Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles (17 page)

“Everything out of your system?” he asked.  He sat by her and scooped the sweat from
her nose with his index finger.

Poe kicked his long leg.  “A lot of things are in my system, mister, but I can’t seem
to shake them.”  She looked up as she heard the helicopters flying west to the Pacific. 
“Shit.  Did we miss our ride?”

“Afraid so,” said Sainvire.  “But no worries.  I can still fly us home.  With plenty
of rest stops in between.”

“You have Plasmacore on you, right?” asked Poe as she looked at him sideways.  Last
time he had carried her away from battle he had nearly perished from garlic-soaked
gunshot wounds.  He didn’t have Plasmacore, and Poe had to search for the concoction. 
That was when Trench and his people captured her.  The three-month period that followed
was the most horrible experience in her young life.

Sainvire nodded.  He knew what she was thinking.  “I carry a large flask with me at
all times,” he said.  He tapped on the breast pocket of his black coat.

A bullet zinged past Poe’s ear, dinging a millimeter of cartilage.  Sainvire was on
his feet in a blink and pulled Poe behind a thick neo-classical column.  He snuck
his head out quickly and saw a contingent of leech ragamuffins and daywalkers with
rifles, shotguns, and pistols.  The army of 20 was ready for a fight.  These combatants
didn’t want punishment from their houses for non-action.  Although they had been too
fearful of the helicopters to take any serious offensive action, capturing or killing
Poe and Sainvire would compensate for their earlier cowardice. 

“You alright, Poe?” Sainvire asked with concern.  “I can smell blood.”

“Just a nick.  Lucky me.”  Poe felt a tingling behind her neck like a warning call. 
She rotated toward the entrance to the courthouse and noticed four halfdead sneaking
around to shoot them in the back.  They were the ones she had generously let loose
.  That’s what happens when you’re too nice
, she thought grimly. 
They stab you in the back
.  Poe acted quickly and shot two in the heart and the other two in the face. 

“I’ll fly above and draw their fire.  They’re close enough for you to take shots from
behind this column.”

“Nix the flying.  You’ll get hit,” said Poe, clutching the vampire’s lapel.  “And
are you wearing Kevlar under there?  Last time you almost ate it for being stupid
enough not to suit up.”

Sainvire smiled and kissed her forehead.  “I wear a vest whenever there’s a raid,
my love.  Don’t worry about me.”  Poe’s legs weakened from the way the vampire looked
at her.  Her inappropriate feelings ended when a volley of bullets pinged the column
she was hiding behind.  Without another word Sainvire zoomed into the sky and drew
fire.  “Good luck, my Sainvire,” Poe found herself saying.

With two Blackhawk Colt .45s in her hands, ambidextrous Poe began shooting the halfdead
and leeches that raised their guns at Sainvire, splicing faces, necks, and foreheads. 
She automatically assumed that the enemy wore Kevlar as well, and she didn’t want
to take any chances.  She sprinted out from her cover to the overgrown gardens and
accurately shot left and right. 

Sainvire landed on the ground with his sharp-as-death nails elongated 12 inches. 
Poe who’d succeeded in killing leeches paused to look around for more annoyances but
found none.  Her eyes found Sainvire surrounded by halfdead and sunspots who had a
difficult time shooting the vampire because of his speed and hacking ability.  A quick-moving
fanger rushed at him with a mallet and lost his head with the flick of a nail.  When
only one halfdead was left, Sainvire retracted his claws.  “I’m not going to kill
you, man.  Stand up.”

The halfdead with bleached hair did as he was told.  “You tell whoever is next in
charge that we’re coming for the human slaves soon.  If they don’t want another disaster
on their hands, they’ll make it easy for us to evacuate the rest of the humans.  You
have the recipe for Plasmacore.  Start making it.  Understand?”

“Yes, sir,” answered the petrified creature.

“Another thing.  Tell them we know about their collaboration with Peter Nesbitt. 
If they continue to work with the chief San Francisco vampire, we will decimate your
city.  Keep yourselves alive and free.  Drink Plasmacore and stay out of trouble,
alright?”  It occurred to Sainvire that he sounded like a commercial.

“Yes, sir.  Sainvire, sir.”

Sainvire turned and said, “Poe, we have to go.” 

She was chewing her lower lip in concentration.  Peter Nesbitt was her enemy, and
now she knew the bastard was allied with San Diego.  The son of a bitch had advised
Trench to kill her. 

“Um, okay.  Let’s fly now.  I’m over this city.  Plus you never know who else is lurking
around.”

Sainvire nodded and cupped his hand behind Poe’s neck.  “You’re right.  We can never
be too careful.  He picked her up from behind her knees and zoomed into the sky. 
He had instructed Joseph to leave without them.  Perhaps it was selfish of him, but
he wanted to spend some time with Julia Poe before she was forever lost to him.

***

“Is it alright to fly lower now?” asked Poe after 30 minutes of flight.  The pressure
in her ear couldn’t be swallowed away even if she did have gum.  “I’m freezing to
death.  It’s pretty though.  The blue sea and all.”

“It’s about time for a break anyway.”  Sainvire was following the coast and had forgotten
how the weather could impact a small woman like Poe.  As he lowered them carefully
to the city of Carlsbad, rain assaulted the earth and lashed at the two revolutionaries. 
He flew them to the nearest abandoned house and pushed the door open.  Poe pulled
off her hood and tapped her feet.  She’d been wearing her Chucks instead of boots,
and her freezing toes were paying the price.

“You hear any pests in the house?” asked Poe.  Her teeth were chattering.

“Just rats.  No enemy combatants.”  He removed his coat and draped it over Poe’s shoulders. 

“Thanks.  Sure you don’t need it?” she asked facetiously.

“Nope.  Your shoes are sopping wet.”  He kneeled and tried to untie Poe’s shoelaces. 
“I see you’re still insane about double-knotting your laces,” he said, feeling like
a clumsy oaf with his large fingers.

“I can’t shake that obsession.  But you’ve got to admit I’m way better now than when
we first met.  I lost my stutter, and I’m calmer.”

Sainvire pulled the Converse from her feet and peeled off her sodden socks.  “You’ve
changed a lot, Julia Poe.  You’ve grown into a confident young woman with an intense
strategic mind and supernatural aim.”

Poe shrugged sadly.  She watched Sainvire wipe her feet with an old pillow covering
from the couch.  “I was pretty broken, you know.  I’ve just started to recover.”

“I know.  And I’m sorry I had a part in Trench taking you.”

“Don’t blame yourself.  Trench was to blame, and he’s dead now.  I killed him.  Instant
therapy for me,” she exaggerated.  She had stayed in Catalina Island for a year and
a half in solitude to escape intrigue and reality.

“Like you said before, I have a knack for blaming myself for everything.  Your pain
was the hardest.  I was glad you and Maclemar found happiness at least.”

Poe stared at Sainvire’s even hands massaging her chilly feet.  “We were really happy. 
I felt normal for once.  There’s nothing like someone loving you back.  I hope Maclemar
is sitting up on his hospital bed asking for me just about now.”

“I hope so, too.  James is a top-notch human being.”

Poe cleared her throat, catching the vampire’s gaze.  “Are you really glad Maclemar
and I are together?”

Sainvire studied Poe’s little pale feet for a long time before he could answer her
question.  “I’m glad for your happiness, and if you were to be with a man, Maclemar
is a perfect choice.  But you broke my heart.  You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. 
I imagined us living together and helping the city become more peaceful and self-sufficient. 
But you’ve lived with violence most of your life, and you don’t deserve any more intrigue. 
Plus I can never give you children.  Even the coldness of my skin is pitiful compared
to Maclemar’s warm body.”

For the first time Poe realized how lonely a life Sainvire had chosen.  How agonizing
it must have been to see her with another man.  But then again, he could’ve had her
anytime.  “If you had chosen me, I’d have loved you for the rest of my days.”

“I know.” He wrapped her feet in the pillow case.  “We have good people working with
us now.  Would you ever consider living with me somewhere?  Malibu perhaps.  Or the
desert?”

She sniffed.  “I would.  But I have Maclemar now.  It’s too late.  But I do love you
still.”

A rush of tears burst from her.  Maclemar was on his death bed, and she was professing
her love for another man.  Sainvire was at her side handing her a handkerchief.  Poe
almost laughed at the old-fashioned cloth.  He held her on the dusty couch while she
cried her grief away.  After the hanky was soaked through and her eyes dry, Poe kissed
Sainvire’s plump lower lip and cheek. 

“I would make love with you at this moment, but if something were to happen to Maclemar,
I’d never forgive myself.  Or you.”

“I understand,” he said in his practical voice.  “I’ll find you some dry socks.  We
should head home before the storm gets worse.”

P
OE
STAYED
UNDER
THE
hot shower to stop her shivering.  The melancholy that hovered over her spirit the
moment Sainvire let go of her at the hotel threshold nearly debilitated her.  She
loved two good men, and she wanted to have both of them in her arms. 

She was assigned a room, her old one.  She hadn’t seen Percy, Penny, or Chops since
they had brought Maclemar in. 
Can’t see them now.  I’m a mess
.  Poe studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror and shuddered. 
How can Maclemar and Sainvire think I’m attractive?
  The five-inch caterpillar scar that ran diagonally from forehead to cheek was nasty
in her opinion.  Her ear was mangled, and her eyes looked haunted. 
What do you guys see in me?

Like in a dream, Poe pressed the elevator button to the lobby.  “It’s now or never,”
she muttered.  “Welshman, you better be okay or else!”

No one waited outside the OR, and she didn’t see a white coat anywhere, so she took
it upon herself to sneak in the room.  Her heart sank when she discovered an empty
bed.  Her eyes pooled with tears, and she couldn’t wipe them soon enough.  Someone
tapped her shoulder and Poe jumped back in alarm.  It was a nurse.  Without a mask
on, she looked like somebody’s kind grandmother.

The woman embraced Poe and placed a comforting arm around the girl.  “It’s alright
to cry, Miss Poe.”  The woman walked her down the hall to the sectioned areas of the
sick ward.  Poe looked around and found dozens of children and custodians seated. 
“These are the people you saved this morning.  After a cursory check-up the adults
will be assigned their own rooms to live.  The children will attend orientation from
our own little ones, and they will stay at the children’s ward for now.”

The nurse stopped before a maze of partitioned hospital beds with discreet sheets
between them for privacy.  “Here’s the bed you want, Miss Poe.  I’ll leave you now.”

Poe shook her head. 
What the hell just happened?
  She parted the sheet to find Maclemar with three pillows propping him up as he read
A Catcher in the Rye
for the twentieth time.  “My beauty!” Maclemar nearly shouted as he tried to sit
up.  He let out a growl when a bolt of electricity zapped his wounds.

“James, you caveman!  You’re alive!” cried Poe.  Careful not to hurt him, Poe kissed
him on the forehead, cheek, and mouth.  And once again she started bawling.  The last
time she was this emotional, Trench was whipping her back every night and spoon-feeding
her blood to vampires.

“My sweetheart, I am well thanks to you and Percy bringing me to the doc.”  He took
her trembling hand.  “The bloody y cachwr who knifed me missed my heart and lungs. 
I’ll be fine in a few days according to T-Doc.  We can go back to Catalina in no time.”

Then she blinked twice, thwarting the fantasy she’d just woven.  The man in front
of her lying in sterile white sheets was as stiff as a mannequin and missing three
fingers.  He was ashen blue and his jewel eyes were hidden by dead lids.  Maclemar
was no more.  The man who was willing to do anything for her was gone.

She squeezed Maclemar’s two-fingered hand as cold as a vampire’s.  “I’m sorry for
being selfish, James.  You shouldn’t have come back to Catalina.  I shouldn’t have
taken you from your students or the city.  Forgive me for not being able to protect
you.”  Poe kissed his purple lips then laughed.  “You’ll need a shave, Caveman.”

Poe dipped a hand in her pocket and procured a dull gray ring and pushed it into his
stiff ring finger.  “I found a ring for you.  I hope you like it.”  Careful not to
touch his bandaged shoulder, Poe pushed off her shoes and got into the small hospital
bed.  “Read to me, Welshman, until we both fall asleep,” she asked of the dead.

“Aye, milady,” Maclemar assented in her mind.  He scratched his emerging beard and
flashed his grand grin.

***

Wonderful excitement and hope captured the city, especially since 127 infants and
children along with over 100 custodians had been rescued.  The Los Angeles Council
approved Poe’s proposal for the display of holiday decorations before Thanksgiving
to lift everyone’s spirit.  Sainvire had unearthed a City of Los Angeles warehouse
where Christmas decorations had been locked up and asked a cross-section of the various
factions to decorate Pershing Square with angels, snowflakes, and 12-foot-long candy
canes.  He assigned flying vampires to decorate a hundred-foot plastic Christmas tree
with shiny baubles and lights.  The Ancients lifted children who fastened glittering
décor on the lower branches.