After the Fall (34 page)

“Easy with her. She’s still in delicate condition.”

“What happened?”

“A group of two other guys brought her in, said they’re border guards. I couldn’t verify that, but I know she is. They all looked like they’d been through hell. We treated the other two and released them.”

“And her?”

She put her head down.

“Come on, tell me. What’s the matter with her?”

“I don’t know how to say this. She was…”

“Please. I want to know.”

“She was bitten..by one of those
things
.”

I knew which
things
she meant.

“It’s remarkable how long she’s held. By all means she should be dead by now. I don’t know how she’s doing it.”

“She’s one hell of a woman, that’s all I know.”

“Yes, she is. Are you related to her, boyfriend, fiancé…?”

“No, just a friend. Why?”

“Oh, I just thought. You looked—never mind. My mistake.”

“Is she going to get better?”

“We are doing the best we can to help her. I can’t promise anything. No one has come back from this.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s Rayna.”

“I hope so,” she replied. She didn’t sound very convinced. “Well, I have more rounds to do. Just try to be quiet and shut the door when you leave, okay?”

“Okay.”

Recovery

Now I was alone with her. I walked up to her side and leaned over. I felt her forehead with my lips. It was burning hot. The heart monitor was  trying to keep up with her. Her chest was heaving up and down like she was running sprints. I cursed the sickness eating its way through her, the sickness that would eventually turn her against all of us. Well, all of them, at least. She wouldn’t bother with me. I was tainted goods.

I wished I could weep. Just when I had begun to to feel something again, she was going to be taken away. It was obvious the world was against us, angry at us for consuming its resources and polluting it in return. The world wanted to get rid of its scourge, so it invented a better one. It was working. 

I placed a kiss on her burning forehead and left the room. It was up to her now. All I could do was be there for her, whether she decided to live or die. After leaving the hospital, I had no intention of hurrying to Her Majesty’s mansion. I would take my sweet time, make her wait. The Queen had a different ideas. There were two men waiting for me at the exit.

“The Queen requests your presence immediately,” said the large one with the goatee.

“Does she now?”

“Yes, she does.” His face told me my humor would be lost on him.

“Well, then let’s not keep her waiting. I wouldn’t want Her Majesty to get angry.”

“It’s too late for that,” the other replied.

We rode out to the house and I was given a less cordial welcome. The goons shoved me onto the red carpet. I landed on all fours before the Queen. She ignored me at first. Filing her nails seemed more important to her at the moment. I got up to one knee. That’s as far as I went, lest she decided to have me struck down for insolence.

A few minutes passed and my knee started to hurt, yet she remained rapt in her manicure. When she was satisfied with her job, she decided to turn her attention back to me.

“Ah, Mordecai. You’ve come back. Tell me, is your
friend
doing well?”

“Doing worse, I’m afraid.”

“Oh. That’s a pity. I hope she recovers.” I ignored her hollow well-wishes.

“Why are you still kneeling there? Come, have a seat.” She patted the spot beside her.

She had picked a love seat this time, probably to keep me within her grasp. I sat down on the side farthest from her.

“Come now, that’s too far. Don’t be shy. I know you’re not shy.”

And I wonder where you’ve gathered this information?
At this point, I didn’t care if she could read my thoughts or not. Read away, but don’t complain when you don’t like what you see.

“You’re an enigmatic one. I just can’t figure you out, as much as I try. What’s behind the fog of your mind, Mordecai?”

“I would tell you, but there’s so little you’d be disappointed. What small bit of mind I had, I’ve lost over the past few years.”

“Oh, I very much doubt that. You could find out if you opened up.” While she spoke, she sidled up to me in small, almost imperceptible nudges until she was pressed against me. Her long, red-tipped fingers reached out to me like creeper vines and established a firm hold around me.

“Relax. You’re so tense.”

And you wonder why?

She moved closer to the side of my face and caressed my ear with her lips. It sent a tingle down my spine, an unpleasant one. I just wanted to be out of this room. Ten minutes ago would have been great. She backed off a little and gave me a full smile. I could see that her teeth were most peculiar. She possessed four pairs of fangs, four on top and four on the bottom. Her mouth resembled a case of daggers, not an attractive sight at all. She seemed to sense this and closed her mouth, though her smile remained.

“Was there a purpose to my visit, my Queen?” I asked.

“Why do you continue to question? Did you not want to come?”

“It just seemed so abrupt. I thought something had gone wrong.”

“My dear, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m well cared for. It’s you I worry about, going out to the outskirts, risking your neck for no reason. I would hate for something to happen to you.”

“Likewise, you needn’t worry about me, my Queen.”

“Well, I can’t help it. You shouldn’t go out anymore. You’re a council member now. The things you do here can have a greater impact. Let someone else take the risks.”

“It’s not that dangerous, really.”

“Well, I can’t convince you, but I would hate for something to happen to you, the way it happened to your friend. I would be crushed.”

I’m sure you would be.

“My Queen, nothing will happen to me.”

“That’s not good enough. I need a guarantee. Promise me you will stay out of that dreadful border duty and take on something more suitable to your stature.”

Rock, meet hard place. The trap was complete. Her words may have been disguised as suggestions, but I knew what lay behind them.

“I will try to find something else.”

“No, I want a promise. You can help Lucretius manage the council matters. Heaven knows he’s always running himself ragged trying to keep up with the lot of them. There, you have something you could do. Now promise me you’ll stick with it.”

“Okay, I could help him.”

“
Promise
.”

“Okay, I promise.”
That I will get out from under your thumb as soon as I can.

“That’s a good boy. Come give us a hug.”

I leaned forward and she pressed my head against her bosom, running her fingers through my hair. I felt like I was suffocating.

An idea crashed right into the forefront of my mind. I broke loose from her grip and stood up.

“What are you doing?”

“If I’m to help Lucretius with matters, I should go talk to him.”

“That can wait. You’re with me right now.”

“I’m sorry, my Queen. I have to take my leave of you. I will go out and find him right away so we can go over council matters. I’m so excited I can barely contain myself. Thank you for this opportunity!”

And so I left her yet again, without giving her a chance to refute my half-baked excuses. I had to get out of there before she wrapped herself around me like a boa constrictor.

I got to the front door to find two strapping bodyguards blocking my exit. They narrowed their eyes like they were trying to comprehend why I was standing there.

“The Queen has not given you leave,” said the larger of the two. He was a mountain of rippling muscle, with an absence of neck and an impossibly level flat-top. His pale blue pupils zeroed in on me and shrank. I must admit this bull of a Vampire made me nervous.

“She wants you to go back to her,” said the other one. He wasn’t as large as the first one, but he was still a stout fellow. The obnoxious ponytail he wore made me resolve that should he attack me, it would be the first thing to go.

We had a stare down for a moment, but I finally backed down and reentered the room. The Queen didn’t seem angry. She seemed amused, like someone watching a bug trapped inside a jar, which was what I was right now.

“Did I say I was through with you?” she chided.

“No, my Queen. My eagerness got the best of me.”

“Your eagerness might be helpful in some areas, but it’s best that you curb it here.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And don’t call me that.”

“As you wish, my Queen.”

“Anna.”

“That seems awfully impertinent coming from me.”

“You will do as I say.”

“Yes, my—Anna.”

“Mmm. Good boy. Come, let’s go out to the garden.”

She grabbed me by the hand and dragged me out to the garden. The moon was out tonight, but it was quarter waning, so it was not as bright and mystical as the Queen had expected. I could see the disappointment in her face, as if she wished the planetary cycles should have been arranged just for her. The same moon was a relief to me. As the month progressed, the shadow would shave off more and more of the bright moon until it was a black orb in the sky. Whereas wolves preferred the full moon for night hunting, Vampires hunted during the new moon. In the early days when artificial light was scarce, there was no more terrifying time. We played a major part in encouraging humanity to fear the dark.

“Pity,” she said. “I wished it was a full moon.”

“Why? For ages we have preferred the new moon.”

“Yes, but the moon at its most radiant makes for a romantic mood.”

“Oh. I suppose it does.”

“You boor. You know nothing of romance, do you?”

“Only a cursory knowledge, just enough to get me through Victorian times.”

“Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing. You won’t get rid of me so easily. I will keep you around as long as it suits me, whether you like it or not. As for that cheap harlot, you can forget about her. You’ve had your fun with her, but that’s all she’s good for.”

I let her prattle on about Rayna’s lasciviousness and lack of refinement. No matter how much she said, it would do no good. I had decided none of that mattered. For all her rustic charm, I admired her free spirit and obstinate independence. The woman I had once loved was dead and in the ground. Maybe it was time to leave her there and start anew.

“You’re quite taken with the little harlot aren’t you?” she said.

“I’m just worried about her. There are dangerous things stalking the outskirts.”

“You shouldn’t worry yourself. It is under control.”

“So I hear.”

“Yes, you hear it because it’s the truth.”

“I’m telling you, I’ve seen these things and fought them once before. They are not to be taken lightly.”

“I understand just fine. They are there because we allow them to be.”

“You’ve actually let them come into the city?”

“Like I said before, they are under our control.”

“You’re missing the point. These things…there is no controlling them.”

“We’ve been doing just fine. You know the story of the boogeyman?”

“Of course. I’ve heard many versions through the years.”

“Then you know that’s how parents scare their children into obedience. A little fear of a boogeyman lurking in the distance goes a long way.”

“So you mean to tell me you’re doing this on purpose?”

“That’s precisely what I’ve been telling you this whole time. You’re so dense. Sometimes you young ones make me wonder.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t assume you would do something so foolish just to keep your hold on the city.”

“Watch your tone. I may allow you more latitude than my other subjects, but there is a limit to that.”

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“What? No, you’ll stay here until I say.”

Her words started to fade away as I ran my fastest toward the wall and took a feline leap out toward the night sky and back onto the street. I could imagine her anger spreading black wings, seeking me out, hunting me down, but I didn’t care. There was someone out there that might need me, especially with those things lurking out there — and a Queen that had every desire to see her dead.

There was no sign of her at the hospital. The kind nurse was gone, and the woman at the front desk was more competent than the imbecile from last time, though her answers were less than helpful.

“I don’t have anyone under that name here, sir,” she said.

Naturally, I went to look at the screen. She had spelled it correctly.