Fall of Darkness (The Chronicles of Darkness) (24 page)

They were pictures of Kate’s childhood.
Her smiling parents in front of the court house holding a squirming two-year-old
Kate. Her first ballet class. Her first day of kindergarten. Her first soccer
game… Kate watched her life pass before her in photographs… Prom, graduation,
nursing school, the day she bought her car. Every single moment of her life
seemed to be carefully catalogued and cherished. It could’ve been the slide
show at her funeral. It kind of was. That life was over. That Kate was gone.

“How did you get these?” She whispered,
her voice catching in her throat.

“I have been standing guard over you for
more than twenty years. Despite what you believe, your grandfather cared very
much for your wellbeing and expected frequent reports.”

            “But
that still doesn’t explain how you got all these. You probably tolerate the sun
about as well as I do. Besides, I’m sure I would’ve noticed you creeping around
in the bushes at some point.”

            “Remember
the mind trick we talked about?”

            Kate
nodded.

            “Well,
not only can vampires erase a human’s memories, we can also compel humans into
action. It’s how we accomplish anything during daylight. Our humans serve us
with absolute loyalty.”

            Wow.
Erasing memories was objectionable at best, but mind control was a completely
different breed of animal. Kate didn’t think she’d ever be willing to take away
another person’s free will. Besides, the thought of mindless zombies watching
her every move made her hair stand on end.

            “So
you’ve had people following me my entire life?”

            “More
like checking in. However, I personally watched over you every night, up until
the last weeks before your transition.” 

            “Every
night? I don’t know if that’s flattering or outright creepy.”

            “Let’s
stick with flattering. I’m not some psychotic stalker lurking outside your
window and trying to sneak a peek. I was there to protect you.”

            Fair
enough. Alexander had been with her all this time. Monitoring her movements,
cataloguing her memories. Until Dominic. Even though talking about that time
period would cause more pain than any thirst ever could, Kate had to know why.

            “So,
what happened before my transition? Why did you leave me when I needed you the
most?” Kate tried to keep the hurt out of her voice, but could hear it creep
in.

            Alexander
sighed. “I was called home to deal with an urgent matter for your grandfather.
I had no idea the wolves had found you and thought you still had plenty of time
before you transitioned.”

            “Oh.”
Kate didn’t know what else to say. If he hadn’t left, she wouldn’t have met
Dominic. Her heart wouldn’t be broken into a thousand tiny pieces. It wasn’t
his fault, but it still sucked.

            “Words
can’t express how sorry I am for the pain my absence allowed.” Alexander said,
his golden eyes burning with genuine grief. “I don’t know what happened between
you and Ridolfi, but---”

Kate cut him off without even blinking.
“I don’t want to talk about him.”

With a nod of understanding, Alexander
continued, “I know, but I want to apologize for ever letting that bastard near
you. If I could make it up to you, I would.”

“There is.”

Alexander’s face lit up like a bulb on a
Christmas tree. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Kate gave him a weak, hopeful
smile. “Erase him from my memory. Make me forget everything about him.”

Alexander sighed. “It won’t work,
Katerina. You’re a vampire. Your mind is too strong.”

“Try,” she insisted.

He expelled an exasperated sigh, but
conceded nonetheless. “Alright. For you, I will try anything once.”

“Even vegetarianism?”

“Funny. Except that. Now close your
eyes.”

Kate obeyed and felt the gentle pressure
of his fingertips at her temples. Heat seemed to radiate from his skin as he
worked his magic. Alexander whispered words beneath his breath in an unfamiliar
language. Kate felt a funny tugging at her mind, then nothing. Alexander
withdrew his touch and Kate opened her eyes.

Alexander studied her, a mix of
curiosity and concern in his face. “Well?”

Damn it. It was still there, the gaping,
Dominic-shaped hole in her heart.

“It doesn’t matter,” she lied.

“Yes it does,” Alexander argued. “We’ll
just have to find another way to make you forget him.” His lips brushed her
forehead, the gentle whispering of butterfly wings against her skin. Kate froze
in place, her body whipping ramrod straight on the couch. It was the most
innocent of gestures, but it cracked the mortar at the base of what little
composure she had. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to be kissed again, like
that or in any other way.

Apparently, her reaction broadcasted her
discomfort loud and clear, because Alexander immediately created space between
them, moving to the opposite end of the couch.

“Forgive me, Katerina. I meant no
offense.”

Kate offered him a strained smile. “I
know that. Thanks for trying.” 

He cleared his throat and leaned
forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Do you want to see more?”

“There’s more?”

He grinned and punched another couple of
buttons on the remote. Much older pictures flashed on the giant screen. Kate
didn’t recognize any of them, but thought she should somehow. Alexander rattled
off names to go with the faces in the pictures, adding little tidbits about
each person as they passed.

Two young blonde women with feathered
hair, laughing and hugging.

“Your mother and mine. They were best
friends.”

A distinguished looking man with dark
hair and an angular jaw.

“Your grandfather, the current ruling
patriarch.”

A twenty-something frat boy with a smirk
and a beer.

“Your cousin, Massimo, the dumbass.”

Newlyweds dancing in the moonlight.

“Your parents, the night they were
married.”

Alexander, a red sash across one
shoulder, kneeling before her grandfather.

“Me, the night I was ordained your
tutore.”

The pictures flashed before her eyes
again and again. Kate drank in each one, her astonishment growing as she
circled around a couple of stunning realizations. First, her other family was
real. They couldn’t replace the ones who raised her, but she had a place where she
belonged in this scary new life.

Second, they seemed so… human. She
didn’t picture vampires having barbecues and pulling out the old Polaroid to
capture the moment. Yet there they were, laughing and making memories, like any
mortal family. Where were the coffins and cobwebs? The dead bodies in the
basement? 

Alexander kept the blood coming, one
unit after another, all the while providing a running narrative for Kate as she
studied each shot in the steady stream of pictures. For the first time, Kate
made peace with who she was. Oh, the blood drinking was still never going to
happen, but at least she knew she wasn’t a monster.

Just like the rest of the world, the
vampires in those pictures were real people with lives. She didn’t agree with
their lifestyle, but that didn’t necessarily make them bad. Did it? Before her
transition, she’d seen the world in terms of black and white, good and evil,
but it didn’t seem quite right anymore. Maybe there was no black or white, but varying
shades of gray.

Chapter
20

           
With weighted steps, Dominic approached
the massive double doors marking the entrance to his father’s private office.
He sucked in a fortifying breath and rapped lightly on the door. He’d been
summoned to this very place many times in the past, both as a small boy, then
later as a grown man.

Within this office, he’d received
instructions for a special task or mission, praise for commendable
achievements, or punishment for his many, many transgressions. Though just as
guilty in the past as he was today, Dominic dreaded this interview more than
any of its predecessors.

 It wasn’t fear that filled his heart
with dread, but sorrow. Sorrow for his betrayal of the family who’d loved and
raised him, sorrow for the lies he’d told them. He’d turned his back on them to
protect the life of a woman who didn’t return his love. 

Dominic studied his hands, half
expecting to find the stain of his betrayal written there. Those hands had
bathed in the blood of vampires every night since Kate awakened. Yet, he knew
no amount of vampire blood would ever be enough to wash his hands clean of what
he’d done.

            Until
the call from Chicago, he’d never been anything but honest with Salvatore.
There’d never before been a need for falsehoods between them. Though he lied to
protect Kate, his untruths may have protected Salvatore as well. For this truth
would surely kill his immortal sire.

Hearing Salvatore’s gravelly voice bid
him enter, Dominic pressed his way into the spacious office. His father sat
quietly behind his desk, a sweeping view of their vineyards at his back through
the floor-to-ceiling windows. Salvatore’s stony countenance was an unreadable
mask. His face seemed more weathered, as though the strain of the past few
months had managed to age him in a way the passing of time never could.

Salvatore knew.

Dominic paused in the doorway, awaiting
direction from the man he’d known and loved as father and leader, but betrayed
for a vampire.

            “Please,
Dominic, come,” Salvatore rasped, gesturing for his son to draw closer. Dominic
strode further into the room with slow, cautious steps, approaching his father
as he might a coiled snake, sleeping in the grass. Turning his chair Salvatore
gestured to the floor in front of him. “Kneel.”

            Dominic
obeyed with only the slightest reluctance, dropping to his knees before his
father in the unprecedented sign of repentant deference. The demand alone gave
evidence to Salvatore’s sordid mood. Never before had he required such
supplication from his favorite son. Today was different.

Dominic’s hands hung at his side, his
fists clenching and unclenching in tense anticipation. He bowed his head,
awaiting his father’s verdict. An eternity of silence stretched between them,
before Salvatore finally spoke.

            “Speak
only the truth now, Dominic, for I grow weary of your lies,” Salvatore
whispered, his quiet voice hardly masking a razor-sharp edge. “Did you go to
America and observe Kate Murdock as I instructed?”

            “Yes,
father,” Dominic answered, closing his eyes.

            “Good.
I see you are not entirely incapable of speaking the truth. Tell me this. Did
you indicate you believed Kate Murdock was not Katerina Cacciatori?”

            “Yes
father.”

            With
a sharp crack, Salvatore’s open palm came in contact with Dominic’s right cheek
in a stinging slap. Dominic’s head jerked involuntarily from the momentum, but
he gave no other reaction. He remained silent and contrite, wishing the past
could somehow be undone, but knowing full well he would do nothing different if
given the chance. Kate was the only sacrifice he refused to make. She may not
love him, but he would always love her.

            “Tell
me the truth now, as you failed to then. Is Kate Murdock the vampire, Katerina Cacciatori?”

            Dominic
bit his tongue, pondering the consequences of his next answer. His father knew
the truth. Lying would do nothing for Kate now. He’d protected her from his
family as long as he could. Now, under the protection of her
tutore
and
a legion of vampires, she was as safe as she would ever be.

            “Yes,
father.”

            Salvatore
smacked his open palm across Dominic’s left cheek with a resounding crack.
Dominic’s ears rang. The matching handprints burned angrily on each side of his
face, but he made no protest. He deserved no less than was given.

His father pressed on without mercy,
driving deeper to the heart of his treason. “Upon discovering the identity of
Kate Murdock, did you execute her as instructed?”

            “No,
father.”

            Dominic
was mentally prepared for the next blow to land on his right cheek. He didn't
flinch when the back of his father’s hand collided with his face with much more
force than before. The sharp edge of the bejeweled Ridolfi crest on his
father’s ring finger split the flesh of Dominic’s cheek to the bone. Warm blood
oozed down his face, but he made no move to staunch the bleeding. He kept his
head and eyes down, humbly accepting the shame and punishment he believed to be
justly his.

            “Did
you, or did you not, choose to protect a vampire over your own family?”
Salvatore’s voice rose, his control slipping as anger seeped into his words. He
did not wait for an answer before driving into another string of questions.
“Would you, had she not spurned you, be with her now?”

            “Father,
I---”

            “Silence,”
Salvatore roared. The back of Salvatore’s hand crashed into Dominic’s left
cheek with enough force to knock him off balance.  The diamonds of his wedding
band slashed a deep gash to match the already healing one on Dominic’s right.
Dominic didn’t move. He made no further effort to defend himself or his
actions. Blood ran like tears down his face. His father already knew the
answers to the questions he asked, had already passed judgment for what he’d
done.

Pain and defeat weighed heavily on the
older man’s voice as he ground out his next words. “I loved you. I trusted you.
You betrayed everyone you’ve ever loved, all because you couldn’t control your
lust. For a mere woman, a vampire. You would see us all destroyed for her. You
are despicable,” Salvatore spit at the ground where Dominic knelt, “a traitor
to your family and your kind. I can scarcely stand to look at you.”

            “Father,
please---”

            “NO!
Do you know what you’ve done? I’ve listened to your lies for the last time. I
should have you executed for your treason.”

            Dominic
looked up at his father for the first time, the fires of rebellion rising from
deep within him. “Then what are you waiting for?” Dominic rasped in an angry
whisper.  “Do it. Put me out of my misery, I beg of you. You would be doing me
a favor.”

            “I
cannot. I have not shared your betrayal with the council, nor do I intend to.
To do so would bring shame upon our entire house. Our position is too
precarious to withstand such a blow. The burden of your betrayal is ours alone
to bear. Speak of it to no one. You will resume your life here, but I will be
watching you.”

            “Yes,
father.”

            “Behind
these doors, you are no longer my son.”

            A
dagger twisted in Dominic’s heart, but he expected no less. “Understood, sir.”

            “You
will lead the southern patrol tonight. Don’t disappoint me, and don’t give me
reason to regret my leniency. I can no longer trust you. But to protect our
position, I must pretend otherwise. Prove you are still an honorable man,
worthy of the name you bear. Honor your family. Honor the Pact.”

“Yes, sir.” Dominic stalked out of the
office and out of his father’s scrutiny.

Though he would gladly resume his role
as a guardian of humanity and a leader of the vampire hunters, it would never
be enough. The only road to Salvatore’s forgiveness was Kate’s destruction.
Thus, redemption would never be his.

Dominic would kill every last one of
those soul-sucking, blood thirsty demons who crossed his path, but not Kate. If
he found himself face-to-face with her, all bets were off.