cowan,” she explained with a deep Irish accent, and then held out her hand to him. Michael took it, and the first thing he noticed was how cold her fingers were. Trevor extended his hand, which was equally as cold, but gave a heartier handshake. “We’re sorry it took us so long to get here, but we ran into a little trouble in South America. We wanted to make sure we weren’t followed, so we took the scenic route. Why don’t we all sit down? You look a little peaked,” Ròs said calmly as she took Michael’s hand and lead him to the couch.
“I told you we should’ve called first instead of just showing up,” Trevor whispered to his wife. Michael found himself seated beside Ròs and watched as Trevor pulled up one of the heavy oak chairs as if it weighed nothing.
“How’s Catherine? Did you tell her about us and our plans yet?” Ròs asked impatiently.
“Let Michael absorb the fact we’re here first, Ròs. We gave him a wee bit of a shock. Isn’t that right, Michael?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not being a very good host. Would you like something to drink?” Michael asked, his own voice sounding unnatural to his ears.
“No, actually we’d like to go see Catherine. I don’t think the Colvins will let us in unless you’re with us,” Ròs explained. “But first things first. Michael, how much information did your sister give you about this whole situation? When she placed Cat into your care?”
Michael closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the couch, and thought back to that day many years ago. “Well, first of all, I hadn’t seen my sister in years, and had no idea that I had a niece, or that she was married. She told me her husband had recently passed. And that she was leaving Cat with me for a couple of days until she returned. To say the least, I was shocked.” Michael leaned his head forward and slouched with his elbows resting on his knees, looking at the ground. “I didn’t ask her where she was going or what she was doing. I’ve often wondered if I had, would things have turned out differently. Instead, I just took my niece in my arms, and grabbed the envelope from my sister’s hand. I saw the terror in her eyes and wanted to ask what was wrong, but it was too late. She had run off into the night. And after that, I never saw her again.” Looking up into Ròs eyes, Michael continued, “Two days later, I received word that she had passed from an anonymous letter with no return address. So, I put into motion the instructions that were left in the envelope. And that’s all I know.”
“It’s not your fault, Michael. She was only trying to protect you,” Ròs said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Protect me? From what?”
“Hmm, where shall I begin? You’re a man of faith, are you not?” Ròs asked. Michael nodded. “Well, I need you to have faith. Faith that what I’m about to tell you is true. This is going to be hard for you to hear, but…we’re different.”
“Different? Different how?
” Michael looked bewildered, his eyes moving from Ròs’ to Trevor’s.
“We’re what you’d call the living dead, or…vampires.”
Michael’s eyes squinted as he looked at Ròs questioningly. “What kind of joke are you playing here?” Michael asked.
“It’s no joke. We’re vampires,” Trevor interjected calmly.
“Please, leave my house! There’s no way I’m handing Cat over to two nutjobs like you,” he stated, rising to his feet. Ròs and Trevor both stood abruptly.
“Nutjobs?” Ròs asked in frustration.
“Now Ròs, calm down, we need not make a scene,” Trevor said in a soothing manner.
Ignoring him, “You want proof, here’s your proof, Father.” Ròs said as her fangs descended from her mouth. Michael’s eyelids fluttered, as his shaky legs gave way. He collapsed at their feet.
“I told you to be gentler, Ròs. Now look what you’ve done, the poor man has fainted. Go get a cold facecloth while I put him on the settee,” Trevor instructed. He picked Michael up effortlessly as if he were a child, and then placed him gently on the couch in the corner. Ròs put the wet washcloth on his forehead, and they both waited for him to come to.
Several minutes later Michael slowly opened his eyes, confused as to why he was lying on the couch. Seeing two sets of sky blue eyes hovering over him, he sprang up into a sitting position, pulled his knees up to his chest, and made a cross with his index fingers.
“Welcome back, you gave us quite a scare,” Trevor said with a grin.
“You fell flat like a lead balloon,” Ròs quipped, smiling minus the fangs.
“Ròs, stop it,” Trevor reprimanded.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I just blurted it out without thinking how you’d respond. I know it’s not every day you find out you’re related to vampires.”
“Ròs, that’s enough,” Trevor said, noticing Michael’s eyes beginning to cloud over again, his finger cross wobbling.
“Well, what should I say then?” Ròs replied as she plopped down into the nearest chair and crossed her arms stubbornly. Trevor turned back to Michael, ignoring his wife’s little tantrum, and concentrated on the poor man before him.
“Michael, we
’re not here to harm you.
Our main concern now is for Catherine’s safety. As far as we know, only a few people know what she truly is, and believe me, the fewer the better. I promise you, we mean you no harm,” Trevor explained.
Michael looked into Trevor’s eyes and had a feeling in his gut that Trevor was telling the truth. He lowered his man-made finger crucifix. “Are you telling me that Cat…is like you?” Trevor nodded his head.
“Well, she’s
kind of
like us,” Ròs commented.
“Sorry, but this is just a little hard for me to digest at the moment,” Michael muttered, as Trevor moved back to sit in the chair beside Ròs. “It sort of oddly makes sense, though. Erika was vague that night, and I knew she wasn’t telling me everything. But vampires? You’re truly vampires?” He watched as Trevor and Ròs nodded their heads in unison.
“I’ll go put on the kettle for tea and we can talk some more,” Ròs announced, standing up and making her way to the kitchen. “I’m sure you have loads of questions.”
“How do you know I have tea?” Michael called after her.
“I noticed some in the cupboard when I was searching for a facecloth,” she replied, smiling broadly.
Michael woke up the following morning and stared at the ceiling, reliving the evening before.
Did that really happen…vampires? They really do exist?
He thought, rolling over and sitting on the edge of his bed. The Cowan’s had decided to stay at a local hotel. Michael knew he should’ve offered for them to stay with him, but he still felt nervous about the whole vampire thing. They were coming back that evening so he could escort them to the Colvins’. He knew this meeting would not be a pleasurable experience, and it filled him with dread. The only thing that made him feel comfortable was the fact that his sister obviously loved and trusted these people, and that’s all he needed to know.