Blood Hunt (21 page)

Sarah took in a shuddery breath. Rhes smoothed her hair away from her forehead and said nothing. He wanted Sarah to talk, wanted her to get this out before it could be bottled up somewhere secret to grow and fester.

“All I wanted was a normal life,” she continued. “That’s all I’ve wanted since I was eight and that drunk
bastard
hit me and took my eyes away. I never thought I’d feel normal again, not until I met you, and then finally here I was having a normal life, and Two came along and fucked it up. And all I could do, because of my stupid eyes, was lie there and wait for it to be over.”

“Sarah …”

“I told you I hate being blind, and I do, but what I really hate is being powerless. I have never felt more powerless – more
disabled
– than I felt last night.”

“So you were scared and confused, and didn’t feel in control of the situation, and you’re upset not only because you didn’t like that but also because of how it made you feel about Two,” Rhes said.

Sarah nodded.

Rhes kissed the back of her hand and the tips of her fingers. “Would it make you feel better if I told you that when I see Two again, I’m not sure if I’m going to hug her or punch her right in the damn face?”

“A little,” Sarah admitted.

“Look, last night was the best night of my life. I got the shit kicked out of me, but I asked the woman I love to marry me and she said yes. I’d do it again.”

This time Sarah smiled at him. She moved her head forward and kissed him, still being careful of his split lip. Rhes kissed her back and then stood up.

“I’m going to go take some painkillers. Then I’m going back to sleep on the couch. There’s room for two if you’re interested. I think we could both use it.”

“Sounds wonderful. You’re sure it won’t hurt you?”

“Positive.” Rhes wandered into the kitchen to refill his glass of water. When he returned, he swallowed the two pills that the bottle told him to take and lay back against the pillows. Sarah sat down beside him and leaned into his chest. Rhes put his arms around her, and minutes later, both were asleep.

* * *

“Holy fuck!”

Sarah stirred, shook her head to clear it, and said, “Molly … language.”

“Oh, sorry. I just … what happened to Rhes?”

“It’s a long story,” said Rhes, not bothering to moves. “A long, rich story, filled with kings and queens … fairies, dragons … a young girl with golden hair and green eyes and an incredible penchant for getting herself in trouble.”

“You mean Two?” Molly asked. She set her backpack down on the coffee table and took a step closer to inspect Rhes’s injuries.

“Yes, I definitely mea—oh, ouch, baby, don’t use my ribs for leverage, please.”

Sarah had been trying to sit up but stopped immediately. “Sorry, didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Rhes told Molly. “She’s a sadist. First the beating, and now the torture. It’s too late for me … save yourself!”

Molly giggled. Sarah shook her head. “Molly, help me up, would you?”

“Sure.” Sarah felt Molly’s hands take hers and pull her to a sitting position.

“Thanks. How was school?”

“Fine. I have an English test on Wednesday and a math quiz on Friday.”

“OK. We can help you study for those. Did you have group today?”

‘Group’ was short for ‘Group Discussion and Therapy,’ an activity in which the students were broken into small clusters, each with an instructor, and given projects to work on relating to addiction and recovery.

“Yeah,” Molly said. “It was OK. I got paired with Jen and Theresa and Bill, and Mr. Peterson. We had to make a list of things we liked to do for fun, but he wanted more interesting stuff than like, basketball or reading or whatever.”

“What did you come up with?”

“I told him about how you take me with you sometimes to your school and I get to help the blind kids learn Braille. He said that was good, and then we talked about focusing on constructive things like that.”

“You’re doing fantastic, Molly. We’re very proud of you,” Sarah said.

“Thanks. But anyway, what happened? Did you see Two? How come she never comes over anymore?”

“We didn’t get to see Two, unfortunately,” Sarah said. “We went to try and find her and got mugged instead.”

Sarah hadn’t rehearsed this story with Rhes, but she hoped he would be able to back her up without too much effort. He didn’t disappoint her.

“These three guys came at us with a baseball bat. I managed to hold them off while Sarah called for help. And by ‘hold them off’ I mean ‘absorb the blows with my face and body.’ And arms. And legs. And my groin, but don’t worry, no permanent damage there. The groin is safe, ladies, and will be back in action soon!”

“Rhes … gross,” Molly said.

“I’d smack him, but he’ll just start crying like a baby,” Sarah told her.

“It’s true,” Rhes said, his voice filled with mock seriousness.

“You guys are weird. Can I watch TV?”

“Do you have any homework?” Sarah asked.

“No, I already did my French in study hall.”

“OK. I’m going to need your help later though, to clean this place up. We’re going to have a visitor late tonight, after you go to bed, and I want the house to look neat. Rhes can’t really move, so it’s up to us.”

“No problem.” Molly replied.

“Sarah, can you help me stand up?” Rhes asked. She did, and he shuffled toward the hallway that led to the downstairs bathroom.

“Is he OK?” Molly asked.

“Doctor says he’ll be fine.”

“Cool. Who’s coming over tonight?”

“A friend of Two’s who might be able to help her. I don’t want you staying up, Molly. You’ve got school in the morning. I don’t think he’ll be here long anyway.”

“I promise I’ll go right to bed …
if
we can have pizza for dinner.”

Sarah stuck her tongue out at Molly. “You’ll go right to bed whether we have pizza or not, but I’ve got no objections. Ask Rhes when he gets back, but you know he’ll say yes.”

“Yay!” Molly cried, an excitement in her voice that only teenagers, and occasionally full-grown men, could muster over pizza.

Sarah heard Molly turn on the television and begin flipping through the channels. She smiled, stretched, and headed for the kitchen to get a drink. She knew it must still be light out, if Molly was just getting home, but that sunset would come shortly, and with it would come danger. She hoped Jakob’s guards were as good as he’d claimed, and she hoped that all of this nonsense would be over with soon; she had a wedding to plan.

* * *

“I don’t think we should tell him about Tori,” Sarah said. They were sitting in the living room, waiting for Jakob to arrive. The house was clean, the pizza leftovers put away, and Molly was in bed. Jake was out in the yard, happily gnawing on a piece of rawhide. Neither Rhes nor Sarah were sure how he would react to Jakob’s presence, and they had felt it best to keep him away from the vampire entirely.

“Why not?” Rhes asked.

“Do you remember what he said? He was investigating Two’s house to see ‘if she needed to be hurt or not’ when he ran into us. Tori’s clearly got enough problems of her own already. I don’t want to set someone on her who’ll willingly murder three other vampires without the slightest hesitation.”

Rhes thought this over. “He might be able to help her more than we can, though.”

“He might. Or he might chop her up. I’m pretty sure Tori can take care of herself, and I’d rather we tell Two before we tell anyone else. She knows these people better than we do.”

“You think she’ll know what to do?”

“She’ll do
something
, anyway, whether it’s the right thing or not. You know Two. I just don’t want to go making decisions for her.”

Rhes shrugged. “OK, hon. Your call. Right now we have to worry about ourselves anyway. Supposedly, we’re still in danger.”

“Do you think they’re watching us right now?” Sarah asked.

“Yes. Watching the house, anyway. I doubt they’re peering in through the windows or anything.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost eleven. He’ll be here soon.”

They lapsed into a nervous silence. Sarah was attempting to read. Rhes was watching baseball at a low volume, but not really paying it any attention. Both were waiting for a sign of the vampire’s arrival. It came as a small knock on the front door.

Rhes took a deep breath and said, “I’ll get it.”

Jakob was wearing a maroon button-down shirt made of silk, a pair of grey slacks, and a grey sport coat. The clothes were exquisitely tailored and looked surprisingly casual and comfortable. His dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He smiled as Rhes opened the door.

“It is good to see you standing, my friend,” Jakob said.

Rhes laughed. “It’s good to be
able
to stand. I was a little worried about it last night. Come in.”

Jakob stepped inside. “Thank you. This is a lovely home. Hello, Sarah.”

“Hi, Jakob. Your cell phone’s on the table by the door.”

“Ah, thank you.” Jakob slid the phone into an interior pocket.

“Can I take your coat?” Rhes asked.

“No, thank you. I don’t think I’ll be staying long, as I don’t want to keep you awake. Also, I make you nervous. Not that I blame you … it’s unusual for humans to enjoy company of my type.”

“It depends on the company, I suppose, but you don’t need to rush on our behalf. Have a seat.”

Rhes sat down on the couch. Sarah remained in her easy chair. Jakob took the other recliner, which faced both of them, and got down to business.

“Your friend did not return to her apartment last night,” he said. “Until we find out what has happened to her, I would like to keep you under guard.”

“Are we really still in danger?” Sarah asked.

“I do not know, which makes it prudent to assume that you are.”

“Not to look a gift horse in the mouth,” Rhes said, “but why are you protecting us, anyway? Aren’t we basically … food?”

Jakob laughed. “No, not exactly. I know, like, and respect many humans. Few of them are aware of what I am, of course, but that doesn’t change anything. You are under protection because I choose to protect you. Your friend is responsible for some very significant events in the past year, and there is a great deal of action happening amongst my people.”

“How do we fit in?”

“To the best of my knowledge, you don’t. I think you’re innocent and well-intentioned bystanders who’ve been swept up in something that you can’t control and don’t deserve to be punished for. The Burilgi may not even know who you are, which would be the best-case scenario. Unfortunately, until I can determine your status with them, I can’t guarantee your safety without keeping you under guard.”

“Where are your people?”

“On the rooftops, mostly, watching the entrances to this building. They will not miss anything, and they will not disturb you in any way unless it is necessary.”

“What will you do with Two, when you find her?” Sarah asked.

“I will take her before the council. She is wanted for questioning but not necessarily punishment. There are many who feel that, if anything, she deserves to be rewarded for her actions.”

“When will you have news?”

“The next council meeting is on the fourth of October. With any luck, we will have located Two by then.”

“Can you call us? I mean, you don’t have to tell us any details if you don’t want to. We just want to know if Two’s OK.”

“I will have someone call you as soon as we know for sure that your friend is alive, and what the council’s judgment is. In the interim, it’s safer for all involved if you have as little contact as possible with Two and the rest of us.”

Rhes said, “I guess that’s all we can ask. Thank you.”

“When does this end?” Sarah asked. “When do we get to go back to normal life?”

“I cannot imagine that it will take more than a week to determine whether the Burilgi harbor any ill intentions. If your friend has been kidnapped, it may take longer to obtain information on her, but I believe you will be able to return to your normal routine within a few days.”

Sarah nodded. “OK, Jakob. Thank you. Was there anything else?”

“I have nothing more, except to offer my apologies that you had to become involved in this at all.”

Rhes smiled. “Not your fault. Our friend dragged us in. You saved our lives.”

Jakob nodded and rose from his chair. Rhes and Sarah both stood as well and escorted him to the front door, where he said, “Take care, stay inside during the evenings, and I will be in touch as soon as I can.”

“Do you believe him?” Rhes asked when the vampire had gone.

“That we’re safe and that he’ll get us out of this mess? Yeah. Why protect us now if he intends to kill us later? As far as Two goes, I have no idea. It could be he’s lying, and they’re just looking to find her and murder her so she’ll shut up and stop bothering them.”

“You know, it’s your sense of optimism that I love,” Rhes said, his voice dry.

“I thought it was my perky tits,” Sarah replied.

“Those, too.”

“I’m tired, Rhes. Think you can handle the stairs?”

“Sleeping on the couch means waking up next to the dog, and sleeping in the bed means waking up next to you. I’ll brave the stairs.”

“I’m touched,” Sarah said. “You get a head start. I’ll let Jake in, shut off the lights, and meet you upstairs.”

“Sounds good,” Rhes said. He watched as Sarah headed for the rear of the house, and then turned and began the ascent to their room, grimacing at the pain in his legs and ribs. Eventually he made it to the master bedroom, which faced the rear of the brownstone, its windows looking down on the garden below.

He heard Sarah come in behind him and he said, “Sit down on the edge of the bed for a minute, hon.”

“OK …” Sarah’s voice was questioning, but she did what Rhes asked.

“I wanted to do this right,” Rhes said, walking over to her and dropping to one knee. Sarah realized what was happening and gave him a radiant smile.

“Sarah Victoria Taylor, I love you and I want to spend my life with you. Will you marry me?” Rhes asked as he took her left hand.