Blood to Blood (30 page)

Mina had expected to spend Saturday night at the house in town, but work—hers and Jonathan's—made that impossible. Two more families were moving into the shelter early Sunday morning because it was the only day of the week they had off from work and could move. And Jonathan had a meeting to attend. "Dreary but necessary, and though everything is likely all right. I would prefer you stay with Essie at the cottage rather than alone at night in town," he told her as they said good-bye outside the restaurant where they'd dined.

"Come to me when you're finished, love," she whispered, her lips brushing his cheek.

"I'll try," he said and helped her into the cab.

She hoped he would, for the little place she had inherited from Gance had become more than their refuge. Being in rooms where windows actually opened and uncovered glass looked onto expanses of lawn rather than high garden walls made them both more free. The room they slept in had no one sleeping just the other side of the wall, so they could be more passionate. And while the inside rooms were suited only for small dinner parties, the gardens could accommodate dozens of guests. She'd even begun to consider how to expand the second floor to accommodate another bedroom and sitting room, should they need a nursery.

She'd hinted at the potential expansion to Jonathan and been heartened when his reaction had been thoughtful rather than negative. She hoped that once this new crisis was over and she suggested a permanent move here, he would agree to sell the house in town—a place they had both come to think of a shrine to the deceased Mr. Hawkins.

These were the thoughts in her mind as she traveled home, not the growing dark, nor even Arthur and Joanna.

It was well after eight when she arrived at the cottage, but Essie had not lit the gaslight at the front gate—not so surprising, since Mina had not been expected. She paid the driver and started up the walk, frowning when she noticed that there were no inside lights on either. Could Essie be asleep so early? She doubted it and turned, intending to call to the driver to wait a moment. As she did, the front door opened. She heard Essie call to her, then the unexpected voice of Dr. Rhys.

"What brings you back from London so soon, doctor?" she asked as she walked toward them.

He drew her quickly inside, shut the door and locked it as if she had entered his home, not her own. She noted that the place was not entirely dark. There was a single lamp glowing dimly on the dining room table and that every drapery in the house had been pulled completely shut. "So dark," Mina commented, reaching for the light.

"No! Leave it dim!" Rhys ordered, his voice so loud that Mina jumped and Essie gave a small, startled cry.

"Listen to him, please," Essie said. "He is most upset. Frightening." She spoke the last word in a soft whisper.

"Dear lord," she said, going to him. "Has something happened? Is Dr. Van Helsing all right?'

"All right?" He laughed, mirthlessly. "I suppose he is, but I never saw him. I was too concerned about myself after what I've witnessed."

"I'm so sorry." She sat on the sofa and reached for his hands. He let her take them, almost managing a smile as she pulled him down to sit beside her. She expected him to supply details. When he fell into silence, she prompted, "Was it a patient? An illness?"

"No. I've lost patients often enough. Death happens. But this… this…" His voice trailed off. He took a deep breath and went on, "I saw a rakshasa."

She frowned, not comprehending.

"A demon. A vampire. I understand you know of them?"

"I do," she said softly, wondering how much Van Helsing had told him.

"Then you can tell me what I must do to defend myself before she comes for me again. I never paid attention to those strange folk tales. They were only words to me, but now…" He'd spoken quickly, then stopped altogether in midsentence.

"Did this creature attack you?"

"Twice." In a voice that halted often, he described a woman who could only be Joanna. He told how he had glimpsed her once on a dark street in the East End, how the second time he crossed her path she had come at him so quickly, how the knife he carried for protection had so little effect on her. "I must have injured her, or at least her pride. Now she pursues me. I need to know what to do for protection."

Of course he did, she thought. And she would provide it and in the morning write Van Helsing to apologize and tell him that indeed she would come to London and do what she could to protect Arthur from that creature. "Did Dr. Van Helsing get my letter?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I never went to meet him. And I'd already lost the letter when I ran. Then I could only think to come back to Exeter and you. Essie said it would be all right if I waited," he said.

She saw tears in his eyes, saw the trembling in his hands. What had he been through? "It's all right," she said. "I'll just have to send him another."

"Before you arrived, a messenger came by with a telegram from him in London. It's on the foyer table," Essie said from the doorway.

"Bring it, please," Mina requested.

Essie seemed about to say something, apparently thought better of it, and did as her mistress asked. The telegram had already been opened, but given the state of her servant and the doctor, she could hardly blame either of them. Mina rose and moved close to the lamp, holding the paper up to it so she could make out the words.

Telegrams were not completely private, so Van Helsing had to be discreet, but this was cryptic at best. She frowned, trying to recall what troubles he referred to. When the memory came to her, it brought with it a rush of fear that she struggled to hide as she turned back to her guest.

Apparently she did not hide it well enough, because he asked, "I didn't understand all of the message. Is the doctor all right?"

"He is, but he is most concerned about you," she answered, slipping the telegram into her skirt pocket and struggling to remain calm. Fortunately, she had more than a little experience at it.

"But I never even saw him that night. How would he know?"

She thought quickly, made up a likely lie. "There are others like us in London. They patrol the creature's haunts. Someone likely saw her attack you. If you hadn't escaped, they would have come to your aid."

He seemed to accept this, and fell into an uneasy silence again, staring at the closed drapes. She stood, mind reeling at what Van Helsing had to mean. "Essie could tell me only a little. But I understand that you know much more," he said after a while.

She didn't trust herself to get close to him just yet. "Before we begin, would you like something to drink? Tea? Cider? Some sherry? Brandy?"

"Brandy neat," he replied, though she had never known him to drink alcohol of any kind before.

She started for the cabinet, but Essie was faster. "I'll help you," she said.

"It's not necessary. You need to get some sleep. We'll need you awake and alert well before morning." Since she was faced away from the doctor, she took the opportunity to motion toward the front door.

Esse nodded slowly. "As you wish, then," she said, and started toward her room.

"Wait!" Rhys called to her. "Stay here. It will… be safer that way."

"We cannot all stay alert the entire night," Mina countered.

"I can. Please… Essie, sit."

Essie did as he asked, taking a seat at the table, her head on her arms as she faced Mina, waiting for some sign.

The ruse would not hold much longer, Mina knew. Rhys was far too intelligent not to see through their act, particularly if they pushed him much farther. She took the coat she had been wearing that day, laid it over Essie's shoulders and rejoined the doctor.

She'd wanted to keep some distance between them, but as soon as she was close, he held out his hand. She could not avoid taking it, nor fight too strongly his drawing her down into the same place she had been sitting before. But he seemed calmer in proximity to her calm, so she stayed.

"Tell me. Will she follow me here?"

"It will be difficult. She is not what you think," Mina began. Now that she saw the doctor as the threat, she desired to tell him as little as possible on how to defend himself. She went on, weighing her words carefully, telling some truths, some plausible lies. "First, she cannot come into your house unless you invite her in. So you will be safe there and can get the rest I believe you need. The same prohibition will hold for your clinic, since it is also yours. Because she can only travel by night and must return to her haunts for the day, it is unlikely she will ever be able to travel this far to find you."

"To find me? You mean she could but likely won't?"

Mina took a deep breath. "I mean, I doubt she can. First of all, how would she know where to look? You said that she didn't follow you. Did she manage to steal one of your calling cards or just convince you to hand it over to her?"

"No. Not that." He actually managed an uneasy smile.

"Then she cannot know, just as any person would not know. Doctor, you will be safe in Exeter."

He looked at her with gratitude. "Thank you," he said.

Heartened, she slid her chair back a few inches. "My husband went east and actually spent time as a prisoner of these creatures. He managed to escape. He can tell you so much more about them than I can. We could go into town together and find him."

He grabbed her hand, holding it so tight she winced. "No!" he said. "We'll stay here… at least until morning."

When she looked down at his hand, she saw a steel handle sticking out of his pants pocket, the outline of a surgical blade against their light cotton fabric. She forced her voice to remain even as she went on. "Doctor, you've had a terrible fright. If this place calms you, by all means we can stay. But if you will excuse me a moment or two, I need to go upstairs."

He released her, no doubt thinking she needed to use the toilet. She went through the house slowly, stopping to move the glasses they had used to the sink, letting him think that everything was well and that her heart was not pounding.

In truth, his attitude alone would have frightened her. Having read Van Helsing's letter and seen the weapon he carried, she was terrified.

As she moved toward the front door, she heard his footsteps as he came up behind her. She met him at the foot of the stairs. "I'm sorry," he said. "But all this talk has me concerned. I want to stay as close to you as possible just in case you need my help."

"Help? Well, unless you're planning on going into the water closet with me, it's best you remain here."

Her comment had the desired effect. He was blushing as he let her go upstairs alone but stayed at the foot of the stairs, blocking her escape out the door. Fortunately, she had another idea.

Upstairs, she moved by memory through the dark bedroom to the bedside drawer where she kept her revolver. Tucking it into the waistband of her skirt, she went to the bathroom, then stood at the sink, splashing water on her face. You've been through worse, she thought. Be logical. Calm. This is nothing compared to the rest.

Given how close Rhys stayed to her, would she be able to shoot him if she had the resolve? Better to shoot from the top of the stairs while he was still at a distance, but she was reluctant even to wound him until she was completely certain of what Van Helsing meant in his telegram. Instead, she decided to force Rhys into a chair so Essie could tie him up. That had its own risks, especially if he were desperate, but she could see no other choice. Hiding her gun in the folds of her skirt, she started for the stairs.

She had debated too long. He'd started up after her and had nearly reached the landing when she came around the corner. "I thought I should come up and—" he began, stopping in midsentence when he saw what she was holding.

"I believe that we need a more conventional defense," she said. "We should go down. I don't want Essie to be alone, either."

He looked uncertain, as if he wanted to believe her. Cautious, he moved sideways to let her go first. As she passed him, she felt a draft of cooler air and heard the French door bang against the back of the house.

Rhys felt it too. As he started to push past her, she thought of Essie, raised the gun and shot at him just grazing his arm. The recoil threw her off balance, and she stepped backward off the top stair. She grabbed the rail for an instant, then dropped the weapon as she tumbled down the stairs. With the breath knocked out of her and her vision blurred, she looked up in time to see Rhys step over her and run down the hall and through the back doorway.

Too dazed to care, she pressed her cheek against the cool floor and fought only to remain conscious. She moved her feet and hands, then her arms and legs. Nothing seemed broken, though everything already felt bruised and the floor beneath her so unsteady that even an attempt to get on hands and knees sent a wave of dizziness through her and a sharp pain to her side. Thinking of Essie, she placed one hand on the stairs and slowly crawled upward, toward the weapon.

Since she'd lowered her head on the table, Essie had been feigning sleep, waiting for some opportunity to come to Mina's aid. Once or twice, in spite of her own fear, she had actually dozed off for a moment or two but always started awake when she heard the doctor's voice. Still, she had waited until he'd gone up the stairs after Mina, then ran for the back door. It took her a moment to unbolt it, and as she left she heard the doctor's voice, dim in the distance but growing louder.