The Vampire Keeper (4 page)

Larkin paced around the shop, but he did not pay much attention to anything. His mind was more preoccupied with what to do about Jezalyn. Larkin stopped pacing when he recollected an Old Wives’ Tale about the bonding curse. Long ago, an old friend told him,
Rulers once used vampiric bonds to deliver punishment to any traitor or villain who had escaped justice. It was said, soon after a vampire drank one drop of blood, they went on a hunting spree killing everything in their path trying to rid themselves of the incessant babbling. Death of the living being is the only way to break the curse.

Larkin began pacing again as he thought about his new tenant and how her fate closely tied with the folk tale. He could now see how other vampires could become wild assassins if they had to endure every human thought, dream, or emotion. Although Jezalyn was not anyone’s direct victim, an unusual chance binding might yet bring her to the same medieval fate.

The pacing ceased, when Larkin finally came to the conclusion that he did not want to hear and feel her every thought or emotion. But, as far as he knew there were only two options to stop the constant chatter that would soon consume him like a dog with a bone. The first and most obvious would be to kill her, and the last to convert her, for it was always about self-preservation with a vampire, so taking himself out never entered his mind. Slamming his fist into his hand, he declared, “I must break this bond and decide something soon!” Now, he stood frozen a moment debating whether to kill or change her, until he realized that he had stopped in the middle of the mythology section.

Dropping to his right knee, Larkin removed a thick book cleverly hidden out of sight behind two large dictionaries on the bottom shelf. The book that he held might have been golden once, but now looked to be more like a dirty copper. It had a tarnished silvery clasp that extended from around the back to the front center of the book. When Larkin placed his ring inside the elliptical center, it flung open. He pulled open the cover and exposed the book’s hollow shell that hid away what seemed to be an old ragged manuscript bundled together with a piece of frayed twine. Larkin stuck his hand in the book shaped box to remove the collection, but halted as the grotesque expression of “Ugh!” was released in his psyche.

***

Jezalyn awoke to the sound of a powerful female voice singing her a sweet ballad. She mechanically rolled over and pressed the dismiss button to turn off the alarm on her cell phone.
Ugh, it’s time to get up already! I should have stayed on campus. Well nothing I can do about it now. I suppose I should get up and turn off the other alarm clock before it goes off too,
Jezalyn thought as she got out of bed and stumbled over to the dresser across the room, but she found the alarm clock was not illuminated.
Damn, I forgot to set up the alarm clock. It’s a good thing I set my phone.
She reached over to turn on the light switch so that she could plug up her clock, but the light did not come on. She flicked the switch up and down several times before she burst out, “Why me!?!” Leaving the switch up, she teetered over to the window and pulled up the blinds.
Wow! That’s Beautiful!
she thought as she took in the scene; the trees greeted her with a bow as they folded over from the weight of the icy layers that formed on the oak leaves and pine needles overnight. The ground was paper white except for a few leaves that peeked out from underneath what appeared to be thin layer of snow.

Jezalyn grabbed her computer and retreated to her bed. “I shouldn’t get my hopes up…” She logged onto the internet and went directly to the local news site, “Yes! There it is.”

The news bulletin read,
Due to last night’s freezing rain, several public schools and universities are closed in the following parishes…
Her heart leaped and she clasped her hands together in excitement.
“
Yes! My school is closed!” she proclaimed as she jumped up and down on the bed.

She plopped down on the bed so that she could continue reading the forecast:

There are widespread power outages and electricity crews have been fast at work trying to restore power since the rain let up. It is advised not to travel unless unavoidable. Several patches of ice remain unsalted throughout the city causing many road closures along the I-20 corridor. At this time, closures are ramps and bridges along I-49 and I-20, and the DOT asks that if you have to get out that you take extreme precaution on any small bridge or overpass
.

She slammed down the top of the computer in excitement as the phone rang and with a little grin she excitedly thought,
It’s Blaise.

“Hello.”

“Hey, did you see school is canceled?”

“Yep, I just saw it on the net. What are you doing up so early? I thought you didn’t have class until eleven today.”

“I didn’t. I was up for soccer practice, but it’s canceled because the field is frozen. I was about to go back to bed, when I thought about you having to drive in. I figured I should try to warn you before you got all the way up here for nothing. ”

“Thanks, Babe, but I’m sure it wouldn’t have been for nothing.”

“Yeah, I think we could have found something to preoccupy you with,” he uttered with a sensual voice causing Jezalyn to release a short giggle, which he imagined was accompanied with a sweet, yet bashful smile.

“Um, yes. I’m sure you could,” she replied.

He paused a bit, “Perhaps, a quick visit may be in order.”

With all seriousness, Jezalyn ordered, “No. You are to stay home; it is too dangerous.”

“Sometimes it’s worth the risk,” he responded, hoping to make her blush. Although he could not truly tell her composure, her little chortle was enough to content him.

“So, how is your hand?” he asked, not waiting for a verbal response to his previous statement.

“I woke up in the middle of the night and it was really throbbing, so I put some peroxide on it.”

“That was smart; it will kill the infection.”

“I hope so! Anyway, it’s feeling much better. I am sorry that I fell asleep on you last night. I must have been super tired.”

“It’s okay. I needed to go study for my chem. test anyway, which was a waste since school is canceled. I guess it’s a true snow day for me,” he said as he released a rather loud chuckle.

She giggled alongside him, “Well, think of it as less to study later.”

“Yeah, I suppose. Well, I am going to take a nap. I’ll text you later to see what you’re doing on this rare snow day.”

A huge smiled crossed her face. “I know it never snows here. That’s why it’s so awesome, because it never sticks.”

“Yeah, it took a while for me to get used to the warm winters here; I was used to twenty degree winters in Wisconsin.”

“Burr,” said Jezalyn, pretending to shiver at the thought of a winter colder than Louisiana’s average forty-five, fifty. “That’s too cold for me. I think the last time it was this cold was when I was seven; it snowed so much we built snowmen and made snow angles.” After pausing for a minute she realized she was babbling, which she felt was too soon to do at this stage of their relationship, so she added rather briskly at the end of her last response, “Well, I will let you go so you can catch up on your sleep.”

“Okay.”

“Text me later,” she added, as a confirmation of their future plan.

“Okay.”

Following the hang-up, Jezalyn threw the phone on the bed. Her heart felt like it was about to burst as she did a little dance of excitement. She stopped in front of the window to observe once more the beauty of the scene that lay before her. Jezalyn thought,
Yes, No school today! And I am off of work! Hmm, what should I do? Maybe Ana will have a candle I can borrow.
Jezalyn pulled her hair back and was about to put on her slippers when, out the corner of her eye, she saw the mythology book she borrowed from Wyler poking out from under the bed.
I should return this
, thought Jezalyn scooping up the book.

***

“She is awake…” blurted out Larkin as the silence in his head was broken. After a few minutes of being made privy to her prattling, he found himself wishing Jezalyn was still asleep, for whilst she was asleep there was silence since she was not a dreamer.
If she only slept longer!
he thought, letting the book rest on the closest shelf. Suddenly, he felt an unrecognizable sensation. Clutching his chest, he blurted out, “What was that?” Initially, Larkin thought,
she must be in pain
; however, after a moment of reflection he concluded that it was emotional not physical.
No, not pain. Excitement! I almost mistook it for anxiety.
Taking a few steps, he thought
, Whoa—that was a rush. I haven’t felt excitement in a long time.

The thrill took Larkin by surprise, leaving him unaware of his location, until he heard Jezalyn’s footsteps approaching. He darted past the counter and back into the underground apartment before Jezalyn could take another full step. Pressing his back hard against the apartment entrance, Larkin realized he left the memoir box open on the bookshelf. Tugging at his hair, he muttered, “Ah! I forgot to lock my memoirs.”

***

Upon reaching the shop, Jezalyn proceeded over to the area where Wyler had retrieved her book. Jezalyn scanned the book titles until she came across a few that seemed to be in her book category. Using her left hand to sweep back an opening, she deposited her borrowed book between
Ancient Greek Playwrights
and
Greek Myth and Legends
. As she turned to leave, her shirtsleeve caught the edge of Larkin’s wooden book that resembled a box, and it fell to the floor. A clatter arose from the open clasp as it hit the floor.

“What was that?” blurted out Jezalyn. Looking down in alarm, an “Oh” escaped out of her mouth.
I hope I didn’t break it. Wyler will fire me! He will kill me then fire me
.

Jezalyn glanced around as she quickly picked up the book and examined it, “This looks really old.” After inspecting the front and finding no damage, she flipped it over to check the back. With the book flipped upside down, the clasp hung down to the side. She released the left side to grasp the hanging clasp when the top flipped open and the bundled pages hit the floor. “Oh no! I did break it,” she cried. Once she picked up the bundle, she examined the book trying to find a quick fix, and discovered with great relief that she had not broken it. Jezalyn had, however, found the book’s secret. It was not a book, but a secret box disguised as a book.
This is cool. I wonder who this belonged to
, thought Jezalyn as she examined the somewhat tattered bundle for hints. She noticed that the paper was old and discolored as if someone had spilled coffee or tea over it. The pages were thin and tattered around the corners, which could easily cause the edges to crumble away if mishandled. Jezalyn noticed the font style,
I think these ink scribble marks are handwritten,
which led her to believe that she was holding either an extremely old book or someone’s journal.

***

Larkin did an about face so that he could crack the door open with ease. He pressed his forehead against the door to peer out of the small crack that he made.
She found it! Maybe she will be uninterested and put it back—Oh, please let her put—

His thought were interrupted,
It is hard to see what it’s about in this dim light. Hmm–, Wyler did say I could read anything, so I will take it upstairs where I can see better.

Larkin found himself enraged at his thoughts being interrupted again.
I must get rid of her. I cannot have her interrupting my thoughts all the time. I don’t know what is worse the interruptions or her emotions.
The sensation quickly faded before he could act on it, and Larkin now cringed at the thought of his memoir being read by someone other than himself. He thought,
I have to get them back…
, but Jezalyn interrupted him again,
What was I thinking. I can’t read in the dark.
In all the excitement of finding a unique piece of work, Jezalyn forgot to go ask Ana for a candle. Once Jezalyn gently placed the writings on her coffee table, she ran back down the stairs.

When he realized that Jezalyn was headed his way, Larkin blurted out, “Shit! Shit!”
She is coming down here. Where is she? Do I have time to sneak out and retrieve them? Think, Girl! Let me know where you are.
He heard footsteps approaching, so he eased the door shut and dashed into Wyler’s room.

Larkin pulled Ana out of bed, “Ana, get up. Jezalyn’s at the door and she wants to borrow a candle. Give her the candle and tell her you are going back to bed. Say whatever it takes to get rid of her quickly!”

“A candle?”

“Yes. Here give her this one.” Larkin grabbed a pink candle off the nightstand and pushed it into Ana’s hand.

Ana, still half-asleep, mumbled something to the effect, “But this is my favorite—”

Larkin cut her off, “Just give her the damn candle.”

Ana, completely awakened by his tone, took the candle, rushed to the door, and opened it.

Jezalyn stood in front of Wyler and Ana’s apartment door with her fist raised about to knock when it opened. Caught by surprise and with her hand still slightly raised, Jezalyn uttered, “Um, hi. The lights are out and I was wondering if you have a candle that I could borrow.”

Extending the candle toward her, Ana said, “I guess great minds think alike. I was just on my way to check on you. You saved me a trip—take this one.” Jezalyn thanked Ana as she took the candle and proceeded to tell her about the weather report. Ana, trying to follow Larkin’s directions said, “You’re welcome. Well, now that you have the candle, I think I’ll go back to bed.”