In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete First Season: Episodes 1-5 (32 page)

“
He says it’s coming along, but he was on a ‘break,’ if that’s what you call shagging a hot psycho gypsy woman.” Sheila rolled her eyes.

Vanora felt like Sheila had hit her with a truck. “What?”

“Some hot as hell chick was there. Carlotta.” Sheila exaggerated the name, rolling the “r” off her tongue. “A vampire I’ve never seen before.”

Vanora could feel Alisha staring at her, but Vanora pretended to be interested in her sister’s paint pallets, sorting them on the work table by size.

“So he introduced her as his girlfriend?” Alisha leaned against the table, her arm brushing against Vanora’s.

The warmth of her sister’s love sifted over Vanora like a soft snowfall. She could almost hear her sister’s voice whispering to her to be calm.

“No, no. He played it all off that she was an ‘old friend’ from back home.” Sheila made quotes with her fingers while rolling her eyes.

“
So why don’t you believe him?” Vanora asked, trying sound nonchalant.

“
Because this woman is no one’s old friend. Trust me. Plus, Sultry-and-Gorgeous was really uneasy throughout our visit. Even Alexander noticed, and he tends to be oblivious.” Sheila gradually became aware of Alisha’s uncomfortable expression and Vanora’s averted face. “Oh, I mean, maybe they were once together, but now…”

“
It’s just a stupid crush,” Vanora said. “He’s a four hundred year old vampire. I’m seventeen. He’s just…”

“
Obscenely hot?” Sheila suggested.

“
Yeah.”

“
You should totally fuck him!” Sheila plunked her heavy boots onto the floor and leaned forward. “I mean, he’s fucking hot as hell. And vampires are so good in bed. Trust me. All those years of experience. Wow. You should totally get him into bed.”

Alisha winced, shaking her head.

Vanora covered her face in embarrassment.

“
You already fucked him?” Sheila sounded lost.

“
No!” Vanora set her head down on the work table. “Gawd, does everyone know about my crush?”

“
Yeah. Even Alexander notices and he’s-”

“
Oblivious,” Vanora muttered.

“
Yeah.” Sheila hesitated. “But you should still totally fuck Armando.”

“
Sheila!” Alisha flung up her hands. “Stop embarrassing her.”

“
She’s seventeen, for god’s sake! Back in the day she’d be an old maid!”

The door opened and Vanora lifted her head to see Alexander slip in. Dressed in tight black jeans, a Sex Pistols sleeveless t-shirt, and his long black hair hanging over his shoulders, he looked a bit like a rock god. The only thing that detracted from his beauty was the obscene scar on his neck. The mute vampire sprawled out on his partner’s lap, draping one arm over her shoulders.

“So Vanora should totally fuck Armando, right, babe?”

Alexander barely had time to nod before Roman peered in. “What about Armando?”

“He’s dating some new vampire in town,” Vanora said, hoping to divert all attention from herself and her need to cry for several hours…or maybe years.

“
Huh. Maybe he’ll bring her to the Halloween Ball.” Roman looked around the studio. “Did you change something in here?”

Alisha rolled her eyes, then pointed to the massive new storage cabinet.

“That’s new?” Roman blinked, confused.

Leaning over Alexander’s arm, Sheila looked at Vanora, a conspiratorial smile on her face. “Obviously,
some
people have noticed
certain
things.”

“
I knew something was different,” Roman said, frowning.

Sheila mouthed,
Go for it.

Alexander nodded, agreeing.

Alisha shook her head adamantly.

“
I’m not oblivious,” Roman protested, completely missing all points of the conversation.

Even Vanora laughed.

***

“
Want to talk about it?”

“
No.” Vanora stared through her canopy at the ceiling.

Alisha settled on the bed next to her. “Not even a little bit?”

“Nope.”

“
Maybe she’s just a-”

Holding up one hand, Vanora shushed Alisha. “No.”

Biting her lower lip, Alisha struggled to not continue. It was hard to see her sister in pain and not do something about it. The desire to meddle was almost overwhelming. But wasn’t this exactly the same sort of thing that drove her nuts about Roman? Fixing her ponytail, she struggled to not say what was on the tip of her tongue. Running the words through her mind, she recognized how much she’d sound like Roman talking to her about Sin.

The mere thought of Sin made her hurt.

“Do you ever dream about Mom?”

Leaning back on her hands, Alisha sighed. “I used to.”

“I dreamt about Mom. On my birthday.” Vanora’s voice had an odd quality to it. It was unnerving.

“
Was it a good dream?” Somehow, Alisha doubted it was.

“
It was about the accident. Dad was in the car. It was on fire. But Mom was in the water, in the river. I could see that someone had stabbed her.” Tears slid down into Vanora’s hair.

Alisha felt the fine hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end. “She died in the fire,” Alisha said, gently rubbing Vanora’s hand. It felt unusually cold.

“Mom was warning me about someone. She wanted to protect me from someone who was going to hurt me.” Vanora wiped at the moisture collecting along her hairline.

Alisha opened her mouth, then quickly shut it. It was best not to assume it was about Armando, if it was an actual warning.

“I’m just like her, you know. I can feel things. I can sometimes pick up what people are feeling, almost hear their thoughts. It’s like there’s this static field around me that plugs into everything and everyone. It hurts.”

Leaning over her sister, Alisha kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry, baby.” She gently combed the silky pale tresses from her sister’s face.

“If I could just control it somehow, it would make things so much easier,” Vanora continued, small hitches in her voice. “I couldn’t understand what Mom was warning me about. It’s not Armando. I know it can’t be.”

“
Vanora, what happened between you and him?”

“
It can’t be him,” Vanora said again. “It can’t be. Because when he kissed me I felt…”

“
He kissed you?” Alisha had the strong desire to go rip Armando’s head off his shoulders and beat him with it.

Rolling over, Vanora clung to Alisha, her arms around her waist. At times like these she was more of a daughter than sister. “He cares about me. I felt his emotions. And he was afraid, too. So it can’t be him, right? He wouldn’t hurt me if he cares about me.”

Alisha thought of Sin and how much she had hurt him. She’d loved him so much and in the end she had walked away. “It’s not that simple. Love is never simple.”

“
So what do I do?”

“
Well, I say ignore the bastard while he’s not here. Just…live your life. Go have fun. Armando is doing whatever it is he needs to do and you do the same. Maybe the dream about Mom is about a broken heart and being afraid of someone hurting you. She always took such good care of us and if she was here I know she’d say the right thing.”

“
Roman says I look like her.”

“
You do. You’re tiny-boned like she was. Bird-like. My little swan. I’m all clunky like Dad. I got that Socoli height and broad shoulders.” Alisha playfully flexed her muscles. “I am Wonder Woman!”

Vanora sat up, a smile slowly seeping onto her lips. “What about my albinism?”

Smoothing out Vanora’s disheveled hair, Alisha gave her a tender look. “Mom said it’s from her side of the family. Another gift to you from her.”

“
The dream, Alisha, it was so real. Like it really happened.”

“
But it didn’t. Mom and Dad never made it out of the car, Vanora. Besides, who would stab Mom? It makes no sense.”

“
She said it was because whoever would hurt me would be stopped by her. They were eliminating her to get to me.”

“
Then, I’ll stop whoever tries to hurt you.”

“
Because you’re Wonder Woman.”

At times like these Vanora looked like a little girl again, not a young woman about to seize hold of life. “No, because I love you.”

Much to Alisha’s relief, the conversation turned to other topics and Vanora’s tears finally faded. By the time she left her sister’s room and entered her studio, she felt exhausted, hungry, and anxious. Walking to the far side of the large room, she placed her hands on the two wall sconces and pushed. The secret hideaway slid open. Stuffed with so many paintings that Alisha never wanted anyone to see, she wasn’t even able to slip inside anymore. Her grandfather had built the secret room out of paranoia. Ironic that she now used it to hide her premonition paintings because she was just as paranoid. Carys’s powers had manifested in visions, Vanora apparently could sense emotions and had vivid dreams, but Alisha’s abilities were trapped within her artwork. She never wanted anyone to see them, but she couldn’t bear to destroy them either.

It took a while, but she finally found the canvas she was searching for. Drawing it out, she stared at it in despair.

It was of her mother floating in a river, fire on the far bank, and a full moon partially obscured by the silhouette of a tall, muscled man hovering before it. Closing her eyes, she pressed her hand to the center of the painting, covering the jeweled dagger she had painted. It was plunged into Carys’s chest.

“
What does it mean?” she whispered, but there was no answer.

Her paintings were full of symbolism, parables of the truth. The figure in the sky didn’t resemble Armando. The shape reminded her much more of Sin’s tall, sleek musculature. With a sigh, she shoved it back among the other paintings. Roman would never believe her story and Vanora was already frightened enough.

Alisha would just have to stay alert and hopefully be able to decipher what Vanora’s dream and her painting truly meant.

Halloween 2007

Vanora rushed to the front door as soon as she heard the doorbell ring. She’d been escorting vampires into the ballroom since the party started an hour after sunset at eight. Her excuse was that she was trying to be helpful, but she was very anxious about Armando’s arrival. It was nearly nine, and most of the guests had already arrived. She was terrified that he wouldn’t actually show up, and she was certain her heart couldn’t handle that development.

Yanking the door open, she squealed with delight.

Sheila and Alexander stood on the threshold of the Socoli mansion. She was dressed as Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and he was Gary Oldman’s version. Sheila twirled her long satin cape, while Alexander tipped his gray top hat.

“Great costumes!” Vanora declared as she greeted them.

Sheila, grinned. “Happy Halloween, Vanora. Glad you like the duds. Took Alexander here forever to get ready.”

Alexander shrugged, but smiled.

“
You’re really fancy! Who are you?”

“
Cinderella’s fairy godmother,” Vanora responded, modeling her opulent gown of white chiffon and silk.  A tiara sparkled in her hair and she had a rhinestone wand in one hand.

“
Not Cinderella?” Sheila asked in surprise.

“
Fuck her. I want the power!” Vanora winked

“
I like your style,” Sheila said, laughing.

“
Come in! The party is in full swing.”

Vanora steered the new guests through the foyer and down a long hallway. With great flourish, she flung open the doors to the large ballroom decorated in opulent, elegant Halloween décor. It was packed with people clad in outrageous costumes, dancing to the music blaring forth from strategically placed speakers. Roman, dressed as Zorro, gallantly strode up to his new guests to greet them.

“Happy Halloween,” Roman said, eyeing Sheila. “Why didn’t you dress up, Sheila?”

“
Very funny, Roman.”

Next to her, Alexander smirked.

Roman kissed Sheila’s cheek.  “Let’s just say the costume isn’t much of a stretch.”

Sheila playfully hissed at him, baring truly fake-looking plastic fangs, then tugged Alexander toward some friends.

Vanora smacked Roman with her wand. “You’re so mean.”

“
Eh. I have that whole anti-Dracula thing going, you know.”

“
Roman, you look like Dracula dressed as Zorro.”