In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete Second Season: Episodes 6-10 (17 page)

“
Okay.” She felt unable to move, to think, to breathe.

Armando was suddenly close to her, his hand resting on her cheek. “Vanora, I can’t say how sorry I am. Words can’t express how guilty I feel. If only I had arrived sooner…”

“It’s my fault.” Vanora’s words were filled with the conviction she felt. “I killed her. I brought it all with me: the death, violence, pain. I didn’t escape. It came with me.”

“
Don’t say that,” Armando protested, sinking to his knees before her. “Never say that. You’re everything that is good in this world, Vanora.”

“
Yet I’m surrounded by darkness and evil. It’ll swallow me whole one day.” She sniffled and rubbed her nose with her fingers.

“
Not if I can stop it,” Armando vowed.

“
You’ve been watching me.”

“
Yes,” he answered. “You wanted a real life. I wanted it for you too.”

The wisps of her ability skimmed over his thoughts and she didn’t sense any dishonesty. She was glad he didn’t lie. There were too many lies filling her life. The lies she told herself were the worst and she wasn’t even sure if she could face them yet.

“It’s because you know that something out there is coming for me, right?” The longer she stared at his face, the more details emerged as her vision started to clear. His amber eyes, slightly rimmed with tears, and rakish curls were the first thing she could discern. Sadness loomed in his eyes and worry was etched into the lines around his mouth.

Armando nodded.

“So you kept checking up on me? To make sure I was okay? Did you report back to Roman?”

“
No, no. I never told him that I was watching out for you. Your family doesn’t even know that I’ve been living in Austin part time.” He formed his hands into a steeple under his chin and sighed.

Vanora’s vision started to leave her again. A deep exhaustion filled her. She’d used just enough of her power to determine if Armando was lying and now she was drained. The vampire disappeared into the smeary splotches of her surroundings.

“What’s coming for me?” Vanora asked finally.

“
The same thing that will go after Roman,” Armando said after a long beat of hesitation.

“
Can you tell me what’s after us?”

“
No, no. I can’t.”

“
Can’t, or won’t?” Vanora asked.

“
Vanora, I will always try to help you and your family in every way that I can. I will always defend you to the best of my capabilities.” His fingers brushed over her cheek gently. “Do you believe me?”

Nodding, she withdrew from his touch. It was so easy to fall under his spell, but Armando was part of the darkness trying to consume her. There was no denying that truth.

“I’ll pack a bag for you, then we’ll go.”

Her phone began to play the little tune she had selected for Dan.

“Oh, your phone.” Armando’s hands pressed it into hers. “It’s Dan.”

Vanora knew Armando was jealous of her human boyfriend, but his voice didn’t hold even a hint of his disapproval. As he left the living room, Vanora answered and pressed the phone to her ear.

“Hi,” was all she managed to say.

“
Vanora, are you okay? A friend just told me that there was a ton of police and emergency vehicles at your apartment complex when they passed by a little bit ago.”

“
I’m okay, but…” It was suddenly hard to speak.

“
Oh, God. Is it Rhonda? Did that guy show up?”

Vanora struggled to form coherent words. After swallowing a few times, she said, “Rhonda’s dead.”

“Oh, my God! Vanora, I’m so sorry! Do you need me to come over? Is someone with you right now?” Dan sounded panicked and sorrowful.

“
Armando is here,” Vanora answered. “He’s taking me to my aunt and uncle’s place.”

“
That’s good. I’m glad you’re not alone. If you need me, I can get in my car right now.”

The murky silhouette of the vampire entered the room carrying her bag.

“I’m being taken care of. Maybe tomorrow you can visit?”

“
Absolutely. If you need me to do anything, just call. At any time. I mean it. I’m so sorry, Vanora. I never dreamed that he’d actually… you know.”

“
Me neither,” Vanora answered, but it felt like a lie. She had dreamed of Rhonda consumed by the darkness. She should have realized what that portent meant. How foolish she had been. She should have picked up the phone and warned Rhonda immediately. Yet, she had been so self-absorbed she had been convinced that everything in the dream had been about her.

“
I just wish I knew what to say or do.” Dan’s voice was tender.

“
Me, too.” She broke into deep, terrible sobs. With terrible certainty, she realized she would never see Dan again. They were over and he didn’t even realize it.

Vanora didn’t remember hanging up or saying goodbye. She was dimly aware of Armando taking the phone from her fingers before helping her into her winter coat. He buttoned it for her and wrapped a scarf about her neck. Slipping the phone into her pocket, he smoothed her hair back from her face.

“You did nothing wrong,” he insisted.

Vanora shook her head in utter misery. “I should have stayed alone. I was selfish.”

“You didn’t kill her, Vanora. You loved her.” Armando picked up her bag and draped his arm around her shoulders.

Leaning heavily against him, she let him guide her out of the warmth of her apartment and into the cold darkness of the night.

Armando had faced many monsters in his long lifetime, but never remembered being quite as unnerved as he was under the intense gaze of Vanora’s aunt. As Nicolau Socoli disappeared back into the house with Vanora’s bag clutched in his hand, Crystal Socoli took Vanora into her arms. Vanora’s slight form was instantly engulfed in the folds of the oversized sweater her aunt was wearing.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” Crystal said, cradling the younger woman.

“
It was awful,” Vanora whispered.

It was good to see that Vanora was so beloved by other members of her family. Even the harsh looks her aunt kept giving him only showed just how much Vanora was adored.

Sleet was falling and the temperature had dropped even more since they had left the apartment complex. Armando wasn’t affected by the cold like humans were and didn’t expect an invitation into the home. It was clear from Crystal’s penetrating gaze that she knew quite a bit about him.

“
So, you’re Armando,” Crystal said at last as she guided Vanora over the doorstep, leaving Armando alone on the stoop.

“
Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He offered a handshake.

“
Uh huh.” Crystal looked at his hand, but didn’t shake it. He noted the big gold cross she had strung around her neck. The glinting metal contrasted nicely with her dark skin.

Armando redirected his gaze to Vanora while dropping his proffered hand. They hadn’t spoken on the way over to the house. Vanora had been overwhelmed with emotion and he had let her cry. Yet, time was running out.

“About what we were discussing…”

Vanora was silent and he wondered if she was ignoring the gravity of the situation in the aftermath of Rhonda’s death. He couldn’t hold it against her. It was so much to deal with. As a vampire, he was used to death, but Vanora, who had been plagued by so much, was human, and the race as a whole didn’t deal well with mortality.

“Anyway, call me tomorrow.” Armando rattled off his number, but Vanora didn’t write it down or enter it into her phone. “I’ll just check in tomorrow if I don’t hear from you.”

“
Uh huh,” Crystal said, not moving from the doorway, her arm still around Vanora.

Vanora’s blind gaze bothered Armando, and he wondered if it was a subconscious way to protect herself.

“Thanks, Armando,” Vanora said at last.

Armando nodded, turned, and headed back toward his car. Just before the front door shut and locked, he heard Crystal say, “He’s way too damn good-looking…”

The vampire was almost to his car when his preternatural senses alerted him to danger. The gloom beneath several tall pecan trees was particularly dense. Stopping in mid-stride in the center of the quiet residential street, Armando focused his attention on that one spot while allowing his vampire nature to fully surface. His eyesight sharpened as his hearing became more acute, while his uncanny powers unfolded to taste the night around him. Only the pinging of sleet against the metal and glass of the cars lining the street broke the silent stillness enshrouding the area.

Armando was glad he had drank human blood the last few nights. His vampire swiftness and strength were maximized. What he could sense of his foe was that he or she was also a vampire, but not as powerful as Armando. In their attempt to hide themselves completely from him, the enemy had inadvertently revealed their location.

Lips curling back from his sharp teeth, he focused on the spot where the vampire hid. With a low growl, he stalked forward, his footfalls falling silent as he moved at vampire speed and agility.

The patch of darkness suddenly collapsed and a man darted through the bushes lining the yard. Armando lunged after him, but stopped himself just as the other vampire took a huge leap over another house to land in the backyard. A dog began to bark angrily inside the house.

Armando hissed with frustration. He wanted to rend flesh with nails and teeth. He wanted to destroy his enemy. He wanted to crush the person who was hunting Vanora. Yet, he couldn’t pursue. It could be a trap. He couldn’t risk it. While he was distracted by the vampire, a werewolf or other supernatural being could attack Vanora.

Whipping about, he stormed back toward his car while fishing out his cellphone. He would call the security team he’d hired to protect Vanora by day and have them relocate to the neighborhood. Armando would have them arrive before sunrise, so he’d have the time to take shelter from the sun. The team was competent and aware of the supernaturals. Aeron would be furious if he knew Armando had even hired them. The team could deal with the lesser supernaturals that might attack during the day, but Armando knew he’d have to handle the vampires himself.

Shrouding himself in shadows, he leaped onto the roof of the house where Vanora was staying and hunkered down to watch.

“His car is still out there,” Aunt Crystal said a few hours later.

Vanora sat on the bed she had once occupied while staying with her extended family. She had finally dressed for bed and her vision was slowly returning.

“He’s watching over me,” Vanora said at last. “Guarding me.”

Crystal frowned. “Against what?”

With a sigh, Vanora thought of the albino vampire, the girl in her dream, Neil, and the darkness that had consumed Rhonda.

“
Fate,” she answered, then slid under the covers.

*

The next afternoon, Vanora stood in the silent apartment staring at the steady drip of freezing rain outside the window. Her aunt was in the kitchen talking on the phone to Rhonda’s mother. Vanora was grateful that her aunt had taken the call. Rhonda’s mother was an alcoholic and had left several screeching messages. She was blaming Vanora for not hearing the confrontation and somehow rescuing Rhonda. Vanora understood the woman’s pain and frustration. The burden of guilt rested heavily on her shoulders.

Though Vanora’s rational mind told her that Neil would have attacked Rhonda even if she wasn’t Vanora’s roommate, she couldn’t help but feel that the darkness that haunted her had also infected Rhonda’s life.

But now their life together had come to an end.

The sun would set soon.

Then it would be time to go.

“
That woman is insane!” Aunt Crystal declared, entering the living room, waving Vanora’s phone in one hand. “Dear God in Heaven, she’s nearly incoherent she’s so drunk! How the hell is she going to make it to Austin to... deal with everything? I totally understand that she’s devastated, but she’s got to do right by her baby even in death!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Vanora flung herself into her aunt’s arms, clinging to her. Crystal clutched her tight, kissing her forehead.

“I’m sorry, Vanora. I shouldn’t be letting her get to me. I just hate that she’s not taking care of her daughter. If anything happened to you or any of my children, I would not rest until things were set right.”

“
I’m so glad I have you in my life,” Vanora whispered, choking on her emotions.

“
I’m glad, too.” Crystal released her and handed her a tissue she drew from a packet in her purse. “Are you sure about this?”

Vanora nodded. “I need to go home.”

Her aunt sighed. “There is so much more going on than I know about, isn’t there?”

Vanora dabbed at her eyes, nodding.