Deadman's Blood (36 page)

“Okay… but what does that have to do with you now?”

“Well, they’ve followed me here, I guess. I assume since I’m the only one they’ve been able to converse with, they came here looking for me.”

“Really? I didn’t think spirits travelled much.”

“I don’t know, but they are here and they seem distraught, but I guess because they are away from their home, they’re weaker and we can’t seem to converse here. All I know is they seem very concerned and seem to be trying to warn me about something or someone,” Sally said.

“But you don’t know what?”

“No. I can tell they are very frustrated with me because I can’t hear them as I could before, but something is very wrong or something is going to happen.”

“Well, thank you, Sally for letting me know. Any chance you might be able to speed things up and get out here sooner so we can find out what spirits are trying to tell you?”

“We’ll try. If all goes well today with the contractor, I think I can do the rest by phone. If that’s the case we might be able to head that way tomorrow.”

“Great. Keep me informed and be safe,” Dominic commanded.

“We will. See you as soon as we can.”

“Thank you, Sweet Sally. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

*****

Anton still wasn’t feeling very well when he went to sleep that evening. His thoughts of the day swirled around his head and wafted away as quickly as they came. Soon he was relaxed and sleeping deeply, when he realized he was in someone’s head looking at the world through their eyes. He knew immediately he was inside Jules’s head again.
Why,
he thought,
is it always her? Why can’t it be someone I don’t know - some random stranger in a sea of
people
?

He tried to pull out of the dream even though he had no idea how, but he felt he should. Then he noticed a name on a piece of paper – Dr. Rowe, Michael W.
What is she up to?
This wasn’t Dr. Rowe’s office - at least not his doctor’s office. This was a seedy, dark office, something you might see in an old private eye flick. The desk was strewn with papers and folders, but aside from the desk and a file cabinet, there wasn’t much else in the tiny office. There was a book shelf, a fax machine, a couple of chairs, and that was about it. The desk had a hookup for a computer, probably a laptop the owner of the office kept with him. There was also a telephone and a full box of 24 vials of sedatives with syringes and another box of sedatives that was almost empty.

What is she doing?
She was rifling through papers on the desk. A car rental agreement for a dark silver, midsize car. Jules was reading it feverishly when her eyes stopped on the state of rental - Minnesota.

As if she were on some kind of hunt with a limited amount of time looming over her, she went through the desk drawers. A copy of a death certificate for someone who died in Pennsylvania and was being sent to Minnesota.
How odd!
Why would Dr. Rowe go to Minnesota AFTER the person on the certificate died
? Anton thought as she moved on to another drawer.

In the file cabinet she found a digital timer with its wires all pulled out and exposed and a receipt from someone named Kompton with a description of ‘Services’ for a very large sum of money. Then she spied several files labeled: Larsen CT; she opened the file to find shipping invoices dated every two weeks for refrigerated items not described. She wrote down the last shipping date on a piece of paper.

Anton watched her scribble June 12 and May 29. On the opposite side of the folder was a spreadsheet of blood types and amounts. Anton thought,
ah, these are the blood shipments to the house
, but the two dates Jules had written down had been written in another color - black. Maybe he ran out of ink with the pen he had used before. Nothing unusual about that, Anton thought. But when Anton thought back on the dates, he thought it hadn’t been too long after May 29 when bad things started to happen. Making sure nothing much was too out of place, Jules snuck out of the office as easily as she had snuck in and Anton’s dreams drifted and shifted back to other things.

Could it all be a coincidence? Or could she have been telling the truth about Dr. Rowe and she was trying to dig up some proof to show me?
He wasn’t sure, but like his dad had said, maybe it was worth looking into.

*****

The next morning when everyone came down for breakfast, there was one person not accounted for: Anton. Conversation at the breakfast table was solely on the latest updates anyone had on Devon and Blake’s condition and how the girls were doing in Baltimore. When they finished breakfast and Anton still hadn’t shown up, Dominic and Josh decided to check on him. They both entered his room, trying to engage in conversation with Anton who was not roused by their attempts.

Dominic sat on the side of the bed and jostled Anton only to find that nothing he did seemed to work. A phone call later, and an ambulance was headed for the house to take him to Baltimore where he would join his cousins at Johns Hopkins under the care of Dr. Chase Donaldson. This was no coincidence. Someone was trying to take the vampire family out and so far, was doing a pretty good job of it.

*****

Doesn’t it always seem that when life starts getting crazy, that’s when all hell breaks loose? That’s how Dominic was feeling right about then. Both of his nephews were in Baltimore in a coma and now his son was too. Of course, this was the time when Katarina was to be discharged into his care and though he was thrilled to have her near, he also feared for her safety.

Between trips to Baltimore, he signed out Katarina and brought her back to the house. He felt nervous and calm at the same time. He wished this new path with Katarina could have been just the two of them with a much more leisurely itinerary, but life rarely blesses us with such gifts and at least he had her with him through such a trying time.

In the car on the way back, Katarina could see the stress Dominic tried not to show and said, “Niky…are you okay?” as she held his free hand in both of hers.

“I wish I could say, yes, Kat, but I can’t. I want to be honest with you,” Dominic said, forcing a smile as he glanced away from the road to take her worried face in.

“What is it? Are Devon and Blake worse?”

“No. There’s no change with the boys, however, we have a new addition to the hospital,” Dominic said.

“Oh no. Who is it? Not Josh - please tell me it’s not Josh.”

“No. Josh is waiting for us at the house…it’s Anton, Kat. We couldn’t wake him in the morning a couple of days ago and now he has joined his cousins at Johns Hopkins.”

“I’m so sorry. Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Pray. Pray that the doctors find a way to help them.”

“You’re doing all you can for him, Niky. Anton knows that. We’ll find a way somehow.”

“I wish I could have brought you home to a happier place without all this going on.”

“Niky, I’m just thrilled to be going home with you; the rest will fall into place in its own time. In the meantime, I’m here for you to lean on and help.”

“Really? I mean, I’ve been alone for so long, I’ve probably got some horrendous habits that will drive you nuts.”

“Maybe, but we’ll work it out. I know there are going to be some tough times, I have no doubt, but we’ve waited a long time to be happy and I believe we deserve it. It’s going to be okay.”

“I wish I had your confidence,” Dominic said.

“Well for the time being, you can use mine and somewhere down the road, I’ll use yours. Like the doctor told me, little steps and before you know it, you’re where you want to be.”

He patted her hand as they drove up to the house. “Thanks, Kat. I think I’ll be taking you up on that offer sooner than you may expect.”

“That’s what I’m here for, Niky. My God…Is this the house? It’s huge and so beautiful.”

“Thank you. With all the visitors we’ve had in the past year, its size has come in handy.” As Dominic got out of the car and hurried over to the passenger side of the Mercedes to open the door for her, he also pointed out the cottage, where he informed her that Mark and Alyssa were residing.

“It’s lovely, Niky, really. And your own lake?”

“Well, it’s a pond.”

“Darn big one,” she said laughing as he led her to the front door.

Once inside the foyer, he set his keys down on the table that housed a telephone and a large, empty vase. Normally, it would be filled with flowers, but without Bernard around, it hadn’t seen flowers in several weeks. Dominic thought about this and his face displayed his sadness for a moment before Josh and Melanie entered the foyer hand in hand.

Dominic quickly introduced Katarina to the young couple. “Katarina, this is Melanie Harper and Josh….Josh Brenner.”

Josh and Katarina stood stunned and speechless as the introduction was made until Melanie smiled and gently pushed Josh towards Katarina. He wasn’t sure what to do and it was apparent Katarina was feeling the same. Tears welled up in her eyes as Josh stepped forward and took both her hands in each of his. The tears spilled over and ran swiftly down Katarina’s cheeks, leaving shiny streaks behind them.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Katarina,” Josh said sweetly.

Katarina lifted one hand to Josh’s day-old beard and softly stroked his face as he leaned into her palm and smiled. Melanie was now sniffling behind him as tears were streaking her pretty face.

“My sweet boy! You are more handsome than I could have ever imagined, even with Niky as your father,” she chuckled and glanced at Dominic. “I’m so sorry I missed knowing you, Josh.”

Josh kissed her open palm near his cheek and said, “It wasn’t your doing - I know that now.” He turned to Dominic and smiled. “Dominic has told me everything. I was really blessed with great parents - I mean adoptive parents.”

“Don’t say that, Josh. They ARE your parents. They were blessed with seeing you grow up and raising you. Dominic and I are just so glad to be a part of your life now, I mean, if that is what you want.”

“Definitely,” Josh said smiling.

“Just think of us as a back up set of parents.”

Josh smiled but looked down at his hands as Melanie stepped forward, putting her hand on his shoulder. Dominic too, stepped forward and said, “Kat, Josh’s parents were recently killed in a plane crash.”

“Oh God, NO! That’s awful. I’m so sorry” She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Josh’s neck and pulling him down to her like his mother always did and without even thinking, he cried into Katarina’s neck before he even realized he was doing it. A great release was found for Katarina and for Josh as he went limp in Katarina’s arms and she consoled him as if she had always done so and had always been there. A great bond had been formed before Melanie and Dominic’s eyes as Dominic wrapped his arm around the tiny Melanie, pulling her to his side as the two of them watched their loved ones have a moment. Tears spilled down Melanie’s face as she looked up at a proud and smiling Dominic, then Dominic kissed the top of Melanie’s head, tugging her a little closer.

This was a happy moment -- a time when a mother and child came together during the midst of adversity and sadness. Dominic was glad he was able to bring them together and he knew right there and then that this crazy family of vampires, psychics, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters, and a gypsy were going to make it. Dominic found his confidence in Josh and Katarina and their bond. Some how, some way, Devon, Blake, and Anton were going to make it and things would be okay as Katarina had said.

Katarina, Alyssa, and Melanie took the other car into town to get some much needed shopping done. Katarina and Dominic had already been to Baltimore together to check on the boys the day before and she thought it would be good for the boys to have some alone time. A road trip to Baltimore with Mark and Josh gave Dominic a chance to get caught up with Mark’s investigation on Bernard’s disappearance and more information on what happened in the altar room when Mark and Anton trapped the Dark Angel.

Dominic asked, “So Mark…anything new pertaining to Bernard?”

“I’ve got to say that it’s very puzzling. It definitely isn’t a random abduction or accident because it’s too clean. Life is messy and we leave all kinds of clues behind us without realizing, but in this incident, there’s nothing, no traces of any kind. All I’ve been able to gather was that he received a phone call that took him to the west side of the airport in Newport and that’s where the trail ends. His cell phone was found there and that’s how I found the phone call. The call came from a prepaid cellphone, paid with cash, and under a pseudonym. I’ve checked surveillance cameras around the airport but the only thing I’ve been able to gather from that was a dark sedan in the area around that time with no license plates. It was very well planned. I’m still looking into some minor leads but nothing is panning out yet.”