Kiss of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Realm Book 2) (20 page)

I pressed my finger and thumb to the bridge of my nose and massaged the inner corners of my eyes. I really wished that Hugo didn’t feel the need to make everything such a mystery. Loyalty was a good quality in a person, but I believed he was taking it too far. Maybe Haley had a point with the need for cell phones. It would have been so convenient to just call my family and ask if everything was alright.

I went to my room and packed only my essentials. I didn’t need much in terms of clothing at the moment. I knew Haley would feel awkward about accepting the clothes and shoes I intended to lavish upon her. I thought that if I purchased just as many things for myself it might lessen her discomfort.

Sitting at my desk, I wrote a few quick letters to inquire after my family. The first was to my father. I was completely frank with him about my concerns while neatly avoiding any mention that I had become a maker. My father and I did not have a close relationship. He didn’t approve of me and I didn’t like him. I loved him of course, he was my dad, but I didn’t really like him.

Next I wrote to half-a-dozen friends and acquaintances. I kept the tone light and only mildly inquisitive. Vampires were such a pack of gossips and I didn’t want to inadvertently start a nasty rumor about my own kin. It felt strange to me that a large number of the undead chose to spend eternity spreading malicious rumors about each other. It seemed like such a waste of immortality.

But then I thought about my own behavior until recently. I hadn’t exactly been making good use of my time. I’d frittered away quite a few decades on parties and escapades. There had been times when I had been productive, but mostly there had been wasted years. I regretted my foolishness.

Now I had Haley. Somehow being with her made me want to be a better man. I would show her the world and educate her to the ways of the undead. But I also wanted to do something for mankind. If I set my mind to it, I knew there had to be a way I could make the world a better place. Haley inspired me and I wanted to prove that I was worthy of her love.

And speaking of Haley, where the devil was she? It felt like she’d been gone for a week.

I consulted my watch. If Haley had flown straight down to Kentucky, spoke with her mother for an hour and then flown straight back, I would still have to wait a minimum of forty-five minutes to see her again. It was taking forever.

I addressed the envelopes to my letters and adhered the proper postage. That only took ten minutes. There had to be something else I could do to fill the time. How did mortals spend the night time before they climbed in their beds? I thought of television. That seemed to be a good way to while away the hours. But did the castle even have a television? There had to be one somewhere. I immediately thought to ring for Hugo, but then refrained. I’d made too much of a fool out of myself in front of the giant already. I didn’t want to make matters worse by asking how to use a television. My time would be better spent reading a book.

Except I couldn’t find a book that held my attention. The castle had a library crammed full of old volumes but nothing caught my eye. I snapped shut the third novel I had pursued without actually taking in one word. Surely Haley would be back soon. I couldn’t imagine she wasn’t as eager as I was to be together. She probably only spent half an hour explaining things to her mother and saying goodbye. She must have been on her way to the castle at that instant. I hurried to my quarters to freshen my appearance and then stepped out onto the front porch to await my scion’s arrival.

After ten minutes of scanning the skies I grew impatient. Where the devil was she? I thought back to our conversation before she’d left. We’d agreed that she would come directly to the castle after her return. Hadn’t we? I began to wonder if there had been some miscommunication. Maybe she was expecting me to meet her at her uncle’s house. I decided to head over there just to be sure.

It only took me a few minutes to fly across town. Haley was staying in an area that used to be referred to as the wrong side of the tracks. But soon she would be clad in finery and jewels. And if she wanted to help her uncle to eventually gain a better dwelling, then that was fine by me. I was ready to fulfill her smallest whim.

I had to chuckle at myself. I used to be so proud of my scoundrel reputation. I thought any undead who attached themselves to a single mate were fools. And there I was, ready to devote eternity to Miss Haley Scott, if only she were willing.

As I drew closer to Uncle Kevin’s abode I thought I heard voices. It sounded like Haley was having an argument with another female. At first I couldn’t imagine who it could be. But then my stomach lurched. It had to be Ilona. No mortal was up at four in the morning. I scanned the area, trying to locate my progeny.

“Just leave us alone, you psycho bitch,” Haley was saying in a controlled voice. “Leave me alone, leave my mom alone, and leave Dorian alone. Just go away and find someone else to harass.”

“You think you’re so special,” Ilona said with a sneer.

“No, I don’t think I’m special,” Haley told her. “I’ve never thought I was special. I’m just trying to live my life. Or my death. Or whatever it is that I’m doing right now. And I don’t understand why you keep shoving your nose in where it doesn’t belong. None of this has anything to do with you.”

They weren’t in front of the house, I noted as I landed on the lawn. I remembered there was a side entrance close to the garage. Maybe that was where they were arguing. I started jogging around to the right of the building.

“Don’t turn away from me,” I heard Ilona snarl. “I’m not finished with you yet.” And then in a louder voice she shouted, “Haley, what are you doing? Get away from me with that stake! Help! Help!”

There was the eardrum shattering wail of a siren. I fell to my knees pressing my hands to my ears. It was deafeningly loud for vampires, but at a frequency not discernible by most mortals. Every dog in the neighborhood immediately started to howl and babies wailed in their beds.

Struggling to my feet, I staggered toward the garage. The siren was some kind of vampire warning system. I knew something had to be horribly wrong. I saw two figures in the driveway near Uncle Kevin’s pickup truck. Ilona was scooting across the driveway in a fast crab-walk on her hands and feet with her bottom skimming the ground. Haley was standing near the side door, bent over, her hands covering her ears. A stake was tumbling to the ground at her feet as if she had just dropped it.

“Haley!” I yelled, but I could barely hear my own voice over the siren. “Haley!”

I thought that somehow she had heard me. She turned in my direction, her eyes searching the night. Then out of nowhere a net was tossed over her and she began to scream. I knew it must have been made out of silver. Four vampires dressed in black uniforms and wearing black helmets descended from the sky. The siren suddenly stopped. The dogs stopped howling. The babies kept crying, but that’s what babies did when startled from their slumber.

The four soldiers were wearing heavy gloves so they were able to scoop up the silver net with Haley still inside of it. She was crouched into ball, moaning and trying not to let any portion of her skin touch the metal.

“What the devil is going on here?” I demanded, charging forward. “Why have you accosted my progeny?”

“Bishops’ orders,” one of the men told me, He was apparently in charge. “We’ve had reports of unlawful activity in this area.”

The men must have been part of some type of Bishop police force or military unit. I mentally kicked myself for knowing so little about how our ruling body was structured.

“That may very well be,” I said, “but what has that got to do with my scion?”

“I had to tell them,” Ilona said, stepping forward while removing something from her ears. It looked like wax. That explained why she hadn’t buckled over in pain when the siren went off. And the soldiers obviously had some type of built-in ear protection in their helmets.

“Tell them what?” I spun around to confront her. “What have you done?”

Ilona suddenly looked very wide-eyed and innocent in her black leather. “I told them just exactly what you told me. You couldn’t keep control of your scion. She was running wild in small town America and putting us all in danger.”

“I never said any of that,” I insisted. “You’re taking my words out of context.” I turned to the vampire in charge. “She’s making things up because she has some kind of grudge against me. My progeny is innocent.”

“That’s for the Bishops to decide,” the soldier informed me. It was obvious he had no wish to get involved with anything beyond carrying out his orders. Arguing with him was probably useless. I would have to go through official channels to iron everything out and regain Haley’s liberty.

“Well you don’t have to drag her off like an animal,” I insisted standing my ground, but trying not to appear confrontational. “It’s not like she’s resisting arrest. I am Dorian Vanderlind and I will officially vouch for her. I guarantee she will cooperate to the fullest extent of the law.”

There was a moment where I could tell the soldier was deciding whether he should club me with his silver baton or acquiesce to my request. Fortunately, the Vanderlind name carried some weight with the undead community. I’m sure he knew I could cause him all sorts of grief if he was overly disrespectful. “Put her down,” the leader ordered his troops. “We’ll just cuff her, as long as she doesn’t try anything.”

When they uncovered my poor Haley, her skin was sizzling. I knew she would heal almost instantly, but I still felt rage bubbling up from my very soul. I wanted to stake the uniformed men right through their hearts. They may have just been following orders, but that didn’t matter to me. I hated them all.

“Dorian, what’s going on?” Haley asked. I could tell she was trying not to cry as they bound her hands behind her back using silver handcuffs. Fortunately they deployed cuffs that had been lined with leather. They would only burn Haley if she tried to break free of them. “Did you tell someone I was a being problem or something?” she asked.

“No,” I told her, stepping forward to take her in my arms, but immediately being thrust back by one of the vampires in uniform.

“He’s lying,” Ilona said, tossing her crimson curls. “He told me all about what a little trouble maker you are. In fact, he half considered staking you himself.”

Haley looked at me, her eyes as large as saucers. “Why would you do this?” she asked.

“Ilona’s lying,” I insisted. “I never said anything of the kind. This is all just one big misunderstanding.”

Three of the uniformed men rose up into the air, dragging Haley behind them. “Haley, please don’t worry,” I called after her. “I’ll get this all straightened out right away. I promise. You’ll be free before sunrise.”

I heard Ilona chuckle. “Poor little fledgling. I swear they’re worse than mortals half the time. Never realizing they shouldn’t break the rules until it’s too late. They’ll have to stake her, I imagine.”

“What the hell is your problem, Ilona?” I charged her, grabbing the lapels of her leather jacket. I was so furious I was readying to fling her through the windshield of Uncle Kevin’s pickup truck.

“Keep back from the witness,” the remaining soldier said, poking at me with his silver baton. He only prodded my chest, but I could see that he wasn’t reluctant to smack me over the skull.

I backed off and turned to face him, fighting the urge to shove away the baton and punch him in the face. “Would you please tell me where they are transporting my progeny?” I said in the most civil voice I could muster. “There has been some type of horrible mistake and I need to rectify it as soon as possible.”

“There’s a containment facility in Columbus,” he said, thrusting a card at me that had an address on it. “She’ll be processed there.”

“Thank you,” I said barely clinging to civility. I didn’t understand why he was hanging about. “Are you staying in the area for any particular reason?” I asked. “Is there any way I can help?”

“I’m just going to do a sweep of the neighborhood to make sure no mortals need to be influenced,” he told me. “Then I’ll escort the witness to the containment facility so she can give her testimony.”

“Oh good.” I glared at Ilona. “I would love to hear what Miss Firenze has to say for herself.”

Ilona’s eyes were sparkling like jewels. For some reason she wanted to hurt me and she knew she had struck home. “I look forward to seeing you there, Dorian,” she said with a sultry purr. Then turning to the soldier, she batted her long lashes. “I’m so glad they left a strong man to escort me.” And then, with a significant glance in my direction she added, “There’s an unsavory element in this town.”

Chapter 23

Haley

I wasn’t so much flying as being dragged through the air by three burly vampires dressed in their black military looking uniforms with their silver tipped clubs. I had no idea what had just happened or why. I think the silver net they had thrown over me must have messed with my head because for awhile everything was kind of a blur.

Ilona had harassed me the entire flight home from Sterngrove. She had a giant stick up her butt and I couldn’t figure out why. Did she have something against me personally or was she just haranguing me to get back at Dorian for some reason?

She kept taunting me about my crazy mother. It was like middle school all over again. I was used to being maliciously teased, but not by an actual adult. It was one thing to be taunted by a twelve year old who didn’t know any better, but Ilona looked like she had become a vampire somewhere in her early thirties. You’d think that teasing the practically parentless foster kid would have gotten old at some point. Especially with the extra century she’d probably been on the planet. I began to wonder if she was all-there mentally. As I flew along with her dogging my heels, I began to feel like I was being harassed by one of the crazy homeless people at the bus station. But instead of muttering at me incoherently, I could understand every word coming out of Ilona’s mouth.

All I wanted to do was get to my Uncle Kevin’s house and go inside where she couldn’t follow me. I knew Dorian had asked me to meet him at the castle, but I still needed to talk to my uncle and pack a few things. Besides, I suspected that if Ilona knew I was going to the castle, then it would completely push her over the edge. And I had no idea what she was capable of doing. Aggressive homeless men were scary enough. I couldn’t handle a crazy vampiress freaking out at me.

“Ilona, I don’t know what you want,” I said as I landed in the driveway to Uncle Kevin’s house. “I don’t know why you’re upset with me. And I don’t know what I can do to make you happy.”

“You can meet the sun,” the vampiress said, smiling in a weirdly menacing way. She was also speaking in a voice that was no louder than a whisper and I didn’t know why she was doing that either. Maybe she thought it would make her even scarier. And it kind of did, in that mentally unhinged sort of way. “You and Dorian Vanderlind can shrivel up and die. That would make me happy. And I wouldn’t mind draining that crazy mom of yours while I’m at it.”

So she really was nuts. It’s one thing to dislike someone or be mad as someone because they don’t want to date you. And people made stupid threats all the time about how they were going to kill someone or wished someone was dead. But you didn’t follow through with that kind of crap. You didn’t actually try to hurt them. I knew first-hand that revenge wasn’t worth it.

“Okay, Ilona,” I said in the most calm voice I could muster. “I’m sorry you’re upset and I wish I could say something or do something to make you feel better, but I think whatever you’re feeling actually has nothing to do with me. I’m going inside now. So... goodnight.”

I tried to turn and go into the house, but Ilona was there, right in my face and grabbing my arm. “The only thing that’s going to make me feel better is to see you miserable,” she hissed in a voice that was barely a whisper. “And I know just how to do it.”

I pushed her away from me. “Just leave us alone, you psycho bitch.” I was trying stay in control but it was almost impossible. “Leave me alone, leave my mom alone, and leave Dorian alone. Just go away and find someone else to harass.”

“You think you’re so special,” Ilona said with a sneer.

“No, I don’t think I’m special,” I told her. The only time I’d ever felt special in my life was when I was in Dorian’s arms. Maybe that was what made Ilona so crazy. She wanted to be the one whom Dorian found special. But I actually didn’t care if she was envious. Her anger was not my responsibility. All I wanted was to go into the house.

“Don’t turn away from me,” Ilona snarled. “I’m not finished with you yet.”

“What?” I really couldn’t figure her out. Did she really think I was just going to stand around and let her threaten me? For some reason she suddenly thrust something into my hands. It was a sharpened piece of wood. The crazy bitch had just handed me a stake. “What are you doing?” I asked.

That’s when she started shouting. “Haley, what are you doing? Get away from me with that! Help! Help!”

“What?” I was completely confused. Ilona was obviously out of her mind.

Ilona flung herself on the ground and started scuttling backward on all fours like I had lunged at her and she was trying to get away from me.

And then there was a sound so painful that I thought my ears were going to start bleeding. It was that horrible high-pitched shriek that a smoke detector makes when you’re just preheating the oven to make some biscuits and you can’t get the damn this to shut off. But this noise was a hundred times worse. It was so bad it sent me staggering. I dropped the stake and covered my ears with both hands. It hurt so bad I thought I might blackout. And that’s when things got much worse.

When I was a mortal, I’d always wondered about the whole vampires-being-repelled-by-silver thing. It made no sense. Why silver? Was there something about the alloy that negatively reacted with undead body chemistry or what? Of course that was when I didn’t believe in vampires. I just assumed it was something that people made up for entertainment, like Superman and kryptonite. Everyone had to have a weakness.

But I was so completely wrong. The silver net hurt so bad that I thought I was going to lose my mind. It seared into my flesh like a hot poker. Thank God Dorian managed to convince them just to cuff me. I didn’t know why they were taking me or where they were taking me but I sure as hell wouldn’t have survived the trip in that silver net.

“Am I under arrest?” I asked, once I felt a little less out of it from the attack. I was trying to fly on my own a little because it was awkward having them drag me.

“You’re just under suspicion for illegal behavior. We’re bringing you in for questioning,” the vamp in charge informed me.

“Questioning?” I asked. “About what?” It was true that I’d been snacking on some mortals to survive, but I hadn’t killed anyone. And I’d used my influence to cover my trail. Having the undead government send four armed bullies to grab me seemed a little overkill. It was kind of like a cop tasering someone for shoplifting. There was definitely some excessive force happening.

“You’ve been grabbing teenagers off the streets,” the man told me. “I’m sure it’s tempting, but it’s not a very bright thing to do.”

“I haven’t been grabbing teenagers,” I protested. Okay, I’d snacked on one teenager, Tommy. But that had just happened. There was no way some overreaching vampire authority could have found about it so soon.

“The guy shrugged. “Tell it to the Bishops.”

I only had a vague notion of who the Bishops were. Some kind of vampire ruling class. I didn’t know if they were actual Bishops, like in a church, or if that was just their name.

We were approaching Columbus as my escorts started to descend. “Keep your mouth shut,” the jerk in charge told me. “Or we’ll tape it shut and give you the net.”

I did not want anything to do with the silver net again so I didn’t make a sound. We were headed toward some kind of down-at-the-heels warehouse district. We landed on the roof of a nondescript building that was sorely in need of a paint job. We entered through a door that looked pretty battered on the outside, but on the inside it was obviously made from reinforced steel. My captors marched me down a scummy, dimly lit hallway. At the end we turned to the right and everything changed.

The new hallway was clean and well-lit, with gorgeous wood floors and beautiful globe light fixtures. It was like we had been instantly teleported from the warehouse district of Columbus, Ohio to some ritzy building in New York City. It was pretty obviously vampire money.

We descended a few flights of stairs and then I was led down a hallway lined with cells, most of which were empty. “Don’t touch the bars,” my capture instructed me as went past. “They’re coated with silver. And trust me, it burns.”

We stopped in front of a cell toward the end of the hall. In the room’s defense, it was a pretty fancy set up compared to the jail and prison cells I’d seen in the movies and on TV. Yes there were silver coated bars on the doors and windows, but there were also curtains, a rug, two comfortable looking beds and other assorted furniture. One of the beds came complete with occupant, a vampiress who looked to have been turned somewhere in her mid-twenties.

The guards unlocked my handcuffs. “You’ll be staying here,” the one in command told me.

“For how long?” I asked. “And don’t I get a lawyer or something?”

“You haven’t been charged with anything yet,” he explained before shoving me into the cell and slamming the door. “If it looks like there’s enough evidence to go to trial then all that stuff comes into play.”

“But how long will I be here?” I asked. The cell wasn’t nearly as scary as being locked in a cellar or anything, but I was still feeling pretty frightened.

“I’m not in charge of any of that,” the man said. “Now I’ve got to go file a report. You just relax. Get to know your roommate.” With that he turned and walked down the hall, the other two men trailing after him.

“They’re not actually paid to be assholes,” my new roommate said from her bed. Her voice had a gravely quality to it like she was fighting off a cold. “That’s just a perk of the job.”

“Great.” I turned to look at my new living quarters.
It’s not that bad
, I told to myself.
Dorian won’t leave you to rot in here. He’ll figure something out and you’ll be free by tomorrow night.
Of course Dorian was the reason I had been arrested, but I tried not to let that knowledge sink its poisonous claws into my thoughts. If Dorian felt about me the way same what I felt about him, then he would do everything within his power to set me free. I just had to believe in him. That was the challenging part.

“I’m Leonora, by the way,” the vampiress said, breaking me out of my reverie.

“Oh, hi,” I said, forcing my voice not to quake. “I’m Haley.”

“Nice to meet you, Haley,” she replied. “That doesn’t sound like much of a vampire name.”

I shrugged. “I guess I’m not much of a vampire.”

“I used to be Tiffany, but I changed mine,” she told me. “No one takes a vampire named Tiffany seriously.”

“Maybe I’ll change mine too,” I said, although I couldn’t imagine going by anything other than Haley.

“You might as well make yourself comfortable,” she said, gesturing toward the free half of the room. “You’re going to be here for awhile.”

“How long have you been here?” I asked as I took a seat on the vacant bed.

“It’s been about a month,” she said, reopening the book she’d been reading when I came in. “They can’t decide what to do with me. But I’m not going to stay here much longer.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

She shook her head a little, not looking up from her book. “I’m just not.”

I wondered why she was there. I wanted to ask, but I wasn’t sure if there some kind of vampire etiquette about asking. Leonora seemed half friendly and half pissed-off. I decided I wouldn’t broach the subject unless she brought it up. I didn’t want her to cross over to being fully pissed-off.

I looked around the room, completely unsure what to do with myself. I just couldn’t process everything that had happened. I felt like a jittery cat and I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking.

“There’s a woman who comes around with books on a cart ever couple of days,” my new roommate told me. “Kind of like a librarian. She should swing by tomorrow. You can look through what I’ve check out in the meantime.” She gestured toward a small stack of books on her nightstand.

“Thanks,” I said, mechanically getting to my feet. I didn’t think I could concentrate on a book, but at least it was something to do. Almost every book Leonora had selected was a romance. I don’t know why it surprised me, but it surprised me. She looked kind of like a tough-chick with a mane of black hair and a couple of small, home-made tattoos on her wrists. But I guess that didn’t mean she wasn’t a romantic.

I selected
Pride and Prejudice
and something called
Love’s Labor Lost
, although it was pretty obvious from the scantily clad couple on the cover that it had nothing to do with Shakespeare.