Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 184

I dropped another potato in the bowl and turned to him with a sigh. "Not unless you know how to get me out of being a jailor."

A smile curved his lips and he shot me a glance. "Wish I could. It'd make things a lot simpler."

Sharing my feelings about Michael with Alex was definitely a bad idea, so when the words came tumbling out of my mouth, I think I was more shocked than he was.

"I've been having some... thoughts about Michael." I dropped my peeler and covered my mouth with trembling fingers.

Alex's face transformed into an expression of mixed worry and intense anger. He dropped the potato he had been working on and it tumbled onto the floor.

"You went to him?" His fingers gripped one sleeve of my corduroy s.h.i.+rt as he loomed over me. His eyes were a fiery green, pulsing with repressed hostility.

I jerked my arm from his grasp. "Cut it out. I wanted to ask him about my mother." I picked up the peeler and began with a new potato, ripping at it in frustration. "Nothing really happened. But I can understand now why she was tempted."

He eased slowly back into his seat and put his hands over his face. "You can't go out there again, Sarah. It's too dangerous."

"I thought he couldn't hurt me."

"It's a rule of his detention." Alex sighed and stared at the table before him. "He's not supposed to hurt you. That doesn't mean it's not possible."

I shrugged, trying to ease the tension between us. "Well, I tried to stay outside of the detention border. There's a diagram in the journal that lays it all out." Then I hesitated, remembering how far Michael had managed to get from where the border should be. "But I don't think the diagram is right."

Alex pushed his chair back and went to one of the two windows across from the table, staring out into the gloomy day. "His powers may allow him to extend the original field. There's no way to know how far he can go at this point, if that's true." He turned back to me, alarm sketched over his handsome face. He approached the table, leaning on it with his palms flat against the tabletop and fixed his eyes on my face.

"Sarah it may be possible for him to get to the house."

Oh, G.o.d. What if he got to Nelly? The guests could even be in danger. My breathing became ragged and my pulse raced as horrible images flooded my head; Nelly, eyes wide open, throat slashed, lying in a pool of her own blood, drops of scarlet falling onto the floor beneath her bed. I imagined everything in silence, as if a demon had pa.s.sed through and destroyed everything that was real.

"No, no. He can't," I whispered.

"If he's managed to stretch the detention field, he certainly can."

I nibbled on my thumbnail, trying to come up with some solution. The only one here who could tell how far the field extended was Michael. However, someone else must be able to sense it, to give us some idea if we were safe in the house. Another immortal, maybe. However, I refused to consider asking for the help of my mother.

"The Council." I stood up from my chair and began pacing from the entryway to the dining room and back across the kitchen. "Someone from the Council should have answers for us."

"How can we contact them?" he asked.

I raced upstairs to my bedroom. Nelly's head popped through one of the bedroom doorways as I flew by, "Where's the fire, dear?"

Instead of answering, I grabbed the journal from my nightstand and began flipping through it desperately to find anything my grandfather might have written about contacting the Council. There had to be something there; some kind of "contact in case of emergency" phone number or something. All I kept seeing were names that meant nothing to me. Isaiah, Eleanor, William, Chester.

Chester Fleming. I whipped my cell phone from my dressing table and made the call.

"Sarah, those horses are loose again!" Nelly called from down the hall. It was true. From my bedroom window, I could see Lenny stretching his neck over the short garden fence trying to get to the last few green peppers left on the plants out there. Messenger was loping around the side yard, trying to avoid Sadie who was barking and appeared greatly disturbed at having the horses invade her s.p.a.ce up near the house.

I turned toward Alex, who had followed me upstairs and stood waiting by the door to my room. As I waited for Dr. Fleming's answering service to pick up, I covered up the phone with one hand and said, "I hope Messy didn't kick that gate down again. Can you try to get them both into that pen behind the barn? I'll be out as soon as I can."

He nodded shortly and headed outside. I gnawed a little more on my thumbnail until the doctor's answering service finally answered my call. I asked them to have the doctor call me back then headed outside to help Alex round up the horses.

Several hours later, I collapsed in a heap on the sofa in the den. I was completely exhausted. Three hours of chasing a frisky and rather stubborn mare around our property could do that to anyone. We had both finally thrown our hands up in defeat, closed and locked the gate at the road and left Messenger to her own devices. In the end, we had lost sight of her in the woods behind the barn and hoped she might be tempted by an open stall door and a couple of scoops of grain in her feed bin. We were both unwilling to do anything more about it that night.

Alex had headed over to his cabin for a shower and Nelly was busy preparing us a small dinner in the kitchen when the phone rang. I struggled to my feet and went into the entry, where we had one of those old-fas.h.i.+oned phones sitting on a table near the stairs.

"Woodhaven Inn. This is Sarah. How may I help you?"

"Sarah, this is Dr. Fleming. You need to come on down to the end of your driveway. I've got a couple of guests that need to be let inside." He sounded odd. Nervous.

I held the phone away from my ear and called into the kitchen, "Nelly, did we get another reservation that I didn't know about?"

"Not as far as I know." She replied from the doorway, a kitchen towel in one hand, and a wet pan in the other.

"That's weird." I pressed the phone against my ear, "Dr. Fleming, we don't have anybody on the books for tonight."

He hesitated for a moment then continued in a shaky voice that was completely out of character, "Sarah honey, these are the special guests I told you about a few days ago."

Holy c.r.a.p. The Council reps. Trying to ignore the weary feeling in my legs and my desire to fall asleep, I pulled on a jacket, grabbed the keys to my truck from the hook inside the pantry door of the kitchen, and rushed out of the house. Vampires. I was surprised they had not just come up to the house. Couldn't they fly or something?

Seeing me rush out, Sadie came galloping over to me with her pink tongue flailing around. I shook my head. "No way, girl. You're staying in the barn tonight. These people would probably make a quick snack out of you." I ruffled the thick soft fur around her neck, grabbed her collar, and pulled her to the side entrance of the big barn. I got her inside without too much of a fuss and closed the door.

An increasing amount of adrenaline had begun to revive my tired state as I pulled up a few dozen feet from the closed gate at the end of our long driveway. Three figures stood in the darkness. One was a very tall man with short white hair, dressed in a pristine black suit and wearing dark gla.s.ses. At his side stood a woman, who was nearly as tall as the male beside her. She had long ebony hair that was elaborately braided and twisted into lovely circles on her head. She was dressed in a cla.s.sy red business suit that included a mini-skirt that barely covered the tops of her long thighs. They both looked entirely irritated and completely out of place. A dozen or so feet away stood the doctor, leaning against his still-idling Pontiac.

I left the truck running and opened the driver's door. I wondered how dangerous these two strangers were and if they posed any possible harm to Nelly or Alex as I slowly walked toward the gate separating us. I fingered the key that unlocked the gate. What was I in for if I let these two onto my property? I nodded a greeting at Dr. Fleming.

Coming to a stop at the large metal gate illuminated by the low beams of my truck's headlights, I cast each vampire a hesitant glance.

"Dr. Fleming, if I let these two onto my property, can they be expected to be peaceful?"

The female gave me a half smile with her painted-red mouth and raised an eyebrow, "She's feisty."

The doctor cleared his throat, "The Council has given their word that there will be no trouble."

Miss s.k.a.n.k sighed and turned to the doctor with a tremendously bored look. "Can we please get on with this?" Her accent was hard to define. "There's much to discuss and I hate getting this mud all over my Pradas."

Dr. Fleming came forward with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, "You'll need to invite them in after you unlock the gate."

"Invite them in?" My thoughts were all jumbled up. Between my physical exhaustion and the shock of having a couple of vampires in front of me giving me major att.i.tude, I felt like my brain was working in slow motion. I rubbed my hands over my face and then gave each of the vampires a steady look.

"If I invite you onto my property, do I have your word that you will not cause any type of harm to anyone," I paused for a minute to consider my words carefully before continuing in a stronger voice, "Anyone human or vampire?"

There was a spark of excitement suddenly between the two of them. They nodded quickly and then shot quick looks at each other. If they were truly from the vampire Council, they had a responsibility here. I only hoped they took their jobs seriously.

"What are your names?" I asked, preferring to be direct.

The female raised her chin an inch and met my eyes without hesitation, "I am Luanna Rustovski."

"And you?" I gestured at the male.

He took off his gla.s.ses and rolled his dark eyes in exasperation, "Gunter Hastings."

Finally, I decided it was safe so I pushed the little key into the locked front gate, unfastened the chain, and opened it. As the creaky old thing swung away from my push, I realized I had taken my first real action as the new warden. The decision had been made and somehow I knew there was no turning back.

"Come in." I said.

"You should have told me they were coming." Alex hissed in my ear.

I was starting a pot of decaf for the doctor and myself when he had accosted me in the kitchen. I gave him a dirty look and jerked my head toward the sitting room where our three guests were waiting. "Hus.h.!.+" I peeked around the corner to make sure we were alone, then grabbed his arm, and marched him to the pantry. Once there, I spoke as low as I could and hoped these vampires did not have that super-hearing ability I had read about.

"I didn't know exactly when they would be here, Alex. Besides, I didn't know that it was really any of your business."

His eyes widened, "Not my business? I'm here to help you, Sarah. How can I do that if you don't tell me what's going on?"

"Give me a break. I never exactly asked for your help, now did I?" Without realizing it, my voice had risen in frustration. I did not want to get into an argument with Alex at that point, but with all the other c.r.a.p going on around me, I knew I was nearly at my boiling point. "Listen, if you want to help me, and then get out of here. Go try to find Messenger or something. But I do not need your overprotective, unasked-for bulls.h.i.+t right now."

I took a deep breath, put on my best friendly smile and took the coffee tray into the sitting room.

Luanna had settled herself into a recliner near the fireplace with her legs folded under her, and her mud-encrusted red Pradas beneath her on the floor. She was staring into the flames with a pensive expression. Gunter had remained standing and was perusing the family photos on the wall by the door. The doctor straightened on the couch when I entered with the coffee and gladly took a cup. I decided I was probably safer sitting next to the familiar family doctor and tried to relax while I waited for them to start talking.

It was Gunter who began, to my surprise.

"Your father will be missed." His accent hinted at some European upbringing, but I could not nail down the exact country. Germany, maybe.

"He already is." I replied.

"Indeed." The male turned away from the photos and walked over to Luanna. He slid the fingers of one hand along her neck in a rather suggestive move. I looked away, but not before I saw her glance up and smile at him sweetly.

"He was the last male to inherit the position. There will never be another." The vampire lowered himself rather elegantly into the loveseat across from me and crossed his legs. I noticed that his clothes looked very expensive, just like Luanna's, and I wondered vaguely how much they spent on such things. I imagined that they probably lived in some gorgeous Italian villa somewhere. h.e.l.l, I thought, no wonder they look p.i.s.sed off being out here. I actually giggled.

Gunter gave me an annoyed frown and chose to ignore me.

He continued. "In all probability, you may be the last one to shoulder this responsibility."

That snapped me back to reality, "What? Why?"

"The bloodline has been diluted almost completely." Luanna said, languidly turning away from the fire to stare at me with hooded gray eyes. "The ancestor of yours who created the containment field was a pure p.a.w.nee tribesman. You and your sister carry only a very small part of that bloodline. The very last of it, in fact."

I shook my head, "Katie isn't involved in any of this. She has to stay out of it."

"Not to worry, Sarah." The doctor interjected a little too cheerfully, "There's no need for Katie to know about this. Right, Gunter?"

"As long as this one manages to stay alive and follows the rules." The male replied dryly. He leaned back and scrutinized me. "There may be a way to keep the field in operation after both of you die, but it would require a rather delicate agreement."

This guy was sitting across from me talking about my death like it was no big deal, so it was with a great deal of effort that I managed to keep my voice calm as I asked what he meant by that.

"It doesn't matter, darling," Luanna said carefully. "The Council has already determined that she doesn't have the dedication required for that kind of agreement."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." I growled, feeling that anger beginning to rise up in me again. "And what kind of an agreement are we talking about, anyway?"

"I'm curious about that myself, Sarah." Dr. Fleming said. I glanced over at him and he looked as clueless as I was.

Gunter sighed and leaned forward, "I'm not authorized to divulge that information at this point. We are simply here to answer any questions regarding your current situation and handle any immediate problems."

I looked blankly from one vampire's face to the other. Questions? I probably had a hundred or more, certainly more than they could answer in one night.

"Is Michael the only vampire in my custody right now?" I asked.

"No. There are at least a half dozen underground that are here for the long sleep." Luanna replied. "Michael is the only one here against his will."

At least six more vampires were on my property. Fantastic.

"Why was Michael sent here? What did he do?"

Luanna flicked her eyes over to her companion sharply. Gunter acknowledged her look with one delicately raised eyebrow and answered reluctantly, "He turned a human who was under the protection of the Council."

"Why would a human be protected by the Council?"

"It happens occasionally. You, yourself are under Council protection. Any vampire who tried to turn you would suffer the same fate as Michael."

There were a few moments of silence during which the vampires did not blink or move at all. I was not sure they were telling me the whole truth about what Michael was accused of doing. Deciding to change the subject, I took a shallow breath and directed my attention to the doctor, "And what is your part in all of this?"

He wilted a little under my scrutiny, "I am a liaison for the Council. I was an advisor to your father and will be yours, if that is your wish."

"I saw your name in my grandfather's journal."

"My father's name, I suspect. He was the Council's liaison during that time." He pursed his lips together and rubbed absently at one of his bushy white eyebrows, "My duties vary. Being an advisor to your father was only one of my duties. I'm also a healer. For humans and vampires."

"Why would a vampire need a healer? Don't they heal themselves?"

Luanna gave me a patient smile, "We are often referred to as immortal, but that's not exactly the case. We do have the ability to heal minor injuries by drinking the blood of a human. If the wound is very serious, a healer can administer a special mixture of blood that comes from very powerful vampires. It isn't done often."

"So what happens if I decide I don't want to be responsible for this? Be a warden?"

All three of them exchanged careful glances, but it was the doctor who answered my question.

"Then the duty would fall to Katie."

That was the moment that Nelly chose to step into the sitting room with a loaded shotgun aimed directly at Gunter's head.

"You bloodsuckers need to get the h.e.l.l off this property." She stated, "Right now."

Chapter Eight.