ANGEL'S KISS (A Dark Angel's Novel) (25 page)

“You speak of the incredible draw that this Ellasar has for you. I can fully understand that draw. You must not act on this attraction. You need to use all your strength to stay away from him. He will use that attraction, and you will lose your will to say no.”

“Oh, how could you have...never mind. I get it, the attraction is...overpowering.” Then I remembered what Ellasar had said last night. I laid my head on the steering wheel.

“Beatrix, Ellasar said that a prophecy foretold I would bear his sons. The only thing that kept me sane was that Zeke was with me.” I felt tired and desperate. “Ellasar controlled Zeke, too. He said he wouldn't hurt him if he behaved. Zeke couldn't get close enough to attack. He was chained or just blocked every time he tried. Ellasar said he’d been waiting for me for a long time. The dreams last night were incredible. He took me through places in my life and then into his. I was sailing on the
Nile
while I held Alan’s hand back in our bed. Beatrix, how the hell do I fight that?”

“Did you have sex with him?”

“No!”

“It sounds as though you did just fine last night. I’m not sure about this Zeke, but he seems to have your interests at heart. He must be powerful if he was able to come into a dream that Ellasar conjured. I wonder—is he with you now?”

“Yeah, he’s going to the office with me. Alan’s not real happy about having a dog, especially one as big as a bear, but I just feel better when he’s with me.”

I looked into the back seat. As I turned, I came nose to nose with Zeke, and he licked me. “Aw, yuck!”

“
Alexandria
?”

“I’m fine. Zeke’s just telling me he wants to stay with me, too.” I wiped my face with my sleeve, and when I patted his head, he jumped up into the front seat. “Hey—what did you mean ‘I wonder’? What were you going to say?”

“Nothing.” Silence.

Oookaaay, that subject’s dead. “Will I ever meet my...” I floundered, “biological grandfather?”

“No! Not if I can help it.”

So far I’m batting two for two. “Do you have any more information you can give me today? Have you heard anything about the Janeck case?”

I suddenly had another thought.

“Hey, B, why wasn’t there any blood at the scene of the crime? The bodies were drained.” I remembered the man who attacked me and my blood on his face. “Were they killed by immortals?”

“They were immortals. And their bodies are missing from the morgue.”

“What do you mean missing?”

“I mean gone. Immortals clean up after themselves. They don’t want humans to become aware of their existence. I’m sure they disposed of the bodies. Whoever killed them had to be very powerful. The female was more than 1,000 years old, to have lived that long, she would have been very smart and strong. What I don’t understand is why they were left there to be found. I wonder if the reason was so that you could witness it.”

“Why would anyone do that?” I wasn’t enjoying finding out about these things. I’ve lived for twenty-seven years without drama, and now I’m drowning in it.

“For one thing, it forced me to tell you everything about your heritage and bring you into the fold, so to speak. Also, I’ve verified that it was the Janecks who hired that assassin. The murderer most likely saved your life.”

“But if they wanted to protect me, why leave the bodies for me to see?”

“I am still working on that. Perhaps a chance meeting brought you to someone’s attention, which I doubt. Or perhaps someone very close has betrayed us.” She hissed that last part and she sounded so mean that the hair on the back of my neck stood up and a shiver ran down my spine.

“We’ll come by later so you can meet Zeke.” I rubbed my forehead, which reminded me how little I really knew about what was happening to me. “Beatrix, you never explained why the bodies were drained. Can immortals feed from one another?” I was sick of feeling like I was watching a foreign film without subtitles. Shouldn’t there be some sort of guide?

“It’s complicated.”

“It can’t be that complicated. Why wasn’t there any blood?”

“All right. You’re ready for the truth, then.” Beatrix paused for effect. She loved to be dramatic. “The blood and the energy are released when the immortal is beheaded or burnt or, better yet, both.”

I leaned back in the driver’s seat and closed my eyes. She couldn’t be serious.

“You…are you…shit. You’re serious. What do you mean, released?” And when did I wake up in the Twilight Zone?

“Do you believe in ghosts,
Alexandria
?”

“I don’t know what I believe anymore. I’ve never seen a ghost, but I’d never seen a vampire, immortal, or whatever until a few days ago, either.”

“I’ll take that as a no, dear. I do believe in ghosts. When immortals attack humans, they take the human life force, the energy that animates us with the blood, leaving the victim’s spirit or soul trapped. The victims become ghosts. Their spirits are released when the immortal is finally ended. As for the blood, the immortals actually take very little from their victims and it is simply absorbed into the immortals’ flesh. It does not run in their veins. They are not alive as we are.”

“O...kay, but I need to understand what I’m up against. Immortals aren’t like vampires in the movies. So I’m a little lost. How can I protect myself?”

“You are correct. Immortals are not like the fictional creatures that are so romanticized today. They are after your very life essence. Transdifferentiation is the process I believe they use to rejuvenate themselves. They can appear to be 80 years old one day and a teenager the next. Most choose an age that suits their needs and strive to keep their bodies at that age through regular feedings. Ellasar’s heritage is one of the things that worry me the most; he is most certainly very old and powerful.”

“Still not getting to the protection part.”

“My grandfather was one of many charged with exterminating these immortals. We know that Seraiah and the other Dark Angels were unable to kill all of them. For now, keep Zeke by your side. The mark of Seraiah, your Angel’s Kiss, will help you fight Ellasar’s power.”

“And that’s it? Take Zeke with me and hope for the best? Not promising, B.” This was bad. Much worse than I’d feared. And I was the lucky one.

“What about Dennis and Alan? Can you provide someone to shadow them? They’re innocent, and they can be used against me.” If I had to make a choice, I’d sacrifice myself to save them. But I didn’t want to have to make that choice.

“I’ll see what I can do. However, I have only a few guardians who know the truth. Very few are up to the task. Most people are happy living in their own worlds. It is a great burden to open someone’s eyes to this reality.” She sounded tired.

“Thanks, Beatrix. I’ll see you tonight.” I pulled myself back from the pit I felt like falling into and looked at Zeke, who sat on the passenger seat drooling.

“I’m going in to get you some kibble, buddy. I’ll be right back. Any requests?” He just rolled his big head, hopped to the back seat, and lay down.

Talking to a dog might be nuts, but I guess talking to a dog was the least of my worries. I put down the windows a crack and locked the doors before rushing through the light drizzle that had started while I spoke to B.

The store did have a small pet section and I got Zeke a new blue leash, food and water bowls, and an assortment of treats. Pushing my cart down the aisle in a big rush, I accidentally hit another cart.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t watch….” I caught my breath when I recognized a past client. We’d helped her find her son, a teenager who’d thought that running away would be fun. We got lucky and found him quickly. I remembered that much, but I couldn’t remember her name for the life of me.

“That’s okay.” Recognition lit up her face and brought a huge smile. “Oh, hello,
Alexandria
, how are you?”

“Hi, I’m fine, and you?” I tried to maneuver the cart down the aisle. Polite conversation was the last thing I had time for today.

“I never did get a chance to thank you for helping my family, my son. We really did appreciate it.” She seemed so nice, damn it. I had to stop the cart and talk to her.

“I was glad to help. How’s he doing?”

“Wonderful now, thanks to you. What are you doing?”

Her stare made me nervous. “Excuse me?”

“You look amazing! Have you been on vacation or started a new diet, or something? I’m not sure what’s different. A new hairdo? What’s your secret?” She was leaning in; invading my personal space like the secret might just be under my skin.

“I…nothing, really.” I backed up a step. “Healthy living, you know, exercise and stuff. Well, I have to go, left my dog in the car. Take care. Bye.”

I started moving, and she tried to move with me, but I quickly made my getaway. How weird. Dennis had said I looked different, too. I’d have thought that I looked like shit. I’d avoided mirrors for a day or so, because I hadn’t had time to worry about my appearance.

Zeke was still lying in the back seat when I returned and barely raised his head to acknowledge me. I wrestled the huge bag of Purina into the back and put the other stuff up front with me. I took out the bag of treats and tossed one to him. He caught it in midair and swallowed it whole.

“You’re a beast,” I commented. He just sat there with his tongue lolling out and his tail thwap, thwap, thwapping against the leather seats.

The drive to the office just took a few minutes. I pulled around to the back and parked in my normal spot. I fumbled through the sack of dog stuff to find the new blue leash.

“Hey, buddy, guess what I bought you?” I dangled the new leash in front of him.

“Grrrrrr,” was his answer.

I reminded him that we needed to make everyone believe he was a stray dog. And that people would feel more comfortable if he were on a leash.

“Huff!” His growl still smoldering, he shook his head. Snot flew in every direction.

“Oh man, come on. Sooner or later you’ll have to put this leash on if you don’t want me to go to jail. Dogs are not allowed to run around without one. Plus, as big as you are, everyone is afraid of you. People will complain if they see you wandering around without some sort of supervision.”

A loud bang on the window caused me to jump. I clutched my chest as if I were having a heart attack.

“Crap! Ottie you scared me,” I said as I rolled the window down.

“Hey, Boss.” Shock rolled over his face. “I know its Halloween, but is it bring your monster to work day? Cause I missed that memo.”

“Ha. Very funny. Ottie, meet Zeke. Zeke, meet Ottie. I found him night before last and haven’t been able to track down his owner.”

“Some detective you are.” He cackled. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone that you can’t even get a lost dog home.”

He was still chuckling as I put the window up and opened the door. He wouldn’t be laughing once he got a good look at Zeke. I tucked the leash into my back pocket and opened the door wider. Ottie stood back and stared as Zeke exited the Jeep, which lurched when his hind quarter left the vehicle.

“Damn, what is that?” Ottie asked, his mouth hanging open.

“I told you. This is Zeke. I think I’m his new…” I hesitated. Owner didn’t sound right. I had a feeling that Zeke didn’t have owners.

“...friend,” I finally said. Zeke seemed to agree, because he jumped up, pushing me back against the car, and planted a lick right on my face.

“Zeke, I told you to stop that.” I pushed him off as best I could considering that he outweighed me by at least 50 pounds. “Yuck, that’s nasty. You were licking yourself earlier.”

I needed to start carrying baby wipes around just to wipe off Zeke’s spit. He trotted over to Ottie and sat down in front of him and waited. When Ottie made no move, Zeke looked at me and barked one high-pitched woof.

“I think he’s trying to make friends. Put your hand out and pet him.”

Ottie tentatively reached out. Zeke put his head under Ottie’s hand and let Ottie rub his head.

“He seems friendly enough.”

“He likes you. Cool.”

“Well, yeah. He obviously has good taste.” Ottie was so happy with his little joke.

“I wish he and Alan got along better. They didn’t get off to a good start.”

Ottie looked down at Zeke. “Zeke probably doesn’t see me as competition for your attention. Animals can be very territorial. If Zeke sees Alan as a competitor, he’ll try to get between you. You need to lay down the law now so he doesn’t get possessive with you.”

“Since when did you become the dog whisperer?”

“I spent some time with the canine units in the army and I love the dog whisperer. That’s a cool show. It’s always the owners who need to be trained, not the dogs. Good luck with Alan.” He laughed at his own joke.

“Yeah, yeah, funny, let’s go.” I locked the Jeep, and Ottie unlocked the office door for us.

“I’m anxious to see who Zeke will like and who he won’t like,” I said as we went in.

“Dogs are very intuitive.” He said as he held the door for us.

“That’s weird, because dogs always like me. You too?”