Blood Struck (14 page)

“How did you feel about that?” I half-turned to look at him, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was gazing into the distance, lost in another time, another place.

“At first I was angry. I missed my family and felt like my future had been stolen from me. I would spare you this bitterness if I could.” He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Still, I am not so unhappy now. I have seen such miracles, lived to see one era fade into the next and now technology will bring us to the heights of gods. Drinking blood seems a small price to pay.”

“Drinking blood is not the only cost, is it?” I asked thinking of the non-stop violence that had ensued since we’d met. “Do vampires always go around playing shoot ‘em up and ripping off heads?”

Kristos went still again. “We have our moments, yes. Mostly we coexist peacefully, especially in the modern era, but you will bring out the worst in us, Myra.”

“There’s one thing I don’t get.” I rolled over to face him. “How did they know about me? I think I understand why vampires want me, but how did they find me?” I’d gone twenty-five years without a peep and then all hell had broken loose.

Kristos didn’t meet my eyes for once. “In one word, it’s genetics. Vampires want to make better vampires. You do that by finding and turning descendants of powerful vampires. Cousins or surviving children’s children are believed to have the potential to be stronger than others of our kind. Someone must have seen Devon’s name on the birth certificate.”

“That simple?”

He nodded. “That simple. Some vampires want to bring over their families for sentimental reasons. Others are more mercenary about building a power base. Someone found out about you.”

“Do you think it’s because I became a blood courtesan? Madame Rouge had enough information to do a background check.”

He shrugged. “That’s possible. Or maybe you just came up on a search. I’ve known vampires that actively collected humans who had the same DNA as a powerful vampire.”

I made a face at the idea of being stalked for my genetic material. “Could it be my dad looking for me?” Was he still out there somewhere? Would I ever meet him?

“I suppose, but Devon’s been gone for so long you should prepare yourself for the idea that he’s met his final death.” He wrapped his arms around me again and pulled me close. “Now rest, love. Tomorrow night will be busy and we don’t want to be fatigued.”

“Kristos?”

“Rest, Myra,” he chided.

“Just one more question.” I twisted around to look at him. “Where is your maker now?”

A shadow crossed his face. “He died the final death.”

I cupped his cheek in my hand. “I’m sorry.”

He gave a little shrug and despite the shadow that crossed his face, he said, “It was a long time ago.”

We shared a companionable silence after that. Kristos pulled me tight against him and buried his face in the nape of my neck as if seeking comfort. I leaned into him wanting to give him what solace I could and before I knew it, I was asleep.

Chapter Twelve

I slept until early afternoon the next day. My stomach woke me, growling and wanting to be fed. Grumbling about my incessant need to eat, I used the bathroom and then poked around in the meager kitchen. Locating some bread, butter and jam I made toast.

As I ate, I went through the owner’s mail, which was piled on the kitchen counter. Her name was Charlene Townsend and she got a lot of catalogs. I set those aside to look at later and flipped through her bills out of idle curiosity about the woman who had slept with Kristos before me. A large manila envelope rested at the bottom of the pile and when I found it already open, I pulled out the contents which turned out to be several news clippings.

I scanned them recognizing the name Townsend. The clippings were old, dating back to the nineteen fifties and checking the envelope again I found copies of news stories from the eighteen hundreds.

None of the stories were all that interesting. One from 1880 talked about someone named Charles Townsend who’d bought some land and built a school house for a small town in rural Georgia. They were so grateful the newspaper did a full write up, droning on and on and on about the man like he was some saint. They covered his parents, where they grew up, where he grew up,  his schooling and his marital status. There was also a picture of him standing in front of what looked to be a one room schoolhouse constructed of clapboard, He was a weird looking guy with a lean, tall face and one of those old-timey square beards.

I set everything down for a second to put more bread in the toaster. While it toasted, I gathered up all the clippings intent on putting them back in the envelope, but one of the articles caught my eye. This one was an actual newspaper clipping from 1959. The picture it contained stopped me short. It was of a man who looked a lot like the Charles Townsend of 1880. The beard had disappeared, but he hadn’t aged one bit.

Curious, I pulled out the 1880 piece again and compared the two pictures as a shiver went up my spine. My conversation with Kristos came back to me. If this Charles Townsend was a vampire back then, he was probably related to Charlene. Was she on some kind of DNA hit list too?  Was she on the run just like me?

I put the clippings back in the envelope and tried to arrange the mail to look natural, like no one had been combing through it. A red folder then caught my eye. It hadn’t been in the mail pile but off to the side. I flipped it open and my jaw dropped as I read the letter on top.

Mr. Townsend:

My name is Charlene and we’re distant cousins, related on your mother’s side. I would like to meet with you to discuss our family.

Something you may not know is we have a gene that makes us prone to cancer. It killed my mother, her mother, and both my sisters. It stretches generations back in our family tree. As far as I can tell, cancer killed your own mother. Myself, I already have some early cell changes that indicate the beginning stages of cancer.

I don’t want to die like the other women in my family and you are my only option. I want to live and I’ll do anything I have to in order to do so.

I stopped reading at that point as the letter went on to give contact information that didn’t interest me. Returning the letter to its folder, I riffled through the other papers inside which consisted of dull genealogy research. Charlene had done her homework. Nothing interesting caught my eye so I set the folder back on the counter.

My mind whirled. I didn’t blame Charlene at all for taking such a drastic step. Maybe it was something I should consider for myself. Up until then I’d thought the whole ‘to be or not to be a bloodsucker’ debate was about keeping me safe from my attackers, but what if I had the same genes Charlene did?

I blinked and the image of my emaciated grandmother lying in a hospital bed came to mind. She’d lasted a month after her diagnosis. Cancer was hell on earth. Even the kind they could cure was no picnic. Shoot, if I’d known about my father before, I might’ve approached him on my mother’s behalf. Becoming a vampire couldn’t be worse than failed chemo, right?

Disconcerted by Charlene and the questions her situation raised for me, I busied myself with making even more toast—hey, I was hungry. Wanting to distract myself I took the catalogs to the couch and indulged in some fantasy retail while munching on the toast. Charlene got some nice catalogs; she was clearly in a much higher income bracket than me.

An hour later found me restlessly roaming the apartment. It was hours until dark. The catalogs hadn’t lasted for long and there was nothing on TV but sappy soap operas, PBS kid shows and Judge Judy. Charlene didn’t have extended cable. I wanted to call my mom, but Kristos had confiscated my cell phone saying something about vampires monitoring and tracing calls. For ancient myths, they were pretty up with the times.

When I spotted an old-school button phone by the front door, I couldn’t resist the temptation. Surely they wouldn’t be tracking such old technology? My mom was under an assumed name anyway. There was nothing linking us and I needed to hear her voice.

I lifted the receiver and smiled when I heard a dial tone. After a good fifteen minutes of calling information and making my way through department after department I finally reached my mom.

“Honey!” Her voice was breezy and carefree. She sounded thrilled to hear from me.

“Mom,” I said. “How are things going?” It was so good to hear her voice. Even with my life in danger there was always background worry about my mom. Was she safe? How was her cancer? Would she live?

“I’m doing great. I’m in a new drug trial and it’s working really well. I might be done next week.”

“That’s great, mom.” The news eased my worries somewhat. As CEO of a large conglomerate with medical interests, Kristos had been able to pull some serious strings at his company to arrange cutting-edge medical care for my mom. Thanks to him, she had a better chance than ever at surviving cancer.

“How are you doing? Did everything work out with the internship?”

I winced at the reminder of my lie. “Yeah. It looks like I got the job,” I said. Given that I didn’t know when this would be all over it was probably a good idea to let her think I was occupied with a high powered internship.

“That’s fantastic. I’ll have to come to the city and see you once I have the all clear.”

“Sure, that would be great.” I paused, hesitating over what I was about to say next. “Hey mom, what can you tell me about my dad?” I held my breath waiting for her response. It was a long shot—we’d never talked much about him—but maybe she could shed some light on things.

“I was only with him that one night. I’m not proud of that, Myra and I don’t recommend it, but I guess I got swept up in the moment. Your father was very charismatic. He had the most beautiful eyes.” Her voice grew distant as her memory came to the fore.

I grimaced at the mention of eyes. It sounded like falling under a vampire’s spell ran in the family.“You never saw him again?”

“No. I looked for him when I found out I was pregnant, but it was like he never existed. I put his name on your birth certificate hoping he would come find us someday. Why do you ask?”

I twisted the phone cord around my hand, unsure of how much to say. We’d managed to keep the fact that she’d been kidnapped by vampires from her, for her sake as much as mine. As far as she knew some whacko had snatched her and we had tracked her down. She had yet to notice there’d been no police or question why she woke up in Kristos’ bed. Being hit on the head and possibly drugged has its good points, I guess.

“Honey?” my mom prompted concerned by my long silence.

I gave myself a little shake. “Sorry, it’s just that I met someone who might’ve known him. Just curious, that’s all.”

“Oh, do tell?” Excitement brightened her voice.

“I will, but later. I have to go right now. Kristos is waiting for me,” I said with as much conviction as I could muster. Lying to my mom didn’t feel good, but I was nowhere near ready to discuss the truth and I doubted she was ready to hear it. “Call you later?”

“All right, honey. Take care of yourself. Love you.”

“Love you too, mom.” I hung up and stared at the receiver. I wanted to cry. Everything was such a mess.

“Evening,” said Kristos.

I jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to find him standing practically right next to me wearing just a loose pair of pajama pants. Had he been listening the whole time? I looked to the bay window at the front of the living room, noting the creeping shadows of dusk. “You’re up.”

“And you’re getting into trouble as usual.” He gestured to the phone. “It’s not safe to call her right now.”

I stood up and faced him. “I thought you just meant on my cell phone.” Annoyance flashed through me. “Besides, she’s my mom and she’s sick. I have to stay in touch.”

He crossed his arms over his bare chest and leveled a stern gaze at me. I met it, unflinching and ready to fight.

“Why don’t you change my mom?” I asked.

The question surprised him and he raised his eyebrows. “Myra,”

“I mean, it would stop the cancer right?” It made sense for Charlene why not my mom?

Kristos gripped my shoulders. “Myra,” he said again, in a soft soothing voice. The kind of tone people use to break bad news. “She’s sick and weak. Turning her could kill her.”

I shrugged off his hands. “If she gets better? If she goes into remission?”

He tilted his head and looked at me. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” My voice went up an octave. “Isn’t the whole point to raise someone from the dead?”

Kristos frowned. “Cancer isn’t like other mortal wounds. It eats you from the inside. I can raise a man who’s been shot or stabbed. The loss of blood can be overcome, although even then it can be risky. Cancer rots you from within and can lead to a diseased vampire. Even if someone can be raise, not everyone should be.”

Thinking of Charlene I asked, “What if you only have a few active cancer cells? If you’ve caught it early?”

He looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. It’s not something that vampires have worried about. I suppose given how prevalent pre-cancerous cell mutations are that it’s possible people have been turned in the early stages. As far as knowing that and following what happened next?” He shook his head. “It hasn’t been done.”

“But if you could turn her, you would, right?”

Kristos pursed his lips. He didn’t like my question. “Myra—”

“It’s a yes or no question.” I crossed my arms and glared at him. “How could you be so quick to change me and not my mom?”

“Because you’re one of us, she’s not. Does she even want to be a vampire? Believe it or not, some people don’t welcome this life. I don’t see you lining up to claim your heritage.” At that last statement he hit me with the full force of his gaze. My knees threatened to buckled, but I held firm through sheer force of will.

The truth of what he said warred with what I wanted. For myself. For my mom.

He raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Listen, no decision has to be made now. How about we see what happens? Would that be enough for you?” His tone was pleading. He didn’t want to fight. Not about this.