Cronin's Key (10 page)

“Dad, it’s me.”

“Oh, Alec. Where the hell are you? Are you okay?” He spoke so fast his words ran into each other. “They’re looking for you, son. The police. They’re probably—”

Alec cut him off. “Dad, I need you to listen. Go around and draw all the blinds. All of them.”

There was a pause. “Okay. Do you think they’re watching?”

“Just do it for me, please,” Alec said. “I’ll explain later.”

There were muffled sounds coming from the phone, which Cronin deduced was the man closing the blinds to the windows in his house. “Okay,” his dad said. “I’ve closed them all.”

“Are you there alone?”

“Yes.”

“Do me a favor,” Alec said. “Go look out through the front door and tell me how many cars are parked out front.”

Alec didn’t wait for an answer. He ended the call, threw the phone on the sofa, and put his arms around Cronin’s waist. “Right. He’s at the front door so if you could leap us into the hallway. I figured it’s probably best not to give him a coronary.”

With the address Alec had given him in his mind, Cronin pressed his hand to Alec’s back, his whole body alive with energy at the feel of Alec’s body flush against him. It took his breath away. And they leapt.

As soon as they’d arrived, Cronin knew why Alec had told him to leap into the hall: there were no windows. In the split second of leaping, Cronin took in the surroundings. The apartment was small and old, the carpets and furnishings were yellow and brown, and the air smelled a mix of human food and faint lemon disinfectant.

Then Alec flexed and recoiled against him. Cronin could feel the tension vibrate in his body when Alec groaned quietly through his clenched teeth as the effects of leaping rattled through him. Yes, leaping affected Alec, but it surprised Cronin just how well he endured it. He’d taken humans numerous times—dinner dates, as Alec had called them—and most had screamed and shaken violently, some lost consciousness, yet Alec contained the pain without much effort. It was a sure sign of his strength and determination, traits Cronin greatly admired.

Alec pulled away and found his bearings almost immediately. He turned and ran down the hall. “Dad?”

Cronin followed, but Alec’s arm stopped him from entering the small living room. There stood a man, easily identifiable as Alec’s father; despite the age difference, they looked alike. His father was slightly smaller, and where Alec’s hair was dark brown, his father’s was gray. Their eyes were an identical shade of hazel.

His father startled, the phone in his hand now forgotten.
“Alec?”

“Yes, Dad, it’s me.”

“How did you get in here?” he asked, looking at Cronin, who Alec was shielding behind him.

Alec didn’t answer him. He just strode over to his father and hugged him. “You okay?” he asked, pulling away.

“Yes, yes,” his dad said, glancing around Alec at Cronin. “I’m all right. You scared me, is all.”

Alec clapped his dad on the shoulder and walked over to the window, looked up and down the street, then pulled the curtains to the edges the best he could. His father had pulled the curtains across but strips of sunlight still framed the windows.

That was why Alec had stopped him from entering the living room, Cronin realized. He was protecting him from daylight.

Alec pulled at the curtains more thoroughly and when they’d been pulled as best as the material allowed and the room was void of sunlight, Cronin stepped into the room.

“Dad,” Alec said, “I’d like to introduce you to someone.”

His father still stared at Cronin, and eventually he nodded. “I know who you are.”

Cronin returned the man’s gaze, unsure of what he meant. Alec was obviously confused also, because he walked over to his father and asked, “What do you mean? Did you see him in the footage the other cops showed you of me disappearing?”

Alec’s father nodded. “Yeah.” He didn’t take his eyes of Cronin. “But that’s not where I know you from.” He held out his hand for Cronin to shake. “My name’s Kole MacAidan. I was wondering when you were gonna turn up. You’re Cronin, yes?”

Cronin felt every hair on his arms and neck stand on end. This man, Alec’s father, knew of him. He cautiously shook the man’s hand so as not to be rude, though uncertainty wasn’t a feeling he liked.

“Yes, my name is Cronin,” he said. “I don’t mean to offend, but if you would care to explain how you know of me.”

“Yes, Dad, please explain,” Alec said. He looked pale and his eyes were wide. “Because this is all new to me, so how the hell can you know who he is?”

Kole kept his eyes on Cronin, but he spoke to Alec. “I know he’s the one who would come for you.” Kole smiled, the same one-sided smirk his son had. “I know what he is. I know vampires are real. I’ve known for a long time.”

Alec pulled at his hair and half turned away, visibly stunned. “You
what
?”

Kole looked at Alec. “You were born to be special, Alec. We knew that. My
seanair
told me when I was just a boy that our blood was special.”

“Your grandfather?” Alec said.

“Yes, as did my father.”

“And you’re just telling me now?” Alec roared, anger rolling off him in waves, and Cronin was immediately by his side, his hand on Alec’s arm.

Kole’s voice was softer. “We didn’t know it was you exactly. It’s our bloodline, who we are, it’s… significant. We don’t know why or what for. But your mother was taken—”

“My mother died!” Alec hissed. “You told me that.”

“Yes, she did. When you were just a baby. Some bad vampires killed her, Alec. She died protecting you,” Kole said. He frowned. “That was when I knew. You’ve been protected by them ever since. All those times you should have died or been taken. I tried to deny it, Alec, I didn’t want it to be you. I wanted you to be safe and just live a happy life.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Alec asked. His chest was heaving and his breathing labored.

“Because you would have thought I’d lost my mind,” his father answered. “And as far as I knew, my
seanair
was just a crazy old man. And maybe I imagined the whole thing. Maybe losing your mother tripped some wire in my head. It wasn’t until I got taken downtown and watched a video of you disappearing into thin air that I knew it was all
really
real.”

Kole sat on the sofa and leaned back. The older man looked exhausted. “I thought you were dead.”

Alec fell onto the sofa beside his dad and put his hand on his leg. “I should have made contact earlier, sorry. I’ve just had a lot to get my mind around these last couple of days.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you knew about this all these years.”

Kole petted Alec’s knee. “I’m sorry I never told you. I wouldn’t have known where to start if I’d tried.”

“’S’okay, Dad,” Alec replied with a quiet sigh, the anger obviously gone. “Can’t change the facts now.”

Cronin hadn’t moved, and Kole smiled up at him. “So, you’re the one for my boy, huh?”

Cronin nodded, though he was still alarmed by this man’s knowledge of him. “Mr. MacAidan, I wish we could have met under different circumstances, and I regret not having a more formal introduction. If you’ll please excuse my candor, but how do you know what I am to your son?”

Kole smiled. “The Japanese guy told me.”

“Eiji?” Alec asked.

Kole shrugged. “Dunno his name. Kinda small and fast, moves too fluidly to be… ya know, human. Smiles a lot. Hasn’t aged a day since I was a kid.”

It was definitely Eiji. Cronin took a steady breath and spoke as calmly as he could. “He told you of me?”

“Not exactly. No details or anything. Just that I would have a son and he would be special. Nothing else, well, not then. I was about ten years old when I saw him the first time. He just kinda appeared outta nowhere, and maybe he was gonna kill me, I dunno. But he touched my arm and gasped like I was hot to touch. He laughed like a madman, and—I swear I’ll never forget it—he said, ‘Oh, finally’ like he’d just heard the best news.

“I didn’t know what he meant,” Kole said. “I was just a kid. Then he told me not to be scared, that he’d protect me until my child was born. And I gotta say, to a ten-year-old that didn’t make a whole lotta sense.

“I didn’t see him again for years, and truth be told, I thought I’d imagined it. Until Alec was born. We’d just brought him home, a tiny newborn he was, and I saw that man again. Heather, Alec’s mom, was in the nursery one night and I heard her scream. I raced into the nursery and there were two men with vampire teeth standing over the crib. My wife lay on the floor. Her head was at an odd angle and her eyes were staring blank. Then the Japanese guy flew past me—I’ve never seen anything move so quick—and when one of the others tried to take Alec, he stopped them. One minute there were two men and the next there was just dust. I didn’t see what he did to them. But then he picked up the baby and handed him to me. He said the baby was special and that he would protect him, always, for Cronin.”

Kole looked at Cronin and then Alec. “I didn’t know who this Cronin was, until I saw that video. But the Japanese guy said Cronin would come for him, and that it was a very good thing. This special boy had been waited for, for a real long time. That was all he said. To be honest, with just having lost my Heather, I didn’t think of it again until things started to happen to Alec when he was a boy. Strange things. Then there was the man at the indoor pool.” He looked at Alec. “You remember that time some guy pulled you outta the water? I’m sure it was the same guy.”

Cronin nodded. “I believe so, as well.”

“You know this man?” Kole asked.

“Yes,” Cronin said. “He’s like a brother to me.”

“And you’re both… vampires?”

“Yes.”

“They’re good vampires, Dad,” Alec said. “I mean, if there is such a thing.”

Kole nodded slowly, then looked at Alec for a long time. “Are you okay, son? If this is not what you want, then we’ll leave. Just you and me.”

Alec smiled at his father, but his eyes flickered to Cronin, then back to his dad. “I can’t explain it, Dad. But yeah, I need to be with him.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Kole spoke like Cronin wasn’t even in the room. It irked Cronin a little, but he realized Kole’s only concern was for Alec, and that was reasoning he couldn’t fault. “I asked if you were okay.”

“I’m fine. It’s been weird, I ain’t gonna lie, but I’m okay.” Alec looked back up at Cronin and a flush colored his cheeks. “I’m safe with him.”

Kole looked between his son and Cronin, who still stood on the other side of the room, and back to Alec. “Well, I ain’t seen you blush like that since you were a schoolboy and I asked you if you had a crush on that hockey player… what’s his name?”

“Wayne Gretsky.” Alec cringed. “But we don’t need to talk about that right now, Dad.”

Cronin smirked and Kole stood up and walked over to stand in front of him. “You wanna tell me what your intentions are with my son?”

Cronin blinked, though he was beginning to see where Alec got his brazen character. He lifted his chin and looked defiantly at Alec’s father. “I am vampire. I’ve lived too long to apologize for such a fact. I feed on the blood of humans and have done for almost thirteen hundred years, but I
cannot
harm your son. My intentions with regard to Alec are honest, Mr. MacAidan. I want him only to be happy, and it is woven into the fabric of my existence to see him so. He was born to be by my side, and I at his. Whatever fate drew us together I do not know, but I am thankful.”

Kole MacAidan stared at Cronin and blinked slowly. Obviously disregarding the parts about fate and happiness, he said, “Okay. So you kill people for food.”

Cronin answered stoically. “Yes. Typically felons and those who intend to harm others, but yes.”

Kole considered this for a moment. “But you’re Scottish?”

“Yes.”

Kole looked at Alec and smiled. “He’s a Scot!”

Alec was still staring at Cronin, unmistakably mesmerized by the words of fate he’d just said, as though he’d never heard anything so beautiful. “I know, Dad.”

Kole looked back at Cronin. “Thank you for being honest.” He shrugged. “I guess.” He shook his head, much the same way that Alec did. “And I was worried about him bringing home some tattooed punk or a Lakers fan.”

Cronin gave him a smile, and Kole clapped his wide, hard hand on the vampire’s arm. “Can I get you boys something to drink?” he asked, walking off to the small kitchen.

Alec’s brow furrowed. “Ah, Dad. You understood the whole vampire thing, right?”

Kole opened the fridge door and stopped, then turned to face Cronin. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

Cronin slowly walked over to the sofa and sat beside Alec. “Your father took the news better than you did,” he said softly.

Alec smiled at him. “Told you we’re good with weird.”

“I don’t know whether to be thankful or worried,” Cronin whispered. “Your father seemed only concerned that I am Scottish. It pleased him greatly.”

Alec snorted out a laugh just as Kole came back into the room and handed Alec a can of soda. “Okay, then,” Kole said, sitting in the single seat across from them. He looked squarely at Alec. “So, all this happened three days ago? Start from the beginning.”

Over the course of the afternoon, Alec told his father everything he knew. Everything that had happened from him chasing down the first vampire to leaping with Cronin and learning about vampire histories. Alec explained what had happened with the Yersinians—how the Black Plague wasn’t really a plague at all—and how the pyramids found all over the world were ancient burial sites of vampires the world didn’t want to see returned. He explained the recent development with a new breed of Egyptian vampire who was pushing out the old covens, and how it involved something called a key.

“Whatever they’re planning is big, Mr. MacAidan,” Cronin said. “The local Egyptian covens have left Cairo or disappeared, which is akin to rats abandoning a sinking ship. They’re getting out while they can.”

“There’s a meeting of sorts on tonight,” Alec said. “I guess it’s to find out what we can?”

Kole shook his head slowly, the color drained from his face. He swallowed hard. “You said a
key
?”