Reining In (The Network) (6 page)

Chapter Six

I woke to the sound of rain, and was immediately glad that I had decided to load my car the night before. I showered and dressed quickly; in a hurry to get on the road. It was a long drive, almost thirty-six hours, and I didn't want to waste any time unnecessarily.

Mack had already given me a hard time about driving; wanting me to fly instead. But I stood my ground. I need some time to myself, and there were a few stops I needed to make along the way. The most important stop being that of a quick hunting trip.

The last hunting trip had been a disaster, to say the least, and although I had spilled plenty of blood in my attempt to save Raymond, I didn't exactly stop to feed. If the hunger wasn't driving me then, it certainly was now. I had to quench the thirst before it took control of me.

I reminded Mack that they didn't exactly serve O positive on an airplane, as well as the fact that it was not an appropriate place to lose control. There wouldn't be much of a chance to hunt once I actually got to Mississippi. Mack finally relented, although not happily. He didn't like me being alone for so long. It was weird how protective he was of me, when there was so little that could actually harm me.

As I backed out of my drive, I took a long, deep breath. This was such a hard thing for me to do. It felt wrong to give into my desires, but I couldn't help it now. Even worse, I didn't know what to expect once I got there. I had hurt Jake. There was no denying that. Even knowing that he had been trying to contact me didn't convince me that he would welcome me with open arms.

The thought of being rejected by him hurt even worse than anything else. I loved him. I was in love with him. That was why I left in the first place. I realized that, like Raymond, I would have to watch him grow old and die. I could've turned him. I thought about it a few times. But it wasn't something I wanted for him; and it was something he didn't want for himself.

It was inevitable that the subject would come up in conversation at some point. When it did, we both made our feelings on the subject clear. That was the last time we ever spoke about it. I never asked him his reasons; he never asked me mine. I suppose I was glad for that. Mine were hard to explain.

So when I realized how much I had fallen in love with him, how much it would hurt to lose him the way I had lost others before him, I left. I thought it would be easier that way. I thought, after time, that by distancing myself from him, we would both get over it and move on. The problem was neither of us did.

The more I tried not to think about him, about us, the more miserable I was. Or course it didn't help that Raymond constantly reminded me that I had broken Jake's heart. He knew I was miserable without Jake, and although the reason I was there was to take care of him after his heart attack, he still spent most of his spare time trying to convince me to go back. I always remained steadfast on that issue.

So why was I going now? I didn't even know. Maybe it was the message Raymond had left for me, or maybe it was guilt, or greed. Had I finally given in to my own desires? I wasn't sure, but I knew one thing. I was tired of hurting Jake.

I knew he hadn't moved on; not at all. Although he didn't call me directly, he still called Mack frequently. Mack would relay the messages to me, never forgetting to tell me how hurt Jake sounded, or how lonely he sounded. Mack, like Raymond, was completely Team Jake. While he understood my motives better than anyone, he didn't really care about them. To him, there was no point in preserving my way of life, if it was a completely miserable one.

"Why live forever if forever sucks?" he would joke. I seldom laughed. Mostly because he was right, and deep down, I knew it.

As I approached the exit to Cherokee, I did my best not to look, staring straight ahead at the wet pavement. A lump welled up in my throat, and tears threatened to break free as I passed the exit. I missed Raymond so much. Probably another reason for my wanting to see Jake; I needed someone to hold me. I held the tears back the best I could. It would not do me any good to wreck my car because I was crying and driving in the pouring rain. I certainly wasn't in the mood to shop for cars today.

So I steeled myself and drove on. After a few hours, the rain finally let up a little. I decided it was a good time to stop for gas. If I waited, the rain might kick up again, and I was also not in the mood to spend the next couple of hours soaking wet.

As I climbed back into my car, I decided I better check in with Mack. He answered on the first ring; not a surprise to me, as he seldom let his phone ring more than once.

"How's the drive?" he asked, without even saying hi. I knew he had caller ID, but it still unnerved me sometimes when he would start out our phone conversations that way.

"Wet," I replied, sourly. I let him stop laughing before I continued. "Yeah, hilarious, Mack. How's the search going?"

"Nothing yet. We seem to be hitting dead ends everywhere. Except..." He trailed off. I could tell by his voice that it was something he didn't really want to share with me.

"Except what? Does this have anything to do with the other night?"

"The other night?" Mack tried his best to sound confused. It must've been bad.

"At your house. You looked upset when you came in. I thought it was me, but it wasn't was it? I meant to ask, but forgot. Mack, what's going on?"

He stammered, as if trying to find the words. I waited patiently. Finally he sighed heavily.

"I didn't want to say anything; not yet anyway. I thought we could handle it without you, and I didn't want to ruin your....your vacation."

"Spill it Mack!" I almost shouted. I hated it when he drew things out like that.

"It's Vyktor," he finally said, sounding defeated. A shudder ran through my spine. I slammed on the brakes, nearly losing control of the car on the still wet pavement. I managed to pull over to the side of the road, and threw the car into park.

"What do you mean, Vyktor?" No wonder he didn't want to tell me. God, could things get any worse? I closed my eyes and cursed to myself. Vyktor, like me, was a vampire. Unlike other vampires, Vyktor did not try to avoid me. Quite the opposite, actually. He hunted me, to put it bluntly.

I had spent several centuries making sure he did not find me. It wasn't that I feared for my own life, but I didn't want to have to kill him, and I certainly didn't want to endanger those around me. Part of the duties of the network was to do their best to keep track of him at all times. If we knew where he was and what he was doing, then we could avoid a confrontation. If Mack had any concerns about him now, then he had either found me, or was close.

"Where is he?" I finally asked, hoping like hell, he didn't say California.

"As far as we can tell, he is headed back home." Mack replied, trying to sound hopeful.

"So he was there?"

"No, not here. In San Diego, then Los Angeles."

"So what's the problem, then? That's not that close, Mack."

He paused before he answered. When he finally spoke, I could hear a slight bit of hysteria in his voice.

"Khallie, he was asking around about you.... by name. The name you have now." Yeah, that was bad. One thing I did to prevent from being discovered, either by Vyktor, or others who might piece together that I was a vampire, was to change my name frequently.

The last time I had seen Vyktor, I went by another name, and several others since. For Vyktor to know who I was now meant he had been doing some research. It was a bad. If he found out who I was now, he could track me down. He could find Mack, Marlene, and everyone else back home. He could even find out about the network, putting everyone I knew in danger.

"I'm coming back, now." I finally said. I had already put the car in drive, and was pulling onto the road to do a uturn.

"No," Mack said, so forcefully, that I instinctively slammed on the brakes again. "No, you’re not! He's left, Khallie. He’s already gone. There is no need to come back here, now. In fact, if he has gone home, you are in a better position to keep an eye on him in Mississippi."

I thought about it. He was right. Vyktor, unlike me, did not move around in order to hide his identity. He was predictable in that. Home, for him, was New Orleans. Like many vampires before him, it held an almost hypnotic attraction for him.

It was like it was portrayed in movies; dark, full of death and superstition, and full of vampires. Many vampires, Vyktor included, found it easy to remain unnoticed there. And he seldom left, except for the occasional trip he made in an effort to search me out. I could easily find him there.

In fact, I knew exactly where to find him. The woman he stayed with was, indirectly and unbeknownst to her, a member of the network. People hired by the network made contact with her. Although her allegiance was to Vyktor, her love of money was stronger, and it was easy for them to get information from her.

I would have to go to her to get to Vyktor. This was not a pleasant thought for me. The woman was a seer. She was not one of those fake fortune tellers that set up shop, hoping to make a quick buck on some rich superstitious widow. No, she was the real thing. She practiced in the black arts and voodoo, and her perceptions were almost always dead-on.

That was the reason we did not send anyone directly from the network when making contact with her. If our inside people didn't know who they worked for, she couldn't perceive the threat. I would have to be careful how I approached her.

"You're right, Mack. I can take care of it from there." When I heard him stammer a little, I added, "Don't worry! I won't do anything stupid!" We ended our conversation there, and I pulled back out onto the highway. I stopped only when I needed gas, and although I hated to do it, I made one stop to hunt.

I hated to waste the time, but I knew that it was becoming a necessity, and I couldn't put it off any longer. One of the nice things about being a vampire was that I didn't have to stop and sleep. Although we did sleep, we could go for days, sometimes weeks without sleeping if we had to. So I drove on into the night.

As the sun began to rise, I made my way through San Antonio. I had hoped to stop here, which is one of the reasons I had chosen to drive. One of our offices was located in San Antonio, and I badly wanted to stop in and see some of my friends. But the situation had become urgent. If I didn’t do something immediately, I may never get to see those people again.

So I continued on. It was another eight hours before I finally found my way into New Orleans. I decided not to go directly to Vyktor's abode. I needed time to walk around and gather myself. So I made my way towards the quarter, and found a place to park. I walked for several hours, stopping once in a shop filled with voodoo items. I finally made my way to the woman's home.

It was much like you would expect to find. The building was old and run-down. One had to brave the dark, dank alleyway to reach the door that led to the woman's home. There was only one entrance into the alleyway, and only one door into the building. The adjoining buildings had no doors, and only a scant number of windows. There was one dim bulb that barely lit the doorway.

Although I knew the woman's trade, there was no clear indication of a business behind the door. She had no need to advertise. Those who knew of her knew where to find her. Those who used her abilities, most generally did not have a moral reason for being there. Therefore, it was in her best interest to remain unseen by the outside world. We had that one thing in common; that, and Vyktor. I stood in the alleyway for a long time.

I didn't want to go directly in. I had waited until the sun started to set, because I knew that if Vyktor were back in New Orleans, this is the time that he would leave. I didn't wish to confront him just yet. I needed some information first. When I finally decided he must be gone, I made my way to the door. I did not knock, but walked directly in.

The inside was poorly lit, mostly with candles. It did not disappoint. It was everything you would expect to find in such a place. There were skulls with candles in them, which I had no doubt were human; perhaps given to her by Vyktor. Heavy black curtains hung across doorways and the one window to the outside. I looked around and took in everything slowly.

As I directed my attention to a small stone table towards the back of the room, I noticed the woman sitting cross-legged on the floor behind it. I hadn't noticed her at first, because her skin was as dark as the curtains behind her. She was a small woman with long, gray, ratted hair that touched the floor that she sat on. Her frame was almost fragile looking, but I had no doubt that she was capable of inflicting harm to even the strongest of men.

She glared at me, as I looked her over. I slowly walked closer to her, and as she got a better look at me, her eyes suddenly filled with terror. She did not move, but I could see her body tense. She knew what I was, and even as powerful as she was among men, she knew she had not chance against me.

"You see the future, witch?" I asked. I had learned from our intelligence department that she didn’t respond to kindness or curiosity, and to really get any response I would have to establish my dominance. She grimaced at the word, but still braced herself. She carefully positioned herself so that she could run if she needed.

"I do," she finally answered, with a pronounced Haitian accent.

"Then what do you see now," I asked, pointing at the items in front of her. There were a few small animal bones, and other things I knew she used in her magic. She looked down, ran her hand over the items and looked back up at me. Her posture took on a new tone. She was more confident now, with the sudden knowledge that I was not here to do her in.

"I've come to ask you some questions."

"Questions cost money, even for vampires," she replied haughtily.

“Don’t worry, I have something for you,” I made another step forward. "After you answer my questions.”

“No. I do not answer questions unless I feel like it,” She snarled. “I do not feel like it now.” She nodded her head towards the door, as if to dismiss me. Angrily, I walked forward, no longer concerning myself with her reactions. I grabbed the bones off the table and grabbed her hand. I forced the bones into her hand, holding it closed with my own. She struggled to pull her hand away from mine, but I did not let her go.