Sunrise at Sunset (27 page)

Katrina whipped her hand outward and gently poked his chest with her fingertip before he could even react.

“Damn!” he cursed. “Try again.”

The same scenario repeated itself for many minutes, only she varied the locations of her pokes: once again on his chest, on each of his arms, on his forehead, then tapping the top of his foot, and finally pinching his earlobe.

“Ouch!” he yelped. “No pinching!”

She sneered at him, and he grumbled under his breath.
This is actually kind of fun
, she mused,
I forgot how satisfying teaching can be!

“What am I doing wrong?” he insisted. He had been pretty fast both in running and reacting in baseball just a couple of years ago in college. And he was still very fit.

But she merely shrugged and replied, “You’re too slow.”
Don’t take it personally
, she reflected.
Not everyone is Bruce Lee.

A sudden rush of frustration rose in Caleb, and he growled. He lunged out at Katrina to grasp her with both hands. She was slightly surprised, but reacted by pushing her right hand forward towards his chest as she swept his foot with hers. His left hand deftly managed to slap her on the right arm as the flat of her right hand pressed into his chest, forcing him backwards. His knees buckled from underneath him as his body shifted backwards from the force of her hand. With a swift pressure, her hand redirected him onto the crash mat to land flat on his back, knocking the breath out of him.

“
Oof
,” came the rush of air from his lungs as he impacted the mat.

“Temper, Caleb!” she chastised him sharply as she pressed her hand onto his chest to pin him in place.

Losing control is the fastest way to get hurt
, she considered silently. “Unlike me, another opponent will use the opportunity to hurt or kill you,” she warned.

But he was ecstatic and began laughing as he struggled to gather his breath again.

She stared at him with a mix of confusion and irritation.

“I touched you!” he rasped.

She regarded him with a wry expression. “Yeah, a glorious defeat.”
Is he crazy?

Caleb continued to chuckle despite himself. He caught his breath and asked with as much sincerity as he could muster, “Kat, can you please show me how to do that?”

She shook her head, removed her hand from his chest, and muttered, “Oh, brother.”
Yep, he’s giddy-craz
y, she confirmed.

“Please?” he begged. “Just some things in case I run into angry humans?”

She pursed her lips as she considered his request, conceding it wasn’t such a bad idea. “No vampires,” she insisted, silently reflecting on how
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
was a good show, but hardly presented the challenges of fighting real vampires.

“Just for humans,” he assured her.

She shook her head, sighed, and proceeded to instruct him in basic falling techniques so he wouldn’t hurt himself. She covered balance and throw techniques, as well as fundamental punching. They practiced for a couple of hours, and Katrina conceded he was an attentive student.

By the end of the third hour, he was comfortable with some of the most basic moves. Katrina enjoyed the time spent with him, despite the martial nature of their focus. While not encouraging him to turn to violent behaviors, she also didn’t like the idea of his being totally defenseless. Most of what she showed him was defensive in nature, anyway.

As for Caleb, he felt empowered to protect himself for the first time in his life. He realized that Katrina was the best body guard he could dream of, but he still felt more independent and self-sufficient knowing some basic moves.

Following a short break, he insisted on demonstrating what he had learned. She only made a couple of small corrections to his techniques and was for the most part quite impressed with his mastery. She explained that it would take hours of practice to become competent, but he was well on his way. In an odd way, she appreciated sharing the experience with him since it was his first exposure to such knowledge. She felt comfortable knowing he was learning from an appropriate source, at any rate.

After practicing his routines twice more with her, he asked, “How long did you train in your fighting skills?”

She considered his query, recalling the years of experiences related to such mastery. “Many years, my love. I lived under the tutelage of a martial arts expert for a time before gaining enough competence and expertise to be lethal. Even then, it was through many more years of practice that I perfected those skills. Plus, I trained with other vampires when possible and adapted new techniques that worked for me. I added firearms training, as well as swordsmanship and fencing.”

He regarded her with awe as he considered the experiences she must have had over the years. It also suggested her possible age. Surely she was more than a century old. “You were born in 1856,” he guessed.

She frowned at him. “No. Next topic.”
Give him credit for trying
.

He sighed with resignation. “How do you hurt a vampire?”

She regarded him with narrowed eyes and a grim expression. After traversing the short span next to him, she pressed the tip of her finger to his forehead. “By using this, Caleb. You can’t outrun or outfight us, but you can hope to outthink us.”

He frowned with a dejected expression, countering, “I didn’t mean you, Kat, never you. Don’t include yourself with other vampires like that.”

Her expression softened, and she snaked her right arm around his waist as she pulled his body against hers. Her green eyes stared into his as she reassured him, “I know that.”

I adore you, Caleb.
She kissed him lightly on the lips. “Killing a vampire requires that their body experiences extreme damage in a very short period of time,” she said. “Much more than you could deliver without assistance, my love.”

He considered the grave information carefully and nodded.

“Beheading works fine, of course,” she explained. “As does prolonged exposure to sunlight. And there’s always abrupt corporeal obliteration, such as a massive explosion or immolation in fire.”

He blanched at the grisly nature of what she described to him. He didn’t mind watching such violence in horror films because that was just special effects, mere fantasy. But the idea of graphic violence against someone in real life sickened him.

“I know I’m not a pacifist, but I don’t know if I could deliberately kill anyone either, Kat,” he offered as he kissed her neck and hugged her against him tightly. “At least, I’ve never tried to kill anyone before.”

He appreciated their embrace, loving the feeling of her body against his. He had never felt so closely and intimately bound to someone as he did to Katrina. The experiences they had shared in their short time together were amazing and occasionally terrifying. And the affectionate manner in which she treated him was remarkable. Even her taking of his blood felt intimate, as if he were truly offering something valuable of himself to her.

She held him closely and whispered, “I suspected as much, but there’s no shame. You’re a gentle spirit, Caleb. It’s a blessing, not a curse.”

Katrina sighed, equally enjoying their embrace.
Besides, I have enough violence inside for both of us
, she thought grimly.

That night, the groceries delivery arrived. However, Caleb was forced to remain in the kitchen unloading the bags. He made only one attempt to peer around the corner and out the front door, at which time Katrina turned to glare at him with both hands placed firmly on her hips as she guarded the front entry. Scowling, he quickly skulked back into the kitchen to continue unloading groceries.

“…like a drill sergeant,” he muttered irritably as he put things into cabinets.

“I heard that!” she snapped from the front area, causing him to wince slightly.

Fortunately, the remainder of the evening was uneventful, and she sat with him on the couch in the living room watching a movie. As if sensing the tension that had formed between them earlier, she snuggled next to him in bed until he fell asleep.

Caleb slept fairly late the next morning and, upon waking, immediately heard Katrina typing on her computer. He glanced over to see her already dressed in blue jeans and a sleeveless tank top. He stretched, yawned, and got up to wish her a good morning.

Though not as distracted as the day before, she still only kissed him cursorily before returning to her Internet activities and messaging. He gave up asking what she was doing and quit trying to read over her shoulder after a few pointed admonishments from her. Instead, he slipped on a pair of jeans and shaved.

As he pulled on a dark T-shirt, a sudden idea occurred to him based upon something she had said earlier about using his head against vampires. Maybe if he could prove his ability to be resourceful, she’d consider how useful he could be to her in whatever plans she devised. He grinned as he ate breakfast and considered the matter further.

After taking his vitamin and iron supplements and washing the dishes, he made his way up to the first guest bedroom at the top of the stairs and moved to stand with the window closely at his back. “Calling all vampires,” he announced in a raised voice.

It was only a few seconds before Katrina appeared in the doorway to the room wearing a perplexed expression. She regarded him curiously and asked, “Is something wrong?”
He smiled playfully and mock-complained, “You know, I really didn’t approve of that half-kiss this morning.”

She smirked and retorted, “Oh really? And what do I get for a do-over?”

He turned his head slightly to expose the soft skin of his neck to her and teased, “Maybe a little nip?”

She immediately crossed the distance between them, wrapping one arm around his waist. She leaned into his body to brush her lips against the exposed side of his neck.
That’s my kind of reward
, she relished.

The blinds flew upwards as he jerked on the cord behind him to reveal the glass window and solid metal shutter on the outside of it.

“Could’ve had some sunlight for you,” he teased with a smirk.

She smiled slyly. “Nice try. But that’s definitely using your head.”

“Caleb Taylor, world famous vampire hunter,” he crowed with satisfaction.

“Cute,” she replied with a wry smile.

“It’s all I had. I left my vampire mace back at my apartment,” he replied dryly.

She smiled with sly approval. “Very good. Now you’re thinking.”

His smirk faded. “Vampire mace?”

She shook her head and explained, “Well, not vampire mace, but mace or pepper spray nonetheless. My kind has very sensitive senses, and mace would provide an abrupt overload to our sense of smell, as well as causing our eyes to tear momentarily. It might not be a very powerful defense, but it could gain you enough time to escape.”

“I know it’s daytime right now. But maybe tonight we could run out to the sporting goods store for some mace,” he offered hopefully.

She saw right through him and countered mildly, “Or we could just get some from out of the storage cabinet in the basement.”

“What if yours is too old? It’s newer and fresher at the store,” he challenged.

“Caleb,” she warned him with narrowed eyes.

“Well, crap!” he exclaimed with aggravation.

She considered him with a frown, but her expression grew mischievous again. “We need to work some aggravation out of your system, my love,” she suggested and gently kissed him on the lips. Her eyes flashed seductively as she stared at him with slightly upturned edges of her mouth.

He noted her expression and leaned his head to the left, neatly exposing the soft skin of his neck to her. “I apologize, Kat,” he offered gently. “How about a small, quick nibble as a peace offering?”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” she whispered as her fangs extended slightly in anticipation, and the strong blood craving surged through her system.

He deserves a little something special afterwards too
, she considered generously as her tongue found the soft skin of his neck in preparation for her bite. She had to be careful, though. Despite the small amounts of blood she was partaking in, she didn’t want to strain his system before he regenerated more blood. She just couldn’t resist warm, fresh human blood when offered so freely. The sense of intimacy she shared with him was addictive.
Still, this will have to be my last indulgence for a little while
, she considered as her fangs broke the soft skin of his neck.

Chapter 8

Visitors

C
aleb spent the better part of the next two days trying to occupy his time. He read part of a novel he brought from his apartment. He also camped out in the theater room watching cable television and movies from Kat’s expansive DVD collection. Caleb counted no fewer than six hundred films from all different genres and periods dating back to the 1930s. It was definitely an eclectic collection, which generated a pleasant distraction.

Katrina felt much less distracted the past couple of days and wasn’t even irritated when he periodically interrupted her at the computer console in her room. They hadn’t argued, and she had deliberately been more attentive towards him. She peeked in on him as he watched television in the living room or a movie in the theater room. Once in a while she wandered in to watch him prepare a meal and eat or slumped into a chair near him as he read.

The one thing she didn’t do was explain any of her preparations, activities, or possible plans. She remained silent, often going out of her way to change the conversations back to safer topics when he tried to make unwanted inquiries. That infuriated him, but he refrained from debates or disagreements with her.

Katrina insisted that he continue sleeping in the large bed in her sublevel room and usually curled up with him until he drifted off to sleep, though she was rarely beside him when he awoke. He typically found her sitting at the computer console either typing or switching rapidly between a cascaded series of individual windows. Other times she stared at the screen blankly, as if deep in thought or in some kind of trance. On rare occasions when she spoke on the telephone, she whispered, often leaving the room to continue the conversation elsewhere. On two occasions, Caleb found her in the study at the far end of the first floor. He wasn’t sure what she was doing, but it involved some paperwork and manila folders. She often shut the door, leaving only a sliver of light, and he respected her subtle signal for privacy, even though he peeked in to confirm she was at her desk.

Of all the challenges facing his unusual circumstances, the most annoying was losing a visual sense of night or day. His only determinants of the passage of time was his watch and the clocks in the house. He discovered that watching the local news at various times helped deter his sense of detachment from the world around him. When watching the local weather coverage, he craved a walk outside to experience the mundane conditions being described or shown. Granted, he wasn’t really missing much, as Atlanta’s mid-December weather was usually sunny and in the upper forties to mid-fifties.

What impacted him most was that Christmas was less than three weeks away, and this was the first time in his life he might miss the holiday season entirely, unless Alondra Vargas -- Chimalma -- was dealt with soon. Given the gravity of their situation, he was too embarrassed to ask Katrina about her thoughts on or plans for Christmas. It was to be their first together. Though the way things were going, it was likely to be dark, ominous, and foreboding. He wondered what the rogue vampire had in store for them. It would be horrific if something happened to Katrina while she was trying to protect him. Anxiety coursed through him as his overactive imagination plagued him with violent imagery.

What would I do if something happened to Katrina
? he morosely wondered.

In the short whirlwind of falling in love with Katrina, Caleb had become completely smitten with her presence in his life. Her very existence fascinated him, although her vampire nature sometimes unsettled him. The strength of the attraction that he felt for her frightened him somewhat. She was everything he could hope for in a lover, friend, and companion.

Most recently, he discovered that Katrina had an occasionally short temper coupled with a propensity to be somewhat authoritative towards him. And while those were annoying qualities, she seemed to have his best interests at heart so far. Despite that, he knew that he loved her. He owed his life to her a number of times over already.
Who else can I say that about in my lifetime?

He mused over those thoughts while leaning against one of the large, spiral-fashioned oak columns flanking the entry of the oversized living room at the back of the house. The room was comfortably furnished and sported a large, widescreen television inset into a niche above the fireplace.

For no discernable reason, Caleb glanced to his left towards the partially visible front entry area. Katrina stood at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor. She leaned against the banister railing, watching him with a penetrating expression. The shaft of light from the front entry room cast a strange glow on her pale complexion. The shadows around her caused his vision nearly to glance over her, if not for her striking long, red hair cascading around her shoulders.

“You look deep in thought,” she observed.

Actually, you look lonely and forlorn, my dear
, she thought. It was painful to be so secretive with him the past few days, but it was better he wasn’t involved in her plans to address Chimalma. Likely, he wouldn’t approve of her plan or her methods, leaving silence the better part of valor.

He folded his arms across his chest. “How long have you been standing there?”

“A while,” she responded casually. “Long enough to see a host of emotions playing across your face.”
I want to assuage your negative thoughts and feelings and return to happier times as soon as possible
, she mused as a pang of sorrow swept through her.

He nodded while moving into the living room and taking a seat on the large leather couch. Leaning back into the cushion, he stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing his feet at the ankles. He stared at her, gesturing with his hand for her to join him.

She floated gracefully across the distance, studying him intently as she walked. He said nothing to her, instead watching her graceful transit towards him. He marveled at her body’s fluid, rhythmic motion, and wondered why he hadn’t paid more attention in the past. Perhaps because he was usually so focused on what they were doing or where they were.
Would anyone who took the time to look at her see her like I do?
he wondered.

She sat down beside him, curling her body alongside him. He draped his right arm lazily across her shoulders as her head rested against the inside of his shoulder.

“What were you thinking about?” she asked softly.
Maybe me
, she mused humorlessly.

“Many things,” he replied vaguely. “You seem much more settled the past couple of days.”

She smiled slyly and clarified, “You mean, much less angry and irritable.”

He smiled at her quick interpretation of his evasive comment. He angled his face to meet hers and quickly kissed her on the lips. “Sorry, but yeah,” he confirmed.

“I’m not as angry, it’s true,” she explained introspectively. “I’m more determined and resigned than angry. And I’m not angry with you, my love.”
But let’s not dwell on that topic, shall we
? she mused. “Have you eaten yet?”

“Huh? No, not yet,” he answered with a glance at his watch. It was nearly 6 pm. The day had passed, and he had barely noticed.

“Come, I’ll watch you make something,” she offered and rose to help pull him to his feet. “We can chat while you eat.”

Actually, the truth was she practically pulled him up from the couch, and he marveled at her controlled use of strength. “Did you ever have trouble adjusting to your increased strength after becoming a vampire?” he asked on their way to the kitchen.

Katrina considered his query with the hint of a smile. She recalled the number of times she had accidentally broken fragile items. She had also injured some men during intense acts of passion, which was a shocking wake-up call that she needed to learn control at an early stage of her vampire nature. “Hm, yes, I did,” she replied as he removed a pizza from the freezer.

He set the oven to preheat and went about removing the pizza from its packaging.

“I broke a number of things,” she replied with a smirk. “There were a number of accidental injuries inflicted on others, as well.”

Caleb retrieved a pizza pan from the cabinet. Oddly, Katrina had a fairly well-stocked set of dishes, cookware, assorted cooking utensils, and basic kitchen appliances. He wondered why she had originally gone to the trouble, but he was grateful for her foresight.

“Over the years, I adjusted to my body’s new attributes,” she continued. “But it took a great deal of patience and practice.”

He sat on a kitchen barstool to wait for the oven to heat. She wandered over to the cabinet, removed a drinking glass, and proceeded to fill it with ice cubes and water from the refrigerator dispenser.

“Now I act and move with precision unless I’m extremely angry,” she added as she placed the glass before him on the kitchen countertop.

His eyebrows rose curiously. “Why water?” He preferred colas.

She frowned slightly. Water was important for the health of his body and his blood. “I don’t like the amount of cola you’ve been drinking lately. You’ve looked a little dehydrated. Do me a favor and try to drink more water in the near future.”

“Right you are, Mom,” he answered smartly while raising his glass in salute.

She lightly smacked him on the back of his head with the flat of her palm and threatened mildly, “Don’t even go there.” Her limited experience with motherhood as a human was a topic she avoided almost as an emotional defense mechanism. Perhaps someday she would feel comfortable discussing it with him.

He sipped from his water glass. “So, when angry, you might still lose control of your strength sometimes?” he asked carefully.

Her lips curled into a devilish grin. “I try to show restraint, but you might not want to do anything to make me enraged.” She almost felt guilty for taking advantage of his innocent nature to unnerve him, inwardly aware she’d never do anything deliberately to harm him, even if angry. But she had a good poker face. The truth was she loved catching him off-guard like that. She sensed in his reactions that he enjoyed it on occasion as well.

He shivered involuntarily at her sadistic visage, which thankfully was an uncommon facial expression for her. A part of him felt another emotion flash across him.
Is it simply intrigue or perhaps something more erotic?
He gave her a sidelong glance as her features relaxed. The preheat warning went off, and he placed the pizza in the oven.

They talked about how he spent his day and about a film he had watched in the theater room. That led to a discussion about Katrina’s favorite films. Not surprisingly, she had a diverse interest in film genres, including foreign films. When asked if the language barrier in foreign films bothered her, she explained that she spoke a number of languages fluently besides English, including French, Italian, German, Spanish, and some forms of Chinese. He was truly impressed by the revelation and realized he felt fortunate just to know some Spanish.

By the end of their conversation, his pizza had finished baking, and he dished out some slices onto a plate. Despite his offer, Katrina declined a slice.

“There’s something I want to chat with you about,” she ventured. “You may be interested to know vampires have as diverse a set of personalities as humans. They’re often a reflection of their former human selves.”

Caleb nodded as he munched on his first slice of pizza.

“But a common variable among vampires is that the older ones tend to have lofty self-images,” she continued. “They often see themselves as elevated far above the status of humans and expect both respect and deference from them. Naturally, the world’s full of people who feel they’re so much better or more worthy of privilege than their fellow humans. It’s the same with a number of older vampires.”

He frowned, wondering why she chose that topic. He reached for his water glass and realized it was empty.

She picked up his glass and went to the refrigerator to refill it. “I like to associate with vampires who don’t have such lofty self-images. But they’re still worthy of respect, if only because of the positive, respectful manner in which they conduct themselves among humans.”

“Thanks,” he muttered as she placed the glass of water before him. He took a sip of water and munched on another slice of pizza while considering what she said. After a few moments, she continued.

“But never forget they’re vampires,” she warned gently. “They crave blood and see humans as food as much as companions, peers, or fellow beings. And while you may not necessarily need to fear the vampires I associate with, you always need to respect what they are. Never forget that their appreciation for you will never match what I feel for you. Though other vampires could eventually befriend you, always bear in mind I already love you. I’m the mate, and no vampire relationship is stronger. Does that make sense?”

“Kat, why are you telling me this?”

“Because visitors are coming,” she offered with a supportive smile.

“Visitors?” he asked intently as he slipped another slice of pizza onto his plate.