Polar (Prequel): The Turnagain Arm (8 page)

Before Vasyl could finish his question James fired the gun again and another bullet blasted him. He fell to the ground as a geyser of blood erupted from his chest.

If Aleksei could breathe, he would have let out a sigh of relief as the flames that had been slowly engulfing his body immediately retreated and disappeared into the air. He walked to Vasyl’s writhing body and looked down at the man who had come far too close to killing him.

Vasyl stared up at Aleksei as the life drained out of his eyes. Within seconds, the writhing stopped.

“I told you to leave me alone, didn’t I, Mr. Dzubenko?” Aleksei whispered.

“You alright, Aleksei?” James asked.

“I’m fine, thank you. The burns will heal quickly. Can I have your knife please, James?”

The man handed Aleksei the knife. “Sure. Why do you want that?”

“To do this,” Aleksei said.

He grabbed James around his neck and quickly sliced his throat from one ear to the other. James grabbed his throat and stared at Aleksei with a puzzled expression as he fell to his knees.

The blood that gushed like a fountain from James’ severed artery made Aleksei dizzy with hunger and temptation. Unable to stop himself, he pulled the dying man up and sucked the last of the blood from his body.

“Thanks for your service to me, James,” he said as he let the corpse fall to the ground. “You really were the biggest fool I’ve ever met, but you certainly did help me.”

In his revelry, Aleksei didn’t notice the sound of the footsteps that came towards him through the woods. He jumped in shock as a woman’s scream bounced off the surrounding trees and penetrated his ears.

Covering his ears, Aleksei turned to see Lara standing over Vasyl’s body. He stared at her, his fangs bared and his face covered in the blood of James Hawkins. Lara’s screams were quickly replaced by a terrified silence.

“Lara,” Aleksei said. “A shame you had to come upon this mess.”

He could see Lara’s entire body shaking with fear.

“Let me tell you what happened,” he said. “I came out here to meet your husband just as you suggested. But before we could talk, James here came bursting through the trees accusing Mr. Dzubenko of being the camp murderer. I tried to tell him he was mad, but before I knew what was happening Mr. Dzubenko went at James with that knife you see right there.”

Aleksei pointed to the bloody knife he had used to slit James’ throat.

“What could James do but defend himself?” Aleksei continued. “Next thing I knew the gun went off and your husband fell to the ground. Before I knew it, both of them were dead.”

Lara shook her head. “You’re lying,” she said, staring at the blood on Aleksei’s face and the fangs protruding from his gums. “Vasyl was right about you. You’re a monster.”

Aleksei stepped closer to Lara and caught her gaze in his own. She stood frozen as she stared up into his face.

“That’s a common misconception. I’m a vampire, yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m a monster.” He reached out and cupped Lara’s cheek in his hand. “You know, Lara, if you were only a bit younger, you’d be so much like my Natasha. You could be with me just like I wanted her to be.” He wiped a tear from Lara’s face with his thumb. “You’re too old though, I’m sorry to say.”

Aleksei could almost taste Lara’s blood as he glanced down at her neck. He leaned towards her, relishing the sight of her trembling body, but pulled back before he bit into her flesh.

“I’d like to kill you,” he said. “In fact I’d love nothing more than to bite into your neck right now and drain every last drop of blood from your body. But that wouldn’t be the smartest move for me to make. Do you know why?”

Too frightened to speak, Lara shook her head.

“Because I don’t want another body here.” Aleksei gestured at the two dead bodies at their feet. “This scene right here tells the perfect story, doesn’t it? Adding a third body into the mix wouldn’t work nearly as well.”

Aleksei let go of Lara and stepped away from her.

“Of course,” he said, “I could kill you and take your body down to the inlet and get rid of you like I did all the rest. But people saw your husband and James and me all coming into the woods. And it’s a safe bet they heard James’ gun too, isn’t it? I don’t think we have a lot of time before people start sniffing around here. So I’d rather not take the time to get rid of you.”

“What are you going to do to me then?” Lara asked.

“I’m going to let you go,” Aleksei said. “Think of it as a gift to you since you remind me of my Natasha. What can I say? I have a weakness for blond women.”

Lara wondered if she could believe what she was hearing. Was he merely setting her up to walk into a trap?

“I need you to disappear,” Aleksei said. “Don’t go back to the saloon. I’ll kill you if I see you there, I can promise you that. And if you stay around the camp and I hear of it, I’ll track you down and snap your neck before you even know I’ve come for you.”

“Where am I going to go?”

Aleksei shrugged. “I don’t care. Just leave here and never come back.”

“I’ll tell people what you are. I’ll tell them what you did.”

“And you think they’ll believe you? Think about what you’re saying for a minute. You’re smarter than that, I’m sure of it.” Aleksei pulled in his fangs and wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve.

“I’m going back to the saloon,” he said. “My saloon. I own it now, do you understand?”

Lara nodded.

“I never want to see your pretty face again, Lara. And if you’re as smart as I think you are, you’ll never lay eyes on me again either.”

Aleksei turned away and calmly walked out of the woods, leaving Lara alone amidst the carnage. She crumpled to her knees beside Vasyl’s body and ran her hand through his blood-streaked hair.

Lara brought her lips to her husband’s and kissed him gently. “My darling Vasyl,” she said. “I should have come out here with you. I should have helped you get rid of him.”

She sobbed and hugged her husband’s dead body as she lifted it to her chest. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the book she had watched him read over and over again as he prepared to meet with Aleksei. His book of spells. Aleksei hadn’t bothered to take it with him.

Lara reached for the book and stared at the foreign words on its pages. She grimaced at the drops of blood that covered the book and stained the pages red. Vasyl’s blood, she was sure.

She leaned over and gave her husband a final kiss. “I love you, Vasyl,” she whispered.

Lara held the book to her chest and stood up. She didn’t know where she would go or what she would do, but she knew she didn’t have much time before Aleksei returned with others from the camp.

The monster had warned her never to lay eyes on him again. As Lara ran deeper into the woods and away from the Potter Creek camp, she knew she would heed that warning.

Aleksei could hardly contain his glee as he made his way back towards the camp. He envisioned what was to come, smiling as he saw himself solemnly leading a group of villagers back to the scene where James Hawkins and Vasyl Dzubenko lay dead and telling them the story of how the deaths came about. He knew they would all be too excited to question the fact that Dzubenko had two gunshot wounds in his body. They were all too idiotic to wonder how Hawkins managed to get off two shots after Dzubenko had slit his throat. Imbeciles, every last one of them.

For his part, Aleksei would be as shocked as all the others that the saloon keeper they had all trusted had turned out to be a murderer. He’d wonder with the rest of them what had become of Dzubenko’s wife and speculate on whether or not she had been an accomplice in the murders. He could hear the camp workers insisting that she must have been, why else would she have disappeared in the dark of night and left her home behind? He’d shake his head and sadly agree that they must be right.

Aleksei burst out laughing at the thought of it, his laugh echoing off the trees as he walked through the woods. It was all going to be such fun.

The smoke and lights of the Turnagain Arm saloon came into view. His saloon. He heard the whistle of the locomotive coming from the direction of the camp, the signal that workers had finished laying more track and it would soon be time to move on from Potter Creek.

The railroad company had years of work ahead before they would be finished with the railroad. And Aleksei and the Turnagain Arm would be there the rest of the way, moving along with the camps as they worked their way towards Fairbanks and the completion of the project. By the time the railroad was completed, Aleksei would have all the money he could ever need for setting up his next venture.

Aleksei smiled as he prepared to go inside and tell everyone the shocking and tragic story of the tragedy that had befallen the heroic James Hawkins and the terrible truth that had been revealed about Vasyl Dzubenko. It was all he could do to keep from laughing again. There was no question in his mind that coming to Alaska had been the best decision he’d ever made.

He liked it here.

POLAR NIGHT

At noon the sun awakens as rural Dalton highway is painted on the arctic, Alaskan horizon. Silhouetted against the burning haze, a haunted asylum pierces the never-ending sky.

A woman screams.

A silken voice and a powerful grip to the throat persuades her silence. His classic Russian features, not unlike the minted image of Czar Nicolas II, remain frozen in time.
“Please do not disappoint me like the others, my darling.”

The doorbell chimes. He releases his hold and caresses her cheek.
“Natasha,”
escapes his lips as he ascends the creaky wooden stairs. A calm hand opens the door. The glistening snow on the front porch pales against Aleksei’s skin and charming smile.

The callused hand of detective Danny Fitzpatrick flashes a search warrant. His puffy, bloodshot eyes lock onto Aleksei’s …

The young woman cries out, but only Aleksei hears.
They will never find you my dear. This beaten and hung over man does not have a clue.

Hours later, the detective crosses the threshold and shudders as if encased in a block of ice. The sun drops to sleep and an eerie shadow creeps alongside him. He shakes his head.

Aleksei watches from the peephole.
You feel my immortal essence … do you not?
A forceful hand bolts the door. Aleksei probes his elongating eye teeth.

It is time for a new plan …

Julie Flanders is a librarian by day and a writer all the rest of the time. She has spent her life reveling in the pleasures and the magic of books. Julie is also a television show addict with a particular fondness for Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead and a slightly obsessive sports fan who cheers for the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Cincinnati Bengals. She is a life-long animal lover and an animal rescue advocate and shares her home with her rescued dog and cat.

Julie’s published novels include the paranormal thriller Polar Night and the historical ghost story The Ghosts of Aquinnah. Both are available in ebook and paperback from
Ink Smith Publishing
. Polar Day, the sequel to Polar Night, will be published by Ink Smith in January, 2015.

Julie is a proud member of the speculative fiction writing group Untethered Realms. Meet the rest of the group and explore their books at
http://untetheredrealms.blogspot.com/
.

Please visit Julie at her website at
julieflanders.net
or contact her by email at
[email protected]
. She can also be found on Twitter at
@JulesFlanders
.