Redemption (3 page)

"Tomorrow night?"

"I have to work," she blurted before she could think.

"I know you're a hard worker but if I were to stop by I'm sure you could find some time to spend with me."

The boy's fingers grabbed at the collar of his shirt as he dangled within Calvin's grasp. "I'm sure I could too." She felt as if she was sliding down the snake's throat but it was too late to stop it.

"It's a date then." His smile revealed perfect white teeth and extended fangs that seemed to be a permanent fixture on him, though most other vampires kept them retracted until they had to be used. "You should say thank you boy. This beautiful lady just spared you some discomfort."

He thrust the boy toward her again. His tears had left clean tracks through the dirt covering his face but he managed a smile that revealed a missing side baby tooth. He'd been through a lot in his young life and she felt tears burning in her eyes as she met his frightened blue ones again.

"Thank you miss," he choked out.

"You're very welcome," she told him honestly. "Can I bring him some food?" she asked Calvin.

He pulled the boy away as a sly smile spread across Calvin's face. "That might require more than a date." A chill spread into her belly but she kept hold of his gaze as he leaned forward and tapped his boney finger against his cheek. It took all she had not to sneer in disgust. She was fairly certain he would kill the boy and throw her in the stocks if she did allow her revulsion to show though. "That would actually require a kiss."

Her gaze slid to the boy, whose eyes had filled with joy at the mere mention of food. She could do this, she knew she could. Steeling herself, she leaned forward to press a kiss on Calvin's cheek. It was cool beneath her lips; the stubble lining it was rough, it should have felt like any other cheek she'd kissed but she felt like she was kissing a cockroach. She quickly pulled away from him and just barely stopped herself from wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Calvin asked in a taunting voice.

"No," she whispered.

His hawk-like eyes studied her, he leaned so close that his lips brushed against hers when he spoke. A clammy feeling came over her skin; her stomach did a strange flip flop the likes of which she'd never experienced before. She was half afraid she was going to vomit. "Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to get a real kiss out of you."

There is no coming back from this
, she realized. There was no returning to obscurity, no more hiding within the shadows whenever he entered the tavern. She'd just launched herself straight into the line of fire. "Go on now Hannah, get this poor boy some food."

She glanced at the boy before turning and hurrying into the crowd. Instead of having to shove her way through it, they all stepped aside to let her pass now. She was acutely aware of their stares following her to the tavern. Uncle Abe was waiting for her by the door as she practically tripped up the steps in her rush to get out of sight, if only for a minute.

The familiar scents of wood burning in the fireplace, pipe smoke, ale, and meat cooking in the kitchen washed over her. Some may have found the mix of these scents unpleasant, but to her they were the comforting scents of home. "What happened?" Uncle Abe demanded.

Hannah shook her head; she could barely meet his soulful brown eyes as she hurried through the tavern. She spotted her friend Ellen on the stage in the corner, Ellen's flute was in hand but her attention was riveted upon Hannah. Her cousin Lucas was in the kitchen serving up bowls of stew when Hannah entered. His hand dropped as he turned his russet brown eyes on her. Luckily he hadn't inherited Uncle Abe's aging defect and had stopped aging when he'd attained maturity three years ago. Uncle Abe had been sixty-two before he had finally stopped aging, her father hadn't stopped until he was fifty-five. At twenty-five Lucas still looked as if he was twenty-two, but though he had been spared his father's defect he was still as defective as she was.

"What did you do Hannah?" he demanded.

She shook her head at him. They'd been inseparable since children, but right now she couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. It wasn't only her that Calvin might come after in order to get his way. "I did what I had to do Lucas."

She grabbed one of the bowls of stew and a loaf of bread. Steam drifted up from the bowl, but she was used to carrying them, and barely felt the heat of it against her hand. Lucas seized hold of her arm before she could turn away. A strand of brown hair fell into one of his eyes as he leaned toward her. The bridge of his nose was thin and well defined; his full lips were compressed into a thin line. Though his broad shoulders blocked out the rest of the kitchen, he was slender due to the fact that he never stood still. Even now, one of his feet was tapping against the wooden floor. The only time he ever stopped moving was when he was sleeping and she suspected that even then he never stayed still for more than a minute at a time.

There were few times in her life that she could recall him actually looking displeased with her. This was one of those times as he glared at her. "Calvin is
not
someone to mess with Hannah. You can't handle a man like him. He's not one of us, what he can do to us..."

"I know what he can do to us Lucas. I also know that boy probably wouldn't have survived two nights in the stocks."

He shook his head as he released her arm. "Maybe not, but you're not prepared for what Calvin is looking for from you either, and there's nowhere for us to run, not
us
."

She was struggling to find words as he handed her a spoon. "I know that."

The annoyance faded from his face as he leaned away from her. "If Calvin becomes too overbearing with you we'll figure something out."

"I don't want you to get involved Lucas."

He glanced at her as he stirred the massive pot of stew before him and tapped his fingers on the counter. "I didn't want you getting involved either, but it's too late for that now." He placed his hand on her back and nudged her toward the door. "Take that boy some stew."

Hannah nodded numbly; she left the tavern again and returned to the stage. Most of the crowd had dispersed but Calvin was still holding the boy by the back of his neck as he spoke with Kane. Calvin's eyes followed her as she stepped onto the stage and walked over to them. "Don't touch her," he ordered the boy gruffly.

Hannah glanced at Calvin as she handed the bowl and bread to the child. He showed no concern for the roof of his mouth, or his tongue, as he dropped the spoon and drank the stew directly from the bowl.

"Easy, you'll make yourself sick." He glanced at her over the top of the bowl and reluctantly pulled it away from his mouth. "What's your name?"

"Heath," he answered around a mouthful of bread.

"Did you see where I just came from Heath?" He nodded as he crammed another bite of bread into his mouth. "Tomorrow, when you get out of the stocks, go to that building. If you're willing to work we'll give you some food and a place to stay."

"Oh yes ma'am, I'll work very hard for you ma'am," he said eagerly.

Hannah smiled at him and squeezed his upper arm. Sadness crept through her as her hand completely enveloped his bicep. She'd seen stray dogs with more meat on their bones than this boy. The boy stopped chewing, his mouth parted on a breath as his gaze fell to her hand. She quickly removed her hand when Calvin approached them.

"Tomorrow then," she said.

"Time is up." Calvin jerked the boy back by his shirt. Hannah snagged the bowl out of the air as Heath's startled fingers released it. "You're lucky that didn't break," Calvin barked at the boy before focusing on her. A smug smile spread over his face. "I look forward to tomorrow Hannah."

She dreaded it more than she would dread going without blood for a week, but she still forced a smile to her face that felt false even to her. "Tomorrow," she said and retreated to the safety of the tavern.

Jack stomped his feet on the wooden porch before opening the screen door and then the heavy wooden door. He was really hoping this tavern had rooms for the night, his ass was sore from being in the saddle for hours on end and he could use a good night of sleep. They'd traveled longer than he had planned today, but the few towns in between this mountain area, and the coast they had left, had already had his brother's men in them and were well under control.

They'd come across the last occupied town a little before noon today. He hadn't expected it to take hours before they would find another town, but the farther they had gone the more mountainous and less populated the rocky terrain had become. The sun had set over an hour ago, he'd been about to call an end to their ride and camp outside for the night, when they'd finally come across this remote town. They'd dropped the horses off at a stable down the road and walked to the tavern. He could hear William's stomach rumbling, and all he really craved were a few drinks and a chance to relax for awhile before retreating to a bed.

Servers rushed about the room, patrons were engrossed in their drinks and games of chance. The comforting sounds of laughter, teasing and groans washed over him, along with the pulse of blood through human veins, and the familiar hushed stillness that accompanied those he recognized as vampire.
At least this town is mingling well together
, he thought as he searched for somewhere to sit. He spotted a couple of chairs at a table near the back of the large, open room. He began to weave his way through the crowd toward them with William on his heels.

From somewhere near the wooden stairs that led to the second story, an enticing song being played on a flute began to drift through the smoky room. He shrugged out of the bow and quiver on his back and placed them on the floor before settling on the empty seat. Jack cocked his head to the side as he closed his eyes and savored in the enchanting melody filling the room. It had been almost a year since he'd heard the haunting notes of a flute; he hadn't realized how much he'd missed it. William's dark auburn hair gleamed in the flickering candlelight as his sky colored eyes searched for the source of the sound. Jack picked up on the subtle slowing of heartbeats as the song calmed those gathered around him.

The sweet music drifted away, the spell it had woven over the crowd broke as everyone seemed to shake themselves before returning to their activities. A pretty blond woman came by to take their order. Jack leaned back in his chair; he stretched his long legs before him. He rubbed at his thighs as he tried to loosen up his muscles. It felt good to be out of the saddle and even if things did appear relatively calm in this town, he thought they might spend a few days here just to take a break.

He nodded a thank you to the woman when she returned with their drinks. A loud shout from his right drew his attention to the large fireplace with a fire smoldering low in the hearth. Six men had been playing a game of cards; there was a fair sized pot gathered within the center of the table. One of the men slammed his hand onto the table and rose up out of his chair. Spittle flew from his mouth as his face turned beet red.

A smile slid across Jack's lips; maybe he wasn't as tired as he'd thought. He pushed his drink away and cracked his knuckles. This was another one of the things he loved about these outer lands, the common brawls that allowed him to get out some of the pent up frustration and anger that had been festering within him ever since the war had ended. William broke into a big grin; he leapt to his feet as the fight broke out.

***

Hannah lifted her head as the first shout resonated through the tavern. Her hand clenched around the knife she held as she fought the urge to stab someone with it. C
ouldn't they go just one damn night without a fight, especially tonight when Calvin was supposed to be arriving
?

She forced herself to drop the knife as she wiped her hands on her apron and walked to the doorway of the kitchen. Heath was already standing there; even he seemed to have forgotten what tonight was as he threw first a right hook at an imaginary fiend and then a left. It was about as close as the spindly looking boy was going to get to an actual fight for awhile.

Resting her hand on his shoulder, she gently pulled him back a step to look out the doorway. She rolled her eyes as she spotted the group of men rolling around on the floor. Chairs and tables skittered across the floor as they were kicked out of the way, legs and arms flailed about in the tangled mess. She spotted Lucas amongst the chaos, kicking and punching with the same ruthless intensity as everyone else.

They all knew the rules, fighting wasn't to be tolerated
anywhere
. They also knew it was a law Calvin strictly enforced. They may not
all
know what was happening tonight, but Lucas certainly did. Her acute anxiety over her "date night" began to turn toward rage when the crack of a breaking chair pierced the air. She was going to strangle her cousin when she got her hands on him.

"Just one night, is that so much to ask?" she muttered as she left the kitchen behind.

"Careful Hannah!" Ellen called to her from the stairs where she stood trying to stay out of the way.

"Those men are going to have to be the ones that are careful by the time she gets done with them!" Uncle Abe retorted from beside Ellen.

Hannah agreed wholeheartedly with her uncle as she honed in on the rotating pile of vampire and human testosterone. She planted her hands on her hips as she stared down at the rolling ball. She spotted a human with auburn hair happily swinging away at another blond human.

"Lucas!" she shouted but her cousin ignored her as he swung at a vampire that she knew wasn't from their town.
Even better, there were outsiders involved in the fray,
she thought angrily. Hannah's hands clenched on her hips as she stared at Lucas, she'd already put them in danger, and now he was adding to her mistake by taking the risk of being caught fighting. "Lucas!"

He continued to ignore her though as he punched at Marvin, a local vampire with sandy brown hair that was standing straight up on his head. A trickle of blood was trailing down from the corner of one of Marvin's hazel eyes. She was almost tempted to jump in and pull Lucas out of there, but she had enough problems without having her fangs knocked out too.

A table crashed against the wall as a chair toppled over. She was already adding up the cost of the losses as another table hit the back wall and bits of wood exploded across the room. She didn't have time to move out of the way before a flying splinter of wood hit her in the cheek. That was it, she'd had enough.

She pushed past a grinning Heath and grabbed a pot filled with water from the unlit iron stove. The fighters were still scrambling over top of each other when she arrived back at the pile and threw the water over them. Some of them came up sputtering, but three others were so determined to kill each other that they didn't even notice.

Lucas finally separated himself from the chaos. Pushing back strands of wet hair, he rose to his feet. Hannah shoved the pot into his hands and glowered at him. He at least had the decency to look ashamed as he clutched the pot against his chest. "What were you thinking?" she demanded.

He shrugged as his gaze slid back to the group of men. "Just blowing off some steam."

"Break this up," she told him.

"I will."

She was turning away from him when the familiar sound of bells approaching drifted through the building. The hair on her arms stood on end as she exchanged a look with Lucas. "Calvin!" she hissed. "Calvin is coming!"

Where the pot of water had failed to completely end the brawl, those four words succeeded. She grabbed hold of a table and quickly settled it back into place. Humans and vampires alike scrambled around her to right the broken furniture the best that they could. She didn't look back as she fled toward Heath and shoved him into the kitchen. Though Calvin most likely knew Heath was here, she didn't want him to see the boy right now.