Drawing Blood (21 page)

Holly said, “I still pull the odd all nighter just to feel like a university student again, but I can’t help waking up at
8 o’clock
every day.” She mouthed the words “it’s him” to Avery who accepted the news with a casual lift of her shoulder.

“I hope you slept well,” he said.

Holly frowned and narrowed her eyes. “Why wouldn’t I have slept well?”

Avery lifted an animated eyebrow and flashed her the thumbs up.

Stryker said, “No reason at all. I was merely asking.”

“Well, in that case, I did in fact, sleep well last night.” She shrugged at Avery.

“I’m glad. I’d like to invite you, Avery and her husband Stephen to dinner at my place this evening. I know it’s short notice, but I’m hoping you all can make it. I have some explaining to do.”

“You can say that again, Lucy,” Holly said.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, I just associate explaining with Lucy Ricardo of
I Love Lucy.
It’s a thing Avery and I say.”

She could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “Does that make you Ricky then?”

She laughed and sang, “Babalu…”

“Desi Arnaz never looked so good. Will you ask Avery and Stephen about tonight?
Lydia
’s daughter, Candace babysits and I can vouch for her. I’d invite Jessica, Aaron and Connor as well, but what I have to say isn’t meant for their ears.”

Holly felt ridiculously charmed by the fact that he used the kids’ names instead of lumping them together as “the kids”. It showed he thought of them as individuals.

“I’ll ask them and let you know.”

“Thank you. I’ve checked on
Lydia
and all is well with her. She likes being chauffeured. She’s never really liked driving, but knows it’s a necessary evil in contemporary society.”

Holly smiled at his choice of words. “I’m glad she’s okay. Maybe we’ve been able to change the future in a more significant way this time.”

He wasn’t nearly as optimistic. “I’m not going to jump to conclusions yet, but I hope you’re right. Has your computer hacker come up with anything on Irene’s phone and credit card records?”

Holly had almost forgotten about Arnie. She’d been so focused on Stryker she’d had little time for anything else.

She looked at Avery and without covering the mouthpiece she asked her.

“Did you get anything from Arnie?”

Avery shook her head and scoffed. “Pffft…Arnie’s a vampire, he sleeps by day. I don’t expect anything from him until about
2pm
even though he told us we’d hear from him in the morning.”

“Did you hear that?” Holly asked Stryker.

“Clear as a bell. I have excellent hearing. I’ve come up nearly empty on the forensics angle. Irene’s killer knew what he was doing. He left no trace except the two marks on her neck.”

“Ah, I was right, vampire,” Holly joked.

“Nah, a vampire wouldn’t have left so much blood lying around,” Stryker said in a serious tone.

“Very funny. That doesn’t leave us with much. Let’s hope Arnie has better luck. I’ll let you know when we hear from him.”

After she hung up the phone, Holly told Avery about his dinner invitation. Avery was always up for socializing.

“We’d love to come. I’ll tell Stephen.” She picked up the phone and dialed his number. Stephen was a general practitioner. He was brilliant and had every opportunity to specialize in any number of fields, but a country doctor was all he’d ever wanted to be. Holly admired him for it. Small communities needed medical personnel like him. Stephen believed in treating the entire patient. He didn’t scoff at the concept of prevention or homeopathic remedies. He was very open-minded. Avery could never have fallen in love with a lesser man.

* * * *

Avery refused to give Holly a ride to Stryker’s house, insisting that Holly drive herself in case she elected to stay later for whatever reason. Stephen accepted his wife’s explanation without question. They were able to get their usual babysitter and she arrived on time. Holly was the last to pull into Stryker’s driveway. Her timing had been intentional. She didn’t want to be alone with Stryker before he’d been honest with her. She didn’t have the self-discipline.

Dinner was delicious. Conversation was easy and at times, lively. Stephen and Stryker immediately slipped into the age old male speak. They seemed to understand each other with very little actual discussion. Avery and Holly had always wondered at guy conversation. Men bonded seamlessly, yet the deepest conversation they shared was “Pass the Doritos” or “While you’re at it, get me another beer.”

The women kept things interesting at dinner, challenging Stryker and Stephen in the quintessential battle of the sexes. Holly was having such a wonderful time, she almost wished they didn’t have to spoil it by digging into Stryker’s secrets, but the time had come.

They moved into the living room for coffee and brandy. It was understood that Stryker would take the floor.

“I’m glad you were able to make it on such short notice. Holly has demanded explanations from me and I know it’s time to come clean. I thought it best to tell you all at the same time. A doctor such as you, Stephen, may come in handy.” His audience looked at him with synchronized confusion. He took a sip of his very expensive brandy and continued. “I must ask that what I’m about to tell you stay within these four walls. A great deal rests on secrecy at the moment. I also beg you to suspend disbelief until I’m finished.” He looked around the room. Each of them nodded, agreeing to his terms.

Finally, he began. “You might say I’m a stranger in a strange land. I’ve settled over one hundred people within this community. I’ve done it all over the western world. Soon, we hope to do the same in every country on earth.” Struck speechless, they waited for him to continue. “Margaret Wickham was right, Holly. I am not what I appear to be. Like you, I have abilities most people do not possess.”

Holly exchanged a look with Avery and asked, “Like what?”

“I can move at great speed, albeit, for very short distances. At times, I’m faster than the human eye can see. I have superior night vision.” He patted Polly on the head. “Polly and I run through the forest in the night with nature’s creatures. Sometimes I ride my stallion, Dakota, who has unusual abilities as well, but I digress.”

Holly, Avery and Stephen looked at him skeptically, but he spoke with such conviction that they stayed silent and reserved judgment as they’d promised.

“My kind is not susceptible to most of your diseases and we live a very long time. Cut us and we heal overnight. However, we do not procreate easily. It is rare to find a couple with more than one child. It is far more common for a couple to be childless.”

Soft-hearted Avery, the mother of three, gasped and offered genuine sympathy. Stryker accepted it with a grim smile and a nod as he reached out and squeezed her hand in gratitude.

“Long before recorded time, my people were hunted and almost wiped off the face of the earth. In the interests of self preservation, our leader took us underground where we’ve stayed for centuries. We became creatures of fable and fantasy in your world. We had our share of rogues who bridled at the self-imposed confinement and broke our laws, but they always met a tragic end. We police our own and our justice by necessity is swift and deadly. But, there are those who have hunted us for generations. They’ve vowed to wipe my kind off the face of the earth. We call them bloodstalkers.” He met Holly’s eyes and sighed. “Yes, I think Irene was killed by one of them. My people did not stay idle when we scurried underground. We learned a great deal about our own physiology and were able to overcome some of our weaknesses, but still we do not have many children.”

Stephen obviously couldn’t help but interrupt. “You’ve told us about your superior abilities. What kind of weaknesses are you talking about?”

Stryker said, “There was a time when we knew a great hunger that was never completely satiated. It drove us and made us worse than animals. We had no concept of enough. Our greed knew no limits.”

Avery muttered, “Ah, like Enron executives.”

He laughed at her joke. “Yes, there are some very unfortunate similarities.”

Stephen persisted. “What other weaknesses?”

“We suffer from a sensitivity to the sun that can prove debilitating. We burn very easily in direct sunlight. Even before the ozone layer was damaged, we suffered very bad sunburns. Sunblock hadn’t been invented. It took our scientists years, and great pain I might add, to discover that slowly we could build up a resistance to the harmful effects of the sun. Now we simply tan very easily. Every parent exposes their child to the sun so gradually that it takes years before they can allow their children to spend even an hour in the daylight. They start around the toilet training period. Before then, our babies are kept sheltered from the sun.” He smiled as if envisioning a favored child in his mind’s eye. “My kind lives with the utmost respect for nature. There is no need for us to attempt to conquer it when there are so many ways it sustains and nurtures us. We have evolved beyond the concept of killing for pleasure. We do not torture Mother Nature’s creatures or defile her earth with our waste.”

Avery said, “Sounds good to me. So far, I think I like your kind better than mine.”

Holly stayed silent, a frown fixed on her face. From the moment he’d started to speak, her mind had been working feverishly sorting out all the information he was imparting. Stryker looked at her and she knew. Could it be? All that he’d told them fit with her suspicion, but she hesitated to lend her voice to it. She didn’t dare articulate her suspicion because it seemed so preposterous but one glance at Avery told her that she wasn’t alone.

Stryker didn’t take his eyes off Holly as he said, “My bloodline is an ancient and much respected one. With each generation, a Cain has been leader of our people. When the responsibility passed to me, I abdicated to my brother. Declan is far better suited. My talents lay elsewhere, but I am as dedicated to my brother’s vision as I am to my brother. We have ventured out into the human world with the hopes of making it a better place for all who inhabit it.”

Holly shifted her gaze and locked eyes with Avery. They’d both come to the same conclusion. Stephen was a scientist. His imagination was not at the ready.

Avery nodded and Holly finally broke her silence.

“You’re telling us that you’re a vampire.”

Stephen scoffed, Avery nodded and Stryker spoke with naked honesty.

“Yes, Holly. That is exactly what I’m telling you. I was born a vampire.”

Chapter 16

Avery shook her head and hit her ear with the heel of her hand as if to correct her hearing. She said, “Excuse me, but I think I just heard you say you’re a natural born vampire.”

Stryker smiled at the look on her face and leaned back in his chair. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” He put up a mediating hand. “Remember you promised to bear with me, to suspend disbelief.”

With a raised eyebrow and wide eyes Avery said, “Yeah, but you didn’t double dog dare us…I don’t think your case would hold up in court.” She looked at her husband and friend. “Do you guys?”

Holly reached over and touched Avery’s arm. “Let’s hear him out.” She looked back at Stryker. “You’ve got five minutes to make us believe you. Otherwise we’re walking out of here for good.”

Stryker nodded with resignation. “I have proof. Will you join me in the library?” They stood up and followed him from the living room down a paneled hallway to a set of solid wood double doors.

Holly couldn’t wait to see the room again. She remembered the library from the tour he’d given her. It looked like something straight out of Harry Potter’s world. It was the kind of room she’d always dreamed of. She’d never known anyone who owned so many books. Some of them had to be very old. From walnut wainscoting, to cathedral ceiling, every wall held row upon row of different sized books—hardcovers, paperbacks, leather bound, cloth bound. Stryker’s library held every kind of bound publication ever created. Overstuffed chairs and an incredibly large couch sat on a thick rug in front of the stone fireplace. At the end of the room a beautiful curved dark walnut staircase led to the second level and more books.