After the Fall (35 page)

“Sir, please stay back there. I don’t have anyone under that name. She must have been released.”

I heard the rest of her words as I bolted for the door. If she was released, she might try to go back to her place, where the queen’s goons were sure to be waiting for her. 

When I arrived at her apartment, the door was open and her things were strewn all over. Unable to find her, they were content enough to turn her place upside down. I searched her place from the bottom floor up, ending in her bedroom. The memories with her were fresh, painful. The scent of her perfume was powerful in here, almost like she was in the room with me.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. My face relaxed and I went to turn around. “No, stay right there. I asked you what you’re doing in my place.”

“I was checking on you. I thought you were going to die.”

“I’m alive and well. Now that you know that, you can take yourself right out the door. Your girlfriend’s flunkies came and trashed my place.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Well, you two sure look cozy enough. You can be the ruling family for the rest of eternity, pissing down on everybody else.”

“You know I’m not like that.”

“I’m tired of hearing you. Just get out of my place.”

“Fine, I’ll get out.” I turned around and pressed myself against her. “But first, I’m going to take something with me.”

I planted a kiss on her lips. To my pleasant surprise, she kissed back, wrapping her arms around me. Then she pushed me away.

“Okay, now get out,” she said.

“I’m sorry?”

“You heard what I said. Leave.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah, just like that.” Her voice had turned from angry to firm, but I could sense that little bit of doubt.

“I was worried about you.”

“Well, I’m just fine.”

I thought about stalling some more, but it was obvious it was going nowhere. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you whenever.”

“Mordecai…wait,” she said. I felt her hand on my shoulder. It was enough to turn me back around with a smile, but she remained serious.

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

“Well, it means something…to me. I’ll tell you what, I’ll meet you somewhere. Let’s say mile 5 on my watch sector. Right before daylight.”

“Daylight? But how will you get out of there?”

“I’ll just have to hole up for the day. Can you meet me there or not?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good. Try to stall them. Go until sunrise if you have to. They’ll have to find their own place to hole up before then.”

“Gee, you’re so kind. How did you know I liked being in the bright, burning sun so much?”

“Do you want to meet up or not?”

“Fine, I’ll be there. Just stay out of the light.”

“Of course. I’m not
stupid
.”

“I guess that leaves me, since I’m the one that’s running around after sunrise.”

She gave me a playful slap. “Go away. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, see you in the morning.”

The New Breed

After leaving her apartment, I went to feed and decided to roam around for a bit. The men assigned to follow me would earn their keep today. My surreptitious companions and I went all over the city, explored the monuments, walked down every street and alley. They were keeping up, but just barely. As dawn approached, I drove out to the outskirts. A small car followed me for as long as they could before turning back. Had they been humans, they could have continued to follow me, but their crew must have been made up of Vampires only. That was a mistake they would not make again.

Our meeting place at mile 5 was an old shack that had a fair bit of wear but was holding its own against time and the elements. The sun was already rising in the horizon. I hurried up and went inside. Just because the old man Sun couldn’t kill me didn’t mean we were best friends.

The place inside was pitch dark and it took my eyes a moment to adjust. All the windows were boarded up tight to prevent even the smallest ray of sun from penetrating.

“Back here,” said the voice. I walked across the creaky wood floor to go meet her.

She was sitting on an old dusty bed, ready for the slumber that would take her soon. I sat down on the bed and ran my fingers through her curls. She looked at me with annoyance but did not brush my hand away. Either she was too tired or she was actually enjoying it.

“So what’s with all the sneaking around? What’s the big secret?”

“Oh, you don’t know, councilman?” Her voice was growing more sedate, but her sarcasm was as strong as ever.

“If I knew, why do you think I would be here asking you?”

“Maybe you just enjoy my company and good manners.”

“Well, you’re right on one count.”

“Are you saying I don’t have any manners?” she said, trying to sound indignant.

“No, I’m here for your good manners. It’s your company I detest.”

She shoved me and proceeded to kiss me. What else could I do but kiss her back?

“I still haven’t told you,” she said.

“At this rate, it will be sundown and you still won’t have told me.”

“That’s true.” She smiled at me. “But who’s complaining?”

“No one, I suppose. Certainly not I.”

Her face grew serious. Her procrastination and avoidance made it obvious she did not want to tell me.

“Mordecai, it’s about the Queen.”

“What about her?”

“Anna Thorn, our beloved Founder, Queen, Mother to our kind — she is not who she appears to be.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“She’s not…she’s an impostor. The woman in her place, that’s not Anna Thorn. The real Anna died ages ago. Lucretius replaced her with this fake, this mannequin.”

“A cruel puppet.”

She nodded.

“How do you know this?” She looked down and away. “Rayna, tell me. How do you know this?”

“It’s not like I have hard evidence or anything. Lucretius is too smart for that. This new queen, she’s cruel, much more than Anna would ever have been. She might have flogged a few people, but I tell you that she’d never do something like feed someone to a pit of zombies for sport. I’m still not sure why I wasn’t thrown in there with him.”

“I don’t either. I’m not even sure why I’m on the council. I don’t have any real power. All they do is follow me around and send me over to the Queen when she asks for me.”

“How often is that?”

“More than I’d like.” She rewarded that answer with a kiss. “You still haven’t told me how you know the Queen is not who she says she is.”

“I really can’t tell you—”

“Or you don’t want to,” I interrupted.

“I have my reasons.” She looked away with a huff. “I really shouldn’t have told you.”

I put my arms around her and pulled her tight. “It’s fine that you did. I’m not mad at you. If you have your reasons, fine. So be it.”

“Just keep your eyes open over there. Don’t let them drag you in. Many good Vampires went into that council only to realize that they sold out everything they believed in for a little power.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. Now hold me. We’ll talk some more after sundown.”

I woke up still holding her. It wasn’t quite after sundown, so she was still asleep. I enjoyed a few minutes of her company until the sun went down.

Those of our kind who still feared the sun seemed to be attuned to its cycles. No sooner did the sun dip below the horizon that her eyes opened and she was fully awake.

“Good morning,” I said. It was an old Vampire joke to wish one another a good morning.

“Morning,” she replied as she sat up to stretch and yawn.

It occurred to me that I should check the exterior to make sure my guests weren’t waiting for us. I walked out the door of the shack and scanned the surrounding area all the way to the horizon. It was plain, featureless land, with a tree or a patch of grass every so often as if Mother Nature had taken pity on this place and given it a small blessing. As far as I could see, and I could see everything in the dark. There was no one out here but us. I felt a pang of worry in my gut. It was possible that they had no idea where I had gone, but they wouldn’t have stopped searching. Laughter erupted out of me.

“Get over yourself, Mordecai. You’re not that important.”

“Who are you talking to out here?” she said, brushing past me.

“Just myself. Don’t worry, you’re not actually crazy until you start talking back.”

“Okay, if you say so. I think you’re crazy anyway.”

“I think all of us have been down that road. There isn’t one of us who hasn’t taken a vacation from reality.”

“Well, look around! Who would want to live in this dump?”

I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Maybe some things make it worth living.”

“I guess,” she replied, breaking away. I admired the view of her walking away, all the while puzzling over the enigma that was Rayna. I didn’t see how anyone could change from hot to cold and back so quickly and with such ease.

“I need you to take me to the woods,” she said.

“Why?”

“I stashed the car and some supplies there. Will you take me?”

“Sure.”

The drive there was quiet. I tried to start up conversation a few times only for her to shut it down every time. After a while, I just gave up. She seemed relieved.

“Right here,” she said, pointing to the thicket to our left. I stopped and followed her into the foliage. It wasn’t dense, but it was good enough to hide her vehicle.

“Planning on going somewhere?” I said as I looked into the windows.

She rolled her eyes. “I may need to. What’s it to you?”

“Calm down, I was just asking a question.”

“I’ll calm down when you stop asking stupid questions.”

I decided not to reply. It was no sense arguing with her. She just had to win every time.

“Are you going to work your shift tonight?”

“You don’t learn, do you?” she replied. Then, “Yeah, I’ll be roaming out there, looking for more of those things to take down.”

She drove the car out of the thicket and down the dirt road, off to pick up the rest of her crew. I had seen a glimpse of them once before. They were a rough-looking trio, just her kind of guys, not a speck of Old World refinement in this bunch. They looked like they’d been dragged out of a coal mine in West Virginia, or what used to be that state.

When I returned to town, my guardian devils came to let me know that the council was going to meet in an hour. I nodded and went to get ready.

I arrived at least fifteen minutes early, but when I walked through the door, the whole council was already seated and appeared to be waiting for me. The Queen was seated at the head of the table, with Lucretius to her right. There was another seat to her left reserved for me.

“Now that we’re all here, we may begin,” she said. I checked my watch. It was still ten minutes to the hour. “Do you have somewhere to go, Mordecai?”

“No, my Queen.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Then you might do well to stop checking your watch. We’ll be here for a while, so I hope you haven’t made any plans. You might have gotten the word sooner if you could be found.”

My mind reached for something sarcastic to throw her way, but I stopped it before it could leave my mouth. If what they said about the Queen was true, she would be able to read my thought anyway.

“Can’t say it won’t happen again. I was out helping with a situation at the outskirts.”

“You’ve become quite taken with those border guards, haven’t you?” said the Queen.

“They help keep us safe, for one thing. That, and they saved my life. That has to count for something.”

“I suppose so,” Lucretius added. “Now let’s start going over our agenda. We have quite a few things to discuss. First and foremost, it is the insurgency problem.

“We have been experiencing a number of revolts and unrest. Although we’ve captured the ringleader and dealt with him, a new one will arise and we start the process over again. This many-headed Hydra has become a bit of a problem for us, and I think the reason is because they have backing from someone in this room.”

The council members began to murmur and look up and down the table. I did the same so I would not stand out. When it comes to people, the appearance of guilt is sometimes more damning than the guilt itself. Forget due process. That was one of the things we left behind with the Old World.

Lucretius continued, “There is no reason for anyone to start an inquiry. I believe if there is a guilty party in this room, it will become clear soon enough. On the other hand, bear in mind that should you turn a blind eye on someone’s deeds, you will become an accessory and judged accordingly.”