Dead Surround - The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles (21 page)

Poe looked down at her hands. “I don’t know what to say about that, Jenna. I can’t control where his eyeballs fall.”

“I just want to know if you loved him so I can get on with my life,” she said. “If you’ve moved on to Maclemar, then I’ll stay with Kaleb. If not, I’ll be on the bus out of here tonight.”

Poe stared out the window at the willow tree where she had attacked Maclemar. She had no future with the master vampire. “No. I don’t love him.

Never have,” she lied. “It was one day of sex, Jenna.

After Megan gives birth, Maclemar will take me on his boat along with my dog and my pig and we’ll get as far away from you vampires as we can. You don’t have anything to worry about.”



Poe nervously tugged down at her shirt and went up the trap door into Sainvire’s room. As if attracted to one of the few light sources in the room, Poe stood by the window away from the unmade mattress on the floor. Quietly he watched her.

“You heard everything, I suppose,” she began.

She squinted at the vampire.

“Most of it, yes.”

“She loves you, and the fact that I’m in this room right now is killing her.” Of the character types from the thousands of movies she’d seen over the years, homewreckers bothered her the most. She did not want to be the other woman.

Sainvire smiled sadly. “I’ve told her from the beginning not to care for me too much. Our relationship is symbiotic. We both need each other to 186

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spread Plasmacore into the hands of every vampire in the world.”

“Then you’re a selfish son of a bitch. You can’t ask that from someone who already loves you.”

He remained quiet, and his eyes never left hers.

“Is there something else you want to say?” she asked after a long bout of prickly silence.

“Yes,” he said after a pause. “There is.”

“Can you tell me what it is? I’m gonna start sneezing if I stay up here another minute.”

“They’re coming this way,” he said evenly.

“We’ve placed barricades to block the highways and country roads, but they’ve got someone with Ed’s strength. A few hours from now, five of our people will lead the rest of the group somewhere safe. I want you and Maclemar on that bus.”

“What’ll happen to Megan?”

“A few of us will stay until she’s well enough to travel.”

Too many thoughts converged at once, leaving her speechless. When she finally found her voice, Poe shook her head and said no. “There’s no way I’m leaving Megan. Isn’t that one of the reasons you got me up here, to take care of her?”

“I wanted you out of the Westside, period. As for babysitting Megan, I’ve changed my mind,” Sainvire said. He looked troubled. “It’s every master vampire’s prerogative.”

“Well I haven’t, Sainvire. And you can’t—”

“They have bulldozers and Hummers to our measly school buses. They’re better equipped,” he said tensely. “While all of us are whittled away by constant worry, they’re invigorated by bloodlust and greed for the reward on our heads.”

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“We’ve fought them before,” Poe said. “We can take them, can’t we?”

“Morales is leaving with the infant tonight.” He avoided answering Poe’s question and massaged his temple instead. “Habib will be going, too. He’s preparing the baby formula as we speak.”

Makes sense to take the baby away from the
looming skirmish, but exactly how many will be left
behind to face the assailants?

“Who besides you and Joseph are staying to protect Megan?”

“Ed and five of my closest friends volunteered.”

“Eight of you against Trench’s police force? Plus Newbitt’s people?” Poe cried. She roughly shoved Sainvire in the chest. “That’s a suicide mission if I’ve ever heard one!”

“The eight of us are mighty persistent, Poe,” he said. He calmly caught hold of the girl’s fist and pulled it against his non-beating heart. “Besides, the men are furiously repairing the chopper as we speak.

You need to be on that bus, or I will not be able to focus knowing your scalp might be hanging on somebody’s belt.”

“Why should you care so much?” she asked tensely, glaring into his black-rimmed gray eyes that seemed to smolder in the half-light.

“It’s the same reason I hear your heart pounding like a locomotive whenever you’re around, Julia,” he said wanly. “I care about you as much as you care about me.”

Poe, taken aback, shook her head.

“Bullshit.”

“Think what you will, Julia. The brief time we spent together has sustained me and kept me from 188

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losing it. If you think I’d rather be in the company of ex-cattle that fear me than in your arms, you really don’t know me at all.”

“Be quiet! The woman you’ve replaced me with so quickly can hear us!”

“She can’t. She doesn’t have my ability to hear from far way,” he said quietly. “She’s been a friend for a long time, and occasionally we sleep together to tone down the pressure of these times.”

“Like I said, the woman loves you,” said Poe, remembering the tortured vampire she left in the sitting room.

“Jenna knows how I feel about you,” he said quietly. “I’ve been upfront from the very beginning.

You ought to know by now when I’m telling the truth.”

“What? I don’t know you at all!” she burst out.

“We’ve only been in each other’s company a little more than ten days total. I delude myself by saying I’m in love with you, but what do I know about it?

Maybe I’ve confused three pleasurable sexual couplings in one day as love. Who knows?”

“Stranger things have happened,” he said while looking intently at Poe.

“Well let me tell you though, Sainvire. There’s no way a refined idealist vampire like you can fall for an ignorant, scarred, and coarse girl like me. It would be like Cary Grant going ga-ga over the uglies in Mike Leigh films.”

“For someone so strong and together, you sure have low self-esteem when it comes to your appearance,” he said furiously. “Have you looked at yourself lately, I mean really looked at yourself?

After a couple days you’ve got Maclemar drooling 189

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over you. He’s a good looking man, so it’s fair to say he could have any woman or vampire in this camp.

Does he take advantage? I don’t think so. You know why?” he asked, bringing his heated face inches from Poe’s. “Well?”

“No, you dick, I don’t!”

“Because you’re a goddamn beautiful woman with muscles and brain to match,” he said a little less harshly. “Scars only add to your appeal because you’re a damn survivor. And really, scars or not, who’d object with a body like yours?”

His face was so close she could almost feel the dead coolness of his skin. Her hand, still imprisoned in his, would not be dislodged.

“Let go, or I’ll beat the shit out of you,” she threatened as a last resort.

Fully cognitive of what Sainvire was about to do, Poe closed her eyes when he dipped his mouth into hers. His generous mouth left her shivery while his cold tongue coaxed itself into her tightly shut lips. He gave her goosebumps that led to a sigh which paved the way for a fully realized kiss. Like Maclemar, Sainvire’s skill was devastating but in a quite different way. His cold lips were familiar and wonderful and had been part of her dreams for months on end.

She didn’t know when he released her hand, but she discovered later that it had snaked around his neck on its own volition. His arms twined around her waist to bring her closer to him.

“Stop. Jenna—” Poe said breathlessly. She led his hand away from where it explored under her shirt.

“This sex thing won’t get me on the bus tonight, you know. I’m staying because my friend asked me to.”

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He tightened his hold on her waist and traced the round firmness of her behind. “Let’s not talk about this. We only have a few hours together.” Savoring her, he traced a trail of kisses from her neck to the makeshift vee of her shirt. “I’ve wanted to touch you for so long it’s become an ache. When I saw you with Maclemar, I nearly tore his throat out.”

“Was that why you interrupted our encounter?”

she asked irately.

Sainvire shrugged. “Even a vampire like me can get jealous, sweetheart.”

“You’re just gonna have to keep your libido and jealousies in check, Sainvire,” said Poe. She struggled out of his embrace. It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. “I need you to let me inside the armory, the little closet downstairs.”

The Y-shaped vein on his the edge of his forehead throbbed like the rest of his body. His dark mood could not be hidden by the shadows of the attic, but he didn’t break his silence.

“Look, Sainvire. As much as I want to be kissed by you all over, there’s this thing called fear that’s taken over my lust. I want to survive. I want the people I love to make it. I want to see that the baby has a mom to raise him,” she said. She trembled.

Standing on her toes, Poe kissed Sainvire on the mouth for ages.

“We’ll settle this thing between us later,” she said in a husky voice. “Now please, show me to the gun room.”



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There wasn’t much of a selection left. The little closet had a crate of bullets heavily saturated in garlic oil, a couple dozen Kevlar vests, assorted knives, and a few double-barreled shotguns. The firearms were limited to Smith & Wesson revolvers, heavy as hell with an afterbite.

“This is it?” Poe asked. She was flabbergasted.

“Afraid so,” Sainvire answered, his face inscrutable. “Take what you need.”

“Do you have any more clips?”

Sainvire pulled from under the vests a square cookie tin stocked with over twenty magazines.

“Take as many as you want. Everything’s been distributed. Get some for Maclemar, too. He might need it in case the bus is attacked. Some of the folks riding with you have terrible eye-hand coordination.”

“Thanks, but I’m not getting on that bus,” said Poe. She felt like they were saying a final goodbye.

She filled the clips with the strongest and most damaging hollow-point, spitzer, and lead-ensconced bullets, stuffing as many as she could in her pack.

While she rifled through the arsenal, Sainvire excused himself then promptly reappeared.

“This might come in handy,” he said as he handed her a Calico 9mm. “I’ve been meaning to give it to you.”

“What is it, a sub-machine gun?” Poe asked with awe in her voice. The twenty-inch, double-grip firearm looked like a throwback from old World War II movie props.

“I think it’s a Para pistol. This thing holds up to a hundred rounds, but once you’re out of bullets, chuck it,” he said pensively. “It’s hell to reload. Also, this thing is for ambidextrous shooters like you. If you 192

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hold the grip too close to the trigger guard, there’s a danger ejected cases will burn and damage your palm. Aside from being unpredictable, this gun should be useful to you.”

“Maybe you’ll need it more than me,” she said.

Her brown eyes were huge.

“If you can’t fly and puncture metal with your nails, then you’ll need it more than me,” he said with a smile. “Don’t worry. I have my own stash in my room.”

“Much obliged then,” she said. “Does this mean you’re not going to force me to go?”

“Guess so,” he sighed with exaggeration.

“You need to relax, man,” Poe said. She shook her head then added with a grin, “Can’t you tell I’m not going to live that long?”

Sainvire’s face darkened. He didn’t like Poe’s lighthearted attempt at a joke. “Do you and Maclemar already have Kevlar?”

“He does. From Jorge.”

“Ah. I better find one that fits you,” he said, rifling through the vests. When he found a small one, he insisted she put it on without delay.

“Isn’t it a little early for this, not to mention hot?”

“It’s never too early for extra protection. As for the weather, it will cool down soon enough.” Without much of a choice Poe donned the vest with Sainvire’s help.

“Maybe you should wear your hooded sweatshirt over this vest. It will fend off the apprehension among the last batch.”

“Satisfied now?” she asked peevishly after zipping up her black hoody.

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“Very,” he nodded.

“Just do me one more favor, Poe,” he said. “Try not to die.”

“I’ll try to avoid it as much as possible,” she said acerbically. “Anything else?”

“Yes. Just one.” He traced the scar on her face with his index finger. “I love you.”

With a what-the-fuck look Poe crumpled to the ground, unconscious from the blow to the back of the head. The vampire had clunked her skull with a rock hard fist.

“And because I feel that strongly about you, I’m not going to let you die,” he said, finishing his thought.

Carefully he lifted her inert form and her pack and deposited her to the nearest unoccupied room.

“Such a small thing,” he mumbled and glanced down her face. “Yet the amount of damage you can do is staggering.”

194

DEAD HEADLIGHTS ILLUMINATED NOTHING. The school bus hummed and rumbled in the dark, occasionally squashing debris and indiscriminately mashing the odd creatures that crossed the road. The vehicle, painted black, narrowly circumvented thrashing its third bumper soldered by Maclemar for extra protection. Though crooked and rusty, the harmless metal could puncture tires and kick-start headaches to those aboard the yellow bus. The driver, a vampire named Sarah, did manage to mow down a Revenent wearing a tattered evening gown to the delight of extremely tense passengers.

“Good one, Sarah,” a twitchy man from the back complemented. Like most of the passengers, he draped a protective arm around a crate. His contained three miserable chickens deprived of sleep. Others held rope leashes latched to the neck of small goats that smelled as pleasant as foot fungus.

Wearing high-quality image intensifier night vision goggles, Sarah was able to sideswipe a grime-faced undead, half-raving from starvation. The tattered beings seemed to pour out of the countryside.

No human traveled the Pacheco Pass much anymore.