Aris Returns (22 page)

Sarah’s eyes grew round. “What exactly do you mean?”

“It means they can eliminate him, ending his awareness totally. Or, they can leave
him just a mind without a body looking for a place to land just like he was in that
cave.” His expression became pained. “Like in any human that was vulnerable to receive
him. Whether they wanted him around or not.” His lips tightened as he spoke.

“So, what are you saying?”

“What I’m saying, Sarah, is that I’m the host to this fiend. And you know it’s the
truth.”

She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach because she knew he was absolutely
right. He carried a beast inside of his subconscious, a beast that intrigued her no
end.

“T
here’s a Mrs. Havarro on the phone for you. “ Maggie’s voice was questioning. “I didn’t
think gorgeous was married”

“No Maggie, he’s not married. It must be his mother. I’ll pick it up.” She wondered
why his mother would be calling her. She pressed the flashing light on her phone,
“Hi, this is Sarah Hagan.”

“Miss Hagan, this is Isabella Havarro. I’m sorry to bother you.”

“No bother Isabella.” She leaned back in her chair. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m concerned about Carlos. I thought I should come to you first.”

She spun her chair around to gaze out the window as she spoke. “What’s the matter?
From what I understand, Carlos is doing very well both at work and at the half-way
house.”

“It isn’t about work. It’s about his old group of friends.” She paused.

“Yes, Isabella?”

“You see, Carlos hasn’t been running with them since he came back from rehab. Not
that I know anyway.” Her voice grew softer, “I must speak quietly. My husband is home
from work today. He is sick.”

“Yes?”

“Today I received a phone call from one of them. Someone called Manu. He asked for
Carlos. I told him Carlos didn’t live here anymore.” Again, a long pause on the other
end of the phone.

Sarah turned back toward her desk, leaning forward, resting her elbows on the dark
wood. “Isabella, what is it?”

“This man said that if I don’t have Carlos get in touch with his friends, there will
be trouble in our home.” Sarah could hear the fright in her voice. “Miss Hagan, if
my husband finds out, he will be crazy. He and Carlos have never been acting like
father and son. Fernando has a bad temper and he wasn’t always good to Carlos. He
and Carlos have fought with fists. It has been very bad for a long, long time. If
he finds out that we are being threatened, he will blame my son. He doesn’t always
think clearly and I am afraid what he will do if those people come around here”

Sarah wondered if Carlos had always been honest with her about his old life, his new
habits. “I’ll see what I can do, Isabella.”

“Please Miss Hagan, Sarah, my Carlos is working so hard to have a better life. I know
he is. Please, don’t let these bad people ruin it for him.” She held back her tears.
“Please help him.”

“He has an appointment with me this afternoon. I’ll do whatever I can to see that
he steers clear of them. I know he’s doing his best.” She only hoped that her instincts
were right, that he had been telling her the truth.

There was a semblance of calm in her tone of voice as the older woman answered. “Thank
you. Thank you so much. And I won’t take up any more of your time.” A relieved sigh
escaped before she spoke again. “Good bye Miss Hagan.”

“Good bye Isabella.” Sarah placed the phone on the cradle. She turned once more to
look out the window. “Now what? What else can happen?” She sighed, leaned back in
her chair and closed her eyes.

#

“Colleen? Have you got a minute?”

“Only one. I’m in the car and the speaker on my cell won’t work so I have to hold
it. If I get another ticket for talking while driving, Bob’s going to kill me. What’s
up?”

“What do you know about the guys Carlos used to run with?”

“Nothing I haven’t told you. A bad bunch. Always in and out of trouble and some of
it, pretty nasty. Why?” Her voice got loud and angry. “You idiot! Not you honey, this
fool in front of me.” Sarah heard a car horn. “Why are you asking?”

Sarah already decided not to tell Colleen about the threatening phone call to the
Havarro household until she spoke to Carlos. “I’m going to see him this afternoon.
I thought I’d check to see if you might have picked up any additional background on
his old friends, that’s all.”

“Well, they’re really a bunch of gang bangers. There was one drive by but nothing
was ever proved. I hope to hell he hasn’t tied up with them again. They’re all poison.”
The next sound was a long honk on a horn. “Oh God, got to go. There’s a cop car turning
the corner.”

“Will she ever learn to say the words ‘good bye’?” Sarah found her shoes under her
desk, put them on and walked to the door of her office. “Maggie, will you bring me
a salad when you go to lunch? I’m going to be in all afternoon.”

#

His step was light and he looked happy as he entered her office.

“Hey Sarah, Maggie gone for the day?” He plopped down in the chair facing her desk.

“Yes, she had a hair appointment.” She stood. “So, what’s going on?” Crossing to the
recliner, she turned to face him. “Anything new I should hear about?”

“Okay Sarah.” He stood, the smile leaving his face. “It’s obvious you’re playing detective
here. You tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing really. Just that your mother got a phone call today from someone called
Manu.” She watched his face change. He looked defensive.

“Maybe it’s time I had a talk with Manu. So, you think I might be hanging with the
home boys again?” He paced a few steps away from her then stopped, waiting for her
answer.

“I won’t think anything until you tell me. I’m just asking you what’s up?” She chose
her words carefully. She didn’t want this meeting to turn into a confrontation.

“Yeah? Well, what’s up is I haven’t seen them since rehab.” His tone was angry, “Don’t
you see the changes in me? Haven’t you been involved in making them?” He crossed the
room to stand just in front of her. “Don’t you know I wouldn’t do anything to disappoint
you?”

She lifted the recorder from the seat of her chair, sat down and looked up at him.

“Look Sarah, I don’t know why I have these feelings for you. They’re coming way out
of left field. I’ve tried to talk to you about it before but if I even get close to
the subject, you stop me.” He sat across from her in his usual position, his elbows
on his knees, his hands folded.

“I’m stopping you now, Carlos.” She paused. “It’s normal for a client to feel attached
to their therapist. It happens often.”

“Well,” He looked at the floor. “This hasn’t happened to me before. I look forward
to seeing you. I don’t even care if the vamp takes over my body and does things from
a horror movie as long as I can see you when I come back.” He raised his eyes to meet
hers. “Don’t tell me you don’t feel something, Sarah. I know you do.”

She cleared her throat before she could speak. “Of course I do. I told you a long
time ago, you’re like family to me.”

There was a long silence. “Not what I’ve had for a family. You are so much more than
that to me. Sarah, you’re warm and strong and . . . ”

She interrupted him, “Don’t go there.” Abject determination sounded in her soft voice.
“That’s a place where we can never go. Not ever, and you know that.” She looked down
at the floor for a long moment. Her heart was pounding. She realized she wasn’t breathing.
Her logical mind puzzled at the way her body reacted to his words. He was her client,
nothing more. Yet she knew that wasn’t the absolute truth

“Carlos, please don’t bring this up again.”

He paused a moment. “I thought I was doing pretty well for a guy. I haven’t said anything
or made a move on you for a while. And I want to. All the time.”

“Look Carlos, didn’t you hear what I just said? Now, do you want to have a session
today or not?” Her voice was stern and her eyes meant business.

He sighed and lay down on the leather recliner, grinning broadly. “Shot down again.”
He settled into the comfortable cushions. “But it isn’t over until it’s over and there’s
a whole lot more to the vamp’s story. That means lots and lots of time for us to be
together, so let’s just wait and see what happens.” He closed his eyes and his eyelashes
laid deep, mysterious shadows on the top of his cheekbones. “Go ahead Sarah, count
me out.”

#

CARLOS HAVARRO, transcript, session 13, May 28

I lived in the palace and returned to the catacombs whenever I was able to sneak away.
I developed a deep friendship with Sebastian and when I was allowed an audience with
the vampire monarchs, Akira treated me with the kindness of a parent to a child. It
was from all of them I learned about our kind.

‘Vampire’ is the human word for our species because we feed on blood, but we are not
the evil sort who murder for pleasure. If you were to give us a true name, it would
be Akirians. We are all her children but those depraved ones are the seed of the ancient
witch I aforementioned.
Our kind drinks human blood often only at the beginning of our eternal journey. After
a time, it is only on rare occasions that the hunger comes upon us. We subsist most
of our existence on animal blood just as most humans do. We simply do not eat the
meat.

Even though we remain in truly human bodies, we have alien venom running through our
veins. We are the perfect combination of two completely different species. We need
not breathe yet we are able if we wish. We can see with human eyes, however, we are
able to switch to vampire sight at will. We need not eat. Food has very little flavor
to us, however, if we wish to dine, it is possible. When we consume human food, we
have human body functions. We need sleep only at the beginning of our eternal existence
yet we are able to at any time if we so desire. You see, we are both alien and human
in one body.

Ours is an old race with deep convictions. There is judicial procedure in our society.
A strict code of ethics is called out in the Book of Laws kept in the library of the
Catacombs. The constitution demands honor and integrity from each soul in the realm.

I studied the vampire laws. We of the Catacombs are not a cruel species. There are
rules, regulations keeping our existence silent and respecting the humans who share
the land with our kind. We kill mortals only out of desperate need when driven by
the hunger, when we are without choice to take human life. We feed from the dregs
of mankind, leaving untouched those of good conscience. Vengeance by venom is not
allowed. Killing for sport is a death sentence. We are ruled by a strange sense of
compassion for those upon whom we feed. I learned then more of those renegades who
were our natural enemy. Such were the witches who changed me and the evil ones that
changed Richard and Gabriela.

For centuries in your world, we were merely beings of fable not unlike fairies and
dragons. We walked among your kind without notice. We lived in seclusion and peace
until depraved transgressors openly took decent human life. The dead, found drained
of blood, turned the ancient fable of the vampire into reality. Rapidly the stories
spread from village
to village. From town to town. From country to country. It was then your modern myths
came into being. Garlic. Crosses. Bursting to flames in the sunlight. Oh yes, and
coffins during the daylight. Creations of a frightened human mind. All false. The
only truth found in all the human mythology is death comes to us with a stake in the
heart and the burning of the human form until it is naught but ashes.

Sebastian taught me to use the powers I was not aware that I possessed. I could climb
the outside of a building with my fingers, clinging to stone as if it were a part
of me. I could run faster than any horse could carry a man. I was able to leap from
a tall place without injury and I could jump over wide chasms as if stepping across
a small stone.

But the most marvelous power was taught to me by Richard, the powers of the venom.
You see, Sarah, vampires are venomous beings. The venom when added to human blood
can be used as poison to kill slowly or it can be fed into a body little by little
as it is drained to create another of our kind. To rapidly draw the blood from a human
will instantly bring them to their death. So you understand, the venom can be used
in different ways to different ends. To slowly drain a human and fill them with venom
is eternal life while venom mixed with human blood is a slow poison that leaves no
traces.

Richard told me Akira created their following with the power. Some of her offspring
left the court and went out into the world and so the vile, debased vampires of Mount
Haemus who created me came into being.

Time passed above ground in the court of the King and below in the counsel of the
vampires. One day faded into the next. Sebastian told me of the treaty between the
ancient royals and the vampires not to feed in the royal house. I wondered if Henry
and his court were even aware we existed but I accepted the rules; I fed only away
from the palace. I quenched my thirst on animals in the nearby forest but when the
hunger overtook me, I ran long and fast, far from any who knew me.