Night Walker (12 page)

Gregorio watched the blood flow cease. The angry red flesh lightened, and Lukas’ skin wove itself back together, closing the small holes in Lukas’ calf. Gregorio smiled. His plan had worked. The fur trader would live.

Before he could speak, the women returned with two clay pots of full of fresh water. The wounded man’s attention snapped up, but his gaze was no longer that of a man. His eyes glowed red.

Gregorio’s stomach clenched. What had he done?

“I thirst,” Lukas said and then growled.

The women lowered the clay pots of water.

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“So thirsty… ” He sprang from the ground, and Gregorio grabbed him as the man struggled to break free.

“Run!” Gregorio shouted, shocked to see the sudden change in Lukas.

The pots smashed against the ground as the women sprinted into the darkness. The fresh water soaked into the earth. Gregorio gripped the crazed man even tighter as the trader bellowed into the darkness.

He had not healed him. He had damned him forever.

§

The wind rattled against the cloth top of her old Volkswagen bug convertible as she drove into Reno’s city limits. Bessie wasn’t a great car for Reno’s cold winters, but Kate didn’t mind.

In spite of the quick fixes she’d used to keep the car functional, her bug never failed her. She bought it with her own money the week after she graduated high school, and drove it all the way to Santa Cruz when she started college.

It was her ticket to freedom.

And she’d finish restoring it soon. She just needed to find another passenger door and a new top. No problem. Plus the more projects to keep her busy, the less time she’d have to think about men.

When she made the final turn into her apartment complex, she remembered no one would be there to greet her. Even as she opened the door to her home, she half expected to see Tom’s friendly smile and open arms.

Then she remembered seeing his arms around his grad student.

And for the first time since she’d caught him in the act, it didn’t sting. In fact, since she’d met Calisto, it was even more apparent that Tom wasn’t the right man for her. She’d never felt the passion in his arms that she shared with Calisto on the beach, and they had only kissed.

Her bags hit the floor. She shoved her door closed and flipped on the lights. Unlike San Diego, Reno had a definite change in seasons as fall succumbed to the frosty cold of winter. She tugged her hooded sweatshirt closed and turned on the heat before she plopped onto her sofa.

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Home again.

Her familiar surroundings reassured her that she made the right decision. After kicking off her shoes, she sorted through the stack of mail a friend had left on the coffee table. Doing her usual mundane tasks felt strangely surreal.

When she opened a card, she issued a surprised shout of laughter.

Hi Kate -

I’m sorry about everything. It was all a mistake.

I don’t know what I was thinking. We need to talk.

Please call me.

I know I don’t deserve it, but I still hope you’ll
call.

Love,

Tom

She might have felt moved or even angry a month ago by his words. Instead, she felt a little sorry for Tom. After all, she hadn’t been honest with herself about him. Until she met Calisto she never realized she could feel so connected to another person. She’d spent her whole life feeling distanced from everyone. Had Tom felt the distance too?

If she had truly been in love with him, she would be devastated, not laughing at how apathetic she felt toward him. The betrayal still stung, but if he had broken off their engagement before cheating, she wasn’t sure she’d feel anything more than embarrassment at the rejection.

She crumpled the card and tossed it out with all the sale flyers and junk mail. With the mail stacked and sorted, she turned to her answering machine. She got through about five messages ranging from fund-raisers for the fire department to new benefits for her Discover card. Then she heard a familiar voice.

“Hi Kate. It’s Tom. I really am sorry. Call me when you get back, okay? Hope everything’s all right.”

The machine beeped and she sat in the silence overthinking every angle. She couldn’t avoid him forever, right? But she’d just as soon start her life fresh without any complications. Tom definitely
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complicated things, especially if he wanted to resume their old, stagnant life.

But a tiny part of her was comforted to hear his familiar voice, the one she’d thought would greet her for the rest of her life. Funny how life didn’t always turn out the way she thought it would.

Maybe funny wasn’t the right word for it.

She sat on the sofa and unzipped her duffel bag, throwing the clothes and toiletries out to get to the tiny treasure hidden at the bottom. Carefully, she opened the small Ziploc bag holding the Romneya. Just the scent of the flower reminded her of Calisto.

She tucked it behind her ear as he had the night before and went into the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Was Calisto thinking about her, too? Probably not after the way she ran out on him.

She crossed the hall to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed with a sad sigh. She felt like a lovesick puppy. Despite her best efforts, she was falling in love with a man she hardly knew. A man who was definitely way out of her league. She was not in control, had not taken anything with Calisto slowly, and was certainly on a path that would take her right back to heartbreak and weakness.

Why was she doing this to herself?

Late-night coffee and a walk on the beach. It was amazing, but she needed to let it go.

It was a toe-curling kiss, though.

She plucked the flower from behind her ear and twirled the stem, watching the petals turn around the high golden pistil. For all she knew, Calisto and Betty were an item, and he figured he’d have a little fun with her on the side. The thought alone curdled her stomach.

Calisto seemed genuine and sincere, and the way he looked at her made her knees weak. She couldn’t imagine it was all an act, but could she trust herself after she’d trusted Tom?

§

Father Mentigo spun his signet ring around his finger with his thumb, wrestling with impatience to get off the airplane. He’d never flown before, and he was ready to put his feet back on the ground. The 90 LISA KESSLER

cattle on board dragged out carry-on bags, reminded children to hold hands, checked voice mails on their cell phones.

A muscle in his cheek twitched.

He clutched his duffle bag to his chest and shot forward when the row in front of him finally moved. His ears still buzzed with the change in air pressure.

“Can I help you find your terminal, sir?” The blonde he’d watched throughout the flight stood at the hatch, holding a clipboard and wearing an insincere smile.

Did she fail to notice his robe? His rosary? He was a monk, not a sir. She might be stupid, but her breasts were the perfect size for his hands. He ogled her curvy figure, imagining the treasures hidden beneath her uniform, then met her gaze.

She shifted her weight and lowered her clipboard. “Is San Diego your final destination?”

“
No hablo Ingles
,” he said as he disembarked.

San Diego wasn’t his destination.

It was his destiny.

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Chapter Ten

Calisto waited outside of the downtown bus station for his next meal. It was a good place to find people who would not be missed.

Husbands walking away from the responsibilities of a wife and children, angry runaway teens entrenched in gang violence and drugs, men on the run from the police. They all rode buses, and all made perfect meals.

Someone might report his victims missing. No one would ever know they met their end in San Diego. He usually sought violent criminals that the world wouldn’t miss. Lately, the crime rate in this area had increased, which meant he could hunt quickly.

Tonight he was in a hurry.

He settled for a petty thug recently diagnosed with cancer. He was already near death anyway. Once he turned down a dimly lit alley, Calisto slammed the man into the wall, yanked him close, and bit into the man’s jugular, drinking until his struggles ceased. After closing the wound on the man’s neck, he disposed of the body and walked along the bay in quiet contemplation. He needed to see Kate again. He pushed her too hard the previous night, and he vowed not to make that mistake tonight. If she gave him another chance. Kate made herself perfectly clear when she left.

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She didn’t want him in her life.

But her enlarged pupils and the flush that crept up her cheeks said otherwise. Somewhere inside, deep within, she remembered him.

He saw it. Her heart still recognized his, but she had no conscious memory of their love.

He was still a stranger.

He had watched her drive away, unable to stop her. Nothing had prepared him for this. To find her and fall in love with her all over again was his destiny. He sold his soul to the night in order to live long enough to love her again.

But there was no guarantee of her love in return.

Tonight, he hoped she would agree to speak to him, to give him another chance. He had located her address for the piano movers in Betty’s office, and now that his skin warmed with fresh blood, he was ready to see her.

Kate.

Two running steps later, he soared through the night sky toward her home. Cutting through the crisp air, using the sea breezes to aid his flight, the raven glided over the water. The lights of the city faded, and the moonlight glittered on the waves below. Finally the cliffs of Point Loma appeared.

After landing in the darkness of her backyard, he found no sign of her, no scent, no sound. No Kate. With a shake of his body, the raven gave up its form. He straightened his clothes, walked to her back door and knocked. “Kate?”

He didn’t know why he called for her. He already knew she was gone. Her scent was faint, and he couldn’t hear any noise inside the house. But he still hoped.

Calisto checked the carport and found her car was gone. He peered through a couple windows. No suitcases, no shoes, no trace of her. The house was empty. A growl rumbled in his chest, and he raked his fingers through his hair.

After flying back to his home, Calisto stormed into his office, throwing the door open with enough force to bury the doorstop in the wall. He reached across his desk in frustration and ripped the cordless
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phone from its cradle, sending the base crashing to the floor.

“Hello, Bettina.” He forced his voice to chime with hypnotic purity. “Forgive me for calling you at home at such a late hour, but this is most important.”

“Calisto? What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Did you hear from Kate Bradley today? We picked up her mother’s piano, no?”

“Kate went back to Reno today,” Betty said with a smile in her voice. “She said she needed to get home right away. But don’t worry.

We did pick up the piano.”

“Good.” He clenched his fists, fighting to keep his emotions under control. “The foundation is lucky to have you.”

“I’m glad you appreciate my work. While you’re on the phone, can we reschedule our meeting that got cut short last night?” His mind raced. He couldn’t maintain rational thought much longer.

“No. I will be in touch soon. Goodnight.”

§

Calisto soared through the cold night air, heading north. After the phone call, he realized he had a long distance to travel before sunrise.

Following his voracious feeding on two gang members, his body pulsed with strength and power. He would need the added energy to complete his flight.

Gluttony was something he avoided, usually only drinking once per night, sometimes even less. As the decades passed, he no longer needed to feed every night in order to survive. At times if he didn’t find a suitable victim, he relied on wild animals, but the blood of animals did not truly satisfy his hunger any longer.

It sustained his existence, but only human blood replenished the strength he was accustomed to.

He knew other blood-drinkers, vampires, who walked this world, were known to rob blood banks. Others indulged in taking small drinks like leeches and wiping the mortal’s memory clean. Those were not choices for him. He refused to live like a shadow, a parasite on humanity, watching the mortal world from an arm’s distance.

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He was a Night Walker, and his life still had a purpose in this world. He read the hearts of mankind, and he fed on the lowest forms of humanity, those who would seek to injure the innocent. No longer a healer, instead he found himself a hunter.

So be it.

After hours of flight, his keen eyes made out the flickering neon brilliance that was downtown Reno. His mind opened wide, searching for Kate’s. He needed to find her. Gliding silent on the night wind, the raven flew on.

Calisto sensed the sunrise nearing. It drained his strength and left him lethargic. He would have to give up his flight soon.

Landing in the shadows of a darkened alleyway, Calisto straightened, once again a man. His earlier kills no longer warmed and colored his skin. Burying his hands in his pockets, he walked close to the buildings, trying to stay out of the streetlights.

For two hours, he searched for Kate or others who might know her. He found nothing.

Daylight would cover the earth soon, and he needed to find shelter. With the last of his strength, Calisto forced himself to run toward the mountains on the outskirts of the city. Just as the sun broke over the horizon, he finished digging a hole in the icy soil with his hands. By nightfall, his raw hands would be healed, and his search would begin again.

§

Calisto awoke and punched his fists through the dirt, his lungs awake once more and hungry for air. The arid soil gave way, and he rose to dust himself off. He loathed sleeping in the earth. Although he’d been immortal for centuries, he still couldn’t get used to waking up in suffocating darkness.