Never Have A Vampire's Baby (11 page)

              “
Bomb!”
she screeched, unable to think of anything else. “
Bomb!”

              The vampires only hesitated a second; Luke was closer and had longer legs, so he covered more ground than Sonia could, zipping toward Kim faster than her eyes could track him. Sonia was trailing behind, her face set in a mask of concentration. Kim was urging her on silently, panic turning her blood to acid. The wind was knocked out of her the next moment, and she went flying backward through the air in Luke’s sure grasp, watching Sonia flee toward them as fast as she could--

              --but not fast enough.

              Luke threw them both into a crop of bushes at the exact moment the house exploded. He covered Kim’s body with his, but she could still feel the intense heat curling over them, sapping the oxygen from the air and singing the hairs on their exposed skin. There was a woman’s scream just barely audible over the roar of fire, long and high and piteous, like a balloon being quickly deflated. A loud
thump
punctuated the scream, and then all Kim could hear was the crackle of wood as it was eaten by the flames.

              The back of Kim’s head had crashed into the ground, and it took a while to realize that she was in motion again.
What’s going on?

              She was bouncing in Luke’s arms, but she could see the house burning over his shoulder. Her eyes were blurry, but she could also make out a scorched body not far from where they were just lying, small and smoking, not moving at all. Sonia hadn’t made it.

              Kim wanted to tell Luke to go back, but she knew that if he hadn’t already, she was a lost cause.

              This is my fault,
she thought numbly.
I shouldn’t have come.

              For the second time, she felt herself fall and crash head first into the hard ground. Luke went sprawling a few feet away, and he was up in seconds--

              --but it only took Daisy a few seconds to seize Kim around the neck and drag her backward.

              “Stop!” Daisy shouted as Luke came forward. Kim heard her unzip her jacket, and Luke’s eyes widened as he gazed at whatever she was showing him. Whatever it was, it stopped him in his tracks, but Daisy kept inching backwards.

              “I’ll kill us all,” Daisy promised. “I will. I will have no remorse.”

              She’s got another bomb strapped to her,
Kim thought in a daze.
Dear God. We’re going to die, and Mark is going to raise my baby hating him because of what happened tonight.

              Luke was holding his hands before him, desperation in his eyes. “Daisy, please, please, don’t hurt Kim.”

              Daisy spat on the ground. “You’re out of your fucking mind, monster. I don’t answer to you.” She tightened her arm around Kim’s neck, and Kim’s vision started to go dark.

              “
Stop!”
Luke shouted. “Stop, please! I’ll do anything! What do you want from me, Daisy? I can get you connections. I can get you passports out of the country. I can turn you, right now.”

              Daisy was shaking her head. “I wouldn’t let you breathe on me after laying with this slut.” She kneed Kim in the back, but Kim was too weak to do anything but grunt.

              Luke winced, and Kim saw that he was crying.
Don’t cry, Luke,
she thought desperately.
Please don’t cry.

              “Crocodile tears,” Daisy sneered, dragging Kim closer to the burning house. “You disgust me.”

              Kim noticed her grip was loosening, and she took the opportunity to take deeper breaths.

              “Let me turn you,” Luke said again. “Then you’ll really be unstoppable.”

              “You couldn’t stop me if you tried,” Daisy promised. “Just watch.”

              Kim’s air supply stopped again, and she heard Luke screaming – but only for a moment, thankfully; she was passing out quickly thanks to the head injuries, and now Daisy’s forearm had locked on her windpipe, crushing it. Everything dropped into silence, and she couldn’t feel anything; she wondered if she was dead now, at this moment. Her vision bled black and she felt herself sailing toward the ground, but she never felt the impact.

              Am I still falling? Did she push me off a cliff? Are we in the Desert Park?

              A hand pressed against her forehead.
Is that God?

              But the hand was cold.
I’m in hell.

              “Kim! Kim, wake up. You’re going to be OK, I’m here, please wake up!”

              The hand was growing warmer on her skin, sending gentle vibrations slithering down her skin that almost tickled. She could still hear her name being called faintly, and there even seemed to be a light in the distance.

              It is heaven. It’s getting warmer.

              But the warm turned too warm – it was hot, almost burning, and the light was blinding when she opened her eyes. Her skin was damp, and she felt groggy and racked with pain--but Luke’s panic-stricken face floating above her told her she was alive.

              “Luke,” she mumbled, grabbing his outstretched hand.

              “Kim,” he cried out. “Can you walk?”

              Kim blinked and tried to stand, unsure of why her legs were so rubbery; she stood with Luke’s help, then finally saw why she was so hot – as he was healing her, the fire had swept toward them, now only a hundred feet away.

              Luke picked her up and raced away from the fire and toward her Fiat, murmuring reassurances in her ear as he ran. He seemed to be concerned with cutting straight toward the Fiat, and Kim soon saw why.

              Daisy was running toward the Fiat at an incredible speed. She must have had more than one magical stone on her, because she was nearly flying, her feet hardly touching the ground. Luke had been hurt by the blast, and since he’d shared part of his aura with Kim, he hadn’t healed as quickly, so his run was badly impaired.

              Wait,
Kim thought.
This isn’t right.

              “Wait,” she said thickly.

              Luke kept running, so Kim slapped his chest and mustered all her strength to push her voice to a shout.
“Wait!”

              Luke finally slowed and then stopped, looking from Kim to Daisy in anguish. “Baby, I have to catch her! She’s going to steal the Fiat. She’s going to get away!”

              Kim shook her head firmly. “Luke, stop. Put me down.”

              He obliged, then looked back at Daisy. “You want me to go after her alone?”

              Kim frowned, that felt wrong too. She had the feeling that he was supposed to stay here. They both were. Just like her body had steered toward him all those times, it was telling her to stay there now. She shook her head, once.

              The anguish on Luke’s face transformed into an anger she’d never seen before.

              “You’re chickening out. You’re backing out, because she’s family, just like I said.”


              Kim stared at him in confusion, trying to form words; her brain was simply too mixed up to function, however, so all she could say was “Wait.”

              “You told me that!” Luke fumed, tears in his eyes again. “I shouldn’t have brought you. I’m always right about this stuff, and this time is no different.” He turned away and started to move toward the Fiat again, limping as he gained speed.

              Kim’s body was flooded with anger. She still couldn’t form words, she could hardly see, and every one of her bones was aching, but it chased away her confusion in time for her body and brain to make a joint decision.

              She ignored the pins and needles stabbing her feet as she stood up, and she felt her hip joints scream in agony as she propelled her body forward. Kim focused on the back of Luke’s head, driving herself through space with one purpose: to get him to stop. Like that day she’d pushed him into the wall, she wasn’t aware of how fast or forceful she was being – she was just trying to solve the problem in the way that most made sense. In seconds, she was on Luke’s heels; beyond him, fire was inching toward the Fiat, which was refusing to move forward, even though the engine was humming pleasantly and Daisy was pumping the gas.

              “
WAIT!”
Kim screamed as she leapt toward Luke, who looked back just in time to see Kim descending on him, face set in a mask of determination.

              They both crashed into the ground for the third time that day, and Kim did her best to keep her body clamped over Luke’s. He was shouting incoherently, his angry aura an earthquake, but Kim just locked her arms around his neck and lifted his chin, pointing his eyes toward the tableau playing out a few hundred feet in front of them.

              Daisy was now banging on the gear shift and pumping the gas wildly as the fire finally reached the car. Her green eyes widened in a soundless scream, and she lunged over to the passenger side to try to open the door – but her seatbelt, the first thing she always saw to, had locked around her. Luke stopped struggling, growing quiet as Daisy grew more panicked and her skin started to flush and bead up with sweat. Finally, as the flames started to creep up the hood of the car, She twisted around and made eye contact with Kim and screamed one long, ear-splitting word.

              “Help!”

              Luke managed to stand with Kim on his back, but he retreated away from the Fiat, horrified gaze never leaving Daisy. Kim watched her green eyes swell as the heat inside the car rose, and a moment later, they popped, leaving two browned chasms at the top of her skull. Her mouth was still open, but her face was starting to char and smoke. Kim could tell she was still screaming.

              “Is she going to burn to death?” Luke asked.

              Kim shook her head. “No. Just wait.” She was sure of what was about to happen now.

              As soon as she spoke, the flames reached Daisy’s torso, where she’d strapped all of her beloved husband’s combustibles. She seemed to realize what was happening just as it happened, because she turned around and stopped screaming the instant before Kim’s faithful little green Fiat exploded in a mushroom cloud of hellish fire.

The Final Chapter

It took Luke an hour to get them most of the way to town, and then they saw a legion of fire trucks barreling down the road, heading for the inferno on Mark Moody’s land. Luke dropped into a ditch as they passed, knowing that there was no way they could ever explain everything that happened to the authorities. Sonia’s body was gone, and Daisy’s probably was too. She felt bad they couldn’t retrieve Sonia, but she knew Luke likely felt worse.

              Luke was silent for most of the journey, and Kim didn’t mind. She was enjoying being carried on his back, and his strength had returned quickly enough that he stopped breathing heavily after the first few miles. Her head felt much better, and she could form coherent sentences now, but so much had happened that she felt like she’d just lived an entire lifetime. What was more, much of it were things she had no intentions of going over – not now, maybe not ever. She wouldn’t forget seeing her sister-in-law melt and explode any time soon, nor would she forget the
thump
Sonia’s body made as it hurtled away from the explosion, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that everything had been her fault. Everything had changed, all because of her sister-in-law; now that she was dead, it felt fitting to blame herself.

              Luke’s trot slowed, and put his hands over hers where they clashed around his chest. “Hey.”

              Kim felt a little better just hearing his voice, and she was overjoyed that their bond hadn’t changed, at least. “Hey.”

              “How do you feel?”

              Kim thought for a moment. “Better. I’m healing, thanks to you.”

              Luke smiled faintly. “And
I’m
healing, thanks to
you.”

              Kim blushed, wanting desperately to change the subject. “Will Vampire Fight Club still meet?”
             

              “Not as a training measure anymore,” Luke said. “We don’t have an enemy any longer. We’ll still meet for social reasons, like before...but we’ll be a little smaller,” he said sadly.

              Kim felt a throb of pain in the pit of her stomach. “I’m sorry, Luke.”

              He squeezed her hands and didn’t respond for a while.

              “You think Suzanna’s getting worried?” he asked finally.

              Kim shrugged. “Maybe, but she knows how in control of everything I am. She has more faith in me than I have in myself.”

              Luke laughed lightly. “No faith in me, though.”

              “Hey!” Kim said as he stepped over a log. “That’s not true anymore. Especially after everything you’ve done for me.”

              Luke chuckled. “I hope so. If she’s really family, I’d like her to feel like I’m family, too.”

              “She will,” Kim said firmly. There was pain creeping up her ribs she hadn’t noticed before, and Luke was limping a little, despite his speed.

              “How do you feel?” she asked anxiously.

              Luke seemed thrown by the question. “Oh, I’ve been worse. A lot worse.”

              Kim closed her eyes. “Was there any chance Sonia got away?”

              Luke sighed. “No, babe. She was dead. I couldn’t feel her aura...it’s why I left her behind. And vampires burn fully in flame. There’s nothing left behind.” There was an edge of steel underneath his remorse, and Kim recognized it as the tone of a leader putting a matter to bed. Her father had the same tone when he explained why they couldn’t have new bikes that year, or why they had to put the dog down. It was always a decision with painful reasoning behind it, but it was necessary all the same. Luke wouldn’t want to talk about it anymore, she knew. She didn’t blame him.

              “Anyway,” Luke continued. “What’s Mark going to say? Especially with his house burned down?”

              Kim groaned. She was dreading the conversation, and dreading the questions he would have even more. The plan was to report Daisy missing, claiming she’d gone to her vacation home to check on something. Daisy normally took cabs everywhere, and she hadn’t driven a stick shift in years, so her tragically being stuck in an unmoving car while a fire closed in on her was somewhat believable. She wasn’t exactly nervous about the police buying it – it was her brother she really worried about.

              “He really loved Daisy,” Kim said finally. “That was clear. He stuck by her through all her neuroses, the failed attempts at pregnancy….the strife she created between all of us.” A knot formed in her throat. “He’s going to be in pain, for sure.”

              “Do you think,” Luke said slowly, “you’ll ever tell him the truth?”

              Kim was surprised at the question. “You think I should?”

              Luke thought for a moment. “The truth is important. Everyone deserves the peace it brings. And even though it won’t bring him peace at first, he’s going to know something is wrong with this initial story. It’ll torture him for years. Until he gets the truth...one way or another.”

              Kim realized he was right.
Dammit. This is going to suck.

              They walked in silence for a bit longer, watching the first hints of sunrise bleed into the silken purple sky. The moon was still high above them, and it was bright enough to see by, but the deep red streaks pushing into the dark space made Kim feel a little more alive. That fire had been their only light for a while, and it was a fire that meant death and destruction – not exactly something to warm the soul.

              “So…” Luke said after a moment. “We did it. We stopped the big bad murderer.”

              Kim laughed weakly. “Yeah, I guess we did.” She looked at the ground as he carried her, picking through her thoughts to see which were worth voicing. “God, I don’t have a car, now. How will I get to work?”


              “Are you sure you want to go back to work?” Luke asked gently. “This was...a huge mess, and a very big stressor. I think you’ve lost years off your life because of me.”

              Kim balked. “Because of
you?
Luke, this was my fault. It was
my
sister-in-law traveling the country killing vampires and planning to abduct their children when the smoke cleared.”

              Luke twisted his head so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. “How the hell is that your fault? Daisy acted alone. It’s not even your brother Mark’s fault. It’s not your parent’s fault. It’s just Daisy’s.” He sighed. “And you saved my life again. You keep doing that.”

              He stopped and lowered her gently to the ground, turning around and meeting her eyes before he spoke again. “I’m sorry,” he began. “I think I should finally tell you why I was so afraid of you leaving me.”

              Kim had forgotten all about their conversation a few weeks ago; it seemed so far away and unimportant now, but it also seemed like Luke really needed to tell her.

              He dropped his chin, and a sheath of black hair covered his eyes momentarily. When he raised his gaze again, it was drenched in sorrow. “My father fell bonded with a human, and he moved her away from her family and eventually married her. They had me, and we were happy for a few years...and then her family caught up with her and found out she hadn’t married some stockbroker. She’d married a disgusting freak.”

              Kim winced at his phrasing, because it sounded so much like Daisy’s.

              “We all stayed together a few more years, but they started fighting...first about little things, then about big things. Things they couldn’t get around. Dad started to say maybe their bond wasn’t what he thought it was, if she could change tact so quickly. And she agreed,” Luke said softly. “She told him it had just been a lust bond, but that she’d stayed because of the baby.”

              He paused, closing his eyes for a moment. “Because of me. She said it only lasted a few months, but by then she was pregnant.” He buried his face in his hands briefly, voice strained. “Six years, she lied to my father. She came to love him, but it wasn’t the right kind of love. And he wouldn’t have been so torn, but then she admitted that she didn’t feel the right kind of love for me, either. That now I wasn’t enough to keep her around, period, because the bond between them was gone. And I was a freak, too.” He dropped his eyes. “Her family drilled it into her until she believed it, and it only took a few months. I knew she was leaving my father...he had made peace with it, too. But we never thought she’d abandoned me.”

              Kim’s heart shattered in her chest. He was looking at the ground, carefully avoiding eye contact for some reason. Why was he so afraid?


              She looked at his fragile expression, and the answer came rushing toward her all at once. He wasn’t just afraid she would leave him – he was afraid she would break apart their new family, too.

              Kim cradled his face in her hands, eyes shimmering with tears. “Luke, listen to me. You’re the love of my life. Evan is my world. I promise you, I am not like your mother. I don’t run when things get tough, and I don’t let people get into my head.” She smiled. “Well, except you, sometimes, but I don’t think we can help that.”

              Luke smiled through tears and drew her closer. “Kim, you proved all of that to me tonight, and more. I’m sorry I doubted you. I need to know you forgive me.”


              Kim stood on her toes and kissed him passionately in answer, reveling in the warmth that whirled between their bodies as their lips locked and their bodies meshed together. For her, there was no forgiveness, because there was nothing to forgive – Luke made a mistake, but she had made more than her share of those. Luke’s body responded eagerly to her touch, his hands running gently over every inch of her skin he could reach, leaving a fantastic tingling feeling in the wake of his fingers and palms. He shivered against her kiss, evidently feeling the buzz of their bond just as strong as she had.

              She felt her bones heat up to the marrow and then cool again, and the sore spots on her neck and back faded as his hands plunged into her hair and their tongues entwined. For a moment, nothing existed but the two of them, the place where their lips joined, and the little patch of desert road they inhabited; their love was all the sun they needed, and their bond was the air they breathed. Kim felt something inside her uncurl and stretch toward Luke, and she was astonished to find that it was met by another answering wave of energy reaching out of him. She locked her arms around his neck and sighed into his kiss, the surge of power slowly fading away, leaving their bodies strong and vibrant and pain-free.

              Kim pulled back, gasping a little. “Holy shit,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “What was that?”

              Luke’s grin was incredulous and filled with wonder. “Our bond changed,” he said softly. “I don’t know – it felt like it...deepened. But that’s not supposed to happen. Not without--”

              Kim interrupted him with a peal of laughter. “You know what? This whole ‘wondering about the bond’ thing is getting old. I’ve decided I don’t care.” She was delighted to find that she really didn’t – all the worrying had done was get in the way of their happiness. The secret to this relationship seemed to be in not questioning their bond, and Kim would happily do that until the day she died. Luke’s joyful smile told her he felt exactly the same way.

              “Okay. From now on, no more questioning,” Luke said.

              “Got it,” Kim chirped. She took his hand in hers and turned toward the road, swinging her arm giddily as they started to walk.

              Luke laughed, astonished. “Seriously? Ms. Control is finally done trying to fill in all the blanks?”

              Kim nodded, a spring in her step as they approached the city limit.

              “Yeah. I’m done wondering for a while. I’ve got all the answers I need.”